After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 62

Li Chanxiu had deliberately waited early in the morning until Pei Er left home before finally letting out a breath of relief and getting up.

After finishing breakfast, he had just arrived at the military camp when he heard Zhang Hu say that a supervising eunuch, Lu Gonggong, had arrived in the army.

The moment he heard this news, his heart was instantly lifted.

This supervising eunuch had come from the palace, could he have seen him when he was young? Even if he hadn’t, what if he had seen his father or mother…

Li Chanxiu’s heart tightened. Having once experienced in a dream being recognized by an official he did not know at all, he immediately became alert, turned around, left the camp, and went straight to the city wall.

He knew Pei Er would definitely come today as well. To avoid awkwardness, after arriving, he deliberately stayed among the wounded soldiers, trying his best to avoid meeting him.

But he hadn’t expected that Pei Er would still spot him. Especially after that “Wife” was called out, the surrounding wounded soldiers all looked toward him, their gazes unconsciously carrying a hint of teasing.

One of the wounded soldiers even chimed in, “Miss Shen, our injuries aren’t serious. If Thousand-man Commander Pei is looking for you, it must be urgent, go on quickly.”

The wounded soldiers who could remain by the city wall were indeed only lightly injured; those seriously wounded had already been carried back to the camp.

Li Chanxiu’s ears grew slightly warm. He hurriedly got up and walked toward Pei Er. Because he walked too fast, when he reached him, he almost tripped over a clump of grass roots underfoot.

Pei Er reacted swiftly and caught him at once. Yet afterward, he held on without letting go, his five fingers gripping his arm like an iron clamp.

His direct gaze held nothing concealed, even seeming to carry heat as it fell upon Li Chanxiu’s clean, fair face.

Li Chanxiu felt uncomfortable under the stare. He subtly struggled his arm a few times but failed to break free. Sensing that the wounded soldiers nearby were all secretly glancing over, he had no choice but to lower his voice and awkwardly remind him, “Husband?”

Pei Er blinked and gave a soft “Mm.”

Li Chanxiu: “…”

After calling that out, his ears couldn’t help but grow hot.

Because of that kiss in the morning, whether it had been accidental or intentional, he had been reminding himself all day to keep his distance when meeting Pei Er again. But with Pei Er calling him like that just now, and in front of so many soldiers, if he didn’t call him “husband,” it would seem as though he were slighting him.

Yet after calling out, seeing Pei Er still standing there, he clenched his teeth and had no choice but to grab his arm again, pulling him quickly away from where the wounded soldiers were gathered.

They walked all the way to a secluded place far from the others. Only then did the heat on Li Chanxiu’s face finally subside somewhat, and he couldn’t help but let out a light breath.

After stopping and turning around, before Pei Er could speak, he asked first, “Are you taking troops out again today?”

As soon as he spoke, he steered the conversation toward official matters.

Pei Er was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “I was just about to talk to you about this. I…”

As he spoke, his tone became hesitant, and he glanced at Li Chanxiu again.

Li Chanxiu’s heart tightened slightly. Thinking of the events of the morning, it was as if he feared that Pei Er was about to expose something. He unconsciously shifted his gaze away, avoiding him as if to hide.

After hesitating several times, Pei Er ultimately did not mention what Yang Yuanyi had said about him being “Pei Zhen.”

After making that decision, he instead let out a quiet breath of relief. That was right, he himself wasn’t even certain of it. If he said it now, was he trying to use the name “Pei Zhen” to obtain something from Miss Shen?

That would be too despicable. Pei Er truly disdained doing such a thing. He should rely on his own ability to make Miss Shen like him first.

However, after meeting that Bingzhou soldier, it allowed him to finally feel completely at ease about another matter, at least those people were not here to capture him, and he didn’t have to worry about being separated from Miss Shen.

Thinking this, Pei Er’s expression unconsciously relaxed somewhat, and he continued, “I’ve already discussed with General Zhao of Yongding and the others to ambush the Hu soldiers together today. In a while, I’ll be taking troops out…”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but be startled. He even forgot to avoid his gaze, turning back to look at Pei Er as he said, “You’re going to set up an ambush?”

Pei Er nodded. “Mm.”

Li Chanxiu’s heart sank, and a wave of inexplicable turmoil rose within him. Previously, he had thought that Pei Er’s discussions with Yongding and Yongsheng garrisons were to prepare defenses in advance like last time. He hadn’t expected that they would take the initiative to attack again.

The three garrisons of Yongfeng, Yongding, and Yongsheng together only had a little over ten thousand defending troops in total. Excluding logistics personnel and the wounded, there were only just over seven thousand who could actually fight.

Moreover, it was impossible for Pei Er to take all the defenders with him this time, he would certainly leave the majority behind for defense. In that case, he would most likely, as before, take only three hundred cavalry with him.

Even adding the cavalry from Yongding and Yongsheng, the number would probably not exceed nine hundred.

But based on the information Li Chanxiu had gathered over the past few days, the Hu troops stationed in the desert likely numbered as many as one hundred thousand. Their original target was Wuding Pass. Although most of the elite troops at Wuding Pass had been transferred away, the Hu people were unaware of this; in their view, Wuding Pass was still defended by eighty thousand elite soldiers.

Attacking a pass had always been more difficult than defending one, the attacking force must far exceed the defenders. Estimating one hundred thousand troops was already a conservative figure, considering that the eldest prince Wulie might use a feint to attack elsewhere.

Naturally, Pei Er and the others only intended to ambush the Hu troops coming to attack the three smaller passes like Yongfeng. They might not encounter Wulie’s main force, but what if they did?

If they did, nine hundred men against Wulie’s tens of thousands of main forces, what difference would that be from sending themselves to die?

Even if they did not encounter the main force and everything went exactly as Pei Er predicted, and they successfully ambushed the Hu troops attacking the three smaller passes, the enemy force they would face would still not be small.

Last time, the Hu troops sent to attack Yongfeng alone numbered nearly ten thousand. This time, there would likely only be more. If the Hu troops attacking the three small passes happened to converge and march together, there would be at least thirty thousand. Even ambushing them would be extremely dangerous.

Naturally, in the desert, the advantage of cavalry far surpasses that of infantry. A force of nine hundred elite cavalry defeating an army of thirty thousand, even eighty thousand, is not an impossible legend.

Such cases of defeating many with few are recorded in the history books, but the generals who led those troops were all famed commanders in history, each one a master of warfare. Secondly, their cavalry were all elite troops, with excellent warhorses. Some struck the enemy’s main camp in a sudden raid, catching them off guard; others had large armies supporting them from the rear, causing the enemy’s morale to collapse so that they fled in panic.

It is said that when Pei Zhen was eighteen, he led two hundred iron cavalry to defeat thirty thousand Hu troops by charging into their main camp in the dead of night and catching them unprepared.

But Pei Zhen himself was a genius of warfare, and the Black Iron troops he commanded were the most formidable cavalry in Great Zhou.

As for Pei Er, the cavalry force he had pieced together from various sources clearly could not be called elite. And in the desert, cavalry was even more of an advantage for the Hu people.

As for his ability in command, in Li Chanxiu’s view, Pei Er naturally had talent, but he had only recently been an ordinary soldier and did not have much experience.

Calculating it all, the only advantage they had this time was the ambush. But that depended on actually managing to ambush the enemy, rather than encountering the Hu troops head-on.

After working through all this, Li Chanxiu could not help but worry.

For a moment, he even forgot that he had just decided in the morning to keep his distance from Pei Er. There was even an instant where he thought, perhaps he should go along as well. At least he had experience commanding troops in his dreams and could respond at any moment.

But after calming down, he knew it was impossible. Not to mention that Pei Er would never agree, simply revealing such abilities would risk arousing suspicion among the people in the army. Especially now that there was also the supervising Lu Gonggong in the camp, he needed to keep an even lower profile.

But reason was reason, when he looked at Pei Er, he still could not help but feel worried.

Pei Er did not miss the worry and gentle light in his beautiful eyes. In an instant, a secret joy filled his chest.

Miss Shen was worried about him. Miss Shen cared about him. Perhaps… maybe…

Looking at those eyes that were usually cool but now held only beauty, gentleness, and concern, he couldn’t help but tentatively say, “Miss Shen, this trip of mine may be somewhat dangerous. Could you… lend me the safety talisman again?”

Li Chanxiu was startled when he heard this, confusion flashing through his eyes. “Safety talisman?”

“It’s… the string of prayer beads where I broke one bead last time,” Pei Er said somewhat embarrassedly, but his dark, bright eyes quickly looked at Li Chanxiu again.

Just like a pair of puppy eyes looking over eagerly.

Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but cough lightly, feeling a trace of guilt at his own description.

That string of prayer beads had been personally polished bead by bead by his father when he left Luojing, given to him to ensure his safety. He normally did not let others touch it, but this trip of Pei Er’s was indeed dangerous, and he had already lent it once before…

Thinking this, he quickly nodded, took out the pouch containing the prayer beads from his chest, and carefully handed it to Pei Er.

After thinking for a moment, he added, “You must keep it safe. If it gets damaged like last time while helping you block a blade, that’s not a big issue, but you absolutely must not lose it.”

After saying this, afraid that Pei Er might misunderstand him as being stingy, he added another sentence: “Mainly… I think it’s quite effective. If it were lost, it would be a great pity.”

The last time Pei Er heard Li Chanxiu say that these prayer beads were given by someone important, and seeing how much he valued them, he had felt a trace of sourness. But now he no longer thought that way.

Precisely because he was willing to lend him such important prayer beads for protection, it only further showed that Miss Shen was worried about him. Moreover, he could feel that Miss Shen also cared about him, perhaps this string of beads was simply given by some elder relative?

He nodded solemnly in agreement and carefully tucked the prayer beads close to his chest.

At this time, the three hundred cavalry in the distance had already assembled, and Zhang Hu was waiting for Pei Er to go over.

…In fact, he had already been waiting for a while. As the time to depart drew closer, Zhang Hu inevitably grew anxious, glancing over from time to time, hesitating whether to come remind Pei Er.

Pei Er turned his head to look and also knew that time was running short.

But meeting Li Chanxiu’s eyes, still unable to hide their worry, a sudden impulse surged up again, making his heart grow warm.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stepped forward and, without warning, pulled Li Chanxiu into an embrace, his arms wrapping around the other’s slender yet firm waist.

Li Chanxiu was caught off guard and froze for a moment. Before he could react, he heard Pei Er whisper softly by his ear, “Miss Shen, when I come back, there’s something important I want to tell you.”

Not far away, Yang Yuanyi, who had come together with General Chen, saw this scene and couldn’t help but look stunned.

Pei Er happened to see them as well, and his voice paused slightly.

After a moment, he suppressed his longing and repeated hoarsely, “Wait for me to come back.”

After saying that, his arms tightened slightly before he slowly released the still-stiff and stunned Li Chanxiu. As he stepped back, his slightly cool lips brushed past the soft earlobe of the person in his arms, seeming to deliberately linger for a moment.

Li Chanxiu trembled slightly, not very noticeably, his clear, beautiful eyes filled with shock and astonishment.

“Miss Shen, then I… will go first,” Pei Er said in a low, hoarse voice after looking at him for a long time.

Li Chanxiu looked at him and nodded stiffly.

Pei Er’s gaze burned as he stared at him fixedly for a while longer before finally turning away.

He didn’t say another word of farewell. But after taking just two steps, 

“Pei Er!” Li Chanxiu suddenly called out to stop him.

Pei Er turned his head abruptly, hope blooming in his eyes.

Li Chanxiu looked at his clear and handsome face, hesitated for a moment, and finally still said, “Be careful. You must… come back alive.”

At once, surprise and joy appeared in Pei Er’s eyes. After coming back to himself, he quickly waved at him, his tone lifting slightly, “Wait for me to come back.”

After walking a few more steps, he turned back again, his tone still unable to conceal his joy. “Wait for me.”

After a few more steps, once he had mounted his horse, he still couldn’t help but rein in the reins and turn his head to look at Li Chanxiu again.

Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but tense, afraid he would say “wait for me” again and be overheard by the soldiers and General Chen, which would be truly awkward.

Fortunately, Pei Er didn’t say it this time. He only couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips, smiling at him once more, before quickly urging his horse forward. With a flick of the whip, his red cloak fluttered fiercely in the wind, his bearing bold and spirited as he led the cavalry galloping toward the desert.

When Yang Yuanyi saw this scene, his expression was so shocked it looked like he could swallow ten eggs in one bite.

The Black Iron soldier beside him, who was leading the group, noticed and, after General Chen had walked far away, couldn’t help lowering his voice to ask, “Young General, what’s wrong?”

Yang Yuanyi finally came back to his senses, his tone faint. “…I suspect we found the wrong person.”

Black Iron soldier: “?”

“Let’s go. We’ll ask General Chen what’s going on with the battle, and what Jianzhi is going out to do.”

As he spoke, he stepped toward the city wall. When he passed near Li Chanxiu, he couldn’t help turning his head out of curiosity, wanting to take a look at this “Miss Shen,” who, in his view, had already completely bewitched Pei Zhen.

At this glance, he suddenly froze for a moment.

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