Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 246 The Battle Begins (Part Two)

Emperor Jian'an, recovering from his shock and indescribable joy, stood up: "General Pei has won this contest!"

It was he, the emperor, who overruled all objections and insisted on appointing Pei Qinghe as a general.

Pei Qinghe's victory is his victory!
Pei Qinghe slowly sheathed her long sword and bowed slightly to Emperor Jian'an. Before she could speak, Pei Yan shouted, "Watch out!"

General Xie, who was lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up, clenched his fist, which was as big as an iron bowl, and slammed it hard into Pei Qinghe's right leg, which had been injured before.

Pei Qinghe was prepared and dodged suddenly, then kicked General Xie's right wrist with her left leg.

Click!
The sound of the wrist bone breaking was drowned out by General Xie's earth-shattering screams.

General Xie's personal guards rushed over like arrows, scrambling to help their general. One of them, harboring resentment, launched a sneak attack on Pei Qinghe.

Pei Yan rushed over, grinning maliciously, and punched the soldier who had ambushed her, knocking him to the ground. Not satisfied with that, she kicked him twice more: "Bah! Losing a fair fight and resorting to such low-class tricks! Disgraceful!"

"A cowardly soldier is a coward, and a cowardly general makes a whole army cowardly!"

The guard clutched his stomach, rolled around, and screamed in agony.

Pei Yan glared menacingly at the other guards. The guards collectively lifted General Xie and took a step back.

Pei Qinghe sneered: "Pei Yan, stop!"

Pei Yan responded, spat fiercely, and then stood behind Pei Qinghe.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, General Xie's sneak attack failed and he was seriously injured instead. The generals were too ashamed to plead for him. General Zhang stood up and stepped in to smooth things over: "General Xie has already lost. In this duel, General Pei has won. The precious horse and sword are both General Pei's."

"Let General Xie go and heal his wounds first! We are all ministers in the same court, and pillars of the Great Jing Dynasty. It is not advisable to make enemies. What does General Pei think?"

Pei Qinghe raised her eyes and met General Zhang's gaze: "General Zhang, please plead for me, and we'll let it go today."

In her past life, General Zhang bribed her trusted subordinates to shoot a deadly arrow at her from behind.

She died at the hands of General Zhang! Sadly, she never saw the true face of her enemy before she died. Today, she finally did.

The moment their eyes met, General Zhang felt a chill run down his spine.

A general who has led troops into battle and experienced countless battles is most sensitive to the killing intent.

That murderous aura came quickly and went even faster. In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace. It was as if it were just his illusion.

Emperor Jian'an also came over, frowning as he ordered the imperial physician to be summoned. The imperial physician, who had been waiting by the training ground, hurriedly brought in his medicine chest and began treating General Xie's injuries on the spot.

Meng Liulang and a group of military generals also came over.

"It's been a few years since we last met, and General Pei's skills are even better than before." Meng Liulang said with a complicated look in front of all the generals, "Back then, I was defeated by you, General. Now, I'm afraid I wouldn't last more than a hundred moves against you."

Meng Liulang led 10,000 Beiping soldiers to withstand the fierce attack of 100,000 rebel troops and defend Bohai County. After the great battle, the Beiping army was hailed as the best army in the north. Even General Zhang was much more polite to Meng Liulang than before.

Despite Meng Liulang's pride, he was so humble and respectful to Pei Qinghe!
The military officers were surprised, but their gazes toward Pei Qinghe became more complicated.

Pei Qinghe was quite amiable towards Meng Liulang, and replied with a smile, "General Meng is too modest. Individual bravery is not very useful on the battlefield. What determines victory or defeat is the overall strength of the army. The Beiping Army is the best army in the north, and the Pei family army still has much to learn from the Beiping Army."

Meng Liulang chuckled, "General Pei, you're embarrassing me by saying that. No matter how powerful the Beiping Army is, they can only hold off the Xiongnu barbarians. But General Pei led his troops to a great victory over the Xiongnu barbarians and even killed a Xiongnu general on the battlefield. The Pei family army is truly the best army in the North! I, Meng Liulang, am arrogant and disdainful of everyone except General Pei!" General Zhang's face turned almost black.

With the two young generals praising and flattering each other, where does that leave the Bohai Navy?
However, the Beiping army's reputation soared, and the Pei family army's military achievements were genuine and undeniable. Pei Qinghe held off the Xiongnu barbarians, and Meng Liulang repelled the rebel army.

Whether he was happy or not, he had to admit that Pei Qinghe and Meng Liulang were holding up half the sky in the north.

A military officer in his fifties coughed and laughed, "Both of the young generals are pillars of the state. General Zhang is a veteran who has led troops for more than twenty years and is a mainstay of the court."

The other military officers chimed in, praising General Zhang.

Emperor Jian'an, realizing what had happened, smiled and said, "Today's battle has truly broadened my horizons. I have ordered a banquet to be prepared, and all my beloved ministers will join us today."

Today's display of skill has already intimidated everyone. Too much of a good thing can be bad, and it's not advisable to provoke General Zhang further.

Pei Qinghe smiled and bowed in response.

The young emperor was escorted away by a group of military generals.

All that remained was General Xie, crying out in the cold wind, shedding tears of regret.

He shouldn't have listened to Zhang Yun's instigation and provoked Pei Qinghe today. As a result, he was utterly humiliated in public, his wrist was broken, and he lost all face and reputation. How can he ever hold his head high in front of others again?

Unfortunately, no one cared about his regret.

At the palace banquet, the Emperor sat at the head of the table, with General Zhang second only to him. Next, it should have been Meng Liulang's turn. Meng Liulang refused to sit, insisting that Pei Qinghe take the seat instead.

Pei Qinghe declined a few times, but then sat down without hesitation.

The generals reluctantly accepted their fate. If General Meng was willing to back down, what else couldn't they tolerate? The one who was still jumping around was still lying in the training ground!
Fine wines and delicacies were served in a continuous stream.

Emperor Jian'an was in high spirits and raised a toast to his ministers. General Zhang remained seated as usual, while the other military officers rose to offer their toasts to the emperor.

Pei Qinghe only drank three cups before putting down her glass: "I can't hold my liquor well, I can only drink three cups."

One of the uncouth military officers casually joked, "What's wrong with having one more drink?"

He immediately regretted it after saying it.

This was a true god of death. How dare he mock him so casually?
Pei Qinghe glanced over and said, "I'm not a good drinker; I tend to beat people up when I'm drunk. General Song, would you like to give me a try?"

General Song wished he could slap himself, and said with an embarrassed smile, "I was just joking, General Pei, please pretend you didn't hear me."

General Song met with a firm rebuff, and the other military officers became much more sensible, each finding someone to drink with. They dared not provoke him.

Pei Qinghe didn't drink alcohol, but she ate quite a lot of food.

Emperor Jian'an noticed several dishes that Pei Qinghe liked and glanced at Eunuch Shen. Eunuch Shen immediately understood and quickly brought over a few more plates.
General Zhang glanced at Emperor Jian'an and sneered inwardly.

Men know men best.

Emperor Jian'an's intentions did not escape General Zhang's keen eye. Empress Zhang had just given birth to a prince and was still in her postpartum confinement period. Emperor Jian'an had already devised a plan to "win the best of both worlds."

snort!
(End of this chapter)