Chapter 305: Marriage Fate
General Lu truly couldn’t bring himself to do it.
General Yang of the Guangning Army died in battle, and Yang Huai and Yang Huai surrendered to the Pei Family Army early on. The Beiping Army left several years ago, handing over the vast Beiping Commandery to Pei Qinghe. And the Liaoxi Army, if General Li’s father and son hadn’t both died, it wouldn’t have been Li Chi’s turn to command the barracks. Their common trait is being young and passionate; Pei Qinghe dares to fight and can fight the Xiongnu Barbarians, and they sincerely admire and follow her.
General Lu is forty-six this year, which is prime for a military general, having commanded the Fanyang Army for nearly a decade. He is prominent and well-known within Youzhou. How could he swallow his pride and surrender to a female general not yet twenty?
General Lu scowled and unleashed a torrent of curses at his son.
Lu Feng dared to tie up his own father, showing he was determined to see it through to the end. He called Lu Erlang: “Second Brother, from now on, you stay by Father’s side. Take care of his every need.”
Lu Erlang was eight or nine years younger than his brother Lu Feng, also a sturdy and imposing young man, and he readily agreed.
General Lu grew even angrier: “You pair of unfilial sons, are you rebelling against heaven itself!”
Lu Feng found his father too noisy and gave Lu Erlang a look. The quick-witted Lu Erlang immediately found a rag and stuffed it into General Lu’s mouth.
General Lu was furious, veins bulging on his forehead.
The military tent was finally quiet.
Lu Feng looked at the wide-eyed, furious General Lu, sighed deeply, and softened his tone considerably: “Father, the trends of the world ebb and flow. When King Qiao breached the Capital City, the Jing Dynasty was essentially finished.”
“Military generals are carving out territories everywhere. Our Fanyang Army is utterly unremarkable among them. The current Son of Heaven in the Northern Lands is just a wooden puppet propped up by the Zhang Family. The Zhang father and son will sooner or later supplant them. The only one who can contend with the Zhang father and son for the Northern Lands is General Pei!”
“Father knows this well. Surrendering isn’t very dignified. Let me handle it. Once General Pei accepts the Fanyang Army, I’ll return the commander position to you.”
With that, he lifted the tent flap and strode out.
His sturdy, broad back conveyed the resolve of charging into battle.
General Lu wanted to curse but couldn’t, watching helplessly as Lu Feng walked away.
Over the next few days, General Lu was kept confined in the military tent. Lu Erlang was quite clever, serving his father three meals a day, and even letting General Lu vent his anger with some cursing after he ate his fill.
“Untie me, I need to bathe and change clothes,” General Lu raged.
During marches and battles, going ten days or half a month without bathing was common. General Lu was just making trouble.
Lu Erlang looked troubled: “Big Brother instructed that Father can have whatever he wants to eat and drink, but one thing is absolute: we cannot untie him. Please endure it, Father!”
His tone was gentle, but his hands moved swiftly, stuffing General Lu’s mouth with a rag again.
The rag hadn’t been changed for days and stank terribly. It nearly made General Lu vomit.
The considerate Lu Erlang, seeing his father’s awful expression, specially found a new one. During the change, General Lu squeezed out: “It’s been five or six days now; what the hell is that dog Lu Feng busy with?”
Then his mouth was stuffed again.
The attentive Lu Erlang resolved General Lu’s doubts: “Big Brother sent a confidant on a fast horse to Liaoxi, presenting the Fanyang Army’s military banner to surrender to General Pei. The messenger hasn’t returned with orders yet. Some stubborn heads in the barracks aren’t obeying Big Brother. Big Brother is busy rectifying the barracks and dealing with them.”
These stubborn ones who wouldn’t obey were basically General Lu’s die-hard confidants.
Lu Feng’s “rectifying the barracks” meant purging General Lu’s confidants and fully taking control of the Fanyang Army.
All that talk of returning the commander position later was nonsense!
This was a military mutiny! Son usurping his father’s position and seizing his power!
General Lu ground his teeth nearly to pieces, rage surging in his heart.
It was unknown what iron-fisted methods Lu Feng used, but the barracks didn’t cause too much disturbance. There were occasional shouts of shock and anger, quickly quelled. The smell of blood lingered constantly in General Lu’s nostrils.
……
Lu Feng’s confidant was kneeling respectfully before Pei Qinghe, hands offering the neatly folded Fanyang Army military banner. Lu Feng’s handwritten letter was in Pei Qinghe’s hands.
Pei Qinghe finished reading the letter and raised an eyebrow: “Accepting the Fanyang Army is no small matter; this general needs a few days to consider.”
This messenger was one of the “reinforcements” that day. He had personally witnessed Pei Qinghe’s heroic figure killing on the battlefield and greatly admired her, so he respectfully withdrew.
Pei Yan curiously leaned over: “What did the letter say?”
Pei Yun and Mao Hongling also looked over.
Pei Qinghe curved her lips in a smile: “Lu Feng tied up his own father, seized the commander position, and is now cleaning up the barracks. To show his sincerity and determination in surrendering, the Fanyang Barracks will fly the Pei character flag from now on. Also, he wants to send his younger brother Lu Erlang to the Pei Family Army.”
Lu Feng was already married with children; Lu Erlang had just turned twenty this year and wasn’t married yet.
This was imitating the Guangning Army, sending a brother to the Pei Family as a son-in-law.
Marriage alliances were the most common way to form alliances. Lu Feng directly sending his own brother for the Pei Clan girls to choose from showed real sincerity.
“Lu Feng does have some capability,” Pei Yun said with a smile. “He killed two imperial envoys from the Imperial Court, and now even General Lu is under his thumb. Congratulations, General; you’ve gained another fierce general under your command!”
Taking the Fanyang Army without bloodshed meant all of Youzhou was now fully under Pei Family Army control.
Pei Qinghe was in a fine mood and smiled: “The Fanyang Army’s military discipline is too poor, and their combat power is the lowest. It’ll take real effort to train them.”
Mao Hongling smiled and picked up: “Youzhou originally had four garrisons; the Beiping Army was undoubtedly first. The Guangning Army and Liaoxi Army were evenly matched, with the Fanyang Army at the bottom. Now the Guangning Army, Liaoxi Army, and Fanyang Army have all surrendered to the general. It’s a pity the Beiping Army is garrisoned in Bohai Commandery.”
Meng Dalang was skilled at training troops and managing barracks; Meng Liulang was brave and valiant in combat, unmatched in charges. It was truly a pity these two couldn’t be reeled in.
Pei Qinghe’s eyes flickered slightly, and she gave Mao Hongling a meaningful smile: “Second Sister-in-law, you’ve hit right on what I was thinking. We can’t hope for the Beiping Army’s elite soldiers in Bohai Commandery, but those seven or eight hundred elite cavalry in Liaoxi City look pretty good to me. Our Pei Family Army’s cavalry camp has few left; if we could keep all the Beiping Army’s cavalry, that would be a great achievement.”
For some reason, Mao Hongling quickly looked away, avoiding Pei Qinghe’s gaze, and didn’t respond.
The perceptive Pei Yun chuckled softly.
The rough, straightforward Pei Yan completely missed the subtle exchanges and blurted out: “That’s easy. Once Meng Dalang can leave his tent, I’ll secretly knock him out. Guarantee he won’t get away!”
Everyone: “……”
