Outside the camp, on a hillside not far away, the rebel army’s banner embroidered with a large “Li” character fluttered boldly, while the sound of drums rang out incessantly, deafening.
The drumbeats suddenly stopped, and then hundreds of rebel soldiers shouted in unison: “Bingzhou brats, cowardly turtles, dare you come out and fight?”
“Bingzhou brats, cowardly turtles!”
Yang Yuanyi’s face darkened slightly as he listened, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Nonsense, who says we don’t dare to fight?”
Pei Zhen watched for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and said expressionlessly, “Pass down the order: all generals are to hold their positions and not go out. There is no need to pay them any attention.”
After saying this, he flicked his cloak and turned back into the tent.
Hearing this, Prefect Liang became anxious and hurried after him. “Wait, General Pei, what do you mean? They’ve come right to our doorstep to challenge us, and we’re not fighting?”
“Why doesn’t Lord Liang lead the Liangzhou troops forward to meet them?” Pei Zhen turned his head and said.
Liang Xingrong was immediately speechless.
***
In Liangzhou’s prefectural city, Li Chanxiu spent the entire morning handling administrative matters and then gathered the military physicians and local doctors together to teach them suturing techniques for wounds.
After finishing all this and returning to the prefectural residence, he took a wrung-out cloth towel handed to him by a soldier and, while wiping his hands and face, asked Yu Xingfan, the guard who had been following him, “How much longer before my father arrives?”
Yu Xingfan immediately cupped his hands and replied, “My lord is coming together with the supply convoy, so the march is slower. He should arrive by evening.”
“Evening?” Li Chanxiu frowned slightly, then sighed.
As he spoke, the soldier had already set the meal on the table.
Li Chanxiu set down the cloth towel and gestured to Yu Xingfan. “Come eat with me.”
Yu Xingfan quickly said he did not dare, but Li Chanxiu smiled. “Sit. After we eat, there’s something I need you to do.”
Hearing this, Yu Xingfan finally sat down awkwardly.
After lunch, once he had assigned tasks to Yu Xingfan, Li Chanxiu saw that the midday sunlight was just right and had people move the documents into the courtyard to continue working.
However, perhaps because he had been too exhausted in the previous days, or because he felt a bit drowsy after eating, he hadn’t read for long before closing his eyes and gradually falling asleep.
Winter in Liangzhou was not as cold as in the northern lands, but most of the trees had still shed their leaves. In the courtyard, an old vine tree twisted and climbed, its bare branches casting mottled shadows over the person nestled into a wicker chair beneath it.
Li Chanxiu gently closed his eyes. When he had been wearing armor before, he always kept his back straight; now that he relaxed, he sank into the rattan chair like a boneless cat. The warm winter sunlight fell on his pale, almost translucent face, bringing a comfortable warmth. The shadow of a branch happened to fall across his half-closed eyes, keeping the sunlight from being too glaring.
Perhaps it had been a long time since he had rested like this, lazy, relaxed, and without any burden. In a daze, he once again dreamed of playing in the north courtyard of the Crown Prince’s residence when he was young.
In that courtyard, where there had never been any playmates and it was always quiet, he could still find plenty of fun on his own. For instance, he would pile up dirt into small hills, dig out mountains and rivers, then catch grasshoppers and crickets, appointing them as “General Green” and “General Black,” and command them to charge and battle among the “lofty mountains and rugged ridges.”
Often he would play until the setting sun sank beyond the courtyard wall, and then his father would grab him by the back of his collar, lifting him like a kitten and carrying him back inside, his whole body covered in dirt.
Sometimes his father would play with him, telling him what real mountains and rivers were like. But more often, his father would sit silently in the courtyard, watching the sun slowly climb up from the eastern wall and then slowly set beyond the western wall, often without saying a single word the entire day.
Young Li Chanxiu did not understand. To him, heaven and earth had always been like this, ever since he could remember, the world had only been as big as that courtyard. But for Li Xuan, it had never been so.
Yet Li Chanxiu did not seem to need to understand. Immersed in his own world, he still played happily by himself.
Sometimes, not knowing meant not suffering; never having obtained something meant not feeling sorrow. Only after knowing, yet being unable to obtain it, was the most painful.
Li Xuan had once hesitated, suffered, and felt lost, unsure whether he should tell his young, ignorant son the cruel truth of the world. And so, day after day passed like this, as the sun repeatedly climbed over one wall and set beyond the other.
Until one day, Li Xuan noticed that Li Chanxiu, who had always been happily playing by himself, could not speak properly. His pronunciation was slow, and even when called, his reactions were somewhat dull.
Only then did he realize that without a normal speaking environment, even his son’s basic ability to communicate would become a problem.
From that moment on, Li Xuan suddenly began to speak much more. He would often hold his young son in his arms, sit in the courtyard, press a finger against his tongue, and teach him again and again to pronounce words clearly.
The warm sunlight shone on the father and son, gentle and comforting, after his father’s death in the dream, it became the time Li Chanxiu missed the most.
Suddenly, a thin dry twig fell onto his clothes, waking him from his already light sleep.
Li Chanxiu opened his drowsy eyes and looked up at the slightly slanting sun.
A guard outside came to report: “Reporting to Your Highness, the master and his party have ridden ahead at full speed and are about to reach the city gate of the residence.”
Li Chanxiu was slightly stunned, then suddenly stood up, knocking documents all over the ground. Unable to hide his joy and excitement, he said, “Quick, prepare a horse for me. I will personally go to receive him.”
As he took a few steps toward the courtyard exit, he lowered his head and noticed the slightly wrinkled clothes he had slept in. Feeling it improper to meet his father like this, he quickly returned to his room to change. But after thinking it over, he ultimately put on his armor, fastened a sword at his waist, and strode out.
This would make him look more spirited, more imposing, his father would surely be surprised.
With a smile on his face, he could not help thinking this way, carrying a trace of childishness from when he was young.
After mounting his horse, he galloped all the way. Just as he exited the southern city gate, he saw a group of riders approaching from the distant slope, the flag among them bearing the character “Li.”
Li Chanxiu’s eyes brightened. Suppressing his excitement, he quickly urged his horse forward.
Li Xuan sat on horseback. Seeing him rushing over from afar, a smile appeared in his eyes. He raised his whip to stop those following him, then dismounted.
Li Chanxiu arrived almost at the same time. After dismounting, he quickly ran up to him, but at a distance of two steps, he suddenly stopped. His eyes shone brightly, beads of sweat dotted the tip of his straight nose, and he looked as if he wanted to step forward but did not dare.
Like a clumsy little puppy that had come running recklessly, Li Xuan thought with a smile.
He stepped forward two paces, his gaze gentle with a hint of affection as he looked at his son, and said with a smile, “You’ve grown taller, and thinner.”
Li Chanxiu blinked, as if finally confirming that the man standing before him was real and not a dream. His nose tingled with emotion, and in a slightly muffled voice he called out, “Father.”
Li Xuan smiled and said, “Chan Nu’er has grown up.”
After a pause, however, he sighed, “And has grown distant from his father.”
Only then did the sourness in Li Chanxiu’s heart dissipate completely; the faint bitterness born from not seeing him for a long time also vanished instantly. He hurried forward, embracing Li Xuan just as he had in childhood, though his voice choked slightly as he said, “Father, it’s fortunate you’re alright.”
Fortunately you are still alive, this is not a dream.
Li Xuan raised his right hand, still wearing Buddhist prayer beads, and gently patted his back, sighing, “Fortunately, Chan Nu’er is also alright.”
After embracing for a moment, the father and son quickly separated. After exchanging some words of the past, they each mounted their horses again, continuing to talk as they headed toward the city.
Upon arriving at the prefect’s residence, after dismounting, Li Chanxiu immediately ordered people to prepare food. Then, like a child eager to show off a treasure to his parents, he happily pulled Li Xuan along into the residence.
Li Xuan smiled and shook his head. “Earlier I heard Yan Xiaoming say that you’ve grown a lot, you can lead troops into battle with great authority and are skilled at governing the people. Yet seeing you today, you’re still a child.”
Li Chanxiu felt embarrassed at this and straightened his expression slightly.
Li Xuan then sighed again. “But in your father’s eyes, you will always be a child.”
As he spoke, he could not help but reach out to touch his head and asked, “During this time in the northwest, you must have suffered quite a bit, haven’t you?”
Li Chanxiu stiffened, immediately thinking of how, in order to survive, he had married Pei Er… this matter must never be known by his father.
Fortunately, Pei Er was far away in the northwest. As long as Yi Xun did not speak, and Lu Zhi and Xuanping did not speak, his father would not know.
Thinking of this, he quickly regained his composure and shook his head to cover it up. “No. I was doing well in the northwest. I didn’t suffer much.”
But Li Xuan did not believe him. After sitting down, he asked him to extend his wrist so he could take his pulse.
Although Li Xuan could not be considered a physician, when he had marched and fought in the past, he had some basic medical knowledge. Later, when he was placed under house arrest and had to raise a sickly child, he was forced to teach himself medicine. Though his medical skills were not particularly advanced, taking a pulse to check minor ailments was no problem.
Even in the dream, before Li Chanxiu encountered the traveling physician, he relied on the little bit of medical knowledge his father had taught him to save himself.
Knowing that his father was worried about his cold toxin, he immediately extended his wrist.
After taking his pulse for a while, Li Xuan’s expression showed slight surprise. “It’s actually much better than when you left Luoyang.”
Li Chanxiu thought to himself that this was the benefit of practicing the breathing method. However, it was not convenient to explain this to his father, so he withdrew his wrist and said vaguely, “I told you I didn’t suffer much. Now Father can be at ease.”
But Li Xuan shook his head slightly and frowned. “This cold toxin is ultimately a hidden danger. If it is not eradicated early, not only will you suffer every month, but also…” It would also affect his lifespan.
He could not bear to let his son know the rest of that sentence, and his brows could not help but knit tightly.
Hearing his words, Li Chanxiu felt somewhat embarrassed as he recalled that, in the dream, that old traveling physician had told him there was a way to completely cure it, namely, to find someone who practiced martial arts to cultivate the breathing method together, and then engage in conjugal relations with them, allowing their qi and blood to merge…
In short, before the old physician could finish explaining the method, Li Chanxiu in the dream had quickly told him to stop. He would absolutely never, for such a matter, do… that with someone.
However, the old physician in the dream had never given up. Even after Li Chanxiu went to the southwest and, through long practice of the breathing method, his body had already improved, the physician still occasionally wrote to persuade him, even saying it would be best to find a man to practice with.
Li Chanxiu pressed a hand to his forehead. At that time, he had been busy every day fighting in the mountains, where would he have the time to think about such things? And finding a man was just too…
In any case, at least in the dream, Li Chanxiu had never entertained such thoughts. As for reality, upon hearing about a complete cure and thinking of this method, for some reason, he suddenly thought of Pei Er…
His gaze drifted for a moment, until Li Xuan noticed and waved a hand in front of him. Only then did he come back to his senses, quickly clearing his throat. The jade-like tips of his ears reddened slightly as he said somewhat unnaturally, “Father, I’m quite well now. Perhaps after some time, the cold toxin will gradually disappear on its own. There’s no need to deliberately eradicate it.”
But Li Xuan shook his head, thinking to himself that Chan Nu’er did not know that this cold toxin was not so easily removed. Otherwise, back then, it would not have taken just one bowl of medicine to claim his wife’s life.
Still, he could not bring himself to tell Li Chanxiu about a shortened lifespan. Instead, he smiled and said, “A toxin must be cured. Back in Luoyang, it was inconvenient for me to seek a physician for you, but now it is different. Rest assured, I have already sent people to find the divine physician Sun Yuanjiu. He was once an imperial physician of the previous dynasty, and later wandered the world, treating illnesses and saving people. He even once treated your grandfather’s poisoning; his medical skills are extremely superb. As long as we find him, he will surely be able to cure your toxin.”
Li Chanxiu was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. A former imperial physician of the previous dynasty? Surnamed Sun? With a “Jiu” in his name? Why did that sound somewhat familiar?
He could not help but cautiously ask, “This Divine Physician Sun, does he also go by the name ‘Sun Jiu’?”
“Mm? You know of him?” Li Xuan asked in surprise.
Li Chanxiu’s expression turned complicated, then he cleared his throat and said, “If it is that old gentleman Sun Jiu, then he should currently be in Western Qiang.”
Hearing this, Li Xuan’s usually gentle and composed face rarely stiffened. Then the joy deep in his eyes could no longer be suppressed, and he was about to stand and order people to head to Western Qiang.
“Father, wait a moment.” Li Chanxiu suddenly stopped him, his expression hesitant.
Seeing this, Li Xuan smiled. “It’s only been a short time apart, and you’ve already grown distant from your father? Speak freely.”
Li Chanxiu also pursed his lips in a smile, lacking the maturity and steadiness he had shown while leading troops, and instead speaking like an ordinary child chatting with his father. “Father, now that we have occupied most of Liangzhou and half of Yizhou, our territory is vast but our troops are few, and our strength is still not sufficient. What plans does Father have next?”
As soon as Li Xuan heard this, he knew his son had ideas, and after a moment of thought said, “Go ahead and tell me first.”
Li Chanxiu cleared his throat, but when speaking of his own ideas, his eyes shone brightly, as if he had a well-formed plan in mind, speaking confidently: “Father, although we have achieved a great victory, our strength is still weak. To the north lies Pei Zhen’s army, it will not be easy to seize Hanzhong. Even if we take Hanzhong, the route from there to Chang’an is treacherous, mostly mountainous terrain, making it difficult for troops to move. Moreover, if we pass through the mountain passes alone, we will likely be surrounded on all sides the moment we emerge, unable to advance or retreat.”
Li Xuan nodded slightly after hearing this.
Li Chanxiu continued, “In my opinion, it would be better to attack Qinzhou to the west. After taking Qinzhou, we can ally with Western Qiang to the west, take Chang’an to the east, and attack Liangzhou and Yongzhou to the north.”
Li Xuan continued nodding, but said, “However, to the north there is Pei Zhen, and to the east there is Bo Yin of Jingxiang. Both command heavy troops and could attack us from both sides at any time. How could they possibly sit by and watch us easily take Qinzhou?”
Li Chanxiu knew he was testing him, but he had already thought about this point. Without hesitation, he replied, “Although Bo Yin commands heavy troops, he has not been dispatched to attack us because he still has an enemy in the south, the refugee rebel leader who fled south, Dong Jian.
“Dong Jian fled all the way south and, although reduced to a defeated force, Bo Yin has been suppressing him without eliminating him, clearly intending to keep him as a threat to strengthen his own position. If we form an alliance with Dong Jian, the situation will reverse, the one surrounded by two armies would instead become Bo Yin.”
Hearing this, Li Xuan’s eyes filled with a smile, and he looked at him with satisfaction. “Not bad. This is also your father’s thinking.”
But he soon added, “However, Dong Jian is old, and he has many arrogant and unruly generals under him. After the refugee army split between north and south, he led the southern faction to flee to the south of Jingzhou, but many under him are dissatisfied. He likely cannot control them for long. Forming an alliance with him can only be a temporary measure.”
Li Chanxiu nodded, he was aware of this as well. But once they took Qinzhou and allied with Western Qiang, this problem would not be as serious. For now, survival had to come first.
As for Qinzhou and Western Qiang…
Li Chanxiu quickly continued, “Father, if we are to attack Qinzhou and make contact with Western Qiang, I would like to recommend someone to you.”
“Oh?” Li Xuan had just lifted his teacup, and upon hearing this, he raised his eyes.
Li Chanxiu said, “His name is Lu Zhi. He is someone I met in Yongzhou. He is skilled in military strategy and very capable. He has previously been to Western Qiang and has also met the divine physician Sun. If he is sent to Qinzhou or Western Qiang, he will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.”
Not only that, currently, Western Qiang was being oppressed by the Northern Hu, and the Great Zhou could not protect them, causing some factions within Western Qiang to begin leaning toward the Hu. In the dream, not long after this, a palace coup occurred in Western Qiang: the current king was killed, and the prince and princess fled south with part of their people, while the remaining forces completely turned to the Hu.
Now that he knew all this, Li Chanxiu would naturally do his utmost to avoid it; otherwise, if Western Qiang were to lean toward the Northern Hu, the situation for them would become even more severe.
Moreover, if the upheaval were to occur soon, it was very likely that Hu forces were already present within Western Qiang territory. Sending Lu Zhi would just happen to satisfy his wish to fight the Hu.
“Lu Zhi?” After hearing this, Li Xuan pondered briefly and asked, “Is he the one who transported a thousand warhorses back from Western Qiang, then held Ningcheng for our army, and while defending the city, used troops to crush the reinforcements from Anxing County in one stroke, greatly reducing the resistance for you and Yan Xiaoming in attacking the prefectural city?”
Li Chanxiu immediately nodded: “Exactly.”
Li Xuan nodded as well: “In that case, he is indeed a talent, but I need to meet him first.”
Li Chanxiu said happily, “Then I’ll write a letter right away and have him come to the prefectural city.”
Li Xuan nodded with a smile.
Li Chanxiu felt pleased inside. He stood up and was just about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and stopped again, hesitating: “Father, Pei Zhen…”
“Mm? What about him?” Li Xuan had just taken a sip of tea; he set the bowl down and asked.
Li Chanxiu thought for a moment and said, “Pei Zhen’s army has already stationed on the southern bank of the Han River. I’ve had General Yan send troops to harass them from time to time. But for some reason, Pei Zhen has remained firmly on the defensive and hasn’t come out, which is somewhat different from what I expected.”
Logically speaking, although Pei Zhen wouldn’t be angered by these small tricks of his, he also shouldn’t keep holding back and refusing to come out. With the other party’s ability, it would be very easy for him to immediately send troops, drive them back to the prefectural city, and force them to shut their gates and not come out.
Moreover, the Qinzhou army had suffered consecutive defeats. As he had been ordered to suppress the rebellion, he also needed to win a few battles quickly to boost morale and give an account to the court.
Hearing this, Li Xuan pondered for a while and slowly said, “Pei Zhen…”
He paused, and under Li Chanxiu’s puzzled gaze, finally said, “Perhaps he also wants to imitate Bo Yin of Jingxiang, raising the enemy to strengthen his own position.”
“Hm?” Li Chanxiu was startled and immediately said, “That can’t be, right?”
A person like Pei Zhen, upright, with the bearing of a gentleman, and loyal to the court, how could he do such a thing?
Especially given how close he was with Liang Wang and the shizi. In the dream, he had even guarded the realm for the current Liang Wang Shizi, later the new emperor, for an entire lifetime.
Seeing his astonishment, Li Xuan couldn’t help but shake his head, looking as though to say “you’re still too young.”
Then, as if teasing a kitten, he said, “Don’t believe it? Then in the coming days, I’ll let you take charge of the battles against Pei Zhen’s army. If my judgment is correct, in the short term, Pei Zhen’s army will not launch a large-scale offensive.”
Li Chanxiu was half-convinced but still nodded slowly: “Alright.”
.
Inside the Bingzhou army camp.
After being harassed by the rebel army for two days and two nights straight, Yang Yuanyi, with dark circles under his eyes, walked into the central command tent looking utterly exhausted. Seeing Pei Zhen calmly holding a military text and flipping through it, he said, “Seriously, how are you able to read quietly with those drums making so much noise?”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help leaning in for a look, incredulous: “Let me see, this really is a military text? Not some romantic storybook?”
Pei Zhen suddenly put the book down and frowned at him: “Are you very idle?”
Yang Yuanyi yawned and said, “Not idle. I’m just sleepy, and pissed off. That bunch of b*stards outside, if you hadn’t insisted on holding position, I’d have already led troops to, ”
“Then go lead troops and fight,” Pei Zhen said.
“Huh?” Yang Yuanyi froze instead. When he came back to his senses, he was instantly overjoyed. “Why the sudden change of mind?”
Pei Zhen picked up the military text again and said lightly, “I find it noisy too.”
Yang Yuanyi agreed wholeheartedly: “Right? I told you, the one who came up with that tactic on the other side is really vicious. Better not let me find out who it is, or once I catch him…”
“I mean you’re noisy. Get out,” Pei Zhen added.
Yang Yuanyi: “……”
“Hope you get shaken to death,” he muttered irritably as he left.
As soon as he exited the tent, he stretched lazily, then his gaze sharpened and he ground his teeth: “Men, prepare the troops!”
At last he could go out and fight properly. He was going to smash all those drums to pieces, then drag out the one who devised that wicked strategy, haul him back to camp, and subject him to severe punishment, make him listen to drums for two days and two nights first!
Thinking of this, Yang Yuanyi rolled up his sleeves and nimbly mounted his horse.
***
In the rebel camp, Li Chanxiu was likewise holding a military text and reading.
Suddenly a soldier came to report: “Reporting to the young general, the enemy has left camp.”
“Oh?” Li Chanxiu immediately set the book down and asked, “How many troops? Who is leading them? Is it Pei Zhen?”
At present, he served as the vanguard commander. For the convenience of his command, Li Xuan had specially given him a general’s rank. However, due to his young age and because he was Li Xuan’s son, most in the army addressed him as “Little General.”
The soldier replied at once: “A total of just over two thousand men. The commander is not yet clear, but it is not Pei Zhen.”
“Oh.” Li Chanxiu sat back down, thought for a moment, and said, “Order Yi Xun and Zhou Kai to lead two thousand men to meet the enemy.”
Since it wasn’t Pei Zhen, there was no need for him to go out personally.
But after thinking again, he suddenly changed his mind, stood up, and went to a higher position to observe the battle and direct it himself.
Not long after, Yang Yuanyi returned to camp in a sorry state, covered in dust.
Pei Zhen raised his head slightly in surprise: “You lost?”
Yang Yuanyi looked somewhat embarrassed and awkwardly covered it up: “Careless. Underestimated the enemy.”
Pei Zhen: “Oh.”
Then he lowered his head and continued reading.
Yang Yuanyi: “……”
He thought for a moment and said, “I’ll take men out again later.”
Without even lifting his head, Pei Zhen said, “Alright.”
However, by the afternoon, Yang Yuanyi came back again in a dusty and disheveled state.
This time Pei Zhen was truly surprised and looked up: “Lost again?”
Yang Yuanyi: “……”
“No, we won that last battle just now,” he said vaguely.
“Oh.” Pei Zhen nodded. That made more sense.
Then he continued reading.
“…But we lost one before that,” Yang Yuanyi added awkwardly.
Pei Zhen: “……”
This time, he completely shifted his gaze away from the military text and frowned as he asked, “Do you know who the opposing commander is?”
Yang Yuanyi: “…Never seen him before. One of them is even a young girl.”
Pei Zhen looked up at him.
Yang Yuanyi looked embarrassed, then quickly added, “But the tactics aren’t from those two, there’s someone directing from behind.”
As he spoke, he recreated the three battles just now on the sand table, then plopped down beside it and said, “Take a look, this guy’s way of fighting is really unpredictable.”
Pei Zhen fixed his gaze on the sand table and couldn’t help carefully studying these three small-scale engagements.
…
The next morning.
Yang Yuanyi was once again woken by a burst of drumbeats. Wearing a resentful face from lack of sleep, he went to the central command tent again.
Seeing Pei Zhen already studying the sand table early in the morning, he was slightly surprised: “You’re still analyzing those three battles from yesterday?”
Pei Zhen glanced at him: “Am I that idle?”
Yang Yuanyi leaned in to take a look at the sand table and said, “Isn’t this exactly analyzing them?”
Pei Zhen shook his head: “I just feel his style is somewhat familiar, it should be the same person who attacked Ningcheng before.”
“Hey, you actually guessed right!” Yang Yuanyi suddenly slapped his thigh and said.
Pei Zhen turned to look at him.
He hurriedly continued, “I just found out, this kid is the one who seized Ningcheng ahead of us before. According to reports from people we sent near Ningcheng, this person should be very young, and it’s said he’s quite handsome. After entering the city, he killed that defending official of Ningcheng with a single sword strike and won a wave of cheers from the people. Also, we don’t know what background he has, but he seems highly valued among the rebels. Several rebels I captured all called him ‘Little General,’ and…”
At this point, he glanced at Pei Zhen before continuing, “And don’t you think some of his tactics are a bit similar to yours?”
Pei Zhen looked at him and said expressionlessly, “I don’t see what’s similar.”
“How is it not similar? Several of his tactics are very much like yours,” Yang Yuanyi said.
Pei Zhen frowned: “His style is varied, it doesn’t resemble just me.”
Yang Yuanyi: “Oh?”
Pei Zhen tapped the sand table with his finger and said thoughtfully, “He has probably read many military texts and studied many battles, he dabbles in all kinds of fighting styles. But sometimes knowing too much and too broadly isn’t a good thing; it’s easy to end up theorizing on paper. At such a young age, to be able to integrate it all, apply it in real combat, and even defeat you twice, truly rare. What a pity…”
A pity he was among the rebels, not in his Bingzhou army.
Just as he was thinking this, a sudden commotion came from outside.
Pei Zhen frowned and asked through the tent, “What’s going on?”
Very quickly, a soldier came to report: “General, several frontier soldiers from Yongzhou have arrived, saying they’re delivering a letter to you.”
Pei Zhen stiffened. As if recalling something, he suddenly turned and strode out like the wind, lifting the tent flap in one swift motion.
Outside, he indeed saw a familiar figure.
“Chen Qing?”
Never before had Pei Zhen found Chen Qing’s thin, monkey-like face so pleasing. His brows relaxed slightly, as if ice and snow were melting. He even walked quickly forward, grabbed Chen Qing’s wrist, and said, “Come inside and speak.”
As he spoke, he pulled Chen Qing toward the tent. His tone was light, and there even seemed to be a hint of a smile in his eyes, leaving the surrounding soldiers stunned.
Chen Qing felt flattered and alarmed. Then, thinking of the message he had to deliver, he suddenly felt a wave of fear and nervousness. He quickly turned his head and looked pleadingly at the other frontier soldiers who had come with him.
But who among them dared step forward?
Pei Zhen walked quickly, barely containing his joy. As soon as he entered the tent, before even sitting down, he immediately asked Chen Qing, “Is it my wife… is it ‘Shen Xiu’ who had you deliver this letter?”
![After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth]](https://i1.wp.com/lazygirltranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20240810023906_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth]")
