Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

After arriving at the government office, Zheng Luoqi and the others rested briefly before immediately going to the prefectural government to discuss the matter of dealing with the rebel army.

"Lord Cao, when did this so-called righteous army appear?" Zheng Luoqi asked with a furrowed brow and a serious tone.

"This rebel army appeared about ten days ago. As soon as they appeared, I immediately sent a secret letter to the capital to report the situation to His Majesty. These rebels were originally just a group of bandits in a small county town, but later they actually gathered bandits from several nearby counties together, and even gave themselves a title, calling themselves some kind of king. Now, their size has grown from the initial few hundred people to several thousand!" Prefect Cao said anxiously.

"How can there be so many bandits? Didn't we send people to wipe them out before?" Zheng Luoqi asked, puzzled.

“I have repeatedly requested the late emperor to send troops to wipe out these bandits, but the emperor has never sent any. As an official in this region, I really cannot bear to let the guards of the prefecture take such a risk. After all, their strength is limited, and we are also short-handed. So this matter has been delayed until now.”

"The new emperor has just ascended the throne and has no time to attend to matters here. It wasn't until these bandits suddenly raised the banner of a righteous army that I realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly reported it to the emperor. I hope the court can send troops to suppress them as soon as possible to prevent the situation from getting out of control," Prefect Cao said with deep concern.

"Where is the rebel army currently based?" Zheng Luoqi asked, her brows furrowed.

Prefect Cao shook his head bitterly and said with a solemn expression, "According to reports from spies, this rebel army has now occupied a mountain stronghold not far from the city. They have built a sizable stronghold there and constructed numerous fortifications, preparing to contend with the government." At this point, Prefect Cao sighed, his face full of helplessness and worry.

Zheng Luoqi frowned even more deeply. She took a deep breath and asked, "Do you have a map of that place?"

"Yes, Lord Zheng, please follow me," Zheng Luoqi and the others followed Prefect Cao to his study.

Prefect Cao slumped a map on his desk.

Zheng Luoqi looked at the place where the rebels were entrenched. The place was like a small basin, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was surrounded by mountains, and there was only one road leading in.

He couldn't help but feel a little doubtful and worried. These bandits had always been small-scale thugs, so how did they suddenly become a righteous army? And how did they manage to occupy such a favorable terrain?

She examined the map more closely and discovered that the area where the rebels were entrenched was surrounded by mountains. The area was large and the mountain roads were rugged, making it no easy task to attack.

Zheng Luoqi turned to Pei Wenyu and asked, "When will General Pei's reinforcements arrive?"

"We'll arrive in about ten days," Pei Wenyu replied.

How many troops do we have now?

"Only a few hundred people"

Upon hearing this number, Zheng Luoqi's heart sank. Without sufficient troops, breaking through the rebel army's defenses would be virtually impossible.

He then asked, "Approximately how many reinforcements are there?"

"one thousand"

Zheng Luoqi lowered her head and pondered. If Pei Wenyu's reinforcements were included, the total force would only be a little over a thousand, while the enemy had an absolute advantage in terrain and numbers.

Zheng Luoqi decided to send someone to investigate the other party's situation first, to see if they could find any flaws or weaknesses.

"Where do those rebels usually operate, besides that hilltop?" Zheng Luoqi asked Prefect Cao with a serious expression.

"Lord Zheng, as far as we know, these rebels not only kidnap passing merchants, but also frequently raid nearby towns at night. Moreover, they are numerous and armed with a large number of weapons, which is a real headache!" Prefect Cao replied with a frown.

"Well, do they have any special ways of contacting each other, and when do they usually appear in the county, and in which counties?" Zheng Luoqi continued to ask.

"Well... there's no definite news yet. However, based on our observations and intelligence gathering, it seems that some of them specialize in robbing officials and merchants, some stay in the stronghold, and the rest go to nearby counties to gather intelligence." Prefect Cao shook his head helplessly.

"This is not a good situation," Zheng Luoqi sighed softly, then asked, "What do you know about the leader of this rebel army?"

"The leader of this rebel army is named Li San. It is said that he was once a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world), but later, dissatisfied with the rule of the imperial court, he raised an army. He first occupied the mountains as a bandit, and later he recruited other mountain bandits and then became a rebel army," Prefect Cao answered truthfully.

"I see... It seems we need to plan carefully to completely eliminate this rebel army," Zheng Luoqi muttered to herself.

“Your Excellency is right. However, given the current situation, we can’t wait any longer. What should we do?” Prefect Cao said with great concern.

"Hmm, let's send someone infiltrate to investigate first, and then make a plan," Zheng Luoqi calmly analyzed.

Zheng Luoqi turned to the people around her and said, "Go prepare now. Send someone to infiltrate the rebel army first. Once they send word, you guys can go and rest. I'll study the map again." Everyone nodded in agreement and then left the room.

The room fell silent, leaving only Zheng Luoqi standing quietly at the desk, staring at the map, lost in thought...

A few days later, none of the people who had been arranged to infiltrate the rebel army had managed to get inside, let alone obtain any useful information. Upon learning of this, Zheng Luoqi immediately summoned the prefect, Pei Wenyu, and Lin Zifeng to discuss countermeasures.

“It seems that directly sending people to infiltrate their ranks won’t be easy, and time is of the essence; we can’t afford to delay any longer. I have an idea, but I need your cooperation, Young Master Pei,” Zheng Luoqi said to Pei Wenyu with a serious expression.

“Please speak, sir,” Pei Wenyu replied respectfully.

"How long will it take for the reinforcements sent by General Pei to arrive?" Zheng Luoqi asked.

"It will take at least five days, but if everything goes smoothly, we should be able to arrive within seven days," Pei Wenyu replied.

“Alright, then we’ll have to trouble Young Master Pei to go and provide support. As for Young Master Lin and me, we’ll disguise ourselves as wealthy merchants from out of town, deliberately passing by the rebels’ looting sites, and then take the opportunity to infiltrate their ranks to try and gather some important intelligence. When the time is right, I will send out a specific signal, and then we’ll coordinate from the inside to wipe out these rebels in one fell swoop,” Zheng Luoqi explained in detail.

After listening, everyone nodded in agreement, finding the plan to be very feasible.

Before setting off, Zheng Luoqi gave Boyu a separate instruction to handle other matters.