Chapter 1465: Chapter 30: Reception (Part 2)
In the middle of the crowd, two pale-faced girls lay on the ground, with several older women tending to them.
“Heatstroke!” John Baltz immediately concluded, using the opportunity to disperse the representatives, “Scatter! Scatter! Don’t block the wind! Are you trying to suffocate them?”
The human wall reluctantly backed away, making a bit of space.
“Loosen that thing and let the two kids catch their breath,” John Baltz pointed at the girls’ corsets, urging repeatedly, “and get them some light saline water.”
An older woman glanced reproachfully at the mayor: “How can you let ladies undress here?”
“Oh! I’m muddle-headed!” John Baltz slapped his forehead, changed his tune, “Then carry them away, hurry and take them home!”
Several older women called for their personal maids, hurrying to carry the two girls onto the carriage.
Watching the carriage rumble towards the city, John Baltz suddenly felt something amiss.
“Damn it!” The mayor slapped his thigh again, “Who’s going to offer salt and bread now?”
…
“Cut the damn nonsense,” the bearded leader with a heavy accent, acted rudely and impatiently.
At their first meeting, he bluntly told the mayor: “We’re not going into the city.”
Judging by the demeanor, John Baltz guessed this bearded man was the real leader.
Because the hooked-nosed person who came before for the reception negotiation was now following the bearded man, lagging half a horse behind.
The bearded man and the hooked-nose brought only a dozen riders, and their clothing was quite scrappy.
In comparison, Shi Hu City’s welcoming ceremony seemed overly grand and formal.
Neither the bearded man nor the hooked-nose showed any intention of “celebrating with the people,” stopping their horses at a distance, and called for the mayor to come forward alone.
In the distant smoke and dust, silhouettes could still be vaguely seen.
But the latter showed no intention of stopping, nor approaching Shi Hu City, seemingly intent on bypassing the city directly.
Upon hearing they were not entering the city, Baltz felt quite relieved.
However, he still had to feign courtesy: “Gentlemen of this city have prepared a banquet for you, please…”
“[Rude expletive]! Why talk so much? Didn’t we tell you? Cut the nonsense,” the bearded man rudely interrupted the mayor, directly throwing a folded grass paper, “Prepare everything on this list before tonight.”
John Baltz cursed inwardly while smiling outwardly. He bent down to pick up the list and quickly scanned it.
The size of the demand made him gasp.
However, though the quantities of resources on the list were large, they were just within Shi Hu City’s capability, very subtle.
Baltz decided to haggle with them, squeezing a humble smile of a small citizen, hoping they might feel some compassion.
“Sir,” Mayor Baltz pleaded pitifully, “We truly…”
“Cut the damn crap,” the bearded man directly lashed the mayor, “If you can’t deliver, we’ll go into the city.”
The citizen representatives immediately became restless, but no one dared to act rashly.
John Baltz’s neck, struck by the whip, burned painfully. He waved to the crowd behind him, persevering through the pain to continue pleading: “We really…”
“Smack!”
Another lash directly knocked the mayor off balance.
Young Baltz could no longer bear it, rushing from the crowd to his father’s side, questioning with reddened eyes: “How dare you hit people?”
“Little brat,” the bearded man sneered, drawing his saber, “I think you don’t want to live.”
“Alright, alright, put away the knife,” the hooked-nose stepped forward to smooth things out, glancing at the boy, then looking at the mayor, asking with a smile, “Your son?”
John Baltz remained silent.
“The items on the list, it’s not us asking you, but the higher-ups asking us,” the hooked-nose spoke leisurely but seemed more terrifying than the bearded man, enticing the mayor like a devil, “We’re not only asking you for the items. The goods are for everyone, while the son is yours.”
“Fine,” John Baltz gritted his teeth, “Give us some time to prepare.”
“Before tonight,” the bearded man sheathed his saber, speaking ominously.
John Baltz was silent for a moment, then nodded, “Before tonight.”
“That’s settled then,” the hawk-nosed man clapped his hands and laughed, “Quick, bring us the bread and salt to taste.”
John Baltz gave his son a look.
The young Baltz clenched his fists and walked toward the city wall, looking back every few steps.
A moment later, he emerged from the crowd carrying a large silver tray. The tray was lined with finely embroidered silk, on which lay a beautifully crafted round loaf of bread, with silver-white salt in the center.
Young John Baltz humiliatingly lifted the silver tray above his head, offering the gesture of welcome to the bearded man and the hawk-nosed man.
The bearded man frowned, having no intention of touching it, “Why is it a boy offering it? Where are the women?”
“A boy will do,” the hawk-nosed man sneered, tearing off a small piece of bread, dipping it several times into the salt dish, and savoring it as he put it in his mouth.
On the city wall, the officer who had confidently made promises earlier was stunned, faced with a stack of green flags and unsure of what to do.
Because the newcomers did not carry any colored flags.
—————–
Just as Colonel William Ludwick warned, without the deterrence of the United Province forces, the local towns that once feigned loyalty to Kingsfort couldn’t even be bothered to put on a show.
As soon as the flag of the “New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army” appeared on the horizon, they promptly opened their gates in surrender.
From Maplestone City to the towns along the road to Kingsfort, none chose to continue fighting for the Red Rose.
Indeed, most citizens viewed the “New Republic” lauded by the New Reclamation Legion as just another military government.
After all, when it came to the extent of military dominance, the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province was even more bizarre than Jiangbei Province — Jiangbei didn’t have a “monster” like the New Reclamation Legion.
Not to mention that the New Reclamation People’s and the Blue Rose’s flags had almost identical colors.
Therefore, the citizen class had some resistance to the idea of “another Rainbow River Military Government.”
But this did not prevent the autonomous towns of Westwood Province from lowering the Red Rose flag overnight and raising the old style blue and white cross quarters flag.
The city dwellers of Westwood Province, who prided themselves on living in the heart of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, cleverly hid their disdain for the New Reclamation People, plastering insincere smiles on their faces and willingly opening their doors to the “new rulers.”
In their attitude towards the New Reclamation Legion, farmers were much more straightforward than city dwellers.
As soon as the smoke and dust appeared on the horizon, farmers immediately drove their livestock into the fields and skillfully fled into the forests with their valuables.
It could be said that farming families who hadn’t mastered this procedure by heart, over the past two years of unrest, either went bankrupt or were “weeded out.”
Overall, the Westwood people’s attitude towards the New Reclamation Legion was both fearful and wary.
So, what was the New Reclamation Legion’s attitude towards the Westwood people?
Answer: The New Reclamation Legion had no time to express any stance towards the Westwood people.
Having realized what he missed, Gessa Adonis, like any normal person, developed a kind of twisted compensatory mentality.
If it weren’t for the necessity of sleep, Gessa would have had the troops marching towards Kingsfort around the clock.
The battalion that acted as the vanguard for the White Mountain County Team had no time to formally take over the towns along their route.
They even tried to bypass human settlements whenever possible — not wanting their disheveled appearance to affect the New Army’s image in the minds of the Westwood people.
The so-called “reception” was, in most cases, the battalion commander and a few company commanders making a token gesture, leaving the bewildered city representatives to the follow-up supporting troops.
The towns from Maplestone City to Kingsfort along the road had no time to be taken over by the New Reclamation Legion, let alone those in the hinterlands of Westwood Province.
Such a chaotic situation provided some opportunists with their chance.
Some set up checkpoints on the main roads in the name of the New Reclamation Legion, others extorted money and goods under its guise.
One outrageous group of bandits even pretended to be a passing New Army unit, demanding money and supplies from Shi Hu City.
Even more astonishing was that the bandits actually succeeded in extorting goods from the citizens of Shi Hu City.
Upon hearing this, Gessa Adonis was furious.
But he currently had no time to deal with these trivial matters.
Gessa Adonis’s entire focus was zeroed in on Paratu’s heart — Kingsfort.