After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 77

Wuding Pass is built between two steep mountains, its terrain dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

However, once the pass is breached, the land ahead becomes a wide, flat expanse. The Hu cavalry can gallop forward at full speed and easily reach the prefectural city, not to mention plundering other counties along the way. If their forces are strong enough, they could even capture Yongzhou’s prefectural city and press straight toward Chang’an.

At this moment, Eldest Prince Wulie’s eyes shone with excitement, his expression nearly twisted with exhilaration.

His guess had been correct, Wuding Pass was weakly defended, with fewer than twenty thousand defenders. In just three days, he had managed to break through it in one fell swoop!

Seeing that the soldiers under his command had already swarmed into the pass, he could not help but draw his blade and shout, “Men, charge! Go take your grain and valuables….”

The Hu soldiers, their eyes bloodshot from killing, were like wolves and tigers, each one rushing forward desperately.

However, just as they broke through the pass and before they could reach the nearby counties to plunder, suddenly the sound of hoofbeats came in dense waves like beating drums, shaking the heart, 

“Not good, it’s an ambush!”

“No, it’s reinforcements, reinforcements from the Great Zhou have arrived!”

Someone quickly reacted.

A Hu general was the first to rein in his horse. Seeing the large banner held by the distant cavalry, he cried out in alarm, “It’s the Bingzhou army!”

At the same time, the sound of hoofbeats drew near, and the shouts of battle soared into the sky. Three thousand light cavalry rushing from Bingzhou charged forward at full speed, and in the blink of an eye were about to arrive. Behind the cavalry were layers of fluttering banners, showing that reinforcements kept coming, likely numbering in the tens of thousands.

General Wuna of the Hu hurriedly turned his horse around to find Prince Wulie: “Your Highness, there are reinforcements. Should we withdraw first?”

“Withdraw?” Wulie glared angrily upon hearing this and rebuked, “If we retreat now, would that not mean all our efforts are wasted?”

Having said that, he raised his blade and shouted in fury: “All of you, follow me and kill!”

The Hu soldiers had already been driven into a blood frenzy when they broke through the pass earlier. At this moment, their emotions were surging, and upon hearing the command, they immediately responded. Moreover, they all knew there was little grain left in the army, now that they had finally broken the pass, with wealth and supplies right before them, were they to forgo it and starve to death instead?

With Wulie’s order, each of them charged forward like starving wolves seeing flesh and blood, ferociously engaging in battle.

Yet they were not afraid of death, and the reinforcements from Bingzhou were equally brave. As the first wave of cavalry charged in, the infantry following behind to hold formation soon arrived as well.

On the open field, weapons clashed, warhorses neighed; some shouted battle cries, others wailed in pain, and soon blood flowed across the ground.

This battle lasted from when dusk was about to fall until dawn was about to break.

By the time the east began to lighten, nearly half of the Hu soldiers were already dead or wounded.

General Wuna’s eyes were bloodshot as he clutched Wulie tightly and urged bitterly: “Your Highness, withdraw quickly. The Great Zhou people have a saying: ‘As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.’ Must we bury all eighty thousand troops here?”

Wulie’s eyes were red as he gripped his weapon tightly, staring at the field littered with corpses.

At that moment, a thunderous rumble came again from afar, and at the same time Hu soldiers cried out in terror: “Black Iron Cavalry, it’s the heavy cavalry of the Black Iron troops, the Black Iron Cavalry!”

Upon hearing this, Wuna’s expression changed drastically, and he urgently advised: “Your Highness, even the heavy cavalry of the Black Iron troops has arrived. The one commanding the other side must be Pei Zhen. It’s no disgrace to lose to him, let’s withdraw quickly.”

The heavy cavalry of the Black Iron troops was a sharp weapon personally forged by Pei Zhen. The warhorses selected were tall, powerful, and enduring, and the soldiers were chosen through layers of selection, each not only skilled but also immensely strong. Both soldiers and horses wore black heavy armor, impervious to blades and spears; a single rider and horse could withstand a thousand troops.

In the past, when they were in Bingzhou, they had been defeated several times by such heavy cavalry.

However, while the heavy cavalry was formidable, it also had its drawbacks, its armor was too heavy, making it slow to move.

Perhaps for that reason, this unit of heavy cavalry only arrived at this moment. Otherwise, in a normal battle, they would certainly have been sent in first to charge the formation.

But even though they came late, it did not prevent these ironclad monsters from easily slaughtering what had already become a nearly broken force.

Knowing the defeat was certain, Wulie gritted his teeth in hatred and anger, raised his head to the sky, and said resentfully: “Pei Zhen! I swear I will kill this man!”

After shouting, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Your Highness!”

“Eldest Prince!”

Those around him hurriedly supported him, their faces anxious.

Wulie’s body swayed. He raised his hand to stop them, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, and through clenched teeth said word by word: “Withdraw the troops!”

***

At Yongfeng garrison, General Chen, who had barely slept all night, finally let out a long breath of relief upon hearing that the Hu soldiers had been repelled, and then his whole body swayed.

Li Chanxiu had likewise waited in the camp all night. After hearing the news from Erzi, the heart he had held tense all night finally eased slightly, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion.

Soon, he opened them again, faint bloodshot veins already visible, and asked, “Is there any news of Pei Er?”

Erzi let out an “uh,” glanced at him carefully, and said, “Not yet for the moment.”

After the Bingzhou reinforcements arrived, Thousand-man Commander Pei… no, he should be called Commandant Pei now.

In any case, according to the scouts sent by Yongfeng, after the Bingzhou reinforcements arrived, Commandant Pei’s whereabouts became unknown. However, it could be confirmed that he should be safe.

Upon hearing this, Li Chanxiu was finally completely at ease. In his view, with Pei Er’s skill, he had been fine even when Wuding Pass was breached, so after the Bingzhou reinforcements arrived, it was even less likely that anything would happen to him.

However, it was said that the reinforcements from Bingzhou this time were quite substantial, even a thousand of the heavy cavalry known as the “Black Iron Cavalry” had been dispatched. It should be known that in the entire Bingzhou army, there were only five thousand such Black Iron Cavalry at present.

Li Chanxiu suddenly could not help but wonder whether the person leading the reinforcements might be General Pei Zhen. After all, the Black Iron Cavalry had been personally built by Pei Zhen and was the sharp blade in his hand, the elite among the elites of the Bingzhou army.

But on second thought, he felt it unlikely. From what he had learned through correspondence with Pei Zhen in his dreams, the other party should currently be severely injured and unable to rise.

Thinking of this, Li Chanxiu felt somewhat regretful. If possible, he very much wanted to meet this hero who had once helped him in his dreams.

But in the dream, he had been recognized by an official beside Pei Zhen. Not to mention that the other party was unlikely to come to Yongzhou, even if he did come, at this moment, he absolutely could not go to meet him.

It seemed he could only wait for a future opportunity.

He shook his head inwardly, then instructed Erzi again to continue helping him inquire about Pei Er’s whereabouts.

***

Inside the central command tent, Prefect Yan, who had suddenly chosen to stay after hearing that reinforcements from Bingzhou had arrived, had a gloomy expression.

A subordinate official at his side lowered his voice and asked, “My lord, are we still returning to the prefectural city?”

Prefect Yan suddenly turned his head and glared at him, rebuking in a low voice: “Liang Wang Shizi is in the prefectural city. Now that Wuding Pass has been breached, if I rush back in haste, how will he and Liang Wang view me?”

Having said that, he continued to sit there heavily.

Only after learning that the Hu soldiers had withdrawn did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then his expression darkened again as he said, “This Pei Zhen, I hadn’t even requested aid, and he directly sent troops over. Does he take my Yongzhou to be part of his Bingzhou territory?”

After a pause, he added, “Forget it, first send the news to the prefectural city so the shizi can be informed. The rest of you, come with me to Wuding Pass.”

Since the Hu soldiers had already retreated, he no longer had much to fear.

He had just taken a few steps after rising when he suddenly turned back and asked, “Where is that Lord Gu?”

“This… it’s said he has a distant cousin who was exiled here, so he went to visit.”

Upon hearing this, Prefect Yan’s expression darkened again, but he still said, “He belongs to the shizi. Be careful, don’t say anything wrong in front of him.”

“Yes.” The officials at his side hurriedly responded.

***

Inside Wuding Pass, the pale golden morning light illuminated the ground littered with broken soldiers and corpses. The brutality of last night’s battle still seemed vivid before the eyes, yet by this morning the cold wind had already dispersed the scent of blood.

Yang Yuanyi lifted the flap of a temporarily set-up ordinary tent and went in to report: “Reporting to the general, the casualties have been counted. Of the Bingzhou army that came to reinforce us, more than two hundred have died, and the injured…”

When other generals were present, he usually did not call the other party “Jianzhi,” but addressed him as “General.”

After listening, Pei Zhen gave an almost imperceptible nod, then said in a slightly heavy tone: “Bury them properly and provide good compensation to their families.”

Yang Yuanyi nodded. Just as he was about to say more, someone suddenly came to report: the Prefect of Yongzhou, Lord Yan, had arrived and requested to see the one commanding the troops.

Pei Zhen and Yang Yuanyi exchanged a glance, then he instructed, “You go meet him. Do not reveal that I am here.”

“Alright.” Yang Yuanyi immediately went out.

But before long, he returned with an unhappy expression.

Pei Zhen did not need to ask, he could already guess the situation. He calmly picked up the tea beside him and took a sip.

Sure enough, Yang Yuanyi soon complained: “That surnamed Yan actually blamed us for mobilizing troops without authorization. What a joke, if we hadn’t sent troops, his head might already be hanging on the city gate. Luckily, we had the defending general of Wuding Pass write a request for reinforcements beforehand, which shut down everything he just said.”

“Ignore him.” Pei Zhen set down the teacup and said lightly, “Although the Hu people have retreated, Yongzhou’s defenses are insufficient and it is still unsafe. Take men and station here for now, and wait for my orders.”

Yang Yuanyi: “Then you…?”

Pei Zhen: “…”

“I’ll return to Yongfeng first,” he said after a light cough.

Yang Yuanyi: “…” I knew it!

You dare swear you’re not eager to return home to see your wife?

As if seeing through his thoughts, Pei Zhen coughed again and straightened his expression: “Don’t overthink. I’m going back to continue investigating the case involving Lu Quan and Jiang He.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…” Am I overthinking? I didn’t say I was, I’m just making a reasonable guess.

“Then do you need me to go with you?” he suddenly asked.

Pei Zhen suddenly turned his head, his dark eyes filled with doubt, as if asking: what would you go for?

Yang Yuanyi coughed lightly. “I’ll go… to cover for you. Aren’t you trying to conceal your identity? Then the case would have to be said to be investigated by me.”

Nonsense, of course he wanted to go watch the show. Besides, with General Zhao, who had led the reinforcements, still present, there was no need for him to personally oversee the stationing.

Pei Zhen: “…”

“As you wish.” With a flick of his sleeve, he left with a displeased expression.

***

Pei Zhen was still wearing the armor of a Thousand-man Commander, riding with Zhang Hu and other Yongfeng garrison soldiers as they left Wuding Pass. Yang Yuanyi went along as well.

Having just gone through a night of fierce fighting, the soldiers were all exhausted and hungry. When they passed a border town, Pei Zhen saw that everyone was truly fatigued. Even though he was eager to return, he still gave the order to rest for a while and let everyone go into the town to eat something.

Such frontier towns were not prosperous to begin with. Especially after hearing last night that the Hu soldiers had breached Wuding Pass, many of the common people had fled in panic to nearby mountains. Many had not yet returned, and the town looked desolate, with few shops open along the road.

Pei Zhen was not very hungry. After waving for Yang Yuanyi, Zhang Hu, and the others to find a place to eat, he wandered around the town on his own.

After only a few steps, he unexpectedly saw a low, small bookshop, which was open, probably the only one in the town.

Pei Zhen paused slightly, as if recalling something, then suddenly walked quickly over.

Yang Yuanyi did not go with Zhang Hu and the others. He found a bun shop that had just opened, bought a few large meat buns, then turned around to look for Pei Zhen.

After searching for quite a while, he found him inside an old bookshop, holding a book and looking at it with focused attention.

Yang Yuanyi was surprised. For Pei Zhen to be so absorbed in a book at a time like this, it must be some formidable military text, right? In such a remote and desolate place, there was actually a rare military manual hidden?

He couldn’t help but walk over quickly. As soon as he entered the shop, he called out, “Jianzhi, what are you reading?”

The bookshop was small to begin with. As soon as he stepped in and leaned forward, he was less than two steps away from Pei Zhen.

Hearing the voice behind him, Pei Zhen’s expression suddenly changed. In an instant, he snapped the book shut, then turned around, simultaneously moving the hand holding the book behind his back.

A series of movements so fast they could barely be seen, like lightning.

Yang Yuanyi froze. He hadn’t been very curious at first, but now he suddenly was. He leaned forward to look behind him and asked, “What book? So precious and mysterious?”

Pei Zhen’s face darkened slightly as he rebuked, “What are you looking at? Go do what you’re supposed to do.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…” So stingy?

“I kindly brought you buns, eat them or not, up to you.” He shoved the buns into the other man’s arms and turned to leave.

But after walking only a short distance, he suddenly grew suspicious, although Pei Zhen had moved quickly when putting away the book, he had still vaguely caught a glimpse of it. It seemed like there were two little figures in the book fighting.

Could it be not a military text, but a manual for practicing martial arts?

Tsk tsk, how stingy. What’s the harm in letting him take a look?

Inside the bookshop, seeing him leave, Pei Zhen let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

Then he took the book out from behind him again. After glancing at it once more, he hesitated slightly, but in the end still walked up to the shopkeeper’s counter, tapped the tabletop, and asked, “How much is this book?”

The bookshop owner was a somewhat thin, small old man with poor eyesight. He squinted and looked carefully for a while before saying, “A fire-avoidance picture book*, five hundred wen per copy.”
* special custom for warding off evil and praying for good fortune, mainly featuring scenes of love between men and women

Pei Zhen’s face darkened, who asked what kind of book it was? Didn’t he have eyes to see for himself?

And he said it so loudly, fortunately there was no one else in the shop.

“Two hundred fifty.” He immediately slashed the price in half.

The little old man was startled by his gloomy tone. Seeing that he was clad in armor with blood still on it, he finally belatedly realized and became frightened, hurriedly waving his hands: “N-no, no, military sir, I misspoke just now. If you like it, just take it, no need to pay. I still have two more copies here, with all kinds of styles inside, enough to suit your needs.”

Pei Zhen: “…”

In the end, he tossed down one string of coins and took three books.

After all, he didn’t actually cut the price in half.

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