Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 194 Letter
After arriving in Bohai County, Lu's original illness gradually improved, and he was no different from an ordinary person in his daily life. However, he could not stand the words "traitor" and "loyal martyr" and would react exceptionally strongly to them.

Upon hearing Fang's mutterings, Lu immediately glared at her: "What did you just say?"

You should never mess with someone who's mentally ill.

Fang smiled apologetically: "I was just joking! Don't worry, sister-in-law, when the city really falls, I will hang myself with you without hesitation."

Madam Lu choked for a moment, while the other old women laughed.

Perhaps they had been through too much. From the destruction of their family, the loss of their husband and son, to the difficult exile, and then to the establishment and rise of the Pei family army, every step had been arduous. Now, with the rebel army attacking fiercely, they were initially panicked, but quickly calmed down.

“We’re all getting on in years, it doesn’t matter if we live a few more or a few less years,” Madam Li said slowly. “It’s enough that the younger generation of the Pei family are living well in Yan County.”

“I’ll write to Qinghe right now and give her some advice. If the war spreads to Youzhou, she can’t be foolish. If she can win, she should fight; if she can’t, she should lead the people to hide in the Yanshan Mountains.”

Fang and the others nodded in agreement.

Lu moved her lips, but did not utter a sound.

Li was understanding and looked at Lu: "Don't be angry with Qinghe. She is your own granddaughter, and there are also Pei Yan, Pei Feng, and Pei Yue. Don't you care about any of them? Write a letter and I will have someone send it back with you."

Lu was unwilling to listen to anyone but Li, which made things very awkward: "I wrote a letter to my grandson."

Madam Li chuckled: "Alright, then write to Pei Feng and Pei Yue, and remember to tell them in the letter not to let Qinghe and Yan read it."

All the old women laughed.

Li then said, "You should all write a letter and send them back together."

While there's still time before war breaks out, it's still possible to send a message back. Once the rebel army arrives and Bohai County is besieged, sending a message will be impossible.

Perhaps this is the last letter they left for their daughters-in-law, granddaughters, and grandsons.

The group of elderly women understood the meaning behind Li's words, and their hearts felt heavy.

That evening, more than twenty letters were packed into a package. The journey was fraught with danger, so Pei Jia specially dispatched a team of ten men to return to Pei Family Village to deliver the letters. In case they encountered bandits along the way, the ten burly men armed with knives would be able to protect themselves.

The atmosphere in Bohai County was tense, and the city gates were heavily guarded. The ten men of Pei's army were only allowed to leave the city after being repeatedly questioned, and they rode at full speed all the way.

Several days later, the bundle filled with letters was delivered to Peijia Village.

Pei Qinghe looked at the bundle of letters, feeling a strange heaviness in her heart. Each letter had the recipient's name on it, and Pei Qinghe called them over one by one, distributing the letters to everyone.

The handwriting on the last letter looked very familiar.

Pei Qinghe glanced at it and called over Pei Feng and Pei Yue: "It's a letter from Grandmother to you."

Pei Feng has grown taller this year and already looks like a young man. A few days ago, his voice was so rough that Pei Xuan teased him, saying it sounded like a duck quacking. Pei Feng was so angry that he became even quieter.

Pei Yue was already nine years old, still round and chubby, and a master of flattery: "Cousin Qinghe, Grandmother must have written a letter to you, but she was too stubborn to admit it, so she wrote my and Cousin Feng's names."

Pei Yan curled her lip: "She's so stubborn. Do you think my cousin Qinghe is so good-tempered? I won't look at her, I don't care!"

Pei Qinghe was amused: "Alright, stop being so cheeky. You two read the letter first, then give it to me."

Pei Yue opened the letter, and Pei Feng leaned over.

The letter from the Lu family was very thick, and the two brothers read it for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. After they finished reading it, their eyes looked a little strange.

Pei Yan couldn't contain herself any longer: "Give me the letter, I want to see what Grandmother wrote." She reached out and pulled the letter out in front of Pei Qinghe, while leaning her head closer.

Pei Qinghe read through the text quickly, and after finishing, she twitched the corner of her mouth.

Lu Shi clearly did not trust the ability of the Beiping Army and the Bohai Army to defend the city, and wrote a farewell letter. In the letter, he instructed Pei Feng and Pei Yue to practice martial arts well, marry and have children to carry on the Pei family line when they grew up, and repeatedly told the two brothers to be loyal subjects and not to be traitors.

Pei Yan rolled her eyes: "If Bohai County falls and the Emperor dies at the hands of the rebels, then Jingchao will be gone too. What kind of loyal subjects are we then?"

"Grandma is really getting senile!"

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "This letter was written for me. Never mind, I won't argue with her."

"Should we write back?" Pei Feng asked sullenly.

Pei Qinghe thought for a moment: "Let's write a reply! Just agree to whatever Grandmother says and try to appease her." Anyway, she doesn't take it seriously.

Pei Feng understood and nodded in agreement.

Upon returning home, Pei Yue began writing the letter. Pei Yue was mischievous and restless, and didn't study very hard, but he had developed beautiful handwriting.

Not long after the reply was sent, news arrived that the Northern Expeditionary Army had reached Jizhou.

Once war breaks out, communication becomes difficult, and true and false news arrives like scraps of paper. One moment it's said that 100,000 rebel troops have surrounded Bohai County, and the next it's that the Beiping army has displayed great might and forced the rebels to retreat.

The Fanyang army suffered a major defeat, and General Lü, though willing, was powerless to help. He secretly sent a few hundred men to reinforce the rebels. They had only been gone two days when they encountered a large mob of rioters. These few hundred men were scattered by thousands of rioters and simply deserted and became bandits.

General Lü was so angry that he cursed loudly in the military camp, but he was helpless.

General Yang of the Guangning Army sent Yang Huai to deliver a message.

General Yang intends to send troops to support Bohai County and wants to invite Pei's army to join him.

"...I have always regretted that when the Beiping army went to the capital, the Guangning army remained inactive. Now the rebel army is coming with great force. If Bohai County is lost and the emperor is in danger, the Jingchao dynasty will be completely destroyed."

"The Guangning Army plans to send 2,000 troops. If the Pei family army is also willing to send 2,000 elite soldiers, then there will be 4,000 elite soldiers. We can bypass the rebel army and launch a surprise attack from behind. At that time, we can cooperate with the Beiping Army and the Bohai Army to defeat the rebel army together."

"This battle concerns the survival of the imperial court. I urge General Pei to consider this carefully."

Yang Huai clearly knew the contents of the letter and waited anxiously.

After reading the letter, Pei Qinghe remained expressionless: "Yang Huai, go back and tell General Yang that it is not time to mobilize yet, and the Pei family army will not send troops for the time being."

He immediately picked up his pen and wrote a reply.

Yang Huai sighed inwardly and bowed, replying, "Yes, this subordinate will go back immediately and present General Pei's letter to our general."

Emperor Jian'an issued an edict bestowing titles and honors, and Pei Qinghe is now a fourth-rank military officer, the same rank as General Yang. Yang Huai addressed Pei Qinghe as "General Pei" repeatedly, daring not to show the slightest disrespect.

"Pei Yan, please see General Yang off for me."

Yang Huai didn't even have time to rest before he mounted his warhorse and rode away again.

Yang Huai rode his horse, glancing at his fiancée every now and then. Pei Yan, completely oblivious to his charm, said, "Why are you always looking at me? Do I have an extra eye on my face?"

(End of this chapter)