mtl008 Chapter 679 Good Cop and Bad Cop
Chapter 679 Good Cop and Bad Cop
Panda's men were blocked by the people, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Frustrated, they jumped up and down, brandishing their whips and lashing out at the people.
"You peasants, how dare you block my way!"
Although the common people dared not openly resist, out of a sense of shared hatred against the enemy, they were willing to cover for this young fellow villager. Faced with the whip, they silently chose to endure it, but not a single person made way for them.
Seeing this from afar, Liang Xiaoming asked anxiously, "What... what should we do?" Although he was not impressed by Panda and the others' methods, if this person were to escape in front of everyone, it would not only affect the prestige of the Qionghai Army, but also create a domino effect, with even more people trying to escape.
Liu Ye remained calm and said, "Don't rush, trust our people."
Just when everyone thought the young man had a chance to escape, Zhu Jinhu led his men out. The dozen or so soldiers responsible for maintaining order in the area reacted very quickly, slung their rifles over their backs, and gave chase.
A chase ensued, watched by thousands of onlookers.
Although the young men ran very fast, like leopards, the soldiers, who started later, gradually closed the gap. The Qionghai Navy soldiers underwent rigorous training every day, with no compromise on physical fitness or combat skills. Coupled with guaranteed food and nutrition, their physical attributes, whether endurance or explosive power, far surpassed those of their peers in this timeline. Even carrying guns and heavy ammunition pouches, they were still faster than their opponents running empty-handed.
Within 200 meters, Zhu Jinhu caught up with his target first, grabbed the young man by the back of his collar, pulled him to the ground, and made him roll several times.
The soldiers swarmed around, raising their rifle butts to smash him down, but Zhu Jinhu stopped them, simply pinning the man's hands behind his back. He himself had been hit by rifle butts before, and these dozen or so blows could easily kill him. Because of their similar backgrounds and experiences, and out of compassion, he didn't want to watch this young man die in front of him.
The young man turned his head, his face full of resentment. He looked at Zhu Jinhu and said unwillingly, "If you let me eat my fill, none of you can catch up with me..."
Zhu Jinhu shook his head, didn't argue with him, pulled him up, and took him back to where he was.
Several sycophants became smug, raised their whips to lash out, and muttered, "Fuck your grandpa, you dare to run away? I'll beat you to death..."
Zhu Jinhu stood calmly in front of the young man, glared at the sycophants, and said in a deep voice, "How to deal with him is not your decision."
Upon seeing the Qionghai naval soldiers step forward, the sycophants immediately fell silent, their arrogance vanished, and they sheepishly withdrew their whips, saying with obsequious smiles, "What the sir says is true..."
Panda stepped forward to smooth things over, forcing a smile and saying, "Gentlemen, they just want to do their job well and have no intention of offending anyone."
The people who witnessed this scene felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Although the man was captured by the soldiers, what they truly feared and hated were Panda and his henchmen. Seeing these arrogant men humiliated in front of the soldiers filled them with indescribable pleasure.
Liu Ye appeared at the crucial moment. He slowly strolled over and asked sternly, "What's going on? What are you all standing here for?"
When Panda saw Liu Ye approaching, he quickly stepped forward and explained the situation in detail. Then, he took the opportunity to sow discord among these unruly commoners: "My lord, these peasants are ungrateful and disobedient. They even dared to hit people and then run away. They should be severely punished!"
In fact, Liu Ye had already seen everything, but he was just pretending not to. After listening to Panda's explanation, he remained noncommittal and instead asked the young man who had been arrested, "Young man, what's your name? Why did you run away?"
Upon hearing that this important figure was a marquis, the young man, though somewhat apprehensive, was not intimidated and replied, "My name is Xiang Yu, from Changping. Although I am grateful to Your Excellency for rescuing us from the Tartars, I do not wish to go to sea. However, this steward whipped me without any explanation, giving me no chance to defend myself. I had no choice but to run away."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye turned to Panda and sternly questioned, "I asked you to do my job, not to act arrogantly. Let's talk this out. Don't resort to whipping me at the drop of a hat..." His voice was just loud enough for the surrounding people to hear.
Upon hearing this, the common people nodded in agreement. This lord was indeed a good man, and it was inappropriate to blame him for the evil deeds committed by his subordinates.
Having navigated the officialdom for so many years, Panda could easily see through Liu Ye's intentions. He was simply playing the good cop/bad cop while Liu Ye played the good cop/good cop! Without offering any explanation, he meekly replied, "This humble official understands."
Liu Ye turned to the surrounding people and said, “Fellow villagers, I am Liu Ye, the general of Qionghai Town. I have been favored by the emperor and have been granted the title of Marquis of Pingnan and Grand General, in charge of both the army and the people. This migration to the sea to reclaim wasteland is also the court’s decision. Because the capital region has been almost razed to the ground by the Tartars, the government is unable to provide relief to so many people, so I have been put in charge of this sea voyage.”
His words were approachable and down-to-earth, devoid of any condescending official airs. He addressed everyone as "our elders and fellow villagers," which flattered the people. This was a marquis personally bestowed by the emperor, and a great general at that! For such a high-ranking figure to lower himself and explain things to the common people so sincerely was undeniable. Hearing that it was the court's decision, the people's resistance gradually lessened. Indeed, the Tartars had burned, killed, and looted; their hometowns had been reduced to ashes. What could they do if they went back? Beg for food or flee?
For Liu Ye, who grew up in the new era, he was deeply influenced by the successful experience of our Party in uniting the masses. It was no big deal for him to lower his status and get closer to the masses. With just this skill, he was several streets ahead of the officials in this era who couldn't let go of their official airs.
He continued, “This time, half of the people will go to Qiongzhou Prefecture, and the other half to Dongfan Island, one in the south and one in the east. Don’t worry about safety. Our ships are large and stable, and we can travel thousands of miles as if on flat ground. These tens of thousands of troops also came to the capital to fight the Tartars on ships like these. As for land reclamation, you don’t need to worry about it either. The land you reclaim will all be yours, and the taxes you have to pay will be less than 30% of what you would pay back home. If you really don’t want to make a living there, you can come back after a year or two.”
The people looked at each other, bewildered. If that was the case, going to sea was actually a good thing. Back home, even if the Tartars didn't come, they were already struggling to survive. The tax burden was already heavy, and they'd heard that this year there would be an additional 1 fen of military pay per mu, leaving every household barely able to eat. Now, the promise of having reclaimed land for themselves, with taxes only 30% of what they used to be, was a world of difference. Not to mention, they could choose to return inland after a year.