After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 42

After leaving the courtyard, Pei Er quickly headed toward the main gate of the East Stronghold.

Sure enough, Chief Song had already brought people to surround the East Stronghold so tightly that not even water could pass through. The East Stronghold had only a little over two hundred people, while the West Stronghold had over eight hundred.

Although most of these eight hundred had only come up the mountain in recent months, many of them were casually dragged up by Song Wanqian’s men to expand the West Stronghold’s power.

There were also some bandits from other Strongholds that had been scattered during previous suppression campaigns and there were others who had committed crimes in nearby villages and counties and wandered about, desperadoes.

Although these eight hundred were not like the border troops, trained and well-equipped, they were numerous and imposing, each holding gleaming broadswords, or bows and arrows, spears, and long staffs. Standing outside, glaring like tigers, shouting of killing and fighting, they were thoroughly intimidating.

The more than two hundred people of the East Stronghold had already been arranged by Lu Zhi at every Stronghold gate and courtyard wall likely to be attacked, defending desperately.

Lu Zhi had even held back twenty or thirty men, ready to reinforce any position that might be breached.

As Pei Er looked over everything along the way, his understanding of Lu Zhi’s capability deepened, just over two hundred people, yet he had arranged and utilized them to the utmost.

Just as he was thinking this, a figure suddenly rushed past him, brimming with killing intent, charging straight toward the main gate of the East Stronghold.

The man was carrying an iron ladle, tall and sturdy, shouting angrily as he ran: “You turtle grandsons, you b*stards of the West Stronghold! Your grandpa is here!”

With that, he charged to the Stronghold gate, waving the iron ladle, about to fight the burly men outside who held blades.

Pei Er: “……”

Lu Zhi probably hadn’t assigned even the kitchen cook to the front lines, right?

He walked to the main gate and saw that someone had already climbed onto the wall. The people beside him shot two arrows in succession, but both were dodged.

Just as the man was about to jump down from the wall and swing his blade at the gate defenders, Pei Er directly snatched the bow from the person beside him, drew it, and released an arrow that cleanly struck the man in the center of his forehead.

With a “bang,” the man’s eyes went wide as he fell backward, crashing into those behind him trying to climb the wall.

Pei Er casually returned the bow to the person beside him, who couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Brother, for a servant, your archery is way too accurate.”

Pei Er turned his head and gave him an expressionless glance, reminding, “Someone else is coming up.”

“Huh?” The man hurriedly turned back and began shooting arrows again.

While estimating the timing, Pei Er provided support at the main gate, striking whenever necessary, cutting down bandits who broke through the defenses and climbed into the Stronghold.

Seeing that they couldn’t get in by climbing the walls, the bandits outside quickly changed tactics, chopping down a tree and carrying it to ram the gate.

“One, two, three, boom!”

“One, two, three, boom!”

Hearing the repeated crashing sounds against the gate, the forty to fifty defenders holding it shut all turned pale, pressing against the door with all their might, their hearts sinking with each impact.

Fortunately, the outer walls were sturdy and could not be knocked down. But if this continued, the gate would definitely not hold.

There are a good one or two hundred people outside, if they all rush in, the forty or fifty of them inside simply won’t be enough to cut them down.

Seeing that several wooden bolts on the door were about to be smashed through and cracks had already appeared in the door itself, everyone began to feel despair, not knowing how much longer they could hold on.

Pei Er had been calculating the time it would take for Centurion Li and his men to reach the mountain. Just as everyone was about to give out and their hearts were sinking to the bottom, he suddenly spoke: “Open the door. Let them in and surround-kill them.”

The forty or fifty people bracing the door were all stunned. When they realized what he had said, only one thought remained in their minds: Has he gone mad?

There were nearly two hundred people outside, many of them holding blades and spears. They themselves were only forty or fifty, and fewer than twenty even had blades. If they opened the door, how were they supposed to fight? Throw their bodies onto other people’s blades?

“Open the door!” Pei Er spoke again, his voice calm.

Seeing that they didn’t move, he added, “The government troops have arrived, what are you afraid of? Didn’t Lu Zhi tell you to accept amnesty?”

Everyone’s thoughts were in turmoil. Yes, the Second Boss had told them that the chief wanted to harm them, and that rather than sit and wait for death, it was better to surrender to the government troops and accept amnesty. But…

“How do you know the government troops have come?”

If the troops hadn’t arrived and the people from the west stronghold rushed in, it wouldn’t matter if they died but the Second Boss’s side would be left with no resistance at all.

Pei Er looked beyond the wall, his tone certain: “The government troops have already arrived. If we don’t open the door now, when it gets smashed open later, it’s still death.”

Hearing his words, several burly men who were about to lose their hold on the door clenched their teeth and suddenly shouted, “D*mn it, let’s kill our way out! At worst, it’s just death! The more of them we injure, the fewer our second boss will have to kill later!”

With that, they turned to open the door, but Pei Er coldly commanded, “Don’t rush out. Let them in and kill them!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door was opened. The forty or fifty guarding it hid on both sides, and as the people rushed in, they stepped forward and began hacking them down.

The cook who had been holding an iron ladle also took advantage of someone’s inattention and smashed the back of the man’s head hard with it, knocking him unconscious.

But the ladle was dented flat, and he couldn’t help but feel distressed. “How am I supposed to cook with this tomorrow?”

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. Turning his head, he saw a man raising a gleaming broadsword to chop at him. Just as his soul nearly left his body, he suddenly saw the attacker’s wrist get chopped off in one stroke, followed by the man being kicked flying away.

Pei Er caught the falling blade in one hand and handed it to the stunned cook, saying, “Use a blade, not a ladle.”

The cook snapped back to his senses, instantly filled with gratitude. Taking the blade, he was just about to thank him when he saw that Pei Er had already rushed toward the group of mountain bandits outside.

The cook was dumbfounded, this young servant really was highly skilled and bold. He told them not to rush out, yet he himself charged straight out.

He hurriedly picked up the blade and shouted, “Little brother, I’ll help you!”

Saying that, he also rushed outside.

Just then, waves of battle cries came from outside again. Before the people of the east stronghold could react, they saw the group from the west stronghold suddenly fall into chaos, some were still rushing toward the gate, while others suddenly turned back.

Very soon, they saw a large banner raised outside, with the two bold characters “Yongfeng” written on it.

“It’s the garrison troops of Yongfeng Town! The bandit-suppressing government troops have arrived!”

The morale of the east stronghold immediately soared, and they shouted as they charged out.

Outside the stronghold gate, the three-hundred-man force led by Centurion Li arrived just in time. Joining up with Pei Er, who had rushed out, they immediately charged at the mountain bandits from the west stronghold.

The west stronghold’s people, who had held the advantage just moments ago, were suddenly attacked from both front and rear. On top of that, because Pei Er had just ordered the east stronghold to open the gate, some of them had just rushed in while others were stuck at the entrance, instantly, they were all surrounded like dumplings.

They were merely untrained bandits. Normally, relying on the advantage of terrain, ambush tactics, or holding their ground without coming out, they could fight back and forth with the well-trained government troops.

But now, facing them head-on, they were quickly defeated.

Especially since most of the west stronghold bandits were a disorganized rabble. When they had the upper hand, each one was fierce, but once they lost the advantage, they immediately wanted to scatter and flee.

Pei Er immediately directed everyone to surround them tightly, not letting a single fish slip through the net.

Seeing that this group had already lost all momentum, Centurion Li quickly said to Pei Er, “Zhang Hu has taken two hundred men up the mountain from the other side and is attacking the west stronghold.”

Pei Er nodded. “I know.”

When they had originally devised the plan to attack the stronghold, there had been no matter of recruiting Lu Zhi through amnesty. Considering that the east stronghold’s defenses were tighter than the west’s, he had arranged the main force to attack the east stronghold.

Later, the situation changed, but he was on the mountain and had no time to revise the plan. Fortunately, Chief Song’s attention should now be focused on attacking the east stronghold, so Zhang Hu’s side would not be under too much pressure.

And once he and Centurion Li had easily taken the east stronghold, they could immediately bring men to support Lu Zhi and attack the main force of Chief Song.

At that time, with him and Zhang Hu attacking from both sides, Song Wanqian would find it hard to escape.

Pei Er immediately ordered that fifty soldiers remain behind with the people of the east stronghold to guard the captives, while he and Centurion Li led the rest to support Lu Zhi.

***

At the courtyard wall separating the east and west strongholds, on the other side of the wall, Chief Song was directing his men to ram it with force while shouting triumphantly, “Lu! Didn’t you say this morning you wanted to see me? I’m here now, why are you hiding? Could it be your courage suddenly shrank and you’re afraid of me?”

After saying that, he burst into loud laughter, then commanded his men, “Ram it! Hit it hard! And those fire arrows, shoot them all!”

In an instant, dozens of arrows with flaming cloth wrapped around their tips shot over from the other side of the wall.

Xuanping swung his blade, blocking an arrow that had flown straight toward Lu Zhi, and gritted his teeth. “Are we just going to wait for news from Pei Er’s side?”

Lu Zhi turned his head and glanced at him indifferently.

Xuanping clenched his teeth and said again, “This wall won’t hold much longer. I’ll take seven or eight men and see if we can circle around and sneak into the west stronghold to kill Song Wanqian directly.”

The courtyard wall was not like the outer wall, it wasn’t that sturdy. After being rammed for a while, it had already begun to shake slightly. It probably wouldn’t be long before it collapsed. At that time, Song Wanqian and his men would charge straight in!

Lu Zhi gripped the armrest of his wheelchair, his gaze deep. After a moment, he said, “Wait a little longer.”

From the other side of the wall, Chief Song started shouting again, “Lu! Why are you hiding and not coming out? Don’t tell me you’ve turned into a rat spirit and don’t dare face people? If you’re really scared, just call me ‘Grandpa,’ and I might just let you off, hahaha!”

Xuanping was so furious that he clenched his teeth and couldn’t help but curse loudly: “Surname Song, I think when you usually see my elder brother, you’re the one who’s scared like a turtle’s grandson! With that weasel-headed, rat-eyed stupid face of yours, even if you called me ‘Grandpa,’ I wouldn’t bother answering, I don’t have such an ugly grandson!”

Song Wanqian was instantly so angry that smoke seemed to come out of all seven orifices. He shouted to his men, “Hurry up and ram it! Smash the wall down quickly, I’m going to chop that brat surnamed Xuan into eight pieces!”

The scholar beside him turned to look around and suddenly frowned. “Why isn’t Jiang Chong here?”

“How would I know where he is?” Chief Song was so enraged that he had no mind to listen to what he was saying.

He did indeed have a pointed head and small eyes, somewhat ugly in appearance, and all his life he hated it most when people said he looked like a rat.

Seeing this, the scholar said again, “I’ll go look for him.”

Chief Song waved his hand, telling him to go quickly and return quickly, then continued directing everyone to ram the wall.

Seeing the wall shaking more and more violently and about to collapse, he was overjoyed, unable to help thinking that once he caught Xuanping and Lu Zhi, he would definitely trample them underfoot and vent his anger properly.

Just then, a runner came to report from the side: “Chief, no, ”

“Boom!”

The courtyard wall collapsed with a crash, the sound drowning out the report. Chief Song slapped his thigh and shouted, “Good!”

At the same time, he tilted his ear and asked, “What did you just say?”

“I said, it’s bad! The government troops are attacking the stronghold!” the subordinate shouted loudly.

Chief Song’s thigh-slapping motion froze, and the smile on his face stiffened.

Almost at the same moment, as the dust from the collapsed wall cleared, the scene on the other side was revealed, 

Lu Zhi sat in a wheelchair, looking over with an expressionless face.

Beside him, apart from Xuanping and the others guarding him closely, there stood more than two hundred armored soldiers behind them, each with a solemn expression, weapons in hand. Some even had blood on their faces, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle.

Pei Er, with a long blade at his waist, stood at the very front of these soldiers. After casting a heavy glance at the opposite side, he suddenly raised his hand and waved.

The soldiers immediately raised the camp banner, on which were written the two large characters “Yongfeng.”

Chief Song and the bandits behind him all froze instantly, and the scene fell silent.

Xuanping couldn’t help but grin and said, “Chief, thank you so much, you helped knock down this wall for us, saved us the trouble.”

At this moment, Centurion Li shouted, “You are already surrounded! The men you sent to attack the east stronghold have also all been captured. Surrender now, lay down your weapons, and you won’t be killed!”

On the opposite side, the west stronghold bandits immediately fell into panic.

Seeing this, Chief Song hurriedly shouted, “What are you panicking for? They’ve got less than three hundred people in total, we have five hundred. What the h*ll is there to be afraid of?”

As he spoke, he commanded everyone, “Charge! All of you, charge!”

After saying that, he himself quickly got up from his seat and, hunched over, moved backward.

Among these bandits were some desperate fugitives who had committed crimes. Knowing they would meet no good end if they fell into the hands of government troops, they immediately raised their blades, shouting as they took the lead and charged forward.

Seeing that the other side indeed had fewer people, and thinking they had the advantage, quite a few others followed and rushed forward as well.

Pei Er and Centurion Li immediately directed their men to surround and kill these bandits.

Chief Song quickly mixed into the crowd and quietly asked the subordinate who had reported, “How many government troops came to attack the west stronghold?”

“About two hundred,” the subordinate replied hurriedly.

“D*mn it!” Chief Song cursed, then asked, “The people sent to attack the east stronghold gate, have they really all been captured?”

Subordinate: “Chief, if they weren’t captured, how could those government troops have gotten in?”

Chief Song clenched his teeth and counted on his fingers. The east stronghold and the government troops together probably numbered more than seven hundred. His own eight hundred-plus had already lost more than two hundred. Now he only had the five hundred in front of him and a bit over a hundred guarding the gate. No matter how he calculated it, it was a loss.

Moreover, those soldiers were wearing armor, and their blades were sharper than theirs.

Chief Song immediately said, “You stay here and hold them off. I’ll go back and have the third boss redeploy men.”

The subordinate was stunned, thinking: Where are there any men left to redeploy?

So after he left, he also slipped away.

Chief Song ran all the way, trying to return to his own courtyard, and on the way ran into the third boss.

Third Boss hurriedly grabbed him and asked anxiously, “Big brother, I heard the government troops are attacking the stronghold?”

Chief Song’s eyes lit up when he saw him. “That’s right. Go quickly and lead everyone to hold the courtyard wall of the west stronghold. I’ll go take a look at the stronghold gate.”

After saying that, he hurried off.

Third Boss was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran toward the east stronghold. Halfway there, he ran into the people retreating back from the west stronghold.

He paused, then hurriedly shouted, “Quick! Get into the courtyard and shut the door!”

The bandits had just been beaten into scattered flight by Pei Er and the others. Hearing this, they all rushed over.

Seeing the government troops chasing close behind, Third Boss quickly ordered everyone to shut the door tight and move stones from the artificial rockery to brace it.

Pei Er led his men in pursuit and directly took out arrows, lit them on fire, and prepared to shoot them at the wooden door.

Xuanping suddenly stopped him and said, “Third Boss can be persuaded. I’ll talk.”

Pei Er looked at him expressionlessly. Thinking of something, his expression suddenly became somewhat strange, and he slowly lowered the arrow.

Xuanping, anxious, didn’t notice the change in his expression. Seeing this, he quickly thanked him, then shouted to Third Boss, “Zhao Tieniu, what are you showing off for at a time like this? Open the door right now, are you planning to walk the same dark path all the way with Song Wanqian?”

After a moment, Third Boss’s muffled voice came from inside: “My big brother told me to guard the door.”

“Your big brother has already run away, and you’re still listening to him?”

“…My big brother is the chief.”

“Then my big brother is still the second boss, shouldn’t you also listen to the second boss? He’s telling you to open the door!”

“…But you’ve colluded with the government troops.”

“It was Song Wanqian who tried to make a move on us first. If we didn’t fight back, we’d all be dead, don’t you know that? Didn’t you see what happened to Ah Fu?”

Pei Er frowned and slowly raised the arrow again.

“Don’t, don’t!” Xuanping quickly stopped him, his tone anxious. “Zhao Tieniu, I’m telling you one last time, don’t be stubborn. Open the door now, and I can still spare your life. Any later and it’ll be too late! What Song Wanqian is doing is utterly immoral, if you follow him, there’s only a dead end!”

“……”

At last, the door on the opposite side slowly opened.

Pei Er lowered the arrow and tilted his head, signaling to those behind him.

In an instant, the soldiers surged in.

Xuanping let out a long breath of relief. After rushing in, he grabbed Third Boss who was hiding to the side and said in frustration, “Do you believe your big brother is figuring out how to run for his life right now? And you’re still blocking the door for him, are you stupid or not?”

Third Boss lowered his head and said nothing.

Xuanping sighed, then added, “Ah Fu isn’t dead.”

Third Boss froze, then suddenly lifted his head.

Pei Er passed by and inexplicably glanced at them.

…

Inside the room, Song Wanqian was hurriedly packing up valuables. Hearing the commotion outside, his hand trembled. Gritting his teeth, he said, “How is it so fast? That useless Old Three.”

As he spoke, he didn’t bother taking anything else and quickly grabbed a bundle, about to flee. The moment he turned around, however, he suddenly felt a chill in his back.

He froze abruptly, lowering his head in disbelief to look at the dagger that had pierced through his body, then slowly turned his head.

Centurion Jiang stood behind him at some unknown time, his face dark and sinister. “Sorry, Chief. Who told you to be so useless? Only the dead can keep secrets.”

After saying that, he yanked the blade out in one swift motion.

Song Wanqian clutched his chest and collapsed, his eyes wide open.

Blood gradually spread beneath him. Before dying, he saw that behind a screen not far away, there was another person lying there, 

It was the scholar who had been beside him.

Song Wanqian’s face twisted ferociously as he struggled desperately, but in the next moment, his breath suddenly ceased.

Centurion Jiang wiped the dagger clean, looked down at him once more, then quickly turned and left.

Outside the courtyard, after Pei Er met up with Zhang Hu and Commandant Qian, they quickly found this place under Xuanping’s guidance.

Seeing the dead bodies on the ground, everyone was stunned.

Pei Er frowned. “Who killed them?”

When Third Boss saw Song Wanqian’s corpse, he couldn’t help but feel sad for a moment. But when he saw the bundle the man had been carrying to flee, he fell silent.

Xuanping had actually been right, big brother really had been sending him to die while he himself tried to escape.

Hearing Pei Er’s question, he snapped back to his senses and suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly said, “Centurion Jiang, it must have been Centurion Jiang who killed him!”

As soon as Pei Er heard this, his expression changed drastically. He turned and grabbed the man’s clothes, almost lifting him up, and said, “What did you say? Jiang Chong came?”

Third Boss was momentarily dazed, how could someone as sturdy as him be lifted up so easily by this kid in front of him?

And in front of fourth boss too, it was truly embarrassing.

He hurriedly said, “How could he not have come? It was he who came up with the idea, had my big brother leak the location of that small path, then burn the government troops there.”

As he spoke, he struggled to pry Pei Er’s hand away.

When Commandant Qian heard this, he couldn’t help but curse angrily, “D*mn it, so after all this, someone deliberately screwed me over!”

Pei Er released Third Boss and strode quickly outside.

The others soon followed.

Pei Er looked around, then suddenly asked Commandant Qian, “When you were guarding the small path, did you see anyone suspicious?”

Commandant Qian shook his head. “I don’t know if they were suspicious or not, but anyone who tried to escape that way was caught by me, not a single one slipped through.”

Pei Er frowned. “Then where else could he have gone?”

Third Boss thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “I know.”

Pei Er immediately turned to look at him, his gaze sharp.

“Uh.” Third Boss subconsciously grabbed his collar and stepped back.

This time Pei Er didn’t grab him, only gestured with his eyes. “Lead the way!”

Xuanping also urged, “Hurry up and atone for your crimes.”

Third Boss nodded. As he led the way, he said, “Last time I saw him come out from that patch of thorn bushes at the back mountain. There’s probably a path there, maybe even my big brother doesn’t know about it. Anyway, every time he comes, he’s always sneaking around.”

“He comes often?” Pei Er asked in a low voice.

“Not really, just twice recently,” Third Boss shook his head. He led them all the way to the back mountain, then was the first to pull aside the thorny branches and squeeze in.

This place couldn’t even be considered a path, at most, only one person could pass through at a time.

Zhang Hu quickly said, “I’ll go first.”

Pei Er stopped him and bent forward to go in himself.

Then followed Zhang Hu, Xuanping, Commandant Qian, and the others.

***

Outside the secret passage, Li Chanxiu, Physician Hu, Tan Yun, and the others finally made it out. After walking only a short while through the forest, they suddenly noticed what seemed like a figure flickering in the distant woods.

Li Chanxiu instantly became alert and hurriedly had everyone crouch down.

Before long, the figure appeared again in that part of the forest, it seemed to be someone hurrying down the mountain.

Li Chanxiu frowned as he watched for a moment, feeling that the figure looked somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, as the person brushed aside branches, his face happened to turn this way.

Li Chanxiu’s expression changed slightly: Centurion Jiang?

Why would he be here? Had he come out of the mountain stronghold? Had he been hiding in the west stronghold all along? What was he here for?

He couldn’t be allowed to escape!

Several thoughts flashed through Li Chanxiu’s mind in an instant. He immediately snatched a bow and arrows from Tan Yun beside him, stepped forward a few paces, 

“Miss Shen!” Tan Yun and Physician Hu cried out in alarm in low voices.

Snapping back to his senses, Tan Yun hurriedly followed.

Li Chanxiu seemed not to hear. After finding a suitable position, he immediately nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, his gaze sharp as he fixed tightly on the figure ahead.

“Whoosh!”

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out as the sharp arrow pierced through the forest, shooting straight toward the figure.

Centurion Jiang was struggling to push aside branches blocking his way when he suddenly felt a pain in his chest, and his whole body froze.

He couldn’t see who had shot the arrow and thought it was people from the stronghold chasing after him. Recovering himself, he hurriedly turned and ran in another direction.

Not knowing who was coming or how many there were, he was clearly somewhat panicked and running blindly.

Seeing this, Li Chanxiu immediately pulled the quiver from Tan Yun and chased after him. Very quickly, he nocked another arrow and drew the bow again, shooting once more.

This time, it struck the man’s lower leg.

Tan Yun was still marveling at how good his archery was, when in the next moment, Li Chanxiu had already chased after him.

Because he was worried, he quickly chased after him as well.

Li Chanxiu didn’t know how long he had been chasing when he suddenly sensed movement nearby again. He immediately became alert, quickly turning the arrowhead to point toward the front right.

Before long, two dirt-covered figures crawled out from that patch of bushes, one with a blade scar on his face, and the other…

If Li Chanxiu hadn’t taken a closer look, the arrow would have almost been shot, unexpectedly, it was Pei Er!

Pei Er was also very surprised to see him. He quickly wiped his face, and in an instant, his already smudged face became even dirtier.

He strode over and asked, “Why are you here?”

Li Chanxiu stared at him blankly and explained, “Because we were bringing Ah Fu, we moved a bit slowly. Just now we also saw Centurion Jiang…”

“You saw Centurion Jiang?”

“Ah Fu? Is Ah Fu alright?”

Pei Er and Third Boss spoke at the same time.

Li Chanxiu: “…Ah Fu is fine. Let’s not talk about that first, hurry and chase him.”

As he spoke, he picked up his bow and arrows and continued chasing forward.

Pei Er snapped back to his senses and hurriedly followed.

Third Boss hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed as well.

After a while, the lagging Zhang Hu, Xuanping, and the others finally came out, panting heavily.

“This path is way too hard to squeeze through, wait, where are they?” Commandant Qian panted.

Tan Yun, who had stayed behind, looked speechless and pointed straight ahead. “They chased in that direction.”