57. Eulogy (Part Two)
◎There's a story behind this.◎
"Father is not pleased?"
"That's not the case. If the Crown Prince can't even win over this small number of people, then we should indeed choose a different heir."
"What does Father want to say? Or is Father worried that I am also on the Crown Prince's side?"
The crown prince was a strong advocate for shaking the power of the aristocratic families, which was exactly the opposite of his stance.
“No, I’m more worried that you won’t stand on his side,” Pei Ruhai stopped, squinting at the glazed tiles not far away. “The Pei family is as vast as the roots of a thousand-year-old tree; moving one part affects the whole. I’m sitting in this position now, and I’ve made an enemy of the Crown Prince. If something happens in the future… the entire family might not fare well. If you step forward and stand on the Crown Prince’s side, at least the Pei family can survive.”
Pei Tingfeng understood, but he was puzzled: "Since Father thinks so highly of the Crown Prince, why does he still target him at every turn?"
"No, you've got it backwards. He's the one targeting me and the aristocratic families at every turn. He used to know how to restrain himself, but ever since he came out, his ambition is written all over his face. Ha, he wants to build a peaceful and prosperous world by stepping on the ashes of the aristocratic families. Dream on."
Pei Tingfeng remained silent.
Pei Ruhai sighed, "As your father, I hope that you will take every step you take from now on with a firm footing."
"Does Father agree with my proposal today?"
Pei Ruhai smiled without saying a word, “Whether you agree or not, the imperial edict has already been issued, so there’s no point in thinking about it further. Besides, although the Shatuo came in a hurry this time, they still managed to penetrate deep into Liangzhou. It would be unreasonable not to teach them a lesson.”
Pei Tingfeng: "I will heed my father's teachings."
Thus, after a two-year hiatus, the imperial grain transport wagons were once again deployed to the Black Flag Army.
Not long ago, the Shatuo had been driven to the border of Jinzhou by the Black Flag Army.
The two sides are currently locked in a stalemate.
Xiao Pingchuan watched them from afar, riding on his horse.
"General, shouldn't we fight?" Chai Shun asked from the side. "This might be a good opportunity to kill Zhu Xiegebo."
Xiao Pingchuan: "Not yet. The Great Liang is not ready to launch another full-scale war."
Zhu Xie Ge Bo is Zhu Xie Zhi Kun's younger brother. If he dies, Zhu Xie Zhi Kun will definitely seek revenge. At this time, the Black Flag Army does not have the fighting strength it had two years ago.
Shi Ye rode his horse to Xiao Pingchuan's side, and the two stood side by side.
"Do you plan to drive the Shatuo out of the area?" Shi Ye asked.
Xiao Pingchuan remained silent. The west wind whipped his black cloak high into the air. His slanted eyebrows reached his temples, and his sharp eyes gazed silently at the two groups of people facing off in the distance.
“Perhaps we should leave all the invading Shatuo people here,” Shi Ye said again.
Xiao Pingchuan looked ahead: "Our remaining food supplies can only last for another three days."
Three days is enough.
Xiao Pingchuan shook his head: "Do you think we won this battle easily? The Shatuo's fighting strength is not as good as before."
Shi Ye tightened his grip on the reins: "Isn't that how it is?"
“Look at the left wing of the Shatuo.”
Shi Ye squinted and looked over, only to see that although the Shatuo soldiers were in disarray, there was order within the chaos.
"It was a closed formation with its two flanks open, like a guillotine, waiting for someone to enter before closing in on the two flanks for a powerful strangulation," Xiao Pingchuan explained.
Shi Ye asked solemnly, "You mean, Shatuo was feigning defeat?"
"That's true and not true. The battle at Yaozhen did indeed severely weaken them, but the Shatuo recovered quickly and are probably looking to counterattack now."
"So we're not going to take the bait?"
"Don't answer. Let him play around. He can't do whatever he wants within the territory of Daliang."
As he said this, the halo of the sun on the horizon was so faint that it was almost invisible, like the mark left by a not-too-hot branding iron.
The clouds were gray and thick, hanging heavily in the sky as if they might fall at any moment.
"Zhao Chengchun," Xiao Pingchuan said.
"General."
"Just pull our team back a bit and trail far behind."
"yes."
At this point, the Shatuo were caught in a dilemma.
If you fight, the Black Flag Army completely ignores you; if you retreat, they follow you from behind.
Zhu Xiegebo felt as if a rope was around his neck, with Xiao Pingchuan pulling the other end of the rope from a distance, tightening it when it tightened and loosening it when it loosened.
He kicked over the dinner his men had brought him in frustration and paced back and forth.
As night fell, the army stopped to rest.
The Black Flag Army openly and honestly set up their cooking pots and pans.
After Kui Lang and his men finished counting the provisions, they went to the main tent to report to Xiao Pingchuan.
“The 300,000 shi that Madam sent earlier were eaten together with the dried wild vegetables we picked in the autumn, so we still have 70,000 to 80,000 shi left, enough to last a month, General, don’t worry,” Kui Lang said.
Xiao Pingchuan nodded: "The imperial court sent a letter saying that they will send grain and fodder over soon."
Kui Lang thought he had misheard and asked, "The imperial court?" He raised his chin. "The imperial court above us?"
Shi Ye glanced at him indifferently and said, "After all, he is the emperor, and he can still distinguish between what is important and what is urgent."
Kui Lang quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "This humble official spoke without thinking."
Shi Ye waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to worry about it.
Xiao Pingchuan spoke up at the opportune moment, "Have someone go and meet them. Go down now."
"Yes, General."
The grain transport team arrived as expected the next day.
Xiao Pingchuan went out to greet him personally, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was an acquaintance—Eunuch Yan, the chief eunuch by His Majesty's side.
As soon as Eunuch Yan saw him, he smiled and said, "Thanks to the general, I've finally seen the scenery of the northern frontier on this trip. It was worth it."
Xiao Pingchuan smiled and said, "Eunuch Yan has lost a lot of weight since before the New Year, but the journey has been too long and arduous."
Eunuch Yan nodded, "You've all worked hard." After saying that, he glanced around and asked, "Where is the Crown Prince?"
"Your Highness has caught a slight cold these past few days and should avoid exposure to wind."
Actually, Xiao Pingchuan was worried that there might be someone in the grain delivery team who wanted to kill Shi Ye, so after discussing it, they decided not to show themselves for the time being.
"Oh dear, if His Majesty heard this, he would be heartbroken."
"His Majesty and His Highness are of one heart and mind."
"That's right, this imperial edict... let the general receive it on his behalf."
Xiao Pingchuan took a step back and knelt on one knee.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Enemy invaders are encroaching on the borders, and the land is in turmoil..."
After reading it aloud, Eunuch Yan handed the imperial edict to him and said, "General, please count it. It is a total of 200,000 shi of grain and 100,000 shi of fodder."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Pingchuan accepted the imperial edict, stood up, and instructed Kui Lang, "Check and put it into the treasury."
After saying that, he personally led Eunuch Yan into the military camp.
"The battle at Yao Town must be tough," said Eunuch Yan.
Xiao Pingchuan narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling that early morning when it was barely dawn.
As soon as the heavy snow stopped, the world fell silent. Xiao Pingchuan divided his main force into three groups, which flanked the enemy from the east, south, and north, leaving only the western exit open.
Little did they know that a trap had already been set up in the west, just waiting for Shatuo to fall into it.
As soon as the bugle sounded, the Black Flag Army swept silently towards the tiny town of Yao like a black sandstorm, engulfing it in an instant.
The tension that the Shatuo army in the town had been holding back for so long finally snapped, and they went berserk, hacking and killing indiscriminately, not even caring if they killed their own men.
Seeing this, Xiao Pingchuan adopted a long-range attack, first using the wooden spikes he had just sharpened in the last two days to shoot at the enemy from a distance, then using a bow and arrow to target the enemy generals, and finally engaging in close combat.
The Shatuo fought and retreated, swarming towards the western gap, only to soon discover that it was the entrance to hell.
From beginning to end, Xiao Pingchuan only focused on Zhu Xie and Ge Bo.
The two faced each other from afar amidst the vast army; one remained calm and composed, while the other's eyes were red with anger.
Thus, the Shatuo were relentlessly pursued and killed, forced to leave the country.
"Fortunately, and thanks to the Shatuo's long-distance raid, which caused them to suffer from acclimatization issues and depleted their fighting strength, we were able to drive them out so quickly," Xiao Pingchuan replied.
Hearing his nonchalant tone, Eunuch Yan knew there must have been countless difficulties behind it, but he didn't want to ask any more questions. He simply said, "The licorice you gave me before worked very well for me."
"If it works well, that's fine. I'll have someone gather some more this time, and you can take them back, Father-in-law."
"That's great."
Xiao Pingchuan nodded: "I will take you to see the Crown Prince."
Eunuch Yan smiled and said, "I have come here on behalf of His Majesty to visit His Highness. General, you are very kind."
"Of course."
Xiao Pingchuan escorted Eunuch Yan to Shi Ye's tent and sent someone to stand guard a zhang away from the tent, while he himself went to Kui Lang's side.
Kui Lang was busy directing people to unload the grain and fodder when he saw Xiao Pingchuan arrive. He greeted him with a smile and said, "General, guess what? All that's being delivered is this year's newly harvested millet. It smells amazing!"
"How much was sent?"
"Two hundred thousand shi of millet and one hundred thousand shi of fodder is not a small amount."
"Um."
"But General, do you know why the imperial court suddenly sent people to deliver grain?" Kui Lang leaned closer to him and whispered.
Kui Lang was as thin as a rake, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that were abruptly set under his forehead. He liked to stare intently at people when he spoke, which was rather unsettling.
"Why?" Xiao Pingchuan subtly distanced himself.
"It's because of a memorial text."
"A memorial text? A memorial text for what?"
"A memorial for our 60,000 fallen brothers." Kui Lang's voice suddenly grew hoarse. "This is the first time anyone has offered a memorial for our brothers. I hear it's causing quite a stir in the south because of this memorial; many people are spontaneously sending us gifts. No wonder there have been people breaking into our camp every day, leaving their things behind..."
"Do you have the memorial text?" Xiao Pingchuan interrupted him.
“Yes, the brothers who delivered the grain brought it from the south,” he said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to Xiao Pingchuan. “I read it, and Old Zhao and Brother Chai read it too. They cried so much, their eyes were as red as rabbits’.”
Xiao Pingchuan examined and pondered the text carefully. After a long while, he finished reading it, then gently folded it up and tucked it into his pocket, asking, "Do you know who wrote it? After the war is over, I want to personally visit him to thank him."
Kui Lang laughed: "Isn't it signed? Fu Liang Shan Shen Er."
After being forced to reveal his identity in the capital, Shen Suqin never hid his talents again. However, Kui Lang had heard of both Yiming and Shen Suqin, but had never connected the two.
Xiao Pingchuan shuddered violently, took out the eulogy again, and looked at the signature, only to find it was blank.
Kui Lang craned his neck to take a look, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "It seems you forgot to copy the signature on this one."
Xiao Pingchuan took a deep breath: "Do you know who Shen Er is?"
"I don't know."
"She is my newlywed wife, your General's wife, Miss Shen Suqin, the second daughter of the Shen family."
In front of those unaware of the inside story, Xiao Pingchuan was happy to take advantage and say things he wanted to hear.
"Huh?" Kui Lang stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
He did not return to the capital with Xiao Pingchuan, so he was unaware of what had happened there. He only knew that his wife had raised 300,000 shi of grain and provided 100,000 taels of military funds every month.
He only thought that the lady's family were large landowners or business people, never expecting that they were also great scholars who managed to get the imperial court to send them 200,000 shi of grain with just a eulogy.
"She's also incredibly beautiful," Xiao Pingchuan added.
"ah?"
"And her temper is quite good." With that, Xiao Pingchuan pulled a plain white handkerchief from his robes and said loudly, "Do you see this handkerchief? This isn't just a simple handkerchief; there's a story behind it. Sit down, and I'll tell you slowly..."
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