Biehuanniang
Chapter 16: Don't Ring Mother
Peng Zuogong was very good at building up momentum. Starting from Long'an in Mianzhou, he approached the Rongzhou Jiedushi Mansion in a semi-encirclement situation. By the end of autumn, the main force had gathered nearly 10,000 people.
Yi Huan was influenced by him day by day and could see that most of the temporary rebels who were not soldiers were not his real trump cards, and Peng Zuoyan was just a cover.
Yang Binglan, a military officer under Goshuer and the governor of Zizhou, took great pains to trap them in the Panshi Valley. He tried to persuade them to surrender with both kindness and force every day, but all his words were in vain.
This was the fifth day they were trapped. Although surrounded, Peng Zuoyang remained calm and composed.
Looking at the rice porridge and Hu pancakes on the wooden stakes, and thinking of the roars and outbursts coming from the army, Yi Huan found it difficult to eat.
Outside the tent, there was a shortage of food, and horses were more precious than people, eating people and flesh, plucking all the grass on the ground. But behind the tent, Peng Zuoyang could afford to provide normal rice and food.
"You let them eat themselves, you did it on purpose."
"There are naturally channels for this kind of thing."
Yi Huan admired his ruthlessness, but ultimately couldn't accept it. "There has to be a bottom line in war, right? You gathered them together, bestowed them with power and wealth, but in reality, you used them as mere pawns. Whenever I think about this, don't you have a moment of hesitation?"
"Ahuan, stay in the tent and don't go out and talk too much." After eating two pancakes, Peng Zuoyuan nodded at Yi Huan warningly.
"You don't take human life seriously."
Peng Zuoyao stood up to clean the water and said seriously, "If you dare to tell anyone, I will use you as a sacrifice."
"Can I get out? Have I seen anyone from outside since I was stationed in Panshi?"
The nominal care was actually his alternative form of detention, all done by Peng Zuoyang.
"You've already spread the news that you're seriously injured. Most of the civilians you sent in to lead the charge have been killed or injured. You've caused so much suffering. Do you intend to allow even more people to die in despair? With your methods, how could this be your only strategy?"
Yi Huan knew what he was talking about, so he could only use his conscience to persuade him, "Peng Zuoyuan, you are the general who protects them. Take them on another path, show a little compassion, and you can also gain both fame and fortune."
Glancing at her coldly, Peng Zuoyan said without replying, "Eat."
"I can't eat bread stained with their blood."
Yi Huan can only survive for three or four days by drinking water to keep his body basically healthy. But how many people in the valley can he eat to stay alive?
Peng Zuoyan laughed and said in a counter-argument, "Of course you don't have Ah Huan's heart for the world, but what can you do?"
"If Goshuel isn't resolved, more people will die. Every war has its share of casualties. Only when some die can others live."
Yi Huan stepped back to avoid his approach. "There's more than one way. You clearly have the ability to solve it, but you chose the most bloody and cruel way."
Peng Zuoyan's right hand brushed her cheek, and his fingertips were cold.
"Using war to stop war, they have made contributions and will be remembered."
Meeting his indifferent and contemptuous eyes, Yi Huan turned his face away in disgust. No matter how much he said, it was all nonsense. He was the superior, and so many lives had been lost, but he showed no mercy at all.
Apart from the dead, who would remember that they were treated as abandoned children and died?
A day and a night had passed since Duan Tao led 2,000 men into battle. Peng Zuoyong sat in the main seat, staring at the waist-high sand table with an unreadable expression. As the military reports were submitted again and again, the faces of the generals became more and more ugly.
Peng Zuoyang went out of the tent to meet Chang San and ordered him to take the secret order and go through the secret passage alone while the situation was still under control, making plans for the worst.
Two days later, the rumors that Duan Tao was going to surrender with his troops became more and more intense, and the food in the tent changed from fresh Hu biscuits to cold and hard dry biscuits. Yi Huan knew that Peng Zuoyang was about to fall.
The next time I saw General Duan was in Hu Jun's camp. He was trying to persuade the soldiers in the valley to surrender on behalf of the Jiedushi.
"General Peng, Sima Yang promised that if you surrender, the position of General Dingyuan will remain yours."
Peng Zuoyao stood in front of the crowd and said contemptuously, "Call your new master to come out and speak."
The burly Duan Tao's face showed an expression of humiliation and endurance. Both parties were people he could not afford to offend, so he retreated with a fierce look in his eyes.
Yang Binglan had the demeanor of a scholar. His wide, dark-colored robe accentuated his narrow, slender figure, and his floppy-legged hat made it look even more flowing. His face was filled with delicate greetings: "It's been a long time since we last met, General. How are you?"
"If I don't surrender, what will you do?"
The other party smiled faintly, "That's easy. I see that the general still has 7,000 men left. I wonder how many people can be fed and drunk if we stew a hundred of them a day?"
In addition to eating, Yang Binglan also controlled a spring on the mountain with the information from Duan Tao. Since Peng Zuoyuan was stubborn and unyielding, let's see who would die first.
Yang Binglan stood with his hands behind his back, confident in his decision. "If you need a few more days to consider, General Peng has a beloved concubine who never left him in times of trouble. How touching! How about you lend her to our army for a few days? I will give you a few more days."
It's called a loan, but it's just a means of humiliation.
Peng Zuoyuan frowned, a murderous intent flashing across his face as he replied, "Why would a woman be involved in a fight between two gentlemen?"
"Hey, the general's people are our people. There is a shortage of food and clothing in the valley. Isn't this Sima feeling sorry for the general's concubine?"
"Sima is so sure, aren't you afraid of me fighting with all my might?"
Yang Binglan waved his hand and had the bundled men brought over. He asked, "The general secretly arranged for these people, so you're not unfamiliar with them, are you?"
Now, the road ahead was blocked and the rear was cut off. Peng Zuodan had no elite troops to fight with him. If he fought, the outcome was unpredictable.
"I, the Sima, would like to invite my maidservant to visit us. If you have any other conditions, please feel free to propose them. How about beheading this rebel and displaying his head to appease your anger?"
Duan Tao, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but shrink his shoulders, and couldn't help but believe Yang Binglan's words that were meant to hide a dagger in his smile.
Peng Zuogong didn't even glance at him. "Even Sima Yang, who was disloyal, can be so open-minded. I wish Captain Duan every success in his career."
A few days of respite had been secured, but the conditions had not yet been fulfilled. Peng Zuoyan half-turned away, facing the swaying curtains, but he could not bring himself to ask someone to escort Yi Huan out.
Since ancient times, there have been foolish kings who were cowardly and sold their daughters to seek peace. I didn't expect that he would follow the path of the foolish man today and had to give up his own woman in exchange for a few breaths of relief.
Seeing that he was unhappy, Yang Binglan smiled even more deeply, and said in a retreat: "If the general really can't bear to let go, that's fine. Brothers are all strong men with thick skin and flesh. At most, we will be buried in the earth and see each other in the underworld."
"Sima Yang's words don't sound like those of a provincial governor who has been in office for three years, but rather like those of a storyteller with a weird expression."
"Haha, General, you're too kind."
The curtain was lifted by a few tender white fingers, and Yi Huan calmly walked through the armored soldiers with swords and came to Peng Zuoyang.
"Ah Huan, you've saved me twice. Logically, I shouldn't give up on you... They're threatening me with you, and I'm in trouble. This will offer the least sacrifice. Ah Huan, wouldn't you hate to see them make unnecessary sacrifices? Ah Huan, go to Yang Binglan's place."
As for life and death, Peng Zuoyang had a lucky thought that perhaps Yang Binglan would be merciful and leave Yi Huan's body intact, giving her a quick death.
"You're really good at making a good show of calling an abandoned person incompetent."
"Ah Huan, it's true that I don't want to leave you, but it's also true that I'll leave you. Whether you blame me or hate me, I'll bear it."
"I did it voluntarily. It has nothing to do with you. I don't resent you for just one or two things."
Peng Zuoyan placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "Ah Huan, even now, you still refuse to lie to me. Maybe I will never forget you in the future, and you can use my influence to your advantage."
"Borrowing your power from the underworld?"
"Oh, when you get to the underworld, follow me."
Yi Huan chuckled but said nothing. He was still pretending, giving the impression that he was reluctant to let her go. If he really cared about her, how could he let her go?
"You've already achieved your goal, why are you still pretending?
Pushing his hand away, Yi Huan showed no sadness and said, "I'm leaving."
"Ah Huan, are you afraid?"
This is the second time Peng Zuoyan asked such a question.
"If I'm afraid and back down, you'll kidnap me. That's the kind of person you are. It's really disgusting that you act like this."
In fact, Yi Huan was very scared. He was afraid of being tortured, afraid of being humiliated, afraid that the road ahead would be too unpredictable, and afraid so much that his calves were trembling inside the narrow hakama.
But she said calmly, "I would choose freedom over death."
Peng Zuoyan smiled slowly and said gently, "Okay, I will give you the freedom you want."
This was the freedom she had fought for herself. Yi Huan didn't want to mock him anymore and just wanted to leave him.
"Ah Huan." Peng Zuoyan looked at her calmly, and the emotions conveyed in their gaze showed a hint of attachment. Yi Huan looked at him coldly, without any emotion in her heart.
Raising his hand to straighten the silver hairpin, Yi Huan said to himself, "If they can't give me a happy ending, I will commit suicide. Peng Zuoyuan, we will never see each other again, and we will have no relationship in the future."
"If I survive, you'll let me go."
Peng Zuoyuan did not agree immediately, and his hesitation already expressed his attitude.
Yi Huan pressed down his sleeves that were ruffled by the wind, "Let me die with my eyes closed."
"good.
Looking at her receding figure, Peng Zuoyan turned his gaze away. For the first time, he felt powerless and unspeakable emotions in a girl. But it would not be long before there would be no Miss Huan in the general's mansion anymore.
No one would talk back to him or curse at him anymore, and those eyes filled with sarcasm and resentment would never linger on him again.
Peng Zuoyan was waiting beside Chang Yi, and asked, as if asking himself or whispering, "Tell me, if I saw her again, would I be able to recognize her body?"
"I am willing to avenge my aunt."
The camps outside the valley were scattered, the land was vast and there was no shortage of food and grass. The successive victories boosted morale, and foreigners with thick beards and red braids could be seen everywhere.
Yi Huan hid the silver hairpin and followed Yang Binglan with her shoulders hunched.
After hearing about their achievements, Cui Xin bowed and asked, "Sima, what will be done with General Peng's concubine?"
"Take it to the West Camp."
Her greatest value was to make Peng Zuoyang compromise before the two armies confronted each other. Now that her goal has been achieved, Yang Binglan will not care about the life or death of an insignificant person.
The West Camp was where military prostitutes and cooks lived. Army Officer Cui understood his superior's intention and agreed.
The noise of the crowd fell with the night. Yi Huan was thrown in front of the tent by the round-faced soldier in the afternoon. There were several wooden boards in the tent with a few heavy and thin linen quilts piled up randomly.
The yellow-brown curtain was opened from the outside, and Yi Huan's anxious heart suddenly met that ordinary face.
"Are you new here?"
"…yes."
"Hehe, that's perfect. Now that no one comes and no one wants to snatch you from me, let's have some fun." The man approached with a wicked smile and stretched out his hands in an anxious look.
Yi Huan dodged with both hands, "My dear, you've been deceived."
"What's the meaning?"
"I came here because I had that disease, but they kept it a secret and sent me here after several changes of hands."
The other party didn't quite understand what he said, so Yi Huan waved his sleeves, imitating the manner of a prostitute, and said, "Oh, I'll tell you everything. I'm entertaining peddlers in the pavilion."
"But my dear, don't worry. Although I'm not well yet, if you take the right precautions, you won't necessarily get sick."
Yi Huan deliberately used dirty words. She was not sure whether he would dislike syphilis.
But sexually transmitted diseases are contagious and difficult to cure, and anyone with common sense would think it is unlucky.
The man hesitated for a moment, but desire finally overcame his psychology, hoping for a moment of pleasure.
"I won't go in. Kneel down and help me relieve myself."
Disgust flashed in his eyes when he looked straight at her, and Yi Huan responded.
"Oh, my lord, your armor is too difficult to remove. I can't help you even if I want to."
He snorted impatiently, lowered his eyes and untied the tongue strap. Yi Huan stood up suddenly and dug the tip of the hairpin into his neck.
There was still a last bit of struggle left, Yi Huan secretly exerted his strength, pulled out his blood-soaked hand and stabbed it in again, blood spurting onto her cheeks and neck, making her feel hot and painful.
The person who had stopped breathing still had his eyes open in unwilling shock. Yi Huan tightly grasped the kingfisher hairpin, feeling both afraid and fierce.
After standing there stupidly for a few moments, a female voice suddenly rang out.
"Are you brave enough?"
Yi Huan was panicking as he was seen killing someone. He held the hairpin in both hands and pointed towards the source of the sound in fear and courage.
"If you dare to tell on me, I'll kill you!"
Mai Zhou felt so much empathy for that insecure yet self-reliant look that he stared at it for two full seconds before coming back to his senses.
"Tsk, are you scared?"
Although Yi Huan's hands were shaking, his eyes did not seem fake.
Mai Zhou glanced outside the tent and said indifferently, "The death of a person in the tent for no reason will not bring peace to us. If you want to survive, follow me."
He wrapped her in a long gown and stuffed her into the crowded tent. Mai Zhou went out for a quarter of an hour and came back.
Yi Huan saw through the gap a thin girl in a dark red men's round-necked robe walking towards her. When she was about to say goodbye, the tall and strong man next to her lowered his head for a kiss, blocking her view. The girl smiled and coaxed him for a few words, but her smile gradually faded as she turned around and walked towards him.
The sounds of other prostitutes talking around him were heard, and Yi Huan listened with both ears without discrimination.
Mai Zhou sleeps on the side, and now Yi Huan is on the far right.
"Everything has been taken care of there. You don't know anyone here, right? You can follow me for now."
Whether or not you are willing to get close to someone is a very strange feeling. In the five years here, Mai Zhou has never been willing to help others.
Yi Huan lay on his side with his eyes open and whispered, "Thank you."
“It’s a mess here.”
"Isn't this the imperial army camp?"
"Ha, there are 30,000 people here, and more than half of them are Hu people. How can they be called a family?"
How can we live in harmony with those who are not of our race without any grudges? Mai Zhou alone knows of dozens of conflicts. These Hu people rely on the power of the Jiedushi and have a much higher status and attitude than the Jiedushi.
"You want to escape? I'll give you a chance?"
Yi Huan was alert, "Why don't you run away?"
Mai Zhou moved closer to the right, blew into her ear, and jokingly said, "Of course if you run away and get caught, you'll end up dying miserably."
"So you're using me as an experiment?"
Mai Zhou blocked her lips with his slender fingers, and stared at her with a pair of upturned, soft eyes. "I saved you, your life is mine. I can take it back whenever I want. Do you understand, little girl?"
"Looking for a favor to repay you is inconsistent with your act of saving me."
Mai Zhou chuckled, then lay back down, muttering to himself, "I never said I was a pushover."
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