Munitions Empire

"This world! After all, it belongs to us! No matter who comes, they can’t be unreasonable, right? Our land has been legally and legitimately purchased for generations." Setting his teacup aside, Shireck’s largest landlord Liu Yuan spoke slowly and deliberately as he looked at the few landowners who had come to mourn.

Recently, the Zheng Country underwent drastic changes, causing those who used to make a living under its wing to become panicked. They urgently hoped to get a guarantee from the new rulers, one that would let them continue to live in wealth and peace.

The few landowners who owned large tracts of land glanced at each other, all a bit embarrassed. Who among them seated here didn’t know the others’ affairs?

The ancestors of these people may have truly been diligent at the beginning, relying on their initial accumulation to become wealthy. But after they had money, which of their households was free from sordid affairs?

Taking advantage of bad years to rob cleverly, employing unsightly means to do unspeakable things, driving those who were unwilling to give up their land into ruin...

Therefore, when they heard words like "reasonable" and "legal," they instinctively felt a chill of terror.

"Don’t look at me with those eyes, gentlemen... The new ’parent officials’ have no time to concern themselves with our past deeds, nor are they likely to bother with how we live our lives in the future," Liu Yuan said with a sneer, glancing at these men who were as timid as mice.

"But well, you know, parent officials, parent officials, they all need our filial tributes." He paused for a few seconds, then named his price, "2000 Gold Coins each! Presumably, the new parent officials wouldn’t bother with the wailing of those obstinate peasants."

There were almost 10 people present, and just like that, 20,000 Gold Coins were gathered—a substantial sum even within Zheng Country.

After all, they were only landlords, depending on farming to make a profit. To tell the truth, even if they were to sell all of themselves, it was unlikely they could muster the bribe power of the Great Tang Group.

The thought of having to fork over money again made these people’s hearts ache. The Zheng Country, in the name of strengthening the nation and its military, had already extracted from them once, costing each household 500 Gold Coins to deal with the officials at that time.

And now, just a few days later, before they had even recovered, Zheng Country had fallen, and they needed to prepare another sum of tribute for the new rulers. This really caused them much distress.

Outside Liu Mansion, several trucks slowly came to a stop, the doors were pushed open, and a platoon leader jumped out of the vehicle, with one hand on the holster at his waist and the other shading his eyes against the sun as he surveyed the nameplate on the gate.

Soon, from the trucks behind, a group of uneasy peasants also disembarked, some hunched over at the roadside retching nonstop.

For the peasants of Zheng Country, riding a truck was an extremely rare experience, so it was common for them to feel queasy and vomit after getting off the vehicles.

The remaining peasants all looked pale, some genuinely suffering from motion sickness with dizzy and bursting heads, while others were simply frightened—for them, this place was scarcely different from hell.

The young official who had come before hadn’t mentioned to them that reporting the landlords’ misdeeds and facing a confrontation was part of the plan.

At that time, it was just said that reporting would be rewarded with grain and oil... A few who had taken a chance to complain had indeed received supplies, which then led others to follow suit.

But...

"What are you all afraid of? We are here to do justice for you. As long as you speak the truth, I will redress your grievances today!" Seeing his soldiers emerging one after another from the vehicles, the platoon leader spoke with increasing authority.

No matter how skilled in martial arts you are, you still fear a kitchen knife. His soldiers were armed death gods, not adversaries these landlords and local tyrants at home could contend with their few household guards.

"I... I... I was talking nonsense..." A peasant swallowed a gulp of saliva, thinking that he could return the paltry items he had received.

In his view, offending Liu Yuan was far more terrifying than offending the officials; his whole family might end up losing their lives.

"Yes, yes! That... that official... I, I was just temporarily blinded by greed and talked nonsense... This... this Mr.

Liu... he, he is... a good person," another old man also retreated from his stance, stammering as he began to explain.

"Oh-ho! Truly slander and false accusations?" The platoon leader, come to administer affairs, sneered. "Think carefully before you speak... If you truly give up this opportunity... the hatred you’ve harbored, the suffering you’ve endured, the losses you’ve suffered, the injustices you’ve borne... you’ll have nowhere to voice them for the rest of your life..."

The few people were stifled for a long time, not daring to say anything more. Previously, they had struggled, watched others struggle, too. But with the officials in cahoots with these rapacious landlords, having toyed with them again and again, they were already too devastated to muster any courage to resist.

"It seems these people still wield considerable deterrence. You all lack the courage to retaliate against those who harmed you, yet have the audacity to deceive me, wasting fuel for nothing..." Seeing more and more people backing down, the platoon leader couldn’t help but harden his expression.

"Sir!" Finally, a woman stepped forward. She looked at her cowardly fellow villagers and spoke with a trembling voice, "The grievances of my family alone are enough to hold Liu Yuan accountable until death! I’m not afraid to die! I only ask that you handle matters impartially and administer justice for the seven members of my family!"

She glared at the platoon leader, her teeth clenched as she said, "If you collude with that Liu Yuan, I’ll become a vengeful ghost and seek you out for answers!"

"Hahahaha!" The platoon leader heard the woman’s threat, but he wasn’t angry or annoyed. Instead, he burst into laughter, "Come with me! Today is a good day for revenge."

He pointed to the sky, "The sun is just right! The world ought to be bright! It needs light! If it were pitch black, wouldn’t that be meaningless?"

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and ordered with immense authority, "Let’s go! Time to speak reason with someone!"

The soldiers carrying guns chuckled, as they were all too familiar with this routine. They had taken turns to clear the islands filled with bandits before.

In their eyes, anything that shouldn’t exist within the territories of the Great Tang Group was unreasonable. Only by completely eradicating these things could the world become as wonderful as Brunas and Dragon Island.

Thus, the soldiers brandishing the.45 caliber "truth" began to hammer on the doors of the Liu Mansion, while more soldiers carrying K3 "truth" had already made ready for the "debate."

The side gate was pulled open, and a doorkeeper peered out with impatience. In his view, knocking directly on the main door was extremely impolite.

This was the Liu Mansion, after all—even the City Lord would have to be polite upon arrival. Weren’t sixty percent of the properties within a hundred miles owned by Old Master Liu?

But before he could scold them, a hand pressed against his face and shoved him, causing him to topple into the courtyard.

Stumbling, the doorkeeper managed to see the soldier with a helmet like a cooking pot on his head, who had already rushed into the courtyard.

The soldiers who entered moved with impressive speed, as they unbarred and opened the gate from inside, and soon, even more soldiers swarmed in, escorting an officer.

"How impressive!" The platoon leader, walking among his own soldiers with his hands behind his back, looked all around him, full of curiosity about the stately mansion.

He truly hadn’t expected to find a place that seemed like a paradise in such a desolate area riddled with famine, peasant suffering, and rampant banditry.

As a night school graduate who had received higher education at the Great Tang Military Academy, everything here instinctively filled him with disgust.

It was different from the prosperity of Brunas; in his eyes, this mansion was like a castle in the air, built atop countless bones, emanating a foul stench of decay. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

"Who dares make trouble in the Liu Mansion? Are you looking for death?" A guardian charged out, stunned at first by the unfamiliar soldiers, and then toppled to the ground by a rifle butt to the face.

"How can you beat someone up just like that?" The man who was hit covered his nose and immediately became reasonable.

"It was him!" The woman following the platoon leader suddenly acted as if provoked, disregarding everything as she rushed forward, desperate to fight with the bloodied guardian who was still reasoning.

A soldier stopped her, and as she struggled, she shouted with all her might, "It was him! He led people to beat my husband to death! He threw my son to the ground and killed him! It was him! It was him!"

The guardian with a bloodied nose was startled to see the woman restrained, but then he became arrogant again, "Oh! It’s you, you crazy hag! You dare come back? You’re asking for death!"

"I’m pleased you can admit to your crimes," the platoon leader nodded, then with a swift chop of his hand, two soldiers bypassed him, reached the guardian’s sides, and swiftly subdued the still confused man.

The guardian struggled a bit, but after taking a couple of slaps, he stopped daring to resist. Just then, someone shouted loudly, "Stop!"

With a grim face, Liu Yuan, flanked by a group of guardians and local landowners, blocked the platoon leader’s path with a contingent of over a hundred men.

Many guardians carried long knives and swords, and some even bore Shireck flintlock guns that appeared to be of much finer quality than the Zheng Army’s equipment.

"And who might this be?" the platoon leader asked, smiling.

"This sir is Liu Yuan, the Old Master Liu," interjected a butler, stepping forward and making the introduction as Liu Yuan himself remained silent.

"Sir, please give Liu some face. Shall we talk inside?" Liu Yuan suppressed his anger, forced a smile, took a half step back, and with a gesture invited them in for a discussion.

The platoon leader glanced at the guardians with flintlock guns behind Liu Yuan and also smiled, "With such an imposing array from Old Master Liu, I’m too timid and scared to dare enter."

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