Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 241 Reunion (Part 1)

Meng Liulang helped his elder brother out of the city gate.

Outside the city gates stood the Pei family army, which had come from afar.

Hundreds of strong warhorses stood in neat formation, the soldiers on horseback with ruddy complexions and bright eyes. Half were male soldiers and half were female soldiers. This was the unique style of the Pei family army.

The young girl, leading the way, wore a gray cloth dress, had sharp eyes, and exuded a commanding presence.

It was Pei Qinghe, whom they hadn't seen for more than three years.

Pei Qinghe glanced at the faces of the Meng brothers, then nimbly dismounted and stepped forward.

Meng Dalang laughed heartily and cupped his hands in greeting: "Several years have passed since we parted. The Sixth Miss Pei of that time is now the renowned General Pei. In this year's battle, you defeated the Xiongnu barbarians, killed the Xiongnu commander Wuyan on the battlefield, drove the Xiongnu barbarians back to the grasslands, and saved countless people. You are truly admirable and worthy of respect."

Meng Liulang suppressed his complicated emotions and joined him in greeting with clasped hands.

Pei Qinghe smiled and returned the greeting: "The Beiping army fought valiantly against 100,000 rebel troops and defended Bohai County. Now, who in the north doesn't know the name of the Meng brothers?"

"By the way, this is General Yang Hu of the Guangning Army, who came with our Pei family army!"

Yang Hu, who had been ignored, immediately stepped forward to greet and exchange pleasantries with the Meng brothers.

As sons of military families and having lived in Youzhou for many years, the Meng brothers and Yang Hu were naturally acquainted. Their relationship had been lukewarm in the past, but now that they were far from Youzhou and met again in Bohai Commandery, they felt a closer connection, like old friends reuniting.

Meng Dalang laughed and said, "There are many people coming and going outside the city. Please, General Pei and General Yang, lead your troops into the city to settle them down. When we have some free time, my brothers and I will pay you a visit."

Pei Qinghe smiled and agreed.

Yang Hu waited until Pei Qinghe nodded before smiling and agreeing.

Meng Dalang, of course, understood the subtle implications. Meng Liulang also saw it, secretly grumbling to himself that as the commander of the Guangning army, he was utterly subservient to Pei Qinghe, showing no real ambition. If General Yang knew this in the afterlife, one wonders what he would think.

Pei Qinghe led five hundred elite soldiers into Bohai County.

The two hundred elite soldiers of the Guangning Army, already accustomed to following behind the Pei family army, rode their horses into the city gate.

Young Pei Xuan and Pei Feng looked around curiously and whispered in admiration, "Bohai County does indeed have the grandeur of a capital city."

"It's still far behind the capital."

"That goes without saying. The Emperor has only been on the throne in Bohai County for four years. How can this place compare to the capital?"

Pei Qinghe glanced over with a smile, and the two immediately shut up, behaving very obediently.

Meng Dalang personally led Pei Qinghe and his entourage to the two large mansions: "In the past few days, generals have been arriving with their troops one after another. His Majesty has specially ordered the preparation of more than a dozen large mansions. These are close to the palace and adjacent to each other. General Pei and General Yang, please settle down here!"

This is a large mansion with four courtyards and dozens of empty rooms. It was common for people to spend the night outdoors, but now that they had houses to stay in, it was much better than camping out in the open.

Pei Qinghe gave the order: ten people per team, one room per team.

The Guangning Army only had two hundred men, so their living conditions were much more spacious; four or five people could sleep in one room.

Before they were even settled in, someone from the palace came to deliver an imperial edict.

The newcomer was a fair-skinned, round-faced eunuch in his forties, who smiled obsequiously: "My surname is Shen, and I have always served by His Majesty's side. When His Majesty learned that the General had arrived, he immediately ordered me to invite the General to the palace for an audience."

Pei Qinghe had expected this and was not surprised. She smiled and replied, "Alright, I will go to the palace with Eunuch Shen now."

With a forced smile, Eunuch Shen said, "General Pei has come from afar. Please take a bath and change your clothes. I'll wait for you here."

Pei Qinghe's smile vanished, and he said calmly, "I've only been in the city for a little over an hour, and I was busy settling in when Eunuch Shen arrived, urging me to go to the palace for an audience. But now there's no rush. Why don't I rest for the night and go to the palace early tomorrow morning?" Eunuch Shen, feeling snubbed, quickly changed his tune, saying, "That's fine, General. There's no need for you to bathe and change clothes."

Pei Qinghe glanced coldly at Eunuch Shen.

An invisible killing intent and oppressive aura descended like Mount Tai.

The woman before him was a killing machine who had annihilated countless bandits, fought against the Fanyang army, and slaughtered the Xiongnu barbarians. She had even beheaded the Xiongnu commander with a single stroke. How dare he have spoken out of turn? To allow a general who had killed countless people to dress and please the emperor?

Sweat beaded on Eunuch Shen's forehead, and he bent even lower: "I apologize for my indiscretion, General."

Pei Qinghe remained silent.

Eunuch Shen dared not raise his head, and remained in the posture of bowing and apologizing.

Pei Yan, standing to the side, sneered and said, "This eunuch is spouting nonsense and disrespecting the general. I'll behead him. If the Emperor blames me, I'll bring his head to plead guilty!"

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "You must not be rude. This is the Emperor's most trusted and capable person. Even if his words are abrupt and impetuous, it is not your place to punish him."

Pei Yan curled her lip and sheathed the long sword she had drawn: "I'll let it go this time. But if you dare to gossip again, my sword won't discriminate."

Eunuch Shen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and slapped himself lightly on the face: "This servant was too talkative! I will never dare to do it again."

Pei Qinghe then said unhurriedly, "Please lead the way, Eunuch Shen. This general will now enter the palace to pay homage to the Emperor."

After this initial show of force, Eunuch Shen became much more obedient.

According to palace rules, military officers were not allowed to bring weapons when they came to court, and their retinues could not exceed five people.

Pei Qinghe never parted with his knife and ignored this custom. He ordered Pei Yan, Pei Xuan, Pei Feng, Gu Lian, and Feng Chang to accompany him, but deliberately left Sun Cheng behind: "You stay here. If there is any unusual activity, you don't need to wait for me to return. You can make the decision yourself."

This means entrusting all five hundred elite soldiers to Sun Cheng. Even if Sun Cheng suddenly leads his troops to attack the palace or the Zhang family, Pei Qinghe will not blame him.

"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them." This is Pei Qinghe's consistent principle. Sun Cheng has been a key figure in the Pei family army for more than two years.

Sun Cheng never wastes time with words; he simply and decisively accepted the order.

The carriage rattled its way toward the palace.

Yang Hu, who was next door, pulled his head back in.

The guards around him murmured, "His Majesty is being far too biased. The Pei family army and the Guangning army entered the city together, so why is he only summoning General Pei and ignoring our general?"

Yang Hu glared at him and said, "What nonsense! Do you think I'm the same as General Pei?"

His eldest uncle led troops to rescue the emperor and died on the battlefield. His position as commander-in-chief was, in a sense, inherited from the emperor.

Pei Qinghe's position as general was earned through sheer hard work and battle. Ten of him wouldn't be a match for Pei Qinghe, so how could they be compared?
The guards awkwardly shut their mouths.

The palace remains the same as the former prefectural governor's residence. It has been renovated and expanded over the years, becoming much more imposing.

Gao Yong, the commander of the emperor's personal guards, came out to greet him personally: "His Majesty is in the Imperial Study. General Pei, this way please."

Pei Qinghe smiled slightly: "Shall I remove this knife?"

Gao Yong laughed and said, "With the general's skills, you can kill people even without a long sword, so there's no need to remove your weapon."

Eunuch Shen: "..."

(End of this chapter)