The bandits of Black Head Mountain were truly arrogant when they were rampant, but their downfall was also swift.
As soon as the Qin army appeared, they were practically wiped out.
With their fighting capabilities, they were no match for the Qin army.
The soldiers of Qin subdued them with ease in just one engagement.
Especially their leader, who was captured on the spot by Lin Tian, which further changed the situation.
In less than half a day, the common people around Black Head Mountain all understood that the bandits of Black Head Mountain had been annihilated.
Upon hearing this news, many of them could not believe it.
Then, each of them showed immense joy.
"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! The bandits of Black Head Mountain are gone, and we are truly safe!"
"Wuwuwu! I knew the Crown Prince remembered us, I knew the Crown Prince wouldn't abandon us. Indeed, my thoughts were correct!"
"Finally, those bandits are gone, and we no longer have to fear them. We can finally live peaceful lives. This is truly the Crown Prince's grace upon all of us!"
Every one of these commoners was filled with joy.
After all, with the bandits gone, no one could threaten their safety.
Even if they had stored grain at home, no one would steal it.
They wouldn't even have to move their homes and flee to other regions.
Just thinking about this made them incredibly excited.
Because of this, they were extremely grateful to Lin Tian and the Qin army.
"Fortunately, the Crown Prince is here, otherwise, we would not have overcome our hardships!"
"Yes! Thankfully, our Qin army is strong enough, otherwise, we would still be suffering from bandit harassment!"
"I just hope our Qin becomes stronger and our lives more stable!"
A stable life was undoubtedly the simplest desire for the common people.
And this simplest desire was also the most genuine need for them.
If they couldn't even achieve such a simple need, their sense of happiness would be completely gone.
Fortunately, at this time, Lin Tian gave them enough happiness, allowing them to regain confidence in their lives.
And this sense of happiness was just the beginning. Black Head Mountain was also just a beginning.
After Lin Tian led the army to destroy Black Head Mountain, he immediately dispatched troops to another mountain.
The bandits did not initially notice the actions of Lin Tian and his men.
Many of them still didn't feel the presence of danger and continued their usual activities of burning, killing, and looting.
After all, the Qin territory had expanded, and there were fewer soldiers domestically.
In such a situation, even if they acted recklessly, no one could manage them.
Since that was the case, why should they restrain themselves?
Therefore, each and every one of them acted wantonly and killed arbitrarily.
However, several days later, they heard a piece of news.
It was that Lin Tian was leading the Qin army to suppress bandits everywhere.
This news shocked the bandits.
"What? Suppressing bandits everywhere? Could it be that they are coming for us?"
"Judging by Lin Tian's momentum, it's clear he doesn't intend to spare us. It's only a matter of time before they come for us!"
"What? They will definitely come for us? Then we should flee quickly, we can't stay here!"
Many of these bandits were simply thugs, capable of dealing with ordinary civilians, but when facing a real army, they were like cooked ducks.
Many of them were not even as formidable as the bandits of Black Head Mountain.
In this situation, if the Qin army attacked, they would have no chance of survival.
Once a real fight broke out, they would be doomed.
Because of this, upon learning that the Qin army was coming, their first reaction was to flee.
They believed that only by fleeing would they be safe.
Only by fleeing would they not die.
However, this statement was immediately refuted.
"Flee? Where can we flee? The Qin army is currently suppressing bandits everywhere. If we flee to another place, won't the Qin army hunt us down?"
"Given Lin Tian's current pace of suppression, he will definitely hunt us down. Even if we flee in any direction, he won't let us go!"
"Ah! Then what should we do? We can't just wait here to die!"
Knowing there was nowhere to flee, many of them panicked.
Although they were a group of bandits who had committed many evil deeds, they were also extremely afraid of death.
Now that they felt a deadly threat approaching, many of them became chaotic.
They had no idea what they should do next.
They had no idea how they could survive.
Even many of them instinctively wanted to surrender.
They thought that perhaps by surrendering, they might have a chance to live.
However, this idea was too naive.
Since Lin Tian had decided to act against them, he naturally would not give them any chance to surrender.
After all, they were all criminals who had committed great sins. If surrender could save their lives, then what would deter others?
They would just surrender directly when the army arrived.
Therefore, what Lin Tian wanted to do this time was to instill fear in those who committed crimes.
Only by making them fearful would they stop committing crimes.
Otherwise, Great Qin would never be peaceful.
Some of the bandits understood this principle, so they did not mention surrender.
After thinking for a while, a portion of them spoke:
"Since we cannot escape, we can only hide!"
"Hide? How do we hide?"
"We can disguise ourselves as commoners and hide everywhere. Even if those Qin soldiers come looking for us, they definitely won't be able to confirm our existence!"
"At that time, a large portion of us will surely survive!"
"And when this storm passes, we can rise again and dominate the region once more!"
There were many benefits to being a bandit, for example, they could obtain a large amount of wealth without experiencing hard labor.
This feeling of effortless gain was too addictive.
Therefore, even though these bandits felt a deadly threat approaching, they were still unwilling to give up their life as bandits.
They even thought about resuming their old ways after Lin Tian's army retreated.
It had to be said that their thoughts were incredibly wild.
And it fully revealed the greed in their hearts.
...