Chapter 1651: Kill One First to See the Effect

Legend has it that within the Dabie Mountains of southern Anhui lies Huoshan County.

There are factories there, more advanced than the foreigners' factories, capable of producing better guns and cannons and manufacturing many new things. The people there live like human beings; they levy no poll tax, but instead build houses for them, provide them with work, pay them wages, teach them to read, distribute books to them, and enable them to study.

In this place, everyone has a future; as long as one works hard, one can become wealthy through diligence and live a good life. Even women, if they are willing to learn and improve, can become managers, accountants, and oversee others.

Here, even the most humble people possess dignity, and no one dares to bully others at will. Here, those who harm others will bear criminal responsibility, and the greedy will be punished.

There is no endless supply of grain here, but people live like proper human beings; they live with hope, and each day is always better than the last...

"Wang, you are plagiarizing and tampering with our doctrines! You shameless thief! You should go to hell to meet Satan! Oh, no, even Satan would not forgive you!"

Bishop Roman Baird angrily slammed the table, condemning Wang Yan's malicious act of spreading the Huoshan Gospel.

The study, having undergone several renovations, had transformed from Wang Yan's personal space for reading and working into the central hub of his entire faction.

Inside the study, divisions were established by province, with three staff members in each province responsible for coordinating and handling various affairs. Rows of tall bookshelves stood there, so high that people even needed ladders to reach the top.

In addition, there was a true library; various books collected by subordinates were all sent here, sorted by category, for people to borrow and study in their daily lives.

The area between the grand library and the offices was originally Wang Yan's personal office. The study could hardly be called tidy; the bookshelves were densely packed with all sorts of documents. There were also other items, such as calligraphy and paintings by famous figures, for Wang Yan to appreciate and enjoy.

It was now morning; sunlight penetrated the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, shining into the spacious and bright study.

Wang Yan sat behind the desk; the sunlight stopped before him, dust dancing like sprites before his eyes, while he hid in the shadows within the room, quietly watching the furious bishop.

Beside the loquacious bishop were three others clad in religious robes, and four foreigners wearing Western suits; standing behind the bishop was a young Shenzhou face, head shaved bald and wearing glasses.

As the bishop's spittle danced together with the dust, this bald young man with glasses, sweating profusely, opened his mouth to speak.

"Master, the Bishop says you should not arbitrarily borrow their doctrines to incite the common people to flock to Huoshan, and that it is a mistake to think the doctrines of the Heavenly Kingdom are the same as theirs; he asks you to cease such dangerous actions."

This translator spoke haltingly, with numerous "um"s, "ah"s, and "uh"s; his clever mind was wracked by a violent storm, pondering how to choose words that would convey the foreigners' meaning without angering the famous rebel leader before him, thus preserving his own safety.

This was a job with considerable income, since few people understood foreign languages, yet those needing foreign language translation were often facing dangerous figures, because foreigners held high status and interacted only with the upper rulers of Shenzhou at this time. The danger he faced was naturally great, after all, he was just a small translator...

The chattering bishop finally ceased his nonsense, and Wang Yan's gaze fell upon the translator: "What is your name?"

"Replying to Master, this humble one's surname is Shen, given name Jitong; my family is in Jingcheng, and I was assigned by the imperial court to serve as a translator for the foreigners."

"Translator Shen." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, "Please tell me, this foreign devil chattered on and on, spewing two jin of saliva and slamming the table until it clanged loudly, yet you rendered it so mildly?"

"Uh..." Translator Shen was slightly bewildered, wondering how to muddle through.

Seeing this, Wang Yan waved his hand: "Stop making things up; translate exactly what this foreign devil said, word for word. Forget what I said earlier; I am a kind-hearted person. Although you may also look down upon us common people of Shenzhou, I will still leave you enough to eat. Seeing that you know how to shave your head, you are a clever one."

"Thank you, Master!" Translator Shen spoke with genuine emotion, as if seeing a savior.

"Tell him that he does not respect me."

Hearing the translator's words, Bishop Baird furrowed his brows, his expression displeased and puzzled: "What did you say? I do not respect you?"

Wang Yan reached out, took a rifle from the shelf beside him, racked the slide with a click, and then fired with a bang, the bullet striking the ground at the bishop's feet.

The bullet shattered the floor bricks, sending fragments flying, then ricocheted wildly before embedding itself in the beam pillar behind.

"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?" the bishop shouted. Translator Shen translated with a trembling voice.

Bang...

Another shot rang out.

This time the bishop said nothing, merely sitting there staring at Wang Yan, while the other few foreign devils who had been cursing and shouting gradually fell silent. The study suddenly became silent.

Wang Yan pulled back the bolt, caught the ejected cartridge, reloaded three fresh rounds, then placed the gun back on the shelf, lifted the teacup before him and took a sip, watching as the guards who had rushed in closed the door and withdrew.

He said nothing, simply handling the lidded bowl to drink tea, his posture perfectly composed.

The silence in the study turned oppressive; perhaps because the underfloor heating was burning strongly, fine beads of sweat appeared on Translator Shen's forehead, and the breathing of the foreign devils gradually became somewhat rapid.

Only the sound of Wang Yan slowly slurping his tea could be heard.

After a moment, accompanied by the crisp clink of porcelain against porcelain, Wang Yan set down the lidded bowl and looked at Bishop Baird with perfect composure.

"Congratulations, Mr. Bishop, you have finally learned what respect means."

"Thank you for your instruction," Baird said, almost grinding his teeth.

"I wish to know, when you were in Tianjing, did you speak to the Heavenly King in this same manner?"

"Apologies, it was a Cardinal who met the Heavenly King; I am merely a Purple-Robed Bishop. At that time, I sat behind the Cardinal and did not speak much."

Wang Yan shook his head as if deeply disappointed: "Then you respect me even less, you bastards. Am I, Laozi, inferior to the Heavenly King? You send a Cardinal to see him, but only a Purple-Robed Bishop to see me? And you dare speak to me about plagiarism? What does this have to do with you? The common people spread the word orally, believing Huoshan develops well and can allow them to survive, that it is a place they yearn for; what problem is there with that? Does it fall to you to launch an accusatory expedition?"

"Wang, do not argue sophistically; you know that by doing this, you have also offended the Heavenly Kingdom and offended the Heavenly King."

"Then why has he not sent troops to attack me? I hear you have recently made large moves in the south, attempting to force the Qing court to revise the treaties. I have also offended you, so why have you not sent troops to attack me?"

"Wang, this is a provocation!"

"I know what you intend to do. I banned the resale of opium in Bashu and Guanzhong; how much time has passed since then? Yet you struggled through war zones to arrive here, spouting this bullshit about doctrines.

Mr. Bishop, the Lord told you to guide people toward goodness and spread love and peace; if I slapped you on one cheek, you should offer the other for me to slap. But what is the situation now? Are you advocating for opium? Specializing in harming others? What gives you bunch of bastards the confidence to come before me and point fingers?

You bastards, translate that clearly."

Meeting Wang Yan's indifferent gaze, Translator Shen's Adam's apple bobbed as he haltingly translated once more. Wang Yan heard clearly; Translator Shen had vividly translated the three characters "gou ri de" (bastards), including both the word "dog" and the word "person."

A merchant at the back stood up: "Honorable Wang, are you certain you wish to start a war?"

"It seems the weak Manchu Qing court has led you to believe that all Chinese people are like this, that you can ride atop the heads of all of us and show off your power. In truth, I am unwilling to fight; only in peace can I earn silver. But I cannot ignore such blatant threats. Very well, I will kill one first to see if you truly come to attack me. Guards!"

While Translator Shen was in the middle of translating, the door of the study was pushed open.

Wang Yan pointed at the foreigner who had stood up: "Behead him! Right here, behead him!"

Shi Jinbiao drew the knife from his waist and, without a second word, struck immediately.

And just as he swung the blade, the translator had only reached the words "kill one first." He could not finish translating the final part, for blood had already sprayed out, splashing onto these foreigners who had come from overseas.

The sudden change caught them off guard; they initially failed to react. They collectively lost their voices, watching as a huge gash was opened in their companion's neck, fresh blood spurting out. Then they watched Shi Jinbiao curse once, followed immediately by a second strike, which completely severed the head.

Sweeping a grim gaze over the others, Shi Jinbiao licked his lips and said: "Master, this foreigner's blood tastes the same as ours, and his head is no harder; it is not impossible to cut through. Oh, look, Master, they are afraid. When they first arrived, they were not like this; each one was blustering and arrogant, looking down their noses at people."

Shi Jinbiao was

Wang Yan laughed heartily, then looked again at the translator: "Translator Shen, why are you standing there stunned? Did you finish translating the previous words? Furthermore, translate my guard captain's words for them as well."

At this moment, facing the trembling foreigners, Translator Shen actually felt much better; although his voice still trembled, his speech had become considerably more fluent...

"Wang, do you intend to kill us all?" The bishop's voice was stern but his courage faltering as he summoned the nerve to ask.

"Then why are you still here speaking with me? I said it: because he threatened to start a war, I chopped him to death first, just to see if you truly have the guts to attack me. Along the coast, fine; your sturdy ships and powerful cannons leave us helpless. But inland? I'd like to see what your paltry forces could actually achieve if war broke out."

"Find them rags, watch them scrub the ground clean for me, then let them take this man's corpse and scram back, telling their army to come fight me."

With that, Wang Yan rose and departed.

Jiang Wuyang followed close behind: "Big Brother, didn't you say we'd best not engage directly in the fighting? Beating up foreigners like this doesn't seem right, does it?"

"That's where you fall short of Second Brother; he wouldn't care whether it's right or not."

"But is it right or not, Big Brother?"

……

"It's fine."

Whether in Jingcheng or Tianjing, whether it was Emperor Vanguard Commander or the Heavenly King, whether other Grand Councilors or various princely kings, upon hearing of Wang Yan's act, which could only be described as mad, they all clapped and cheered.

Even those within the Qing court who profited from selling opium, while cursing under their breath, still voiced their approval. It was true that Wang Yan had impacted their business, but they also despised the foreigners.

As for the stances of both sides, although both cooperated with the foreigners, it was a choice made out of necessity. If they simply lay flat and allowed themselves to be ravaged, what point would there be in launching Western Affairs, stirring up Reform, or learning from the barbarians' strengths to control the barbarians?

Moreover, neither the Heavenly Kingdom nor the Manchu Qing could command Wang Yan; indeed, they had already begun to find him exceedingly eyesore. Thus, Wang Yan chopping up a foreigner seemed to have little to do with them; aside from applauding to vent their frustration, they had no other choice...

Wang Yan had appeared quite stable over the past two years, but in truth, his movements had been massive.

He was actively penetrating the Ba-Shu and Guanzhong regions, and the fruit of this penetration was precisely the foreigners coming directly to his doorstep this time.

He intended to ban opium, and subsequently accomplished this; this fully reflected the support and affirmation of those two regions toward him.

This disgusted the Manchu Qing, for while their governmental decrees could still be transmitted downward, and although tax payments had decreased they were indeed still being paid, and requested matters could still be partially fulfilled, everything seemed no different from before. Yet the rapid success of the opium ban fully demonstrated that the Manchu court had already lost control over these two regions.

And Wang Yan, who caused all this, still wore the queue hairstyle, negotiated and conducted business with others, and styled himself as a General Who Establishes Might of the court and Provincial Military Commander of the Wan Army.

Even though a considerable portion of Wang Yan's subordinates, due to needing to navigate between Manchu Qing and Heavenly Kingdom territories, had already shaved their heads bald just like Translator Shen.

Yet even so, these men would still maintain their bald heads while in Heavenly Kingdom territory, and in Manchu Qing lands attach fake braids to their skulls. Everyone knew Wang Yan was putting on a show; the killers wandering everywhere for the Shunfeng Escort Agency loved nothing more than, when facing garrison troops guarding cities or occasionally encountering some official's procession, to "accidentally" let their attached hair fall off.

Whenever they saw others wearing expressions of impending death while pretending to see nothing, they would chuckle sinisterly, and their "hehe" sounds were loud enough for everyone to know they were snickering.

Clearly, the soldiers had already gained a certain awareness of their own strength; they craved to establish merits, craved to earn more money, and aimed to ascend to higher positions.

Yes, it was precisely money.

This was another reason Wang Yan had made enemies: he had already issued currency in Ba-Shu, Guanzhong, and Huoshan, and established banks to handle various operations. Using neither silver nor silver notes, and to avoid bank runs, he anchored everything on credit.

To facilitate the issuance of currency, he directly initiated various construction projects across regions, paying for them with the paper money he printed. Whoever refused to recognize the money would have their home raided and their silver confiscated.

Of course, this applied now that large-scale issuance had begun; previously, they printed money for their partners, and as long as one did business with their faction, they recognized this currency. The Escort Agency naturally had many partners; only after issuing it for some time did they begin promoting it extensively outside.

Most wealthy families could still recognize reality; only a few who believed they possessed the power to resist sought death, while the vast majority of common people naturally had no choice—Wang Yan had already chosen for them by force.

They worked, they earned money, and with that money they could consume just as they had with copper coins and silver taels before; if anyone refused to honor it, they need only seek out the Shunfeng Escort Agency. They long ago possessed no silver, so questions of safety were moot; merely surviving was safety itself...

Pang Qingyun thought the same...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who generously donate, cast monthly tickets, recommend votes, and silently read for their tremendous support!