Black Sail
Chapter 366: I. Advancement Movement

Chapter 366: I. Advancement Movement

Holy Spirit Calendar 2690, April 10.

At the end of last year, in November, the major train robbery that occurred was completely quelled under the influence of the public relations department.

Within the Alan Royal Court.

The bill "Continent Transportation Law," drafted last year, had been officially initiated.

The voluminous text was hard to estimate.

After refining the core propositions.

As a major power, Aran, in its position, conspired its politics, providing railways without compensation to its affiliated countries and treaty countries to promote peace and enhance trade.

Under the military government led by the Emperor, a large number of capable officials and soldiers were selected from the army and various departments to supervise and ultimately be responsible for implementing this statute.

"Advancement Movement."

Thus, the curtain was raised.

...

...

...

East of the Narrow Sea, west of Aran.

Mulong Duchy.

In March of this year, Aran had gained another subordinate, still employing the old approach by supporting a puppet prince and implementing a suzerain policy.

The so-called suzerain policy.

That is to say, setting up an administrative unit controlled through military and political pressure, giving the main ethnic group and minorities of the native country some benefits, and then exploiting them thoroughly.

In the railway planning, this railway would bypass the Narrow Sea, reaching directly to the Green Oasis Country Wadina, passing through several strategically buffering small countries along the way.

In today’s Western Continent.

Aran stood alone, Losta, Pedan, Ji Weng, Gureg, being the first team, the Five Permanent.

Below were Beima, Monges Southern Wetland, Vadinia, etc., countries that were insufficiently superior yet still had more than the inferior.

Beneath them were lands full of temporary yet splendid kings.

Clearly, Mulong Duchy belonged to these lands of fleeting kings, living day by day. Holding the record of changing five kings in one day, MacArthur said, "A street dragon is no match for a mountain tiger. Society doesn’t obey you, the dazzling world entices, without strength don’t compete in appearance."

Now, the railway had pushed through Mulong Duchy, passing through it and several other countries, going straight to Wadina.

However, the attitude of the Mulong Duchy government and its people toward Aran was like a cream-topped milk tea.

The upper and lower layers were completely different in flavor.

Mulong was also a regional powerhouse two to three hundred years ago but had continued to weaken, now commonly referred to as "Little Mulong."

The government was extremely subservient to Aran, nodding and wagging their heads yes, aligning with the stars above, ready to move or act on any command.

However, local resistance in Mulong Duchy didn’t buy into this, with limited appeasements provided by Aran being pocketed by middlemen and the puppet kings. "Pedan offers me a toast I do not drink, Aran serves me a dish I switch tables, I am a barbarian as well, what do I fear?"

The influence of the puppet government was limited, local tribal alliances were dozens of times more powerful than the government, and they frequently launched attacks on the railway under construction, using explosives to sabotage the railways or killing construction workers.

The Alan Royal Court cared about its image.

Having already taken their route and then coercing the locals into labor wasn’t a good look, it was not beneficial for long-term rule, high-end politics required playing with ideologies, and it was acceptable for the Sub-dragon people, these Southern Barbarians, to do so, but not for other countries.

Since they were hiring workers and spending money, it was naturally necessary to provide jobs to natives, increase the employment rate, send workers abroad, and give the domestically idle youth a place to expend their energy.

In other words.

Old Aran’s dad had been chopped up by foreigners!

I hit you, and you dare resist?

This was no longer just a tough nut to crack; severe punishment was necessary!

Since the Aran Army General, Crocodile Island, personally took charge of the Mulong Duchy, the situation had improved considerably under his ruthless suppression. Not to mention the resistance forces.

Aran Military Officials had become the highest authority in Mulong Duchy, although there were still stubborn forces loyal to their homeland, resisting, they no longer posed a significant threat.

The completion of the railway was merely a matter of time.

In the eastern part of the Mulong Duchy, a barren wasteland full of tumbleweeds and wind erosion rocks lay under the scorching sun. Hundreds of bare-chested workers labored and sweat pearled down their backs as they toiled under the fierce sun, while patrolling soldiers with firearms watched over them.

Along the completed parts of the railway, dark-red soil soaked with blood and now congealed was still visible.

Thanks to the resource transportation from the Industrial Zone in the New Imperial City, a continuous supply of parts and materials from the steel plant had arrived at the front, speeding up the progress beyond expectations.

Upper Three Flags officers of course could not bear the sun and took shelter in the carriages to enjoy the cool, as Amma did when he followed the Emperor through the gates in the past—he had faced all the hardships of his life then and now enjoyed the company of beautiful local women who served wine and massaged his legs.

"But..."

The geological expert was sweating profusely due to the absurd statement from Ji Weng.

This general stood tall and sturdy, dressed in the black officer’s uniform of the Aran Army. His rough and unkempt beard did little to hide his imposing figure, and his golden short hair stood like steel bristles.

"Cicero... for every mile, you allocate me one hundred and ninety Golden Dragons, yet you insist on such a straight path. This is not for my personal benefit but for the welfare of the Mulong people. Passing through this wasteland to the other city, constructing two tracks at the same time."

Ji Weng’s expression was icy as he drank a local brew and with a heavy hand, he groped the lush curves of a local beauty.

"There are marshes over there. The soil is too soft and not suitable..."

"Find a way! If you can’t handle this, what did you come here for, merely to eat for free?"

"This... I want to ask, does the one hundred and Ninety Golden Dragons include compensation for the villages along the route?"

The geologist knew that under the "Continent Transportation Law," compensation for land occupied was supposed to be five hundred and fifty silver coins per acre, and any buildings and people affected would also be taken into account.

Ji Weng laughed coldly.

Of course, it included labor and material costs, and military expenses, but... without making the project last longer, how could he skim off money for himself?

"They won’t want the compensation; even if I gave it to them, they wouldn’t dare to accept it."

In necessary situations, those villages would be designated as resistance forces, rebels of Mulong, all culprits together, to be suppressed completely.

The geologist didn’t know what to say; he felt a pang of sympathy for the local resistance fighters who were being slaughtered.

Ji Weng, drunk with too much alcohol, his face flushed red and his breath heavy with the stench of liquor, let his head rest in his hand, his eyelids starting to fight each other.

The Mulong woman beside him, actually a member of the resistance, endured the indignity of Ji Weng’s harassment and pretended to be a call girl, waiting for her chance.

Now, in the carriage besides Ji Weng, there was another call girl, a few civilian staff members, and the geologist, also lost in his thoughts and appearing somewhat dazed.

She had prepared herself to die, hoping to buy the resistance one or two months, as after this railroad passed through, other countries would face the same fate as Mulong now. The leader of the resistance had already gone to request support, knowing the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will feel cold.

As she massaged Ji Weng’s shoulders, she took a sharp hairpin from her elaborately styled hair, clutching it in her fist, her eyes bloodshot with determination.

Just as she was about to plunge the pin into his throat,

Ji Weng sensed the hurried breathing of the woman behind him; his keen hearing even caught her accelerating heartbeat.

He swiftly got up, turned around, and placed a hand on the woman’s head.

Snap!

The sharp pin stabbed into Ji Weng’s chest, but it penetrated less than half an inch before her hand went limp, and her feeble stabs only pierced the skin slightly.

Meanwhile, the woman’s skull,

Her cranial cap had been crushed, her head caved in and spewing blood, ultimately collapsing to the ground.

Noticing the commotion, the other call girl screamed in panic, while the rest, including the scholars, were struck dumb.

The geologist had seen the woman’s move and had tried to subtly signal her not to do it, unfortunately, she didn’t notice.

"What a killjoy."

Ji Weng licked the fresh blood off his hand, unconcerned about whether the other call girl was also part of the resistance or not.

Bang!

The firearm went off, smoke filling the air. A bullet went through the forehead into the cranial cap, leaving a bloody hole, and she died on the spot, her expression still frozen in horror.

"Call two more over here, and tell those idiots to keep checking if the surrounding villages are harboring resistance forces. Throw those two women outside to warn the incoming call girls."

Ji Weng wasn’t bothered, not even washing the blood off his hands and continued to doze off in his seat.

The geologist sighed deeply.

This was only just the beginning.

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