Munitions Empire

Chapter 488 Going backwards in the opposite way to law 470

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.

"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.