I'm letting you win over the female lead, not conquering cities and territories!

"You dare steal my grain? Do you really think I'm made of clay?"

Inside the Qingmu Pass government office, Qin Hao's face was ashen. He immediately summoned his most elite scouts and issued a death order:

"Follow the route the caravan was robbed and search deep into the mountains! Find out who these bandits are, how many they have, and where their headquarters are. I want to wipe them out completely!"

"Yes, sir!"

The scouts obeyed and left.

About two days later.

As evening fell, the scout team that had gone out to investigate returned to Qingmu Pass, covered in dust from their journey.

However, to Qin Hao's surprise, they not only brought back intelligence, but also brought back a team of about a dozen people.

The group of men looked like guards or servants, and they had many injuries on their bodies.

And right in the center of them, surrounded by a striking young woman dressed in a smart outfit, looking dashing and spirited.

Although the young girl looked travel-worn, her bright and beautiful features were still undeniable.

A finely crafted short sword hung at her waist, and her eyes revealed a wildness that rivaled even the most valiant men.

The moment Qin Hao's gaze fell upon the girl—

"Ding!"

The long-awaited system notification sound suddenly exploded in Qin Hao's mind.

From a God-like perspective, if the reader could see the actual system backend at this moment, the text displayed would look like this:

[Ding! Important female lead detected!]

[Target's identity: Lin Wan'er, the runaway heiress from the Wu'an Marquis's mansion in the capital.]

[Triggering the Beauty Side Quest: Please unleash the charm of your Pure Yang Body to recruit her into your harem, embark on a winding and extraordinary romance with her, and make her completely submit to you and fall in love with you.]

However, this system has been severely interfered with by the will of the world, and its transcoding method has long since collapsed.

The system panel that appeared on Qin Hao's retina, which he saw clearly, presented a truly appalling scene:

[Ding! Important highlight detected! @#%…]

[Target identity: Lin Wan'er, a runaway bride from the Marquis's mansion in the capital.]

[Side quest triggered: Please... recruit her into your... camp, and embark on a winding and bizarre journey... to make her completely submit... and fall in love with you.]

Looking at the garbled text flashing wildly like it had been infected with a virus, Qin Hao skillfully narrowed his eyes and began to "read and understand" it, relying on his powerful ability to fill in the blanks.

"The Marquis's Mansion... a runaway bride..."

"Recruit...into your ranks...and submit completely!"

Qin Hao touched his chin, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Got it!"

He was secretly overjoyed.

"The system specifically popped up a notification that 'you can recruit them into your faction,' what does that mean?"

This means that this woman is definitely an SSR-level domestic affairs talent or a female general with extremely high hidden stats!

Since the goal is to dominate the world, we absolutely cannot let go of such highly skilled individuals with system certifications!

Qin Hao composed himself, sat in the main seat, and turned to look at the scout captain kneeling on one knee:

"Speak, how's the investigation going? Why did you bring outsiders back?"

The scout captain looked ashamed and quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake:

"My lord, please forgive me! I failed in my duty and was unable to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold."

We followed the trail deep into the primeval forest to the northwest and discovered the bandits' hideout. But…”

The scout captain swallowed hard, his voice tinged with shock:

"The bandit stronghold was extremely vast, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with numerous hidden bunkers!"

My subordinate made a rough estimate from a distance; there were a huge number of people there, and including their families, there were probably... around ten thousand!

"puff--!"

Qin Hao, who was just picking up his teacup to drink water, almost spat it out.

"A banditry of ten thousand people?!"

Qin Hao couldn't help but burst out with a rant.

"What's wrong with this lousy place? Are all the officials in the Great Qian government just sitting around doing nothing?"

"They've raised ten thousand bandits right under their noses—are they planning to keep them around for the New Year?!"

The scout captain also looked helpless and explained with a wry smile:

"My lord, it's more accurate to call them a real army than bandits."

Those people not only trained regularly in the mountains, but were also well-equipped.

Although their individual soldier quality is certainly not as good as our Chiyan Army's battle-hardened veterans, they are definitely not comparable to ordinary city defense troops.

Their discipline and obedience are exactly like that of a regular army!

"Oh? Not your average bandits, but the style of a regular army?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he became very interested.

Ten thousand regular soldiers hiding in the deep mountains and forests, pretending to be bandits and robbing travelers? That's quite interesting!

"In that case, these are not just bandits, but most likely a rebel army secretly trained by some feudal lord within the Great Qian Dynasty, or even spies planted on the border by the enemy state of Great Yan!"

Qin Hao tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind racing.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Since the other party's goal may also be to rebel or overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty, it may not necessarily be necessary to fight to the death.

We're all rebels, so it's not impossible for us to exchange ideas.

With this thought in mind, Qin Hao turned his gaze to the girl standing to the side and asked:

"And what about her? Why did you bring her back?"

Before the scout captain could answer, the girl in the tight-fitting clothes took a step forward.

She looked Qin Hao up and down, and when her gaze fell on his handsome and resolute face and the iron-blooded aura he exuded, a strange light flashed in her eyes.

"May I ask if you are the commander of the remnants of the Chiyan Army, who once dominated the northern frontier and recently raised the banner of 'Suppressing the Rebellion in Response to Heaven'?"

The young woman, with a spirited and confident demeanor, clasped her hands in a fist and asked a question. Her voice was as clear and melodious as a nightingale's, yet she showed no stage fright whatsoever.

"It is indeed I, the general."

Qin Hao readily agreed.

Upon hearing Qin Hao's affirmative answer, the girl's eyes instantly filled with admiration. She immediately crossed her arms and bowed deeply to Qin Hao.

"This humble woman, Lin Wan'er, greets General Qin!"

The Crimson Flame Army, guarding the northern frontier, was a family of unwavering loyalty, yet they fell victim to the cruel hand of a tyrannical emperor. Wan'er, upon hearing of the general's righteous deeds on the road, was filled with boundless admiration!

Immediately, Lin Wan'er began to explain her background without any hesitation:

"To be honest, General, I am originally from the capital."

My parents, in their desire to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy, insisted on forcing me into marriage with a spoiled brat I had never even met.

Dissatisfied with my family's arrangements, I fled the marriage that very night with a few trusted guards.

"I originally had some old acquaintance with the bandit leader of Black Wind Mountain. This time, I went north to seek refuge with the bandit leader."

As a result, they got lost on the outskirts of the mountains and forests, and happened to run into a merchant caravan being chased by bandits and scouts under the general's command.

Lin Wan'er raised her head, her gaze fixed intently on Qin Hao:

"Although Wan'er is a woman, she is also very righteous! Those bandits from Black Wind Mountain even robbed the righteous merchants who were supporting the Red Flame Army. They have no bottom line at all!"

I disdain associating with people like that!

Now that I have encountered General Qin, Wan'er is willing to lead her dozen or so elite guards to abandon the darkness and join the Crimson Flame Army!

After hearing this impassioned speech, the Crimson Flame Army soldiers in the hall couldn't help but show their admiration for this extraordinary woman.

However, Qin Hao, sitting in the main seat, listened to this monologue, which could be described as a template for female-oriented online novels, and silently rolled his eyes in his heart.

"A classic plot..."

Qin Hao was internally ranting and raving.

The daughter of a big family?

Are your parents pressuring you to get married?

Did he elope overnight in pursuit of freedom?

While wandering around on the road, he happened to have an old acquaintance with the largest local criminal gang (a bandit stronghold with 10,000 troops).

"Wow, all the essentials are here!"

This is absolutely the most standard "rebellious runaway heroine" script in female-oriented novels!

In this area's storyline, this woman is undoubtedly the core female protagonist who can cause all the male supporting characters to fight and become jealous of each other.

"but……"

Qin Hao looked at Lin Wan'er, and the twitching at the corner of his mouth gradually turned into a very oppressive smile.

"This might explain why a group of bandits could resemble a regular army."

"After all, the male lead in the bandit stronghold the female lead is going to should at least be a prince, right?"