"Continue to be the mountain king?"

Pei Yuanshao was completely bewildered.

He thought that by joining the ranks of this Han prince, he would at least get a government job, but in the end, he still ended up as a bandit.

Seeing Pei Yuanshao's puzzled expression, Liu Wei didn't keep him in suspense any longer:

"I plan to hide five thousand soldiers in the cave!"

Pei Yuanshao was shocked. How could a prince of the Han Dynasty secretly hide a large army here? What was he planning to do?

Are we going to rebel too?

"You will be in command of these five thousand soldiers! They will lie low in the mountains and conserve their strength."

"Go north to Hengshan, go south to Guanzhong, and be ready to serve at any time."

Seeing Pei Yuanshao's shock, Liu Wei didn't care. "Can you handle this matter for me?"

Pei Yuanshao, who had also come from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, shook his head repeatedly after his initial shock:

"Of course, I would like to do this well for Your Highness, but unfortunately, I only know how to band together in the mountains and rob and plunder. I am afraid I am not capable of commanding these five thousand soldiers!"

"It's alright, you just stay here and lie in ambush in the mountains with them. If I say you can do it, then you can do it!"

Liu Wei said with a smile.

He had already planned it out: placing these 5,000 troops here would cut off the vital passage between Guanzhong and Shangjun.

Firstly, it can protect the smooth flow of trade routes, and secondly, it can be used to attack Gao Nu at any time.

If he were to fall out with Empress He while he was in Luoyang, he would have to prepare for taking over Guanzhong sooner rather than later.

Pei Yuanshao was originally a Yellow Turban rebel. When he met Guan Yu, he had already gathered one or two thousand soldiers in his mountain stronghold, which shows that he was quite capable.

Now, there shouldn't be any problem letting him lead five thousand people like a mountain bandit.

"Since Your Highness has given such instructions, Pei Yuanshao will certainly serve you to the death."

Liu Wei then asked:

"Then let me ask you again, if the Han army from Jiuzong Mountain were to enter the mountain again, you should know how to deal with it?"

Pei Yuanshao, unaware of the situation, looked up and asked, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness!"

"The Jiuzong Mountain range covers hundreds of miles and has complex terrain. Just make sure they don't return!"

Pei Yuanshao: "Understood! Please rest assured, Your Highness, I am skilled in this matter. It's just that the provisions for these five thousand men..."

"I will allocate you a month's worth of provisions and appoint you as a captain. You will remain in these mountains, ready to serve at any time."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Pei Yuanshao was overjoyed.

Afterwards, Liu Wei gave some more instructions.

He then instructed Shen Lian to leave one of his Imperial Guards to make contact and to inform Zhang Liao and Yao Guangxiao of the presence of troops in the area.

When Liu Wei and his group left Pei Yuanshao's stronghold and met up with Wang Fangyi at the southern foot of Jiuzong Mountain, there were many figures in Jiuzong Mountain.

Five thousand soldiers of the Wagang Army emerged from various valleys of Jiuzong Mountain.

They carried provisions, carried yellow-quality weapons and crossbows, and wore yellow-quality armor as they headed towards the cave where Pei Yuanshao was.

Seeing such a large number of soldiers and such excellent equipment, Pei Yuanshao was so shocked that his eyes widened.

If the Great Teacher had such an army back then, he would have overthrown the Han Dynasty and become emperor himself long ago!

Pei Yuanshao might even become a founding general.

Damn it, I'm a captain under the King of Clouds now. If I make some contributions, it's not impossible for me to be promoted to general.

They're even thinking of rebelling now, what a terrible thing!

Snap!

Pei Yuanshao immediately slapped himself hard.

"Commander Pei, why aren't you going to take command of your troops?"

The Imperial Guard who stayed behind to make contact noticed that Pei Yuanshao was in a daze, so he reminded him.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Pei Yuanshao exclaimed excitedly.

The five thousand Wagang soldiers piled up their provisions in a cave and settled down there.

The Imperial Guard also selected elite personnel from among them to be responsible for espionage and liaison.

The secret operation of hiding a large army in Jiuzong Mountain proceeded quietly.

Yuan Shu, who had already returned to the Han army camp at the southern foot of Jiuzong Mountain, was completely unaware of this situation.

He only saw Liu Wei arrive with more than a hundred people, and he guessed that the bandits had been killed by him.

After all, these bandits had attacked Liu Wei before, and Liu Wei couldn't possibly let them live.

In short, the bandits are no longer around, and he's just waiting for his term to end so he can get promoted next spring.

His father, Yuan Feng, the Minister of Works, had already arranged a good position for him: Prefect of Nanyang!

......

"This is the Guanzhong Plain!"

Looking at the endless loess plateau before him, Liu Wei couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Highness, where are we going now?" Wang Fangyi asked.

"Let's go to Xianyang and Chang'an to pay respects to our ancestors first!"

Liu Wei looked at the vast expanse of land, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

A day later, news that Liu Wei was going to Xianyang to pay respects to his ancestors spread throughout Guanzhong.

The governors of the Three Auxiliary Regions (Huang Wan of Jingzhao, Duan Wei of Zuo Fengyi, and Zhong Yao of You Fufeng) were astonished upon hearing this news.

The powerful families in Guanzhong were frantically trying to find out inside information and the prevailing winds.

Huang Wan led officials from the capital to receive Liu Wei and accompanied him to pay homage at the Changling, Anling, Yangling, Maoling, Pingling, Weiling, Yanling, Yiling, and Kangling mausoleums in Xianyang, as well as the Baling and Duling mausoleums in Chang'an.

Liu Wei made a big show of it, with all the formalities observed.

Furthermore, they used some representative spoils of war captured from the battles against the Xiongnu and Xianbei for sacrificial rites.

At the same time, a handful of soil from the Hetao Grassland and Yinshan Mountains was added to each tomb!

This move has attracted widespread attention.

For a time, everyone in the Guanzhong official circles knew about it.

As Yao Guangxiao said, Liu Wei's act of paying homage quickly enhanced his prestige in Guanzhong.

In Luoyang, at the residence of Princess Liu Hua of Anyang.

A group of members of the Han imperial family gathered here.

Liu Yu, Liu Biao, Liu Yao, Liu Dai, Liu Zhang, and others were all present.

Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou and the head of the Imperial Clan, was a member of the Eastern Han imperial family and had a very close blood relationship with the royal family.

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