Immediately, Yuan Shu mustered a thousand infantry and cavalry, and told the military commander that he was going to Jiuzong Mountain to suppress bandits, and then followed He Miao out of the camp.

A thousand soldiers marched in a mighty procession toward the mountains.

He Miao led Yuan Shu to a valley, where a dozen or so dark figures suddenly emerged from the dense forest.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shu was about to order an attack with arrows.

"General Yuan, please stop! They are my men!" He Miao quickly intervened.

Yuan Shu immediately ordered his men to put away their weapons.

The group of about ten people walked up to He Miao.

Upon seeing this, He Miao exclaimed in surprise, "What's wrong with you all? Weren't there more than thirty people? Where are the others?"

It turned out that these dozen or so people were all injured and looked disheveled.

"General, there are bandits in these mountains!"

The leader of the group of about ten people looked mournful: "We were about to catch up with the fugitive, but then a hundred bandits suddenly appeared from the mountains."

"We were caught off guard and fought desperately, but the dense forest in the mountains made it difficult to fight, and our brothers suffered heavy losses. Nearly twenty of them were killed there!"

"waste!"

He Miao was furious, "I've only been at the military camp for a short while and you've already wiped me out."

"General, it's not that we didn't try, it's just that the bandits are too cunning."

"And that fugitive clearly knew the bandits."

Then the leader hurriedly said.

"Alright, alright, you useless thing!" He Miao waved his hand.

Yuan Shu was utterly shocked: "I've been stationed at the foot of Jiuzong Mountain for more than half a year, and I never expected there to be bandits in the mountains. This is outrageous!"

"In that case, it seems that asking General Yuan to send troops was the right thing to do."

He Miao said, "Not only can he help Empress He with her affairs, but he can also wipe out the mountain bandits."

"Otherwise, if these bandits appear one day and cause chaos in the surrounding area, it will make those censors impeach General Yuan for inaction."

Yuan Shu was furious. He Miao must have done this on purpose!

"Pass down the order: go into the mountains now and wipe out this gang of bandits without leaving a single one alive."

Yuan Shu immediately ordered his deputy and captain, "Please have General He's men lead the way."

"Here you go!"

A thousand Han soldiers immediately took up their weapons and headed into the mountains.

"General He, please! We'll follow behind."

After Yuan Shu gave the order, he was left with only twenty-odd personal guards.

"Alright, let's see how General Yuan suppresses bandits and captures fugitives."

...

"Thank you very much for saving me, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful. Please accept my bow."

In a valley of Jiuzong Mountain, the path winds and turns nine times.

There was a huge cave halfway up the mountain on the left side of the valley.

The entrance to the cave is narrow and obscured by trees, making it difficult to spot, but after walking a short distance, the view suddenly opens up.

Inside the enormous cave, torches blazed and people thronged, numbering perhaps one or two hundred.

In the very center, on a tiger-skin chair, sat a burly man with a thick beard, a rugged appearance, and a smug expression.

Beside the chair, two large axes lay haphazardly, which appeared to be his personal weapons.

A scholar, his face was dirty and messy, but his features were regular and handsome.

He stood at the bottom of the steps and bowed to the burly man in the armchair to express his gratitude.

"Haha, I, Pei Yuanshao, hate these bullies the most. Thirty-odd people chasing after you alone, it's simply unbearable to watch!"

"Saving you was just a small favor."

"Today, the brothers killed more than twenty of them, but unexpectedly, they captured quite a lot. Men, prepare a feast to celebrate! Let's drink to our hearts' content!"

Pei Yuanshao, a burly man with a bushy beard, waved his hand, and his henchmen cheered loudly.

With more than a hundred men, relying on their superior numbers, they saw that this handsome young man had been chased by more than thirty men into a mountain valley with no way out.

Then he suddenly appeared, stopped the thirty people, and launched an attack without saying a word.

The mountains and forests are difficult to traverse and fight in, and the terrain is unfamiliar.

Although these thirty-odd men were fierce, they were caught off guard and surrounded by more than a hundred bandits, and were defeated.

About ten people escaped, while twenty others lost their lives.

However, about ten of these bandits also died in the battle.

But they found many valuable items on the twenty dead men: weapons, crossbows, clothes, shoes, and belts.

For these bandits, this was like a windfall.

Immediately, wine and meat were served, and the bandits drank heartily and made a lot of noise.

Pei Yuanshao poured a bowl of wine: "Here, have a bowl too!"

"Your Majesty, I am not a good drinker and I am afraid that I will lose my composure if I drink, so please do not drink!" The handsome young man declined repeatedly.

"We saved you, and more than ten of our brothers died. We're offering you a drink, and you won't even give us that much face? That's a bit unreasonable!"

The second-in-command next to Pei Yuanshao immediately spoke up upon seeing this.

"Hey, if he can't drink, then don't make him drink!"

Seeing that the handsome young man wasn't drinking, Pei Yuanshao didn't press him. "May I ask your name, where you're from, why they're chasing you, and where you're going?"

"My name is Fu Rou. My father was a court official who offended his political enemies. His whole family was killed, but I was the only one who managed to escape. I plan to go to Gao Nu to seek refuge with my relatives."

"But our enemies are determined to eliminate us completely, and they have been chasing us all the way from Luoyang."

"If it weren't for the brave men who saved us, we would probably have died a miserable death on the road long ago."

The handsome young man began to speak slowly.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuanshao didn't think much of it:

“We have killed off the people who were chasing you. You can rest well here tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will send someone to escort you out of the mountains.”

"From here, heading north, it will take half an hour by fast horse to reach Diaoyang!"

Fu Rou was overjoyed, for Diaoyang and Gaonu to the north were precisely the places that had to be passed along the Qin Straight Road.

He traveled north from Xianyang along the straight road until he reached Jiuzong Mountain, but he did not see the man appear.

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