The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0581 Conflict

When Peng Lianggong learned that the two thousand troops he had sent out to seize the grain had all been wiped out, his first reaction was disbelief: ”How is this possible? Only eight hundred people were escorting the grain, and we sent two thousand people. How could they all be wiped out?” Feng Dajun was not a soft-hearted man. Anyone who dared to touch their grain would face only one fate—death.

Jun Yuanbo, the second-in-command of the rebel army, said with a look of dissatisfaction, ”I said before that it was not advisable to rob the Northwest Armyʼs grain. The Northwest Army is fierce. Let alone not being able to rob the grain, even if we do, the Northwest Army will send troops to attack us. We are no match for them at all.” Jun Yuanbo believed their greatest threat was not Ji Xuan, but Yun Qing. Even the fierce northern barbarians feared Yun Qing. If he were to attack them, wouldnʼt it be a piece of cake? It was just that Peng Lianggong had been blinded by victory and couldnʼt listen to his advice at all. Peng Lianggong even sent two thousand people to steal the grain behind his back.

Peng Lianggong argued, ”What are you afraid of? Yun Qing is just being hyped up. If heʼs that capable, why hasnʼt he been able to wipe out the northern barbarians?”

Jun Yuanbo choked up for a moment.

Peng Lianggong instructed, ”Send another five thousand troops to rob their grain.” In fact, the rebel army was not without grain at that time. It was just that Peng Lianggong felt that if he could rob this batch of grain, he could at least recruit another 30,000 to 50,000 troops. With more men, they could better fight Ji Xuan and resist the Imperial Court.

Jun Yuanbo disagreed, ”We have already lost two thousand elite soldiers. If we lose another five thousand, how will we defend ourselves if the Imperial Court sends more troops?” The 2,000 men sent earlier were among the better-trained insurgent forces.

The two argued for a long time, but couldnʼt come to an agreement. Most of the subordinates supported Jun Yuanbo. It was also because Yun Qingʼs reputation was too great, and he had 100,000 troops under his command, so everyone felt that it was better not to provoke Yun Qing, at least not now.

Peng Lianggong held back his anger.

When Fu Qingluo found out about this, she said to Yang Duoming, ”Husband, letʼs leave this place!” She had already told Peng Lianggong about Yun Qingʼs ability. She didnʼt expect that this person could still say such things. He didnʼt take her previous words to heart at all. There was no future in following such a person.

Yang Duoming shook his head, ”I canʼt leave for the time being.” He had long known that Peng Lianggong would not be able to accomplish anything. However, if he wanted to join Yun Qing and Madam Yun, he would have to contribute.

Fu Qingluo asked, ”Why?”

Yang Duoming planned to stay in the rebel army and act as an insider when Yun Qing attacked. However, this was very dangerous. If it wasnʼt Yun Qing but Ji Xuan who attacked, he might have lost his life. Therefore, Yang Duoming wanted Fu Qingluo to leave first.

Without thinking, Fu Qingluo refused, ”I donʼt want to.”

Yang Duomingʼs expression was very firm as he urged, ”Even for the sake of our child, you have to leave. If you stay here, you and the child will be in danger at any time. You go to Yu City to find Madam Yun first, and I will find you soon.” Last time, Fu Qingluo had acted on her own, using herself as bait to kill Bao Xiaofan. Yang Duoming had been furious, and the two had nearly fallen out over it. It was during that time that Fu Qingluo fainted. The physician found out that she was pregnant. With a child on the way, they reconciled.

Fu Qingluo was still unwilling.

Yang Duoming held Fu Qingluoʼs hands and promised, ”Donʼt worry, I wonʼt leave you and the child behind. As soon as things here are settled, I will come to you immediately.”

Fu Qingluo really didnʼt want to leave Yang Duoming, but Yang Duomingʼs concerns were also justified. Now that she was pregnant, it was different from before. If anything went wrong, the child would be the first to get hurt. Fu Qingluo agreed, ”Okay, then Iʼll wait for you in Yu City. You must come and find me soon.”

Yang Duoming vowed, ”Donʼt worry, I will definitely come to you.”

Just as they were talking, someone entered the room and said, ”Military Advisor Xiao, the Commander-in-Chief would like you to come over.” Peng Lianggong proclaimed himself the Commander-in-Chief, and Jun Yuanbo was appointed General by him. If Yang Duoming hadnʼt stopped him, Peng Lianggong would have proclaimed himself Wang.

Yang Duoming nodded and said to Fu Qingluo, ”Start packing. Iʼll escort you out at dawn tomorrow.” With all the chaos outside, he really didnʼt want his wife to leave at this time, but there was no other choice.

Fu Qingluo nodded gently. ”Okay.”

Peng Lianggong had summoned Yang Duoming because of the earlier incident. Since Yang Duoming had not revealed his contribution, he was not qualified to attend the meeting. After telling Yang Duoming about the two thousand men who had been k*lled, Peng Lianggong asked, ”Military Advisor Xiao, how do you think I can convince Old Jun to agree to send troops to rob the grain?” Yang Duoming had always used the alias Xiao Ming instead of his real name. Thus, no one has any reason to be suspicious of him.

Yang Duoming shook his head, ”Commander-in-Chief, I think General Yuanboʼs concerns are not unreasonable. Although Bao Xiaofan is dead, Ji Xuan is still alive. With Ji Xuanʼs temperament, he will definitely personally lead troops to attack us. If we withdraw some of our troops to fight the Northwest Army, we will be short of men then.” These troops were only good for fighting against local armies. When they encountered the Northwest Army, which had been fighting the Northern Barbarian Army for years, all they could do was run away. However, he had told Peng Lianggong about this before, but unfortunately, Peng Lianggong didnʼt take it to heart.

Peng Lianggong was still relatively convinced of Yang Duoming, and said, ”Big Liu is my good brother, but he was k*lled by them like this, and I canʼt even avenge him...” From the time he started the uprising until now, he had never suffered such a great loss. He lost two thousand men and also his good brother.

Yang Duoming said, ”Remember this account. After we deal with Ji Xuan, weʼll settle the score with Yun Qing.” He had advised him not to send troops earlier, but Peng Lianggong was greedy for the more than 200,000 dan of grain and insisted on sending troops. Peng Lianggong should bear the main responsibility for the deaths of those two thousand men.

Since no one supported his plan to send more troops, Peng Liangong stopped insisting. He said, ”This blood debt will be remembered. One day, Yun Qing will pay for it, with interest.”

Seizing the opportunity, Yang Duoming told Peng Liangong he planned to send Fu Qingluo back to her hometown to rest and care for her pregnancy. ”My in-laws are still in good health. With them taking care of her, itʼll be better for both mother and child.” Very few people knew Fu Qingluoʼs true identity. Even Yang Duomingʼs closest brothers didnʼt know much about her background. They could tell she didnʼt come from an ordinary family, but beyond that, they had no idea.

Peng Liangong, though narrow-minded, wasnʼt a lecherous man. He had no improper thoughts about the beautiful Fu Qingluo and readily agreed. To him, it was Yang Duoming who was valuable, not Fu Qingluo. Whether she stayed or left made no difference to him.

That night, Yang Duoming and Fu Qingluo talked late into the night. The next morning, before dawn, Fu Qingluo left the rebel camp with her two personal maids.

On the way, Qiushuang asked Fu Qingluo, ”Miss, are we really going back to Yu City? With the Old Masterʼs temper, weʼll lose all freedom once we return.” While the Old Master would probably not harm Fu Qingluo directly, he might take action against the child she was carrying.

Fu Qingluo replied, ”I wonʼt return to Yu City.” Returning to Yu City would be like walking into a trap. Given her fatherʼs ruthless and cold nature, he would undoubtedly kill both her and her child. There was no way she would willingly return.

Qiushuang froze for a moment before asking, ”If weʼre not going back to Yu City, where can we go?” When they were in Yu City, the northern barbarians seemed like their greatest threat. But after leaving, she realised the bandits and thieves outside werenʼt much better. With only the three of them, even with their martial arts skills, they couldnʼt guarantee their own safety—especially since Fu Qingluo was pregnant.

Fu Qingluo said, ”For now, weʼll find a secluded place to stay. As for the rest, weʼll figure it out later.” If Han Yuxi refused to help and handed her over to her father and brother, both she and her child would be doomed. For the sake of her unborn child, Fu Qingluo couldnʼt take that risk.

Qiushuang thought the plan was reasonable and nodded. ”Then letʼs find a remote and hidden village. The rest can wait until things settle down.”

A few days after Fu Qingluo left, Yang Duoming received news that Ji Xuan was gathering a large army and planned to personally lead the campaign to crush the rebels.

When the rebel leaders heard that Ji Xuan was mobilising 100,000 troops for the anti-rebel campaign, some of them panicked. Peng Liangong quickly convened a meeting and said, ”Last time, with just over 8,000 men, we managed to destroy Bao Xiaofanʼs army of 30,000. Now we have over 50,000 troops, well-trained and familiar with the terrain. We donʼt need to fear Ji Xuanʼs 100,000 soldiers.”

At this point, Yang Duoming stepped forward and added, ”The claim of 100,000 troops is probably just a rumour spread by Ji Xuan himself. Whether he truly has that many soldiers remains uncertain. Besides, Ji Xuan has spent the past few years indulging in greed and pleasure, exploiting the people, and living a life of luxury. He hasnʼt fought a single battle during this time. We have nothing to fear from him.”

This time, Jun Yuanbo sided with Peng Liangong. Regardless of their internal disagreements, they had to present a united front to the outside world. Jun Yuanbo asked, ”Commander-in-Chief, with Ji Xuan is about to arrive, we must prepare for battle. Whatʼs the strategy this time?”

Peng Liangong replied, ”I havenʼt decided yet. Letʼs discuss it together.” A string of victories had filled Peng Liangong with confidence, making him believe he could achieve success without relying on anyone else.

Yang Duoming remained silent.

Jun Yuanbo, however, turned to him and asked, ”Military Advisor Xiao, what do you think we should do to deal with this crisis?” After all, it was Yang Duoming who had played a key role in their recent victory over the Imperial forces.

Yang Duoming didnʼt know much about commanding troops, but he excelled at stirring emotions. He said, ”Ji Xuan has killed more than 4,000 civilians and accused them of being bandits. If we lose this battle, he wonʼt spare any of us.” His point was simple: to lose meant death. If death was inevitable, they might as well fight to the end.

Ji Xuan, for his part, harboured considerable resentment towards the Imperial Court. A single Imperial Edict had tasked him with leading the campaign to suppress the rebellion, yet no military supplies or funds had been provided. Essentially, he was expected to handle the rebellion out of his own resources. Ji Xuan wasnʼt short of money, but the demand felt like the Imperial Court was dipping into his own coffers, which infuriated him. However, he lacked the power to defy the court for the time being, and could only swallow his anger.

Ji Zhu entered the room and reported, ”General, everything is ready.” War wasnʼt something that could be fought with rhetoric alone; once it began, it would be a massive drain on resources.

Ji Xuan nodded. ”Iʼll leave everything at the residence in your hands.” Ji Zhu was his most loyal subordinate, someone he trusted completely to handle his affairs in his absence.

Ji Zhu replied, ”Rest assured, Master. Iʼll take care of the residence and await your triumphant return.” Ji Zhu lived up to Ji Xuanʼs trust, not only managing the household flawlessly but also helping to ease Ji Xuanʼs burdens by gathering intelligence and addressing challenges on his behalf.