Chapter 224: Tit for tat

Pei Mingyuan stepped forward a few steps and knelt down to his father, "Child Mingyuan, see my father."

Pei Jun nodded, "Get up!"

He glanced at him and saw a man standing not far behind Pei Mingyuan, nearly fifty years old, with a long robe of Confucian scarf and three white beards floating on his chest, his eyes clear, not like a follower, and there was a faint memory between his eyebrows and eyes. He was slightly stunned and asked Pei Mingyuan, "Who is this?"

Without waiting for Pei Mingyuan to answer, the man took the initiative to step forward and salute, "Hu Yong is the aide to Governor Zhang, please see Pei Xiangguo."

"Hu Yong?" Pei Jun read the name several times, and asked in confusion: "We seem to have met before?"

Hu Yong smiled slightly and said, "The following name is 'Yong', as the name suggests, it means mediocrity. The prime minister said he had seen me because of my ordinary appearance."

"Sir, you are so eloquent." Pei Jun smiled slightly, then stopped asking, and took them into his study.

When he walked to the entrance of the study, Hu Yong said in panic: "I am just a commoner. How dare I enter the prime minister's study? I'll wait outside the door."

"Are you really a commoner?" Pei Jun narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Hu Anran was the official who was appointed as the left son of the crown prince and the fourth rank. At that time, I was only the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and I was half a rank lower than Mr.!"

Seeing that he recognized him, Hu Yong smiled, "Then it's better to obey your orders than respect."

Pei Jun glanced at Pei Mingyuan again, and saw him standing at the door, and smiled faintly and said, "Although you are my son, you are now the judge of Zhang Huan's army. Official affairs are the first priority, so you can sit down too!"

Pei Mingyuan didn't say much, so he sat down. The two maids presented tea to them. Pei Jun said straight to the point: "Let's talk about the latest situation in Longyou first."

Pei Mingyuan bowed to his father a little and said, "This time Tubo attacked Tang was Zanpu Chisong Dezan personally led the army, with more than 100,000 troops. This shows that Tubo has been deliberate for a long time. According to the latest information, the Tubo army is now building ships on the other side of the Yellow River in Huijun. Once the ship is built, they will go down the river and attack Longyou."

Pei Jun picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, and asked quietly: "How many troops are there in Longyou now? How to deal with the Tubo army?"

Pei Mingyuan and Hu Yong looked at each other, and he replied carefully: "There are still 70,000 troops in Longyou, mainly arranged in Huijun and Jincheng County."

Pei Jun sneered and said, "Why should my son lie to me? Zhang Huan reported that the court had a total of 120,000 troops, 20,000 troops in Hexi. When Wuwei fell, almost all the troops were wiped out. Zhang Huan took away another 60,000 during the expedition to Hehuang. Now there are only 40,000 people, and most of them are new troops. Did Zhang Huan recruit private troops without telling the court?"

"The prime minister only knows one but not the other." Hu Yonggong bowed and smiled, "My governor knows that Tubo is cruel. In order to protect the people, he has carried out militia training in military households. Mingyuan said only 30,000 more people. In fact, it is just a militia that has just been equipped, not a formal army."

Pei Jun nodded, "So that's it. I thought that Envoy Zhang had enough troops and sent two people to come, so he didn't need the court's assistance?"

"The Prime Minister was joking. My governor was still in Hehuang. Now Longyou is in a hurry and we can't resist the Tubo tiger and wolf army. The wife specially sent us to ask the court for help."

Pei Jun pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "You have seen it just now. I discussed this matter with Cui Xiang. We agreed that Tubo's strategic focus has moved eastward now, and wars will happen frequently in the future. It may be difficult to resist only Zhang Huan. Therefore, the court will send Shuofang Jiedushi again, and Zhang Huan will no longer serve as the other party."

Hu Yong didn't speak for a long time, and he knew that there would be such consequences. If Cui and Pei didn't take advantage of the situation, that would be incredible. This is a political struggle, and there is no kindness or compassion. After all, it is inferior to others. Before they came, everyone had reached an agreement. As long as they were protected in Longyou, they could only give up in other places. In fact, they were no longer allowed to do so.

Thinking of this, Hu Yong and Pei Mingyuan exchanged a glance, and Hu Yong resolutely said: "It's true that the Prime Minister said!"

"Okay! Then we have a decision." Pei Jun stood up and said solemnly: "Longyou is my Tang Dynasty territory, and resisting foreign enemies is the responsibility of the court. The cabinet has made a decision and the empress dowager has also issued an order. The court will send troops to rescue Longyou. We have worked hard all the way, please rest first!"

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Pei Mingyuan and Hu Yong went down, and Pei Jun was still standing in front of the window and pondering. He let Zhang Huan go to Hexi, hoping that Zhang Huan could become the root of the Wei family's defeat and create opportunities for him to move westward. Zhang Huan did not disappoint him. He drove Wei Yan away in just two years. This time, Tubo invaded the east and Zhang Huan's westward expedition to Hehuang created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for himself, so he could justify the entry of the northern road in the inner pass.

But what surprised Pei Jun was that Cui Yuan gave up this opportunity and actually allowed him to move westward. This was inconsistent with Cui Yuan's usual style. He could cross the river and move westward. He was divided into a cup of tea in this opportunity of Tubo's eastward invasion, but finally asked about the conditions to supplement Fengxiang Army. Don't he know that he could still go to Kaiyang County to replenish Fengxiang Army after crossing the Yellow River?

Taking a step back, even if there is no chance of Tubo invasion in the east, can't his Cui family replenish the Fengxiang army? They can definitely use Wanxi, go to Hanzhong and finally go to Fengxiang, Wang and Wei families to give him this convenience, but Cui Yuan seemed to not understand this.

"No! There must be a problem here." Pei Jun suddenly caught something sensitively.

At this time, the guards outside the door reported that Mr. Pei was here, who was Pei Junzhi's younger brother, Pei You, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He was temporarily ordered by Pei Jun to find someone.

Pei You walked in and bowed and smiled, "Congratulations to brother."

"Come on! Come in and sit down." Pei Jun smiled and pulled him in and sat down.

"You may not have imagined that my son will negotiate with me on behalf of Zhang Huan's interests."

Pei You was stunned, "Did you explain it far?"

"Who else besides him?" Pei Jun smiled bitterly, "And my precious daughter seems to be biased towards Zhang Huan."

Seeing that the eldest brother was a little indignant, Pei You smiled and comforted him, "After all, Zhang Huan is your son-in-law, Mingyuan is your brother-in-law, and Ying'er is biased towards his husband. This is also normal. Brother, please relax your heart!"

"Son-in-law?" When Zhang Huan was his son-in-law, Pei Jun couldn't help but smile coldly, "Does he really think he is my son-in-law? The last time Cui Xiaofu intervened in politics was what he did in secret, and he told me in Fengxiang again. Is this what the son-in-law should do? I have seen it long ago that this person is definitely not willing to live under others. Even if he marrys my daughter, he just wants to use me. There is no relationship between me and him."

Pei You remained silent. In fact, the eldest brother was using others at the beginning? If Zhang Huan hadn't taken Hexi, would he marry his daughter to others? Now he is talking about the relationship between a father-in-law and son-in-law, just to take the opportunity to take Longyou.

Seeing that he did not speak, Pei Jun continued, "I have decided to let Pei Yi be the governor of Shuofang and the governor of Lingwu County, and lead an army of 200,000 across the Yellow River to resist the Tubo army, and set out tomorrow."

Pei You pondered for a long time, and Fang Xu asked: "Does your brother want to take advantage of the situation to occupy the entire Longyou territory?"

"No!" Pei Jun shook his head slowly, and he said coldly: "Zhang Huan still has an army in his hands, so he can't tear his face for the time being. I will leave it to him in Jincheng, Longxi and Kaiyang counties, but he must host his son in Beijing."

Pei You immediately understood the intention of the elder brother calling him to come. He probably wanted to make him go to Longyou. Before Pei Jun could continue, he stood up and bowed and said, "The end of March is the busiest time of the Ministry of Revenue in the year, and I'm afraid I can't leave. Brother, please let others go!"

Pei Jun stared at him and said lightly for a while: "Then I won't force you, I'll let others talk."

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On March 25, the third year of Xuanren, the Empress Dowager Cui Xiaofu formally issued an edict to send troops to rescue Longyou, and appointed Pei Yi, the Minister of the Taipu Temple, as the governor of Shuofang and the governor of Lingwu County, as well as the chief censor. On the same day, the Pei family's 200,000 Hedong Army crossed the Yellow River from Dinghu County, Changhua County, and the army divided into two groups, one of which advanced to Hui County, and the other turned south, occupying Pingliang, Anding and other counties.

When He Lou Wuji heard the arrival of the imperial army, he immediately ordered all the 40,000 Xiliang troops gathered in Huijun to go south to defend Jincheng County. Chisong Dezan, who was building ships across the Yellow River, learned that 200,000 Tang troops were coming to help and knew that the fighter had been lost. He was so angry that he concentrated 80,000 troops to attack Huixi Fort. After a day and a night of bloody battle, the 5,000 Tang troops killed more than 20,000 enemies. In the end, because they were outnumbered, Huixi Fort lost. Five thousand Tang troops died to the last one, and none of them surrendered.

In deep hatred, Chisong Dezan shoveled Xibao into flat ground. He then led a large army south to Hehuang and cut off Zhang Huan's retreat.

On March 30, Pei Yi arrived in Jincheng County.

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When Zhang Huan was not in Longyou, Pei Ying had been urging the normal operation of various departments and Caos of the Longyou Jiedushi. She did not interfere in specific matters, but she would appear in the military camps, farmland and military equipment production every day, listen to the opinions of the lower-level soldiers and ordinary military families, and occasionally consult with left-behind officials such as Hu Yong, Luo Guangzheng, Pei Mingyuan to raise money and grain to support the front line.

However, since the Tubo army attacked Wuwei, Pei Ying turned against the attitude of the bystanders and took the initiative to summon military generals such as He Lou Wuji to discuss military arrangements, and sent Pei Mingyuan and Hu Yong to Chang'an for help. At the same time, she issued orders on behalf of Zhang Huan, soliciting militia troops from all over the country to convert them into regular troops, and personally mobilized them to the army to inspire the soldiers' enthusiasm to defend their country.

As the situation changes day by day, the possibility of the Tubo army attacking Longyou is decreasing, but the father's intention to take advantage of the opportunity to seize her husband's foundation is becoming more and more obvious, and Pei Ying gradually fell silent.

At noon that day, Pei Ying was talking to Cui Ning, when suddenly the housekeeper came to report, "The new Shuofang Jiedushi is asking for a meeting outside the mansion."

Of course, the so-called Shuofang Jiedushi Pei Ying knew who it was. She pondered for a moment and said to the housekeeper: "People Envoy Pei will go to the Jiedushi headquarters to wait, and I will arrive immediately."

After saying that, she ordered Zhang Huan's personal soldiers to invite the military and political officials of the Xiliang Army to the headquarters. After hesitating for a long time, Pei Ying suddenly sighed and said to Cui Ning: "My father is really greedy. We have given up more than a dozen prefectures and counties north of Longyou, but he still wants to attack Jincheng County. Most people don't know it, and they think I betrayed my husband's interests. How can I face the military and civilians of Longyou?"

Cui Ning's condition has been much better after more than a month of careful care. Although she is still a little weak, she is basically fine. Seeing Pei Ying feel sad, she put her shoulders on her back and comforted her: "In this case, you can only ask the court for help, everyone's eyes are lit! You have exhausted your mind to defend Longyou. I think no one will blame you except those with ulterior motives."

Pei Ying smiled bitterly, changed her clothes, and took a carriage to the Jiedushi headquarters. The Jiedushi headquarters is located in the middle of Wuquan Street, about three miles away from Zhanghuan's mansion. Soon, the carriage arrived at the carriage. At this time, many people had received notice from Pei Ying and rushed to the headquarters.

Pei Yi originally wanted to have a private talk with Pei Ying and advised her to bring Zhang Huan's son back to Chang'an in the name of going home to visit her father and grandfather. However, Pei Ying refused to see him privately, but instead received him publicly in an official manner. Pei Yi had been resentful of Zhang Huan because of the last Fengxiang incident. Now Pei Ying doesn't buy it, and he is really unhappy. Now he has 200,000 troops in hand. If it weren't for Pei Jun's intention to act rashly, he would have taken Zhang Huan's nest in one breath.

There were already many people coming to the lobby, and everyone was whispering, not knowing what happened. Hu Yong and Pei Mingyuan, who had just arrived, felt something was wrong, but Pei Yi was watching the paintings on the wall with his hands behind his back. He ignored everyone.

"Madam is here!" The soldiers shouted, and everyone stood up one after another, saluting Pei Ying who walked into the lobby. Pei Ying smiled and gave gifts to everyone one by one.

At this time, Pei Yi slowly turned around, looked at Pei Ying and laughed: "I came here just to talk about family matters. Why did my niece invite me here?"

Pei Ying stepped forward and gave a bow. She opened her red lips and replied loudly, "Please forgive me, uncle, now the Tubo people are on the other side of the Yellow River. The situation in Longyou is tense, and the niece has to be public and then private."

Pei Yi narrowed her eyes and said slowly: "Don't be afraid of niece. Your father is worried about your safety. He specializes in his life to lead a army of 200,000 to save you."

Pei Ying's face turned pale, and she immediately replied loudly: "We asked the court for help to save the millions of people in Longyou and the Tang Dynasty thousands of miles away. If my father saved me, it would be enough to send a carriage. Please ask Pei Envoy to understand the good intentions of the court to send troops, and do not misinterpret it, which will make the hearts of our Longyou soldiers and people."

"Madam is right!" He Lou Wuji took the lead in applause, and there was a lot of applause in the lobby. He Lou Wuji glanced at Pei Yi and said coldly: "Our wife is deeply loved by the soldiers. Pei Envoy's provocation will not succeed. Please stop talking!"

Pei Yi laughed to the sky. He suddenly smiled and took out a volume of imperial edicts, and said loudly: "The Queen Mother's imperial edict is here, please ask Pei, the wife of the Longyou Jiedushi, to receive the edict."

Pei Ying was stunned, and she knelt down slowly, "My minister Pei Ying received the order!" Everyone in the lobby also knelt down.

Pei Yi drew out the imperial edict and started to recite: "Zhang Huan, the governor of Longyou, was devoted to serving the country. When Ai's family heard that he had a son, he named him "Qi". He was very happy. He specially gave him one million yuan in money and five hundred pieces of silk, and praised him as the commander of the cavalry. From now on, he moved to the capital to live in the capital...."
To be continued...