Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 496 Side Story: The Rout (Part Two)
A day later, the "letter of persuasion to surrender" was delivered to Morton Khan.

Morton's face turned ashen with rage. He ordered his men to chop the two captured Hun cavalrymen into mincemeat. He also tore the letter urging surrender into shreds.

Huhanye's face was also extremely grim: "My second brother died in battle, and my eldest brother was captured alive. Their cavalry were either killed, surrendered, or fled. These two great tribes are completely finished. Shouldn't Morton Khan be satisfied now?"

Morton glared at him angrily: "Huhanye, what are you saying?"

Huhanye, a mild-mannered neutral fence-sitter, was clearly furious and spoke without restraint, saying extremely harsh things: "You know best what I'm saying."

"Before your father passed away, he designated you as the new Khan. At his bedside, you swore an oath to Heaven to revitalize the Xiongnu tribe. And what was the result? You became Khan for less than a year before launching a large-scale military campaign, only to suffer repeated defeats. Now your second brother has been killed, and your eldest brother has been taken prisoner, destined to be sacrificed to the flag sooner or later. Is this your idea of ​​revitalizing the Xiongnu?"

"If you hadn't been so selfish and always on guard against and hostile to your elder brothers, why would they have insisted on retreating first? They wouldn't have ended up like this!"

"You were plotting to weaken them and watched them leave. When you learned their cavalry were being hunted down, you refused to send reinforcements. Now, isn't this exactly what you wanted? You don't have to bear the infamy of killing your own brothers, and you've eliminated a major threat!"

Morton, stung by the attack, twisted his expression: "Huhanye! They were my brothers too! To end up like this, I feel more pain and sorrow than you do!"

Tu Qi drew his sword with a cold expression: "Huhanye, how dare you disrespect the Khan!"

The other tribal chiefs who had been recruited by Morton also drew their swords and shouted angrily.

Huhanye sneered repeatedly: "You forced Batelxubu away, and now you want to force me out of the camp to my death?"

Morton was stabbed in the chest again, and his face grew even more pale.

He did indeed intend to wear down Batelxubu's forces. However, he never expected such a crushing defeat and slaughter. The Xiongnu army lost a quarter of its strength. Needless to say, morale within the camp was extremely low.

"Tuqi! Put your sword away!" Morton roared. "With a major battle at hand, if we start fighting amongst ourselves again, we might as well give all our heads to Pei Qinghe!"

Tuqi, thoroughly humiliated by the insults, sheathed his sword. The other tribal leaders also sheepishly put away their weapons.

Morton suppressed his anger and said to Huhanye, "My second brother died in battle, and my eldest brother was captured alive. Now it's just the two of us brothers left. We must unite to get through this difficult time."

Huhanye stared directly at Morton: "Are you going to save your elder brother or not?"

Morton, suppressing his anger, retorted, "How do you want to save it? You want me to personally lead troops to attack Beiping?"

Beiping County is the most famous and fortified city in the north. Pei Qinghe personally leads the troops there, commanding a vast array of elite soldiers and fierce generals. A decisive battle outside the city might offer a chance of victory. A proactive attack on the city will only result in the needless deaths of the Xiongnu cavalry!

This embarrassing fact, without needing to be explicitly stated, was known to all the Xiongnu people in the military tent.

Huhanye was only speaking recklessly because he was in a fit of anger. After calming down a bit, he sighed and said, "No matter what, our elder brother is our elder brother and the leader of the largest tribe in the Xiongnu. The Khan must make a gesture of negotiating and rescuing him, so as not to disappoint everyone."

"Also, I'll follow the Khan's orders regarding how to proceed."

Huhanye made a gesture of submission, and Morton Khan had no choice but to be magnanimous and forgive Huhanye's previous harsh words.

The dozens of men in the military tent offered their suggestions, one after another. Finally, they decided to send an envoy to Beiping County to express their willingness to exchange their most prized warhorse for Batel.

"A thousand warhorses?" Pei Qinghe sneered after reading Morton's handwritten letter. "Bater is Morton's elder brother and the leader of a large Xiongnu tribe. Is such a person only worth a thousand warhorses in Morton's eyes?" "Go back and tell Morton that I want five thousand warhorses!"

"I will give him five days. If he does not see a warhorse after five days, I will cut down Batel and use him as a sacrifice to the army flag!"

The envoy was thrown out of the city and fled back to the Xiongnu camp in a sorry state on horseback.

Morton was not about to exchange five thousand warhorses for a cripple with a broken right hand. It was all just a show for everyone. While continuing to write letters and send messengers to negotiate, he also made urgent preparations for war.

Pei Qinghe had already seen through Morton's delaying tactic and said to the generals, "Even if Morton sends five thousand warhorses, I will still destroy him."

Pei Xuan said with some regret, "Unfortunately, the provocation didn't work; Morton refused to send troops to attack the city!"

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow: "If he doesn't attack the city, we'll attack his camp. I've decided that in three days, the entire army will march out to attack the Xiongnu camp."

The generals showed no fear and eagerly volunteered for battle.

With morale high, Pei Qinghe was very pleased. She left Yang Hu to guard the city, and all the wounded generals who could not move were left behind to recuperate. The rest who were capable of fighting were all sent with her on the expedition.

Three days later, Pei Qinghe led 50,000 cavalrymen in a grand expedition to attack the Xiongnu camp.

As for the unfortunate Battier, he was naturally dragged into it as well.

Pei Yan, who was recuperating from her injuries in the county town, received news of the entire army's offensive. She only regretted that her injuries had not yet healed, preventing her from participating in this major battle.

Lying to the side, Yang Huai weakly smiled and said, "My wife and I burned the grain and fodder, which is a great achievement. Now we can rest and recover from our injuries and wait for the good news of the Emperor's great victory."

Pei Yan couldn't hold back any longer: "No, I have to send troops too. We still have over a thousand soldiers. Leave some to guard the city and send a thousand cavalry. We might just need a thousand more for the big battle."

Yang Huai chuckled, knowing he couldn't stop them, so he simply kept quiet.

Both he and his wife were injured and unable to move. Pei Yan called Pei Lang and Pei Wang over: "You are both sons of the Pei family. Now you are leading troops to fight the Xiongnu barbarians. Do not disgrace the Pei family. And do not embarrass your Aunt Qinghe."

Years passed, and the Pei family's youths grew up one generation after another. Pei Yue, Pei Wan, and Pei Yu were all appointed as prefects in other regions, while Pei Lang and Pei Wang were able to lead troops into battle and wield swords to kill enemies.

Two young men, as fresh as spring in the air, loudly accepted the order, mounted their beloved steeds, and, carrying bows, arrows, swords, spears, and several days' worth of rations, led a thousand elite cavalrymen toward the Xiongnu camp.

The county town where they were stationed was seventy li away from the Xiongnu camp, a journey that could be completed in two or three hours by fast horse.

The Xiongnu army camp was already on high alert, with constant sentries outside. When this thousand cavalrymen reached a distance of twenty li, they were spotted by a patrolling group of Xiongnu cavalry. Almost immediately, a fierce battle erupted.

The patrolling Xiongnu cavalry numbered only a hundred, but Pei Lang and Pei Wang, with ten times the number of troops, easily defeated them.

However, getting any closer would mean a fierce battle. The Xiongnu barbarians poured out of the camp, and soon the thousand cavalrymen had completely surrounded them.

(End of this chapter)