Chapter 87

Ye Suijin gave the emperor's edict to Pei Ze: "Now we have a legitimate reason."Plotting to take Xiangzhou together was a big pie in the sky. It was simply not feasible at the moment, but scheming to take Junzhou together was doable.

This was what the two had discussed at their last meeting.

"Once we capture Junzhou, the north side will be secure for me," said Ye Suijin. "Then I can steadily take over the western part of Fangzhou."

The two of them were sitting at a desk.

Pei Ze gazed at the map as Jiannan Circuit was still far away, with many obstacles in between.

But Ye Suijin's appearance was like a wedge that pried open a crack in the stalemate.

It gave him hope of breaking the deadlock.

"Yanchen City," he pointed.

Ye Suijin said, "I must take Wudang."

With Wudang, there was Yanchen City in the eastern part of Junzhou, bordering Deng Prefecture to the north. The Han River flowed through there, straight to the river's mouth.

Ye Suijin had already demonstrated his willingness to cooperate through the grain.

It was time for Pei Ze to show his sincerity.

"Alright," he agreed. "We'll jointly attack Yanchen City and take it for you. But I must seize Fengli."

Fengli was in the west of Junzhou, right next to Fang Prefecture to the south.

Ye Suijin immediately accepted: "Good."

As for the central part of Junzhou, that would be the part the two haggled over.

After a while, Third Son Ye came out.

Tenth Son went over and asked, "Why did you come out?"

"Headache," Third Son rubbed his temples.

Third Son came from a well-off family and had never experienced poverty.

In the army, he only needed to worry about marching and fighting. The rest all had their own roles, with Ye Suijin overseeing the big picture.

Only Ye Suijin and Pei Ze, truly experienced living hand to mouth, counting every grain of rice with their fingers.

When it was time for the heads of household to be magnanimous, they naturally had breadth of mind. And when it was time to haggle, they did so unabashedly.

The two pinched every penny and yielded no ground, calculating how to divide up the spoils without losing out.

It was headache-inducing.

Tenth Son admired: "Sister Jin is amazing to be able to stay inside."

He complained: "I hate Pei's bratty kids. Blah blah blah, blah blah blah."

Finally, everyone inside came out.

It was evident the final negotiations had satisfied both parties.

"So, Lord Pei, we'll meet under Yanchen City," Ye Suijin cupped his fist.

Pei Ze returned the courtesy: "It's settled."

As Pei Ze and his son escorted the grain away,

Qiao Huai loudly sang praises: "The Ye family is so generous!"

Yan Xiao also said, "We've inspected it. They didn't mix in any sand at all, truly generous!"

It was common practice at the time to mix sand into grain and salt that was sold.

Generosity depended on how much sand was mixed in.

The grain the Ye family gave was pure, weighing true.

The military biscuits made from it wouldn't grate the teeth.

Of course the purchased grain would still be sifted again, but sand couldn't be completely sifted out. Gritty biscuits that hurt the teeth were an everyday affair for soldiers.

They just ate while cursing and grumbling.

Pei Ze nodded: "Lord Ye is magnanimous."

He made no mention of how Ye Suijin had haggled with him over military provisions and grain.

Pei Dingxi said, "Third Son Ye of the Ye family is very amiable. He told me a lot about Deng and Tang prefectures."

Although he had a sworn brother, that sworn brother was just a particularly trusted and capable general. The title of "sworn son" given to Pei Ze and Ye Suijin by the emperor was similar to bestowing fish purses and rhino belts, a sign of favor and grace.

Third Son Ye really gave off the feeling of an "elder brother", which made the child look up to him.

"Tenth Son is not so good," Pei Dingxi shook his head. "He rambled on and on, glaring at me very childishly."

"But Third Brother reprimanded him," he happily continued.

Everyone smiled.

Yan Xiao had traveled together with Third Son Ye and they got along well. He also said, "I've seen and crossed blades with the Ye brothers in Bayang basically. Their spearmanship is quite good, suited for cavalry."

Qiao Huai affirmed: "The Ye family is large and of one heart."

Pei Dingxi was envious.

Pei Ze let out a sigh.

When Ye Suijin returned to Deng Prefecture, the Ye family army had already assembled four thousand men.

Ye Suijin inspected the engineering camp.

The engineering camp was always a hive of activity. The craftsmen had their trousers rolled up, bared chests glistening from the furnace heat.

Clanging and banging, sparks flying everywhere.

The red-hot ingot when dunked into water sizzled and boiled up white steam, scalding hot. The craftsman used iron tongs to grip it while leaning back. Get too close and it would burn you directly.

With such an important official visiting, work still continued uninterrupted. Because keeping the fire at the right temperature meant no pause was permissible.

Even with Ye Suijin inspecting, no one stopped their tasks at hand.

Ye Suijin resentfully said: "The emperor is too stingy. Doesn't he know to reward some iron and armor? I already told eighth uncle to plead poverty."

In peaceful and prosperous times, gifts like fish purses and rhino belts were naturally tokens of imperial favor and glory. Zhao Jingwen also liked giving these things to others. Duan Jin had them too.

But they were useless now. Couldn't even sell them for money.

Third Son Ye consoled her: "It's good enough that three years of taxes were waived. Our sculpture indeed lacked refinement."

Their craftsmanship was limited, not extremely lifelike. So they displayed it on a high carriage parade through the streets, covered in red silk, not letting commoners get too close. Later it was brought into the palace for offerings.

Third Son specifically urged it be placed indoors.

Best not get rained on, hmm, prone to...you know.

In another workshop, armor was being produced.

Mostly leather armor.

Some apprentices were painting lacquer onto the armor plates, needing two to three coats before the plates became more durable. Some were dying silk cords with cinnabar.

The veteran craftsmen were punching holes, threading the dyed silk through the plates, and tying knots. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NovᴇlFɪre .ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The knots had to be tied skillfully and tightly to avoid coming loose.

Ye Suijin picked up a half-finished piece and gave it some forceful tugs, satisfied as she returned it to the veteran craftsman.

She told Third Son Ye: "Next time tell Old Guan, get us as much rawhide as possible, don't be stingy."

Cattle were important assets to farming families. The Wei laws even prohibited slaughtering plow oxen without cause, punishable by fines and imprisonment.

The Central Plains were all farming regions, so rawhide for armor came from the northern regions, not locally.

These were acquired by General Guan last time.

He had transported southern goods north and brought back many northern goods. Of those, Ye Suijin of course preferred rawhide over luxuries like sable furs, ginseng, and spices.

General Guan understood her.

When dividing the spoils with Ruiyun, she kept all the rawhide and gave Ruiyun the luxuries. Ruiyun then sold those goods down south for more profit.

Everyone got what they needed.

There were also large siege weapons.

Wheeled siege ladders, huge shields for approaching the city walls, battering rams and rams for breaching gates.

Tenth Son leapt around inside, examining this and touching that, wishing he could personally operate each one.

For this campaign, old and young generals gathered.

Fourth Uncle Ye forcibly kept Fifth Uncle Ye in Bayang, but still came along himself.

Ye Suijin first gave a pre-battle motivational speech.

"This time is different from before, everyone must understand this," she said. "Don't treat Junzhou like Tangzhou."

"Tangzhou and Deng Prefecture were the same. After Xuanhua Army disbanded, they had no major military forces left, just scattered sand. We mopped them up one by one, easily."

"But Junzhou is not the same."

"This is the first time we'll be facing a proper army. Plus Junzhou has always conflicted with the Pei family. Back then, Junzhou had already invaded Fangzhou. Pei Ze also entered Fangzhou and took root there, driving Junzhou's men back. They have resented each other ever since with border conflicts for years. Both have far more combat experience than us. "

"Everyone must put away your casual attitude and prepare mentally."

This was the Ye family's first time waging a real siege battle.

On April 26th, while Junzhou was still wondering "why hasn't there been any news from the capital, don't tell me something happened along the way", unexpectedly they simultaneously received military reports of Deng Prefecture attacking from the northeast and Fang Prefecture from the southwest.

These two houses were separated by the entirety of Junzhou! How did they collude together?

Surely it couldn't be coincidence, yet it was also impossible to coincide like this!

Yanchen City had no choice but to fight on two fronts.

Ye Suijin sent a squad of loud, burly men to yell outside the city: "By decree of the Great Jin Emperor, we crusade against the Junzhou rebels! You rebels, quickly open the gates and surrender!"

Junzhou yelled from the city towers: "We've already sent envoys to the Emperor petitioning our surrender!"

The city yellers retorted: "Lies! Our envoys have just returned from the capital with an imperial edict! We act on the decree to crusade against you!"

With this "imperial order", the morale of Yancheng City's army started to waver.

Some couldn't help but say, "Since we've already petitioned to surrender, why don't we just..."

The city executed two people before suppressing the army's morale.

Petitioning to surrender cannot be compared to being conquered.

After surrendering, the original leader is still the leader, military power is still in his hands. It just legitimizes things.

Being conquered, who knows if you can keep your head, power is definitely lost.

We must fight.

Yancheng City dispatched two fierce generals to confront the enemy on both sides.

Pei Ze went into battle.

Back then, the less than 100 men who protected him when he fled, later when he escaped from Jiannan Circuit, only two to three hundred people joined him.

Leading this group, the young master of a powerful family could never hide behind the lines.

He personally led every battle.

In this kind of frontal battlefield, there really weren't many tactics to use.

It came down to the level of martial arts, strength, and proficiency in killing.

Like hard rocks clashing into each other, sending debris flying.

The city sounded the gongs, the defenders withdrew back inside the city walls.

Cutting off the pursuers' path with arrows from atop the city walls.

Pei Ze also recalled his troops.

Returning to camp, his whole body was covered in blood, of course it was other people's blood.

Yet Pei Ze was the main general of the Pei family troops, even more so the soul of the Pei family army.

Victorious in the first battle, the Pei family soldiers were elated.

His personal guards swiftly came to help remove his armor.

In combat this intense, the body sweats profusely, plus the blood that seeps in.

The metal armor conducts heat and cold. Not removing the armor promptly, the clothes underneath quickly become icy cold, and the chill gets trapped inside. Easy to get sick.

Many veteran generals, to varying degrees, have this kind of illness, or at least the roots of the illness.

Ye Suijin in his previous life couldn't handle it mentally, and his body immediately collapsed, this was also the reason. The sickness was already there, only held back by his willpower.

Once that willpower was gone, he could no longer endure.

With the armor removed, clothes loosened, the guards gave him warm towels to wipe his body.

Pei Ze saw his adopted son Yan Xiao riding back.

Yan Xiao had circled around the other city gate, where the Ye family army was attacking from that side.

Just now, over here with the Pei family army, there was also a young master of the Ye family, Third Son Ye of the third generation.

These two were assigned to each other's camps, ostensibly to facilitate communication, but everyone understood - since becoming allied, of course they wanted to assess the actual strength of the allied forces.

The Ye family army was also victorious in their first battle.

"The one who went to battle was Fourth Uncle Ye, he is both the alternate carriage driver for the Governor as well as the Vice Envoy. He is Big Brother Ye's closest uncle in age and seniority. Big Brother Ye's only elder brother is his son, Third Son Ye."

With this explanation, aside from anything else, the order of succession in the Ye family army was also laid out.

Unlike this side with the Pei family, where there was only Pei Dingxi as the sole descendant, and everyone watched him like the apple of their eye.

Pei Ze was truly envious!