From the end of September to the beginning of November, after more than a month of suppressing bandits, the New First Army and the 38th Army exterminated more than 100 bandits, large and small, and the total number of bandits eliminated was about 20,000.

Different from the policy of suppressing bandits and pacifying them in previous dynasties, the Qin army's vigorous suppression of bandits basically left no prisoners. All the bandits were disposed of.

The way of dealing with it is basically the same for everyone, which is tacit.

Although the use of military force to suppress is a palliative rather than a cure, the most fundamental way to completely solve the problem of bandits is to eradicate the soil in which bandits and bandits exist.

That soil is poverty and unrest.

But judging from the current situation and the strength of the imperial court, this is simply impossible.

Therefore, in order to prevent these bandits from resuming rebellion, this cruel method can only be adopted temporarily.

The vigorous anti-bandit action has cleared up the bandits in the entire Beizhili area. Even if there are some individual fish that have slipped through the net, they are also shocked and do not dare to show their heads for the time being.

The order of the entire Beizhili area is much more stable, and the passers-by no longer have to worry about rushing down from the mountains on both sides at any time.

Moreover, in addition to eliminating the bandits, this crackdown on bandits also has a great significance, that is, the prestige of the regent Jiangchuan spread throughout Beizhili, and all the people who benefited from it were talking about this name.

The requirements of the people in this era are very low, and only someone can keep one side safe, that is the Qingtian Lord in their hearts, not to mention Jiang Chuan, His Royal Highness the regent who is far away in the capital.

Moreover, coupled with the propaganda of the anti-bandit troops wherever they went, many people did well in the army, and they consciously set up a shrine for Jiangchuan at home and served them every day.

It can be said that the real significance of suppressing bandits is more of a political significance, so that the imperial court dominated by Jiang Chuan began to have an image that can be relied on and trusted in the hearts of the people of Beizhili.

This is the biggest gain of this crackdown on bandits.

The time to return to Beijing is almost up, and according to the plan, the new First Army will be the first to withdraw.

The 38th Army will temporarily stay for a period of time to help various states and counties recruit and train local garrisons.

At present, the garrison army still adopts the old military system, and its weapons are all captured cold weapons.

I don't expect these garrisons to have much combat effectiveness, but at least their presence can maintain a little deterrence, so that the bandits don't dare to take the lead easily.

Moreover, after reporting to the imperial court, Jiang Chuan issued an edict to exempt all areas in Beizhili from paying taxes for two years.

This news made the people and gentry in these areas grateful to Dade, and naturally praised Jiangchuan.

In fact, for Jiangchuan, the entire Beizhili area has passed through the successive scourges of the official army, the Dashun army and bandits, and most of the places are desolate and dilapidated, and sparsely populated.

Even if taxes are forcibly collected, they will not collect much in these places, and on the contrary, it is very likely that the weak will of the people will be stirred up and the gains outweigh the losses.

Rather than this, it is better to simply avoid it, and still win a good reputation and win the hearts of the people.

The assembly point of the New First Army is in Xiong'an County, which is also the temporary military headquarters of the New First Army, and Bai Mu has been sitting here to dispatch and direct the suppression of bandits.

In the camp of the new First Army outside Xiong'an County, in the big tent of the Chinese army, Bai Mu was sitting behind the bookcase, holding a book in his hand and studying carefully.

The book in his hand was the "Training Program" issued by Jiang Chuan to the New Army, which gave a general explanation of the establishment, training, combat, and logistics of the firearms unit.

Although Bai Mu is the same as Di Qing, Ran Wu, Shanjia, and Bai Shan, they are all henchmen under Jiang Chuan, and because he has always been the captain of the personal guard battalion responsible for defending Jiang Chuan, he has the closest relationship with Jiang Chuan.

But after all, he is not a serious general, compared to Di Qing's rich combat experience, he is actually better at defense and protection.

But now that Jiang Chuan has handed over the new First Army to him, he also understands Jiang Chuan's expectations of himself, so he is also working hard to improve his command ability, hoping to make up for his shortcomings in the shortest possible time.

Fortunately, firearms warfare in the new era is a new topic for everyone, so he still has time.

Moreover, as a result of this crackdown on bandits, the entire New First Army has indeed been greatly tempered, and great progress has been made in the troops' technical and tactical skills, morale, and battlefield psychological quality.

In this process, Bai Mu and all the officers of the New First Army were also constantly using practice to test the things in the "Training Program," and at the same time, they were also summing up the problems exposed and the experience summed up in this anti-bandit operation.

"Report to the commander, Major Duan Peng of the reconnaissance brigade asks to see me." Suddenly, the captain of the guard outside the door reported loudly.

"Let him in."

Soon, the curtain of the big tent was lifted, and Duan Peng, the leader of the lean reconnaissance team, walked in steadily.

"Report to the army commander, Duan Peng of the reconnaissance brigade came to report." Duan Pengli saluted and said loudly.

"Take a break."

"Yes!"

After a short pause, Duan Peng took off his big-brimmed hat and put it on his left hand, and then said in a deep voice: "Commander, the reconnaissance team has been ordered to arrive with all its members. ”

"I've read all your battle reports, they're very good, and they're indeed much better than other troops. But that's as it should be, after all, you're the elite of our new army. If you don't behave well, don't say that you, the captain, or me, the military commander, will be disgraced, so don't be proud. ”

Bai Mu stood up, lifted the big teapot from the stove next to him, poured a bowl of vegetables into a large black porcelain bowl, and handed it to Duan Peng, only then did he look at him with a smile.

"Commander, we still have this awareness. At the beginning, His Royal Highness said: The slogan of our new army is to use me in the first battle, and I will win. This is also the slogan of our reconnaissance brigade, and it is our goal. If there are any tasks in the future, only the army commander can be the first to think of our brigade. Duan Peng also relaxed a little and said half-jokingly.

"Hey, you kid wants to eat alone, you have to ask the other troops if they agree. Okay, let's talk about the casualties of your brigade this time. Bai Mu said with a smile.

Duan Peng Zhengse reported again, and Bai Mu nodded after listening to it and said: "The whole brigade is nearly seven hundred, seven people have been sacrificed, and the sum of the light and serious wounded is less than thirty, which is not bad." But it also exposed a lot of problems. If you're guessing wrong, the casualties this time are basically new recruits, right? ”

"That's right. The recruits have poor combat experience and battlefield awareness, and some casualties due to the terrain. I have already summarized these problems, and I will hand you a summary report when I go back. Duan Peng said in a deep voice.

"Go back and make a list of pensions, and after returning to the capital, you will be given pensions according to the regulations. This is the first wartime casualty, so let's make it heavier. His Highness will definitely come when the time comes. Bai Mu nodded.

The two said some other things, and at this time, Duan Peng wanted to speak and stopped, his mouth opened several times but closed again.

Bai Mu saw it and said curiously: "If you have something to say, just say it." ”

Duan Peng said: "Commander, I feel that this matter is a little unruly, so I hesitate not to say it or not." ”

"Whether it's in line with the rules or not, you only know until you say it."

Duan Peng stopped squirming, so he quickly said the incident reported by the reconnaissance squadron below. After finishing speaking, he closed his mouth and waited for Bai Mu to make a decision.