Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 469 Destiny (Part 7)

Pei Qinghe's archery skills were unparalleled; he never missed his target.

Today's arrow, however, missed its target's vitals, piercing instead the right wrist of the fifty-year-old man holding the long sword. The man's right wrist loosened, the sword fell to the ground, and he let out a miserable cry.

Pei Qinghe didn't stop for a moment and raised her hand to shoot a second arrow.

The man wore soft armor; however, the armor only protected vital areas such as the chest and abdomen, leaving his arms and calves unprotected. Pei Qinghe's archery was extremely cunning; the arrow left afterimages in the air and landed on the man's right shinbone.

The man swayed and fell heavily to the ground.

The imperial guards, who had been on the run for a day and a night, rushed forward like madmen. Some charged towards Pei Qinghe, while others fought desperately to hold off the Pei family army that had surrounded them. Some even used their own bodies to surround the man who had been hit by two arrows.

These guards, fighting desperately, were Situ Xi's trusted personal guards, who would rather die than surrender.

Pei Qinghe had no intention of recruiting these bandits. She drew her long sword and coldly ordered, "Kill them all!"

Pei Feng, Pei Yue, and the others roared in unison and drew their swords to fight the enemy.

In recent years, Pei Qinghe has either been stationed in Yan County or inspecting various military camps. Occasionally, when there is a battle, a bunch of generals vie to take action. She hasn't personally wielded her sword to fight the enemy in a long time.

At this moment, he attacked in a fit of rage, like a vengeful Yama, his long blade flashing, and enemy soldiers' heads flew off.

Pei Feng's attacks were equally fierce and swift, while Pei Yue and Pei Wan also brandished their swords, fighting desperately. They followed Pei Qinghe's footsteps, closing in step by step.

General Situ, whose wrists and legs were riddled with arrows, was in excruciating pain, his face pale and his forehead beaded with cold sweat. However, at this moment, he had neither the strength to struggle nor the possibility of fighting back. He could only lie on the ground, watching helplessly as Pei Qinghe brandished her sword, killing and closing in.

No one wanted to face Pei Qinghe on the battlefield.

One by one, the loyal guards to General Situ fell in pools of blood. Finally, one of them, terrified, threw down his weapon and knelt to surrender. Pei Qinghe seemed not to hear him, and with a single stroke, cut the kneeling man to the ground.

"Pei Qinghe! Stop killing!" General Situ was trembling all over, whether from fear or regret, his voice shaking violently: "I've lost! Kill me! Spare them! They are all true elite soldiers, take them in as surrendered soldiers, don't kill them anymore!"

Pei Qinghe's gaze was icy: "If I spare them, who will spare the villagers who were slaughtered?"

General Situ's forehead veins throbbed: "This is absurd! You want to slaughter all the elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard for some commoners! Pei Qinghe! How can a man who aspires to great things be bound by trivial matters! They shouldn't have died here in vain! Take them in and lead them to fight the Xiongnu barbarians!"

Pei Qinghe completely ignored General Situ's shouts and continued to fight with his sword.

She didn't rush to take General Situ's life. She had shot two arrows earlier, which missed Situ Xi's vitals, but they rendered him unable to move, leaving him lying on the ground watching her lead her troops to surround and kill the imperial guards.

Because Situ Xi was still alive, these elite guards refused to flee and came one after another to their deaths.

Situ Xi, whose heart was as cold and hard as a rock, watched helplessly as his trusted guards were killed one by one, their blood soaking the ground and staining his eyes red.

He was trembling uncontrollably, whether from excessive blood loss from his hand and leg injuries or from the despair and regret in his heart, it was hard to tell.

"Pei Qinghe! Spare their lives!"

"Come and kill me! I'm right here, come and kill me!"

After shouting for a while, his voice became hoarse.

Pei Feng, Pei Yue, and Pei Wan rushed over and fought bravely, killing all the guards surrounding Situ Xi. Only Situ Xi remained, lying in a pool of blood, crying out in despair.

Pei Qinghe walked over, carrying a knife.

Blood dripped incessantly from the blade. She stood beside Situ Xi, looking down at her condescendingly: "You've lost. Fate belongs to me, Pei Qinghe!"

Situ Xi smiled bitterly, wanting to say something, but the opportunity was gone. Pei Qinghe's long sword flashed, and a sharp pain shot through his neck. The next moment, his head rolled a few steps.

With Situ Xi dead, the morale of the Imperial Guard completely collapsed, and they fled in all directions. The soldiers of the Pei family army relentlessly pursued and slaughtered them.

Pei Qinghe closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them: "Pei Feng, hang Situ Xi's head on our military flag."

Pei Feng responded in a deep voice, picked up Situ Xi's head, and hung it on the military flag with a rope.

In this war between the North and South, the Imperial Guards suffered a complete defeat, while the Pei family army won a great victory!

Destiny belongs to Pei Qinghe!

……

The chaotic chase lasted for several days.

Pei Qinghe issued a military order that deserters could not be allowed to bully and harm the people. After Gu Lian and Sun Cheng led their troops to join the hunt, they also joined the pursuit of the deserters.

Upon receiving news of Pei's army, the villagers within a radius of dozens of miles became vigilant. They carried machetes, kitchen knives, or shovels and other tools. Whenever soldiers of unknown origin entered the village, they swarmed forward and subdued the deserters.

Emperor Zhaoyuan decreed that anyone who captures a deserter, whether dead or alive, shall be rewarded with one shi of grain.

Within a few days, many villagers came carrying the heads of deserters to claim their rewards. Those who provided information about the deserters' whereabouts were also rewarded with a bushel of grain. Villagers eagerly and enthusiastically came to deliver the information.

After days of pursuit and slaughter, the mound of skulls made of the Imperial Guards outside Mo City grew ever higher. Very few Imperial Guards managed to escape the northern lands alive.

After the battle, cleaning up the battlefield was also a tough job.

Mao Hongling took on this heavy responsibility, leading 10,000 Pei family soldiers to clean up the battlefield. Regardless of whether they were friend or foe, the soft armor and helmets on the corpses had to be stripped off, all weapons had to be collected, and the corpses had to be buried on the spot. Medicine had also been spread to prevent post-war plague.

All surrendered soldiers of the Imperial Guard who were officers of the rank of captain or above were beheaded.

The remaining surrendered soldiers were executed one in five, and rows of those chosen were beheaded. Pei Qinghe had no intention of reorganizing the surviving soldiers; instead, he sent them all to do hard labor in the mines.

In this battle, the Pei family army also suffered extremely heavy casualties.

The list of those who died in battle was piled up and was quite thick.

Pei Qinghe opened the list, and the first name that caught her eye was extremely familiar.

Feng Chang!

Twelve years ago, she was the leader of the first group of refugees who came down from the mountain to join Pei Family Village. They later became the first soldiers of the Pei Family Army, following her in battles across the land and achieving countless military exploits. Later, she was surpassed by Gu Liansun, which made her resentful and secretly wavering. She even exchanged glances with the Zhang father and son. In the end, however, she didn't dare to do anything rebellious and remained quietly in the Pei Family Army.

Today, he has finally washed away the shame with his life and blood.

Pei Qinghe remained silent for a long time before looking at the second name.

This name is also familiar; it belongs to the direct line of the Pei family.

The third one, the fourth one... Pei Qinghe read through the pages one by one, her eyes glistening with tears.

(End of this chapter)