Wei Tianxiong wanted to fight a war of attrition with Yang Wangkun, but Yang Wangkun definitely didn't have that much time to spend on him, he couldn't waste too much time in Li cheng. He still had many more important matters waiting for him, so he had to resolve him in the shortest time possible.
Even though the opium ban had already been sent into Yang Wangkun's hands, he didn't actually immediately announce it, first suppressing it for the time being. He privately dispatched people to contact some of the more prestigious businessmen in Li cheng, and gave them some promises, telling them to incite the other businessmen to go against Wei Tianxiong together. And when Wei Tianxiong sent soldiers over to suppress them, he would have an ostensible purpose for sending troops.
Yang Wangkun was a natural soldier, he wasn't scared of shedding blood or sacrificing lives. Directly using military force to pacify Li cheng was the most effective method for him. But now, he couldn't not consider the president's reputation among the masses.
There could be fights, there could be conflicts, but they had to be on the righteous side, they were soldiers acting on behalf of the country, on behalf of the populace.
Wei Tianxiong and the lackeys by his side had abused and bullied the people for so many years, don't know how many people hated him to the bones, and only dared to be angry but didn't dare to voice it out.
If he wanted to incite those people who carried resentment in their hearts, it was very easy, he only needed a breakthrough point that could arise the sympathy of the people. The Cheng family's stores being forced to close down, was his best breakthrough point.
Jing Yang persuaded Yang Wangkun to let him go perform at Fairview Park again, and sing Mu Guiying Takes Command for the general public free of charge, to stir up the passions of everyone in the audience.
After he finished singing, Jing Yang didn't withdraw backstage to remove his makeup, directly wearing his costume to make a speech. He used the easiest to understand language, the most emotive wording, to denounce all of the atrocities that Wei Tianxiong and his underlings had committed.
"…Those warlords who press down on the heads of the ordinary people, who ride roughshod over the people, are as hateful as the Huns and the Japanese pirates, they are like leeches, constantly sucking out the blood in our bodies, until they suck us all dry, not letting go of even the bones! And they don't even allow us to resist, once you rebel you die, this is an even more horrible repression and torture! Now it is already the Chinese Republic, Yang president said that he wanted to let the entire country's people achieve their freedom and democracy, but in Li cheng, Wei Tianxiong still wants to act as a tyrant, he wants us to act as slaves that he can bully around…"
In the audience, there were many people who had been deliberately arranged to come to Fairview Park to watch the opera. They all had a point in common, they had all been bullied by Wei Tianxiong's subordinates. Some of them had even become destitute and homeless, but had no way to get revenge. Jing Yang's speech immediately aroused their sympathy. They tightly clenched their fists, their moods becoming more and more excited.
Finally Jing Yang issued a call for action: "Make Wei Tianxiong return everything that he has seized from us! We are done being bullied, being robbed! Everyone don't be afraid, Yang Wangkun commander-in-chief and Yang president will give us justice, as long as we overthrow Wei Tianxiong, we will have good lives!"
The crowd immediately responded to Jing Yang, calling out their heartfelt wishes.
"No more bullying! No more robbing!"
"Return to us everything that has been taken away! Return them to us!"
Yang Wangkun's soldiers were lying low in all corners, they were strictly prepared to protect Jing Yang's safety. Yang Wangkun himself was also standing behind the curtain, tensely paying attention to the crowd below the stage to check whether or not there was someone wanting to harm Jing Yang.
In the crowd, a pair of gloomy and malicious eyes stared right at Jing Yang, he slowly pressed forward. Just when he wanted to lift up the gun hidden in his sleeve, his wrist was twisted by someone beside him, and his gun was also seized.
Cheng Jiaming immediately panicked, he wanted to yell out, but his mouth was covered, and he was roughly taken out of the crowd.
The crowd had been incited by Jing Yang, advancing towards the commander's residence. On the streets, all sorts of big and small businessmen who had long been waiting outside also snuck into the crowd.
"Wu wu…" Cheng Jiaming was brought to Yang Wangkun's front, because his mouth had been blocked by something he could only crazily make wu wu sounds, he desperately struggled to say something, but was unable to say a word.
Yang Wangkun coldly glanced at him, commanding, "Take him down and torture him."
"Yes!" The soldiers wearing plainclothes again dragged Cheng Jiaming away.
Yang Wangkun brought the soldiers to surround the commander's residence.
Wei Tianxiong had not anticipated that matters would turn into this, he was caught unprepared, in this kind of emergency situation, he quickly called his subordinates to bring soldiers over to rescue him. Once the call got through, those underlings of his wailed and screamed miserably, saying that they had been caught, the barracks had been suppressed. Their officers had even been tortured, they wanted Wei Tianxiong to think of ways to rescue them.
Wei Tianxiong was even powerless to defend himself, he even hoped for them to come to rescue himself, where would he have ways to go rescue them. He was anxious to the point of perspiring freely, and could only pace around nonstop in his room.
Yang Wangkun's soldiers fired warning shots outside and shouted, they wanted Wei Tianxiong to come out and surrender himself, and give the public a confession. Otherwise, they would rush in.
Wei Tianxiong had no choice, he could only go out under the protection of his bodyguards and try to negotiate with Yang Wangkun.
"Yang commander-in-chief, what is the meaning of this?" Wei Tianxiong forced himself to maintain an imposing facade, concealing the anxiety in his heart.
"I came on behalf of the people of Li cheng, to ask for justice from Wei Tianxiong." Yang Wangkun sat on a black warhorse, his cold, resolute, tall, and straight body seemed like a war god had descended, just his imposing manner was able to suppress the other person's bodyguards to being unable to raise their heads.
Wei Tianxiong forcefully breathed in and out, making the trembling of his facial muscles less apparent. "How about Yang commander-in-chief first get off your horse, some words, we can go in to slowly discuss."
"I didn't come today for personal matters, I don't have anything to discuss with you. If you have something to say, you should say it in front of these people's faces."
Wei Tianxiong's face turned purple, he was angered speechless. In front of so many people's faces, what could he say?
Yang Wangkun said, "Since you are unwilling to speak, then you can just listen to what some of these people have to say."
In the crowd, people denounced Wei Tianxiong one after another. Over the years, his actions to take advantage of and usurp the common people in Li Cheng, exposed his true colors.
It was the so-called taking advantage of his precarious situation, as the people spoke they became even more furious, even more excited. They hadn't made preparations beforehand, otherwise right now they would long have started throwing rotten food and leaves. Those people who had been harmed more miserably by Wei Tianxiong's lackeys finally couldn't resist rushing up, shouting that they wanted to take Wei Tianxiong down with them.
Wei Tianxiong's guards, for self-defense and to scare back the crowd that had rushed over, opened fire as a threat, and the crowd immediately rioted. Yang Wangkun's soldiers took this opportunity to advance, protecting the people to evacuate while arresting Wei Tianxiong.
The scene fell into chaos, Wei Tianxiong wanted to escape in the confusion, but was finally still captured alive.
The Wei Tianxiong who was suppressed by soldiers had never thought that he would have been defeated in Yang Wangkun's hands so quickly. He thought that he himself was also a generation's formidable character (at least he thought so), and yet he had fallen to this kind of end.
Yang Wangkun honored his promise, he took the assets found in the commander's residence, what he could return he returned, and for the remaining money that he had no way to determine the original owners, he used to compensate those people who had been persecuted by Wei Tianxiong's subordinates.
After half a month, Yang Wangkun made public all of the atrocities that Wei Tianxiong and his subordinates had committed, posting them on the announcement bulletin, and furthermore decided to execute by firing squad Wei Tianxiong and a total of 20 of his subordinates. Using their lives, he would return a justice to the masses. For those whose circumstances weren't as severe, who hadn't taken human lives, but still had previously seized assets, all of their properties were confiscated and returned to their original owners, and they were sent to prison for 10 years or more.
There was another person who was also locked in prison, Yang Wangkun personally ordered that he would be sentenced for life, that was the Cheng Jiaming who had wanted to assassinate Jing Yang. He had been beaten until he was more dead than alive and thrown into prison. In his future, most of the time he stayed in a state of insanity, every day he would sing opera in his cell, fantasizing that he was still that famous singer who received the praise and idolation of everyone. He never stopped singing, until he had ruined his throat from singing, and still kept going…
~
After Wei Tianxiong had been executed, Li cheng's people were overjoyed for a period of time, everyone hung up lanterns and banners to celebrate, it was like the New Year.
After the celebrations had concluded, Yang Wangkun announced the opium ban, all of the opium dens in Li cheng needed to close immediately, all of the opium also needed to be destroyed. The people who had become addicted to opium were all forced to give up smoking and enter the rehabilitation centers funded by the opium den bosses. Those who did not carry out the ban, all of their properties would be confiscated, and those who opposed with force, would directly be thrown into prison.
Jing Yang reopened all of the Cheng family's stores, business was very good. Even though that opium den of his never opened, he was the first businessman to hand over the money to cover the funds for the rehabilitation centers, setting an example for the other people.
Yang president dispatched men over to Li cheng, Yang Wangkun needed to return to the imperial capital, Jing Yang also was going to leave with him. Before he got on the car Jing Yang turned back to look at the Cheng residence, as well as the subordinates standing outside the gates.
"Young master, you must take care of yourself." The housekeeper's eyes and heart were all full of reluctance.
"I will, you also need to take care of yourself, the family will be left to you." Jing Yang said.
"Don't worry young master, old slave will definitely keep good watch on the family."
"If anything happens in the stores, you and the shopkeepers can discuss how to deal with it, if you all are not able to handle it, just send a cable to me."
"Yes."
Yang Wangkun helped him open the door, and after they got on the car, he embraced his shoulder. "Reluctant to leave?"
"A little." Jing Yang smiled, even though he had not come to this world for a very long time, he still had developed a little attachment to Li cheng.
"When I retire from the army, I will bring you back to settle down." Yang Wangkun promised.
"Good." Jing Yang leaned on his shoulder.
~
In this world, Jing Yang accompanied Yang Wangkun to many places. No matter what occasion, Yang Wangkun would always bring him along, never avoiding letting other people know about his identity.
After they grew old, Yang Wangkun honored his promise, and the two people returned to Li cheng to settle down. In this world they had met each other here, and they would also end here…
Before Jing Yang's soul left, he again asked the same words as in the previous world: "In the next life, will you still go find me?"
Yang Wangkun held him in his arms. "I will, no matter where you are, I will always find you."
Jing Yang smiled, his smile was very relieved. In these two lives, he had honored all of the promises that he had made to him. Compared to the previous world, he had more trust in his heart, he believed, he would definitely still find himself.
Jing Yang had always thought, there would never be something that time wouldn't be able to whittle away, that any kind of feeling would always pass with time. But he found that after going through this life, his love for this person had become even deeper.
His soul returned to the system, the power that he had gotten from this world only circled around him once, and then was again sucked away by the system. Jing Yang thought, if this happened every time, in the end it should be the system becoming a god, not him, unless he could completely merge with this system.
Earlier it was in order to free himself from the incessant reincarnations that he had accepted this system. But after meeting his lover, reincarnating no longer seemed to be such a tortured matter anymore.
Now he was actually a little worried, after his reincarnations were over, whether or not he would still be able to meet his lover. If he wasn't, he could only go find Hades again to let him borrow the Dao to continue reincarnating.
Translator Notes:
[1] resolve him in the shortest time possible – 速战速决, idiom, also means a blitzkrieg strategy?
[2] Mu Guiying Takes Command – 穆桂英挂帅, apparently Mu Guiying is a female warrior and heroine
[3] destitute and homeless – 家破人亡, idiom, literally means family bankrupt and people dead
[4] issue a call for action – 振臂高呼, idiom, means to raise your hand and issue a rousing call
[5] caught unprepared – 措手不及, idiom, means no time to deal with it
[6] wailed – 鬼哭狼嚎, idiom, literally means to wail like ghosts and howl like wolves
[7] surrender himself – 束手就擒, means with hands tied and waiting to be captured
[8] taking advantage of a precarious situation – 墙倒众人推, literally means that if a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a shove
[9] take him down with them – 同归于尽, mutual destruction
[10] overjoyed – 欢欣鼓舞, idiom, means elated and excited
Random Notes:
This chapter took a bit longer (at least it felt like it), 1.5 hours: 7:30 pm – 9 pm, for 3.4k characters to 2.5k words.
Well that's the end of the second arc guys. I'm quite happy with it, I did plow through like 8 chapters in around 5 days so that I could finish the arc before I started releasing it. Just for the schedule's safety. The next arc is pretty exciting, I remember the MC is pretty OP, and there shouldn't be as much trouble with getting together with the ML. I will probably still have a brief hiatus between arcs, just so I can finish up the arc or at least most of it before releasing, and just in case I have some pauses in keeping up the backlog.
I feel quite satisfied. I did finish rereading 100k Volts yesterday, and I also just finished another novel that I am pretty happy with today, so that will be going on the Reading page. I also added a bunch of new BL raws from jjwxc onto my TBR list, so we'll see if I continue with those.
Edit (day before release): Hello everyone, long time no see (I haven't really written any notes recently in the recent releases). The second arc has now come to an end. As I mentioned, I will be going on a two week hiatus. I have already translated 5 chapters of the next arc, but there are more chapters in this arc so I'll be attempting to translate most/all of them before they're released. Also, as promised, my second project will be coming out at around the same time as the third arc. I will see you all in mid-December.