"Hmph, do you really think we don't dare to make any big moves? That's a fool. The explosion has already reached my head, so why would I care about the people's livelihood? I believe that the common people will also support us. "
On the boat stopped on the river, Xiaobei had someone cut half a watermelon. As he ate it with a spoon, he angrily spoke.
Xiaoyuan, on the other hand, was using a toothpick to stick the watermelon that had been cut into small pieces. Looking at Xiao Bei's eating manners, he shook his head and said, "Xiao Bei, aren't you afraid that you'll get fat while eating with all your might while being angry?"
"Can eating watermelon make people fat? Unless you take the sugar out of the watermelon and specifically eat it. Xiao Yuan, do you think that if Big Brother and Big Sister knew that we ordered a lockdown on Xunyang, they would scold us? "
Xiaobei stopped eating and worriedly asked.
Xiao Yuan continued to shake his head. "They probably won't. Isn't it just affecting the people's livelihood? Besides, we came up with this idea together. Even if they want to scold us, they'll scold all of us. You don't need to be afraid."
"I hope so." Xiaobei was still unsure, so he took another spoon of watermelon and ate it.
Sealing off Xunyang and conducting house-to-house searches had been their orders, so everyone present had to listen to them. Unless a new order came from Zhang Xiaobao's side, no one was allowed to disobey the orders of Xiao Bei and the others. Those who hesitated or resisted were executed on the spot.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had very boldly given their younger brother and sister this authority. They were confident that their younger brother and sister would definitely make good use of it. Although there was a telegram, at this crucial moment, every second was crucial.
Because after Xiaobei's group had been bombed, they had begun a series of actions, having the troops in the city begin to move.
Of course, doing this would cause great damage to Xunyang. Besides economic damage, there was also psychological damage, causing everyone to panic.
Xiaobei's group was gambling, gambling that the majority of the common people of the Great Tang would favor them and cooperate, but they had no confidence. They had already sent a telegram to Hangzhou.
But they had not expected the degree to which the common people of Xunyang would favor them.
When the people conducting the search went from house to house, the people naturally wanted to know the reason. When they heard that Xiao Bei's ship was almost blown up, the people were even angrier than the people conducting the search.
One by one, they walked out of their houses and helped the people who were searching the area to introduce the people who lived in this area, who came later, what their surname was, who was usually in the family, who was often mysterious, and so on.
One by one, the citizens walked out of their homes. Not only did they help the people who were searching by knocking on their neighbors' doors, but there were also people who spontaneously organized themselves and stood at the foot of the city walls. They were a few steps away from each other and stood at the foot of the city walls. They did not give anyone a chance to climb over the city walls or crawl out through the hidden dog holes.
According to the order of the lockdown, only people were allowed to enter and not leave.
The commoners were about to go crazy from anger. Someone actually dared to lay a hand on Xiaobei and the others. How preposterous! When they heard that Xiaobei was coming over, they had been looking forward to it again and again. Everyone knew that when the people from the Zhang and Wang families arrived, no matter where they went, they would immediately come up with ideas.
Moreover, they would come up with good ideas based on the local conditions and circumstances. Thus, the lives of the local commoners would be much better than before.
If they were willing to become local officials, then the commoners would be itching to personally organize a group and snatch them away.
Thus, if Xiaobei and the others came to Xunyang, it would naturally be beneficial to their own Xunyang. But now, before they even reached the shore, someone had gone to blow up the boat. Although no one had been injured, if Xiaobei and the other children were scared off and blown away, who would come up with ideas to raise the standard of living in Xunyang?
This was what the commoners of Xunyang City were thinking, and then the entire city began to mobilize. Needless to say, with the help of the people, the people searching the area really did manage to capture quite a few members of that organization and were now investigating further.
*****
While Xunyang was carrying out the entire search, Zhang Xiaobao in Hangzhou also received the news.
In the past two days, he had been fishing with Wang Ju. They had changed many places, and according to the different environments and types of fish, he had switched out all sorts of fishing tools.
Wang Ju was truly dazzled by all this. She couldn't understand just how her grandson had managed to learn all these skills. There was a limit to one's strength, and no matter how smart one was, learning this and that would always take some time.
But this grandson of hers truly knew too many things. If it was just her grandson alone, perhaps there would be someone who could think of a way to contend against him, but with her granddaughter-in-law, it made one feel utterly powerless when facing the two of them.
Taking one person alone was already very formidable, but it was still possible to find a few flaws. But when the two of them were together, they seemed to be perfect and unassailable. When one person made a decision, the other person would always voice out a different opinion. Then, they would discuss, supplement, or improve, and thus arrive at a result.
No one was an absolute leader. Depending on the situation, the two of them would constantly switch positions. This was the truly formidable aspect.
For this reason, Wang Ju would always beat around the bush, wanting to ask just what else her grandson knew.
But just as she was about to ask, a telegram arrived. Wang Juan had personally ridden a horse to deliver it, her face a mask of indifference.
Seeing Wang Juan like this, Zhang Xiaobao knew that something had happened. Throwing away his fishing rod, he asked, "What happened to Xiaobei and the others?"
"Xiaobei?" Wang Ju was puzzled. How did Xiao Bao know that it was about Xiaobei and the others? Just as she was puzzled, Wang Juan said, "They were blown up."
"Did you catch them?" Zhang Xiaobao asked again.
Wang Ju was even more puzzled. Why didn't you, Xiao Bao, ask your little brother or sister if they were injured?
"We're catching them. Xiaobei and the others have sealed off Xunyang City and are searching from house to house," Wang Juan said as she handed over the telegram.
Wang Ju now understood. She didn't even need to speak. Just an expression, a glance, or even a feeling was enough to know what she wanted to say.
No wonder Xiao Bao directly asked Xiaobei and then didn't ask about their injuries. They had their own way of communicating.
Hearing the two's question and answer, Wang Ju's heart, which had just been raised, calmed down. She also threw down her fishing rod and went to Zhang Xiaobao's side to read the contents of the telegram.
As soon as she finished reading, without waiting for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to speak, Wang Ju began to shout.
"They're too daring, actually daring to blow up my grandson and granddaughter's boat. Ah, if this was Hangzhou, I would catch them and skin them alive. Xiao Bao, look at the news they sent. They were even worried that you wouldn't let them seal off Xunyang. You can't talk about them."
Zhang Xiaobao saw that Wang Ju was protecting his little brother and sister and laughed. "Why not talk about them? So petty. You're worried about just sealing off Xunyang? Come, pass down my order. Seal off all of Jiangzhou. If you report one person in the Jiangnan West Road, you can get money. If you report more than five people, you can get money.
If someone from another country reports someone from another country, they can get money of tens of millions of strings. They can also choose five technologies from the Great Tang. The informant will not be held responsible. As long as he or she is not the mastermind, he or she will be exempt from punishment. "
Someone to the side received the order and left.
Zhang Xiaobao continued, "Send a report to Xiaobei and the others. Tell them to kill at least 100 people. Anyone who participated in this operation but didn't take the initiative to confess, anyone who didn't report, will be killed."
Hearing this, Wang Ju finally understood what Xiao Bao meant. He was blaming Xiaobei and the others for being too cautious.
Wang Juan now said to Zhang Xiaobao, "It seems that we need to change our education. We've already been bullied to the point of being bullied, yet Xiaobei and the others still consider this and that. Our Zhang Family and Wang Family usually protect the common people, but at the crucial moment, we ourselves are being threatened. What are we worried about?
When we need to be strong, we need to be strong. There's no need to explain anything to others, and there's no need to explain anything to others. At worst, we can compensate them after the matter is over. "
"There's no rush. If we teach them wrongly and they start doing things with great fanfare in the future, it'll be troublesome. They're still children, so we can't treat them like adults. Interesting, truly interesting. The other side knows how to strike first and explode, haha.
I've decided. Once we catch them, we'll tie fireworks to their bodies one by one and then let them have a taste of what it's like to be blown up. We won't blow them up one by one. "
Zhang Xiaobao flatly said.
Even though Wang Ju hadn't been in contact with his grandson for too long, he could still feel the anger in Xiao Bao's heart. He then said, "Xiao Bao, we should blow them up. I suggest that the firecrackers shouldn't be too powerful. Just use small whips and blow them up bit by bit for a few days and nights. Even if they're injured, we can treat them before we blow them up again. What do you think?"
"Grandfather, I'm just joking. Why should we blow them up? If there are too many people, I'll catch them and make them build the railway. It's best if other countries are involved. Then, I'll have a reason to ask Cuckoo to send troops to catch more people to build the railway. Isn't that right, Cuckoo?"
Zhang Xiaobao smiled and said.
He really didn't want to kill more people. If he killed them, then so be it. But who would do the dangerous work? The current safety technology wasn't in place. If the railway was built at a high speed without any regard for anything else, it would be almost fatal.
"Oh, right. Catch them to build the railway. When the time comes, you should lead troops to catch Cuckoo." Wang Ju nodded in agreement. He had never taken a train before, but he had heard that it was very fast from the capital to Luoyang.
Although the current speed wasn't as fast as the 800 km/h emergency report, the technology could be improved. The breed of horses was just that. It was too difficult to improve it. In the future, it would definitely be much faster than the 800 km/h emergency report.
And most importantly, the emergency report could only take one or a few people at a time. The train could transport many things. A carriage could carry many people and a lot of goods. It was far from comparable to a horse.
Wang Juan had a different idea. She said to the two of them, "Grandfather, Xiao Bao, I won't directly catch people. If there's really a need for war, I'll directly attack their country's capital. I'll surround them outside and not attack in. I'll force their emperor or king to sign a contract.
That's how much labor they send to our Tang Empire every year. Like slaves, they don't care if they live or die. They don't get any wages, and they don't have food or drink. I'll make them lose the hearts of the people.
I'll make them use force to suppress their people to work. I'll make their people feel helpless and indignant. I'll make their leaders know that it's wrong, but they have no choice but to do so. I'm even willing to help them maintain their imperial power and provide them with weapons to suppress their people. "
"I think this is a good idea." Zhang Xiaobao agreed and continued, "I can also help. As long as they have money and are willing to come to the Tang Empire, as long as they buy enough things in the Tang Empire, I'll give them the right to do so.
But I don't want their money. I only want minerals, food, and wood. Livestock and poultry are also fine. Even if they are officials, I will also help them and bring their families over, as long as they do what I ask.
They dared to scheme against my brother and sister. I'll make their entire nation sink. It wasn't easy for me, Zhang Xiaobao, to finally have a younger brother and sister. They still want to deal with them. Hmph, do they think I'm made of mud? "
Hearing the two of them speak, Wang Ju couldn't help but shiver. Killing people was just a matter of nodding their heads. Her grandson and granddaughter-in-law actually wanted to torture people non-stop. They wanted their rulers to take the initiative to force their people to do work that had a high mortality rate. What was the difference between that and forcing parents to cook their children? Eat their children?
Their desire for revenge was too strong. Weren't Xiaobei and the others fine? It was said that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo were very good to their younger brother and sister. Today, she saw it with her own eyes.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, since Xiaobei and the others are in trouble, aren't you going to go over?" Wang Ju saw that her grandson and granddaughter-in-law had no intention of leaving and asked.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head. "We can't go over. Xiaobei and the others have already gone, so let them take care of them. Children need to be raised bit by bit. My request for them is very simple. As long as they don't deliberately harm the common people and don't do something when they know it might harm the common people, then I won't care about them.
The harm I'm talking about is direct physical harm, not economic harm. Economic harm doesn't matter. If any commoner suffers a loss, I'll help compensate. For every copper coin they lose, I'll compensate them two copper coins.
In other words, if they steal food from the common people's fields, I'll condone it and compensate them. But I won't allow them to ride their horses on the streets. That will hurt people.
Of course, I'm just giving an example. Usually, Cuckoo and I never teach them to do that. You can tell from their usual behavior what kind of education they received. "
Zhang Xiaobao explained to Wang Ju. In fact, there was something he didn't say. Jiangzhou was dangerous, but Hangzhou was not necessarily safe. If he were the other party, he would include Hangzhou. Therefore, he and Cuckoo had to guard Hangzhou.
But he couldn't say it out loud. If he did, wouldn't he be saying that his grandfather, Wang Ju, was incompetent?
Wang Ju didn't know what Xiao Bao was thinking. After hearing her grandson's words, she nodded and said, "Indeed, Xiaobei and the others may do something wrong. But if you say that they deliberately do bad things, then you're definitely falsely accusing them. They have always wanted all the Tang people to live a good life. So, you and Cuckoo will stay here?"
"No, Cuckoo and I will leave at night. We'll take a boat and go against the current to the north. We'll act like we're heading towards the capital," Zhang Xiaobao replied.
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