I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"We must never conscript men!"

Qin Li refused firmly, leaving no room for negotiation.

He had never heard of a side that forcibly conscripted men winning a battle.

The closest example is Zhang Han's army of convicts who decisively defeated the rebel army.

But Zhang Han's situation is completely different from the situation he is facing now.

The convicts were all desperate men; they lived for their lives and died for theirs, and their fighting spirit far surpassed that of ordinary soldiers.

The conscripted men were mostly ordinary civilians who didn't want to fight and were forcibly taken in. They had almost no will to fight and would only be sent to their deaths on the battlefield!

"Can't we conscript men?"

Wang Hu became extremely anxious, and his voice rose involuntarily, "Then what do you suggest we do? You must have seen the situation in the army. We don't have many people to begin with, and these days there have been deserters. If we don't conscript men, our small force won't even be enough to fill the teeth of the Northern Barbarians."

Qin Li was aware of this situation, and after thinking for a moment, he asked, "What did Uncle say just now?"

Wang Hu suppressed his anger, "I told you to conscript men, but you refused."

"Not this one, a little further ahead,"

"In Yunle County, which has a population of tens of thousands, less than fifty people were conscripted."

"No, that's not it either. Going back a bit further, back then, Uncle, you said that the conscription in Yunle County wasn't going smoothly, and what Zhou Biao and the others said weren't valid reasons..."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Hu said, "Banditry is rampant!"

"Yes, that's it!"

Qin Li excitedly reached out and slapped Wang Hu on the back of the head, almost spitting out his brains.

The pain made Wang Hu bend over and reach out to rub the back of his head vigorously, his facial features scrunched up.

Why is Qin Li's grip so strong after not seeing him for so many days?

It's a good thing he was a peak eighth-rank expert, otherwise he would have been sent flying by Qin Li's slap!

Qin Li didn't care about any of that. Instead, he put his arm around Wang Hu's shoulder, not treating him like an uncle at all.

"My uncle has been in Yunle County for many days and knows more than I do. Tell me quickly, just how rampant is the banditry in Yunle County?"

"The difficulty in recruiting soldiers in Yunle County and the rampant banditry—how can that be the biggest reason!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Huzhen was at a loss as to what to do with his nephew.

If it weren't for his sister leaving early, before she passed away, she would have held his hand and asked him, as her uncle, to take good care of Qin Li no matter what.

Just for that slap on the back of his head from Qin Li, he'd definitely hang Qin Li from a tree and whip him until he screamed in pain.

He has no respect for elders or care for the young. Today he dares to hit his uncle, and tomorrow he will dare to take advantage of him and hit his father, Emperor Xuan.

Ugh?

Wang Hu suddenly realized what was happening.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with fighting the Xuan Emperor.

He wanted to fight too!

With that in mind, Wang Hu truthfully reported the situation of bandits in Yunle County.

In ancient times, the emperor was far away and the country was in a state of chaos, with bandits in every prefecture, the only difference being the scale of the problem.

The banditry in Yunle County was not serious at first, with only a dozen or so bandits who were not a significant threat.

They only dared to sneak down the mountain in the dark to rob and plunder, and if they encountered government soldiers, they would turn around and run away, not even daring to touch them.

However, this situation changed three years ago. On the winter solstice three years ago, a notorious bandit who called himself Leopard Head came to Yunle County.

With just a few moves, he beat the local bandits so badly that they begged for mercy and knelt down, calling him "Big Brother!"

Under his leadership, the number of bandits in Yunle County increased dramatically. In just half a month, the number exceeded two hundred, and a year later, it had reached two thousand. Now, it is conservatively estimated to be four or five thousand.

They started out as thieves, but they couldn't support so many brothers by robbing alone. With the help of their strategist, they began collecting protection money from village to village. Any village that dared not pay would be massacred that very night!

The collection of protection fees seriously infringed upon the interests of the local county government.

The protection money was all handed over to the bandits, so what did they eat and drink?

Therefore, under the leadership of the county magistrate, Yunle County began to suppress the bandits in the mountains.

However, after a large number of constables and soldiers entered the mountains, they all disappeared without a trace. Only the county magistrate's head was hung on the city wall of Yunle County, where he died with his eyes wide open in disbelief!

The head of a county magistrate was hung on the city wall; this was a slap in the face to those in power.

As a result, more soldiers were transferred to suppress the bandits, but to everyone's surprise, the bandits only multiplied, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The prefect's daughter was even kidnapped.

"And then?"

Qin Li asked.

Wang Hu gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist and gritted his teeth, saying, "Later? Later, your uncle sent someone to chop off the prefect's head with one stroke. The head will be delivered tomorrow!"

"..."

Qin Li was speechless for a moment.

The prefect was already in a terrible situation.

Many of his men died.

Even his daughter was kidnapped.

Now, Wang Hu has ordered him to be beheaded.

"The prefect deserved to die!"

Wang Hu glared at Qin Li and said angrily, "Nephew, do you know what the prefect did after his daughter was kidnapped?"

Qin Li shook his head. He wasn't a god; he didn't know everything.

"The prefect paid a large ransom to buy back his daughter, and then surprisingly became in-laws with the bandits!"

"This year, that leopard-headed fellow even went to the prefect's house to celebrate his birthday!"

"Tell me, should he be killed or not?"

What the hell!

The prefect is a talented man!

Qin Li couldn't help but sigh.

If the suppression of bandits is ineffective, the imperial court will blame the prefect, and the prefect will be in deep trouble.

However, the prefect took a different approach, becoming in-laws with the bandits. The two of them deceived the imperial court, which had no idea about the situation in Yunle County.

This explains why Wang Hu's arrival in Yunle County could not be concealed by the local authorities and was eventually discovered.

Otherwise, Leopard Head would have remained the magistrate of Yunle County for who knows how many more years.

The prefect has no idea how much money he's going to amass or how many achievements he's going to gain!

For the prefect, this is the optimal solution.

It's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family if discovered!

Seeing that Wang Hu was quite angry, Qin Li comforted him, "Alright, alright, Uncle, don't be angry. We're here now."

"Once we arrive, we will surely restore a peaceful and prosperous world to the people of Yunle County!"

After saying that, Qin Li realized something was wrong.

Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be the villain, so why am I doing good deeds?

Never mind, as long as it helps us win this battle against the Northern Barbarians, doing good is doing good.

Thinking of this, Qin Li asked, "Have you found the bandits' hideout?"

Wang Hu patted his chest proudly and said, "I found them a long time ago. If it weren't for waiting for you, kid, your uncle would have wiped out the bandits single-handedly, leaving no survivors!"

As a peak eighth-rank expert, Wang Hu has both the ability and the confidence to back it up!

Qin Li reached out to stop Wang Hu, "Uncle, you should rest. I have someone else in mind to take care of the bandits."

"Who?"

Wang Hu was very dissatisfied.

He was already seething with anger because the recruitment process hadn't gone smoothly.

It's a good opportunity to wipe out the entire bandit family and calm down.

Who knew that Qin Li wouldn't even give him that chance.

He wanted to see who would try to take his job.

"Uncle, please don't ask."

Qin Li smiled.

"Hey! Nephew, if you don't tell me who this guy is, your uncle will go up the mountain tonight and wipe out the bandits, unless he's faster than your uncle!"

Wang Hu, fearless and unruly, glared with wide eyes.

Qin Li was speechless. Why did Wang Hu seem like a child, throwing a tantrum?

"Uncle, please don't ask anymore!"

"Only if he wipes out the entire bandit family can our conscription proceed smoothly. Everything will go smoothly along the way. Uncle, do you still want us to be able to conscript soldiers successfully?"

Wang Hu nodded vigorously, "Of course I want to!"

"Then don't ask."

"Hmph, fine, I won't ask. Who cares to know?"

With a cold snort, Wang Hu turned and left, just like a child.

Watching Wang Hu's departing figure, Qin Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry...