Munitions Empire

Seeing that the other party still refused to recognize his situation, Liu Yuan’s face grew even darker. He snorted with a mocking edge, "In these times of chaos and disorder, I am merely seeking self-protection, dealing with bandits and disorderly soldiers. I hope the official will not take offense."

"Is this me failing to maintain order?" The platoon leader replied matter-of-factly, "Then Master Liu should enter the city and lodge a complaint with the newly appointed governor."

"You must be joking," Liu Yuan said disinterestedly, his smile not reaching his eyes.

"Put down your weapons…" The platoon leader’s smile faded, and he chastised sharply, "pointing a gun at me?"

"What if I don’t?" Liu Yuan, thinking himself superior in numbers, decided to give these upstarts a lesson.

"Irrational, then? Resorting to blades and guns first?" The platoon leader asked while nodding.

"Blades and guns are reason, aren’t they?" Liu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"There’s reason in that," the platoon leader agreed, nodding.

"Ratatat!" The Tang Army soldiers, who had been holding submachine guns, immediately pulled the triggers without any warning. The bullets swept toward the bodyguards wielding weapons.

Before the usually arrogant bodyguards could react, they fell in droves. Some servants who were just there to make up numbers also suffered greatly.

After a burst of rapid gunfire, there were not many standing behind the once powerful Liu Yuan.

"We can talk this over! Let’s talk!" A country gentry, terrified to the point of wetting his pants, clutched at his crotch and wailed.

"See, when it comes down to it, I’m the one with reason," said the platoon leader, drawing his pistol and keeping his eyes on Liu Yuan. He stepped up to Liu Yuan and prodded his shoulder with the gun barrel.

Liu Yuan, who had never seen such a terrifying weapon, was utterly stunned. He had only heard about the Zheng Army’s crushing defeat, about Zheng Country changing beyond recognition in just over a month, but he had never actually seen real automatic weapons.

Those remaining behind him had long since dropped their swords and guns in dread that the terrible sound of gunfire might start again. They had no problem bullying the locals or getting into brawls, but challenging a regular Tang Army unit? That was a joke.

"My lord… we can talk this over! Please, let’s talk!" The old butler, looking distressed, quickly stepped in front of the muzzle and whispered, "You’re here for money, aren’t you? We can negotiate, please!"

"You’ve hit the nail on the head. I am actually here for money," the platoon leader said with a smile, lowering his gun because he saw the soldiers surrounding them had already disarmed the remnants of the defeated guards.

With the situation under control and safety assured, he felt no need to brandish a gun in people’s faces anymore.

"My lord, we’ve already prepared a modest gift! You must accept it, please!" The butler, sensing a possibility, hastened to add, "Twenty thousand Gold Coins! Twenty thousand!"

"Hmm, that’s not too little," the platoon leader nodded, his words causing the lady behind him to turn deathly pale.

However, at her moment of despair, the platoon leader standing before her continued, "But truth be told, as much as you dare to offer, I am afraid to accept… Honestly, I’m not like you; I fear death."

Saying this, he stepped aside and pointed at the woman behind him, then asked, "Moreover, how do you intend to settle her family’s blood debt?"

"My lord, you can’t believe the words of these troublemakers!" Liu Yuan now reacted, regretting his earlier show of force with these harbinger of doom. He felt he should defeat his opponents in his own field of expertise. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

If they wanted to talk reason, then let’s talk! Once he bluffed his way out of this, he’d have time to regroup, and then he would deal with these insolent troublemakers.

After dealing with these troublemakers, he would collude with local officials, bribe high-ranking officers, and then deal with these despicable ruffians! Then he’d see who would dare to cause trouble at Liu Mansion! Who would dare to oppose him, Liu Yuan!

That was his well-worn tactic, his familiar field! So, he hurriedly put on a pitiable expression and cried out, "My lord! These people are only greedy troublemakers! Coveting my wealth, they sought you out to lodge false accusations. They have no evidence!"

"He’s lying!" the woman pointed at Liu Yuan, her teeth clenched as she shouted, "He’s lying! His steward led men to beat my man to death! And killed my child by throwing them to the ground! He’s lying!"

"My lord, I am willing to guarantee with 50,000 Gold Coins! I haven’t lied," Liu Yuan brazenly offered a bribe—so long as the other party was willing to accept the money, he would be completely safe today.

In his view, there was no reason for refusal! That was 50,000 Gold Coins! Every soldier present could share a few hundred Gold Coins, and those who were officials would get even more.

No one would reject such a sum of money! It was a fortune to anyone! Just think, a few years ago Tang Mo couldn’t even come up with a few hundred Gold Coins.

"Heh heh heh," a squad leader laughed immediately upon hearing Liu Yuan’s offer. To him, such bribery was simply farcical because officers of the Great Tang Group had no record of corruption and bribery.

Firstly, their own benefits and welfare were already high, and secondly, the monitoring was extremely strict. These junior commanders, who had received rigorous education in school, simply did not wish to forsake their future for a sum of money they could not even spend.

Accepting this money would be easily discovered and lead to punishment; not accepting would be more beneficial for oneself.

So, upon hearing Liu Yuan say this, the squad leader subconsciously laughed. But to Liu Yuan, this laughter was the squad leader revealing his greed.

"My lord! Fifteen years ago! He took advantage of the nearby flood to seize my family’s fertile land! He snatched away our land deed!" an old man who had been watching from outside heard the gunshots, mustered his courage, and followed inside. He pointed at Liu Yuan and cursed, "It’s this bastard! He’s the one who left me homeless!"

"You’re talking nonsense!" Liu Yuan’s face turned ugly; he felt a sense of dread. The way the other party had stormed in with so many people likely meant they had their sights set on his entire fortune!

He was too familiar with such tactics—they were the very same ones he often employed. The other party wasn’t after his dutiful bribes, but most likely after all his family’s wealth!

As a result, he was afraid. "You all have no evidence! This is slander!" he protested in a trembling voice.

"I’m the evidence!" another farmer barged in, standing at a distance, he shouted loudly, "My daughter was taken by you, and to this day, we have seen neither hide nor hair of her! I’m the evidence! Give back my daughter!"

"That’s right! Liu Yuan has done many evils! It was he who deceived my illiterate husband into signing the document that sold our land! He gave us only a bag of rice, ninety copper coins, oh! Ninety!" another old woman sobbed, pointing at Liu Yuan and scolding, "He’s an old beast! An old beast!

Back then, my husband choked on his anger and hanged himself at home... We are wronged!"

"This is absurd! Absurd!" Liu Yuan was in complete panic, pointing at the farmers and commoners who exposed his wrongdoings, he scolded loudly, "Troublemakers! They are all troublemakers! This is slander! Slander!"

"If one or two people slander you, you call it slander I believe, but when every person in every village for miles around slanders you... do you believe it yourself?" the platoon leader sneered, eyeing Liu Yuan as he posed the question.

"Of course, it is slander!" Liu Yuan bit his teeth, still insisting—he knew that if he didn’t firmly cling to his claim of innocence, today might spell disaster for the Liu family.

"I don’t think it’s slander!" the lead platoon leader, with ample experience in these matters, looked towards Liu Yuan’s steward as he spoke, "The women of Liu Mansion’s inner court are here, and just now, at least a dozen guards who were disarmed and captured... here too is your steward... and beside him, your accomplices."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the local gentry who were scared out of their wits. Finally, his eyes rested on Liu Yuan, "Guess what, if we arrest so many people and interrogate them one by one, will they all keep their mouths shut, not a single one talking?"

Liu Yuan shook with rage, pointing his finger at the platoon leader leading the team, "You’re fabricating a confession out of me!"

The platoon leader’s expression suddenly turned utterly solemn as he leaned into Liu Yuan’s face, speaking in a chilling tone, "Don’t worry! We’ll investigate this slowly!"

After saying this, he stepped back and waved his hand, "Take them all away! Interrogate them one by one! Seize all the wealth!"

On the fifth day after Tang conquered Zheng Country, a campaign to rectify land annexation and crackdown on landlords and evil gentry began.

As the campaign progressed, countless local landlords who had been a scourge on the region were dealt with—some were sentenced to death, others were arrested and turned into slaves.

For a time, the reputation of the Great Tang Kingdom was even worse than Zheng Country at its lowest, with some people describing Tang Kingdom as a hellish existence.

Yet, it was this backward, inhumane kingdom that made the lives of the people within Zheng Country prosper.

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