7: Chapter 7 The First Bandit Suppression

The victory in the Nanshan bandit suppression spread like a gust of wind throughout the entire South.

The commoners ran to tell each other: "The Governor's son led three thousand of the New Army and wiped out a three-thousand-strong bandit den in Nanshan in just three hours, without losing a single soldier!"

The name of Li Ling rang out across this land for the first time.

But Li Ling did not immerse himself in the joy of victory. The day after the bandit suppression ended, he gathered the officers to review the entire battle process.

"What was the key to the success of this bandit suppression?" Li Ling asked.

The officers chimed in one after another: good weapons, well-trained, proper tactics, effective artillery...

Li Ling listened and shook his head.

"None of those are correct. The key to success is information."

He pointed to the sand table.

"I knew the terrain of Nanshan, the bandits' troop strength, equipment, defensive layout, and even what time they changed guards every morning. Yet the bandits knew nothing about us. This is an information gap. An information gap is the greatest advantage on the battlefield."

After saying this, Li Ling turned to look at the system's prompt in his mind.

"System, is there any way for me to obtain more intelligence? For example, monitoring their movements without the enemy knowing?"

"The host can unlock reconnaissance technology. Under the current technology tree, hot air balloon reconnaissance and camera reconnaissance can be unlocked. Higher-level satellite reconnaissance requires the host to achieve greater accomplishments before it can be unlocked."

"Hot air balloons? Too backward. Cameras? Not as good as hot air balloons." Li Ling frowned. "Is there radio monitoring?"

"It requires unlocking radio technology, which is expected to be obtained after the host achieves the 'Establish a Modern Communication System' accomplishment."

"Fine, note it down for now."

After the review meeting ended, Li Ling began to deal with the more than 2,800 captured bandits.

Following his instructions, the officers conducted a strict screening of these captives.

The process was cruel.

They let the commoners who had been persecuted by the bandits identify them; who had killed, who had robbed, who had violated women—it was all clear at a glance.

Ultimately, the screening results: three hundred and twenty ringleaders and core members; over two thousand five hundred coerced followers.

The three hundred and twenty ringleaders were all beheaded.

On the day of the execution, Li Ling did not go to watch. But in the military camp, hearing the wailing coming from the foot of the mountain, his expression remained calm, and the pen in his hand as he reviewed official documents did not stop.

"System, am I, the host, more ruthless than you expected?"

"Host, the system has no preset standard for 'ruthlessness'. However, the system can confirm that every decision made by the host is the optimal choice under the current conditions. Kindness requires the support of strength; when strength is insufficient, kindness is weakness."

"You are right." Li Ling put down his pen and stood up. "Let's go, let's go see those who are willing to be incorporated."

The more than two thousand five hundred coerced followers were organized into five battalions, and Li Ling sent officers to carry out reform and training.

These people were not strong in combat, but they had the advantage of being familiar with the local terrain and the bandit situation, and could be used as auxiliary troops in the future.

Most importantly—Li Ling wanted to use them to figure out the distribution of banditry throughout the entire southern region.

"You were bandits in Nanshan before; how much do you know about other bandits in the surrounding areas?" Li Ling asked an older captive.

The captive was trembling with fear: "Back... back to you, my lord, there are three other large bandit groups around Nanshan. Eighty miles to the north is Qinglong Mountain, with over two thousand people; the leader is called Zhao Tiezhu. One hundred and twenty miles to the east is Phoenix Ridge, with over one thousand five hundred people; the leader is called Sun Dabiao. Sixty miles to the west is Black Wind Stronghold, with about one thousand people; the leader is called Liu Heiqi."

Li Ling wrote down this information.

The three bandit groups added up to over four thousand five hundred people, even more than the Nanshan group.

But Li Ling did not intend to act immediately.

Although the Nanshan bandit suppression was a victory, it was because of the information gap. Now that these three bandit groups had surely received the news, they would definitely strengthen their defenses. If they attacked rashly, there would likely be casualties.

"Rest and build up energy first, wait for the opportunity." Li Ling said to the officers, "Send people to keep an eye on these three bandit groups and figure out their background. When the time is ripe, wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

After handling the prisoner matter, Li Ling rode his horse to the underground Production Base in the warehouse west of the city.

This base was located under an abandoned warehouse west of the city, and the entrance was hidden very well. It took a lot of effort for Li Ling to find it—in a corner piled with miscellaneous items, there was a loose floor tile; lifting the tile revealed a set of stairs leading downward.

Walking down, there was another huge underground space.

This base was a bit smaller than the one outside the city, but the equipment was just as complete. A Hand grenade production line was running, and a landmine production line had just started debugging.

"System, how many Hand grenades can this base produce in a day?"

"Running at full capacity, it can produce 1,000 wooden-handled Hand grenades and 200 landmines per day."

"That's enough." Li Ling nodded. "Store these Hand grenades and landmines for now, and use them when needed."

He walked around the base, and after confirming that everything was normal, he returned to the surface.

The sky had already darkened. Li Ling was riding his horse slowly back when he passed a small alley and heard crying inside.

He reined in his horse and listened intently.

It was the sound of a woman crying, very suppressed and very desperate.

Li Ling hesitated for a moment, but still dismounted and walked into the alley.

Deep in the alley, a young woman wearing coarse cloth clothes was crouching on the ground, holding a child and crying. The child was about three or four years old, sallow and thin, and had already fainted.

"What's wrong?" Li Ling squatted down and asked softly.

The woman looked up, saw Li Ling's military uniform, was startled, and quickly knelt: "My lord, please spare me! This commoner woman didn't mean to cry here; it's just that the child is starving..."

Li Ling took a dry ration bag from his horse's back and handed it to her: "Give the child something to eat."

The woman thanked him profusely as she took the ration bag, broke off a small piece of steamed bun, and fed it to the child. The child took two bites, slowly opened his eyes, and weakly called out "Mother".

"Where is your husband?" Li Ling asked.

"Dead." The woman's tears flowed down again. "He was captured by bandits last year to build a stronghold and fell to his death. I am alone with the child, with nothing to eat or drink, so I had to come out to beg."

Li Ling was silent for a while, then took a few taels of broken silver from his pocket and handed them to her.

"Take this, find a place to stay, and wait for better days."

The woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "My lord, which unit are you from? This commoner woman will definitely repay you in the future."

"I am Li Ling." Li Ling stood up, mounted his horse, "No need to repay me, just live well."

He rode away without looking back.

But after returning to the barracks, he lay on the bed for a long time, his mind constantly thinking of the woman's crying.

"System, how many people like her are there?"

"In the current Qingxia Kingdom, the number of commoners displaced by banditry, war, and bullying by foreign powers is conservatively estimated to be over twenty million."

Twenty million.

Li Ling closed his eyes.

"I will put an end to all of this."

"Host, the system believes in you."