Chapter 255: Alliance
Isn’t that right?
Anyone with eyes could see how joyful Song Xue was. Thinking back, over the past half month, Song Xue had been by Pei Qinghe’s side every day. Pei Feng had also followed his cousin sister, which led people to mistakenly think Song Xue was clinging to him every day…
Was it possible that he had misunderstood from the very beginning?
The person Song Xue wanted to get closer to had always been Cousin Sister Qinghe.
An inexplicable sense of shame and annoyance surged in Pei Feng’s heart, and he pursed his lips without saying a word.
Pei Xuan never indulged his bad temper: “I need to go see Miss Song drawing the blueprints. Go if you want.”
Who said he wasn’t going?
“Wait, I’m going too.”
Forging weapons is one of the top priorities in the army. The rapid expansion of the Pei Family Army also meant weapons were always in short supply. If they could save some iron material and forge lighter, sharper weapons, it would undoubtedly be a thrilling happy event for the Pei Family Army.
Song Xue held a thin charcoal pen and skillfully drew diagrams of the long saber and bow and arrow on the paper, marking the dimensions of each part and the specific forging steps.
Pei Xuan peeked over, while Pei Yan and Pei Zhi came to watch the fun.
Pei Feng hesitated for a moment, then leaned in too, listening to Song Xue explain the key points of forging the new type of weapon.
Bian Shulan had received the instruction and indeed prepared several delicious dishes with care, and thoughtfully sent over a pot of fruit wine.
Pei Qinghe usually never drank alcohol, but today she was truly happy and proactively toasted Song Xue a cup.
The fruit wine had a low alcohol content and a faint sweet taste.
Song Xue’s cheeks flushed red, and she boldly glanced at Pei Feng before smiling at Pei Qinghe: “In the future, can I also call the general cousin sister?”
Pei Qinghe was amused and speechless, glancing at Pei Feng.
Pei Feng’s face also turned red. But at a time like this, as a man, he couldn’t shrink back or evade. He mustered his courage and said: “Of course.”
A hint of amusement flashed in Pei Qinghe’s eyes, and she said warmly: “In a few days, Pei Feng and I will escort you back and formally pay a visit to General Song.”
That day they had gone to the Guangning Army to propose marriage for Pei Yan. Now it was Pei Feng’s turn, and Pei Qinghe naturally couldn’t show favoritism. For the sake of the alliance with the Heyang Army, she had to go in person.
Song Xue wasn’t coy or shy, her bright eyes fixed on Pei Qinghe: “Once my betrothal to Pei Feng is settled, I’ll come back to Pei Family Village for a short stay.”
Pei Qinghe smiled faintly: “You can stay as long as you like.”
……
After dinner, Pei Qinghe smiled and instructed: “Pei Yan, go invite Leader Yang over immediately.”
The Leader Yang that Pei Qinghe mentioned was Yang the Blacksmith from Changping County. In recent years, as the Pei Family Army’s territory grew larger, they had recruited more and more blacksmiths. The most senior Yang the Blacksmith became the leader, specially responsible for forging and repairing weapons for the Pei Family Army.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yang the Blacksmith arrived. Having forged iron for decades, his eyes lit up when he saw the blueprints. He examined them over and over, carefully asking about the specific steps. Then he said to Pei Qinghe: “General, leave the blueprints to me. I’ll go back and try it out first. In at most two days, I’ll deliver the forged new weapons to you.”
Pei Qinghe nodded slightly.
The Pei Family Army had a dedicated place for forging weapons, with the furnace fires burning all day. After Yang the Blacksmith returned, he called over his son and a few blacksmiths, gave them instructions, and began forging the saber blanks.
Two days later, the first new type of long saber forged for the Pei Family Army was delivered to Pei Qinghe.
Pei Qinghe picked up the long saber, swung it a few times, then went to the training ground.
The Xiongnu barbarians who had been baring their teeth and snarling shrank back and trembled upon seeing Pei Qinghe.
Pei Qinghe didn’t hesitate and went straight for the best fighter among the Xiongnu barbarians. The other Xiongnu barbarians secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with schadenfreude, they watched their companion being forced to retreat repeatedly by General Pei’s long saber, his weapon knocked flying, and the sharp, bright long saber pressed against his neck.
The tall, burly, and ferocious Xiongnu barbarian was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, his face deathly pale.
Of course, Pei Qinghe didn’t kill him. These Xiongnu barbarians were just right for training the Pei Family Army’s troops. Over this period, everyone’s martial arts skills and courage had improved rapidly. They were important “supplies” for the Pei Family Army and couldn’t be wasted casually.
Pei Qinghe sheathed the saber and blew satisfiedly on the blade edge: “The saber is well-forged. Reward Leader Yang with three meals of meat.”
Yang the Blacksmith grinned widely, showing his teeth.
Eating meat was a happy event, and being publicly praised by the general was joy upon joy.
Pei Qinghe smiled warmly: “Next, the ironworks camp needs to hurry and forge the new weapons, which will inevitably be busy and tiring. I’ll instruct the kitchen to prepare extra meat food for the ironworks camp. Next month’s military pay will also be issued with an extra share.”
Yang the Blacksmith repeatedly smiled and thanked her for the grace.
The top priority next was to go to the Pingyang Army to propose marriage and form an alliance.
Pei Qinghe called Shi Yan and discussed preparing the betrothal gift: “How about preparing it just like the betrothal gift when we went to the Guangning Army to propose marriage that day?”
Nowadays, every army was short of military rations, and two thousand shi of military rations was enough to show the Pei Clan’s sincerity in forming an alliance.
The Pei Family Army needed to support its own troops, allocate grain to Beiping Commandery, and periodically aid the Guangning Army. Now adding the Pingyang Army meant an enormous demand for grain.
Shi Yan was busy day and night every day raising grain and fodder supplies, and had lost quite a bit of weight recently. However, he never complained or grumbled in front of Pei Qinghe, just nodding.
How could Pei Qinghe not know Shi Yan’s hard work? She held his hand and whispered guiltily: “You’ve worked hard.”
Shi Yan smiled softly: “The general refused many marriage alliances for my sake, even unwilling to become the imperial consort. What I do is nothing in comparison.”
The two spoke and laughed softly, lingering warmly for a moment, then continued discussing proper business.
“Besides the military rations, I also want to prepare another gift.” Pei Qinghe smiled: “The Pei Family Army has been training military formations and military strategy against the Xiongnu barbarians. I plan to copy a copy and send it to General Song.”
“Miss Song sent two weapon blueprints, so we should indeed return the courtesy.” Shi Yan smiled and picked up the thread: “Speaking of which, we’re getting the better deal. Once Pei Feng marries Song Xue back, we can hand the Pei Family Army’s ironworks camp over to her to manage.”
Pei Qinghe relaxed her brows: “That’s exactly what I had in mind.”
Shi Yan seemed to think of something, his gaze suddenly becoming complex and subtle: “Why do I feel like Song Xue was after you from the start?”
Pei Qinghe burst out laughing: “What? Is Chief Steward Shi jealous?”
Shi Yan smiled helplessly: “Not only do I have to guard against the young masters from this family and that, but now I also have to watch out for the suddenly appearing Miss Song. How could my heart not feel sour?”
The women in the Pei Family Army kept a respectful distance from Shi Yan, fearing to cause even the slightest misunderstanding with their general.
The men who admired Pei Qinghe were countless. The magnates sending their sons and nephews proactively were also increasing. Now, there was even an extra Song Xue clinging to Pei Qinghe all day!
Pei Qinghe smiled again: “You are unique in my heart; no one can replace your position.”
Shi Yan was coaxed into relaxing his brows, grinning: “You go sleep first. I’ll continue checking the accounts and allocate two thousand shi of military rations.”
