Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 503 Side Story: Seoul (Part 3)
Pei Yan had been inseparable from Pei Qinghe since childhood, for over twenty years. This time, due to injury, they were separated for more than half a year, which felt like an eternity to Pei Yan.

"Anyone who laughs again will have to come to the training ground with me for a sparring match." Pei Yan threatened, shaking her fist and successfully silencing Pei Xuan, Pei Feng, and the others.

In terms of skill, Pei Qinghe was undoubtedly the most skilled. However, Pei Qinghe only offered a few pointers during their training sessions. Pei Yan, on the other hand, would frequently drag them to the training ground. The moment Pei Yan brandished her fist, their ingrained submissiveness would surge forth.

Pei Qinghe smiled as she looked at the familiar scene.

After threatening her cousins, nephews, and nieces, Pei Yan turned to Pei Qinghe and said in a coquettish tone, "If it weren't for Yang Huai, I would have come three months ago. The grasslands are full of Xiongnu barbarians. Although they were crippled, there are still some who are outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful. I need to stay by your side to feel at ease."

In fact, Pei Qinghe felt particularly at ease when Pei Yan arrived.

Such words should not be spoken, lest they hurt Pei Lang and Pei Wang's feelings.

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "Go take a bath, change your clothes and rest first. I'll have someone prepare a banquet to welcome you back and wash away the dust of your journey."

Pei Yan grinned and happily agreed.

Pei Feng felt a pang of sadness and whispered to Pei Xuan, "Cousin Qinghe is just biased. Over the years, you and I have both become capable of handling things on our own. But she just couldn't bear to let Cousin Yan go out to lead troops."

Pei Xuan glanced at Pei Feng with a smile: "You have the nerve to talk about others like that. Everyone says in private that your cousin Qinghe is the most biased towards you. Daifang County used to be a poor and remote place. How much money and military funds has the imperial court allocated there over the years? And you have the most cavalry."

Pei Feng touched his nose and remained silent.

Pei Qinghe had keen hearing, and since Pei Feng and Pei Xuan hadn't bothered to lower their voices, she naturally heard them. The sight of her cousins ​​vying for her attention and affection was a long-lost yet familiar scene.

Pei Qinghe was very good at coaxing people, and immediately said with a smile, "In my heart, you are all equally important. Pei Xuan, don't I favor you? The military funds for the Fanyang Army are always allocated in the first batch, and every new weapon and armor that is made is given to you first."

Pei Xuan was much more obedient, and smiled sweetly: "Then from now on, my cousin Qinghe will have to always favor me."

No one is perfect; how could anyone be without bias or selfishness?

The Pei family youths she personally trained were all brave and loyal. Pei Yan made a great contribution by raiding the enemy camp at night, Pei Feng and Pei Xuan fought bravely, and young generals like Pei Lang and Pei Wang began to show their talent. Pei Feng, Pei Wan, and Pei Yu were all serving as prefects in the south, while Pei Yun steadily guarded Luoyang and Mao Hongling guarded the Pei family village camp during her northern expedition to the grasslands.

They were her greatest asset in conquering the country over more than a decade.

Pei Qinghe smiled slightly and said to everyone, "Everyone, disperse. Come over for dinner when it gets dark."

The crowd responded with a roar of agreement and dispersed like jubilant birds.

The welcoming banquet that evening was actually a family feast for the Pei family. Pei Qinghe was in a good mood and, unusually, drank three cups of wine. Over the years, her alcohol tolerance hadn't improved. After three cups, she felt quite tipsy.

Shi Yan had just gotten up to help her when Pei Yan had already rushed over and helped Pei Qinghe back to the military tent, shouting without turning her head, "I haven't seen my cousin Qinghe for over half a year, let's sleep together tonight." Shi Yan smiled helplessly and had no choice but to squeeze in with Pei Feng for the night. As a result, for the next six or seven days, Pei Yan refused to leave, saying that she wanted to protect the emperor's safety.

Shi Yan: "..."

Two weeks later, Pei Qinghe was assassinated while on horseback patrol.

The assassins were former defeated Xiongnu cavalrymen who, after fleeing back to their tribes, harbored resentment and secretly gathered in groups of about a hundred, lying in ambush near the Han city. As Pei Qinghe was patrolling on horseback, these hundred-odd Xiongnu barbarians, loyal to Morton, suddenly unleashed a volley of arrows.

Pei Qinghe was surrounded by two thousand personal guards, constantly on guard. Several guards were hit by a hail of arrows and fell from their horses, causing a commotion. More guards rushed towards the source of the arrows, and the assassins, unable to escape, were drawn into the melee.

Pei Qinghe's gaze was icy as she ordered Pei Yan, "Kill all of these people, leave no one alive."

Pei Yan grinned maliciously, spurred his horse, brandished his sword, and charged forward like a demon from hell.

Half a day later, more than a hundred heads were stacked together, forming a small mound of skulls. What shocked the tribes of the grasslands even more was an edict issued by Emperor Zhaoyuan immediately afterward.

The tribes of these Xiongnu barbarians, who harbored assassins without reporting to the emperor, were all to be severely punished. For each assassin's head, a thousand sheep had to be handed over.

These hundred-plus heads all came from the Morton and Tuqi tribes. Each of these two tribes had to hand over 50,000 sheep, or else they would face the invincible Pei family army.

Of course, the herders of both tribes felt wronged. They weren't the ones who assassinated Emperor Zhaoyuan, so why should they be fined? They could even argue that the assassins weren't necessarily from their tribes. They might have come from some unruly small tribe. Why were they blamed without any investigation? It was clearly an attempt to weaken their tribes.

However, on the other hand, when have rules ever been observed on the grasslands? The rule is survival of the fittest! Might makes right!
Emperor Zhaoyuan's words are the rule!

Emperor Zhaoyuan did not carry out mass killings, but only demanded the sheep. Was he not merciful?
Large flocks of sheep were brought to Han City, whose foundations had just been laid. Emperor Zhaoyuan ordered that sheep be distributed to the Han people according to the number of people. Regardless of gender or age, each person received one sheep. Even infants just a few months old were given a sheep simply by being brought to the city by their mothers for registration.

This is a stroke of good luck that fell from the sky!
The Han people were all beaming with joy, forming dozens of long lines to register and receive their sheep. The registration was so detailed that it included names, ages, places of origin, backgrounds, which tribe they would join after entering the grasslands, and what they would do – a jumble of information that could fill half a page.

Everyone in Pei's army was literate, but only about one or two out of ten could write documents. They were all temporarily drawn up to register and distribute sheep to the Han people.

Those with clever and quick wit naturally guessed Emperor Zhaoyuan's intention: to use this opportunity to ascertain the background of all Han people, making it easier to reorganize and manage them in the future.

So what?
The sheep they received bleated. Green grass was everywhere on the grassland; once the sheep were fed, they could drink sheep's milk. When it was cold, they could sleep cuddling with the sheep; and when they were starving and had nowhere else to go, they could even kill a sheep for meat.

This sheep was a gift from the emperor, giving them real confidence and security despite having no assets.

From now on, they will be Emperor Zhaoyuan's most loyal subjects!
(End of this chapter)