Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 290 Retreat (Part Two)
"The general suffered three wounds. One in his arm and two in his back."

"The wound on my back is the most serious. It's too long and needs to be stitched up."

"There's some numbing syrup left; give it to the general. It'll make his wound stitching less painful."

The warm, bitter medicine was poured into the mouth.

He quickly lost consciousness.

The boundless darkness seemed like the beginning of chaos. Pei Qinghe felt as if she were a wisp of smoke, drifting between heaven and earth, drifting further and further away.

Qinghe.

A familiar voice was calling her.

Green rice, green rice.

She responded and drifted towards the sound. In the dim world, a faint ray of light seemed to appear. She blinked laboriously and opened her eyes.

A familiar, handsome face appeared above.

His eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep, and short stubble on his chin. Seeing her open her eyes and wake up, a gleam of joy shone in them.

"Qinghe, you're finally awake."

Pei Qinghe hummed in response, barely able to hear her own voice: "Why are you here?"

Shi Yan wiped his eyes with his sleeve and replied in a low voice, "Pei Yun sent a message to Tuhe County by fast horse, and I came here immediately on horseback."

"You were unconscious for two days and two nights, running a fever the whole time. You've finally woken up."

"I'll go tell everyone the good news right away."

Shi Yan got up and quickly went out. A moment later, several figures rushed in. Pei Yan, with her arm in a sling and her forehead wrapped in gauze, was the fastest, rushing to the bedside: "Cousin Qinghe, you're finally awake. Your injuries weren't originally that serious, but due to the lack of timely treatment, you lost too much blood. After the wound was stitched up, you've had a fever. How are you now? Does your head still hurt?"

Pei Xuan, supported by Pei Feng, limped over: "You've been unconscious for so long, it scared us to death."

Pei Feng asked with concern, "I've been watching over you the whole time. But as soon as Steward Shi arrived, he told us to go and rest. Cousin Qinghe, how are you feeling now?"

Pei Yun and Pei Zhi didn't have time to speak, their eyes fixed on Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe didn't need to look in a mirror to know that her face was pale, weak, and powerless. In front of her closest relatives, she didn't need to pretend to be strong, and whispered a few words: "Hungry, thirsty, tired."

Everyone was amused.

Pei Yun smiled and said, "Shi Yan went to the kitchen, he'll be back in a bit. Please wait a moment."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Shi Yan brought over a bowl of hot porridge. He sat down by the bed and patiently fed her spoonful by spoonful. After drinking a bowl of porridge, Pei Qinghe regained some strength and asked Pei Yun, "What's the Xiongnu barbarians doing?"

Pei Yun replied, "They withdrew their troops two days ago."

He paused, then whispered, "They brought a large amount of money and provisions, as well as many able-bodied men. Their speed isn't actually fast. However, we've suffered too many casualties, and we can't muster three thousand men who can still fight. Moreover, we don't have warhorses. If the Xiongnu barbarians fight us to the death, I'm afraid we'll suffer a major defeat."

“At that time, you had a high fever and were unconscious. After discussing with General Yang and General Li, we decided to give up the pursuit and let the Xiongnu barbarians retreat.”

This was a decision made out of necessity.

The Xiongnu barbarians were not truly defeated; they still had several thousand elite cavalrymen who could fight back. Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall; if the Xiongnu barbarians fought desperately, the battlefield would be littered with corpses.

In fact, even considering whether to pursue the Xiongnu barbarians was unprecedented. In the past, soldiers who could hold out and fight the Xiongnu barbarians a few times were rare talents. Staying within the city walls was the norm.

Pei Qinghe nodded, "If it were me, I would make the same decision." Pei Yun said in a low voice, "The battlefield has been cleaned up, and the corpses of the Xiongnu barbarians have been burned. Our people will be buried."

"The battle losses have been tallied. Our Pei family army now has more than 5,300 men left. Fifteen of our leaders were killed in battle."

At this point, Pei Yun's eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion.

A glint of tears welled up in Pei Qinghe's eyes.

Of the 13,000 elite troops who arrived, more than half were lost, and the cavalry was almost completely wiped out. The Pei family army paid a heavy price in this battle.

"The Guangning Army suffered nearly half its casualties." Pei Yan continued, "The Pingyang Army still has about six hundred cavalry left. The Fanyang Army has lost or fled, totaling about thirty percent."

The Fanyang army had low combat strength, deployed the fewest troops, and suffered the fewest casualties.

Even the Beiping army that came from afar to provide relief suffered more casualties than the Fanyang army.

"How is the Liaoxi Army?" Pei Qinghe asked, perking up.

Pei Yun replied, "The Liaoxi army originally numbered 30,000, but after a major defeat, countless soldiers fled in disarray, and many were killed or wounded while defending the city. Now, only a little over 4,000 remain."

In other words, this great battle caused several rapidly expanding Youzhou armies to return to their former state overnight.

Of course, the Xiongnu barbarians didn't fare much better. Of their 30,000 elite cavalry, at least half were killed and killed.

Pei Qinghe remained silent for a long time before saying softly, "Everyone, please rest and recover from your injuries. Once you're healed, we'll regroup, recruit more soldiers, and fight the Xiongnu barbarians again."

His few words stirred the crowd's blood.

Shi Yan remained silent, only gripping Pei Qinghe's hand tightly.

The once strong and resilient hand was now weak and powerless, and the palms were covered in cold sweat.

Pei Yun told everyone to leave, and told Pei Qinghe to rest and recover. Pei Yan refused to leave, but Pei Yun glared at her and dragged her out of the military tent.

"Sleep a little longer," Shi Yan whispered softly. "I'll stay by your side the whole time."

Pei Qinghe gave a soft "hmm," closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep again.

After waking up, I changed my dressing and bandaged my wound, took my medicine, ate, and then went back to sleep.

Shi Yan stayed by the bedside the whole time, changing his dressings, washing him, and serving him meals, doing everything himself and never asking anyone else to help.

By the fifth day, Pei Qinghe was able to sit up from the bed and had the energy to chat. Yang Hu, Li Chi, Lü Feng, and others arrived together.

“A few days ago, we jointly wrote a memorial to the court, requesting commendation for the general.” The military officers expressed their loyalty directly and without much beating around the bush.

Pei Qinghe's face was still somewhat pale, but her eyes already held a stern look. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "His Majesty has already bestowed upon me the rank of Second-Rank Martial Might General. If I were to request further merit, I would be of the same rank as General Zhang and become a First-Rank Grand General. Given General Zhang's magnanimity and character, he would certainly try to obstruct me."

Li Chi sneered, "Our Pei family army has utterly defeated the Xiongnu barbarians, earning a formidable reputation that resounds throughout Youzhou. The people only recognize General Pei; who knows what General Zhang is all about!"

Everyone looked at Li Chi.

Who are you!
Would General Pei accept you? Then you can call yourself the Pei Family Army!
Li Chi remained calm and composed despite the disdainful looks from the crowd, and continued loudly, "General, the Liaoxi Army has already taken down their flag and will now belong to the Pei family army. Once you have recovered from your injuries, you might as well go and see the military camp. Their hearts are all with you."

brazen!
How shameless!

The crowd's gazes grew increasingly disdainful.

(End of this chapter)