After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 54

After finishing the letters, General Chen called in two soldiers and ordered them to quickly deliver the letters to the prefectural city of Yongzhou and to Wuding Pass.

After doing all this, he could not help pacing back and forth in the room.

At present, an epidemic had appeared in the army, and the Hu people might soon launch a large-scale attack. Since he had taken command, he had never encountered such a severe situation.

The only hope now was that the epidemic could be contained. Otherwise, if the epidemic spread and the Hu people attacked at the same time, even if he had three heads and six arms, he might not be able to hold the pass. If it really came to that, he would become a sinner of Great Zhou, how could he face the people of Yongfeng and Lord Zhang who had promoted him?

The more General Chen thought about it, the more anxious he became.

Pei Er, on the contrary, remained composed and cupped his hands, reminding him, “General, people should be sent immediately outside the Great Wall to set traps, build anti-cavalry barriers, dig horse pits, and scatter caltrops in preparation for emergencies. At the same time, maintain communication with other garrisons and exchange information at any moment. If the Hu people truly attack, we can resist them together.”

“…Right, right.” Prompted by him, General Chen suddenly came back to his senses and said, “I was momentarily flustered and nearly forgot these matters. Right now there is only one trench outside the wall, and the horse pits dug earlier have probably been half filled by wind and sand… Do this, take five hundred men out of the city at once to handle these tasks. Be sure to dig many horse pits; our supply of caltrops is limited and cannot cover too large an area.

“As for communicating and coordinating with other garrisons, I already explained that in the letters sent earlier.”

Only then did Pei Er feel reassured. He nodded and accepted the order, but after a pause, he hesitated and said, “General, there is something presumptuous I am not sure whether I should say.”

General Chen had always valued and appreciated him, so he smiled and said, “Speak freely.”

Pei Er immediately said, “General, should we also send word to Bingzhou, in case they are unaware of this matter?”

Although the Hu people might not have released diseased sheep in Bingzhou, in a situation like this, one that very likely involved a large-scale invasion, they should be informed, in case the Hu people attacked both Yongzhou and Bingzhou at the same time.

General Chen was taken aback upon hearing this and hesitated. “This… in principle, this matter should be reported to Bingzhou by Lord Yan.”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu quickly understood his hesitation.

General Chen had already written to report the situation to Prefect Yan. In principle, it was the prefect who should inform Bingzhou. Moreover, as a relatively low-ranking border commander, if he bypassed the prefect to write directly to Bingzhou, it would be overstepping his authority.

But for some reason, Pei Er could not put his mind at ease. Cupping his hands again, he said, “General, you could write, for defensive purposes, to the commander of Wucheng, which is closest to Yongzhou. As the commander of a pass in Bingzhou, he would certainly report the matter upward.”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu’s eyes brightened slightly, thinking this was feasible. Moreover, according to what he knew from the dream, Pei Zhen was currently recuperating in Wucheng. If by chance he had just awakened from unconsciousness, once Wucheng knew of this matter, it would be equivalent to Pei Zhen knowing.

Thinking of this, he could not help but turn to glance at Pei Er.

Pei Er still stood with hands cupped, his expression unchanged.

Hearing this, General Chen also felt it was workable. If nothing else, he could send the letter secretly, after all, he had done so once before.

With that thought, he immediately nodded. “Alright, I will write to Wucheng at once.”

After all defensive arrangements were made, what remained was the epidemic.

Regarding this, General Chen repeatedly instructed Li Chanxiu to do his utmost to treat the sick, to speak up about any needs, and under no circumstances allow the epidemic to spread within the army.

Although Li Chanxiu did not dare to guarantee success, he still nodded firmly.

After leaving General Chen, Li Chanxiu immediately covered his mouth and nose with a strip of silk cloth and went to check on the several patients.

After some questioning, he discovered that those who had fallen ill were all people who had eaten roasted mutton. Among the laborers who had eaten stewed mutton, far fewer had fallen ill.

This made him relax slightly. From what he understood, most of the laborers had eaten mutton that had been stewed until soft and tender. Although he did not know what the difference was between the two, this was clearly a bit of good news among bad news.

He immediately instructed the soldiers whom General Chen had assigned to assist him that items the patients had come into contact with, such as bowls and chopsticks, must be placed in boiling water and boiled for a period of time before being returned for use.

After giving these instructions, the people sent by General Chen to buy medicine happened to return. He hurriedly removed the silk cloth strip, took off his outer robe, washed his hands and face, and quickly went to prepare the medicine again.

But halfway there, he saw Pei Er, who was leading troops and about to leave.

Pei Er seemed to have come specifically for this. His dark eyes met Li Chanxiu’s clear and delicate ones, carrying a deep, pool-like stillness.

The two looked at each other for a long time without speaking. After a moment, they unconsciously walked side by side for a stretch.

Li Chanxiu’s expression seemed hesitant. When they reached a fork where they had to part ways, he finally spoke, searching for something to say: “You… how did you think of having General Chen write to Bingzhou earlier?”

Pei Er hesitated upon hearing this. “…I don’t know either.”

It seemed that in his heart he just felt it had to be done. Even though General Chen had already written to Prefect Yan, he still did not feel at ease. He even… inexplicably did not trust that prefect.

Li Chanxiu did not truly need an answer. It was just that after what had nearly happened last night, almost kissing, being alone with Pei Er again made him feel unnatural.

But at the moment, his instinct also told him that he should not say nothing at all.

At last, he clenched his teeth, turned to look at Pei Er, and said as calmly as possible, “When you go outside the Great Wall, be careful.”

Pei Er was momentarily stunned, and then a trace of gentleness appeared in his eyes.

Suddenly, he caught Li Chanxiu off guard and pulled him into an embrace. Amid the other’s astonished expression, he nodded lightly and said hoarsely, “You also have to come into contact with those patients, remember to be careful.”

Then, before Li Chanxiu could react, he had already released his arms, stepped back, smiled, and turned to leave.

Li Chanxiu stood there in a daze. Only after his figure had completely disappeared did he seem to suddenly come back to his senses. He quickly lifted his robe and hurried up the city wall, leaning over the edge to look down.

Pei Er, who had just ridden out past the city wall, seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head to look back upward.

Startled, Li Chanxiu quickly turned sideways and hid by the beacon tower. After coming back to himself, he paused, why had he hidden?

***

Bingzhou, Prefect Residence.

Yang Yuanyi, clad in bright silver armor, frowned as he walked toward the main gate.

Suddenly, a guard at his side reported, “Young General, Young Master Wei has arrived.”

“What?” Yang Yuanyi’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately said, “Didn’t I tell you to inform him that I was in Wucheng, and that he should not come to Bingzhou but go straight back to Chang’an?”

Guard: “Well… Young Master Wei came from Wucheng. He didn’t find you or General Pei there, so he detoured here to the prefectural city.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…”

His expression froze slightly. After coming back to himself, he suddenly said, “Then tell him I’m not here.”

After saying this, he quickly turned and strode back. But after only a couple of steps, a miserable wail suddenly came from behind, 

“Waaah, Cousin, I know you’re here! I already saw you! You can’t refuse to take me in! Otherwise I’ll turn around and go to Luoyang and complain to Aunt!”

Yang Yuanyi’s figure halted. He turned back with a headache, but upon seeing the disheveled cousin being stopped outside the gate, he was startled and said, “How did you end up like this? Did you beg all the way here?”

The bedraggled youth being supported by a servant named Little An outside the gate was none other than the finely dressed young master who had clashed with Pei Er in Qing County, Wei Zizhou.

Only, at that time he had been dressed in fine robes and carried himself with elegance. Now, however, his hair was messy and his clothes were dirty and tattered, like a beggar.

Upon seeing Yang Yuanyi, Wei Zizhou was so emotional that tears and snot streamed down his face. Staggering forward, he tried to pounce on him, crying, “Cousin! The hardships I’ve endured along the way, ”

Yang Yuanyi was alarmed and hurriedly stepped back several paces to avoid him, covering his mouth and nose as he said to the people beside him, “What is that smell? Quickly, take him away to wash up.”

…

Half an hour later, at a table in the side hall, Wei Zizhou was wolfing down food, his mouth stuffed with rice as he grabbed a chicken leg and took a big bite.

“Mmph, another bowl of rice,” he mumbled while eating, completely devoid of the refined demeanor he once had.

Yang Yuanyi frowned beside him, poured him a cup of water, and said, “Eat slowly, don’t choke. No one’s competing with you.”

After a pause, he added speechlessly, “How long has it been since you last ate?”

Wei Zizhou choked and rolled his eyes, hurriedly grabbing the water and gulping down several mouthfuls. Only after catching his breath did he say irritably, “Isn’t it all your fault, Cousin? You wrote saying you and Pei Zhen were both in Wucheng, so I rushed there, and then…”

“Alright, alright, stop talking and eat,” Yang Yuanyi quickly interrupted, adding another chicken leg to his bowl, thinking: finish eating quickly so I can send this troublemaker back to Chang’an.

Pei Zhen had been missing for nearly a month. The several groups of men he had sent out earlier had failed to find him, and even the golden eagle he had released had not returned, who knew if it had flown toward the grasslands and been shot down by the Hu people. Now both he and his grandfather were at their wits’ end, having to stabilize the situation in Bingzhou while also desperately concealing the news that Pei Zhen had gone missing.

What worried him even more was that after so long without any trace, Pei Zhen was likely… in grave danger.

Under such circumstances, how could he have the mind to entertain this cousin from Chang’an? Especially since this cousin of his was one who caused trouble.

“Oh right, Cousin, where is Pei Zhen? Didn’t you say he was in Wucheng?” Just as he was thinking this, Wei Zizhou asked while stuffing rice into his mouth.

Yang Yuanyi came back to himself and covered, “Why are you asking about that? Jianzhi, he…”

Pei Zhen’s courtesy name was Jianzhi. Yang Yuanyi had known him since youth; though now they were in a superior-subordinate relationship, they were also like brothers.

In front of elders and outsiders, he addressed him as Pei Shizi or General, but in private, he always used his courtesy name.

But before he could finish, Wei Zizhou, still with rice in his mouth, continued in a muffled voice, “Well, I ran into something strange in Yongzhou, there was actually someone who looked exactly the same as Pei Zhen. Isn’t that bizarre? If not for the fact that the man was just a commander of a thousand, already married, and very henpecked, plus you wrote saying Pei Zhen was in Wucheng, I would have almost thought he was Pei Zhen! But Cousin, you have no idea, this guy, with a face exactly like Pei Zhen’s, obeys his little wife in everything, so soft-hearted, hahaha—”

“What did you say?” Halfway through hearing it, Yang Yuanyi’s expression changed drastically, shock impossible to conceal. He suddenly grabbed his cousin and pulled him in front of him.

Wei Zizhou was yanked so hard that a mouthful of rice sprayed straight onto his face, but Yang Yuanyi had no time to mind it. He hastily wiped his face and urgently asked, “Who did you say you saw?”

Wei Zizhou stammered in fright, “S-saw someone who looks exactly like Pei Zhen…”

“Where?” Yang Yuanyi almost shouted as he shook his shoulders.

“Ah?” Wei Zizhou was shaken until dizzy, and for a moment really couldn’t recall the name of that small county, so he began to think carefully.

Just as Yang Yuanyi was growing extremely anxious, he suddenly slapped his forehead and said, “Qing County, right, I remember now, it was Qing County in Yongzhou.”

After hearing this, Yang Yuanyi could not hide his excitement. He immediately released him, stood up, and hurriedly left.

“Hey, wait.” Seeing this, Wei Zizhou quickly called out to stop him.

Yang Yuanyi thought he still had more information to say, so he quickly turned around and asked urgently, “What else? Speak quickly!”

Wei Zizhou: “…Uh, I want another bowl of rice.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…”

“Someone, bring him rice, bring two bowls!” With a wave of his hand, he gave the order and hurriedly left again.

Wei Zizhou was immediately moved to tears. “Waaah, Cousin, you really are my dear cousin.”

“Wait.” As Yang Yuanyi reached the doorway, he suddenly turned back again. “You just said, Pei Zhen married a young lady?”