Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 231 Injury
Once inside the wounded soldiers' camp, Pei Qinghe finally no longer needed to maintain her composure and revealed her pain.

"Lu Dongqing!" Pei Xuan shouted, "Come quickly! The general is injured!"

Lu Dongqing, who had been busy with his head down, suddenly looked up and darted over like a rabbit. Every day, many soldiers, both men and women, were wounded on the battlefield; there was no distinction between them.

Lu Dongqing cut open the clothes around the wound, carefully examined the injury, and quickly said, "General, your right arm is just a superficial wound, nothing serious. I will apply medicine and bandage it for you."

"His leg injury is more serious."

The right leg, which was hit by Wu Yan, was bruised and swollen.

Lu Dongqing used acupuncture to reduce the swelling and used bone palpation to confirm that there was no fracture, only a minor bone crack. However, Pei Qinghe had been standing for half a day after the injury, and her leg was severely swollen, requiring eight to ten days of bed rest.

Pei Qinghe frowned: "I have to lead troops to pursue the Xiongnu barbarians, how can I have time to rest?"

Lu Dongqing's face didn't show much expression: "The general is so capable, why does he need a doctor to come and examine him?"

Pei Qinghe: "..."

Pei Qinghe was rarely left speechless by someone's words.

Pei Xuan said in a low voice, "Cousin Qinghe, you are badly injured and need to rest and recover. As the saying goes, 'Where there's life, there's hope.' This is a lesson you taught us. If you push yourself to chase after them, you'll ruin your leg and become a lame general!"

Pei Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Pei Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to call two people over to carry the wooden planks.

After a cup of tea, Pei Qinghe and Pei Yan lay side by side in the military tent.

Pei Yan's arrow wounds were all on his back, so he couldn't lie on his back and could only lie face down, grimacing and occasionally letting out a cry of pain.

Pei Qinghe did not cry out in pain. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep amidst the pain.

Wounded soldiers came and went, and cries of pain echoed outside the tents. Despite the noise, Pei Qinghe fell into a deep sleep.

When Pei Xuan came to deliver the medicine, Pei Yan shushed her softly. Pei Xuan thought for a moment, then fed Pei Yan the medicine first. The other bowl of medicine was placed next to Pei Qinghe.

In the blink of an eye, the night has quietly passed.

Pei Qinghe opened her eyes, and Pei Xuan immediately brought two doses of medicine to her lips: "Cousin Qinghe, you slept soundly last night, and I didn't dare to wake you. Now you need to make up for it, drink two bowls."

Pei Qinghe grunted and drank the extremely bitter medicine without even frowning. Pei Yan gave a thumbs up: "Amazing! I almost threw up just now!"

Despite being injured like this, he still has the energy to talk nonsense.

Pei Qinghe was both amused and exasperated, and rolled her eyes at him: "Speak less and focus on recovering."

Pei Yan chuckled and shut up.

Pei Xuan brought over two bowls of warm rice porridge. Pei Yan was unable to move, so Pei Xuan fed her spoonful by spoonful. Pei Qinghe's injuries were much lighter, and she was helped to sit up; her left hand was more agile than her right.

"Has the battlefield been cleaned up?"

What are the Xiongnu barbarians up to now?

"Did General Yang bring men here last night?"

Pei Xuan spoke fluently: "The battlefield was cleaned up all night, but there are too many corpses, and we haven't finished carrying them all yet. I estimate it will take another day."

"The Xiongnu barbarians retreated last night and left early this morning with money, provisions, and prisoners."

"General Yang knew that my cousin was injured and needed to rest, so he came last night and then left."

The next steps in the pursuit must be discussed and decided.

Pei Qinghe instructed, "Go and invite General Yang over now. Also, summon Sun Cheng and Tao Feng." Unable to move, she had no choice but to have Yang Hu and the others come here to discuss military matters. Pei Yan, having eaten her fill, began to feel sleepy again. When Yang Hu and the others entered the tent, they found the energetic general sitting there, and the fast-sleeping Pei Yan.

The group sat down around Pei Qinghe. Pei Qinghe said, "I am injured in the right leg and have a superficial wound in the right arm. I need to rest and recuperate for a few days. Sun Cheng, you will lead the troops in pursuit in my place. Tao Feng and Pei Xuan will follow your command."

Sun Cheng bowed and accepted the order.

Sun Cheng was a seasoned veteran, skilled in leading troops and possessing strategic acumen. Tao Feng and Pei Xuan were both convinced and nodded in agreement.

Pei Qinghe then said to Yang Hu, "General Yang, please check the warhorses and muster the troops for the expedition."

How many pursuers to send depends on how many warhorses are still able to run.

Yang Hu responded in a deep voice, then unfolded the border defense map of Youzhou and pointed out several possible routes for the Xiongnu barbarians to retreat.

To set up an ambush, one must accurately predict the retreat route of the Xiongnu barbarians. Pei Qinghe thought carefully and pointed to one of the several routes: "Set up an ambush here."

Yang Hu's eyes showed admiration: "General, we thought of the same thing. This route is the closest to the border. With the Xiongnu barbarian general killed in battle, their morale is completely gone, and they will definitely take the shortest route as quickly as possible."

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed, and she whispered, "Beiping County is not far from this road, about two hundred li away. I will immediately send someone to Pei Yun to ask her to lead elite troops to reinforce us!"

……

During these past few days of defending the city, no warhorses were used, and a batch of Xiongnu warhorses were captured. After counting, there were a total of two thousand horses.

The Guangning army sent out 1,000 soldiers, while the Pei family army only had 1,000 men left who could fight. The 2,000 elite soldiers, carrying enough rations and water for ten days, rushed out of Guangning County.

Military campaigns are like a game of chess; once a move is made, there's no going back.

The pursuers have been sent out, but whether they can catch up with the Xiongnu army, or whether they can successfully ambush them and win a battle, remains to be seen. We can only wait and see the outcome!
Pei Qinghe focused on recuperating from her injuries.

Pei Feng's injuries were minor and healed quickly; he was able to walk on his own in a couple of days. Pei Zhi insisted on joining in the fun, having herself carried over. Pei Yan complained about the noise and crowd, but Pei Feng immediately retorted, "You have the loudest voice, and we haven't even complained about you yet!"

Pei Zhi nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right."

Pei Yan's eyes widened like copper bells.

Pei Qinghe watched her younger cousins ​​laughing and joking, feeling both amused and a little heartbroken.

The Pei family army had fought many battles, large and small, but this was the first time they had been so devastated. Almost everyone close to her was injured. Even she herself had to lie in bed for ten days before she could barely get up.

The moment my foot landed, I felt a slight stinging pain in my right leg.

Pei Yan, still lying face down recovering from her injury, asked anxiously, "How are you? Does your leg still hurt?"

Pei Zhi was able to sit up with difficulty. Pei Feng's injuries had basically healed. She came over to help Pei Qinghe: "Cousin Qinghe, let me help you walk around for a bit."

Pei Qinghe smiled and hummed in agreement, then casually patted Pei Feng's head. Twelve-year-old Pei Feng was already as tall as her.

Pei Feng didn't flinch, and whispered shyly, "I've grown up now!"

Pei Qinghe chuckled: "That's right, I won't touch your head anymore."

Pei Yan curled her lip: "What kind of grown-up is this kid pretending to be?"

Pei Feng glanced back and said, "If you say less, your injury will heal faster."

Pei Feng helped Pei Qinghe walk around once. Pei Qinghe didn't push herself; feeling her right leg was still strained, she lay down again.

Seven or eight days later, Pei Qinghe was able to walk without any problems and finally left the wounded soldiers' camp. He first inspected the camp and then went to the city gate.

(End of this chapter)