Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 416 Battle (Part Two)

Pu Nu did not want to die.

He was the Khan's most trusted minister and the most formidable general in the hearts of the Xiongnu cavalry. He commanded several thousand cavalrymen, countless Han slaves and beauties, and herds of cattle, sheep, and warhorses. If he were to die in battle today, all of this would be lost.

He doesn't want to die!

Once fear arises in a person, the thought of retreating naturally follows. Pu Nu shouted for his personal guards to come over, while he himself kept retreating.

Pei Qinghe shouted sharply, "Punu is trying to escape! Everyone, follow me and charge! Kill Punu! Slaughter all the Xiongnu barbarians!"

The commander's bravery and fierceness greatly inspired the soldiers. The Pei family army shouted "Kill the Pu Nu!" and "Slaughter all the Xiongnu barbarians!" and then surged forward like a rising tide. This surge seemed capable of swallowing everything in the world.

In contrast, the Xiongnu barbarians, seeing their general retreating again and again, lost their will to fight. Some began to flee on horseback. The stalemate on the battlefield seemed to have been torn open, and the cowardly poured out like a flowing stream. The pursuing troops behind them surged forward, relentlessly pursuing them and preventing their escape.

Pu Nu took a few deep breaths, and with the help of his personal guards, climbed onto a fine horse and rode off without a word.

"General! Mount your horse!"

Sun Cheng appeared out of nowhere and offered his prized horse to Pei Qinghe. Pei Qinghe nodded slightly, leaped onto her horse, and spurred it forward in pursuit.

Pu Nu's horsemanship was indeed superior, and his warhorse was faster. However, the jolting on the horse's back caused his wound to reopen, and blood gushed out again. The heat in his body also flowed out with the blood.

He was horrified to discover that his strength was slipping away and his courage was fading.

Pei Qinghe spurred his horse into a gallop, and with a sudden movement of his right hand, he hurled his long sword. The sword swept through the air with astonishing speed, like lightning, and swiftly pierced through Pu Nu's back.

Pu Nu felt a chill run down his back and a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a blood-stained blade.

The next moment, Pu Nu fell off his horse.

Pei Qinghe spurred his horse forward, bent down, forcefully drew his long sword, and swiftly beheaded Pu Nu.

"Pu Nu is dead!" Pei Qinghe raised his long sword, the tip of which bore a bloody human head. "Pu Nu is dead! Pu Nu is dead!"

Pei Yan and Yang Huai shouted together, "Pu Nu is dead!"

One after another, Pei's soldiers began to shout. Soon, their shouts echoed throughout the chaotic battlefield.

Punu is dead!

Very few of the Xiongnu barbarians could speak Chinese. However, those who were close enough could recognize their general's head. They immediately cried out, their morale shattered, losing both the courage and confidence to continue fighting. The army's morale collapsed, and the Xiongnu barbarians fled in all directions.

Only Punu's personal guards rushed over like madmen, trying to snatch back Punu's body and head.

Pei Qinghe and his group were also caught in a fierce battle.

Pei Qinghe had countless wounds, and Pei Yan, Yang Huai, and the others were also injured. Gu Lian led her men to charge over, and Feng Chang was also fighting desperately to save them. The entire battlefield was engulfed in a frenzied battle.

Pei Xuan, who had been lying in ambush for half a day, finally saw the fleeing soldiers who had escaped from the battlefield.

Pei Xuan coldly raised her sword: "Kill all the Xiongnu barbarians! Don't let a single one escape!"

The elite troops, who had been conserving their strength for a long time, responded fiercely and pounced on the enemy like tigers pouncing on their prey.

On the other side, Pei Feng was not as lucky as Pei Xuan and did not see the large group of defeated soldiers. He led his elite troops forward and blocked the fleeing Xiongnu barbarians.

The fighting outside Qi County was equally fierce.

From the air, it was a vast battlefield stretching for dozens of miles. North of Qi County, the fighting between the two armies was visible everywhere.

The gray torrent slowly but steadily swallowed the black.

This great battle raged for an entire day.

As evening fell, the sunset painted the sky ablaze with fiery hues, yet the battle raged on. The Xiongnu barbarians attempted to surrender, but Pei Qinghe had issued a pre-battle order: surrendered soldiers would not be accepted; they must all be killed. In a war without prisoners, victory could only be achieved by the complete slaughter of one side.

The Xiongnu barbarians were routed and scattered in all directions. Regardless of the number of casualties, the Pei family soldiers rallied behind their leader, working together to hunt down the fleeing soldiers. This battle demonstrated the remarkable skill of the Pei family army in training. Even after a day of heavy fighting and numerous casualties, their morale remained high, and they were able to continue forming battle formations.

There were no more enemies in front of Pei Qinghe.

She gasped for breath, using her long sword to brace herself against the ground. The heavily wounded Pei Yan approached her: "Cousin Qinghe, let me apply medicine to your wounds!"

Pei Qinghe couldn't remember how many injuries she had sustained or how much blood she had lost. She slowly sat down and gestured for Pei Yan to sit down as well.

Pei Yan moved, which aggravated her injury. She grimaced for a moment and then took out a medicine packet from her pocket.

Pei Qinghe also took out the medicine packet.

However, after taking out the medicine packet, I didn't have the strength to apply the medicine.

Pei Qinghe smiled helplessly and said to Pei Yan, "I don't know how many people died or were injured in this battle, but fortunately, we won!"

Pei Yan grinned, then suddenly collapsed.

Pei Qinghe was startled and tried to go forward to check, but the movement aggravated her injuries, causing pain all over her body. She also felt dizzy.

"Quickly, call the army medic over!"

Pei Zhi's urgent and familiar voice reached my ears.

Pei Qinghe fainted with relief.

……

It is unknown how long he had been unconscious.

I kept hearing familiar voices, sometimes intermittently.

"Why hasn't the general woken up yet?"

"In this battle, the general personally beheaded the Xiongnu commander-in-chief, Punu, and continued to fight the enemy, sustaining seven or eight wounds all over his body. The wound on his back was the most severe, resulting in significant blood loss."

"Fortunately, his life is not in danger. He was seriously injured, so he needs to take good care of himself."

A spoon was brought to her lips, and she instinctively opened her mouth, followed by the warm, bitter medicine sliding down her throat. A damp, warm handkerchief was gently used to wipe her face, hands, and feet.

Ouch, that hurts. They must be changing the dressing.

There were also occasional sobs, probably because they were afraid of disturbing her recovery; the crying quickly stopped.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious before she finally woke up.

The moment I opened my eyes, Shi Yan, with bloodshot eyes and a stubble-covered face, came into view.

"Have you not slept for days?" Pei Qinghe opened her mouth with difficulty, her voice extremely weak.

Shi Yan's eyes welled up with tears, and her voice was hoarse and choked with emotion: "Two nights and three days."

"I've been unconscious for so long. It's like a long dream." Pei Qinghe sighed softly, "How is it outside?"

Shi Yan composed himself and said in a low voice, "We won a great victory in this battle. The Xiongnu barbarians were routed."

"While you were unconscious for three days, the Pei family army was busy cleaning up the battlefield and chasing down the fleeing Xiongnu barbarians."

"The exact number of casualties is still being tallied. There are more than 14,000 Xiongnu barbarian corpses, and more than 2,000 Xiongnu barbarians who surrendered have also been killed."

Shi Yan only mentioned the losses suffered by the Xiongnu barbarians, but did not mention the casualties of the Pei family army.

Pei Qinghe paused for a moment before asking, "How many of us died?"

(End of this chapter)