Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 406 The Army (Part Two)

Liaoxi City's geographical location is such that it borders the grasslands. The Xiongnu barbarians would send troops out every year, and Liaoxi was their most frequent target. The Liaoxi army suffered repeated defeats and was ravaged by the Xiongnu barbarians, and had long lost its morale and fighting spirit.

Over the past year, Li Chi had devoted considerable effort to training and improving his troops. The Liaoxi Army was much stronger than before. However, when facing the Xiongnu barbarians, they were naturally somewhat weak and timid. Even Li Chi himself was filled with fear and apprehension.

How could Li Chi not feel hurt after being mocked by Meng Liulang?

They mustered the courage to send troops, with the mindset that they would not return. Fortunately, they won that battle. The Liaoxi Army finally regained its fighting spirit. Li Chi also straightened his back.

At this moment, Pei Qinghe's gentle encouragement stirred a bittersweet feeling in Li Chi's heart. It was as if a bullied child had finally found someone to stand up for him.

"Thank you for your encouragement, General." Li Chi suppressed the urge to cry and replied in a deep voice, "I, Li Chi, am not afraid of death. I am only afraid that I cannot defend Liaoxi City."

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled: "This time, we will definitely give those Xiongnu barbarians a good beating so that they will not dare to send troops to disturb us again."

The crowd responded in unison.

The military meeting did not end until midnight.

Meng Bing went to Meng Liulang's military tent. Meng Liulang, unusually feeling guilty, pretended to be in pain from his wound and lay down first.

Meng Bing showed no mercy to his brother, and scolded him sternly: "I've told you many times before, don't always look down on others with such arrogance. You led the troops to Liaoxi to fight the Xiongnu barbarians, why are you bullying Li Chi?"

Meng Liulang had no choice but to turn around and explain: "The Xiongnu barbarians were burning, killing, and looting everywhere, while Li Chi just stayed in Liaoxi City and wouldn't send out any troops. I was really angry about it, so I deliberately mocked him. You saw the result later; he finally sent out troops and won the battle. Isn't that good?"

Meng Bing continued to frown and scold, "You're still so impulsive. Infantry fighting cavalry is never an easy task. Even if we win, the Beiping army will suffer the most casualties. And you, you're wounded too. Can't you stop being so reckless? Let your older brother worry less?"

Meng Liulang was in the wrong, so he kept quiet.

"Don't play dead and stay silent." Meng Bing's face tightened: "From now on, get along well with Li Chi, Yang Hu, and Lü Feng, and don't cause any trouble."

Meng Liulang responded with an "oh".

In the other military tent, Lü Erlang looked at his elder brother with eyes full of admiration, listening to Lü Feng boast about the victory: "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation! Our Fanyang army has finally turned the tables! Let's see who dares to laugh at us now!"

Lu Feng chuckled: "You're right! I, your elder brother, fought this battle brilliantly and beautifully. Who would dare to laugh at me for not knowing how to fight!"

“Once General Pei ascends the throne and becomes the emperor, our Fanyang Army should also regain its original name!” Lu Erlang chuckled softly.

Lu Feng exclaimed in surprise, glancing at Lu Erlang: "I hadn't thought of that. Your mind is much sharper than before."

Lu Erlang grinned: "Of course. I've been following General Pei around all day, and my progress has been rapid."

The Yang brothers, Yang Hu and Yang Huai, are quite different now.

"When the four of us got together, none of us would concede to the others. Especially Meng Liulang, the most capable and the most arrogant." Yang Hu sighed with a smile, "I only managed to intimidate him by mentioning General Pei's name. Fortunately, General Pei arrived in time!"

With Pei Qinghe's arrival, Li Chi became less timid, Lü Feng less reckless, and Meng Liulang stopped looking at people askance. In short, the morale of the army stabilized instantly.

Yang Huai said in a low voice, "To be able to set aside the enthronement ceremony and personally lead troops to Liaoxi City to fight the Xiongnu barbarians, General Pei's magnanimity is truly admirable."

Yang Hu wholeheartedly agreed: "General Pei is the kind of person we brothers should follow." Yang Huai pondered for a moment: "We brothers were the first to follow the general. When the general ascends the throne and becomes emperor, won't we also become great generals?"

Yang Hu chuckled: "What? You want to lead troops separately from your sister-in-law?"

“That won’t do,” Yang Huai blurted out. “I want to lead the cavalry battalion with Pei Yan.”

This is it!
The title of Grand General will definitely go to Pei Yan; Yang Huai will at most be a deputy general. Of course, Yang Huai is perfectly content with that.

“They really are all unwilling to submit to each other.” Pei Qinghe sighed softly in the military tent. “I was right about everything. Luckily, we arrived in time.”

Shi Yan smiled silently: "As soon as the general arrived, they all quieted down."

Pei Qinghe laughed too: "Arrogant soldiers and fierce generals! Everyone wants to be number one and is unwilling to be second. Especially Meng Liulang, he's been like that since he was young, he doesn't submit to anyone."

"He only respects the general." Shi Yan spoke of his former rival with great composure and magnanimity: "That's understandable. The Beiping army is brave in battle. A few years ago, Tao Wudi led an army of 100,000 to attack Bohai County, but they were stopped by the Beiping army. Meng Liulang doesn't even take the Zhang family father and son seriously. How could he back down when facing Yang Hu, Lü Feng and Li Chi?"

Pei Qinghe smiled again: "He certainly has reason to be proud. The Beiping army is fearless and brave, and he is a true general! If he hadn't been the first to lead troops to support them, Li Chi would probably have stayed in the city and never sent out troops."

After chatting for a while, Pei Qinghe asked about the military rations: "There are more than 70,000 elite troops in the city now. Are the military rations not very sufficient?"

Shi Yan took out his small gold abacus and started fiddling with it: "The exact amount of military rations hasn't been calculated yet. We're in a rush today, so we can only give a rough estimate. We shouldn't run out of food within two months."

Two months is far from enough.

Pei Qinghe frowned slightly: "We need to send someone back to Yan County to continue preparing military provisions."

Shi Yan nodded: "Leave the matter of military rations to me, you can focus on leading the troops into battle."

Pei Qinghe relaxed her brows, her eyes softening: "With you here, I feel especially at ease and secure."

Shi Yan smiled silently, leaned in, and gently kissed Pei Qinghe's lips: "It's getting late, General, you should rest early!"

……

Pei Qinghe led an army of 40,000 men, but Pu Nu, unwilling to be attacked from both sides, immediately withdrew his troops.

In the following days, Punu did not attack the city, but instead sent out small groups of cavalry to plunder and kill in all directions.

It was the same old trick: to force the enemy to abandon the advantage of the city walls and send troops out of the city to fight the Xiongnu cavalry in the open field.

Unfortunately, this tactic no longer intimidated anyone. Before the main army arrived, Meng Liulang and Lü Feng had already led troops together and won a victory against the Xiongnu barbarians with a combined infantry and cavalry force. Now that Pei Qinghe had arrived, the morale of the generals was even higher, and they all eagerly volunteered to go into battle.

Pei Qinghe, needing to remain in command, didn't need to personally lead the troops into battle. Instead, he dispatched three detachments. One was a cavalry force of two thousand men, led by Pei Yan and Yang Huai. Another was an infantry force of four thousand men, led by Gu Lian. The third detachment was also infantry, with the same number of men, led by Feng Chang.

Three teams left the city from different gates to pursue and fight the Xiongnu barbarians.

(End of this chapter)