Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 201 Battle Situation
More than a month later, Sun Cheng sent someone back with a letter.

The letter contained only a few lines of text.

"We brothers will not return to Beiping County. We request General Pei to send troops to protect Beiping County. We also request General Pei to accept all the brothers left behind by the Beiping army that day."

Sun Cheng went to great lengths to deliver the letter to the war-torn Bohai County and then sent back a personal letter from Meng Dalang.

In addition, Sun Cheng also sent back the latest battle report.

The fierce and courageous Beiping army withstood the relentless attacks of the rebel forces and held the city gates. Their casualties were extremely heavy. Just a few days earlier, Emperor Jian'an finally issued an edict ordering the Zhang family to send troops. The Bohai army stormed the city walls, and the Beiping army finally retreated.

Of the ten thousand Beiping soldiers, more than half were killed in battle, and the remaining three thousand or so were almost all wounded to varying degrees. Meng Liulang was also injured. It was truly a tragic battle!
The rebel army suffered even greater and more grievous casualties. However, due to their superior numbers, they could barely hold on. Now, deserters began to appear one after another. Tao Wudi, having failed to capture the enemy after a prolonged siege and losing face, was already furious. He captured the deserters and had them boiled alive in public, forcing the crowd to eat them.

Such bloody and cruel methods quickly shocked the rout army and stopped their rout.

After the Bohai army stormed the city walls, Tao Wudi personally led the army to attack the city.

The Bohai Navy's fighting strength was far inferior to that of the Beiping Army. Fortunately, the rebel army had been fighting continuously for more than two months, and their morale was low, making them much less effective than before. This confrontation resulted in a fierce battle, and it was difficult to determine the victor for the time being.

Pei Qinghe gave Pei Yun both the letter and the battle report.

After reading it, Pei Yun's eyes shone brightly: "We've waited so long, and finally we've received a reply from the Meng brothers. We can set off for Beiping County now."

Mao Hongling and the others also had joyful expressions on their faces.

They captured Beiping County without bloodshed, more than doubling their territory. This also meant they could support a larger army in the future. This formidable strength was the foundation upon which the Pei family army could establish itself securely.

"Cousin Qinghe, what would you do if the Meng brothers were unwilling?" Pei Yan asked curiously.

Pei Qinghe smiled slightly: "Meng Dalang is a smart man, he won't refuse."

In fact, Pei Qinghe could have led his troops there regardless of whether the Meng brothers agreed or not. Waiting over a month to obtain prior notification was a sign of respect for the Meng brothers and the Beiping army.

Meng Dalang was happy to do this favor.

"The troops are all mustered, and the provisions and supplies are ready." Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with light: "Pass on my order, we shall depart tomorrow!"

……

The next morning, Pei Qinghe rode out of Pei Family Village, followed closely by Pei Yun and Pei Yan. Next came four hundred cavalrymen on horseback. Behind them were eight hundred infantrymen.

Taking over Beiping County is a major event, and Pei Qinghe must go there personally. Half of these four hundred cavalrymen must remain in Beiping County. The other half must return with Pei Qinghe.

For infantry, marching sixty li a day is considered fast.

Yan County is more than 400 li away from Beiping County, which can be reached in three days by fast horse. It would take at least eight or nine days for infantry to travel there.

When they stopped to rest, Pei Yun couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity there are still too few warhorses."

Even after all the horses in the Fanyang army had been plundered, it was still far from enough. Every army was short of horses.

Pei Qinghe sighed as well: "I sent the Zhan brothers out of the pass to buy horses. They left more than half a year ago, and there were still news of them before. Now there has been no news for three months."

"I don't care whether the Zhan family lives or dies. I'm just worried about Pei Yi and Fang Datou. I privately instructed them that if the situation becomes too dire, they can abandon the Zhan family and escape back." Pei Yi and Fang Datou were among the first to follow Pei Qinghe. Their ability to lead troops in battle is certainly not as good as Tao Feng and Sun Cheng, and they are also somewhat inferior to Gu Lian and Feng Chang. However, they are more loyal and reliable, and they have the greater trust of Pei Qinghe.

“Fang Datou is a bit slow-witted, while Pei Yi is much more quick-witted.” Pei Yun’s assessment was quite apt: “If they encounter danger, Pei Yi will definitely abandon the Zhan family and run away without saying a word. It’s hard to say about Fang Datou. If there are warhorses, he will risk his life to bring them back.”

Pei Yan replied hopefully, "If we bring back a few thousand horses, our Pei family army will be rich!"

Pei Qinghe chuckled: "Are you daydreaming? Buying a few hundred horses would be great. If you really had thousands, how would you bring them back? Do you really think those barbarians from beyond the Great Wall are dead?"

After a brief chat, the group continued their march.

The bandits in Yan County had long since disappeared, and the official roads were peaceful. Along the roads, people were working in the fields. When they saw the large and imposing Pei family army, the people were not afraid at all; in fact, they curiously peeked out to take a look.

"Look, that's our General Pei!"

"The Pei banner is truly beautiful. And our General Pei is even more handsome."

From a distance, it was impossible to tell which one was Pei Qinghe, let alone what her face looked like. However, this did not diminish Pei Qinghe's lofty status in the hearts of the people of Yan County.

In recent years, wars have raged in various places, and there has been no peace anywhere. It was only thanks to the protection of the Pei family army that the people of Yan County were able to farm and live their lives in peace.

The Pei family army was disciplined and never harassed the people. They also did not impose additional taxes.

In the hearts of the people of Yan County, Pei Qinghe is the sky above them.

A few days later, after leaving Yan County and entering Beiping County, a completely different scene unfolded.

“These fields have all been abandoned; they haven’t been cultivated for about two or three years.” Pei Yun frowned slightly, looking at the prime farmland being left uncultivated, feeling quite distressed.

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "Once the Beiping army left, the wealthy families became restless and started keeping their own servants and seizing farmland. They were no different from bandits. Prefect Shen couldn't control them at all and was in a constant state of panic. Otherwise, why would they have taken the initiative to surrender to us? They wanted to use the Pei family army to deal with the wealthy families and stabilize the hearts of the people in Beiping County."

Pei Yan curled her lip: "So it turns out Prefect Shen isn't a good person after all."

“Whether it’s good or bad is not important.” Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled. “What I want is Beiping County. If Prefect Shen is sensible, let him continue as prefect. If he dares to do anything underhanded, we’ll just replace him with another prefect.”

Pei Yun nodded in agreement.

With such a formidable force as the Pei family army, even the most cunning bandits and thieves dared not show their faces. Occasionally, a bolder individual would follow from a distance. At Pei Qinghe's command, Pei Yan led his men to slaughter them all, piling the corpses along the official road. This ruthless method was chilling, and no one dared to inquire about the Pei family army's movements again.

They traveled peacefully all the way to Beiping County.

Prefect Shen, leading a group of officials, stood respectfully outside the city gate. The heads of the prominent families in Beiping Prefecture were also present.

The fluttering Pei-character flag was the first thing that caught the eye, and the ground trembled slightly.

Then, the handsome, dashing, and imposing General Pei appeared before everyone.

Prefect Shen strode forward and bowed deeply, saying, "This humble official respectfully welcomes General Pei!"

Everyone saluted together and shouted in unison, "Welcome General Pei!"

(End of this chapter)