Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 370 The War Begins (Part 3)
The following day, Pei Yan and Yang Huai led two thousand soldiers to attack the city.

No matter how spacious the open area beneath the city gates of Bohai Commandery was, it couldn't accommodate tens of thousands of people. Similarly, the area above the city gates could barely hold two or three thousand soldiers. Any more than that would be too crowded, hindering their movement in battle.

For the past two weeks, the city has been attacked daily with two thousand men. Such an offensive is not too fierce, but it is continuous like a flowing river, putting great pressure on the Bohai Navy defending the city.

The people in Bohai County were becoming increasingly fearful.

In the eyes of the common people, the Bohai Navy was the most powerful and invincible army in the land. Now, however, they were being utterly defeated by the Pei family army. Was the Bohai Navy inferior to the Pei family army? Was their revered General Zhang no match for General Pei?

"Father, this can't go on!"

Zhang Yun, who was recuperating in bed, was helped to sit up by his personal guards. He accidentally aggravated his wound, and the pain was excruciating. He couldn't help but hiss, "We must end this battle as soon as possible. If this stalemate continues, our Bohai Navy will lose all face and dignity. Who will respect us in the future?"

General Zhang was already in a gloomy mood, and hearing such discouraging words only made him more irritable. He glared at her and said, "Don't I know? This battle was fought by Pei Qinghe. She insisted on attacking the city and refused to retreat. What could I do?"

Zhang Yun took a few breaths and lowered his voice, saying, "Send an envoy out of the city in secret to seek peace with Pei Qinghe."

General Zhang's face was grim: "Do you think I haven't thought about it? The Emperor has issued two imperial edicts. The second edict has already made her the Prince of Yan, ceding the entire Youzhou to her."

“Youzhou was originally her territory, so what kind of peace treaty is this?” Zhang Yun said bluntly, “Father will gain real benefits from Xuchu.”

General Zhang snorted coldly: "What other benefits can we offer? We might as well give her the rest of Ji Province, leaving us with only Bohai County. What do you think?"

Normally, Zhang Yun would have kept his head down and remained silent after being scolded like this. But the situation was urgent, and Zhang Yun didn't care about his father's reputation. He said in a low voice, "Let's give Bingzhou and Pingzhou to her as well."

General Zhang's brow twitched: "I'm afraid the Emperor will not issue an edict."

Youzhou is one thing, it was originally Pei Qinghe's place of rise, and several garrison troops were all under Pei Qinghe's control. Whether she gives it to them or not, it's all hers.

Emperor Jian'an might be willing to cede Youzhou, but he might not be willing to cede Bingzhou and Pingzhou as well.

“He has no choice but to agree,” Zhang Yun said. “The Emperor is certainly well aware of the relative importance of being a ruler of a fallen kingdom or ceding territory.”

If Emperor Jian'an truly possessed grand ambitions, he wouldn't have remained holed up in the palace indefinitely. In recent years, he had rarely left the palace and had never even set foot outside Bohai Commandery. Ultimately, the fall of the capital and the subsequent escape from it had cast a shadow over him, making him unable to confront the tragic reality of national subjugation.

This puppet emperor had to do whatever the Zhang family told him to do.

General Zhang still frowned, unable to make up his mind.

Just then, a bodyguard rushed in in a panic and reported: "General, something terrible has happened! General Lin, who was guarding the city today, has been killed!"

what?
General Zhang and Zhang Yun both changed color.

The Bohai Army boasted 80,000 elite troops, but in reality, only about 30,000 were truly capable fighters. They also had about seven or eight generals skilled in command and warfare. One of them was killed during a surprise attack on their supplies, and another died on the city wall a couple of days ago.

General Lin was General Zhang's most capable and valiant general, and had always been a trusted confidant of the general. And now he's dead too?!
"Who is attacking the city today?" General Zhang asked angrily.

The guard replied sadly, "It was a dark-skinned, robust female general and a valiant young man. General Lin died at the hands of the two of them."

All the key figures and specific information within the Pei family army had been thoroughly investigated. Two names immediately flashed into General Zhang's mind: "It must be Pei Yan and Yang Huai, husband and wife. They are both fierce generals under Pei Qinghe!"

Pei Yan, in particular, was fierce and valiant, like a mad tiger in battle. No one wanted to encounter such an enemy on the battlefield. General Zhang suppressed his anger and a hint of fear that he was unwilling to admit, and rose to leave expressionlessly.

Unable to get out of bed, Zhang Yun had no choice but to lie back down.

After General Zhang comforted the wounded soldiers, he sent another trusted general to guard the city gate, went into the palace again, and returned in the middle of the night.

When Zhang Yun woke up, he saw General Zhang's tired face and red eyes. He felt both heartache and self-blame: "It's all my fault. I fell for the schemes of the old women of the Pei family and caused a disaster."

Without this deep-seated blood feud, Pei Qinghe would have had no legitimate reason to send troops. He and his son wouldn't be in this predicament.

General Zhang, unusually, didn't scold his son: "What's the use of saying such nonsense at this time? The Emperor has already agreed and issued an edict. Tomorrow morning, he will send an imperial envoy out of the city to deliver the edict."

……

The more dejected the Zhang family mansion was, the more joyful the Pei family army was here.

"Pei Yan and Yang Huai have made a great contribution today, killing an important figure in the Bohai Navy." General Zhang has a list of important figures in the Pei family army, and Pei Qinghe also has a list of military officers in the Bohai Navy.

General Lin, who was killed today, had a very distinctive fleshy growth the size of a finger on his forehead. Pei Yan brought back several heads, one of which belonged to General Lin.

Pei Qinghe crossed out General Lin's name with charcoal and then praised Pei Yan and Yang Huai.

General Fei witnessed the siege again today and was deeply impressed by Pei Yan's bravery. He whispered to Song Dalang, "The Pei family members are all incredibly capable."

Song Dalang chuckled softly, "Wait until General Pei Yun takes the field, then you'll see!"

Next, as usual, will be another fierce battle for tomorrow's match.

However, just as dawn broke the next day, the emperor's envoy arrived with an imperial edict.

"It's Minister Qin again." Pei Qinghe smirked, her eyes devoid of any smile. "Minister Qin is indeed loyal, repeatedly coming to deliver imperial edicts. Aren't you afraid that I, the general, will behead you as a sacrifice to the flag?"

Qin, the Vice Minister, was also at a loss: "Since the Emperor has sent me, I cannot refuse. Please, General Pei, receive the imperial decree first."

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "What's in today's imperial edict?"

Vice Minister Qin took a deep breath and began to read aloud.

The emperor still had some sense of shame, so he didn't directly cede Pingzhou and Bingzhou. Instead, he ordered Pei Qinghe to lead the armies of Pingzhou and Bingzhou to fight against the Xiongnu barbarians.

Of course, that's the gist of it, and everyone understands.

Pei Yun and Pei Yan were both somewhat moved, not to mention Yang Hu, Li Chi, and the others. Everyone's eyes lit up.

The northern region comprises twenty provinces. Youzhou is the largest, and Pingzhou and Bingzhou are not far behind. This means that almost one-fifth of the territory is now under their control!

(End of this chapter)