1155: Chapter 1148: When the Map Ends, the Dagger Appears 1155: Chapter 1148: When the Map Ends, the Dagger Appears The ti had co to noon on the second day, when the sky was filled with clouds, preventing direct sunlight, which was suitable for large-scale gatherings.
Under the arrangent of the headquarters, the workers erected a high platform on the open space, surrounded by corrugated iron sheets.
The noble landlords were led to the center of the open space, while the common slaves stayed outside the corrugated sheets, seemingly intentionally keeping the two groups apart.
Looking at the corrugated sheets surrounding them and the temporary watchtowers erected nearby, all the noble landlords felt uneasy, although it was said to be a banquet, the atmosphere was nothing like that of a festive occasion.
In the middle of the venue, folding chairs were arranged in an orderly fashion for these noble gentlen to sit down.
Chairs were also set up outside the venue for the common slaves to take a seat, ensuring equality to the greatest extent.
With coordination from the headquarters and efforts from Ziang and others, order was maintained in the venue.
Ard guards were deployed all around, and so academy mages stood by in designated areas to prevent possible magic attacks.
Everyone was on high alert, rely waiting for the speech to comnce.
In this tense mont, Luo’er, fully ard, slowly climbed onto the high platform and walked towards the lectern in the middle.
Following him, also fully ard, was Feng.
She gripped her scabbard tightly and followed closely behind Luo’er with a very serious expression on her face.
“What’s going on?
Wasn’t he supposed to change into formal attire?” Wang Xu couldn’t help but express his confusion at the sight of Luo’er taking the stage.
“I’m not sure either.
I clearly saw him change into a suit, but how did he end up wearing a tactical vest on stage?” Li Si also said with a puzzled look on his face.
“Should I go pull him down?” he asked, looking at Wang Xu.
“Hold on, it’s probably Luo’er’s idea.
Let’s see what he’s up to,” Wang Xu stopped him and said.
“Boss, this is an important speech, and if sothing goes wrong, neither you nor I can escape responsibility,” Li Si said anxiously.
“I always feel that Luo’er might surprise us, what do you think?” Wang Xu said, smiling as he looked at Li Si.
“So we let him do it?” Li Si asked tentatively.
“Let’s wait and see.
Keep an eye out and step in to stop it imdiately if the situation deteriorates,” Wang Xu instructed.
“Understood!” Li Si nodded emphatically.
After Luo’er took the stage, the crowd below clearly began to buzz.
The noble gentries widened their eyes and pointed at Luo’er, exclaiming sothing in surprise, and the venue grew noisy with the tumult of voices.
And it wasn’t just the nobles inside the venue; even the common slaves outside started to murmur among themselves, pointing at Luo’er and babbling about sothing.
Their surprise was largely owing to Luo’er’s identity.
Because Luo’er was a Wood Elf hybrid, and as ntioned before, in the Northern Otherworld, the Wood Elf hybrids were basically at the lowest stratum.
Although so coveted their beauty, in the eyes of most people, such individuals were untouchables, sowhat akin to the Dalits in a caste system.
Luo’er seed to have anticipated such a reaction and didn’t care at all.
Instead, he took the thick pile of his speech and walked up to the lectern.
At this point, the audience was still in an uproar, so loud that Luo’er couldn’t hear his own voice.
He sighed, handed his speech to his left hand and drew a handgun from his pocket with his right, chambered it, and fired three shots into the sky.
The three loud gunshots suddenly silenced everyone present.
Instantly, the scene transitioned from a clamor of voices to a dead silence without any warning, as everyone’s eyes were wide open, watching every move Luo’er made on the stage.
“I’m sorry to et you for the first ti in such a way, but you were all too noisy, and I could only grab your attention this way!” Luo’er holstered his pistol with a smile and spoke out loud.
“I know that most of you don’t like , even despise , and that’s okay; I don’t like you either and haven’t regarded you highly.
The main reason I ca on stage today is to represent the Lipei district governnt and say a few things.”
As he spoke, Luo’er raised the thick stack of speech papers in his hand and smiled at the crowd, “I know most of you are not interested in hearing it all, so I won’t be reading from the speech verbatim.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth, Luo’er tore the speech papers in half with a ripping sound and scattered the pieces into the air, where the white fragnts fell like snowflakes.
“This…” Seeing this scene, Li Si imdiately beca anxious and was about to rush forward but was stopped by Wang Xu.
“Hold on, let’s see what he’s up to,” Wang Xu said to him.
“Without the speech papers, what does he plan to say?” Li Si asked, looking at him.
“I always feel like Luo’er has a trick up his sleeve, maybe he’s already figured out his own way,” Wang Xu said with a smile as he watched Luo’er.
“Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong…” Li Si said uneasily.
Watching the fluttering scraps, the crowd below erupted again into a buzz, but this ti the hubbub was noticeably less than before.
“In coming to the stage this ti, I’m here on behalf of the district governnt to announce three things.
Once I’ve said these three things, I will leave imdiately, and you can do as you see fit,” Luo’er said, holding up three fingers.
“First, I announce that as of today, slavery is officially abolished within the borders of Lipei.
All people, regardless of race, gender, wealth, or religion, are equal in terms of rights.
Slaves are no longer vassals of slave owners; tenant farrs are no longer vassals of landlords.
The Lipei district governnt guarantees to all that it will do its utmost to ensure the safety of everyone’s life, property, and freedom.
From this mont, all existing unequal vassal relationships are automatically dissolved!”
Luo’er’s first sentence ignited the atmosphere like a match dropped into a lake of oil, instantly setting everything ablaze.
The scene imdiately beca a tumult.
For the common slaves, this was undoubtedly the best news, but for the landlords and nobles, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
Facing the chaos, Luo’er repeated his earlier tactic, raising his gun and firing three shots into the sky.
Then, facing the sowhat diminished noise of the crowd, he said with a sneer, “Don’t rush to lant just yet, there’s more!”
“Second, within forty-eight hours from the publication of this declaration, all local residents holding land in Lipei, whether landlords or commoners, must surrender their deeds to the district governnt.
The Lipei district governnt will reclaim all the land for redistribution.
Ownership of the land will belong to the Lipei district governnt, and all people will only have usage rights, not control.”
If Luo’er’s first declaration heralded the death of slavery, his second declaration announced the death of landlords.
These two declarations struck the economic foundation of the feudal landlords and directly undermined the existing production relationships.
Landlords would no longer enjoy the extra inco from large tracts of land, nor free labor from tenant farrs.
It could be said that it killed these feudal landlords at the root.
In fact, the core ideas of the speech were just these two points, only buried in a bunch of empty talk, which Luo’er found dissatisfying, giving it a feeling like eating cake laced with poison.
Luo’er’s approach was much more direct and brutal, threatening these people to submit or die.
After the two declarations were announced, the scene started to get chaotic.
At this point, the earlier arrangents ca into effect, as the fully ard Mobile Troops imdiately pointed their guns at the landlords and nobles.
The machine guns on the watchtowers were ready to fire, and even the snipers on higher ground were deployed and waiting.
Should anyone dare to resist even slightly, they would be shot on the spot.
“Listen up,” Luo’er shouted to the landlords and nobles below, “I’m giving you a choice.
Hand over your deeds and leave here in peace.
Otherwise, don’t bla us for being unreasonable.
I promise, as long as you give up the land, we will not touch the wealth you have accumulated over generations.
But if you insist on resisting, I will consider you enemies of the district governnt.
I can’t guarantee what will happen then.”
“You’re acting like bandits!” a pot-bellied noble pointed at Luo’er and cursed angrily.
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