After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 64

Li Chanxiu’s face darkened as he turned and quickly walked toward the city wall.

Pei Er’s trip already required fighting many with few, the weak against the strong. If he were then stabbed in the back by his own Great Zhou people, wouldn’t it be even more dangerous?

There had to be a way to notify him, better yet, to send people to rescue him.

***

By the beacon tower on the city wall, 

When General Chen saw him approaching with furrowed brows and a cold aura, he was also momentarily stunned. He felt that Pei Er’s wife, the female physician in the army with quite impressive medical skills, was somewhat different today, as if… she even carried a somewhat imposing presence.

Seeing the surprise in his expression, Li Chanxiu quickly realized something. He hurriedly lowered his eyelashes, concealing the rest of his expression and leaving only urgency.

“General Chen,” he spoke quickly, interrupting the other’s attention, his tone urgent, “just now, a soldier from the camp came to report that Jiang He took the hundred guards of Lu Gonggong and secretly detoured out of the pass.”

General Chen was stunned upon hearing this, his expression instantly changing.

“General, he is very likely going to deal with Pei Er,” Li Chanxiu continued anxiously.

How could General Chen not think of this? He also immediately understood why Li Chanxiu’s demeanor had been different upon arrival, though he only assumed it was because he was worried about her husband. He immediately comforted, “Don’t worry, I’ll have someone chase after them and warn Pei Er.”

But Pei Er had already left over an hour ago, how could they still catch up now?

Thinking of this, General Chen quickly added, “Also, that Brother Yang just now, he took forty or fifty cavalry and just left the pass. They shouldn’t have gone far. If we inform him, it should still be in time.”

The troops he had brought were Black Iron soldiers. Though there were only forty or fifty, their combat strength was definitely no weaker than Jiang He’s hundred guards. If Jiang He could be dealt with first, then Pei Er would no longer face threats from his own side.

But the problem was, in the vast desert stretching endlessly, who knew where Jiang He was now? In the end, what they could truly rely on was that the messengers or Yang Yuanyi’s group would find Pei Er first.

After all, the garrison only had just over three hundred warhorses in total, almost all of which had been taken by Pei Er. Moreover, the city wall still needed to be defended, they simply couldn’t spare people to send reinforcements.

General Chen hurriedly gave orders to his subordinates, then stood on the city wall, watching as two fast horses galloped out one after another to deliver messages, his expression still grave.

Li Chanxiu’s expression also did not relax. He didn’t know that the “Brother Yang” General Chen mentioned had brought Black Iron soldiers, and he was even more worried that they wouldn’t be able to find Pei Er in time.

He needed to think of another way…

Just as he was frowning in thought, suddenly, in the distance, another fast horse came galloping toward them, kicking up a trail of dust.

It was a scout sent out to investigate the enemy situation.

The scout rode at full speed and, before even reaching the foot of the wall, shouted from afar, “Report, enemy attack! The Hu have assembled twenty thousand troops and are heading toward Yongfeng!”

“What?” General Chen’s face showed great shock.

The defending soldiers on the wall turned pale with alarm upon hearing this.

At present, excluding the wounded and logistics personnel, they had at most two thousand men who could fight. With twenty thousand Hu troops suddenly arriving, how could they possibly resist?

Li Chanxiu’s expression also changed instantly upon hearing this. How had the Hu troops suddenly reached Yongfeng so quickly? Could it be that Pei Er’s ambush had failed?

At this thought, his mind became even more unsettled.

The scout quickly climbed up the wall, his face pale as he panted heavily and hurriedly reported, “Reporting to the General, the Hu second prince is personally leading twenty thousand troops and is heading this way.”

The second prince?

A look of surprise appeared in Li Chanxiu’s eyes, then he let out a light breath. The one Pei Er had gone to ambush was the eldest prince Wulie’s forces. And from what he knew, the eldest Hu and second Hu prince had always been at odds, perhaps they were not coming together?

For now, he could only comfort himself this way. After the scout withdrew, he immediately turned to General Chen, whose expression was still grim, and offered advice: “General, the Hu have suddenly brought twenty thousand troops. We are short-handed and will surely find it difficult to resist, but…”

General Chen immediately turned to look at him, his gaze filled with questioning and scrutiny.

Li Chanxiu clenched his teeth and continued, “But the common people here have lived here for generations. They certainly do not wish to see the homes they have long lived in destroyed, nor their families taken or slaughtered by the Hu. General, why not organize them and call on them to resist together? They may not be as skilled in battle as the defenders, but they can at least throw stones at those attacking below. Those willing to go up the wall can do so; those unwilling can still help make torches, arrows, and so on.”

General Chen’s eyes lit up, but he quickly added, “I fear that once this is announced, public morale will collapse. Not only will no one be willing to resist together, but everyone may instead flee in panic.”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu persuaded again, “General, many of the people nearby have family members among the defenders. The fact that twenty thousand Hu troops are attacking cannot be concealed anyway. Moreover, they have lived here for generations, their ancestral graves are here, I believe there will be those willing.”

Li Chanxiu believed in the strength of the common people. In his dreams, they had risen to resist again and again. And the old troops he had led in the southwest had also been saved many times by the local people, with many even joining them.

Moreover…

“And there is unrest in the south. If the people flee south, they may not be safe either,” he stated calmly.

After hearing this, General Chen gritted his teeth. Seeing the uneasy and anxious faces of the defenders on the wall, he finally said, “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

Li Chanxiu immediately let out a breath of relief. After going down from the wall, he at once sent someone to find Xuanping.

At the same time, General Chen also sent people to mobilize the civilians. The situation was indeed as Li Chanxiu had said, although the people were frightened, some uneasy, some even packing their belongings to flee, there were also many willing to come and resist the Hu together.

General Chen immediately ordered them to be organized. Those strong and able-bodied were given simple training on the spot, so they could fight more effectively once on the wall. As for the others, they were arranged in the rear to help carry stones, make arrows, apply fire oil to the arrows, and so on.

Even the camp’s Aunt Xu and the other female family members were also arranged to help shave arrow shafts.

When Xuanping and the others arrived, inside the Great Wall it was a scene of bustling activity; although everyone’s faces were tense, they were also brimming with fighting spirit.

When Li Chanxiu saw him arrive, he hurriedly lifted his robe hem and ran over quickly.

Xuanping brought more than two hundred people on this trip, among whom seventy or eighty were actually riding horses. After seeing Li Chanxiu, he immediately dismounted and said: “Miss Shen, rest assured, I already know about the matter. Pei Shizi is your husband and also the benefactor of me and my elder brother; I will definitely help with this.”

Li Chanxiu let out a breath and nodded; seeing his horses, doubt arose in his heart again.

Previously when suppressing bandits, the horses of the mountain stronghold had basically been confiscated by the two garrisons of Yongfeng and Yongding; how could the other party have so many horses again? Could it be… Lu Zhi had returned?

But these horses were not very tall, and also did not look like they came from the Western Qiang side.

Seeing him looking toward the horses, Xuanping could not help lowering his voice to explain: “Earlier we went south to sell some salt; who knew we encountered a group of refugees robbing us. Fortunately those people were not our match, the horses were seized from them.”

“So that’s how it is.” Li Chanxiu nodded in understanding.

Among the refugees many had joined because they could no longer survive, but there were also some who took advantage of the chaos to rob everywhere.

“And also, the people I brought today, I’ve been training them recently, so Miss Shen you can just rest assured and leave the matter to me.” Xuanping soon said again.

Li Chanxiu glanced around, pulled him to a corner away from others’ ears and eyes, took out a piece of silk cloth, and after unfolding it, pointed to several routes on it and said: “This is a terrain map outside the pass. Pei Er will very likely go here, then go here to set an ambush. You head in this direction all the way to search.”

He had previously looked at the terrain map outside the pass in General Chen’s tent; this map was just now drawn from memory, and based on some information Pei Er had revealed, he deduced where the other party might go this time.

“In addition…” he looked at the route lines on the silk cloth, frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed to one place and said, “Earlier Pei Er guessed that the Hu people’s Eldest Prince’s main army should be stationed over here. If the guess is true, the Hu people will definitely transport grain supplies from Xuancheng that Great Zhou has already fallen, passing through these routes. If you cannot find them along the previous route, then Pei Er is very likely going to rob the grain supplies; then search again in this direction.”

After listening carefully, Xuanping concealed the admiration and surprise in his heart, immediately put away the silk cloth and said: “Alright, Miss Shen rest assured, I will definitely find Pei Shizi and not let Jiang Chong’s brother’s evil scheme succeed.”

After speaking he added: “Speaking of which, I must also thank Miss Shen for finally giving me a chance to fight the Hu people.”

Perhaps seeing that Li Chanxiu had been shrouded in worry all along, he deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone and smiled.

Li Chanxiu’s tightly knit brows could not help loosening slightly, and he reluctantly smiled along.

Just at this time, General Chen saw that a new batch of people had arrived here and quickly came over to ask.

Li Chanxiu mixed truth and falsehood in explanation: “General, quite a number of people from nearby counties also came to help. In addition, this young fellow Xuan was one of those from the mountain stronghold who were previously recruited and pacified. At that time he did not join the army; after going back he opened an escort agency. Hearing that the Hu people were attacking, he also brought some people and horses to help.”

He deliberately described part of the more than two hundred people Xuanping brought as having come voluntarily from the counties; otherwise Xuanping bringing so many people, and with horses, would be too conspicuous.

After speaking he requested again: “General, earlier only two people were sent to deliver messages; I’m afraid it may not be enough. I’m truly worried… about my husband. Could this young fellow Xuan also be allowed to bring people to search?”

His brows slightly drawn together, his face pale with anxiety, and his beautiful eyes seeming to hold a sheen of tears, he looked only like a delicate young wife worried about her husband’s safety, no one could bear to refuse his request.

Beside him, Xuanping understood and immediately clasped his hands in salute and said: “Greetings, General. Reporting to the General, this humble one was previously saved by Pei Shizi and his wife; the two of them are both this humble one’s benefactors. Originally hearing that Hu people were attacking, this humble one hurriedly brought the escort agency and brothers I usually associate with to help. I did not expect that after arriving, I would again hear that my benefactor might be in trouble. A life-saving kindness cannot be repaid; please allow this humble one to bring people out to search for my benefactor.”

General Chen did know about Pei Er releasing several bandits who had been recruited and pacified; the other party had told him about it that day when they came back. Now knowing Xuanping’s “identity,” he did not say much.

However, he was worrying that there were no men and horses he could send to support Pei Er; seeing the horses the other party brought, his eyes lit up.

Originally he wanted to directly requisition the other party’s horses, but was troubled that the army no longer had cavalry. Now seeing Xuanping take the initiative to go search, although he hesitated and felt it was not in accordance with regulations, thinking of Pei Er possibly being in danger, and then seeing Pei Er’s “wife” looking worried, with a fragile gaze seeming to hold tears, in the end he gritted his teeth and said: “Alright, then we will trouble this righteous man to lead people out of the pass to search.”

After the matter with Lu Gonggong, he now did not dare easily write a letter to the prefect for help; otherwise he would not have readily agreed earlier to Li Chanxiu’s method of gathering the common people.

However, General Chen still was not completely at ease; he still requisitioned twenty of Xuanping’s horses and ordered twenty soldiers under him to go out together with the other party.

Looking at the dust gradually fading into the distance outside the Great Wall, the heart Li Chanxiu had been holding up finally eased a little.

He had already done everything he could do; now he could only pray, pray that the string of Buddhist prayer beads his father had given could also protect Pei Er’s safety.

He clasped both hands together, holding his fists at his chest and silently recited.

After finishing the silent recitation, opening his eyes, he looked into the distance; the heart that had just been put down lifted again.

Next, he, General Chen, and the garrison soldiers and common people on the city wall still had a hard battle to fight.

***

The vast desert, the northern wind raising sand and dust.

A Hu army was marching toward the passes of Yongding and Yongsheng; when passing beside a stretch of continuous earthen hills, suddenly a sharp whistle sounded.

The Hu people were startled; before they could react, countless ropes buried under the sand were instantly pulled tight, and countless people were tripped down in an instant. At the same time the warhorses were frightened and successively stepped into pit traps.

The Hu soldiers immediately fell into chaos; the leading commander hurriedly controlled the warhorse under his crotch and loudly shouted in the Hu language: “Ambush, retreat quickly!”

But it was already too late. From behind the earthen hills at the same time came shouts of killing; it was unclear how many Great Zhou soldiers were riding horses and raising their blades, each shouting battle cries as they charged toward the panicked Hu soldiers.

The Hu commander had just managed to restrain the panicked troops and was about to reorganize the formation to fight the ambushers when he turned his head and saw that on the flags raised by those Great Zhou cavalry was a huge character “Pei.”

Looking again, the man charging at the front rode a jujube-red steed, a curved saber at his waist, a long spear in hand. His face was cold and stern, his figure like a god of slaughter, wherever his spear struck, Hu soldiers fell in droves.

If not Pei Zhen, then who else?

Just as many Great Zhou soldiers had been beaten by the Hu into fear deep in their bones, this Hu commander had also been beaten by Pei Zhen in Bingzhou until he lost all confidence deep down.

Although he led twenty thousand Hu troops, among them cavalry, the one who had come was Pei Zhen! At eighteen, this man had dared to lead two hundred iron cavalry into a camp of thirty thousand Hu soldiers, not only defeating them but also capturing several of their royals.

The Hu commander immediately felt a surge of panic. Even though he could already see that Pei Zhen had not brought many troops, he still lacked confidence.

At that moment, someone among the Hu soldiers also shouted in alarm, “Pei Zhen, it’s Pei Zhen of Bingzhou!”

The Hu commander immediately roared in anger, “Who shouted that? Execute him!”

But it was already too late. As soon as the Hu soldiers heard “Pei Zhen,” they became even more panicked.

Seizing the moment, Pei Er led the cavalry straight in, rapidly breaking apart the Hu troops who had just begun to reorganize their formation.

These Hu soldiers had often fought against the troops led by Pei Zhen in Bingzhou before, losing more than they won. Hearing that Pei Zhen had arrived, they already felt victory was hopeless. Now that their formation had been scattered, it was even harder to counterattack, some simply turned and fled.

Once someone took the lead, others immediately followed. In an instant, several hundred fled in disarray.

The Hu commander waved his blade and roared furiously, “No one is allowed to flee, those who disobey will die!”

But amid the chaos, few could hear him. Instead, more and more fled. Seeing that Pei Er was about to reach him and that his army had completely collapsed, the Hu commander gritted his teeth and, under the protection of his attendants, turned and fled as well.

“The Hu commander has run, chase them! Charge! Kill!!” Commandant Qian of Yongding, sharp-eyed, was the first to notice and immediately shouted in the Hu language.

Hearing that the commander had fled, the Hu soldiers still resisting instantly lost morale and were beaten back step by step.

…

Half an hour later, after counting the captives and seized warhorses, Commandant Qian’s face was flushed with excitement. He rode up to Pei Er and laughed loudly, “This time we’ve struck it rich, Brother Pei! Guess how many warhorses we captured? My heavens, fully a thousand! Enough for us to form a proper cavalry force.”

That was, of course, if the higher-ups at Wuding Pass and the prefectural city didn’t come snatch the horses from them.

Pei Er turned to glance at him and said coolly, “Can you afford to raise them?”

Commandant Qian: “Uh.”

That was true, a single warhorse ate as much as ten soldiers’ rations. It really wasn’t something their small garrison of just over three thousand men could afford.

Commandant Qian couldn’t help but look regretful. He then took out several hides they had just seized to share with him and casually asked with concern, “By the way, did those troops from Bingzhou find Yongfeng last night? They came to capture…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly received a cold glare from Pei Er.

“Don’t bring that up with me,” Pei Er said coolly.

Just mentioning it made him want to settle accounts!

If he hadn’t been misled by Commandant Qian, how would he have been so bitter and distressed last night and this morning, thinking he was about to part from Miss Shen, even almost… shedding a few heroic tears.

Thinking of this, his face expressionless, he directly urged his horse forward and left.

Seeing that he had shown concern out of goodwill yet received no good response, Commandant Qian looked puzzled. But considering himself already good brothers with Pei Er, he didn’t mind it and immediately turned his horse to follow.

At that moment, the commandant from Yongsheng also rode over and asked Pei Er, “Thousand-man Commander Pei, the captives have been bound, and everything has been counted. Should we return now?”

Although both he and Commandant Qian were commandants, and even if from different camps, their rank was still above Pei Er’s, logically, he shouldn’t be taking orders from Pei Er.

But at this moment, like Commandant Qian, he held great admiration for Pei Er and spoke especially politely.

Pei Er glanced at the captured Hu soldiers, then looked into the distance and shook his head. “Something’s not right.”

“Ah? What’s not right?” Commandant Qian, who had just ridden up, asked.

Pei Er frowned. “Previously, the Hu sent thirty thousand troops to attack our three passes separately. After being defeated and returning, this time they only sent twenty thousand. That’s not right.”

Earlier, he and General Chen, including Miss Shen, had all guessed that the Hu would next send even more troops to attack the three smaller passes. Unexpectedly, after the ambush, they discovered that not only had they not sent more, they had actually sent fewer.

The Yongsheng commandant also nodded in agreement. “Indeed, something’s off.”

Commandant Qian immediately said, “I’ll drag out a Hu soldier and interrogate him.”

Pei Er nodded. While he went to interrogate, Pei Er continued frowning in thought.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. Turning to look at the Hu sub-officer being interrogated but refusing to speak no matter what, he said in the Hu language in a low voice, “Wulie led the main force to attack Wuding Pass?”

He himself didn’t know why he could speak the Hu language, but when he heard Commandant Qian speaking with these Hu soldiers, he realized that he indeed could, perhaps he had learned it before losing his memory.

Though the Hu sub-officer refused to reveal anything, upon hearing this, his expression clearly changed.

Pei Er narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing he had guessed correctly.

No wonder these Hu troops that were ambushed had been so easy to defeat, so Wulie’s objective this time wasn’t their three small passes. The elite troops and main force had all been taken to attack Wuding Pass.

Commandant Qian and the Yongsheng commandant’s expressions also became grave at once. Wuding Pass was easy to defend and hard to attack, but that was under the condition of having sufficient defenders.

Right now, all three of them knew that Wuding Pass only had a little over ten thousand defenders left, including logistics personnel. It wasn’t completely hollow, but the situation was far from good.

The key was that they didn’t know exactly how many troops Prince Wulie had brought to attack, but estimating, it should be no fewer than eighty thousand. After all, the Hu people didn’t know that the defenders at Wuding Pass had been redeployed; if they dared to attack, they must have made sufficient preparations.

Moreover, according to Pei Er, the Hu might be short on grain internally and would certainly fight desperately to attack Great Zhou this winter. This had even been inferred by Pei Er’s wife, from the diseased sheep the Hu had discarded.

If that were truly the case, Wulie would certainly launch a fierce assault on Wuding Pass. If Chang’an still delayed returning the redeployed defenders, Wuding Pass likely wouldn’t hold for even ten days.

But even knowing all this, what could they do?

Commandant Qian wiped his face and said, “With the few men we have, we’re not even worth mentioning in front of Wulie’s main force.”

Besides, if Chang’an didn’t dispatch troops and the commandery governor didn’t dispatch troops, what use was it for those below to be anxious?

Hadn’t General Chen written to the prefect, only for Lord Yan to send over a supervising eunuch instead? That was worse than not asking for reinforcements.

Pei Er took out the map and looked at it for a while, then said with focused eyes, “If Wulie is leading a large army to lay prolonged siege to Wuding Pass, the provisions he brought along will certainly be insufficient. If supplies are transported midway, they will definitely come from the already fallen Xuancheng…”

Suddenly, he put away the map and said to Commandant Qian, “Go interrogate them again, ask when the provisions will arrive.”

Commandant Qian hurried off to interrogate them again. The sub-officer still clenched his teeth and refused to answer.

But Pei Er quickly learned from several Hu soldiers that even the rations distributed in Wulie’s army yesterday had already been reduced.

“As expected.” Pei Er narrowed his eyes.

It seemed that Wulie had delayed attacking Wuding Pass for so long for two reasons: first, to feign action in the east and strike in the west, luring Wuding Pass’s troops to reinforce Yongfeng and the other passes, leaving Wuding Pass empty; second, because his provisions were insufficient, he had been waiting for supplies.

Following this line of reasoning, it was very likely that…

“The provisions will arrive today?” he immediately lifted his eyes and asked the sub-officer.

The sub-officer’s pupils tightened abruptly, his face turning pale, his gaze instinctively avoiding. Though he didn’t say a word, for Pei Er, it was as good as an answer.

He immediately said to Commandant Qian and the other, “Escort these men back first. I’ll take men to burn the provisions.”

Having said that, he turned his horse around and ordered Zhang Hu, “Form up!”

Commandant Qian and the other had just tried to stop him, but he had already ridden off with Zhang Hu and the others at full speed.

Commandant Qian was dumbfounded. “This Brother Pei really risks his life when he fights!”

Although the ambush just now had been beautifully executed, the Hu had over twenty thousand men, and there had been cavalry among them, their own losses were not small either.

For example, of the three hundred cavalry Pei Er had brought, only a little over one hundred and fifty remained completely uninjured. And he was taking just this many men to burn the provisions?

***

Deep in the vast desert, Pei Er led a little over one hundred and fifty riders straight toward the route the Hu provisions were likely to take, planning to use the wind at night to set fire to them with flaming arrows.

Although there were only a little over one hundred and fifty men, his objective was not to attack, but to launch a fire attack from a distance and then withdraw quickly. The advantage of cavalry lay in speed, this should be doable.

Just as he was pondering, suddenly from behind a mound on the right side, a group of men and horses charged out, rushing straight at his cavalry and instantly splitting the formation.

At once, Pei Er was left with only Zhang Hu and seven or eight riders, while the rest of the cavalry were cut off behind.

He immediately reined in his horse and turned his head. Seeing who it was, he narrowed his eyes. “Jiang He.”

Jiang He sat astride his horse and sneered, his voice filled with hatred: “Pei Er, it’s time you paid with your life for my younger brother!”

With that, spear in hand, he led over twenty men beside him and charged straight at Pei Er.