The squad leaders arrived one after another, and Gu Qingcheng recounted her and Mi Guo's findings from scouting the various mountain strongholds.
"What? So many bandits? I wouldn't have known if we hadn't checked. I'm shocked!" Wu Sheng, strong and muscular, slapped the table. "Count me in for bandit suppression."
Yan Xin said, "We'll listen to Young Master Gu. You point the way, and we'll fight."
Gu Qingcheng smiled faintly. "I don't intend to provoke them. Don't you feel it? Chaos has erupted, and the government is no longer in charge. We can only rely on ourselves. If we don't become stronger, we'll be swallowed by others.
Moreover, our village is known for its peaceful life. If we don't assert our might, these bandits will target us sooner or later."
"Understood."
Everyone's expression grew serious.
Dai Fa greatly admired Gu Qingcheng's approach to doing things. He said,
"As village chief, I fully support Young Master Gu's idea. We must all remain steadfast and follow Young Master Gu's lead."
As the village chief, Dai Fa's words carried significant weight, and everyone readily agreed.
Gu Qingcheng didn't need to scheme. She directly initiated the loyalty test. There were 45 squad leaders. Upon testing, every single one had a loyalty score of over 90, placing them in the excellent category. Gu Qingcheng breathed a sigh of relief and began to detail her plan to attack the various mountain strongholds.
Naturally, they would start with the smaller ones. For example, Longhu Zhai, with about 20 men, had a formidable name but could be wiped out in minutes.
They would tackle the bones one by one, starting with the small ones before moving on to the tougher ones.
The next day, Yan Xin led a team of 50 men to attack Longhu Zhai.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo, who knew the terrain best, naturally accompanied them.
That battle was incredibly satisfying. As soon as the attack began, the men of Longhu Zhai opened their gates and surrendered.
Upon questioning, it turned out the bandits of Longhu Zhai were also refugees who had banded together, and they were all from out of town.
Since Wangchun City had consistently refused them entry, they had no means of sustenance and were forced into banditry. Although they had formed a group, they hadn't actually engaged in much robbery and hadn't committed many wicked deeds.
Gu Qingcheng ordered a search of the stronghold and found it to be quite meager. Not only was there no surplus food, but there were no women held captive from robberies either.
Gu Qingcheng was at a loss for words, finding it difficult to bring herself to kill such impoverished bandits who hadn't committed many atrocities.
As she hesitated, the bandit leader suddenly knelt with a thud, offering to surrender and asking Gu Qingcheng to take them in.
Gu Qingcheng tested his loyalty, and surprisingly, he was deemed acceptable.
"You can join us, but there will be a probationary period. I decide how long it lasts. If you fail my test, you could be expelled from the village at any time."
Gu Qingcheng laid down the harsh terms upfront.
"Okay."
The leader of the bandits, named Wu Da Niu, was quite perceptive.
His subordinates also didn't care who they followed, as long as they had food to eat.
Seeing that they were all quite young, Gu Qingcheng decided they would be a good source of labor for the village and brought them back.
When Dai Fa learned of this, he was also amused. What happened to bandit suppression?
They had brought back a bunch of freeloaders.
This group of the most impoverished bandits imaginable found themselves in a paradise upon arriving at Phoenix Village. Within three days, they had completely abandoned any thoughts of being bandits.
Being outlaws was truly not as good as working the land here, with enough rice to eat and meat to go around…
Fortunately, the people of Phoenix Village were of mixed surnames and did not discriminate against them for their bandit origins.
For women like Xiao Bao, the sudden appearance of a group of bandits nearby was initially alarming.
However, after understanding their circumstances, they felt that the people of Phoenix Village were truly inclusive, even accepting bandits.
This made them realize that it wasn't strange for the village to accept them in their own situations.
To Xiao Bao's surprise, after only three days working at the nursery, a man from the village showed interest in her.
Xiao Bao hadn't expected to be liked by a normal man. While flattered, she honestly revealed her past.
To her surprise, the man not only didn't shun her but said,
"I already knew about your past, but that's all in the past. I like you for who you are, not for anything else."
"Ah?" Though Xiao Bao hadn't yet fallen for him, she deeply appreciated the feeling of being respected.
It was then that she believed Gu Qingcheng's words were true: in Phoenix Village, she truly had the chance for a new life and a chance at happiness.
Xiao Bao couldn't help but shed tears.
The man grew flustered, and with concern, awkwardly reached out to wipe away her tears…
After taking Longhu Zhai, Gu Qingcheng organized her forces again and attacked Shui Zhai, which had over 70 men.
After a series of attacks, Phoenix Village achieved complete victory, crushing five bandit lairs with zero casualties.
The more malicious bandits among them were killed without mercy.
As for those who showed remorse and had not committed many wicked deeds, they were dispersed.
In a short time, Phoenix Village had established its fearsome reputation and might.
Gu Qingcheng sent scouts to gather information. They heard whispers in nearby villages and towns that the villagers of Phoenix Village were extremely fierce, highly skilled in martial arts, and particularly adept with bows and arrows. They had scattered the neighboring bandits, and people were warned not to provoke the villagers of Phoenix Village.
Gu Qingcheng knew that with the situation temporarily stable, no one would dare to target Phoenix Village for a while.
Therefore, she had word spread that Phoenix Village's principle was: "We do not offend others unless offended; if offended, we will retaliate."
This message was pondered by everyone, and indeed, no one dared to get too ambitious and plot against Phoenix Village.
Furthermore, after the five bandit lairs were scattered by Phoenix Village, no larger armed force emerged that could rival Phoenix Village.
For a time, Phoenix Village's prestige was unmatched.
What Gu Qingcheng found strange was that the government of Wangchun City never inquired about Phoenix Village's actions in attacking bandit lairs.
Could it be that the government was using them to suppress bandits?
However, Gu Qingcheng soon realized she was mistaken. The government wasn't ignoring them because it didn't want to; it was because it *couldn't*.
A month later, Gu Qingcheng was observing the archery competition among the hunting team when Dai Fa rushed over, pulling Gu Qingcheng aside with a tense expression.
"Young Master Gu, something terrible has happened."
"What is it? Uncle Dai? Could it be that the soldiers are coming to round us up?"
Gu Qingcheng joked.
Truth be told, Phoenix Village now had nearly two thousand people. With their policy of universal conscription, every adult male villager participated in combat training, possessing a retaliatory force of over 1,200 people ready to defend the village at any time.
Therefore, Gu Qingcheng didn't really take the government in the valley seriously.
From what she understood, the government in the valley could only muster a force of slightly over 500 men.
Wangchun City was not a fortified stronghold, so its garrison was maintained only for local security, with no standing army.
Gu Qingcheng was also aware that another natural disaster was imminent, and the Great Zhou Dynasty would soon cease to exist, so she felt no reverence towards the government.
"No, Wangchun City has been flooded. It happened early this morning. No one knows where the water came from, but it poured into the city. Later, we heard that the Wangchun River upstream had burst its banks. And the bursting of the Wangchun River is said to be caused by melting ice and snow further upstream."
Dai Fa said with a tense tone.
"What? Wangchun City is flooded?" Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected this to happen so soon.
After all, the temperature here had been hovering around 18 degrees Celsius.
But, no, her temperature hadn't changed, yet elsewhere it might already be hot, and the heat hadn't spread here yet.
Gu Qingcheng's eyes narrowed. What about Jinsha City?
If Jinsha City was also flooded now, wouldn't her parents be in danger?
No, she had to leave immediately to pick up her parents.
"Yes, it's said that seventy to eighty percent of the city's population died. The flood came too suddenly, and the icy water was bone-chilling. Many couldn't swim, and some who managed to climb onto rooftops froze to death in the icy water."
Dai Fa said he heard this from Mr. Jiang from down the mountain, who had come up to report it.