Pei Ji looked at Min Yueqing with his bright, lively eyes and asked curiously, "Mother, isn't Father an official in Sanping County?"

Shi Tou was also a bit confused, looking at Min Yueqing with the same question mark in his head.

Min Yueqing patiently explained, "Do you remember that Father was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to Sanping County? Now the imperial court has transferred him from Sanping County to Maocheng."

Hearing this, Pei Ji understood, and then asked, "Are there bandits in Maocheng too?"

Min Yueqing solemnly instructed, "Yes, so this place is still very dangerous. You all stay with me and don't wander off, understand?"

Pei Ji and Shi Tou both obediently replied, "We understand."

Once here, Little Wei is actually the freest of them all. After all, it can't stay cooped up in the camp forever, or it will go hungry.

Moreover, given Xiao Wei's current running speed, even if it encounters a large group of bandits, it wouldn't be too difficult for it to escape.

Min Yueqing's only restriction on Xiao Wei was to prevent it from going to the mountain people's dwellings. When Xiao Wei was foraging for food, Min Yueqing would also select its foraging grounds.

In the evening, the scouts who had gone out to gather information returned one after another, and they immediately reported their discovery to Pei Han.

"Sir, the city gates of Maocheng are closed, and we can't get into the city at all. According to the local mountain people, this has been the case for the past few months. Even in broad daylight, the city gates of Maocheng are basically not opened."

"However, there are exceptions. Although bandits generally dare not open the city gates, the city is short of meat and vegetables, so they kidnap children from nearby mountain families and force them to send meat and vegetables into the city every few days. They also threaten that if they don't send them, they will ruin their families."

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Pei Han's eyes, and he asked, "Have you found out the exact time?"

"The timing is not fixed, but currently, the longest interval is no more than five days. I heard that the last delivery was on New Year's Eve."

Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year, which means that in less than two days, the mountain people will be sending things into the city again.

On the way back, Ye Biao had an idea. Seeing Pei Han deep in thought, he suggested, "Sir, what do you think about us pretending to be mountain people and sneaking in?"

Pei Han was also pondering a solution when he heard this and asked, "Approximately how many people can go at once?"

Ye Biao immediately replied, "There are many bandits in the mountains. Every time they deliver something, they have to send out hundreds of able-bodied men. Basically, all the able-bodied men from the three nearby villages have to go."

Pei Han paced back and forth a few times. "How did the bandits notify them of the delivery time?"

"I heard that someone goes to the village a day in advance to give them a heads-up. Once they arrive, they search through every household, not only to urge them to deliver things, but also to check if they are honest."

Pei Han had a general plan in mind. He explained it in detail to Wu Dazhuang and the others before returning to his tent.

Inside the tent, Min Yueqing and Pei Ji were still awake, and Xiao Wei lay beside Min Yueqing with his two bright eyes wide open.

Pei Han took off his coat, lay down in bed, and asked Min Yueqing and Pei Ji, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Pei Ji replied softly, "Father, I'm not sleepy yet, and neither is Mother. Look, even Xiao Wei doesn't want to sleep."

Little Wei, who just woke up: ......

Pei Han reached out and ruffled Pei Ji's hair. "If you don't want to sleep tonight, what do you want to do?"

Pei Ji had a sudden inspiration and suggested, "Father, why don't you tell us a story?"

In Pei Ji's opinion, since he couldn't read books, listening to a story would be a good alternative.

It has to be said that Min Yueqing was also very tempted by the little one's suggestion, and she unconsciously looked at Pei Han.

With his wife and children looking forward to it, Pei Han naturally wouldn't disappoint them. He organized his thoughts and began to tell them historical anecdotes.

Pei Han's voice was deep and pleasant, and his narration was neither too fast nor too slow. Before they knew it, Pei Ji, who had just claimed that he was not sleepy, fell into a dream. Even Min Yueqing went from pretending to doze off to actually sleeping.

Seeing that Min Yueqing and Pei Ji were asleep, Pei Han fell silent. He mentally went over the plan several times, making sure there were no omissions before going to sleep.

The following day, Pei Han dispatched a small force to gather intelligence in the vicinity, while most of the officers and soldiers remained at the camp to rest and recuperate in preparation for the upcoming battle.

All the officers and soldiers sensed the impending storm, but they were not afraid at all; in fact, some were even eager to try. Even while resting and on guard in the camp, they were enthusiastically discussing the bright prospects after defeating the bandits.

The most excited were the soldiers from Sanping County. They had blind faith in Pei Han, firmly believing that any bandits their masters wanted to deal with would have no chance of escaping.

"You have no idea how powerful our superiors are! Back in Sanping County, the patrol office was reduced to just a dozen or so men, and even the former patrol inspector had run away. Weren't the people there just at the mercy of the bandits?"

The man who spoke glanced smugly at the newly recruited soldiers around him. Seeing that they were all listening attentively, he continued, "But everything changed after Lord Pei arrived. We now have so many brothers, and we have all the weapons we need. Do you know how long it took us to wipe out all the bandits in the county?"

The surrounding soldiers were intrigued and shook their heads, some even urging, "How long did it take? Tell us quickly!"

The man proudly held up one finger, "One day, just one day, and we captured all the bandits in the county. We wiped out all three of their hideouts in one fell swoop!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd; everyone, whether they had participated before or were hearing about it for the first time, became excited.

"As expected of our Lord Pei, he dealt with the bandits with such efficiency and decisiveness!"

"Wow, these guys are awesome! It's so much fun following Lord Pei!"

The soldiers of Sanping County held their heads high with pride, each with an arrogant expression that said, "This is nothing, just a piece of cake."

The next day at daybreak, all the officers and soldiers quickly ate a hearty breakfast and, under Pei Han's orderly arrangements, went to their respective destinations.

Pei Han personally led the team that was disguised as mountain people delivering supplies. This was the most crucial and dangerous part, and Pei Han decided to take charge himself.

Before leaving, to put Min Yueqing's mind at ease, Pei Han only said briefly to her, "Madam, wait for my good news!"

His tone and expression were very relaxed and confident, as if this trip was not to suppress bandits, but just an ordinary outing.

What Min Yueqing really wanted to say was, "Why don't you stay and take care of the child, and I'll go instead?" But she bit her tongue, suppressing this inappropriate impulse.