409: Chapter 409 Guerrilla Warfare

"That makes sense!"

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor and General Wang Jian's eyes both lit up.

Zhao Fusu continued, "Once we identify the heinous bandit factions and eliminate them in accordance with the people's will, it will surely earn us their praise. Consequently, the anti-Qin sentiment among the populace will be significantly reduced!"

"Mm-hmm!"

After listening, the First Emperor couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Having made a decision, Zhao Fusu immediately took action.

He sent word to Li Si, instructing him to issue rewards in every commandery and county Inside the Pass to tally the bandit forces within each area.

Li Si passed Zhao Fusu's orders down to the National Assembly.

Since everyone was now working in a centralized manner, their efficiency was high.

The news was disseminated by posting public notices and publishing it in the Newspaper.

Under the promise of heavy rewards, brave souls emerged; many commoners went to the government offices to provide the information they knew.

Many of them had suffered deeply from banditry, so they harbored a profound hatred for those bandits who claimed mountains as their own.

A man dressed as a local squire rushed into the county yamen and said to the County Magistrate with a face full of grief and indignation, "I am reporting bandits on Mount Zhuque! There are at least several hundred of them. They attacked my Zhu family's wedding procession and kidnapped our bride to be the Chief Bandit of Mount Zhuque's wife!"

"Very well, this County Magistrate understands."

Liu Liang said, "I will report this to my superiors."

Liu Liang's memorial was forwarded to the National Assembly. Carrying the memorial, Li Si personally went to the Black Dragon Special Forces Brigade's station to find Zhao Fusu.

"Mount Zhuque!"

After reading the memorial, Zhao Fusu asked, "Do we know how many bandits are entrenched on Mount Zhuque?"

Li Si said with a somber expression, "The Zhu family is a prominent household, and their wedding procession consisted of three to four hundred people. This time, they were completely surrounded while passing Mount Zhuque, which indicates their numbers far exceed three or four hundred—perhaps reaching a thousand!"

"So many!"

Zhao Fusu was startled. This was Inside the Pass; he hadn't expected such a large bandit force to still exist here.

Li Si said, "Mount Zhuque is high and the forests are dense. The County Lieutenant has led troops to attack several times, but as soon as they see the government soldiers coming, they dive into the mountains and vanish."

"A thousand people might seem like a lot, but if they are scattered across a mountain range spanning hundreds of miles, it's very difficult to find them."

"Oh!"

Zhao Fusu said with a look of realization, "This is 'when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance.'"

These bandits are fighting a guerrilla war against the Government Army!

Come to think of it, the Great Man's guerrilla warfare tactics were also learned from bandits.

"Correct."

Li Si said, "That's why this group of bandits is so hard to eliminate. Bandits who can't survive elsewhere keep flocking to Mount Zhuque, causing their power to grow continuously."

"In other words, if we want to defeat the bandits entrenched on Mount Zhuque, we first need to find where their lair is located."

Zhao Fusu said thoughtfully.

They had Hot Air Balloons; as long as they spent enough time on reconnaissance, they should be able to find where these people were hunkered down.

When the time came, they would dispatch a small unit of over a hundred men to strike directly at the bandits' gathering point, rescue the kidnapped bride first, and then send in the main army for a full-scale suppression.

After finalizing the plan of action, Zhao Fusu immediately notified the Great Qin Empire's Heavenly Palace Force to conduct aerial reconnaissance over Mount Zhuque, mapping from high altitude while locating the bandits' den.

After the bandits successfully kidnapped the Zhu family's bride and returned to their stronghold, the entire camp erupted into a frenzy. A large group of bandits crowded around the Chief Bandit, clamoring all at once.

"Chief Bandit, you've got yourself a wife for the stronghold, but many of us brothers are still bachelors! We haven't even had a taste of 'meat' yet, not even a whiff of it!"

A bandit with a fleshy, scarred face shouted at the top of his lungs, his face filled with dissatisfaction and urgency.

"Exactly! The Chief Bandit can't just think about his own enjoyment!"

Another tall, thin bandit chimed in, brandishing the large blade in his hand as if to emphasize his demand.

"That's right!"

The crowd of bandits echoed in agreement, their loud shouts reverberating through the valley, carrying a chilling arrogance and savagery.

Standing in the center of the stronghold, the Chief Bandit—who had been immersed in the joy of capturing a beauty—grew somewhat impatient with the sudden ruckus.

But as he turned to look at his men, who were like a pack of wolves and tigers, he thought to himself that if he didn't agree, it might disrupt the harmony among his brothers.

"Fine!"

The Chief Bandit gave a wide wave of his hand, a fierce smile appearing on his face.

He said, "We'll go attack a few villages right now and snatch some women so you can all have a taste!"

Upon hearing this, the bandits immediately cheered, their ugly faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

They brandished their weapons as if they could already see the prey that was about to be theirs.

"Alright! The Chief Bandit is wise!"

The shouts of the bandits rose and fell, and the entire stronghold was permeated with an aura of bloodthirst and evil.