Chapter 1013

“Commander Lei, is this true?”

Shi Yanjun couldn’t believe his ears. He was truly surprised that Lei Ming, who was always iron-blooded and ruthless, would make this choice.

Nodding, Lei Ming said, “Although Australia has been conquered, it will still take some time to achieve true rule. Moreover, according to His Majesty’s oral decree, the court will likely, like Britain, attract immigrants in the early stage through a policy of free land. Since it might be free, there will be no room for petty gains.”

“Commander, you are truly speaking from the heart. The land in Australia is vast, but how many common people are willing to travel across the ocean to come here? They are already struggling to cultivate their own land and have no desire to migrate here. Only daring individuals like us would expand and defend the Empire’s frontiers abroad.” Shi Yanjun began to chatter.

The other generals all laughed when they heard this, each one ecstatic.

“Don’t be ungrateful when you’ve gotten a good deal. Even so, the distribution of land still needs to be submitted to the court, and whether it’s approved still depends on His Majesty’s will. If His Majesty doesn’t approve, I can’t do anything.”

A glint flashed in Lei Ming’s eyes. He was indeed iron-blooded and ruthless, but after years of fighting in the military, he had more or less learned some tactics.

The generals risked their lives following him in campaigns, so as their commander, he had to take care of their interests to ensure their loyalty. And to avoid leaving any leverage for his opponents, he decided to include this matter in the battle report and submit it, thus extricating himself.

“The Commander thinking of us has already filled us with immeasurable gratitude. If His Majesty does not permit it, we have nothing to say,” Gao Shunyi said loudly. In the heart of every general, Xiao Ming, wearing the imperial yellow robe, was their supreme existence.

The war’s profits were originally given by the Emperor, and if the Emperor didn’t give them, they wouldn’t complain.

“En, since that’s the case, after we promulgate the provisional Slave Act today, we will discuss the distribution of land.” Lei Ming breathed a slight sigh of relief. At critical moments, the Emperor’s name was always effective.

While everyone was talking, a burst of gunfire suddenly came from the south of Wales City.

Lei Ming and Shi Yanjun looked at each other, and both immediately mounted their horses and galloped towards the direction of the gunfire.

These horses were all captured in Wales. Unlike the Great Yu Empire’s horses, these horses were tall and very suitable as mounts for cavalry.

The sudden gunshots made the atmosphere in all of Wales tense. Imperial soldiers quickly reinforced the south.

In a short while, Lei Ming and Shi Yanjun arrived at the checkpoint set up on the southern road of Wales. At this time, the soldiers were examining the corpses lying on the ground.

Chang Yuzhu had arrived earlier. He said, “Reporting, Commander, a group of British people tried to snatch weapons from the soldiers at the checkpoint. Now they have all been shot dead. I found military tags on their bodies. They are likely scattered British soldiers who were hiding in the city.”

Lei Ming let out a heavy sigh of relief when he heard this. He said, “You handled it decisively. If the Han-style rifles were lost, we would bear serious consequences.”

Chang Yuzhu also broke into a cold sweat. The soldiers guarding the checkpoint were his own soldiers.

“These British people stole our explosive shells and the technology for our

Zhenglu (Conqueror) firearms, and now they want to repeat the old trick and steal our Han-style rifle technology. What wishful thinking!”

Shi Yanjun said coldly.

After a pause, he continued, “Commander, letting these free British people live in Australia will lead to such situations repeatedly. The Slave Act needs to be strictly enforced. I suggest establishing a special camp and driving all the British people in Wales into the camp to live under unified management.”

Lei Ming’s eyes fell on an imperial soldier. This soldier had been stabbed in the abdomen with a dagger during the recent conflict, and at this moment, the medic was bandaging him.

This scene made Lei Ming’s eyes turn red. In war, compassion was nothing but irresponsibility towards the lives of soldiers. He said, “Do as you said. Add this clause to the Slave Act and enforce it immediately.”

Shi Yanjun responded, then ordered the thirty-six British corpses to be dragged to the execution platform, and at the same time, had the soldiers gather the residents of Wales again.

Facing the dense crowd, Shi Yanjun said, “We gave you a chance at freedom, but this morning you disappointed us. These thirty-six individuals tried to snatch our weapons and even injured our soldiers. Now you no longer have the right to freedom; instead, you will live like the slaves you once sold, and this is your punishment.”

After angrily venting his dissatisfaction, Shi Yanjun had Gao Shunyi read out the Slave Act article by article.

The most important article in the act was that the residents of Wales would lose their freedom and become slaves. When this article was read, the entire crowd erupted.

“This is impossible! We come from a civilized society, you have no right to make us slaves like savages!”

“You invaders, yellow-skinned pigs, you have no right to do this!”

“I’d rather die than be a slave to you yellow-skinned pigs!”

“…”

Noisy voices continuously came from the crowd, and the atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense. Some people began to try to push against the imperial soldiers.

The various scenes below were all taken in by Lei Ming from the high platform. At this moment, he said, “Kill anyone who dares to resist.”

Upon receiving Lei Ming’s order, Shi Yanjun’s courage grew.

He calmly observed the development of the situation. Ten thousand people gathered together was still a magnificent sight, and it was precisely relying on their numbers that the angry British became more and more numerous.

And when these angry British charged towards him, he gave the final order: “Fire!”

“Dah dah dah…” “Pa pa pa…”

The sounds of machine guns and Han-style rifles firing intertwined simultaneously on the pasture. The increasingly out-of-control situation left Shi Yanjun with no choice. If the situation continued to worsen, their soldiers would suffer significant casualties. To protect his soldiers, he had no choice but to issue this order.

Dense firepower instantly covered the charging British. Charging in front of machine guns was tantamount to suicide.

A hellish scene once again unfolded before the British. Waves of British fell before the machine guns, and the pile of corpses on the ground grew larger and larger.

Faced with such a terrifying scene, the remaining British finally became afraid. They raised their hands and knelt, begging for mercy.

Seeing this, Shi Yanjun then ordered a cease-fire. He believed that this deterrence would be enough to make the British completely obedient and live according to the rules they had set.

Lei Ming nodded in satisfaction. He then turned around and handed the remaining affairs to Shi Yanjun, while he intended to write everything that happened here into a battle report and send it back to Qingzhou.