Chapter 22: Pei Yuanching?

  The new southern gate of the Broken Army Camp, Chen Kefu and other officers of the Broken Army Camp, along with all the soldiers, knelt in the big camp, listening to the imperial edict proclaimed by Huang Ying, the Tongshi She Ren, who had just arrived with General Pei Renji of the Left Wuwei.

  After Huang Yingxuan finished conveying the imperial edict, he handed over the imperial decree in his hand to Chen Kefu and smiled, saying, "Congratulations, Chen Daren! From today on, you will be a third-rank official, a silver-blue light-luck Daifu, and a Zuo Bei bodyguard of the Left Guard. In the future, when escorting the Son of Heaven, I hope Chen Daren will take care of me."

  The rank of the Tong Shi She Ren is very low, only a seventh-grade official position. However, Chen Ke Fu did not dare to neglect him, as the duty of the Tong Shi She Ren was to help the emperor convey his orders to those officials. Although their positions were low, they often had opportunities to meet the emperor. If one day he spoke ill of you in front of the emperor, it would be a big trouble. Chen Ke Fu hastily said, "Lord Huang, your words are wrong, it should be that from now on, I will ask Lord Huang to take care of me more. As a rustic person, I was summoned to serve as a bodyguard for His Majesty this time, and many rules were not understood, so please, Lord Huang, point out one or two things. Lord Huang, this time when we took down the new city, we found many interesting things, do you like them? Why don't we go together to take a look and pick one or two?"

  Huang Ying smiled and said, "General Chen is too modest. From now on, we'll be serving the Emperor together, so let's take care of each other. I came in first to deliver the edict, but outside, General Pei and others are waiting. Let me introduce you to them. As military leaders, it's only proper that you pay your respects to one another."

  This time, Pei Yun not only brought Chen Ke back to the main camp but also arranged for Pei Renji, a leading military figure in the left Wuwei army, to bring 50,000 soldiers to garrison Xincheng. He also had a small idea, knowing that after breaking through Goguryeo's new city with 20,000 soldiers, the three nearby cities had become easy pickings, so he specially dispatched his own troops to take advantage of the situation and gain some cheap military merit. However, Pei Yun was clever, but others were not stupid either.

  After a final dispute, they agreed to withdraw 100,000 troops led by four generals. Among them, Pei Renji of the Left Guard led 50,000 men to defend Xin City, garrisoning Xin City to prevent Goguryeo from sending reinforcements northward, while other generals from several families led the remaining 50,000 soldiers, dividing into three routes, each attacking one city.

  Just a few days ago, the main force of the army had already advanced into Xincheng, and Chen Kefu had also handed over Xincheng to Pei Renji. At this time, when he heard Huang Ying's suggestion, he nodded in agreement. These generals who led the troops would be comrades on the battlefield in the future, so they should get along well with each other. Otherwise, if they met on the battlefield one day, they wouldn't feel at ease leaving their backs to unfamiliar comrades.

  Bae In-ki took over the new city and directly settled the large camp in the north of the Goguryeo people's city, where everything was already available, just right for accommodating tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. He also saved trouble by settling the camp there. Chen Kefu led a group of 15 captains to enter the northern camp with Huang Ying to pay respects to these high-ranking generals.

  Pei Renji was one of the twelve generals of the Tongfu Army, and he was also a core figure of the Pei family. He was considered to be the representative of the military faction of the Pei clique. With the full support of the Pei clique, he became one of the twelve great generals of the current era, and can be said to have become the spokesperson for the military faction of the Pei family. However, Chen Kefu remembered that in his limited historical knowledge, it seemed that later on, Pei Renji led 100,000 soldiers in a battle against Li Mi's Wagang Army at Tiger Trap Pass, but was defeated and surrendered to Li Mi. In those legendary stories, his son Pei Yuanqing was the third-ranked hero of the Great Sui Dynasty. Although he knew that most of these legendary stories were false, it at least showed that this person should also be considered a good military general. However, he had previously asked Huang Ying in private and found out that Pei Renji had a son nicknamed "Enemy of 10,000 People", but his name was not Pei Yuanqing, but rather Pei Xingyan, who was currently serving as a Langjiang General of the Left Wuwei Army, holding a position of the fifth rank.

  As soon as he entered the account, he saw the general at the top, wearing a bright armor, about 50 years old, although he was somewhat old, but his robust physique and piercing eyes made him see a high-ranking Sui army general who was completely different from Yuwen Shu. At the first position under his account, there was a young version of him, in his thirties, no need to say that it was "Wan Ren Di" Pei Xingyan, but standing upright, he was even more sharp than his father. Seeing Chen Kefu come in, he swept his eyes over him and glanced away.

  Chen Kefu smiled to himself, perhaps this was the disdain of a warrior. He estimated that as a member of a prestigious family and a general's son, Pei Xingyan looked down on his own humble origins, yet he had become a successful general through sheer luck. Someone like Pei Xingyan was indeed a fierce warrior who could be identified at a glance, and if Pojun Camp could recruit such a talented individual, it would certainly gain a significant advantage. However, as the commander of Pojun Camp, Chen Kefu knew that despite his own relatively high rank, he was still looked down upon by people like Pei Xingyan from noble families. Moreover, with Pei Xingyan's father being a senior general in the Left Imperial Guard, it was even more unlikely that he would leave to join Pojun Camp.

  Chen Kefu, although he had heard that some people in the Pei faction were jealous of his great contributions, knew that this dynasty would not last long. He didn't want to get involved in the struggles between these aristocratic families and only wanted to make a living in this world. If he hadn't known that the Sui dynasty was about to perish, he might have been happy to serve as a high-ranking official, perhaps even obtaining a noble title. However, he knew that the current prosperity of the Sui dynasty was just an illusion, with peasant uprisings erupting everywhere. It wouldn't be long before the landlords and nobles would rebel, and this dynasty would collapse.

  Bae In-ki smiled and came down to help Chen Kefu, saying, "General Chen is too polite. You and I are now of equal rank. If you don't want to take advantage of an old man like me, why not just call me 'Uncle'?"

  Looking at his smiling face, Chen Kefu would not have known that Pei was actually suppressing him if Huang Ying had not told him about the Emperor's account earlier, or else he might have really taken this gentleman as a senior uncle.

  "It's only proper, considering our ages, that I should address you as Uncle. That's already a bit too familiar for someone of my humble background. You don't despise me for my lowly origins, truly you look upon me with favor."

  Pei Xingyan had always been looking elsewhere, but at this moment, he heard that Chen Kefu responded appropriately, and his words flowed smoothly like clouds and water. He couldn't help but turn his head in surprise and examine him carefully for a few moments. Originally, he thought that Chen Kefu, who was called "Brave and Unyielding" by the Emperor, was just another brave warrior like Xiang Guo Shen Guang, but unexpectedly, he found that Chen Kefu was not inferior to many young masters from aristocratic families in the capital.

  After all the generals who had come with him this time had paid their respects, Chen Kefu didn't want to stay here any longer. He ordered the three thousand soldiers in the broken army camp to prepare to transport back to Liaodong City the Goguryeo soldiers, civilians, grain, cattle, and equipment captured in the new city this time. Fortunately, Yang Guang had brought in tens of thousands of laborers this time; otherwise, it would have been a worry for him to have his three thousand cavalrymen transport so many things back.

  Requesting recommendations... Today's two chapters have been updated early...