Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 20 Part 2
Chapter 20 Part 2
Although Pei Gu was a military general who led troops to fight, he was not unaware of the dispute over the crown prince at that time.
The reason why the crown prince sent an urgent order at this time, commanding him to lead his troops back to Chang’an as soon as possible, he knew very well.
Because of this turmoil, Prince Ding, who had not been very prominent before, showed his prowess and demonstrated his extraordinary decisiveness and extraordinary military talent. Not only did his reputation soar, but a powerful force gathered around him, which began to threaten the position of the crown prince.
Before the rebellion was quelled, the conflict was not obvious, but now that Chang’an had been recovered and the war was over, the conflict had naturally surfaced.
Just a few months ago, he, who was far away in the northwest, met three groups of secret messengers from Prince Ding three times in succession.
In the name of rewarding the troops, the envoy brought Prince Ding’s praise and generous gifts. In private, he also gave a copy of ““, a famous poem by Cao Cao, written by Prince Ding himself, saying that he wanted to learn calligraphy, but secretly expressed his admiration and desire to recruit him.
The reason why the Crown Prince was so anxious for him to lead his troops back to the capital at all costs was naturally to deal with Prince Ding and defend his position as the crown prince.
The crown prince was the heir apparent to the throne, how could Pei Gu defect to Prince Ding? At this moment, he should put the crown prince first. He could have ignored the situation behind him and continued to march to Chang’an. After all, he was no longer the defender general of Beiyuan. Even if Beiyuan was broken, the blame would not fall on him.
But he hesitated.
This line of defense in Beiyuan was extremely important. Once it was breached, the entire northwest of the empire would be in turmoil again, and even Chang’an would be in danger. If another new war was triggered by this, then the people who had survived the previous massacre would face death again, and all the sacrifices made by the official army would be in vain.
After wavering and hesitating, Pei Gu finally made perhaps the most difficult decision of his life.
He decided to return to Beiyuan by himself and resist the invading enemy together with the soldiers who remained there. At the same time, he ordered Chen Sida, his most trusted general who was like a brother to him, to lead the army on his behalf and continue to rush to Chang’an to serve the crown prince.
At this time, he also sent someone to send a letter for help to Feng Zhenping, another defender general who was stationed in the nearest Yuanzhou, asking him to send reinforcements as soon as possible.
After making these arrangements, Pei Gu watched Chen Sida lead his troops away, then turned around and rushed back to Beiyuan overnight.
His return was like a blessing from heaven for the Beiyuan defender army, which greatly boosted the morale of the troops. Facing the fierce attack of the Xifan Army, the Beiyuan defender army held out for seven days with less than one-third of the opponent’s strength.
According to the distance calculated, Feng Zhenping’s troops should have arrived by now.
Feng Zhenping had fought with him many times before, so he should have come to the rescue. However, for some reason, his troops did not arrive.
On the tenth day, the defenders were forced to abandon the city gate and planned to retreat to the second line of defense built by Pei Gu before.
At that time, the enemy army should have also noticed Pei Gu’s intention, and the attack became more frantic and moved in full force. In order to buy time for most of the troops to retreat smoothly, Pei Gu, despite the strong opposition of He Jin and others, personally led eight hundred soldiers out of the city, took the initiative to attack, and ambushed the enemy in a river valley.
When the other side found out that he was the one that lead the army, they initially thought it was his plan and were afraid to advance.
In this way, Pei Gu, with only eight hundred men, confronted the enemy’s tens of thousands of troops for several days.
A few days later, the Xifan prince who led the troops in person finally found out that the enemy was a lone army. He was extremely shocked and furious, and immediately ordered an encirclement.
The two sides then engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight.
This was the last day of Pei Gu’s life. Eight hundred soldiers fell one by one, and in the end, only Pei Gu was left.
The Xifan prince ordered him to be captured alive.
He had killed countless people, his entire body was covered in blood, and the blade of his sword had long been dulled. After killing another enemy soldier who was fighting him closely, he slowly stopped. The tip of his sword touched the ground as he stood there, staring at the hordes of enemy soldiers swarming towards him like locusts, standing still for a long time, unmoving.
Countless people surrounded him, treating him as a formidable enemy, holding their swords and bows, nervously staring at the man in the center who stood as still as a rock, and step by step closing in on him.
The strong wind stirred the red tassel atop the general’s helmet, and blood flowed like a spring from his palm, seeping down the blade into the ground. The general’s eyes fixed on the approaching enemies, and his figure suddenly moved. Several of the Xifan soldiers at the forefront instinctively retreated, bracing for another slash of his sword.
However, this time, the sword was not raised again.
The general fell down.
At the last moment before he died, the murderous intent in his eyes had not disappeared, and his five fingers were still tightly gripping the hilt of the sword, never letting go.
Pei Gu’s nephew Pei Huaiguang also died with his uncle in this no-return ambush, where their deaths were exchanged for the survival of their comrades.
He could have survived. Pei Gu ordered him to retreat with the group, and he agreed on the surface, but then quietly left the group, caught up alone, followed his uncle, and became one of the eight hundred warriors.
At that time, he was only eighteen years old.
Soon after this, news came that the crown prince committed suicide out of fear of punishment after failing to force the emperor to abdicate, and the old emperor appointed another prince.
All this happened within a short month, when Pei Ji was still far away in Huainan Road suppressing the rebellion and pacifying the people. When he finally got rid of the shackles and rushed back to Chang’an, Prince Ding had ascended the throne and became the emperor.
Pei Gu once placed his trust in two people.
Chen Sida did not arrive with his troops as promised. He encountered a flood and was delayed halfway.
Although Feng Zhenping’s reinforcements finally arrived and recaptured Beiyuan, the crisis was resolved. However, just when He Jin and other generals of the Shenhu Army thought that the court would posthumously reward Pei Gu for his military merits, Feng Zhenping unexpectedly claimed that Pei Gu had never sent him any news, and it was he who discovered the battle situation a few days later and took the initiative to send troops to rescue.
Pei Gu thought too highly of himself, greedy for merit, poor at defending the city, and later abandoned the land, which almost caused a disaster. He should be held responsible. The court, considering the Pei family’s past merits, did not hold him accountable for the crime of abandoning the pass that day, which was considered a leniency.
When the news spread, He Jin and many soldiers of the Shenhu Army were so angry that they mutinied. After the mutiny was suppressed, He Jin and dozens of soldiers who led the rebellion would be executed according to the law.
Not only that, at this time, Pei Ji was also accused of being arrogant and secretly instigating He Jin and others to openly defy the court and planned a rebellion. If it weren’t for his high reputation at that time, he would probably have been imprisoned.
How could a noble family like the Cui family not smell something? So they asked Cui shi to return home and sever ties with the Pei family.
Cui shi flatly refused, cutting her hair as a defiant gesture to sever ties with her maiden family.
On a cold winter morning, when the first drum beats were sounded at Chengtian Gate, she came to the Danfeng Gate, the south gate of the imperial palace, dressed in mourning and holding her eight-year-old son’s hand, and knelt facing north to appeal for justice.
She was not seeking justice for her late husband.
The general was guilty of a serious crime, failing to fulfil his duty to defend the city. But He Jin and all the soldiers of the Shenhu Army who were about to be convicted were innocent, and they were acting on the general’s orders.
The mother and son knelt outside the palace gate, attracting the whole city to watch and shaking the court. On that day, all the officials who went to court avoided the mother and son who were kneeling in the middle of the imperial road.
No one spoke at the court meeting that day, even those who had previously advocated severe punishment for Pei Ji and the rebellious soldiers of the Shenhu Army kept silent. In the end, the new emperor appreciated Cui shi’s righteousness, and He Jin and the others were acquitted and spared of death.
But later, the Shenhu Army, which had made great contributions for quelling the rebellion, was dismembered. The original soldiers either dispersed or were integrated into other armies. This unit disappeared from then on, as if it had never existed.
“Your mother…she’s too strong-willed…”
Cui Daosi sighed, “At that time, Uncle was not the head of the family, and I really had no power to help. But after the incident, His Majesty didn’t hold you or your mother accountable. If only she had relented, I would have found a way to keep you in the capital, instead of letting you leave for so many years to endure the harsh winds and sands…”
“Mother arranged everything well that day, and I am very grateful.”
Pei Xiaoyuan said calmly.
Cui Daosi paused for a moment, then spoke again: “For you to have such resolve is truly commendable. Uncle is very pleased.”
“Now that you’re finally back, it is what you deserve. Uncle has already asked Han Kerang about your errand in the court. Although he said he has not yet decided, in my opinion, it should not be too low. However, it doesn’t matter whether it’s high or low, you don’t need to worry too much.
“Also, now that you’re back, you will inevitably run into people from the past. They are now in high positions and have considerable influence. Chen Sida is now the general of Shenwu imperial army, and is related to Liu Ceye by marriage. The deceased Concubine Feng in the palace was the daughter of Feng Zhenping, and she gave birth to the emperor’s son, Li Ze, Prince Kang. Coincidentally, Chen Sida and Feng Zhenping both asked me about you a few days ago, saying that they admired you very much. Although Uncle is useless, I can still make arrangements for you in the court in the future…”
Pei Xiaoyuan stood up suddenly.
His sudden action caught Cui Daosi off guard. He stopped talking and looked over, only to see his nephew turning his eyes towards him and slowly revealing a hint of a smile.
“I appreciate your kindness, Uncle, but I dare not trouble you too much. I have been bothering you for a while now, so I will take my leave.”
He bowed respectfully to Cui Daosi, turned around and walked away.
Cui Daosi looked at his departing back and his brows couldn’t help but frown.
The emperor’s upcoming longevity celebration, the absurd and preposterous so-called misreport within the Jinwu Guard from top to bottom, and his nephew, who had become completely unfamiliar after a separation of over ten years, leaving Cui Daosi unable to discern his true thoughts…
Everything was naturally not as simple as it seems.
Cui Daosi had a feeling that from today on, a new storm might be brewing in this imperial city that had been peaceful for many years. It was unknown when the rain in Chang’an would fall on everyone’s head.