Xie Ming

Chapter 52 Pei Zhong Returns to Camp
At midnight on the 25th, in front of Xiao Jingchuan's tent, Gu Changting happily announced that Sun Peizhong had returned to the camp!
Xiao Lang was also very happy. He hurriedly got up and ran out of the tent without even putting on his shoes or socks.

"General, general!"

"General Sun Peizhong is back!"

In front of the tent, Sun Peizhong was in tattered clothes, supported by soldiers. When he saw his own general, he could no longer control himself and knelt down in front of Xiao Jingchuan.

"Pei Zhong!"

"Okay, okay! It's good that you're back!" Xiao Lang also sighed, his eyes moist.

"Come, Peizhong, sit down, sit down and talk!"

As he spoke, Xiao Jingchuan helped Sun Peizhong up, and the two of them sat on the ground on the embankment.

Around him, Qiu Zhizhong, Gu Changting, Li Huchen and others also accompanied him and refused to leave.

"General!"

"In the battle on the east bank of the Hun River, more than a hundred soldiers under Peizhong fought desperately and suffered heavy casualties."

"There are only about twenty people left. Peizhong feels ashamed and accepts the blame!"

As he said this, Sun Peizhong wanted to kneel down again, but Xiao Jingchuan pulled him back.

"Pei Zhong, you are attracting firepower on the east coast. You are already in a dangerous situation. This is an extremely difficult task!"

"Why do you say that?"

"No matter what, I, Xiao Jingchuan, will be grateful to God if you can come back alive and well!"

"Let me take a good look and see if you're hurt anywhere!" Xiao Lang comforted.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, General!" Sun Peizhong replied.

That night, Sun Peizhong stayed in Xiao Jingchuan's tent, and the two of them slept with their feet touching.

Later, through a private conversation between the two in the tent, Xiao Lang learned that after the night of the clever crossing of the Hunhe River, Sun Peizhong led the remaining troops to flee westward, and fled for more than 30 miles before they got rid of the bandits on the east bank and found a place to cross the river to the west.

After reaching Sanpo, the twenty or so people rushed day and night, and finally caught up with the team and returned to the camp on the 25th. It was not easy!
In fact, under Xiao Jingchuan's command, the direct lineage is actually his own troops brought over from the original Shenjiying.

The only trusted members of his direct lineage were Sun Peizhong, Gu Changting, Wang Chuanwu and Ma Minglu.

Gu Changting is a loyal, skilled and brave man, but he lacks strategy and is not good at commanding his subordinates. He is a good lieutenant general beside Xiao Jingchuan, but cannot be used in important tasks. He is very much like Xu Chu beside Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period!
It’s just that his figure and face are much more handsome, just like the handsome and fair version of General Xu Chu!
Wang Chuanwu is not as brave as Changting, and cannot catch up with Peizhong as a commander. Among these four people, his characteristics are not outstanding, but he has some in every aspect. Although he seems mediocre, he may go further in the army than Gu Changting with more experience in the future.

Ma Minglu, from Shanxi, was a well-known Shanxi merchant family. His ancestors had been big bankers for a hundred years. He was smart and could fight on the battlefield and govern the country. He was better at calculating than wielding a spear or a club.

He was then appointed to the army, and Xiao Jingchuan often used him to manage military supplies, material allocation and other logistical matters, which he did very well and showed his talent.

In Xiao Lang's eyes, this person has the ability of Xiao He of the Chu and Han Dynasties. If he can be promoted and trained in the future, he might still make great achievements in the government!

As for Sun Peizhong, he is a captain under Xiao Jingchuan. He is loyal and righteous, and his martial arts are comparable to Zhao Zilong of Changshan. His command strategy is not inferior to Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan, who was Taizu's most trusted general!

These days, since the army crossed the Hunhe River, Xiao Jingchuan has been worried about Sun Peizhong's safety.

This is also because Xiao Lang cannot do without Pei Zhong in his camp. The new general Li Huchen may have the courage of Zhang Fei or Chang Yuchun, but after all, he has only served in the camp for a short time. If they want to be open-minded, it may take time to get used to each other and train.

Now that Peizhong has returned, Xiao Jingchuan feels like a huge weight has finally fallen off his shoulders.

Sun Peizhong's prestige in the army was already high. This time, he risked his life to take on a great responsibility, attracting enemy firepower on the east bank and covering the retreat of the entire army. This kindness would not only be appreciated by Xiao Lang, but also by the more than 500 heads in the camp. Who wouldn't admire him? !
So now that Sun Peizhong has returned to the camp, Xiao Jingchuan can relax and no longer have to personally take care of all military affairs, worrying about what to do before and after, and doing it all by himself.

On March 26, Xiao Jingchuan led the entire army to set out early in the morning as usual, and conducted training as usual during the march.

Although Sun Peizhong tried his best to request to join the army, Xiao Lang was worried that his health had not recovered, so he did not rush to ask him to join the army and let him rest for a while.

After a day's journey, the troops arrived near Bairui Valley at nightfall.

This valley is located at the foot of Baihua Mountain in the west of Beijing. It has stunning scenery. In spring and summer, the mountain is covered with flowers, which is stunning and magnificent, like a fairyland.

However, such a good place also has some inconveniences for Xiao Jingchuan and his friends, that is, the mountains on both sides of Bairui Valley are steep, difficult to climb, and even more impassable.

Therefore, if you want to pass through here, you must go into the valley and march along the flat road in the valley.

The altitude here is 700-1800 meters. The area of ​​the valley is not very large, and the terrain is high in the north and low in the south.

On the northeast side, there is an ancient temple called Ruiyun Temple, which is hundreds of years old and has a lot of incense. On the temple gate is inscribed "Hundred flowers view the world, Ruiyunze Zen heart", which is quite Zen.

Apart from this, the whole valley is occupied by a relatively large village.

As the sky gradually darkened, when Xiao Jingchuan led his troops here, they saw the lights of hundreds of houses and the curling smoke from cooking fires, giving off a peaceful atmosphere of life.

Xiao Lang gave the order for the entire army to set up camp at the entrance of Bairui Valley and not enter the valley at night until dawn.

The next day, the entire army rested in the camp.

Nearing noon, the bright sun passed over the mountain top and shone into the valley. Xiao Jingchuan led a team of soldiers including Gu Changting, Wang Chuanwu, Qiu Zhizhong, etc. and entered the village first, preparing to pay a visit to the village chief and pay their respects. After that, the entire army would be able to pass through the village at ease later.

The valley entrance was three or five miles away from the village. Before the army's camp, Li Huchen lazily lay on his back on a gently sloping grassy field, patting his belly and looking around to see if he was satisfied.

Qi Dayong, a subordinate standing by, saw his captain sighing and groaning, and ran towards Li Huchen.

"Hehe! Captain, why do you look so sad?" Qi Dayong said slowly with a forced smile.

"kindness?"

"Huh, you kid?!"

"Is there something?" Li Huchen asked impatiently, opened his eyes and glanced at Dayong.

"Hey, what can I do? I saw that you were uncomfortable, so I thought you might have something on your mind, so I came over to take a look. If I can do it, can't I help you share the burden?" Qi Dayong flattered him.

"roll roll roll!"

"I don't have a shitty thing on my mind, get out of here!"

"Looking at the light is annoying me!"

Li Huchen cursed for no reason, then turned his body sideways as if to chase him away.

"Haha, look at you, Boss."

Qi Dayong seemed to be somewhat confident that he had guessed what his captain was thinking. Instead of leaving, he shamelessly moved closer to Li Huchen.

"Captain, I heard that this Bairui Valley produces good wine!"

"I know, you must be craving for wine!"

Hearing this, Li Huchen turned around and sat up.
(End of this chapter)