Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 373 Stalemate
From that day on, Emperor Jian'an never left his study again.

Even civil officials like Qin Shilang never left the imperial prison.

The remaining civil and military officials in Bohai Commandery were all in a state of fear. Some went directly to General Zhang to pledge their loyalty, and some even encouraged General Zhang to take the opportunity to raise a flag and declare himself independent.

Since we've already come this far, why not just go straight to the final step?
General Zhang was also somewhat tempted, but after much deliberation, he ultimately decided to hold back.

With Emperor Jian'an in hand, they still held some semblance of righteousness. Killing Emperor Jian'an would leave the Zhang family with no means of concealment, making them outright traitors. Many armies in the north were still observing; at least for now, only the Pingyang and Taiyuan armies had sent troops to support Pei Qinghe.

If, in the end, the Pei family army really breaks through the city, he can still use Emperor Jian'an as his last trump card, which might save his life.

The impetuous Zhang Yun, after lying in bed for several months, had become much more composed: "Father did the right thing. Let the Emperor live for now; he's in our hands anyway, and we can kill him whenever we want. There's no need to rush. What's important now is to find a way to make Pei Qinghe withdraw his troops!"

General Zhang frowned: "Pei Qinghe is determined to attack the city, and he won't even accept the two prefectures as a gift. What other options do we have?"

Zhang Yun whispered, "We'll secretly send a message to the inside agent we persuaded earlier. Tell the agent to assassinate Pei Qinghe. Pei Qinghe is the commander of the Pei family army. If she dies, the Pei family army will immediately lose morale."

General Zhang frowned even more deeply: "Times have changed. Now the Pei family army is at the city gates, their morale is high. The inside man isn't stupid either. If he really makes a move, regardless of whether Pei Qinghe lives or dies, he's doomed. He wants wealth, honor, and a future, not to be a loyal follower of the Zhang family. Why would he make a move?"

It's infuriating. Over the past year, the Zhang family sent out numerous envoys and secretly spent a fortune. In the end, only one was turned against them. And that one was exceptionally cautious. Now, the Zhang family is completely at a disadvantage; the inside man won't even make a move—he's just a sitting duck.

Zhang Yun was not discouraged. After thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice, "Let the Emperor issue an edict ordering all the garrisons in the north to come to the aid of the Emperor. They all want to watch the fire from the sidelines. Let's just drag them all into the water and make the water completely muddy."

“There will always be people who care about the emperor and will come to his aid. Even if some people have ulterior motives, we have city walls to defend, so it's good if they cause trouble for the Pei family army.”

This is the only option left. General Zhang nodded.

The Pei family army is not strong enough to besiege the Bohai army. The main force is at the south gate. Bohai County also has two other gates where troops can be sent out to deliver messages.

……

The imperial edict of Emperor Jian'an was quickly sent out of Bohai Commandery.

Soldiers from the Pei family army on patrol captured a messenger and intercepted one of the imperial edicts. They quickly delivered it to Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe casually opened the app, glanced at it, and sneered, "General Zhang has indeed been driven to desperation and has no intention of saving face anymore."

After everyone had seen it, they all sneered and cursed.

“However, this tactic will definitely work.” Pei Yun was the calmest, her eyes flashing with a sharp, cold light: “Perhaps someone will take advantage of this time to raise an army and stab us in the back. We need to be prepared to fight on two fronts.”

Pei Yan grinned maliciously: "Kill one if one comes, cut down two if two come!"

The words may be rough, but the meaning is sound; that's the gist of it.

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "In short, I must kill the Zhang father and son. Whoever sides with the Zhang father and son is the enemy of my Pei family army."

“I will write another manifesto today and make dozens of copies to distribute.”

"Let all the generals in the north weigh their options carefully and decide whether or not to send troops to wade into this mess!" The hard battles that need to be fought must be fought, and the propaganda and psychological warfare must also be waged.

Pei Qinghe immediately picked up his pen and wrote a proclamation, which he ordered to be copied and distributed.

The imperial edict and the proclamation spread throughout the north at almost the same time, causing a great uproar.

Those wavering and wanting to be fence-sitters will simply shrink back and pretend they didn't see anything. As long as they don't send troops, they'll have a reason to justify their actions regardless of which side wins in the future. This kind of "neutrality" is the current mainstream.

Those who were loyal to the emperor hesitated upon seeing the imperial edict. The Pei family army had fought the Xiongnu barbarians and the Bohai army with overwhelming force, never suffering a defeat. They were no match for them. Not going would be disobeying the imperial decree; going would be suicide. A compromise was to first offer support, then send a few hundred men to reinforce the Bohai army, thus demonstrating their loyalty.

As a result, the two waves of reinforcements deliberately bypassed the direction of An County, where Pei's army was stationed, and traveled hundreds of miles before entering Bohai County through the north gate. Along the way, they encountered Pei's army patrols and fought two battles of varying sizes.

The first wave of reinforcements that entered the city numbered around four hundred. The second wave fared much worse; after suffering a defeat, nearly half of them deserted, leaving only a little over two hundred soldiers to enter the city.

General Zhang was quite annoyed by the "reinforcements." But since they had already arrived, he had no choice but to accept it. Of course, General Zhang publicly declared that the reinforcements were plentiful and that the people's hearts were with him.

On the other hand, the Pei family army received another wave of real reinforcements. General Lu of the Puyang army personally led two thousand soldiers to arrive.

General Lu is fifty-three years old this year, a true veteran of the battlefield. Of the two thousand soldiers he brought, five hundred are cavalry and another one thousand five hundred are infantry. Among the infantry are long-axemen, spearmen, and shieldmen. Anyone with expertise can tell at a glance that this is a truly elite force.

Pei Qinghe naturally couldn't be negligent, so he led a group of military officers to welcome General Lu and held a simple welcoming banquet in the military camp.

General Lu was quite frank, saying to Pei Qinghe at the welcoming banquet, "General Pei's attack on the Zhang family was originally a personal grudge. I thought that with General Pei's abilities, he could suppress the Zhang family without reinforcements, so I never sent troops."

"Now the Zhang family has placed the emperor under house arrest, using him as a hostage to force him to issue an edict. I am extremely angry."

“I must do my part to deal with such a traitor.”

General Lu originally intended to let things slide, but the Zhang family suddenly jumped out and issued a disgusting imperial edict, ordering all armies to send troops to "serve the emperor."

Who doesn't know that the emperor is a puppet in the hands of the Zhang family?
The origin of the imperial edict is obvious with a little thought.

Even if we had to choose one, we should choose the disciplined and unparalleled Pei family army! Who would choose General Zhang, who is not very capable but has a big mouth and a bad temper?

Pei Qinghe replied solemnly, "General Lu is a man of great principle and right and wrong. He sent troops to support the Pei family army at a critical moment. I, Pei Qinghe, will remember this forever."

General Lu volunteered: "Tomorrow I will lead the troops to attack the city and raise the banner of the Puyang army as well."

Pei Qinghe said, "There's no rush. The Puyang army has come from afar; let them rest for a few days first. How about we wait until the soldiers have rested before going into battle?"

General Lu agreed, but insisted on displaying the military flags the next day.

The next day, a flag bearing the character "Lu" appeared outside the city of Bohai County.

(End of this chapter)