The executive committee discussed the remaining two issues. Most people felt that not to harass the people was their original purpose, and it didn't make much difference whether they agreed or not. ． The dispute is mainly about the second point, whether to release the prisoners. Wu De and the people from the construction team were firmly opposed. The former had just trained them and it was relatively smooth in all aspects, while the latter was currently busy with the project and without the labor team, the efficiency would be greatly affected.
Others were not willing to give up these people, and finally decided to let go only of those small landowners, rich peasants and the like. They did not have enough price tags to attract these people to join them. As for the others, they would not let go for the time being in order to establish the system as soon as possible. Aboriginal Affiliated Powers.
After making this decision, Wu De sorted through all the prisoners overnight and made a list of about ten people who could be released. They were all wealthy people or rich farmers. There was no use in keeping these people. It was better to release them and get some. Realistic benefits.
Everyone discussed some more terms and set a condition for negotiation. The next day, Zhang Youfu came to visit again with a simple gift of eight colors. It was obviously to thank them for allowing the corpse to be collected, but in fact he came to find out what they said.
Xi Yazhou put forward his three demands:
1. Travelers can do business with locals anywhere in the county and trade various commodities freely. Officials and others must not obstruct it.
2. Travelers may freely hire workers within the county.
3. Travelers can walk freely within the county.
At the same time, he said that regardless of whether the county agreed to these three items, they could release some people to show their sincerity. He also proposed a list of people to be released and asked them to see if there was anything they wanted to add. If you want to take someone away immediately, you can release them immediately here. If there is nothing special, just bring some sedans and animals to pick up people tomorrow.
Naturally, Zhang Youfu did not dare to make the decision, so he took a copy of the persons and conditions to be released and took them away.
When Wu Mingjin received these conditions, he was not sure whether to pay attention to them. Some things were easy to talk about, but some were really important, especially this trading commodity - he vaguely felt that this was a bit like the red-haired man who sent a ship to ask for the opening of the port a few years ago. , the conditions for conducting trade, are these people also on the same road? Then he hurriedly went to see Mr. Wang to discuss it.
Master Wang pondered for a moment and drank a pot of strong tea. Then he made up his mind and asked in a low voice: "Dong Weng, just accept."
Wu Mingjin shook his head and said: "I have two concerns. First, if they follow the old wisdom of Fo Lang Ji Ren and stay on, using Bairen as the city and Bopu as the harbor, this place will become the second Xiangshan Ao. The imperial court absolutely does not allow it; secondly, although hired workers are free, once they sail away in the future, wouldn't they be committing the sin of separating from human flesh and blood."
Mr. Wang smiled and said: "Dong Weng is overly worried. The most important thing now is to appease the gentlemen and collect the autumn grain. After half a year, go to the province to do some activities and find a transfer. Can you be with Xiangshan'ao? The master has nothing to do with it. As for leaving human flesh and blood - hiring workers is something you and I are willing to do. If you work as a servant for such aliens and take them overseas, you will bring your own fault."
Wu Mingjin thought about it for a while, and decided that he had no choice but to do this, so he summoned Zhang Youfu and said that Xu Kun was the thieves in these matters, but he could not leave any written evidence. Zhang Youfu understood the idea and went to summon the heads of the families who were waiting for the redemption and asked them to come up with gifts of thanks.
Those who had been captured in these families were all as anxious as ants on a hot pot, asking for mercy in one place and asking for help in the other. They wanted to find someone to make peace with the pirates, and were willing to pay money to redeem the person, and even planned to save their lives as long as they could. Even at the expense of going bankrupt. It's just that the origin of this group of pirates is unknown, and they have never been able to get on the line. Now I heard that the other party did not want ransom and would release me tomorrow. If I asked someone to give me an extra tael of silver, it would be like peeling off a layer of skin from my body. It hurts so much that I cry out for money. They all said that they had grown up eating Coptis every day and were miserable. When they talked about it, they still had no clues. Zhang Youfu was so angry that he had no choice but to wipe his face and threatened that if he could not negotiate a suitable amount, he would raise his own money tomorrow. I won’t go to Bairentan to pick people up. "Whoever wants to pick someone up can go alone!" He said as if he was walking away.
No matter where they were willing to let him go, they all stopped him. Here, the county magistrate Wu Ya also pretended to say some good words to comfort him. One of them was trying to be a good person, and the other was a bad person. They talked good and bad, and finally decided to ask everyone to give up 600 taels of silver. One hundred pieces of Qiong cloth (note: Hainan local cotton cloth, four pigs and one cow). In addition, thirty taels of silver were given to Zhang Youfu as a reward. The silver and cloth were divided according to the size of each family's property. Everyone paid back this total. Satisfied, because if it were to redeem someone, it would cost at least three or four times the amount of money. After agreeing on the amount, everyone was worried about whether the amount would satisfy Boss Xi. They decided to ask Zhang Youfu to go tomorrow and explain the amount. If Xi Yazhou agreed and sent the money and cloth to pick him up.
The next day, Zhang Youfu took his sedan chair and animals to see Xi Yazhou. He told Xi Yazhou a lot of difficult things for the big families, and then told him the amount of silver and cloth. Xi Yazhou not only did not show that he was too little, but also said some If you appreciate it, you can release the small landowners and rich peasants directly without waiting for the money and cloth to be sent from the county.
This move further enhanced the gentry's good impression of them. Even the ordinary civilians, knowing their actions, felt that these pirates were benevolent and righteous people. They also heard that they never burned, killed or looted. The more courageous ones left the city and went home one after another - there was still a lot of work waiting for them in the fields, and after a few days, all the refugees in the county town were dispersed. The south gate of the county seat was only open for two or three hours, but now all three gates are open. The tense atmosphere that lasted for more than a month slowly subsided. A few days later, pedestrians appeared one after another on the road, and farmers were working in the fields near Bairentan.
"Peace is indeed beautiful." Xiao Zishan stood on the sentry tower and said intoxicatedly.
"Peace is temporary." Bei Wei said behind him with a sullen face. The hunting plan he advocated has been adjusted twice and was originally ready to be released, but it was announced to be temporarily shelved because of this peace negotiation. These days, he has been training Ye Mengyan and these young men who have been clamoring to be special forces with the vigor of "gold, wood, water, fire, earth, sun, and metal" every day. Every day, you can hear the screams of these ten people on the training ground.
ATF's Xue Ziliang also painfully realized how to change his destiny while driving a bulldozer. He noticed Bei Wei's training sessions and sneaked to the training ground after work every day. Bei Wei was reluctant to talk to him at first, but after he expressed some very professional opinions during the training course, the two began to exchange opinions frequently. Xue Ziliang took the opportunity to show off his skills in front of Bei Wei. Several beautiful tactical moves and excellent marksmanship impressed the former reconnaissance company commander. Only then did he show his trump card: before joining the ATF, he served in the US Navy's 6th Armed Forces Reconnaissance Team (for) and participated in the Iraq War.
"Look, I am also a veteran." Xue Ziliang looked at Bei Wei affectionately with eyes full of loneliness, and the hearts of the two former scouts from China and the United States oscillated and collided with sparks of resonance. The expressions on the two men's faces were so full of masculine fortitude and tenderness that the legend of Brokeback Mountain arose among the special forces trainees that day.
Next, the two communicated more frequently on the training ground. There was a lot to say between colleagues, especially those who respected each other very much. Although there are many majors in the military team, including people with professional backgrounds in armor and shipbuilding, he is the only one in the military team who majors in reconnaissance. In addition to having some professional conversations with former infantry unit commanders like He Ming and Xi Yazhou, there is nothing else to talk about. Now that we have a person like Xue Ziliang, we have a lot of common topics. The two men's discussions on various issues ranging from the operations and tactics of special forces to the military have become increasingly in-depth. Of course, rumors about the two of them also spread like wildfire.
Bei Wei himself was still unaware. When He Ming, as an old comrade, euphemistically suggested to him that as the main leading cadre of the military group, he should pay attention to the influence in his private life, he still found it difficult to understand: How could a person who never showed sexual favors to girls do so? Rumors about lifestyle. Speaking of which, he couldn't stand how Xi Yazhou was too affectionate with the girls!
It was only when the rumor finally reached his ears that he suddenly realized that the problems in his private life were not limited to the relationship between men and women. After his face turned from red to blue and then white, he ran out. Xi Yazhou quickly followed him out, fearing that he would do something stupid on impulse. After some investigation, Bei Wei announced to the special forces training team that each team member would have to do an additional 200 push-ups after the day's training, until the rumors between him and Xue Ziliang disappeared.
But this did not affect the friendship between him and Xue Ziliang. Xue Weini used his innate keen insight into human nature as a Chinese to rediscover the way to survive in this once strange environment.
For most thru-hikers, the biggest change brought about by the détente with the locals is at the dinner table. When Wu Nanhai proudly wrote the words "braised pork" on the blackboard of today's supply in the canteen, the counter that had just been built in the canteen was almost overwhelmed by people.
