Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 224 The Devastation (Part 1)

The Xiongnu barbarians have retreated.

The mountains and forests were littered with corpses, and the official roads were also littered with mutilated bodies. Warhorses, half-dead from being shot, let out mournful cries.

There was no time to clean up the battlefield, nor time to collect the corpses.

Pei Qinghe carried Pei Zhi and mounted his warhorse. Pei Yan and the others helped the wounded soldiers onto their horses, and after leaving the mountains, they rode back to the city.

Traces of fierce fighting were visible everywhere on the official road, with corpses lying across it from time to time.

Pei Qinghe deliberately slowed his horse down. The people behind him also became much more cautious. The forty-mile journey took them nearly two hours.

Beneath the city gates of Guangning County, corpses lay strewn everywhere.

The sky was pitch black, and a crescent moon cast a cold, mournful light. Several large lanterns hung atop the city walls. People were carrying torches, cleaning up the battlefield.

Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, the Guangning soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield panicked and turned to run back into the city gate. Fortunately, the Pei family army blew the familiar signal.

It's one of our own.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and watched Pei Qinghe and his group approach in the dim moonlight and lantern glow. Someone ran into the city to deliver a message, and soon, Yang Hu personally came out to greet them.

Yang Hu, his left arm wrapped in gauze and his face somewhat pale, rallied his spirits and said, "The plan to lure the enemy into an ambush was successful. Thanks to General Pei for stopping half of the cavalry, the other half charged to the city walls, and we fought a great battle with them and repelled them."

"General, please come into the city quickly."

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly, dismounted his warhorse, and then carried the injured girl off the horse.

Yang Hu's heart skipped a beat when he saw Pei Zhi's pale face: "Miss Pei Zhi is injured?"

Pei Qinghe hummed in response, said nothing more, and quickly carried Pei Zhi into the city.

Pei Yan's expression was solemn as she strode after Pei Qinghe.

Sun Cheng had a shoulder injury, and Tao Feng had a back injury. Everyone was wounded, which showed how fierce the ambush had been.

There were five military doctors accompanying the army this time, and Lu Dongqing came along as well. Since joining Pei's army last year, he had been studying how to treat external injuries. He was very skilled and efficient at suturing wounds for the wounded soldiers.

Pei Zhi's injuries were quite severe, and Lu Dongqing spent a lot of time cleaning and stitching them. Pei Zhi was jolted awake by the pain and cried with tears in her eyes, "Cousin Qinghe, am I going to die?"

A glint of tears welled up in Pei Qinghe's eyes, but her voice remained steady: "Don't worry, I'll be by your side. Even the King of Hell won't dare to take you."

Pei Zhi fainted from the pain again.

Yang Hu also came along, standing outside the wounded soldiers' tent, his eyes red.

In this battle, the Guangning army paid a heavy price. The vanguard battalion that lured the enemy was mostly wiped out, with only a few returning alive. Of the first wave of ambushes, less than 30% of Yang Huai's men survived. The Guangning army inside the city also suffered heavy losses in their efforts to repel the Xiongnu barbarians who had stormed the city walls.

The loss or death of warhorses is equally heartbreaking.

There's no way to calculate the exact number of dead and wounded right now. Wounded soldiers are everywhere, inside and outside the camp.

Those with minor injuries might be able to pull through with some medicine. But many others, seriously injured, simply wouldn't survive and would close their eyes forever that night.

At a time like this, as the commander-in-chief, he had no right to indulge in sentimental thoughts. He stood outside the military tent for a while, wiped his eyes heavily with the back of his hand, and then turned to inspect the area outside the city gate.

Yang Huai was also seriously injured, lying pale-faced in the military tent. Pei Yan treated her own injuries and came to visit her fiancé.

"Can you handle it?" Pei Yan asked gently, a rare moment of tenderness from her.

Yang Huai hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on Pei Yan's dark face.

Pei Yan got goosebumps all over from being stared at: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yang Huai chuckled silently, his voice low and hoarse: "I almost didn't make it today. Luckily I didn't die, otherwise, you would have become a widow." Pei Yan glanced at him sideways: "If you really died, I'll keep vigil for you for a year, and then find you a son-in-law."

Yang Huai laughed in exasperation: "At a time like this, can't you say something nice to comfort me? Do you have to make me angry...?"

A large, dark face loomed down from above.

My lips were bitten; they felt warm.

Yang Huai could hear his own heart pounding wildly.

Pei Yan looked up, her dark face flushed, and said in a rough voice, "You're injured and you're still talking so much. Go to sleep. I'll stay here and watch over you."

Yang Huai hummed in agreement, obediently closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

Pei Qinghe did not sleep all night.

There were too many wounded soldiers, some minor and some serious, and the army medics were simply not enough. Fortunately, the Pei family army had basic bandaging training during their daily drills. Those with minor injuries could bandage themselves or help each other apply medicine. Those with serious injuries had to wait for the army medics to treat their wounds.

Pei Qinghe was also a part-time military doctor, and he worked all night.

At dawn, more than ten of the seriously wounded men succumbed to their injuries and died in their tents.

That's how war is; people keep dying, and there's not even time for grief. Because the Xiongnu barbarians arrive at daybreak.

The Guangning army suffered heavy casualties, and the Pei family army also suffered considerable losses, while the Xiongnu barbarians suffered a crushing defeat. Yang Huai's ambush force had limited kills, with at least several hundred dying at the hands of the Pei family army. Several hundred cavalrymen who fled to the city gates were also killed. In this battle, the Xiongnu barbarians suffered nearly 30% casualties.

For the Xiongnu barbarians, who were plunderers by nature and invincible in battle, this was an utter disgrace.

The ferocious Xiongnu barbarians, disregarding the difficulty of attacking the city, eagerly launched their attack early in the morning.

Yang Hu personally went up to the city gate and sent a message to Pei Qinghe: "The Guangning Army should defend the city first. If they can't hold out, then ask the Pei family army to take action."

The city gate is only so big; more people aren't necessarily better. Furthermore, each army has its own commander. The Pei family army only obeys Pei Qinghe, and Yang Hu absolutely cannot hand over command to Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe nodded: "Tell General Yang that the Pei family army is ready to be deployed at any time."

The sounds of fighting at the city gate never ceased from morning till night.

Yang Hu has not sent anyone to request reinforcements.

At dusk, the Xiongnu retreated again.

For several days afterward, the Xiongnu barbarians attacked the city daily. The Guangning army, relying on the thick and tall city walls and the command of their commander Yang Hu, managed to withstand the Xiongnu barbarians' offensive.

Pei Yan clicked her tongue twice: "I really didn't realize before that Yang Hu was quite capable."

Yang Hu had previously acted like a stalker, relentlessly pursuing Pei Zhi, and his fighting skills were not particularly outstanding. Those who had seen Yang Hu beaten to a pulp inevitably felt contempt for him.

At this moment, the flames of the battlefield forged true gold.

Pei Qinghe said with some regret, "I didn't expect this either. If I had known, I should have arranged the marriage while General Yang was still alive and snatched Yang Hu away."

Pei Yan chuckled and said, "It's good that Pei Zhi married into the Guangning Army. Maybe the entire Guangning Army will be ours in the future!"

A smile flashed in Pei Qinghe's eyes as she warned, "Our Pei family army and the Guangning army are allies. Don't talk nonsense!"

They're allies now, but who knows what will happen in the future.

Pei Yan grinned.

(End of this chapter)