Of course, it was unrealistic to think they could completely clear out all the concessions in a short period.
The foreigners had been entrenched here for thirty years. Their roots in Yun Port City ran deep, reaching into every inch of the city’s soil.
Their influence could be seen everywhere—in the shops, banks, factories, and docks.
The compradors, running dogs, and vassals were spread throughout every industry. It was a situation where pulling one string would move the whole system. A rash, all-out assault would only make them act like cornered animals and unite in resistance.
Yun Port City would be plunged into a sea of fire, and that was not what Lu Yun wanted.
Therefore, he planned to make an example of the Wa Country—to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. He would start with this group of arrogant, domineering, and utterly detestable Wa people.
Afterward, over the next month or two, Lu Yun would gradually deal with the other countries’ concessions, leaving only their consulates and forcing them to stay quietly within their own designated areas.
’Want to do business? Fine. Want to run rampant and do as you please? Don’t even think about it. Want to claim extraterritorial rights? Absolutely not.’
Under Lu Yun’s control, at least, there would be no "foreign masters" in Yun Port City. The Daxia People would always come first!
"Let’s move!"
Lu Jingjun took the lead, striding toward the exit of the Martial Arts Demonstration with his soldiers, who were all armed to the teeth.
Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Bai Longfei’s eyes. He suddenly raised his hand and rallied the crowd. "Let’s go! We martial artists must give our full support to Deputy Lu!"
"Under Lord Lu’s leadership, our Daxia New Country and Yun Port City will be great again!"
"Long live Lord Lu!"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire Martial Arts Demonstration erupted!
Everyone stood up, except for the foreign consuls and compradors, who remained seated, their faces ashen and motionless.
The martial arts disciples and the citizens of Yun Port City, long fed up with the foreigners’ arrogance, all raised their fists and roared!
"We support Lord Lu’s decision!"
"Long live Lord Lu!"
"Lord of the Blue Sky!"
They had all grown used to bowing and scraping, to swallowing their anger, to feeling inferior in the presence of foreigners.
They never imagined they would one day see those swaggering Wa people get slaughtered.
From this day forward, foreigners would no longer be able to prey upon the common folk of Yun Port City!
In the crowd, Gong Ning trembled with excitement. She recalled the stories her father had told her as a child.
When the Eastern Wa Country invaded the Eastern Province, the Gong Family had sacrificed many of their own. Without exception, they had all died at the hands of foreign guns.
Gong Yuanshan stood silently beside her, watching the seething crowd. He was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke.
"Ning’Er, come with me. We’ll go back and gather everyone from the Gong Family, along with the new disciples from the martial arts school. We’re going to the Wa Country Concession to assist Deputy Lu!"
Gong Ning’s eyes lit up instantly. "Yes, Father!"
The streets of the Wa Country Concession were lined with Rising Sun flags planted every few hundred meters. Both sides of the street were filled with Wa-style shops.
Restaurants, pawnshops, trading companies, and brothels all had signs with scrawled Wa characters.
A squad of men in black patrolmen’s uniforms swaggered down the middle of the street.
They had batons and Mauser pistols tucked into their belts. They walked with wide, aggressive strides, their swagger even more arrogant than that of the Wa soldiers.
Pedestrians saw them from a distance and scrambled to get out of the way, as if they were avoiding the plague.
The captain leading the patrol was a pot-bellied middle-aged man. His stomach was as large as an eight-month pregnancy, stretching his uniform taut.
His face was fleshy and cruel. A cigarette dangled from his mouth, and he puffed out clouds of smoke as he walked.
A patrolman beside him with a pointy chin, sunken cheeks, and high cheekbones suddenly sidled up to him and asked in a low voice.
"Chief, you think the masters will win? It’s a damn shame I’m stuck on patrol today. Missed my chance to watch the show at the Martial Arts Demonstration."
Captain Pan shot him a sideways glance, a sleazy smile playing on his lips.
"You’re a real piece of work, kid. A natural for this job. You’ve got the perfect mindset for a traitor. Not bad, not bad at all."
’Damn right. That son-of-a-bitch Wa master called them the "sick men of Daxia" to their faces, and this idiot was still hoping they’d win?’
Hearing the sarcasm in his voice, the patrolman gave a sheepish grin and quickly tried to explain himself. "Hey, Captain Pan, you know how it is. When you’re in the game, you can’t always call the shots!"
"If the masters lose, they’ll take it out on us. Have you forgotten what happened last time?"
"Lord Tanaka lost that shooting competition against the prisoner. How many times did our chief get kicked? The master even stomped on his head."
"So, for people like us, it’s better to be reviled than to be beaten."
Another patrolman sidled up and chimed in. "Exactly! We’ve got it good compared to the poor bastards sent off to do hard labor."
"A while back, the masters wanted a bunch of prisoners for God knows what. Our precinct rounded up a ton of troublemakers, and they were all secretly sent to the Consulate."
He paused and swallowed hard. "Those troublemakers... I reckon by now..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear. Those troublemakers were probably nothing but dust and bones by now.
Hearing this, Captain Pan waved his hand dismissively. "If those troublemakers are dead, they’re dead."
"In the concession, the masters are the emperors. Dying for them is a blessing for rabble like that."
"Besides, those troublemakers are just a menace. All day long they’re screaming about ’Daxia’s dignity’ and ’national integrity.’ Ptooey! Can you eat that stuff?"
"As if those high-and-mighty warlords are any kinder than the foreign devils. Even that fellow in Yanjing is turning back the clock, declaring himself Emperor."

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