Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 222 Offense and Defense (Part Two)

Pei Qinghe brought Pei Yan, Pei Zhi, Sun Cheng, and Tao Feng to the banquet.

On the Guangning army's side, there were Yang Hu, Yang Huai, a member of the Yang family in his thirties, and two military officers over forty years old. Both of these men had previously tried to compete for the position of commander-in-chief, but failed. With Pei Qinghe's support, Yang Hu became the commander-in-chief.

With a formidable enemy at hand, and disregarding factional disputes, Yang Hu took the initiative to invite the two veterans to a banquet.

The two veterans had never experienced Pei Qinghe's prowess firsthand and were not entirely convinced of his illustrious reputation, but they did not show it on their faces and simply bowed in greeting.

Pei Qinghe exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, and then everyone took their seats.

“There aren’t any good cooks in the military camp, so today I specially found two excellent chefs from the most famous restaurants to prepare a feast,” Yang Hu said with a smile. “General Pei, please have a taste.”

A guard brought up some wine, but Pei Qinghe refused it: "There might be a surprise attack by barbarians in the middle of the night, so it's best not to drink any wine."

Yang Hu waved his hand, and his personal guards withdrew with the wine.

Yang Huai kept piling food onto Pei Yan's plate, making it overflowing. Pei Yan ate with gusto, and after finishing, she took the handkerchief Yang Huai handed her and wiped her mouth.

Pei Qinghe saw this and smiled slightly.

Only after dinner can we begin to speak formally.

Yang Hu thanked Pei Qinghe sincerely. Pei Qinghe replied, "No need for such formalities. If the Guangning army were fighting a civil war over territory, I would never have come. But now it's to resist the Xiongnu barbarians, so the Pei family army is bound to come."

"Tell me about the current situation."

Yang Hu didn't waste any words. He unfolded a map of Youzhou and pointed to a spot: "After the Xiongnu barbarians entered the pass, they split into two groups. One group went to Liaoxi, and the other came to Guangning."

"This group of Xiongnu barbarians numbered about four or five thousand cavalry. They bypassed the heavily fortified cities and raided villages along the way. They were here yesterday. It's still more than two hundred li from Guangning County."

Yang Huai continued, "According to the customs of the Xiongnu barbarians, once they have plundered enough money, grain, and women, they will leave on their own. So, it's hard to say whether they will come or when they will arrive at the city."

The two veteran generals each said, "We will stay here and ensure that Guangning County is not lost."

"It's not that we don't want to send troops. We have too few warhorses. Even if we send them all out, we are no match for the Xiongnu barbarians in mounted combat. Why send them to their deaths in vain?"

This view was clearly the mainstream opinion within the Guangning Army.

Pei Yan scoffed, though she didn't speak, her contempt and disdain were clearly evident.

The two veterans felt humiliated and their eyes showed some resentment.

Pei Qinghe glanced at Pei Yan, who immediately sat up straight. Pei Qinghe then turned to Yang Hu and the others and said, "I am well aware of the difficulties faced by the Guangning Army. Infantry is naturally at a disadvantage against cavalry, and the Guangning Army's strategy for defending the city is correct."

The two veterans' expressions softened slightly.

Yang Hu's expression softened somewhat, and he sighed, "It's not easy for the soldiers of Guangning Army to just stand by and watch the people suffer."

"I plan to send troops to lure the enemy and draw the Xiongnu barbarians to attack the city. We will then use the city walls to prepare sufficient catapults and arrows, and then we can fight the Xiongnu barbarians!"

Pei Qinghe nodded approvingly: "This plan is good."

Yang Hu, emboldened by the praise, whispered his plan to lure the enemy. He pointed to two spots on the map, both suitable for an ambush: "Set up ambushes at both of these locations, and kill as many as you can."

Yang Huai volunteered: "I'll lead my men to ambush this spot."

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly and pointed to another spot: "I'll lead my men to ambush here."

Since we're already here, we should do our part when it's time to contribute.

An ambush, if poorly executed, is tantamount to handing the enemy free. Therefore, an ambush requires elite troops and skilled generals, as well as horses, so that even if defeated, escape is possible. Pei Qinghe has a thousand cavalry, and the Guangning army can barely muster five or six hundred, which is enough to set up two ambushes.

The group discussed until midnight, finalized their plan, and then dispersed.

Pei Zhi had kept quiet all night, but now she whispered, "Yang Hu seems unreliable most of the time, but I didn't expect him to have some talent as a general."

Pei Qinghe rolled her eyes and smiled, "The Yang family has more than a dozen nephews and nieces. Yang Huai is the best in terms of martial arts, and Yang Hu is the best in terms of strategy. The Yang family isn't stupid. Would they push an idiot out to lead the army?"

Pei Yan grinned: "Back then, we were blind to Yang Hu's talent and beat him up several times. Now that Yang Hu is a general, he can't possibly be a live-in son-in-law of the Pei family, so he's deliberately distancing himself. Our cousin Pei Zhi seems to be regretting it!"

Pei Zhi, feeling embarrassed and angry, turned her head and complained, "Cousin Qinghe, Cousin Yan always bullies me."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said meaningfully, "When we came to Youzhou, our Pei clan only had a little over two hundred women and children. In order to unite people's hearts and encourage everyone to survive, I set the rule that Pei clan women must marry into the family."

"The Pei family army now has seven or eight thousand elite soldiers, and there are more than ten thousand refugees in the village, so we can replenish our forces at any time. After this battle, I will change this rule. Taking a son-in-law is fine, or marrying into another family is also acceptable."

Pei Zhi awkwardly replied, "I don't want to get married."

Pei Yan pouted: "You're just being stubborn!"

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "Alright, stop joking around. Go to sleep early and get some rest, because we're going to war soon."

Pei Yan and Pei Zhi straightened their expressions and nodded in agreement.

……

Two days later, Pei Qinghe led his troops out of the city under the cover of night.

They rode for forty li before stopping. It was just before dawn, so the men wrapped cotton cloth around the horses' hooves and mouths, and quietly entered the dense forest beside the official road.

Each person carried two long, narrow bags of rations, plus a water bag. If they were careful with their food, it would last them three days.

Sun Cheng remained at the outpost, leading a battalion to quietly probe the movements of the Xiongnu barbarians. The rest lay in ambush in the mountains and forests, patiently waiting for their prey to arrive, like hunters.

Pei Qinghe is the best hunter, with the most patience.

After waiting for two days and one night, they were first met with the vanguard battalion of the Guangning army, which had been luring the enemy into a rout.

Of the 500 elite vanguard soldiers, more than half were killed, and less than 20% escaped back; the battle was extremely tragic.

These soldiers, who were luring the enemy, had no idea that Pei's army was lying in ambush in the dense forest. They simply watched the defeated soldiers leave quietly.

After most of the day had passed, Yang Huai led his routed troops back. Dozens of Xiongnu barbarians on horseback pursued them relentlessly. Yang Huai shouted loudly and led his troops to continue their escape.

Pei Yan wanted to go down the mountain, but Pei Qinghe stopped her.

Pei Qinghe lowered his voice and said, "The Xiongnu army hasn't arrived yet, let's wait a little longer!"

The first wave was to lure the enemy, the second to ambush them. The Xiongnu barbarians would never have imagined that there would be a third wave of ambushes forty miles from Guangning County.

Pei Qinghe quietly gave the order, instructing everyone to eat military rations and drink water.

Half an hour later, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves approached from afar.

The Xiongnu barbarians were indeed lured here.

(End of this chapter)