Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 456 Facing the Battle (Part 1)

Pei Qinghe's maternal love surged up suddenly, and she reached out to hug her daughter.

Mother and daughter are bound by blood and are naturally closer than others. For the first month after her birth, the little monkey was cared for by Madam Feng and two wet nurses in turns, seeing her biological mother only twice a day. Pei Qinghe hardly ever held her.

At that moment, the little monkey nestled in its mother's arms and suddenly grinned.

Shi Yan was both surprised and delighted: "Look, the little monkey is smiling."

Pei Qinghe felt a warm glow in her heart and smiled as she hummed in agreement.

When Pei Qinghe brought her daughter to the full moon banquet, Pei Yun, Pei Xuan, and Pei Feng, who had specially rushed back, all came over.

"The little monkey looks so clever and bright," Pei Yun thought. She had never been pregnant and had no children, and clearly had no plans to in the future. Seeing the little monkey, she was very fond of it and reached out to hug it.

Pei Xuan smiled and leaned closer to introduce herself: "Little monkey, I'm your Aunt Pei Xuan."

Pei Feng also came over: "I'm your Uncle Pei Feng."

Pei Qinghe casually said with a smile, "Pei Feng, you're nineteen this year, it's time for you to get married. Take advantage of this trip back and hold the wedding."

These past few years of leading troops alone have been a tremendous test for Pei Feng. All his naivety has faded, and he has become a handsome and dashing young general.

When the topic of marriage came up, Pei Fengjun blushed slightly: "It's all up to my cousin to decide."

This means that you are willing to get married.

Pei Qinghe smiled knowingly.

For the past few years, Song Xue has lived in Pei Family Village, working to improve the weapons of the Pei Family Army. The weapon blueprints she drew could fill half a room, and only about 20% of them were ultimately adopted. This was already a remarkable achievement. In just a few years, the Pei Family Army's weapons underwent upgrades and iterations, increasing their lethality by several times.

Song Xue also designed the latest style of catapult, and the siege towers used for attacking cities were also improved. Based on the merits Song Xue made, it would not be an exaggeration to name her a female general.

After Pei Yuan's full-moon celebration, Pei Qinghe had several auspicious days chosen and sent to the Pingyang military camp. General Song was a straightforward man and didn't make things difficult for him in these trivial matters, directly choosing the nearest day.

There was no need for Song Xue to travel back and forth; General Song led his men to Yan County and escorted the bride directly there.

It was already May when this happy event was over.

Pei Feng came to say goodbye with his new bride.

Pei Qinghe said to Song Xue in a gentle tone, "If Pei Feng bullies you in the future, write to me and I will teach him a lesson."

Song Xue, who is usually poised and generous, has become unusually shy these past few days since her wedding. Her words immediately revealed her shyness: "With my cousin backing me up, how could Pei Feng dare to bully me?"

She called out "Brother Pei Feng" again in a sweet and innocent way. The shy Pei Feng blushed deeply.

Everyone burst into laughter.

A few days after the newlyweds left, a major event occurred.

Upon receiving the battle report, Pei Qinghe's gaze turned cold. After reading the report, she immediately summoned Prime Minister Pang and other officials.

"The Jiangnan rebels suffered a major defeat." Pei Qinghe said succinctly, "King Qiao was killed, and Tao Wudi fled in panic. Situ Xi, riding the wave of his great victory, has led his army to attack Youzhou."

The ministers were all shocked and quickly circulated the battle report.

After reading it, Prime Minister Pang said with a solemn expression, "The Imperial Guard and the Jiangnan rebels fought for several years, and in the end, the Imperial Guard won. With King Qiao dead, only the brave but reckless Tao Wudi remains, who is no longer a threat. Situ Xi wants to take this opportunity to unify the world."

"He's dreaming," Minister Qin coldly interjected. "For the past few years, we've been busy training our troops. He's taking the initiative to send troops, and we have both the advantage of terrain and popular support. It's the perfect opportunity to wipe out the Imperial Guard!" For a civil official to have such confidence shows his immense faith in Emperor Zhaoyuan.

Meng Bing was much more cautious than Minister Qin. After a moment's consideration, he said, "Please send the vanguard first to find out the marching route and the exact number of the imperial guards before we can respond quickly."

Pei Qinghe nodded, then turned and ordered Yang Huai to lead a thousand cavalrymen to scout out the enemy's situation. Immediately afterwards, he ordered the Ministry of Revenue to prepare military funds and supplies for the major battle.

Shi Yan bowed and accepted the order: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. In the past few years, the northern lands have enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, and there are reserves of military rations in various places. In Yan County, more than a dozen large granaries have been built for military rations. These rations are enough to feed an army of 100,000 for two years."

In the past, most of the military provisions had to be purchased from outside the region. After Pei Qinghe became the emperor of the North, he ordered the various prefectures and counties to gather displaced people to cultivate the land. After several years, this had been quite effective. The resources of the prefectures and counties in the North were now sufficient to supply the army with provisions. Of course, purchasing grain was still necessary. Most of the grain stored in these dozen or so large granaries was purchased by Shi Li from various sources.

In addition to military rations, the Quanzhou horse farm continuously supplied warhorses, and the armory was busy every day, with plenty of various weapons and brand-new armor.

It can be said that Pei's army has been actively preparing for battle.

“My original plan was to attack the Xiongnu first, and then Situ Xi,” Pei Qinghe said coldly. “Now that Situ Xi can’t hold back and has taken the initiative to send troops to attack, then we’ll deal with the Imperial Guards first.”

The ministers responded in unison.

……

News of Situ Xi's large-scale military campaign spread quickly.

The Pei family army had not fought a major battle for several years, and after news of the war spread, many military officers volunteered to lead the troops.

Pei Qinghe frowned: "Nonsense! None of the four armies here in Youzhou can move around recklessly. We must be on guard against the invasion of the Xiongnu cavalry at any time. Pei Yan, send someone to tell them to stay put and not to send troops to help without permission."

Pei Yan bowed and accepted the order before leaving.

Pei Qinghe then immediately sent a letter to Pei Yun.

Bohai Commandery is a crucial route for the Imperial Guard's northern expedition. Pei Yun has trained his troops for several years with remarkable success, and now Bohai Commandery boasts over ten thousand elite soldiers. However, the Imperial Guard is a formidable force of eighty to ninety thousand, plus over one hundred thousand auxiliary troops. Bohai Commandery can only hold its ground and cannot launch a proactive attack.

Meng Bing is a thoughtful person. After creating the northern sand table, he added a southern topographic map.

Pei Qinghe led a group of military officers to stand by the sand table, discussing the marching route and strategies for dealing with the enemy. It took three days to reach a conclusion.

Staying in Yan County and waiting for the Imperial Guard to arrive would actually be the best strategy of defense. However, Pei Qinghe did not choose this conservative approach.

"If the Imperial Guard is allowed to advance unchecked, the hundreds of thousands of troops will destroy crops and plunder villages wherever they go, and the people will suffer unimaginable hardship."

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and her voice was icy: "I will take the initiative to lead the troops to meet the enemy and push the battle line forward, preventing them from setting foot in Youzhou."

Meng Bing nodded in agreement.

Mao Hongling opened her mouth and said, "I will also go to war with the Emperor."

For so many years, Mao Hongling has stayed in Peijia Village and has never taken the initiative to fight.

Pei Qinghe was somewhat surprised: "If you come with me to the expedition, who will stay behind to guard the front?"

Mao Hongling said, "If we defeat the Imperial Guards, there will be no war in Youzhou. If we can't hold them off, it will be useless for anyone to stay behind."

This is true.

Pei Qinghe quickly made a decision: "Then Minister Meng will take charge of the rear and stay to guard Yan County."

(End of this chapter)