Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 410 The Struggle for Supremacy (Part Two)

The two armies that jointly attacked Peijia Village were the Runan Army and the Daifang Army. Among the northern garrisons, these two armies were not particularly noteworthy, with weak forces, and were among the first to join the Zhang family.

The Bohai army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Zhang family, father and son, were killed. Civil and military officials then supported Pei Qinghe as the emperor of the North. General Xie was the first to object, and led the Chang Le army to attack Bohai Commandery.

The Runan army and the Daifang army were even worse off. They lacked the courage to attack the fortified city and secretly joined forces to send troops to Peijia Village, intending to cut off their supply lines.

In their minds, the formidable Pei family army had all been dispatched to fight the Xiongnu barbarians, leaving behind Mao Hongling, whose reputation was relatively unknown, and who reportedly only had four thousand old, weak, and disabled soldiers. This was a golden opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

They brought eight thousand elite troops! Taking Pei Family Village would be a piece of cake! No matter how powerful Pei Qinghe is, by the time they hear the news, Pei Family Village will already be gone. Do they think they can sprout wings and fly back?
Before setting out, they had already agreed with General Xie that the three families would simultaneously launch an attack to capture Bohai Commandery and Pei Family Village. Then they would divide the northern lands into three, each establishing its own independent kingdom. If Pei Qinghe defeated the Xiongnu barbarians and returned with his army to settle scores, they could simply plunder the money, grain, and women and run away. In short, it was a sure-fire way to make money.

The commander of the Runan army was surnamed Qin, an old general in his forties. The commander of the Fang army was surnamed Peng, and was even older. This time, the joint expedition was led by General Qin.

General Qin didn't take Mao Hongling and her four thousand soldiers seriously, but he didn't underestimate their strength either, sending out a vanguard to scout ahead. When they were still ten miles from Peijia Village, the army stopped for a short rest and reorganization. The soldiers were given dry rations and water to replenish their strength and spirit.

The scouts returned and reported: "Reporting to the general, Pei Family Village has built a wall. The wall stretches for several miles and is eight feet high. It is impossible to see inside the wall from the outside."

General Qin sneered, "Pei Qinghe is ambitious. He started building Pei Family Village eight years ago, and the walls are higher than those of ordinary county towns. This is no longer Pei Family Village; it's clearly Pei Family Camp."

General Peng also sneered, "Today, we'll break through the Pei family's camp and see just how much gold, silver, and grain Pei family village has hidden. By the way, Pei family village is famous for its many women. If we take Pei family village today, we'll give each soldier a wife."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes lit up, and their morale soared.

General Qin and General Peng looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Archers in front!" General Qin shouted, "Spur your horses forward and take Pei Family Village!"

The soldiers responded with a thunderous roar. About a thousand warhorses gathered together and galloped forward in unison, their momentum truly magnificent.

Pei Wan and the others, who were looking out from the wooden building, immediately went down the building and rushed back to Pei Family Village.

Mao Hongling stood by the wall, peering out through a fist-sized hole, and calmly gave the order: "The enemy is about to enter our firing range. Archers, listen up, draw your bows, and fire on my command."

The Pei family army has many different types of soldiers, but the most fiercely trained are the archers. Pei Qinghe took five hundred archers with her, and there are still five hundred archers in Pei family village. These archers, some fighting, some crouching, some lying prone, each drew their bowstrings, aiming their arrows at the holes.

The tranquility outside Pei Family Village was shattered by the sound of horses' hooves, and shouts of battle echoed clearly.

Mao Hongling blew her bamboo whistle, and a sharp sound rang out. Hundreds of arrows left the bowstring and flew out from the holes.

From the perspective of the soldiers of Runan Army and Fang Army, the once silent wall suddenly turned into a hedgehog, with countless sharp thorns flying out.

Before they could react, the first group was hit by arrows. Some fell off their horses without a sound and were trampled by the horses' hooves, some screamed in agony, and others were terrified even though they were not hit by arrows.

Whoosh whoosh!
The second wave of arrows is coming!

In the chaos of falling men and horses, the Runan army, led by Daifang, retaliated with arrows. Unfortunately, most of their arrows landed on the sturdy walls. Those that managed to penetrate the holes had negligible killing power or deterrent effect. Wounded soldiers behind the holes were dragged away, and immediately replacements stepped in to continue firing. The Runan army, led by Daifang, was not an invincible force; with casualties exceeding ten percent, they were completely thrown into chaos and panic. Some tried to shout to gather reinforcements, others desperately turned their horses to flee, and some horses crashed into each other and fell to the ground. In this utter chaos, no one knew exactly how many were accidentally wounded.

General Qin, who was stationed at the rear, was furious and ordered his personal guards to go and supervise the battle. They killed more than a dozen chaotic and shouting routers before the rout was finally brought under control.

General Peng also sensed something was wrong and hurriedly whispered, "This Mao Hongling is a tough one; we must not be careless."

General Qin gritted his teeth: "They are taking advantage of the terrain and using archers for defense. If we want to take Peijia Village, we have to get through this hurdle."

"I will personally go and supervise their attack."

They're all seasoned soldiers, few of them are truly willing to fight to the death. They're adept at robbing and humiliating the people, but they're useless in a real battle. Someone has to supervise them.

General Peng had no choice but to say, "I will go and oversee the battle; you will stay here and command the fighting."

Supervising from the front lines is definitely much more dangerous than commanding from the rear.

General Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that General Peng was willing to go: "Then I'll trouble General Peng to go and oversee the battle. If anyone dares to abandon the battle and flee, General Peng, don't hesitate to kill them."

General Peng nodded and spurred his horse forward. His three hundred personal guards followed suit, their long swords flashing, heads rolling in the air. The cavalry had no choice but to turn their horses around again and charge once more under General Peng's fierce shouts.

Mao Hongling blew her bamboo whistle again.

Several charges failed to reach the wall, and the number of dead and wounded continued to rise. No matter how high or fiercely General Peng's personal guards raised their swords, it was all in vain.

Mao Hongling had somehow climbed up the wooden building. After staring at it for a moment, she let out a cold laugh.

The man overseeing the cavalry from the rear is clearly of high status. Take him down first!
The archers continued firing arrows, both killing and harassing the enemy.

There were several hidden doors in the wall of Peijia Village. Mao Hongling temporarily handed over command to Zhou Shi and led five hundred elite soldiers out through one of the hidden doors. After taking a detour, they pounced on General Peng like a ferocious tiger.

"Oh no, the Pei family army is attacking!"

"Quickly, protect General Peng!"

The guards cried out in horror and rushed to protect their general. Mao Hongling wielded her spear like a dragon, knocking down two men in succession, and charged towards General Peng with unstoppable momentum.

General Peng, terrified, drew his sword in response.

Mao Hongling sneered, flicked her spear, and stabbed General Peng in the wrist. General Peng screamed in agony as his longsword flew into the air. The next moment, he was lifted up by the spear, flew twice in the air, and then crashed heavily to the ground.

(End of this chapter)