Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 388 Planning (Part 1)

The group followed Minister Qin as they walked slowly through the heavy rain.

The heavy rain came just in time; the bloodstains at the city gate were washed away by the rain, and the bloodstains in the streets and alleys gradually disappeared.

They hadn't gone far when a troop of soldiers came to meet them. The leader was a handsome young man who introduced himself as Lü Sheng, a military officer under General Pei.

"The general has ordered me to escort you gentlemen." Having received the instructions, Lü Erlang was still quite polite to the civil officials: "There are still Bohai rebels in the city who have not been eliminated. In order to ensure your safety, we will escort you to your respective residences."

Qin Shilang composed himself and bowed to thank Lü Erlang.

With a wave of his hand, Lü Erlang summoned over a dozen docile mares. The civil officials, who had been kneeling for half a day and soaked in the rain, were helped onto the horses. Their hearts finally began to settle down.

The civil officials lived nearby, so they each returned home first, quickly took a hot bath, and changed into clean clothes. Then, they all went to the residence of Vice Minister Qin.

Madam Qin, her eyes red and swollen from crying, personally brewed hot tea and brought it to the study. However, the officials were preoccupied with their own worries and complicated feelings, and had no appetite for tea. Even the finest tea tasted bland to them.

Minister Qin broke the silence: "Everyone, please share your plans and ideas!"

The civil officials looked at each other, and finally someone broke the silence: "Back then, we followed the Emperor out of the capital and came to Bohai County, where we established the Northern Court. Now the Emperor has passed away, and the young Crown Prince is also dead. It will be difficult for Jingchao to be established again."

"To put it bluntly, if the Crown Prince were still alive, we would truly be in a dilemma now." Someone spoke frankly and boldly: "A two-year-old Crown Prince will take at least a decade to grow up and rule in his own right. Whether it's the Northern Lands or the Southern Lands, whether it's King Qiao or General Situ, who would sit idly by and watch a child sit on the throne? They would inevitably send troops to fight!"

"The Bohai Army suffered a crushing defeat, with some dying and others surrendering to the Pei family's forces. The Zhang family, father and son, paid for their blood debt and are both dead. Now, in the north, who can withstand General Pei's might?"

"Heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times. Back then, the Pei family was loyal and brave, but they were framed and killed by the King of Wei, and the women were exiled to Youzhou. Who could have imagined that Pei Qinghe would build such an elite army in the land of exile?"

"The armies in the north are all very respectful of General Pei. Not to mention the armies in Youzhou, they have long since changed their flags to those of the Pei family army. The Pingyang Army, Taiyuan Army, Puyang Army, and Changshan Army have all sent troops here. From now on, General Pei will definitely be in charge of the north."

"Without a proper name, one's words will not be righteous. At this time, if someone were to jointly petition General Pei to establish a new dynasty, perhaps he could also forge a new future."

"Whether one becomes an official or not is actually irrelevant. However, the people of the North must be taken care of. General Pei is skilled in leading troops and has many fierce generals under his command, but they are all only good at fighting. Civil affairs must be handled by someone."

After listening to the various hints and suggestions from the crowd, Minister Qin remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I understand what you're all thinking. However, now is not the time. We must first welcome Prime Minister Pang and Commander Gao back."

Ultimately, Minister Qin lacked the weight and qualifications to support a new emperor and a new dynasty.

The real leader among the civil officials is Prime Minister Pang. Since Prime Minister Pang is in Pei Family Village, and General Pei didn't kill him initially, he probably won't either.

The civil officials nodded in agreement, saying, "Minister Qin is right."

"We will now write a letter to Prime Minister Pang."

"No rush, let's wait and see."

……

"General, the civil officials have all gone to Minister Qin's residence and have been plotting in the study for a long time," Lu Erlang, who was keeping an eye on the Qin residence, reported quickly.

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly.

“Won’t these people cause any trouble if they get together like this?” Pei Yan frowned, her voice filled with murderous intent. “How about I lead the troops to kill them?” Pei Qinghe glared at her. “We’ve killed enough people these past few days. We’ve already avenged ourselves. The Zhang family father and son are dead, and we’ve taken down quite a few tough guys in the Bohai Navy. From now on, we should focus on appeasement and winning them over.”

Pei Yun picked up the thread and put it more bluntly: "We'll still need them for some things going forward."

Pei Xuan understood and said in a low voice, "The emperor has passed away, the court is gone, and a new dynasty must be established. The civil officials are indeed useful."

“If they really don’t know what’s good for them, then it’s not too late to kill them.” Pei Feng raised an eyebrow.

It was this last sentence that suited Pei Yan's taste. Pei Yan reached out and patted Pei Feng on the shoulder: "That's right. It's fine if they all petitioned for our general to ascend the throne. If they're not even of that use, then we don't need to keep them around."

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "I have already sent someone back to Pei Family Village to deliver news of the battle in Bohai County. We will discuss the next steps after Meng Bing escorts Prime Minister Pang and Commander Gao back."

“During this period, everyone has been on high alert, thoroughly investigating both inside and outside Bohai County, leaving no deserter unchecked.”

"Furthermore, pass down my military order: no one is to disturb the people of Bohai County. Anyone who disobeys this order will be punished according to military regulations."

The burning, killing, and looting after a city falls is something that the army tacitly accepts at the time.

After the Pei family army conquered Bohai County, they did not mistreat the common people, except for pursuing and killing deserters. Every day, patrol teams came in waves, and if they caught someone violating military discipline by breaking into a civilian's home and committing evil deeds, they were executed on the spot.

This continued for several days in a row.

Such strict military discipline quickly quelled the panic among the people of Bohai County.

General Ge spoke privately to General Lu, sighing, "These past few days, I've truly broadened my horizons."

"I don't know about the southern army, but here in the north, there are twenty garrison troops. In the past, the army with the best discipline was the Beiping army. Then there's your Puyang army and my Changshan army, right?"

"But we also cannot maintain the military discipline we practice after winning a battle, and ensure that we do not harm the people in any way."

"The soldiers who have been punished for trespassing on private property in the past few days are almost all under our command. It's quite shameful."

"The Pei family army is indeed a righteous and benevolent army, and General Pei certainly has the demeanor of a monarch."

General Lu glanced at General Ge: "What do you want to do?"

General Ge chuckled: "Since things have come to this point, why hesitate? Just ask General Pei to establish a new dynasty."

“Those civil officials are too hesitant and indecisive, and they are unlikely to achieve great things. We military officers don’t have so many tricks up our sleeves.”

General Lu, being the experienced and prudent man he was, said, “We will wait until the news of the Bohai Army’s great defeat and the Emperor’s death spreads throughout the land, or at least throughout the North, until public opinion is stirred up and the officials submit petitions to establish a new dynasty, before we invite General Pei to ascend the throne.”

"Given General Pei's character and temperament, he must want to take the world in a fair and square manner."

General Ge said with some regret, "Then let's wait a little longer."

A bodyguard rushed over to report: "General Pei requests that the two generals come to discuss important matters."

(End of this chapter)