Just as Min Yueqing had suspected, Pei Han had been extremely busy ever since entering the city. Even picking them up was something he had squeezed out of his busy schedule.

The bandits stayed in the city for two or three months, causing enormous damage to Maocheng.

After entering the city, the bandits first attacked the government offices, then the wealthy and powerful, and then the ordinary people's homes. There was basically no house that the bandits had not visited.

When bandits broke into a villager's home, their first act was to plunder money and valuables, and then they would kidnap people.

If anyone resisted, this vicious band of bandits would kill them on the spot, and sometimes they would retaliate by setting fire to houses. This burning would inevitably affect neighboring houses.

Many residents of the city were left homeless and forced to sleep on the streets.

Most of the young women in the city were abducted to the strongholds of the mountain bandits, which were the various government offices and the homes of some wealthy families.

As for the other ordinary residents, they initially stayed at home in fear, afraid to go out. But even so, the greedy bandits did not let them go.

Not content with occupying the grain stores, wealthy households, and government offices, the bandits also seized the grain stored in ordinary people's homes.

There was no land to cultivate in the city, and they had to buy all their food. Now, the bandits had robbed most of their stored grain and taken control of the grain shops, effectively cutting off their livelihood.

Within half a month, the people had consumed all the food they had left in their homes. Starving, they had no choice but to beg the bandits for alms, and whether this would work depended entirely on the bandits' mood.

During this period, the people in the city have suffered greatly both physically and mentally.

So the first thing Pei Han did after clearing out the bandits during the day was to order his soldiers to move the grain from the bandits' various strongholds and distribute it to the people in the city.

For the homeless people, Pei Han ordered the cook to prepare porridge and then notified them to come and collect it.

"Everyone has heard that the bandits have been defeated by our newly appointed Prefect of Qingzhou, Lord Pei, who led his troops. The bandits will never be able to do evil again! The magistrate knows that you are out of food, so he specially ordered us to come and inform you to go to the gate of the prefectural government to collect your food!"

The people of Maocheng, who were staying indoors, were incredulous when they heard the soldiers beating drums and gongs in the street. They peeked through their doors, wondering if it was just another trick by the bandits to lure them in.

When they saw the officers and soldiers in military uniforms, many of them subconsciously rubbed their eyes. After rubbing their eyes, they looked again and saw that the people beating drums and gongs outside were still upright officers and soldiers.

The people then tentatively began to have a bold guess: Had the imperial court sent troops to rescue us?

Moreover, these officers and soldiers said that the newly appointed Lord Pei would distribute rations to us. How could that be false?

Clinging to a sliver of hope that "what if it's true?", people from each household gradually stepped out of their homes and cautiously made their way to the government office.

More and more people gathered on the streets of Maocheng. As they walked, they looked around and soon discovered that there was no trace of bandits on the streets.

Instead, there were squads of soldiers patrolling around with weapons, which made people feel very reassured.

Upon arriving at the government office, people were overjoyed to see large sacks of grain piled on the ground. Most of them were so happy that they were incoherent and kept shedding tears.

After the people expressed their deepest gratitude to the officers and soldiers before them, they each received their grain.

The only exception was the people living near the city gate. During the day, they could hear the chaotic and intense fighting outside. Even through a wall, they were terrified, afraid of being caught in the fighting.

Only after the fighting stopped did they dare climb over the wall of their house to see what was happening outside. To their shock, they found a large group of bandits who usually swaggered around lying on the ground, and the ground was stained red.

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the soldiers beating gongs and drums, they immediately ran out of their homes with great joy and excitedly kowtowed to the soldiers to express their gratitude.

While addressing the urgent survival issues of the city's residents, Pei Han ordered the release of all the women who had been imprisoned, allowing them to return home.

Soon, a soldier reported to Pei Han: "Sir, some of the women are not from the city, but were kidnapped by bandits from nearby villages. They dare not go home on their own."

Pei Han immediately said to the three soldiers accompanying him, "Each of you lead a team and make sure they get home safely before dark."

At this point, Pei Han suddenly remembered something and added, "We moved a lot of meat and vegetables from the mountain people during the day to disguise our identities. You can also send some money to each family while you're at it."

The three soldiers accepted the order and left.

When the villagers from the three nearby villages saw that all the women of their families had been safely escorted back by the soldiers, and learned that all the bandits in Maocheng had been captured and could no longer oppress them, they all burst into tears.

The villagers were stunned when the soldiers left behind a sum of money before they left, saying it was for meat and vegetables from Lord Pei.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is the first time in their lives that they have received money from the government. In the past, it was considered very good if the officials and soldiers did not ask them for money.

The villagers from the three mountain strongholds couldn't help but exclaim from the bottom of their hearts, "This time, the adults are truly different..."

Pei Han's situation is far from over. Some of the original soldiers in the city have been killed or fled, and all government agencies are paralyzed. All the affairs have fallen on his shoulders.

Yes, the imperial court has once again left him to clean up this mess alone, and there is currently no appointment for a prefect of Qingzhou.

For several days in a row, Pei Han returned home late at night and left again at dawn. He didn't always stay in the government office; instead, he frequently needed to personally inspect various parts of the city to make appropriate arrangements.

At first, Pei Ji couldn't see Pei Han at all because Pei Han left early and returned late. When Pei Han left in the morning, Pei Ji hadn't even gotten up yet, and Pei Ji really couldn't stay up that late at night.

After this situation continued for three days, Pei Ji learned his lesson. Since he couldn't wait for Pei Han to come back at night, he simply stopped waiting and went to bed early so that he could wake up earlier the next day.

When Pei Ji woke up on the fourth day, it was still not fully light.

His first reaction after opening his eyes was to look to the left, and sure enough, he saw Pei Han.

The room was rather dark. Pei Ji carefully turned over and lay down next to Pei Han's face, staring at Pei Han's face with her big, unusual eyes.

Min Yueqing only gets to see Pei Han briefly at midnight and early morning each day, so she's gotten used to going to bed late and waking up early. However, she can catch up on sleep during the day, something Pei Han can't do.

Min Yueqing woke up a little later than Pei Ji. As soon as she opened her eyes, she found her little darling lying next to Pei Han's head with a lovesick expression on his face, and she almost burst out laughing.