Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 371 Night Attack
Vice Minister Qin waited expectantly for Pei Qinghe to receive the imperial decree.

Having ceded two prefectures, General Pei should be satisfied and agree to withdraw his troops!
Unfortunately, Minister Qin was destined to be disappointed.

Pei Qinghe coldly looked at Minister Qin and slowly said, "I am not plotting a rebellion. I have led my troops here only to seek revenge against the Zhang family. Go back and tell the Emperor that I will withdraw my troops only when the Zhang father and son are handed over. Also, don't come here again. If there is a next time, I will use your head as a sacrifice to the flag!"

A chilling killing intent suddenly flashed in his eyes.

Qin, the Vice Minister, still had some courage. Despite his weak legs, he managed to reply, "If His Majesty issues another imperial decree, I will still have to come. I have long since disregarded my life."

Pei Qinghe sneered and waved her hand. Pei Yan immediately strode forward, grabbed Minister Qin, and dragged him out.

The unlucky Minister Qin stumbled back to Bohai County.

"Should we still send troops today?" Pei Yun asked.

Pei Qinghe coldly said, "Send troops! As long as the Zhang family father and son live, the siege will not stop!"

Pei Yun bowed and accepted the order, and amidst the sound of war drums, led two thousand Pei family soldiers to begin the siege.

The fighting at the city gate was fierce, with shouts of battle deafening.

Emperor Jian'an, inside the palace, could faintly hear the sounds of battle. He sat absentmindedly on his dragon throne, looking at Minister Qin kneeling on the ground: "General Pei, are you truly unwilling to withdraw your troops?"

Qin Shilang reported tearfully, "Yes, General Pei did not accept the imperial decree, nor does she want Pingzhou or Bingzhou. She only wants the lives of General Zhang and his son."

"Your Majesty, this catastrophic disaster was brought about by the Zhang family. Why must Your Majesty protect them?"

"The Bohai Army is far inferior to the Pei family army. After only half a month of fighting, the Bohai Army's morale has completely collapsed. The Pei family army, on the other hand, is becoming more and more fierce and powerful. If this continues, it won't be long before the Pei family army invades Bohai County, perhaps in one or two months, or perhaps in three or five months."

"At that time, not only will the Zhang family father and son die, but tens of thousands of Bohai Navy soldiers will also perish with them. Innocent civilians in the city and civil and military officials in the court will also be implicated. If the emperor continues to favor the Zhang family, how can he face General Pei?"

"Does His Majesty wish to become a ruler who brings about the downfall of his country?"

Emperor Jian'an's face turned pale, his mouth tasted bitter, and he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Over the next few days, Pei's army continued its siege, specifically targeting prominent figures within the Bohai Navy. The morale of the Bohai Navy plummeted.

Left with no other choice, General Zhang took a risky tactic and launched a surprise attack at night, intending to burn down the army camp.

An County was located in the rear, specifically for storing provisions and supplies. To facilitate the siege, the Pei family army constructed makeshift camps during this period, patrolling tirelessly day and night.

The 3,000-strong Bohai Navy troops who launched the surprise attack were discovered by a patrolling battalion before they even got close to the military camp.

"Chief Sun, enemy attack!"

Sun Cheng reacted swiftly, immediately igniting the signal flare in his hand as a warning. The dark flare flew into the air, exploded like a muffled thunderclap, and then emitted a dazzling white light.

"Enemy attack!" Inside the camp, the soldiers who were sleeping fully clothed were all awakened, hurriedly drew their swords, and rushed out of their tents.

Pei Qinghe stepped out of the military tent, carrying a longbow in one hand and a knife in the other, blowing a bamboo whistle.

The military camp had a contingency plan in place. Immediately, someone lit torches to illuminate the originally dark camp, preventing them from being completely passive in the dark.

The archers had swiftly taken up positions and drawn their bows. When the three thousand Bohai soldiers charged forward, they were met with a dense rain of arrows. Under this barrage, countless men fell, screaming in agony.

However, some brave and skilled individuals braved the rain of arrows and fired their prepared arrows. These arrows were specially made; the shafts were wrapped in oil-soaked cotton cloth, lit with a tinderbox, and then fired. Such "fire arrows" could quickly set the military tent ablaze if they landed on it.

Soon, several military tents caught fire.

Pei Yun sternly ordered her men to put out the fire.

Pei Qinghe led his men to surround and kill the Bohai Navy that had launched a surprise attack.

These were all contingency plans made before the battle. No one panicked in the slightest; those who needed to put out the fire did so, and those who needed to kill did so.

On the watchtower inside the city gate, General Zhang strained to see the distant flames soaring into the sky, but his heart was filled with unease.

Having served as a commander for over a decade, he possessed extensive experience in leading troops into battle. More than half a month of fighting had been enough for him to grasp an unpleasant reality: the Bohai Army was far from a match for the Pei family's army. If the fighting continued like this, he would inevitably be the one to lose.

Therefore, he dispatched his three thousand most elite soldiers tonight, determined to burn down the Pei family army's camp and deliver a heavy blow to Pei Qinghe. Ideally, he wanted to completely "calm down" Pei Qinghe, make him willing to accept Zhang's offer of territory as compensation, and withdraw his troops.

Indeed, General Zhang knew he was no match for Pei Qinghe and no longer sought victory; he only hoped that Pei's army would retreat quickly.

However, the surprise attack he had placed so much hope in clearly did not result in a major victory. The fire, which hadn't raged for long, gradually subsided. It was obviously extinguished by the soldiers of the Pei family army.

Several trusted generals were around General Zhang, each with an increasingly grave expression. One of them couldn't help but whisper, "General, the situation is bad. The fire hasn't started."

"Our people are also entangled, and we don't know how many will be able to come back alive."

Some were bold enough to grit their teeth and volunteer: "Please, General, send me to fight! These days, waiting for the Pei family army to attack the city is too frustrating. Tonight, I will lead my troops to charge and slaughter them."

If they can barely hold the city, wouldn't fighting on the plains be even easier?

General Zhang, his face dark, glared at them fiercely: "Shut up!"

That reckless fellow clearly didn't know how to read the room, and continued, "When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave shall prevail! Rather than a drawn-out, drawn-out battle, let's settle it in one decisive round and fight to the death!"

Before he could finish speaking, General Zhang, who had lost all patience, kicked him.

You fucking feel good now.

One round decides life or death; who lives and who dies? With the city walls protecting them, there's at least a chance. If they charge out into open battle like this, the Bohai Navy is likely doomed.

It can only be said that the fact that the Bohai Navy had been consistently suppressed and beaten shattered General Zhang's confidence and self-assurance as the commander-in-chief.

"General, don't get angry with this scoundrel!" The other trusted generals hurriedly came to persuade him: "Look down at the city walls, someone has already returned. Let's call someone over and find out what happened."

At the city gate, about three hundred soldiers, supporting each other, returned in a disheveled state.

After an incense stick had burned, a soldier who had participated in the night raid was brought up to the city wall.

The soldier knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "General, our night raid failed! The camp didn't really catch fire; the fire was extinguished. We tried to escape, but we were entangled by Pei's army, and countless people were killed or wounded. I was lucky; I survived and managed to escape back to deliver the message."

(End of this chapter)