The bandits here were just the beginning.
After dealing with the bandits here, Lin Tian led his army and continued to march.
It had to be said that Lin Tian's momentum was too great, so much so that it frightened many bandits.
Many of them were at a loss.
"What do we do? What do we do now? The Qin army is about to charge over!!"
"It's over, we're finished. Once the Qin army charges over, we'll definitely be done for!!"
"I don't want to be a bandit anymore. I never want to be a bandit again. I was really wrong!!"
Many bandits knew they were wrong and had lost the courage to continue being bandits.
The existence of the Qin army was too intimidating for them, so much so that they didn't dare to resist.
At the same time, they had no idea how they should resist.
At this moment, every single one of them was extremely panicked.
Many of them even looked to their leaders, wanting to ask if their leaders had any solutions.
However, their leaders were also at a loss at this time.
As everyone looked at him, he said in a panic:
"No, we can't stay here any longer. If we stay here, we will all die!!"
"Let's leave here. We must leave here!!"
"Leave here? Leader, even if we leave here, the Qin army will still pursue us. If we hide in the city, we'll be easily found!!"
"The cities here are definitely not suitable. Let's go to other cities. To other cities, let's scatter and flee. Perhaps we still have a chance to survive!!"
"If all else fails, let's scatter into the deep mountains and old forests. We'll definitely be able to survive!!"
Such a plan could indeed allow some people to survive.
Even if the Qin army pursued them, they wouldn't be able to pursue so many of them.
However, to achieve this, they had to disband their current bandit group.
After all the effort to grow stronger, they were now being forced to disband, and they were very unwilling in their hearts.
But compared to their own lives, what was such unwillingness?
Thinking of this, their unwillingness quickly vanished.
Without any hesitation, they began to scatter and flee.
As they scattered and fled, many of them turned on each other for wealth.
Many people died while fleeing.
Even more people desperately tried to hide, not letting others know where they were.
Even their closest friends, they had to hide from.
They were afraid that if they were not careful, they would be reported by their closest friends.
Therefore, they were extremely cautious in this matter.
And it wasn't just one bandit doing this; many bandits were doing the same.
They understood that with their strength, they couldn't resist the Qin army.
If they didn't flee now, they would only have a dead end.
Because of this, they didn't hesitate at all and directly fled.
As a result, even though they avoided their friends and began to flee separately, they still encountered many people fleeing like them as they ran.
No matter which direction they fled, there were people with them.
This was fatal for them.
Having people with them also meant that they were likely to be found together.
So, many of them looked very grim.
While fleeing desperately, they also began to plot other things.
What they plotted was very simple: to kill the people who were fleeing with them.
As long as they killed those who were fleeing with them, they would be completely safe.
However, although they had some strength, their strength was not enough to be overwhelming.
They could kill those who were fleeing with them, and those who were fleeing with them could also kill them.
Therefore, fights were happening all over Qin, making things look very chaotic, and the common people were very scared.
But after a few days, they discovered that the people who had died were not ordinary civilians, but some vicious bandits.
After discovering this, they were not so scared anymore.
Even seeing the bandits die, many of them couldn't help but applaud.
"Good riddance! It's great that they died. Now we're safe!!"
"Yeah! These bandits have done all sorts of evil, and they have this day too!!"
"Everyone, be sure to guard your homes well. Don't let those bandits enter your homes. Let them all die. They are all people who deserve to die!!"
"Yes, let them die. We must not be soft-hearted. This is the time for His Highness the Crown Prince to eliminate harm for the people!!"
Everyone knew that the infighting among the bandits was entirely due to the existence of Lin Tian and his army.
It was Lin Tian leading the army that pushed these bandits to desperation, which led to their mutual slaughter.
This opportunity would only come once.
Perhaps after this, the bandits who were not eliminated might make a comeback.
Therefore, they all hoped that their people would not be soft-hearted and would eliminate all the bandits.
With this thought, the common people became even more united.
Not only did they report suspicious neighbors, but they also reported foreigners who appeared in their area immediately.
Even the people in the countryside would do the same.
This made the entire Great Qin seem like a nationwide bandit hunt.
The bandits originally thought they could still hide and escape this calamity.
They thought that after their numbers were scattered, the Qin army would definitely not find them, and they would surely be able to carve out a path to survival for themselves.
But by now, they finally understood that they had nowhere to escape.
Because at this time, it wasn't just the Qin army looking for them; the entire population of Great Qin was looking for them.
They might be able to evade the Qin army's search, but they couldn't evade the people's denunciations.
No matter where they went, they were facing a people's war.
Upon realizing this, they fell into complete despair.
"It's over, we're really finished this time. This time we truly have no way out!!"
"Damn it, we shouldn't have killed so many civilians. If we hadn't killed so many civilians, maybe they wouldn't hate us so much, and maybe we would still have a chance to survive!!"
"It's gone, all our paths to survival are gone, we're dead!!"
These bandits clearly felt that they were doomed.
So, many of them didn't even resist and simply waited for death.
After all, no matter how they resisted, they had no possibility of survival; they were all heading for a dead end.
Since that was the case, it was better not to resist and to wait for death.
Of course, not everyone thought this way.
There were still some people who were unwilling to die like this. They still fled to the countryside, wanting to threaten the villagers to save their lives.
However, they forgot that they were no longer the bandits of the past.
Now, alone, they were no match for the common people.
Especially now, when many households had strong young men at home, the situation was even more different.
Even without the Lin Tian army's intervention, the common people had already captured most of the bandits.
Only a small number of bandits who fled into the deep mountains and old forests managed to temporarily save their lives.
...