Chapter 1085

First Volume, Chapter 1085: Local Governance Battle

Qin Feng, who had witnessed the entire battle, had made an accurate assessment.

The enemy's command posed no major issues, indicating their leader possessed some military literacy and had likely served in the army before.

But the eight hundred soldiers under him were almost entirely rabble and bandits—disorganized mobs.

And since their only chance was to eliminate Qin Feng specifically on the Official Road, unable to lure him into attacking first, and with severely lacking weapons and equipment, their fierce assault became Beidi War Tactics.

They didn't even know whether the people in the cart were Niu Er and his mother.

Clearly, their military intelligence capability was nearly zero.

Thus, it was essentially certain that this group had been ordered by the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing, sent here to risk their lives in hopes of seizing wealth and status.

If they had faced even Tianji Camp Guards, they wouldn't have fared this badly.

After all, Tianji Camp Guards' armor was sturdier than Light Armor, yet far inferior to Heavy Armor.

The Black Riders, however, were equipped with the most formidable Heavy Armor in Heaven and Earth, combined with deep combat experience—these bandits couldn't even dream of crushing the Black Riders, let alone killing any single one of them.

"The enemy has suffered heavy casualties; their morale has collapsed. Even a fully organized unit, once morale breaks, produces countless deserters—how much more so these people?"

"Even if many escaped, they can no longer regroup. The remaining scattered soldiers and wanderers can be handled by the local County Magistrate."

"The real trouble isn't this rabble, but the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing behind them."

"In the future, such cases will be countless—they need only spend a small amount of money to incite large numbers of people to die for them and disrupt the local governance of Shedynasty."

"The coming Local Governance Battles will become routine."

Hearing Qin Feng's analysis, Zhao Yuxiong couldn't help but sigh.

If it were open warfare, Zhao Yuxiong would have felt no fear at all—but the problem was these dense, multi-point, small-scale harassments, which left Zhao Yuxiong utterly exasperated.

Mobilizing the Regular Army was extremely cumbersome, making it impossible to effectively strike these sparrow-like small enemy units.

Thus, the primary burden of Local Governance Battles fell upon each county.

"So, are we truly powerless?"

Facing Zhao Yuxiong's question, Qin Feng shrugged: "There are only two solutions."

"The first is to focus on governing the state—so long as the people's lives remain bearable, they won't turn to banditry, fundamentally increasing the difficulty for these Rebel Bandits to recruit and arm themselves."

"The second, naturally, is to launch a campaign against the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing next spring."

"Once the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing are defeated, deprived of funding and talent, these bandits will gradually vanish."

"As for other solutions…"

Qin Feng couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile: "At least before going to war with the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing, there's no good way to prevent such bandit harassment."

"All we can do is have each county strengthen military patrols and defense, engaging in a Consumption War with the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing."

Hearing the words "Consumption War," Zhao Yuxiong felt a headache coming on.

But then again, every war in Heaven and Earth ultimately rests on the foundation of "consumption."

Either consuming the enemy's combat strength, or their logistical supply lines, or their morale and national strength.

Whoever can withstand consumption will be the last to laugh.

The Powerful Clans of Nan Jing support Rebel Bandits, raiding and sabotaging everywhere, precisely to consume Shedynasty's national strength and accumulate opportunities for the coming great war.

At that moment, Wu Chenggong, County Magistrate of Yuping County, arrived panting with about one hundred County Soldiers, coming to reinforce the battle.

Seeing the ground littered with corpses and the nearly unscathed Black Riders, Wu Chenggong froze in shock.

He couldn't believe his eyes, stammering: "The battle is over?!"

Watching Wu Chenggong's stunned expression, before Qin Feng could answer, Zhao Yuxiong said casually: "What's so surprising?"

"The Black Riders are elite troops forged through countless brutal wars."

"If they had to struggle against a rabble, we wouldn't even have a reason to exist."

Though Zhao Yuxiong spoke lightly, Wu Chenggong remained utterly astonished.

Earlier, fewer than two hundred bandits had thrown Yuping County into chaos, leaving everyone terrified.

Now, the corpses scattered across the battlefield exceeded three hundred!

By basic logic, if a battle ended after three hundred deaths, the enemy's total force must have been at least eight hundred.

Facing an ambush of eight hundred, they crushed the enemy in such a short time—with zero losses.

This terrifying casualty ratio had completely overturned Wu Chenggong's understanding.

Gradually returning from shock, Wu Chenggong trembled with excitement: "Lord Qin, on behalf of the people of Yuping County, I thank you for coming to our rescue."

Seeing Wu Chenggong's sincere expression, Qin Feng dismissed his thanks, then warned him solemnly:

"These bandits, though crushed, will not leave easily."

"From now on, you must remain vigilant, maintain Yuping County's local governance, and if you detect any signs of bandit activity, strike immediately with overwhelming force—do not let them regrow."

Wu Chenggong nodded vigorously, vowing to spare no effort in safeguarding Yuping County's local governance.

Everything that needed doing had been done, everything that needed saying had been said—Qin Feng no longer hesitated and led his troops back on their journey.

Wu Chenggong treated Qin Feng's words as sacred advice; he dared not slacken for a moment and immediately led the County Soldiers to launch a full-scale sweep of the forest where the bandits had fled.

After a full day of searching, they actually captured ten plus bandits.

But most of the bandits had vanished without a trace.

On a small hill at the border between Yuping County and Zhao County, Wu Heli and his two brothers, along with ten plus companions, hid there.

Wu Heli and Chen Yanzong were both wounded, extremely weak.

Only after their comrades brought a physician from below the hill and treated and bandaged their wounds did their conditions stabilize.

Whether their wounds would worsen, they had no idea—they could only leave it to fate.

Wu Heli leaned against the rock wall, listless; thinking of his third brother Lei Meng, killed in a single glance by the Black Riders, filled him with unbearable grief.

Chang Cheng wasn't faring much better—he had believed he had prepared thoroughly before the attack.

But...

Only when the battle truly began did he realize how foolish it was to attempt to surround Qin Feng.

Clearly, from the very start, Qin Feng had known their movements inside and out; this battle was never an ambush of the unsuspecting, but... a foolhardy leap into his trap.