"I've decided, I will kill all the bandits and robbers in this world." Xu Xing said seriously, her face filled with determination.
After witnessing the conditions in the bandit stronghold with her own eyes, Xu Xing finally understood one thing: there was no need for bandits in this world. She regretted clashing with Shen Feng before. Shen Feng had said that killing all the bandits was a fitting course of action, yet she had obstructed him. This was truly a lack of judgment.
When people think of bandits, they often focus on the word "bandit" itself, but they should pay more attention to the word "local." "Local" signifies that they are fixed to a certain area, thus harming the local population. Compared to bandits, robbers are less harmful because they are highly mobile. This mobility implies that their scale would not be particularly large; if their scale were too large, mobility would be compromised.
Bandits are what are known as "sedentary bandits." They do not engage in production and instead plunder everywhere. Many movies and TV shows have romanticized bandits. It's not impossible that there are truly bandits in the world who act with integrity and never raid villages, but how many are there in the world? If bandits don't rob, how can they survive? Therefore, the appearance of bandits signifies plunder. If there's nothing to eat in the mountains, they'll eat from the villages below or from passersby.
In just a few minutes, Xu Xing's thoughts became clear. At this moment, she understood that there was no need for bandits in this world, and from now on, she would kill any bandits she encountered without mercy.
Chu Chaoyan heard Xu Xing's plan and shook her head helplessly, saying, "You young girl, your ideas are too simple. There are thousands upon thousands of bandits in this world. Not to mention Wuling Mountain, which has tens of thousands of bandits. Besides Wuling Mountain, are there none in Wushan? None in Taihang Mountain? Further away, none in the Greater Khingan Range? All the bandits combined, if not a million, then fifty thousand, right? Can you kill them all?"
In reality, Chu Chaoyan was understating the number of bandits. The peak number of bandits in history was probably during the Republic of China era, when a single province had two to three hundred thousand bandits. With such a large number, it was fortunate that they were all captured during the bandit suppression wars.
The elimination of bandits was also carried out with the support of the people. At that time, the masses were mobilized, carrying torches everywhere to hunt down bandits. Villages set up checkpoints to search, leaving bandits nowhere to hide. Within a few years, bandits gradually disappeared, only to reappear with the advent of the apocalypse.
After hearing Chu Chaoyan's description, Xu Xing did not change her mind. Instead, she said seriously, "Madam, no matter how many bandits there are in this world, I will kill them. If there are fifty thousand, I will kill fifty thousand. If there are one million, I will kill one million! Until there are no bandits left in this world."
Chu Chaoyan was helpless and did not want to dampen Xu Xing's confidence at this moment. She could only smile and say, "Then good luck. I admire your attitude, but I don't think you can succeed."
There are always many people in this world who act on an ideal, and many of them will talk about it. However, after three minutes of enthusiasm, they lose all feeling and think that their previous ideal was just a momentary impulse. In reality, such talk is merely an excuse to avoid effort, and they say it was an impulse only because they don't want to work hard.
Chu Chaoyan did not believe that Xu Xing, a girl of fifteen or sixteen, had truly decided to do something great. People of Xu Xing's age are prone to fantasy, and she might be able to persist for a month or two, but what about after that time? It was unclear whether she could persevere.
At that moment, Chu Chaoyan did not dampen Xu Xing's enthusiasm. She glanced at her watch and realized it was getting late. It was time to hurry back, otherwise, it might cause trouble. So, she gathered a few pitiful women from the mountain and prepared to take them away for resettlement.
Xu Xing, however, had truly taken it to heart. After seeing how many people suffered because of bandits, Xu Xing's sense of chivalry surged. Before, she didn't know what it meant to punish evil and promote good. She always felt that as long as she fought alongside the City Lord, it was punishing evil and promoting good, because the City Lord was doing the greatest good in the world, killing zombies, mutated beasts, and even fighting terrifying sea beasts at sea. That was true heroism.
But now, Xu Xing finally realized that a true hero must actively rescue the weak, and bandits were the greatest harm to the weak. Therefore, killing bandits was an urgent matter.
With this thought, Xu Xing quickly found Shen Feng when she returned to the convoy. Without a word, she knelt down and bowed before Shen Feng.
Shen Feng was startled by Xu Xing's move and then looked at Chu Chaoyan in confusion, asking, "Chaoyan, did you brainwash Xu Xing? Even if she realized her mistake, a simple apology would suffice. Why the kneeling?"
Chu Chaoyan didn't know what was happening and quickly explained, "I don't know either. I didn't ask her to kneel. Xu Xing, get up quickly!"
After speaking, Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but step forward to help Xu Xing up. It was just an apology, why kneel? A man only kneels for heaven and earth. Although Xu Xing was a woman, kneeling was not something to be done casually.
Xu Xing did not get up, but seriously said to Shen Feng, "City Lord, please allow me to go and kill bandits. I know that bandits are harming people in this world, and I cannot tolerate such things. I want to truly punish evil and promote good."
Shen Feng fell silent upon hearing this request. He hadn't expected Xu Xing to make such a demand.
Shen Feng had high hopes for Xu Xing. That's why, after obtaining Meng Weichang's nature-type ability, he let Xu Xing use it, hoping that she would grow into a capable individual. Moreover, Xu Xing had always held a sense of admiration for him, and this feeling had to be considered.
But now Xu Xing said she wanted to go kill bandits, which meant she would have to leave Yuzhou frequently.
Shen Feng did not want Xu Xing to be away from Yuzhou often, so he couldn't help but say, "You should think about this carefully. When we return to Yuzhou, you will be able to calm down. As for bandits, as long as we issue a few bounty missions, mercenaries will be the first to suppress these robbers. You don't need to do this. With your ability, you have many more places to utilize it."
Shen Feng did not directly refuse Xu Xing's proposal but gave her time to think carefully. If Xu Xing regretted it, the matter would be considered unsaid. However, if Xu Xing still insisted, Shen Feng would have to find a solution that benefited both sides.
"Thank you, City Lord. I will not change my mind. I will save the suffering people of this world, and I will kill the bandits who ride on the necks of the weak," Xu Xing quickly said.
Chu Chaoyan also quickly helped Xu Xing up from the ground. After all, she was an ability user, and she couldn't kneel down so easily, as it would damage an ability user's dignity.
Shen Feng was helpless about Xu Xing's request. He originally hoped that Xu Xing would grow into a strong person and help him. She was someone he was diligently cultivating. It was a pity that she now had her own independent views and wanted to go kill bandits, which was beyond Shen Feng's expectations.
Chu Chaoyan took the opportunity to quietly say to Shen Feng, "Xu Xing's mother is staying in Yuzhou. As long as she is in Yuzhou, Xu Xing will not go too far."
Shen Feng nodded, understanding Chu Chaoyan's meaning.
When the first batch of grain, over a hundred tons of rice, was transported to Yuzhou, Yang Chang and Guo Pinming immediately set off with eight thousand regular troops. Ten thousand mercenaries who had accepted missions also accompanied them.
Before the two departed, Shen Feng patiently instructed, "When you encounter trouble, discuss it together. I need to arrange the autumn harvest these two days and will rendezvous with you in a few days. Remember, move at night and rest during the day. Once you enter Dabashan, fight at night and rest during the day."
Guo Pinming was confused and asked, "City Lord, are you worried about being discovered by headquarters? But I want to point out that even if we act at night, headquarters will still notice."
As a veteran, Guo Pinming was well aware of the capabilities of satellites. With nearly twenty thousand people moving, headquarters couldn't possibly not know. Trying to conceal their actions through nighttime operations seemed to be underestimating satellites too much.
Shen Feng quickly explained, "That's not the reason. This was Professor Niu's idea. Most birds have very poor vision at night, almost equivalent to being blind. Of course, if birds of prey that are active at night, like owls, appear, and you enter the mountains, acting at night, the birds will see nothing, and the chances of being ambushed will be minimal."
Hearing Shen Feng's explanation, Guo Pinming finally understood the reason. It turned out to be a strategy targeting the weakness of birds. Fighting at night was indeed a challenge.
"I understand. We will do our best. However, we hope to be guaranteed equipment like flashlights, otherwise, in the forest at night, not only are the birds blind, but we are also blind," Guo Pinming quickly said.
"Don't worry, I will coordinate with the surrounding power stations to ensure your electricity supply. Just don't make any mistakes. If you encounter anything unusual in the mountains, you must report it," Shen Feng said seriously.
Guo Pinming and Yang Chang both nodded in agreement and then led their troops away. Guo Pinming's adopted daughter, Zhou Lili, hid in the distance to see them off. She dared not approach Shen Feng, fearing she might anger him. Shen Feng, however, was too lazy to bother with the young girl; he wasn't going to settle scores with a child.
However, Shen Feng's actions immediately attracted the attention of headquarters. If Shen Feng had only purchased grain from outside, headquarters would not have been worried and might have even thought that Yuzhou was experiencing a grain shortage. But now, Yuzhou had mobilized nearly twenty thousand people. What were they planning to do? Their intentions were sinister!
"I knew Shen Feng was up to no good. Now that Yuzhou has been sealed off for only a few days, he's already making a move. What does moving east mean? They're definitely eyeing the Three Gorges, and we absolutely cannot let the Three Gorges be taken away." At a headquarters meeting, Long Qian of the Tianlong Bureau stood up and spoke passionately, as if Shen Feng had become a major threat. Although that was indeed the case, saying it out loud put the problem on the table.
The reason Guo Pinming and Yang Chang chose to act was simple: they would travel mostly by boat. The Daning River flows into the Yangtze River, and by traveling upstream from here, they could enter Dabashan in a short time. The waterway conditions were excellent, and there was no need to travel by land.
However, their downstream journey directly led to a misunderstanding by headquarters, who believed that Shen Feng might be making a desperate gamble to attack the Three Gorges Dam.
The two points where Yuzhou was sealed off were the train station and the Three Gorges. Especially the Three Gorges, without the obstruction of the Three Gorges Dam, a lot of supplies could be directly transported to Yuzhou via the Yangtze River. But now, the Three Gorges had sealed off Yuzhou, and downstream ships were strictly prohibited from going upstream, preventing Yuzhou from receiving many supplies.
Headquarters immediately became worried. If Shen Feng really intended to attack the Three Gorges, what would they do? Although there were troops at the Three Gorges, their numbers were not large, and they were mainly there to prevent mutated beast incursions. Moreover, Yuzhou had quite a few ability users.
At this moment, Gong Changfa stood up and spoke, "I don't think everyone needs to worry. I have learned Shen Feng's objective through Ke Yiming and Yun Laizhe. His objective is to enter Dabashan to eliminate mutated birds, so as not to be threatened. As long as Shen Feng reaches the confluence of the Daning River and the Yangtze River, he will turn, so you can rest assured."