Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 238 Night Party
It’s almost midnight.

The sky was pitch black, and Peijia Village was peaceful.

Only in Shi Yan's room were candles still burning.

Dong Erlang was helping his master with the abacus, occasionally yawning. Hearing familiar footsteps, Dong Erlang immediately went to open the door and tactfully withdrew.

Pei Qinghe closed the door behind her: "You can continue with your work, no need to get up to greet me."

Shi Yan had already gotten up and came over, and said with a low laugh, "The general has arrived, how can I not welcome him?"

He reached out and embraced Pei Qinghe, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

Both were busy during the day, and even when they met, they only talked about business. They only had this short time to be alone each day.

In the heat of passion, Pei Qinghe suddenly whispered, "I'll stay tonight!"

Shi Yan trembled, and with difficulty but firmness, refused: "I want to wait for you to marry me properly."

Pei Qinghe chuckled and gave Shi Yan a deep kiss on the lips.

Shi Yan spoke with conviction, but his actions revealed boundless enthusiasm; his hands moved with remarkable agility as he manipulated the abacus. Pei Qinghe grabbed his hand and gave him a reproachful look.

Shi Yan chuckled softly, then embraced her. Their faces were pressed together, and they didn't say a word, just quietly nestled together.

After a long while, Pei Qinghe pushed Shi Yan away and asked, "Did Yang Huai come to see you today?"

Shi Yan hummed in agreement: "He also brought a generous gift, but I refused to accept it and told him to take it back. He was quite impolite; when I asked what the Guangning Army needed, he gave me a whole list."

Pei Qinghe chuckled. When Shi Yan took a look, he also felt a headache coming on: "Why are we so short of supplies?"

Shi Yan also said helplessly, "Yang Huai said that Guangning County is a poor place, and the wealthy families can't squeeze any more money out of them. Moreover, the Guangning army has been fighting all the time, and they have suffered too many casualties, and their supplies and money have been depleted. Fortunately, we are willing to provide assistance, otherwise, they would be trying to plunder everywhere again."

No one understands this feeling better than Pei Qinghe.

Thinking of the heartbreaking past when she often went hungry while raising soldiers in her previous life, Pei Qinghe felt grateful for herself again: "Shi Yan, thank goodness I have you."

Shi Yan laughed: "General, what do you want from all this sweet talk tonight?"

Pei Qinghe teased in a low voice, "Naturally, it's so that you'll do your job wholeheartedly and be my slave."

Shi Yan replied solemnly, "I am willing to submit and let the general exploit me, never to rise up again."

Pei Qinghe laughed and spat at him, then continued studying the contents of the paper, and said, "Give the Guangning Army whatever they want. I want to completely win over the Guangning Army!"

Shi Yan composed himself.

The candlelight reflected in Pei Qinghe's bright, ambitious eyes: "With Yan Commandery, Beiping Commandery, and Guangning Commandery in my hands, I can support more than ten thousand elite troops. The Fanyang Army is a defeated foe of mine and is not worth worrying about. As for the Liaoxi Army, they stole my warhorses and killed Pei Yi and others. I will deal with them thoroughly sooner or later."

Shi Yan whispered a reminder: "I've dealt with the Liaoxi Army quite a bit before. General Li is of bad character and insatiably greedy, but he's quite capable in battle. At least he's better than the Fanyang Army."

Pei Qinghe sneered: "Liaoxi has been repeatedly invaded by the Xiongnu barbarians. Li Gouze has managed to hold out, so he must have real skills. However, this time he suffered a defeat and was humiliated. He has no face to send messengers to harass us anymore."

The Xiongnu barbarians split into two groups. One group suffered a great loss in Guangning County, and more than a thousand men eventually fled back. The other group of cavalry, however, advanced unimpeded to the Liaoxi army.

The Liaoxi army held their fortified city, refusing to lure the enemy out or launch an ambush. The Xiongnu barbarians plundered and killed indiscriminately, taking large quantities of money, grain, and able-bodied civilians with them. Before leaving, they also attacked the city for several days. The Liaoxi army nearly lost control of the city gates, suffering heavy casualties.

And this scoundrel Li has the nerve to claim he's defended Liaoxi Commandery! Bah!
Mentioning someone like that is just dirtying your mouth.

“The Pei family army and the Liaoxi army are bound to have a battle.” Pei Qinghe said coldly, “The time is not yet ripe. We should train our troops first, and train infantry that can fight the Xiongnu barbarian cavalry head-on.” Shi Yan said in a low voice, “I know nothing about training troops. All I can do is try my best to raise money, food and supplies so that you have no worries.”

Pei Qinghe relaxed her brows, her eyes filled with laughter: "That's enough."

Shi Yan gazed at Pei Qinghe and whispered softly, "You lead troops into battle, but you must also protect yourself. When I heard you were injured last time, I wished I could drop everything and rush to Guangning County."

During that period, he was busy during the day and anxious at night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He only breathed a sigh of relief when Pei Qinghe recovered and sent a letter back.

Pei Qinghe sighed softly: "That's how it is on the battlefield. One moment you're invincible and domineering, the next you might be hit by an arrow or cut by a knife. Pei Yan, Pei Zhi, and Pei Feng were all injured this time."

"Many others died in battle or succumbed to their wounds."

"War is cruel. I have embarked on this path, and there is no turning back. There is no going back."

This was the first time Pei Qinghe had revealed her true feelings to Shi Yan: "I am unwilling to be controlled by fate, and I do not want my life to be controlled by others."

"Qiao Tianwang Tao Wudi only knows how to kill people, Situ Xi is determined to attack the capital and restore the court, and General Zhang wants to seize power as regent. Xie Li only knows how to hide in the palace, covering his ears and eyes to act as emperor. And there are traitors like Li Gouzhe from Liaoxi, who only care about their own pleasure and do not care about the lives of the people at all."

"None of them are worthy of ruling the world."

"One day, I will reach the highest point and end this chaotic world of strife. I will let all the people under heaven live in peace and prosperity."

A burning light shone in Pei Qinghe's eyes.

His ambition to conquer the world was fully revealed to Shi Yan.

Shi Yan felt his heart surge with excitement and his blood boil.

He bowed his head and reverently kissed the back of her hand: "I wish to follow the general forever!"

……

Yang Huai stayed with Pei's army for half a month, training with them at the training ground every day and learning how to use several new weapons. When the steward had prepared the supplies, he shamelessly asked for some more new weapons before finally setting off back to Guangning Army, completely satisfied.

Pei Yan saw him off with a look of disdain: "Forget about it now. But once you marry into the family, you'll have to be loyal to the Pei family and not side with outsiders."

One donkey, one tethering method.

Yang Hu liked Pei Zhi's charming and willful nature.

Yang Huai was quite used to being bossed around by Pei Yan with her fist clenched: "I know."

Yang Huai returned to the military camp with a large amount of supplies and weapons, and the Guangning army was overjoyed. What good was surrendering to Emperor Jian'an? They had gained nothing in the past few years.

General Pei was different. He was generous and magnanimous, giving whatever was asked for.

Not to mention the Yang family, even the senior military officers in the camp spoke highly of Pei Qinghe in private.

With no worries about the future, one can focus on training.

Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

At the end of the year, the young Empress Zhang gave birth to a son. Emperor Jian'an was overjoyed and announced to the north that a grand full-month celebration would be held for his eldest son.

All military generals who cared about the imperial court were required to personally go to Bohai Commandery to offer their congratulations.

(End of this chapter)