The roads in the mountains are rugged and cannot walk everywhere. Even bandits who are best at walking on the mountain roads must pay attention to their feet. If they are not careful, they will fall and fall. Taishici's subordinates occupy the favorable terrain and shoot with crossbows. They almost don't have to move their nests and concentrate on shooting. They are fast and accurate. Although the bandits also have crossbows, their homemade bamboo and wooden crossbows cannot be compared with standard weapons, and they do not have a suitable formation, so they cannot form effective killing. After a short period of time, they were shot and killed. The remaining people were hopeless to win and fled in panic.

The drum sounded again, and the soldiers around Taishici began to chase them. They were in groups of three or five, with swords and shields in front and crossbowmen behind. In addition to being responsible for cover, the swords and shields were also responsible for cleaning up the left-behind bandits. Most of these bandits were scared out of their courage and had no intention of fighting again, just wanting to escape. Even some of the brave ones were not the opponents of these soldiers who cooperated with tacit understanding, either being chopped to the ground or being shot by the crossbows.

After a round of drums, the encirclement narrowed. Taishici ordered to stop moving forward and hurry up and adjust the formation. He did not require him to be responsible for these things. Every sergeant, all the chief, knew what to do. In this kind of terrain combat, three or five people could control a node, and there were only thirty or fifty people in his sight. The chief of the treasury was the supreme commander. The role of flags and drums was greatly reduced, and shouting and gestures were the most effective way of communication.

A quarter of an hour later, the sound of ready-made war drums rang out, and Taishici once again issued an order to attack.

The encirclement narrowed again, although it was slow, but very determined. The bandits panicked and tried their best to break through, but all four exits were blocked. Although they rushed to the front of the crossbowman, they could not break through and block it, but instead were exposed to the crossbowman. Most of them could not touch the sword and shield hands and fell under the arrow. The bodies were stacked and the corpses were piled up. Soon a high corpse wall was piled up at the entrance of the valley. Blood gathered together and meandered along the hillside. The injured bandits let out desperate wails, crying and asking for help from their companions, hoping that someone could save their lives.

The drums rang out one after another, the encirclement became smaller and smaller, and more and more bandits fell down. When all the bandits were blocked in a valley of more than a hundred steps, the bandits were desperate, and they put down their weapons and kneeled down to surrender. Several sect generals were standing in the crowd with their faces as if dead.

Taishici immediately announced the conditions for surrender. Those who killed Zong Shuai could get a hundred acres of land, and those who killed Xiao Shuai could get a dozen acres of land.

Before he finished speaking, several Zongshu were chopped down to the ground, not even a single body. Not only Zongshu, but also Xiaoshuo, but any bandits with some official positions were cut down, and they even knelt down and surrendered. So far, the bandits were completely destroyed, and the rest were all mobs, and they could only be at the mercy of Taishi Ci.

According to Sun Ce's established policy, all the bandits who were defeated and surrendered were not allowed to stay at the original site. Except for the generals who led their troops to surrender, all the others were moved to the military farm. Taishi Ci took the prisoners out of the mountain, identified them, and placed them separately.

At this time, Yu Fan rushed to Yin County and conveyed Sun Ce's order, asking Taishi Ci to complete the task of suppressing the bandits and head north as soon as possible. Taishi Ci was overjoyed and handed over the matter at hand to Yu Fan, and set off immediately with his personal guards.

——

Five days later, Taishici arrived in Qian Tang and met He Qi while staying in the inn.

He Qi was very surprised. He had always been very concerned about Taishi Ci. When Sun Ce met him for the first time, he compared him with Taishi Ci. Invisibly, they had become competitors. He knew Taishi Ci's mission, and originally thought that Taishi Ci was still fighting in the mountains and might not be able to complete the task within the agreed half a year. He was from Kuaiji and had served as a county magistrate. He was too clear about the details of these bandits. It was not that they could not defeat it, but that they could not be eliminated. Taishi Ci was a foreigner with only three hundred pieces available, so it was impossible to complete the task within half a year.

He Qi took the initiative to invite Taishi Ci to drink. Taishi Ci also knew that Sun Ce had a high evaluation of He Qi and happily went to the appointment. This was the first time the two met in private. At first, they were inevitably a little restrained. After drinking for three rounds, their minds were slightly less alert, and they were similar in their ambitions. The two became enthusiastic. He Qi asked about Taishi Ci's mission. Taishi Ci did not hide it and roughly explained the results of his combat in the past six months.

He Qi stopped the cup and looked at Taishi Ci carefully. He didn't doubt Taishi Ci, but felt it was too incredible. It took only five months before and Taishi Ci fought in a mountain with a radius of hundreds of miles, and he defeated it, and he killed his chief in every battle. If it were only occasionally, He Qi was confident that he could do it, but it would be a bit scary every time he fought.

"I dare to ask my brother to say more." He Qi bowed and bowed solemnly.

Taishi Ci quickly put down the wine glass and returned the gift. After understanding He Qi's doubts, he laughed silently. He knew that He Qi was also an expert in mountain warfare, and was proficient in training. His soldiers were all elite. Compared with ordinary people, he was already a master. However, He Qi had never encountered a truly powerful opponent, so he failed to force out all his potential. He was still some distance from his true peak.

This is the distance between a master and a top master.

For example, He Qi was almost the same as he was a few months ago. He rarely met an opponent, but he did not meet a match-up opponent. The opponents were too weak and could win at any time. It was not until he met Zulang, especially when he was blocked by Zulang in the village for two days, and watched Zulang kill Chen Bai, Wan Bing and others, and severely injured Shi Jian. He realized that winning became extremely difficult. He had to use all his strength, rack his brains, and put in countless hardships and patience to have a front line. Even so, it was very difficult for him to win a victory. Walking on the edge of life and death every day was not only a physical test, but also a psychological test for him.

In those two short months, his progress was even greater than in the past ten years.

"Brother Gong Miao, if you want to become a master, you will be talented and hardworking, and you will not be neglected. If you have talent or not, you will only achieve small achievements and it will be difficult to enter the hall. Without talent, it is difficult to see the wonders of the hall by just working hard. With talent and hard work, you can be outstanding and difficult to find opponents. Without an opponent with equal strength, it is difficult to give your all. Even if you have amazing skills, you will not have the opportunity to use them."

He Qi smiled and said, "I would like to ask Ziyi to give me some advice."

Taishi Ci pondered for a moment. "I have crossed the river for less than a year, and have more than a hundred battles, especially the two months I fought with Zulang, which benefited a lot. But the battle that impressed me the most was the battle where I failed to ambush General Sun. If Brother Gong Miao is interested, I might as well tell you something."

He Qi laughed and slapped the table and shouted, "I'm not hiding it from Ziyi, I've heard some of it. If I could listen to Ziyi's personal explanation, it would be even more interesting."
Chapter completed!