Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 217 Provocation
Pei Yan never questioned any of Pei Qinghe's decisions, and angrily sheathed her sword.

Mao Hongling wiped away her tears with her sleeve and whispered, "The Liaoxi Army has occupied the entire Liaoxi Prefecture. That scoundrel Li has recruited many able-bodied men into the army. Rumor has it that the Liaoxi Army now has 30,000 men, far surpassing our Pei family army in strength."

Pei Qinghe said in a deep voice, "That scoundrel Li is insatiably greedy. He has almost wiped out all the officials and wealthy families in Liaoxi County, and the people have been plundered. The people are living in misery, and the people's hearts are turned away. We can only suppress him by force. That scoundrel Li is also embezzling military pay and rations. The soldiers can't even get enough to eat, let alone train. It's not difficult to defeat the Liaoxi army. I will take three thousand elite troops and we can crush the Liaoxi army."

"However, war is raging everywhere right now. The fighting in Bohai County has lasted for more than a year, and the Imperial Guards in the capital are in complete chaos with the rebel army of King Qiao. If our Pei family army were to fight the Liaoxi army again, who would be there to stop the Xiongnu barbarians once they enter the pass?"

"Li the scoundrel is in Liaoxi, at least he can guard the border. We can't easily touch him now!"

There must be a clear distinction between internal and external matters!

Even the most impulsive and hot-blooded Pei Yan calmed down after hearing these words: "I'll remember this blood feud for now. There will come a day when I lead troops to fight the Liaoxi Army. I'll be the first to charge then! I'll personally cut off that traitor Li's head!"

Pei Qinghe nodded and ordered that Pei Yi be buried.

The Pei family army had never suffered a defeat, and casualties were commonplace. After everyone wiped away a tear for Pei Yi, they put the matter aside.

Unexpectedly, General Li not only killed people and stole horses, but also sent people to provoke Pei's army.

The newcomer was Li's deputy general, whose greedy eyes had been gleaming with a burning light ever since he entered Pei Family Village. His ugly behavior was especially exposed when he saw the endless stream of women coming and going in the village.

The women in Liaoxi County were mostly sallow and thin, with hardly any flesh on their bodies, and were either in despair, sorrow, or numbness.

The women in Peijia Village, regardless of their appearance, all had rosy complexions and were full of energy. They were simply irresistible.

Once General Li subdues the Pei family army, these spirited and charming women will be the prey of the Liaoxi army soldiers. He needs to beg the general to give him a beautiful wife; hmm, that pretty girl with almond eyes and peach-blossom cheeks would be quite nice…

Pei Zhi's eyebrows twitched repeatedly, and her right hand rested on the hilt of her knife. She quickly withdrew it.

No! She can't act rashly without Qinghe's order!
Pei Yan didn't have that much patience. Frowning, she said to Pei Qinghe, "That scoundrel, his eyes are wandering around, and he's staring at Pei Zhi with a lecherous look. I'm going to teach him a lesson!"

Pei Qinghe nodded: "Don't kill him. Leave him alive. I still have questions to ask."

Pei Yan responded with a sinister grin, clenched her fist, and threw a punch.

The lieutenant let out a muffled thud, coughed up blood, screamed in agony, and his eyes were filled with shock and rage: "You dare hit me..."

I am a trusted confidant of the King of Liaoxi, sent on a mission to deliver a message. Don't you understand the rule that envoys are not to be killed in war?

Unfortunately, she never had the chance to say these words. Pei Yan's principle was: if she could take action, she would never talk.

The lieutenant tried to retaliate, but Pei Zhi and the others sneered and stepped forward to help. Together, they gave him a sound beating, turning him into a pile of mud. His leg was broken, his ribs were fractured, and he had been kicked hard in the groin. The lieutenant convulsed in pain, his screams echoing through the sky.

Pei Qinghe then stepped forward and coldly asked, "What did that scoundrel Li send you here for?"

The lieutenant was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.

Pei Qinghe ordered Tao Feng to search the body, and they quickly found a letter. Pei Qinghe opened the letter, a cold smile spreading across her face, and turned to order Pei Yan: "Chop off this messenger's hands and feet and hang him under a tree in the north of the village."

Pei Yan is extremely skilled at this.

Pei Yan responded and carried the person away like a dead chicken. Pei Qinghe gave the letter to Mao Hongling.

Mao Hongling was the most good-tempered of the Pei women. After reading the letter, she was so enraged she was practically spitting fire: "Bah! That Li scoundrel! He's utterly shameless!"

Pei Xuan and Pei Feng leaned over to read the letter, both of them enraged. Pei Xuan, with her sweet appearance but ruthless nature, gritted her teeth and said, "I'll lead troops to Liaoxi and chop that traitor Li to pieces!"

Pei Fengjun's face was as cold as ice as he said, "I'll go kill him!"

Manager Shi, who rushed over upon hearing the news, also saw the letter.

The letter contained only one sentence: General Li requested to marry Pei Qinghe!
Pei Qinghe is eighteen this year, in the prime of her youth. General Li is already forty-nine years old, old enough to be Pei Qinghe's grandfather. Furthermore, General Li is notoriously lecherous, keeping a multitude of beauties in his military camp. And now he has the audacity to propose a "marriage alliance"! He even wants the five hundred warhorses he stole as a dowry!

This is a blatant provocation and humiliation!
Shi Yan suppressed his surging anger and said in a deep voice, "That scoundrel Li is deliberately provoking you, General, hoping to get you to send troops to attack the Liaoxi Army. General, please calm down and don't fall for his treacherous scheme!"

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly: "Don't worry, I won't fall for your trick!"

Those around him were furious. Pei Yan, who had already chopped off the deputy general's hands and feet and hung him from a tree, returned and, upon reading the letter, was indeed enraged, jumping up and down and shouting that he wanted to send troops.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a cold light: "I will not send troops to attack Liaoxi. However, since this scoundrel Li is provoking me like this, I must retaliate."

"Bring me paper and pen, I need to write a notice."

Pei Qinghe picked up his pen and quickly wrote a proclamation. Shi Yan, the chief steward, found skilled craftsmen to carve and print thousands of copies of General Pei's handwritten proclamation. These copies were then sent to various counties in western Liaoning.

Within just a few days, the announcement spread throughout Liaoxi County.

The people of Liaoxi Commandery are living in dire straits. Those who cannot survive can seek refuge in Yan Commandery or Beiping Commandery. General Pei is willing to take in all the pitiful people.

The reputation of the Pei family army is truly excellent. The oppressed and bullied people, driven to desperation, all yearn to live a better life under the Pei family army's rule. Pei Family Village is not easy to enter; with such a vast territory as Yan County and Beiping County, accommodating as many people as they wish is no problem.

At first, people ran away in small groups, but later the entire village fled.

General Li, who styled himself King of Liaoxi, could no longer contain himself. Large swathes of the populace fled, leaving vast tracts of fertile land in Liaoxi County abandoned. Without people to cultivate the land, where would the taxes and provisions for the army come from?

While General Li sent people to Pei's army again to ask for a marriage alliance, he also sent troops to patrol the area, and those who fled the civilians were all brutally slaughtered.

This did somewhat halt the fleeing of the people. However, the reputation of the Liaoxi Army became even more infamous.

One group after another sent out suitors, but Pei Qinghe killed them all; not a single one survived to send a message back to the Liaoxi army.

It all depends on which side loses its composure first and launches the first attack.

Two months later, bad news came from the Guangning army.

General Yang led four thousand soldiers to Bohai County to defend the emperor, but they were slaughtered by the rebel army and died under Tao Wudi's blade.

(End of this chapter)