After entering Miss Miranda's house and answering five questions, Bannil asked straightforwardly, "How is Miss Miranda?"
Not counting her middle name, Miss Miranda's full name is Miranda? Huntington. Lord Huntington did not expect the young man who acted as the messenger of the Chinese army to use less than three minutes to briefly explain the time, place, people, and events. Then, he went straight to the thing that the young man was most concerned about — the safety of his classmate, Miss Miranda.
"She's fine." Master Huntington answered the question simply. As a master, Huntington was magnanimous. When the people around them heard such a bold question, their expressions turned ugly. A few gun-wielding fellows couldn't help but adjust the angle of their rifles. It seemed like they had the urge to shoot Barnil.
After briefly skimming through the letter, Master Huntington said, "Bannier, those China people want me to make a decision in 15 minutes. I can't make such a simple decision for such a big matter. Can you go out and tell them that we want to discuss it with them? "
Barnil noticed that Master Huntington wasn't talking to him in the tone he used to talk to a child. Instead, he was talking to an adult. His heart was immediately moved. He quickly replied, "Okay, I'll go now."
Three minutes later, Captain Wei Jianjun of the Liberation Army had already understood the news brought by Barnil. He said kindly, "Boy, go back and tell the people in the house that within three minutes, they can send three people to the garden gate. I will negotiate with them personally. If they don't come out in three minutes, we'll have to fight our way in. Go quickly. "
When Bannil trotted all the way to the gate, Lieutenant Wei Jianjun heard someone shouting, "Company commander, the cannon is here."
The 75 mm field artillery could not be dismantled and weighed about 1.1 tons. Even if they used a very good gun carriage, it was still quite strenuous for a three-wheeled motorcycle to tow this thing. The battle preparations had been going on for more than half an hour, and the straight-line distance was about 500 meters. As Wei Jianjun led his men to confirm the position of the artillery, he smiled at Instructor Xu Qingtian and said, "Instructor, we can also discuss the issue of using small vehicles in urban warfare."
Xu Qingtian was from Shandong. After hearing this suggestion, his eyes lit up. "Old Wei, let's discuss this later. If we're dead after this war, we'll write this down. "
While they were talking, they saw the door of the mansion opposite open. Barnil took the lead, followed by three people. The instructor looked at the three of them and could not help but laugh. "Old Wei, it seems like some people are more afraid of death than us."
"Instructor, you stay here. I'm still waiting for you to avenge me in case those Americans decide to fight to the death. "After Wei Jianjun finished speaking, he went straight to the entrance of the mansion with two guards. Xu Qingtian saw that the three of them were walking steadily and calmly. Based on their appearance, it was more like they were going to a banquet in that mansion rather than a negotiation. Wei Jianjun's calm demeanor made it impossible for the instructor to feel nervous. When Wei Jianjun walked to the gate, the instructor suddenly realized that Wei Jianjun was really making arrangements for his funeral.
Master Huntington stood a little further inside the open door. When he saw the European with an Eastern appearance walking calmly to the door with two guards, he went out to welcome them. This was not Master Huntington putting on airs. It was purely out of habit.
"Sir, are you a European?" Huntington directly asked about Wei Jianjun's origin. The appearance of a European in the Chinese army was a bit surprising. It was as eye-catching as the appearance of a Native American and a black man in the UA Federal Army.
"My father is Chinese, my mother is Spanish, so I'm also Chinese. I was born in China, went to school in China, went to military school in China, and joined the Chinese army. "Captain Wei Jianjun briefly introduced his life so far in a few words.
Her words stunned Lord Huntington. Regardless of his appearance, the captain in front of him was a genuine Chinese. However, this was not the main point. After clarifying the other party's identity as a Chinese, Master Huntington was sure that he did not expect the other party's European blood to make him lean towards the Americans who also had European blood. Master Huntington looked at the Chinese soldiers moving the cannons and pointing them at his house. He went straight to the point and asked, "Mr. Captain, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"The Chinese army is not here to loot St. Paul. The order we received is not to destroy St. Paul. To be honest, if it was just to destroy St. Paul, my work would not be so hard. The order we received is to occupy St. Paul. In other words, we will kill all those who resist. But those who do not resist and stay at home, we will not harm them, nor will we rob them. So, I want to ask your attitude. Are you willing to accept the occupation by the Chinese army, or are you willing to serve the UA government and fight us to the end? "Wei Jianjun said calmly without a trace of anger in his tone. In fact, he had discussed this with his comrades in the political department for a long time when he was on the West Coast. It was just that the battle on the West Coast was fierce, and the Americans resisted fiercely. They only surrendered when they were scared out of their wits. So, Wei Jianjun and the others never found a chance to practice it. This time, they finally had a chance to practice it. His attention was focused on whether he had recited this sentence incorrectly.
Master Huntington was not surprised. There was indeed such a tradition of "occupation" in the European war. In theory, as long as the occupied party did not resist, the occupying army would not start a massacre. This was also a kind of civilization accumulation. However, this tradition was something that happened in the war between Europeans. Master Huntington was not sure if the war between the Chinese and European bloodlines was suitable for this tradition.
"Mr. Captain, did you meet us because you want us to answer this question?" Master Huntington tried to determine the main point of the conversation.
"Yes. I see that your house is so magnificent. I think you must be the number one person in the area. So, I came to negotiate with you. Are you going to display your patriotism and die for the American hero, or are you going to protect your family business and population? Please give me a clear answer. "Captain Wei Jianjun went straight to the point.
Hearing this, Master Huntington cursed in his heart. Isn't this bullsh * t? Did the federal government do anything other than collecting taxes from me? Why do hundreds of people in my family have to die for the federal government under the situation of being surrounded by soldiers? However, he did not say this out loud. Master Huntington did not become the patriarch of such a large family by relying on benevolence or pure kindness. It was very dangerous to immediately give in to the Chinese. The Chinese valued the Huntington Family so much, they would not stop at the Huntington Family saying that they would not resist.
"Mr. Captain, other than what you said to me just now, do you have any other requests?" Master Huntington led the conversation in a clearer direction. The poor had fewer things, so they would not take the initiative to propose to lose money to avoid disaster. Of course, the rich wouldn't be willing to lose their wealth to avert disaster. But looking at the cannons and the armed troops, Master Huntington knew that if the Chinese were to invade, they would lose more than just that bit of wealth. In this situation, Master Huntington would try his best to know the other party's requests. Even if the other party asked for an exorbitant price, Master Huntington would still have the space to negotiate in a relatively peaceful environment.
Wei Jianjun took out a stainless steel cigarette case from his left breast pocket. The cigarette case was actually not worth much, but the shiny thing itself was very attractive. Whether the Chinese soldiers smoked or not, they would put one in their left breast pocket at the military supply office. This was only a legend in the military. It might be able to block bullets if it was placed in this position. Of course, Wei Jianjun's purpose was to "show off". Humans were more interested in shiny metal objects.
He took out a cigarette and gave it to the people participating in the negotiation, and they reluctantly took the cigarette. After lighting the cigarette, Wei Jianjun took a puff and calmly replied, "Don't worry, we do not have the intention to rob this city, nor do we have the intention to rob your family. Whether it is now or in the future, we do not have such a plan. My most urgent problem right now is to reduce the number of battles as much as possible. This way, we can have fewer casualties. You must be a prominent figure in St. Paul City. Your family must have a lot of influence on this street. We only have one request. Send someone from your family to convey our attitude to the people on this street. If you don't fight with us, you will be safe. If you fight with us, you will be eliminated. I think this is your duty as a resident of St. Paul. "
After a few more minutes of intense conversation, Master Huntington returned to his mansion. The family members who were waiting anxiously immediately surrounded him. Master Huntington briefly explained the final conditions that the Chinese offered to his family members. The Chinese promised not to enter the Huntington House, the Chinese promised not to harm the Huntington Family members, and the safety of the Huntington Family's property. But in return, the Huntington Family not only couldn't attack the Chinese, but they also had to send someone to convey China's attitude from door to door on this street.
Hearing that their family's safety was guaranteed, the Huntington Family members immediately couldn't help but want more. One of them said, "Why don't they go door to door and say it themselves?"
His words sounded like a joke to the other family members. When the Chinese carried their guns to the doorsteps of their houses, they would expect to be greeted by whistling bullets, not the panic-stricken owners of the house. However, serving the invaders was indeed a test of the Huntington Family's moral standards.
Without waiting for the family members to react, Master Huntington continued, "The Chinese captain said that if we don't send someone to participate in the operation to reduce the bloodshed as much as possible, he won't believe that we won't participate in the war. They will attack within ten minutes. "
As soon as this was said, the Huntington Family members quickly adjusted their moral standards to match reality. Several people expressed their willingness to participate in peace.
"Sir, you can't do that." As the messenger, Barnil, who had participated in the entire conversation, immediately objected when he saw that the Huntington Family actually agreed to cooperate with the Chinese. Most of the people on this street were rich. If the Huntington Family sent someone to persuade these people, the Chinese could quickly pass through this street. After passing through this street and turning a corner, they would be able to go behind the troops who were loyal to the United States who were defending the railway. Barnil's father and elder brother were in that defensive position.
The Huntington Family had their own interests, and Barnil also had his own interests. Therefore, Barnil immediately objected. This time, all the Huntington Family members looked at Barnil. In the beginning, there were some people who were more friendly to Barnil. Now, Barnil saw that even though there were a few people who still had some shame in their eyes, there was no kindness in their emotions.
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