Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 416: Battle in Hedong (Part )

The Pei family did not let Liang Cheng wait too long. After a while, the gate of the fortress slowly opened, and the son of the Pei family head welcomed Liang Cheng in. As for the Pei family head, he had already returned to the mansion to wait.

The Pei family fort was small, only relative to the Wenxi County. Liang Cheng walked for a long time before he saw the head of the Pei family.

Fu Jian was still waiting for his news outside. Time was running out. After exchanging greetings, Liang Cheng stated his purpose directly:

"The Heavenly King has something to say, please listen carefully, Lord Pei. Last year, Lord Jianning was defeated at the southern foot of Zhongtiao Mountain and was unfortunately captured. The people of Hedong County were in a panic.

"At that time, Huan Xi's army was approaching Wenxi, and the Pei family joined forces. This is human nature, and the Heavenly King does not blame us. I also ask Pei Gong not to bear a grudge and worry about retaliation."

The head of the Pei family knew that Fu Jian was not fooling him. Fu Jian was now trying to gain all possible support. Of course, he was also a broad-minded monarch.

Although he did not reign for long, the Pei family of Wenxi had heard of him and knew him quite well.

The head of the Pei family expressed gratitude:
"The Heavenly King is so kind and merciful, Pei Jiaming is deeply moved."

But he also knew the purpose of Liang Cheng's visit. As he spoke, the head of the Pei family changed the subject:
"It's just that the Pei family of Wenxi had nowhere else to go and had already surrendered to Lord Liang. Although it was suspected of serving two masters, it was also done out of necessity in order to continue the family line.

“But if Pei were to rebel against Liang and return to Fu’s clan today, people all over the world would surely sneer at me for being fickle. I don’t care about my personal honor or disgrace, but I would rather die than damage the reputation of my clan.

"Please ask General Liang to tell the Heavenly King that unless Lord Liang gives up the Pei Clan of Wenxi, the Pei Clan will not dare to rebel!"

The words sounded righteous, but Liang Cheng heard a hidden meaning.

They said that as long as Huan Xi did not give up the Wenxi Pei family, the Pei family would not betray them. In the final analysis, they had to wait until Fu Jian and Murong Jun defeated Huan Xi and drove him out of Hedong, and then the Wenxi Pei family would naturally surrender.

Of course, this is better than a flat rejection.

Liang Cheng knew the attitude of the Pei family's master, and his back became stiff. He said coldly:

"Now that the outcome is still undecided, the Heavenly King hopes that the Pei family can turn back from their mistakes. This is magnanimity. If Huan Xi flees Hedong in panic, does Lord Pei think that the Heavenly King can easily accept you?"

The head of the Pei family was not threatened by this because he knew that his fort was impregnable. Unless Fu Jian launched a series of attacks for days regardless of casualties, it would be impossible for him to capture the fort in a short period of time.

Huan Xi is now in Hedong and has stationed his troops in Jie County. Once Yu's army is exhausted by Pei's fortress, Huan Xi will naturally be happy to face a group of tired soldiers.

"It was the Heavenly King who gave up Hedong County, and we, the Pei family, could only seek survival. It was Lord Liang who accepted us. Even if I am attacked by swords and axes today, I, Pei, will not be a treacherous villain!"

After saying this, the head of the Pei family shouted to his son:

"see a visitor out!"

Liang Cheng's trip ended in a bad mood with the head of the Pei family, but when he walked out of the fort and reported the attitude of the head of the Pei family to Fu Jian, Fu Jian was very satisfied.

Of course, he did not expect that Liang Cheng's words alone could convince the entire Pei family of Wenxi to surrender.

The Pei family has been able to survive for hundreds of years and has experienced several turbulent times. They have their own way of survival. How could they change their position when the situation is unclear?

Fu Jian didn't care and said:
"It doesn't matter. He is just a fence-sitter. Since we know that he is indecisive, there is no need to pay attention to the Pei family's fortress. We only need to leave a group of soldiers to monitor him."

Murong Chui nodded when he heard this. He had listened to Liang Cheng's report and was certain that the Pei family would just hide in the fortress and would not dare to come out.

In this case, we can concentrate on attacking Wenxi County, after all, Wenxi County is not as strong as the fort. Of course, for the sake of caution, as Fu Jian said, we still left a troop of soldiers to monitor.

Fu Jian then assigned 2,000 soldiers, led by Liang Cheng, to camp outside the fort for surveillance. He and Murong Chui led the main force back to the camp outside Wenxi City.

Although Murong Chui always paid attention to keeping a distance from Fu Jian and did not have overly intimate actions, the two of them went south together. As leaders of the troops, since they formed an alliance, communication was inevitable, which also allowed Fu Jian to have a deeper understanding of Murong Chui.

In particular, Murong Chui's insights on military affairs always impressed Fu Jian.

Fu Jian has always valued talents, let alone Murong Chui, who is one of the best generals of the time.

On the way back to the camp, Fu Jian smiled and asked Murong Chui:
"Does the King of Wu know the Marquis of Huaiyin?"

"Han Xin's achievements are unprecedented in history. Although the outsiders are ignorant, they know about him and his deeds."

Murong Chui answered casually that he didn't know why Fu Jian suddenly mentioned Han Xin.

Soon, Fu Jian answered Murong Chui's question:
"When I passed Gaobi Ridge, I paid homage to Marquis Han's tomb. In front of Marquis Han's tomb, I prayed for a talented person to assist me. The King of Wu is a genius in the world."

Murong Chui didn't know why Han Xin was buried at Gaobiling, but his attention was obviously not on that. Murong Chui was surprised at Fu Jian's undisguised attempt to win him over.

"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your love, but as the King of Yan, how can I abandon my country to join you? Please stop here. There are many talented people in Yu State, and there must be some who can assist you, just waiting for you to discover them."

Although Yue Wan was not around, Murong Chui still acted very cautiously.

In comparison, Fu Jian was much bolder. He said bluntly:
"The Emperor of Yan has no tolerance for others. The King of Wu regards him as a brother, while the Emperor of Yan regards you as an enemy. I am really worried that the King of Wu will be harmed by him one day."

Of course, Fu Jian also knew that he could not get Murong Chui to express his loyalty now. If he pulled the commander of the Yan army over before the battle even started, the alliance would not be able to continue.

Fu Jian said sternly:
"If one day the King of Wu is not tolerated by the Emperor of Yan, the door of the Fu family will always be open to the King of Wu. I will treat you as a distinguished guest and entrust you with important tasks."

After saying this, Fu Jian swore:

"If you have any suspicion, you will be struck to death by thunder!"

Murong Chui saw that Fu Jian did not seem to be joking and was even willing to swear a poisonous oath. Fu Jian was not forcing him to make a choice now, but was leaving him a way out. If Murong Jun could not tolerate him in the future, he could defect to the State of Yu.

Recalling the suspicion he had suffered from his brother in the country, Murong Chui was moved by Fu Jian's attention to him.

However, he was merely moved. Murong Chui felt that his fourth brother Murong Ke was still alive, and the relationship between him and his second brother Murong Jun had not yet reached the point where they were incompatible.

When Fu Jian returned to the military camp, Murong Chui did not follow him, as the camps of the Yu army and the Yan army were not together.

Even within the State of Yu, there were several camps, and a hundred thousand troops could not all be crowded into one camp.

Just as Fu Jian was about to take a rest, Lu Polou rushed over. When returning to the camp, he followed Fu Jian and naturally heard the conversation between Fu Jian and Murong Chui.

After Lu Polou paid her respects, she reminded:
"Does the Heavenly King know the story of Yuwen Xianbei?"

(End of this chapter)