Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 344 Sowing Discord (Part 1)

In early November, Pei Yun sent a letter back via a trusted confidant.

After reading the letter, Pei Qinghe sneered, "What a General Zhang! He's even using his divisive tactics on the Pei family." He then handed the letter to Mao Hongling.

Mao Hongling read the letter carefully, her slender eyebrows furrowing: "First it was Li Chi, then Yang Hu and Lü Feng, and now even lobbyists dare to try to persuade Pei Yun!"

"That's incredibly arrogant!"

Isn't that just arrogance?
Sending lobbyists so openly and brazenly is deliberately meant to annoy people.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a cold light: "He is deliberately trying to sow discord between me. If I become suspicious of them, we will develop a sense of unease and distance. He can drive a wedge between the Pei family army without firing a single shot."

"General Zhang is indeed a formidable opponent, having stood firm in Bohai Commandery for so many years."

The most ingenious aspect of this tactic is that even knowing it's intended to sow discord, one still has to be wary.

Li Chi was the first to send a messenger, and Yang Hu and Lü Sheng, after being persuaded, also immediately sent people to pledge their loyalty. Pei Yun, needless to say, simply sent the persuader away. But who could guarantee that others wouldn't have ulterior motives?
In her past life, Pei Qinghe died from a sneak attack, a victim of General Zhang's divisive tactics. In this life, the Pei family army is powerful and occupies Youzhou. How can a tiger be allowed to snore beside one's bed? General Zhang's fear of Pei Qinghe is even greater than that of King Qiao and General Situ.

"What should we do now?" Mao Hongling felt deeply troubled.

Pei Yan sneered: "Kill this disgusting bastard directly."

Pei Qinghe glanced over and said, "Who do you think you are? Do you know who the lobbyist is and who has ulterior motives? Killing people indiscriminately will only alienate the leaders of the Pei family army and play right into General Zhang's hands."

Pei Yan grinned maliciously: "Killing General Zhang will solve the problem once and for all... Ouch! Did I say something wrong? Why are you hitting me again!"

Pei Qinghe didn't hold back and slapped Pei Yan on the back of the head again: "We haven't quelled the external enemies yet, how can we fight a civil war? If we fight the Bohai Army, and the Xiongnu take the opportunity to send troops, what will become of Youzhou then?"

Pei Yan rubbed the back of her head, grimacing, "I was just saying! What if I get stupid from hitting you so hard!"

Pei Xuan and Pei Feng chuckled to themselves. Pei Yan glared at them fiercely.

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "General Zhang has done such a disgusting and repulsive thing, so we should retaliate in kind."

Everyone perked up and looked over.

Pei Qinghe twitched the corner of her mouth: "The Emperor has been recuperating, and General Zhang is in charge of the court. Everyone knows General Zhang, but not the Emperor."

"The Zhang family is ambitious and wants to assassinate the emperor and support the young crown prince to ascend the throne. At that time, the Jingchao dynasty will fall into the hands of the Zhang family."

"Such wolfish ambitions are obvious to everyone."

……

Rumors spread like wildfire, like a torrential downpour, sweeping across the entire northern lands in a short period of time.

According to rumors, General Zhang was arrogant and domineering, and he didn't respect the emperor at all.

The emperor, who had been recuperating in the palace, was not suffering from a mental illness at all; he had been poisoned by Lady Zhang and was barely clinging to life, with the poison likely to take effect at any moment.

"The people of Pingyang County found a piece of meteorite iron that fell from the sky in the wilderness. It was even inscribed with the words 'The Dragon Vein Falls, the Zhang Clan Prospers.'" Zhang Yun gritted his teeth in anger, veins bulging on his forehead: "This move is too vicious! Who the hell came up with this despicable scheme?"

The common people are most easily fooled. A piece of meteorite iron that appeared out of nowhere, with six characters engraved on it, pushed Zhang into the eye of the storm, and everyone cursed and attacked him.

General Zhang's face was gloomy, and he was clearly in a bad mood: "We can send people to sow discord, but Pei Qinghe can have rumors spread. Calm down!"

Zhang Yun was extremely agitated and couldn't calm down at all: "This is strange. Our divisive tactics have hardly worked. They all seem to be Pei Qinghe's lackeys and are unwilling to join us. But these messy rumors are spreading like wildfire."

The contrast between the two is truly devastating!
Zhang Yun simply couldn't understand: "Why is General Song of the Pingyang Army so determined to pledge allegiance to Pei Qinghe? Why would a grown man like him be willing to bow down to a woman?"

General Zhang's brows were so furrowed they could trap a fly: "It's not surprising that Pei Qinghe has repeatedly defeated the Xiongnu barbarians, and these generals have been successively impressed."

The Bohai Navy's last victory was a few years ago when they defeated the rebel army led by Tao Wudi. The people of the north were not particularly grateful for this. After all, the rebel army had come specifically for the Bohai Navy. The people even suffered innocent misfortunes.

The incursions of the Xiongnu barbarians into the northern lands began in the previous dynasty. This was the thing that terrified the people of the north, and it was also the common enemy that caused the generals of the north great distress.

Pei Qinghe was the first person to truly stop the Xiongnu cavalry, and the first general to step forward and take the initiative to fight the Xiongnu, and he actually succeeded. This bravery and fearlessness not only won the hearts of the people of the north, but also earned the sincere respect of all the generals.

Whether General Zhang and his son are willing or not, this is an undeniable fact.

Zhang Yun was extremely agitated, pacing back and forth: "We can't just let ourselves be slandered and defamed like this. We have to find a way to fight back immediately!"

"We also sent people to spread rumors that Pei Qinghe, a woman, coveted the throne and that the one with wolfish ambitions was not the Zhang family, but the Pei family."

General Zhang's face darkened: "How can the people believe empty words?"

The key point is that Pei Qinghe is upright and honest, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with his actions. On the contrary, the Zhang family's control of the government is obvious to everyone.

The civil officials, led by Prime Minister Pang, had long harbored resentment. The rumors circulating in Bohai County were not solely Pei Qinghe's doing; clearly, someone else was stirring things up.

Zhang Yun thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Otherwise, we should let the Emperor show himself and quell the rumors."

Since his fainting spell last year, Emperor Jian'an has been in a slump and has been confined to his bed. He's lucky if he attends court two or three days a month. All important court matters are decided by General Zhang.

General Zhang's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is still too young. He can't speak or walk properly yet. Wait another two or three years, and he'll be ready."

Zhang Yun understood immediately and nodded in agreement: "Father is right, let's be patient and wait a little longer."

Then, lowering his voice, he said, "Does Pei Qinghe have spies in the palace? Or is there an inside agent in the Imperial Hospital? They even made it sound so convincing that there was a slow-acting poison in the Emperor's medicine."

Therefore, this is what made the Zhang father and son most furious.

The rumors are mostly true. They did it very discreetly, so how did Pei Qinghe find out?

Just as General Zhang was about to speak, there was a knock on the study door.

A guard entered with a grave expression and reported: "Reporting to the General, an urgent report has arrived from Taiyuan County. Some people have unearthed a huge stone while plowing their fields. The stone is engraved with the words 'The dragon vein falls, the Zhang family prospers.'"

(End of this chapter)