Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 177 Congratulations (Part 1)

The Fanyang army arrived with great momentum, only to suffer a crushing defeat within a single day. This news spread like wildfire throughout Yan County.

The Jingguan (a mound of corpses) outside Peijia Village is terrifying.

Upon hearing this, General Yang of the Guangning Army sighed deeply: "Heroes emerge from among the young. This is absolutely true! Lu Xian is all talk and no action, and he has always been arrogant and did not take Miss Pei seriously. Now he has been defeated by the Pei family army and taken prisoner. He will have to empty his pockets to survive. This is truly losing both his wife and his army."

Yang Huai, Yang's nephew, was standing nearby. Upon hearing the word "prisoner," Yang Huai's feelings were quite complex and subtle. There was even a hint of secret schadenfreude and relief.

He had been captured by Miss Pei that day, and General Yang exchanged dozens of warhorses for him. He was filled with shame and remorse, unable to lift his head. Now, compared to the unfortunate General Lü, his own situation seemed insignificant.

General Yang sighed for a moment, then instructed Yang Huai: "In the future, when dealing with the Pei family army, you must be extra polite."

Yang Huai nodded and said, "I know what's important, Uncle, don't worry."

He's not stupid. He used to harbor resentment and even think about revenge. But now that the Fanyang army has been defeated by the Pei family army, he only feels respect for Sixth Miss Pei.

General Yang glanced at his tall and handsome nephew and said with some regret, "I intended for you to marry into the Pei family, but unfortunately, Miss Pei Liu already has Steward Shi by her side."

Yang Huai looked down on Shi Yan: "He's just a mere merchant. If he hadn't gone to Pei's army early on, he wouldn't have a place by Pei Liu's side."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" General Yang glared at them impatiently. "The Shi family is the largest grain merchant in Youzhou. Shi Yan has keen insight and made a big bet when Miss Pei was in a weak position. Without the strong support of the Shi family, there would be no Pei family army today."

"Not to mention, Shi Yan himself is shrewd and capable. With him in charge of money and supplies, Miss Pei can focus on training the troops without any worries."

“For an army, having such a chief steward is extremely important. If Shi Yan is willing to join our Guangning Army, I will give him a high position.”

"Sixth Miss Pei has lofty ambitions and refuses to be subservient to others. It's hard to say how far she will go in the future. If you were in her shoes, would you be willing to give up everything to follow Sixth Miss Pei?"

Yang Huai shook his head subconsciously.

General Yang snorted: "Isn't that it! With such vision, courage, and decisiveness, Shi Yan is no ordinary person! What right do you have to point fingers at someone like that?"

Yang Huai was so angry he couldn't lift his head: "I didn't think before I spoke, I was too rash, please calm down, Uncle."

General Yang sighed again: "You're in your twenties now. After so many years of training in the military, it's time for you to mature and grow up."

Yang Huai looked ashamed and replied in a low voice, "I will think more before I speak in the future."

General Yang grunted in agreement, scrutinized Yang Huai for a moment, and then suddenly had another thought: "It's not just the Sixth Miss Pei who's not married yet in the Pei family. I remember, the Miss Pei Yan who captured you isn't married either!"

Yang Huaihu's body trembled, and he suddenly looked up: "Uncle!"

This idea is horrible!

Unexpectedly, General Yang was quite eager for the marriage alliance, completely ignoring Yang Huai's horrified look. The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became: "Pei Yan is a fierce general in the Pei family army, and she is also the most trusted and favored by the Sixth Miss Pei. You haven't caught the Sixth Miss Pei's eye, so it's fine for you to marry into Pei Yan's family."

"Once the Pei and Yang families are united by marriage, they can help each other in the future and establish a stable foothold in Youzhou. The Fanyang Army has been rendered useless, and even the Liaoxi Army, which has a large number of soldiers and territory, dares not make any rash moves."

The biggest enemy of the Guangning Army was not the Fanyang Army, nor the Pei Family Army, but the ever-watchful Liaoxi Army.

General Li and General Yang had some old grudges and didn't get along. Now that the Liaoxi army had declared itself independent, General Li proclaimed himself King of Liaoxi, massacred the prefectural governor's office, robbed and killed wealthy households, and conscripted able-bodied men into the army. His total strength was now close to 20,000.

General Li was still not satisfied and was eager to seize territory. However, the Liaoxi Army was located in a remote area, so he couldn't reach out to them for the time being.

The Pei family army won a clean and decisive victory, defeating the Fanyang army. This served as a powerful warning to the Liaoxi army. "Our Guangning army is loyal to the Emperor, and the Pei family army has also surrendered to the Emperor. We are allies," General Yang stroked his beard, feeling quite pleased with himself. "If we form a marriage alliance in the future, we can advance and retreat together."

Finished!

Knowing his uncle's temper well, Yang Huai inwardly groaned, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Sure enough, General Yang immediately began writing a letter and then ordered Yang Huai to deliver it to Pei Family Village: "Sixth Miss Pei has won a great victory, and we must celebrate. Go and prepare a generous gift, take this letter with you, and go to Pei Family Army."

With tears in his eyes, Yang Huai bowed and accepted the order.

……

Five days later, Yang Huai led a group of people on horseback to the outskirts of Peijia Village.

As luck would have it, the Fanyang army was delivering a large number of warhorses and gold and silver.

Yang Huai tactfully stepped back slightly. Turning his head, he saw the soldiers eyeing him with envy. Yang Huai put on a stern face and warned sharply, "All of you, get rid of your useless behavior! Anyone who embarrasses us will not be spared."

The soldiers nodded with difficulty.

In fact, Yang Huai was also very envious.

Five hundred strong warhorses passed by one after another. For the soldiers who loved horses more than life itself, they were more alluring than beautiful women who had undressed.

The warhorses were laden with heavy wooden crates. These were likely the gold and silver that the Fanyang army used to exchange for "prisoners."

Yang Huai swallowed hard.

Pei Qinghe watched the warhorses enter the village with a pleasant mood, then turned to Zhao Hai and instructed, "These warhorses are very precious. You and your men should take good care of them."

Zhao Hai gladly accepted the order: "Sixth Miss, rest assured, these five hundred warhorses are entrusted to me."

“We’re short-staffed in the stables, so just ask,” Pei Qinghe said with a smile.

Zhao Hai grinned: "I was just about to discuss this with Sixth Miss! We really need to add some manpower to the stables. I'll go and pick some meticulous and steady ones."

Peijia Village recruited many refugees. The clever and bold were selected to train soldiers, the hardworking were assigned to farm, and the stables were short of people, so they were simply picked directly.

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly, then turned to Shi Yan and said, "The wooden box on the warhorse is full of silver. Go and count it yourself and put it into the treasury."

Shi Yan played with his usual small gold abacus with his right hand and replied with a smile, "Leave this to me."

Pei Qinghe finally had a moment to greet the men from Guangning Army: "General Yang, what brings you here today?"

Pei Yan chuckled beside him: "Could it be that they came here specifically to give us a gift after hearing that we defeated the Fanyang army?"

He had a loud, rough voice, a burly build, a tall stature, and a dark complexion. He didn't look like a graceful lady at all.

As if scalded by boiling water, Yang Huai quickly looked away and respectfully presented General Yang's handwritten letter: "The Pei family army has displayed great might and defeated the Fanyang army. This is a congratulatory letter personally written by our general. Please take a look, Sixth Miss."

(End of this chapter)