Chapter 1011

As the last rays of the setting sun vanished, Wales City fell silent.

Unlike its usual peaceful atmosphere, today the air in Wales seemed to be filled with tension.

Under the requirements of the temporary decree, the residents of Wales had to bear the cost of a soldier’s food. Although they were unwilling in their hearts, no one dared to resist.

The cruel scenes of the daytime had scared them out of their wits, and no one was willing to risk losing their lives by refusing.

“Officer, this is bread, jerky, cheese, and red wine. Please enjoy.”

In a seemingly wealthy household, Chang Yuzhu was reclining in front of a table, waiting for the owner of the house to bring food. For them, who had traveled a long distance, they desperately needed dinner now.

And until the next batch of supplies arrived, they could only use Wales’ own resources to feed themselves. Obtaining supplies from the defeated was an essential ability.

“Not bad, it’s richer than I expected.”

Chang Yuzhu looked at the food on the table, his gaze sweeping over the owner of the house, a fat middle-aged man who seemed to have always lived well.

However, since he did not understand the British language, he was too lazy to communicate with them.

While Chang Yuzhu was eating, the imperial soldiers on the streets of Wales were acting in squads. They were assigned to different areas, with twelve households in each area.

A squad of twelve men was divided into four groups of three for meals. Whenever one soldier entered a house to eat, the other two were responsible for security.

During their rest, they adopted the same method to ensure their safety. After all, to the British, they were enemies, so it was always necessary to remain vigilant when visiting an enemy’s home.

In addition, Lei Ming also issued a curfew order, arranging patrols to inspect Wales. Any British person found on the streets at night would be shot.

The machine gunners, as key protected personnel, were arranged in the Governor’s Office. They and their equipment were all there, and the accompanying logistics soldiers were responsible for their food.

“Commander, this is the document we found in the Governor’s Office. It records all the information about Wales.” Shi Yanjun held a compiled document.

“Read it!” Lei Ming took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one.

Like many generals, once he started smoking this, it was hard for him to quit. After all, for those who fought on the battlefield, there were few things that could relax their minds.

However, this kind of cigarette was very expensive, and currently, only one factory in the Empire was producing it. As for who invented it, of course, it was their Emperor.

“According to the information, there are currently nine thousand households of migrated free citizens in Wales, with a population of about thirty-five thousand people. There are twenty thousand households of descendants of exiled criminals, with a population of about sixty-eight thousand people. The rest are criminals sent from Britain in the past three years, totaling seven thousand people.”

After a pause, Shi Yanjun continued, “In recent years, they have opened up many pastures and farms outside Wales. Among them, there are 33,320 farms and 600 large and small pastures. These pastures mainly raise beef cattle and sheep for wool production, while the farms mainly grow wheat, barley, oilseeds, cotton, and sugarcane.”

Lei Ming heard this and suddenly burst into hearty laughter. He said, “Conquering Australia this time is truly a profitable business. The British have been operating here for so many years, and now all these achievements are ours. Whether it’s cattle and sheep or cotton, these are all ready-made. We just need to enjoy the ready-made.”

Shi Yanjun echoed with a smile, “Who says otherwise? With so many ready-made farms and pastures, as long as we take them all over, the soldiers stationed in Australia will have plenty to eat and wear. However, there are still too many British people in Wales. If these people riot, it will be a huge problem for us, and it will also hinder our continued offensive.”

Lei Ming’s expression turned serious. Shi Yanjun’s concerns were also what he was thinking about.

He was very clear that these British people were merely afraid of their military might. Psychologically, they could not possibly submit, after all, Britain already had its own national identity.

For the British, they were foreigners, enemies. It was impossible for them to get along harmoniously with them, either physically or psychologically.

So now he was faced with two options: the first was to implement a cruel policy to completely turn the residents of Wales into slaves; the second was to treat the residents here gently and collect taxes from them.

The disadvantage of the former was that it would cause fierce conflicts in a short period of time, while the disadvantage of the latter was that ruling such a group of seemingly harmonious but inwardly divided foreigners would eventually lead to chaos.

However, more than ten years of fighting on the battlefield had long given Lei Ming a resolute heart. He asked Shi Yanjun, “If the roles were reversed, how do you think these British people would treat us?”

“Commander, why ask? They would definitely turn us into slaves and sell us to other colonies as laborers. That’s exactly what they do.”

“That’s it then.” Lei Ming’s eyes sharpened. “We will deal with them as we dealt with the barbarians.”

Shi Yanjun nodded excitedly. If he didn’t put these people in shackles, he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly at night. “Then I will now order the generals to prepare. In the next two days, we will officially announce the Slave Act and turn all these defeated people into slaves.”

Lei Ming nodded. “Also, send someone to send the battle report back as soon as possible. We can’t stay here forever.”

Shi Yanjun acknowledged. Then he hesitated and said, “Commander, the soldiers fought bloody battles to take this place. Isn’t it a bit regrettable to leave without gaining any benefits? Look, this Wales is just a very small part of the Australian continent, and beyond that, there is boundless fertile land. Wouldn’t it be a waste to leave it empty?”

Lei Ming narrowed his eyes. Leading an army was actually a very difficult thing. Soldiers were also human, and humans had their own selfish desires. Therefore, once generals indulged their soldiers, these soldiers would become like bandits. In the past, some generals often adopted this method to allow soldiers to release their suppressed emotions.

The imperial army’s discipline was very strict, but this strictness was a different matter from morale in combat. Precisely because of this, the imperial army’s incentive policies for foreign campaigns continued.

And “three years as a soldier, wealthy as oil” also became a folk proverb.

“What, it seems you have a good impression of this place,” Lei Ming chuckled.

Shi Yanjun said, “Commander, compared to the cold of Guandong, according to the British, this place is warm and humid all year round. It is precisely because of this that Britain favored this place. Since we are ordered to occupy this place, we should naturally take advantage of our proximity.”