Chapter 9: Bai Saves Him

  What else could Pei Hongce say? Chen Yingliang had saved his life, and without putting on any airs of a lifesaver, he even paid his respects to him and asked to serve under him. If Pei Hongce were to open his mouth again to refuse, then perhaps he wouldn't be able to bear the character "person" anymore. Therefore, Pei Hongce didn't refuse either, and immediately helped Chen Yingliang up with both hands, bitterly smiling as he said: "Younger brother Yingliang, you're willing to surrender to me and serve the country under my command, of course I'm overjoyed, but you must also understand that I've just suffered a great defeat. My army of 8,000 was defeated, leaving only me, the lone general, with no troops. The loss is a national shame, and even my own life is in danger. Now that you're surrendering to me, I don't dare guarantee any official position for you."

  "Spare me the nonsense, I'm well aware of this. If I didn't even understand this much, wouldn't I have wasted two years as a police captain? You're down on your luck now, but if you rise again, I'll be the one who helped you in your time of need - it's not like I won't benefit from it either. Even if you hit rock bottom, I, as your loyal subordinate who stood by you during your downfall, will at least earn a reputation for being faithful and devoted. And then, trying to curry favor with other powerful people will be much easier!"

  In his heart, Chen Yingliang sneered coldly, but on the surface, he spoke with a honey-like tone, his expression extremely sincere as he said: "Please be at ease, Your Excellency. I am alone and far from home, and all I ask for is a place to settle down and an opportunity to serve the country. Whether or not I have an official position, its rank or lack thereof, are things that I do not concern myself with, nor dare I indulge in such extravagant hopes."

  Listening to Chen Yingliang's words, Pei Hongce, who had just escaped from death, was also very satisfied and praised him a few times. Then he prepared to lead Chen Yingliang back into the city of Dongdu, but at this moment Pei Hongce was already so exhausted that he couldn't even lift his feet, so he temporarily sat down by the side of the road to rest. He asked Chen Yingliang: "Is there any dry rations and water? I haven't eaten a single bite or drunk a drop since morning."

  "Yes, yes." Chen Yingliang hastily replied, and quickly took down the water bag from his horseback, also taking out two pieces of flatbread he had bought in Shaan County. He presented them to Pei Hongzhi, who didn't hesitate, wolfing down the dry rations and water. As he ate hastily, he was choked by the dry flatbread, and quickly poured more water into his mouth. Chen Yingliang, skilled at currying favor with his superiors, also hastened to pat Pei Hongzhi on the back until he recovered. Only then did Chen Yingliang ask in curiosity: "Sir, what exactly happened today? You took 8,000 soldiers, so how come only you are left?"

  "It's all because of Da Xi's kind intentions and those fools under me!"

  Chen Yingliang didn't ask, but as soon as Pei Hongce mentioned it, he was furious. Through Pei Hongce's introduction, Chen Yingliang learned that earlier that morning, when Pei Hongce led the army to fight against Yang Xuangan's rebel army, the Sui army led by Luo Yangming Da Xushan had encountered Yang Jisheng's troops on the south bank of the Luo River. Before the two armies clashed, Da Xushan, who was as timid as a mouse, took the lead in fleeing, and his 5,000-strong Sui army collapsed instantly, with most surrendering to Yang Xuangan's brother Yang Jisheng, while the rest fled as deserters, escaping quickly and cleanly.

  As a result, the morale of Pei Hongce's troops on the north bank of the Luo River was inevitably greatly affected when they welcomed Yang Jishan. Although Pei Hongce, who had never experienced the battlefield, was still smart and ordered his soldiers to build fortifications to resist the rebel army's footsteps, adopting a defensive stance to welcome the battle-spirited Yang Xuangan rebel army. However, it is unknown how many years the Eastern Capital Sui Army had not experienced war, and their morale was already very low. After being affected by the defeat of the Sui Army's Daxi Shanyi Department, their morale and fighting spirit collapsed completely. They were breached by Yang Xuangan's younger brother Yang Xuanting's rebel army in a single charge, and the 8,000-strong army dispersed instantly.

  It's not bad to say that Pei Hongce, a civil official, really had some backbone. After the first defeat, he didn't give up and retreated three or four miles before reorganizing his defeated army to redeploy defenses. Unfortunately, his generals and soldiers were even more disappointing, and the rebel army charged again, causing Pei Hongce's troops to collapse immediately. Pei Hongce reorganized his troops to rebuild the defense line, but was defeated by the rebels in a single charge, repeating this process five times, with five battles and five defeats. Later, although Pei Hongce wanted to organize the sixth defense line, his Sui army generals and soldiers refused to fight, either surrendering to the rebel army or throwing down their weapons and fleeing for their lives. In the end, only Pei Hongce was left, forced to flee, and was pursued by the rebel cavalry. If Chen Yingliang hadn't happened to arrive at Ba Sima Slope with reinforcements, Pei Hongce would have lost his life, and might even have been captured by the rebel cavalry.

  After listening to Pei Hongzhe's introduction, Chen Yingliang finally believed the joke about the Mian Tiao Guo army during World War II - it turned out that there was indeed such a ridiculous army in this world! In surprise, Chen Yingliang couldn't help but ask: "Sir, how many people were in the rebel army you fought against?"

  "Who should I ask if you don't know?" Pei Hongce's reply nearly made Chen Yingliang breathless, and he answered with a straight face: "The King of Yue and the defender of Dongdu, Fan Zigai, only sent me to lead 8,000 troops to fight against the vanguard of the rebel army, Yang Jishan's division. They didn't tell me how many enemy soldiers there were. On the battlefield, when would I have had time to count the enemy's troop strength?"

  "Didn't you send out scouts to investigate the enemy's troop numbers?" Chen Yingliang asked incredulously.

  "This...". Bae Hong-cheol hesitated for a moment, then replied with a bitter face: "I did, but this is my first time on the battlefield. I forgot to instruct the scouts to investigate the enemy's military strength, and only told them to investigate the enemy's movements and tell me their location."

  After finishing speaking, Pei Hongce added with a bitter smile, "However, even if we explain it clearly, I'm afraid it won't be of any use. The Right Wuwei Guards who are garrisoned in the Eastern Capital have not fought a battle for over ten years. In the past, those veteran soldiers were taken to Liaodong by the Emperor, and now the scouts haven't even been on a battlefield before, so they may not have the ability to determine the enemy's troop strength."

  Chen Yingliang rolled his eyes and began to worry that the old soldiers of Dongdu might not be able to withstand Yang Xuangan's rebel army, but then he thought again and felt that this might not necessarily be a bad thing for himself. The more incompetent the defenders were, the more opportunities Chen Yingliang would have to show off his skills.

  At this time, Pei Hongce had rested enough, and Chen Yingliang's dead horse was able to get up again. Pei Hongce began to lead Chen Yingliang back to the city of Dongdu. On the way back to the city, Pei Hongce couldn't help but ask Chen Yingliang about his background and family history. Chen Yingliang truthfully told him about his family history and explained that he was recommended by Fang Xuanling to join the army in Liaodong, but concealed the fact that he had a feud with the Chai family in Daxing - the old Chai family was a prominent family in Guanzhong, and Chen Yingliang had just joined Pei Hongce's camp and wasn't sure if Pei Hongce would dare to confront the Chai family for his sake. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Chen Yingliang naturally needed to temporarily conceal the matter of the Chai family.

  What made Chen Yingliang slightly surprised was that after listening to his self-introduction, Pei Hongce's expression was somewhat astonished, saying: "You are the grandson of Chen Wandi, the former county magistrate of Xuchang? So it seems that you and I may be related."

  "What? You and Master Chen are related?" Chen Yingliang was also somewhat surprised.

  "Yes, it's possible that we're related, just a bit distant." Pei Hongce replied: "I am from the Pei family of Wenxi, and among my relatives, there are some who have marital relationships with the Wang family of Taiyuan. I remember that your grandfather Chen Wanneng had a sister or younger sister who married into the Wang family of Taiyuan, so it's possible that we're related."

  "Is this guy from the Pei family of Wenxi?" Chen Yingliang was overjoyed, and Fang Xuanling had mentioned to him in a casual conversation that the Pei family of Wenxi was currently the number one aristocratic family in Guanzhong, having produced 22 prime ministers and 36 generals since the Han Dynasty. The current favorite minister of Emperor Yang of Sui, Pei Ju, was the 22nd prime minister from the old Pei family! Therefore, Fang Xuanling repeatedly warned his good brother Chen Yingliang that it might not be a big deal to quarrel with the Chai family, a small aristocratic family, but he must never offend the Pei family of Wenxi!

  Overjoyed, Chen Yingliang, who was good at building relationships, immediately knelt down on both knees and said loudly: "Uncle is above, please accept the three bows of your nephew Chen Yingliang!"

  After that, Chen Yingliang really knocked his head three times in front of Pei Hongce, looking at the honor and wealth and promotion. Pei Hongce was both angry and amused, laughing: "What's the hurry? I haven't figured out what kind of relative you are yet, and you're already knocking your head? Speaking of relatives, actually you and... but never mind, you and my son are about the same age, so it's not wrong to call me uncle. From now on, let's just address each other as uncle and nephew."

  Chen Yingliang was overjoyed and hurriedly paid his respects to his uncle again. Pei Hongce also helped Chen Yingliang up, calling him a worthy nephew. And so, a pair of newly acquainted uncle and nephew were freshly minted. As for how long this uncle-nephew relationship could last, that's a question only the heavens could answer.

  After Chen Yingliang pulled up the uncle-nephew relationship with Pei Hongzhi, he also followed Pei Hongzhi back to the Anxi Gate outside the Eastern Capital. This time, there was Pei Hongzhi who came forward to call the door, and the city gate guard naturally did not dare to make things difficult, hurriedly opening the city gate to welcome Pei Hongzhi, asking Pei Hongzhi about the outcome of the battle, and then looking at Chen Yingliang with surprised eyes. Pei Hongzhi, who had just suffered a great defeat, was unwilling to ask the guardian general about the war situation, leading Chen Yingliang straight to the Eastern Capital Imperial City, to visit Yang Jie, the king of Yue, who replaced Emperor Yang of Sui in governing the Eastern Capital, and Fan Zigai, the defender of the city.

  Leading Chen Yingliang unimpeded through the Xuanren Gate into the Eastern Capital Imperial City, and then through the Chengfu Gate all the way to the front of the Chongguang Gate, during which time Chen Yingliang was wearing ordinary people's clothing on his body, but with the introduction of Pei Hongce, a high-ranking official of the Eastern Capital, the palace gate guards only asked a few questions before immediately letting him pass. At the same time, thanks to Pei Hongce's introduction, Chen Yingliang's brilliant military achievements in saving Pei Hongce on the battlefield quickly spread throughout the Imperial City guard troops, causing the guards to glance at Chen Yingliang in surprise, all of them amazed that Chen Yingliang, who still had a youthful appearance, could achieve such great merit.

  After arriving at the heavily guarded Zhongguang Gate, Pei Hongce dared not lead Chen Yingliang to rush in directly. Instead, he followed the rules and presented a request to meet with the emperor to the gate guards. He also briefly explained the situation of the rebellion and introduced Chen Yingliang's identity. After the guard went inside to report, Pei Hongce, who had already been worried, became even more anxious after entering the imperial city.

  "Uncle, what do you mean by this?" Chen Yingliang was shocked.

  "Good nephew, I've thought it over carefully and I'm afraid this time I may have wronged you. You saved me, but I can give you no reward." Pei Hongce replied with a mournful face: "Uncle has a premonition that this time will likely end in disaster rather than fortune."

  "Impossible?" Chen Yingliang exclaimed: "Victory and defeat are common in the military, Uncle, you suffered a minor setback, could King Yue really behead you at the palace gate?"

  "The King of Yue won't kill me, he's only nine years old and doesn't understand anything." Pei Hongce's expression became even more mournful, and he lowered his voice to say: "The key is that Fan Zigai is in charge of the Eastern Capital now, with full military and administrative power. He decides life and death, and Uncle and I have had many disagreements before. This time we lost so badly, I'm afraid he won't let me off lightly."

  Chen Yingliang was speechless, but he didn't think Pei Hongce's words were exaggerated - because Chen Yingliang himself had used such means to deal with his deputy who was eyeing the position of captain of the criminal police brigade. After a moment's calculation, Chen Yingliang hurriedly said in a low voice: "Uncle, I'll dare to say something, even if you and Fan Liushou have been at odds for some time, it doesn't matter much now, and it's still possible to pull strings - Uncle, haven't you heard of the saying 'give up wealth to save one's life'?"

  "Are you suggesting that I bribe Fan Zigai?" Pei Hongce asked in a low voice, and upon seeing Chen Yingliang nodding, Pei Hongce suddenly smiled wryly and said in a low voice: "If you want me to die faster and more miserably, then advise me to do so. Fan Zigai is an old thing that is famous for being upright and clean, never accepting bribes, and cannot bear these means on the official scene. My uncle and he have been at odds many times because my uncle also serves as the supervisor of the Ministry of Works, managing the court's construction affairs. The old man always suspects that my accounts are not correct and wants to check them, but I've found ways to block him."

  "Blocking the audit? This guy is indeed a corrupt official." Chen Yingliang also smiled wryly.

  Chen Yingliang's bitter smile had not yet faded when his face suddenly changed, because from the entrance of the palace, a team of brightly dressed imperial guards emerged and walked straight to Chen Yingliang and Pei Hongce. The captain of the guard then loudly declared: "By order of Prince Yue and Commander Fan, we are here to escort Pei Hongce into the palace! Lord Pei, please follow us."

  After that, the captain of the guards waved his hand and two guards immediately took out ropes to bind Pei Hongzhi. Pei Hongzhi's face turned pale, but he didn't dare resist and meekly surrendered. The captain then turned to Chen Yingliang and said: "You're the young man who saved Master Pei, aren't you? Please come with us, Commander Fan wants to see you."

  "Yes, General. Please lead the way." Chen Yingliang bowed politely and glanced at Pei Hongce's pale face, thinking to himself, "This guy, I shouldn't have saved him in vain, should I?"