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Chapter 663: Chapter 567: Pushed it to the Doorstep (Please subscribe!)_1
"Two hours.
The operation ended, and the soldiers from the territory successively took over the turf of the fence sitters.
Next was to arrange temporary administrators.
Since there were no surplus administrative staff in the territory, all the work in these days would be undertaken by soldiers. Hands were tied, the territory seriously lacked administrative staff.
However, with the high illiteracy rate, it was virtually impossible for the territory to train an adequate general workforce in a short period of time.
Therefore, Tang Qing planned to extensively cultivate administrative fighters, improve the management organization, and sort out some of the ruling rights in the territory.
According to satellite statistics, the total population of the fence sitters exceeded 700,000, about three times of the territory, plus the original population of the territory, the total number has officially surpassed one million.
If you include the population within Su Yu’s sphere of influence.
The total population of the entire territory is about to exceed two million.
This is an enormous number. It will take quite a long time to completely absorb, so the first priority task for the soldiers who went in was to carry out a census, register, and issue ID cards.
The other task was to identify those with serious crimes.
They used to do as they please, but now Tang Qing would not tolerate them. These people were the social cancers. All were sent to the mines to create value. Only when they were considered harmless and had turned over a new leaf would they be let out and assigned corresponding jobs.
Only those who behaved well during this period could choose their own occupations.
This can be considered full circle care.
Watching the military vehicles traversing through the mud roads, the villagers along the way were full of fear, looking apprehensively at these mighty soldiers, they had no idea what had happened, but they knew it must be a significant event.
To appease these villagers and propagate policies, a squad of soldiers was arranged in every village for registration. The soldiers were led by a fighter, and the satellites in the sky watched in real time to prevent any unexpected incidents.
The tasks for these three days are substantial.
First, register the population. Over 700,000 people must be surveyed and issued identity documents.
Second, propagate the policies of the territory and select village heads.
Third, differentiate all the soldiers from the fence sitters. Those who are willing to join can join and go to the training camp for new recruits. Those who are unwilling can leave without coercion. But there will be no resettlement fee, as they are not soldiers of the territory.
Three days later, people will come in successively, to build roads and bridges, for exploration and construction, to recruit workers, to confiscate foreign currencies, to exchange for Asia Dollar, and most importantly, to confiscate firearms. The territory will thoroughly implement the regulation that civilians are not allowed to privately possess firearms.
Before Leader Ling goes to Yangon in Myanmar.
Apart from regular soldiers and special personnel.
All firearms held by civilians must be completely confiscated.
......
Inside the territory.
Now, practically everyone knows that a big event has taken place, except they don’t know what the big event is. They work absent-mindedly. They asked their bosses, but their bosses didn’t know either.
No one came out to clarify, and people had various speculations. If it were not for their faith in Ling’s capability, and their fear of Ling, by now rumors would have been flying around. But even as it stands, various conjectures were being widely circulated.
The core of all conjectures was: a battle might break out soon.
For a moment,
The atmosphere everywhere got tense.
Facing this situation-
Tang Qing certainly couldn’t ignore it.
So, at the end of this operation, all the ’loudspeakers’ throughout the territory started to play their part, from towns, factories, and rural areas, they were all connected to Xin’an Town.
The first sentence.
Made the whole territory quiet down.
People were stopping their work, pedestrians were standing still, farmers were also pricking up their ears, listening to the loudspeaker in the village.
"Hello everyone, I’m Ling. I’m here to provide an explanation for today’s troop deployment. After our effort to persuade, the leaders have agreed to sell us their territories.
In other words, now, besides Su Yu’s territory, everywhere else is ours. The operation just now has ended, we’ve completed the takeover, everyone please stick to your posts and work hard. I am confident that we will have a better tomorrow."
Barely had Ling’s voice faded before the loudspeaker stopped.
The public, upon hearing the news, was left dumbfounded, trying to digest this explosive news. We... won just like that? Ling appeared to have said ’sold’, not fought. Did those leaders just agree?
As for this speech.
Many people were complaining inwardly, no matter how it was glossed over, there should be some moral high-ground condemning the evils, then declare ourselves as crusaders of justice. Now it’s purely a notification.
But this was truly Ling’s style, straightforward.
After processing the news.
People were overjoyed.
"Nice one, Ling!"
"So fast, really?"
"Doubting Leader Ling’s words, he said it, then it must be. Tonight, I’m going to have a good drink."
"I would too, I would slaughter a chicken to celebrate."
"..."
Inside the reception room of Xin’an Town Service Center.
Ge Dan also heard what Ling said through the loudspeaker.
An incredulous expression on his face, though he was prepared, the speed was such that he couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine. How long had this been in the works, to be able to take over so many places in two hours.
It felt as if he was dreaming.
Thinking of Ling’s proposal to go to Yangon, Ge Dan always had a bad feeling about it. It was not a case of a lamb entering the tiger’s den, but a wolf entering a sheepfold. Ling must have his own ulterior motives, he just didn’t know what they were.
...
Inside Su Yu’s house.
Today, Su Yu felt a bit relaxed. He had spent a great deal of effort, but finally managed to persuade his subordinates. Now, it all depended on the situation with Lead Ling. So far, there had been no news. It was as if Ling hadn’t made a move yet.
He wanted to see for himself.
How Ling would buy the land from those fence-sitters.
Three days.
Let’s see what Ling can do.
"Ring...ring...ring..."
The phone suddenly rang.
Without thinking twice, Su Yu answered the call. The next moment, he almost dove under the table in fright.
"What, you’re sure you’re not mistaken, Ling’s soldiers have shown up at Creek Cliff, north of us?" Su Yu nearly yelled into the phone, as if the other end wouldn’t hear him clearly if he didn’t shout.
The person on the other end of the phone had his ears buzzing from the yelling.
"Yes, Leader Su Yu, it’s definitely Ling’s men. They have already identified themselves." The person on the other end immediately replied, clearly confused. The enemy had identified themselves right from the start, even before Su Yu was notified.
The intention to side with Ling was still circulating among the upper ranks, but the other end was not aware of this yet.
Having confirmed the situation...
Su Yu fell silent.
He let his hands hang limp, and he sat heavily in his chair, massaging his aching head. His face showed an array of emotions—he didn’t know whether to be happy or sad; his mind was in chaos.
How much time had passed since Ling’s phone call?
Ling’s soldiers had already advanced to the vicinity of his territory, particularly the outpost that made the call.
What did this imply?
It could only mean... Ling had already occupied that area.
He was well aware of how important the outpost’s location was. It was a crucial intersection; if Ling occupied it, it would undoubtedly mean that the other areas had fallen to Ling as well.
This...
Su Yu was at a loss as to how Ling had managed to do this. He had anticipated it would take three days, yet Ling had done it in three hours. He didn’t want to believe it. But the message on the phone couldn’t be wrong.
Ling had pulled it off.
He had managed to ’buy the land’ at a miraculous pace.
Su Yu picked up the phone again and commanded, "Alright, I understand. Be sure not to make any rash moves or get into any conflicts with Ling’s men. I’ll see what I can do about this right away."
"Yes."
The other end responded.
He hung up the phone.
Then, Su Yu dialed Ling’s satellite phone.
"Hello, Leader Su Yu," Ling’s voice was as calm as ever.
"Ling... your men... they’ve reached Creek Cliff?" Su Yu asked cautiously.
"Yes, I heard they just arrived," Ling candidly admitted.
"So, you’ve taken over those areas?" Su Yu asked nervously, swallowing hard.
"Correct, they all willingly offered to sell their territories," Ling casually remarked. In the face of life threats, could they not be nice? Unless they were utterly evil, Tang Qing even allowed them to leave with their property.
Their only crime, often, was simply trying to survive. Just like Su Yu, who would willingly farm if they had other choices? If farming flowers was considered a crime, that would be too broad a definition, and half of the people inside his territory would be criminals.
Unless their crimes were extremely heinous or involving mass murder, they would not be judged guilty by Tang Qing. That was the past; he was not the world’s judge. But from now on, farming flowers would be a crime.
And for Su Yu, the hints were clear. Ling had used extreme means or perhaps had agreed to terms long ago. He then put on a show for them, otherwise, Su Yu simply couldn’t believe Ling managed to "buy the land" from them on such short notice.
"So, about our cooperation..." Su Yu hesitated, wanting to ask if they should start their collaboration earlier. Now that Ling’s people had reached his doorstep, should they not do anything for the remaining two days?
He now regarded Ling entirely as his future superior.
"No, I’ll visit you in three days. We’ve just taken over this piece of land and there’s a lot of work to be done; I can’t leave just yet," Ling replied.
"Alright, we’ll make sure to treat you well when you arrive," Su Yu promised.
"Hmm."
Without further ado, both of them hung up.
Su Yu was still reeling from the shock.
Ling’s efficiency was so high that Su Yu felt he was not dealing with a small faction, but rather a nation. Everything was perfectly planned and smoothly executed, step by step. Everything was in place and ready to strike when the time was right. All these left Su Yu no room to recover.
Seeing the gap between himself and Ling, Su Yu realized that the others had been well-prepared all along. Everything was perfectly natural and in order. With a simple flip of the hand, they could summon clouds and cover the sky like gods.
If Ling could toy with these forces to death, then Su Yu would certainly not fare any better. Considering this, Su Yu could not help but picture the miserable state he would be in if he hadn’t chosen to cooperate, possibly losing everything.
Su Yu shivered at the thought.
He had to share this news with someone. The shock was too much for him to handle alone; he needed to calm his nerves.
