Free? Under New Management

"Alright, gentlemen, we're here to sell weapons! We won't interfere with your internal affairs!"

Dutch looked at the thirty to fifty Jon City dignitaries before him and explained.

His words made Mr. Martinez, the mayor of Jon City, twitch his eyelids.

Sh*t! They say they won't interfere with our internal affairs, but as soon as they arrived, they directly wiped out our biggest warlord and strongest force in Jon City. This is clearly killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. And they still claim not to interfere with our internal affairs?

If this isn't interfering with our internal affairs, then what is?

Before Mr. Martinez's thought finished, his body suddenly trembled.

Because he discovered that after Mr. Dutch Van der Linde spoke, the three hundred gunmen surrounding them suddenly began to move.

The three hundred gunmen formed a circle, surrounding the forty to fifty Jon City dignitaries and gang leaders in the middle. Then, they indifferently raised their Marko semi-automatic rifles and aimed them at the various dignitaries and leaders within the circle.

In addition, the Maxim gun pulled by the nearby carriage was also operated, similarly turning its barrel to aim at the dignitaries inside.

The dark muzzles reflected a black gleam in the sunlight. Killing intent and the smell of gunpowder already permeated the air.

Mr. Martinez was about to wet himself!

Good gracious, if this circle of gunmen fired simultaneously, they would truly die without a burial place!

"Mr. Van der Linde, oh, esteemed Mr. Van der Linde, what is the meaning of this? We haven't done anything to offend you!"

"Mr. Van der Linde, I was wrong, I was wrong! I'm willing to offer all my wealth! Mr. Van der Linde!"

Being pointed at by this circle of gun muzzles, the Jon City dignitaries were practically sh*tting themselves.

They wailed one by one, raising their hands, unable to fathom what Mr. Van der Linde was planning.

But thankfully, Mr. Van der Linde finally spoke.

"Gentlemen, oh, don't worry, gentlemen. I said, I'm here to sell weapons!"

After saying that, Mr. Van der Linde fell silent again.

But this time, everyone around understood.

"Oh, sh*t! Oh, I wasn't talking about you, Mr. Van der Linde! Weapons, I'll buy them, I'll buy weapons! I want ten guns first... No, no, no, one hundred guns!"

"I'll buy too, I want everything, Mr. Van der Linde, I want everything!"

"I want that steel beast, Mr. Van der Linde, the steel beast!"

Some people didn't want to buy but were forced to, while others had long wanted to buy and were shouting frantically.

Especially Mr. Kyle, who had been fawning over Mr. Van der Linde just moments ago, now, upon hearing about buying weapons, immediately wanted to order a steel Tank without a second thought.

His eyes even started to glow.

Damn it, if he could own ten... No, one, just one! If he could own one steel beast, then he would absolutely become the true boss of Jon City!

As he spoke, the surrounding dignitaries also reacted.

"Oh, Mr. Van der Linde, I also want this steel machine, I want ten units!"

Mr. Martinez's eyes were even more fervent.

Their Jon City Government had originally lived a life worse than death under the intimidation of various gang members, and now if they could buy one of these steel beasts, it would absolutely make their lives and deterrent power reach their peak. Then, wouldn't they completely fear the Jon City gangs anymore?

"Oh, Mr. Van der Linde, I want one too!"

The group of dignitaries, who had just been terrified by the gun muzzles, immediately changed their demeanor and began to shout frantically one by one.

Damn it, no one could refuse such steel weapons. With such a steel machine in hand, they wouldn't just walk around Jon City as if they owned the place, but at the very least, they would be highly regarded everywhere and no one would dare to provoke them easily.

This was simply a direct leap ahead of the times!

Some even wanted to directly buy a Tank and give it to the Mexican government in exchange for wealth and glory.

Dutch was exceptionally pleased with their performance.

"Hahaha." Dutch laughed heartily, then looked at Hosea beside him and said, "Good, Hosea, since our customers are so eager to buy weapons, you will negotiate with them!

Oh, by the way, gentlemen, our weapons are far superior to the weapons on the market.

For example, those damn repeating rifles you're using are too outdated. Our rifles can fire continuously without manual loading, and this has too great an impact on suppressing firepower!

Of course, such powerful weapons are also very expensive to produce!"

"Oh, sh*t, a rifle that can fire continuously without manual loading? Mr. Van der Linde, your weapons are truly too powerful! I want to buy a hundred!"

"My goodness, no wonder the battlefield firepower suppression was so strong just now. So that's it, this kind of weapon really needs to be a bit more expensive!"

Everyone discussed animatedly, not thinking it would be much more expensive.

In this era, a rifle was actually very cheap; generally, a bolt-action rifle could be bought for about fifty dollars. (It might actually be less, but I haven't found the exact price; if anyone knows, please share.)

Mr. Van der Linde priced his Marko semi-automatic rifle at 150 dollars in New Hanover and Lemoyne, which was already far beyond the current consumption level for rifles.

But there was nothing they could do, who told them that the wage levels in New Hanover and Lemoyne were high? Even if the price was set at one hundred and fifty dollars, Mr. Van der Linde's workers still rushed to buy them.

It was still the same saying: Mr. Van der Linde provided food, lodging, and free schooling, and even distributed clothes seasonally. This treatment made money useless to them; it was better to save it and buy one of Mr. Van der Linde's rifles to support him.

So, this price was not high in Mr. Van der Linde's territory, but in Mexico, it was at its peak!

And Mr. Van der Linde clearly did not intend to sell at the same price in Mexico.

Mr. Van der Linde raised his hand, his face full of smiles, stopping the flattery of the crowd, and then chuckled as he began, "Oh, thank you for your support.

Alright, let me tell you the price of the weapons we're selling.

A semi-automatic rifle, including shipping, costs 200 dollars. A box of thirty semi-automatic rifle bullets costs 3 dollars.

A Maxim gun costs 5000 dollars. A steam Tank costs three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Gentlemen, I know you really want our weapons, and considering your funds might not be very abundant, how about this, gentlemen, I allow you to use other things to offset your debts.

Your companies, your land, your resources, your real estate, even yourselves.

Hmph hmph hmph, Hosea, you will be responsible for negotiating with these gentlemen. Confiscate the property of those with assets, confiscate the factories of those with factories. Remember, we are honest merchants.

As long as these gentlemen can pay, we will give them the corresponding weapons!

Damn it, our Van der Linde Gang is simply too honest!"

Dutch smiled as he looked at the dignitaries and local bosses in the encirclement, his words, however, were to completely devour them, even wanting to take the people themselves.

"Oh, sh*t! Two hundred dollars for a rifle? How is that any different from robbery... Oh, sir, that price is just right! Damn it, this price is too cheap, I must buy it!"

"F*ck, three hundred thousand dollars for a Tank? Damn it, for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars I could buy half of Jon City... Oh, this is truly too affordable, Mr. Van der Linde, I must buy... ten rifles!"

"Damn it, three dollars for a box of bullets? Why don't you just rob someone... Cheap, but I love peace very much, Mr. Van der Linde, I'll just buy rifles, no need for bullets."

Listening to Dutch's words, even though they were surrounded by gun muzzles, these dignitaries one by one burst into expletives, even wanting to riot.

However, before the riot could even begin, the dense black muzzles all around aimed at everyone's heads.

Everyone was sweating profusely, their hearts filled with deadly hatred.

Damn it, damn it, this is a jackal! Dutch Van der Linde is going to wipe out all the dignitaries of Jon City!

F*ck! Darkness, too dark!

Forced buying and selling!

Hahaha, gentlemen, I wish us a pleasant cooperation! Hosea, you stay here and discuss with these Jon City dignitaries.

Arthur, John, take our army and head to Jon City to begin conscripting men.

Oh, I think the people of Jon City need us to liberate them!

And Hosea, get your work done quickly, buddy, we're in a hurry to cultivate the land!"

Dutch smiled as he led Arthur and John away from the hilltop, running towards Jon City.

See, doing business is that simple.

Seven or eight months ago, he had to find ways to involve feminism and various other methods to open up sales when selling clothes.

But now, when he sells weapons, he doesn't have to at all. In short, you f*cking buy it whether you want to or not!

If you buy it honestly, you can take your weapons to other places and start over. If you don't buy it, then your whole family will go to Mr. Van der Linde's mine to work off your debts!

Now that's business!

Mr. Van der Linde led his troops mightily towards Jon City.

Dutch's plan has been slowly progressing.

Developing cities is the primary task in building New Hanover and Lemoyne.

A huge population is a necessary condition.

Only with a large population can the economy circulate, society operate quickly, the structure gradually improve, and the scale truly expand.

The population of the American East is clearly impossible to draw over for now. And the areas further west are pitifully sparsely populated, still in the cowboy era, and completely fail to meet population demands.

So he can only come to Mexico to draw in population at present.

Move the population of Mexican lakeside cities to New Hanover and Lemoyne, build cities in New Hanover and Lemoyne, and conduct farming in Mexico.

Mexico's tropical climate is most suitable for plant growth, while the plains of New Hanover and Lemoyne are most suitable for urban development and progress.

This is the development trend that Dutch has planned.

Sitting in his position, one needs to look a hundred steps ahead to truly walk steadily.

---

A mighty roar echoed outside Jon City.

A dense mass of troops marched mightily along the road into Jon City.

Everyone in Jon City felt insecure. The staff were terrified, the people on the streets ran frantically towards their homes, and some even galloped away on horseback, fleeing outside Jon City.

An eighty-year-old gentleman stood trembling at his doorstep, looking at the army slowly approaching in the distance, his face filled with sorrow.

"The Spanish, are they attacking again?"

The old man had lived a long time, almost his entire life under Spanish rule. Seeing the approaching troops, his first thought was that the Spanish, who had been driven away not many years ago, had invaded again.

There was no other way; in this era, an army suddenly entering a city was simply too terrifying.

While they might not kill civilians on the spot, what awaited them was undoubtedly a hellish life.

Lives were held in their hands, and women's chastity was not guaranteed.

War is always the cruelest pain.

This army advanced exceptionally quickly; their discipline appeared strict, far more formidable than the previous Spanish.

The people of Jon City were terrified. Some hid their wives and sons in their home cellars, some secretly led their families through the streets, hoping to escape into the wilderness before the army arrived, and others hid tightly in their homes, fearfully watching the approaching troops.

Of course, there were also Mexican traitors, many of whom had an eager look on their faces, wanting to immediately grovel once this army stopped.

"Swish, swish, swish…"

The uniform footsteps caused the ground to tremble slightly. The various gangs in the city, who usually committed evil, now cowered in their strongholds like good people, not daring to show their faces.

Some people began to be surprised when they saw the attire of this army.

"Oh, sh*t! Look at the clothes on this army, damn it, have you forgotten? Two batches of troops wearing these clothes came before! The second batch even took away all the gang leaders and big merchants, and it seems Mr. Mayor was also arrested!

Damn it, it seems they must have already settled on the surrender terms!"

"God, please open your eyes, I still need to work, if I don't work, my family will starve tomorrow!"

"Dad, what are we going to do?"

"Leave here, child, otherwise I'm afraid I won't see you grow up!"

Jon City had already fallen into a panic. The front half of the street was deserted, while the back half was bustling with people, countless individuals thinking of temporarily leaving Jon City to see how the situation developed before deciding whether to return.

What they didn't know was that because of their departure, they missed the first ship to paradise.

"Arthur, John, you two first lead the troops to round up those damn gangs and hooligans from this place.

It's time for these damn miners!"

Dutch rode on horseback, leading the way, not at all afraid of someone shooting him in the dark.

"Alright, Dutch!" Arthur nodded, looked at the troops behind him, and he and John separately gathered a group of people and dispersed them to various parts of the streets.

A five-thousand-man army seemed like a lot, but in reality, when spread throughout the entire city, it was pitifully small.

If all the hooligans in Jon City were rounded up, there would be at least twenty to thirty thousand of them.

But numbers do not determine the true outcome.

Under the suppression of a truly professionally trained army, two to three thousand hooligans had no means of resistance whatsoever, even if they held guns.

Moreover, they were dispersed and dared not show their faces until the troops came knocking. And when the troops did arrive, they would be in groups of a hundred, leaving them with no thought of resistance.

Arthur and John apprehended several citizens from the surrounding rooms, had them lead the way to pinpoint the locations of various gangs, and then led the arrests.

By the time those Jon City bosses, after being thoroughly exploited, finally returned, they would only find empty strongholds.

Oh no, I misspoke. Now the strongholds also belong to Mr. Van der Linde; they have lost everything.

Oh, no, that's not right either. They still have a batch of weapons that are about to be delivered.

But they have no money and no subordinates left.

Panic spread through Jon City, and the appearance of the army caused the long-oppressed citizens of Jon City to become frightened.

Those with some money could hide in their homes, while most of the penniless commoners could only find a corner to hide in.

In 2000, there were still many migrant workers sleeping under bridges, and now there were even more. The commoners huddled together in groups, and many were so hopeless about life that they didn't even have the energy to run, merely gathering together numbly to await their final judgment.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…" The sound of dense footsteps occasionally echoed through the streets.

In the slums, eyes gazed helplessly at the figures in black and white military uniforms occasionally running through the streets outside.

Aside from this constantly moving army, there was almost no other movement on the streets. Those at work hid in their factories, and those at home secretly peered out through cracks in their doors.

Everyone was wary of this force.

However, to everyone's surprise, this force seemed to have no interest in them.

"Mr. Steve, post our recruitment terms on all major streets, damn it, hurry up, this is something Mr. Van der Linde ordered!"

"Mars, tie up all these damn ruffians and gang members with ropes, and transport them away in our carriages!"

"Mason, transport all these guys' property onto the carriages, and tally up the amount. I need to report it to Mr. Van der Linde.

Oh, right, Mr. Van der Linde said that if anyone wants extra money, they can each take a bit. Mr. Van der Linde doesn't care about this small amount of money."

"No one will want it, Captain. Money is useless to us now. Mr. Van der Linde covers all our smoking and drinking, and our food, clothing, and housing are all free. This money really isn't worth taking up space!"

The shouts from the streets occasionally reached the ears of the watching citizens of Jon City through door cracks and windows.

Their tension eased slightly as they watched the scene of the long lines of gang members being forcibly escorted away, their heads bowed in dejection, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

However, some became even more nervous, even wanting to open their doors and go out.

Because there were simply too many ruffians in Jon City, and many of them had families. At this moment, seeing their children or husbands being arrested, the family members in the rooms were naturally extremely anxious.

Steve's hands were tied with ropes, and he walked slowly with the group towards the street entrance of Jon City under the escort of the gunmen, his heart burning with anxiety.

He kept looking towards his home's window, and seeing his wife's anxious face inside the window, he shook his head repeatedly, not wanting his wife to come out.

As mentioned before, Jon City was a major gang city where gangs were particularly rampant. This led to many ruffians not actually wanting to be ruffians, but in order to avoid being bullied and to prevent their families from being bullied, they were forced to join.

Steve was one of them. In order to prevent his home from being targeted by gangs, he could only join the gang that occupied his family's territory. However, because he was timid, he usually dared not do bad things.

And now he was arrested as a gang member, and his family was naturally extremely anxious.

"Steve!" Steve's wife, Antonia, watched her timid and honest husband being led away towards the city outskirts, his hands bound together. Her heart filled with fear and worry. As she watched his back disappear further and further, Antonia could no longer bear her inner apprehension. She suddenly pushed open the door, rushed out, and cried out loudly, her eyes already filled with tears.

"Antonia, go back! Run!" Steve immediately became anxious when he saw his wife run out of the house. He shouted loudly, then quickly turned his gaze to the gunmen escorting them, looking nervous.

His timid heart pounded violently, and his face turned red with fright, but he had already decided that if these gunmen, whose affiliation he didn't know, heard the commotion and tried to grab his wife, he would knock them down, grabbing them to buy time for his wife to escape.

"Steve! Ahaha…" Antonia wailed, her steps suddenly halting. She stood at her doorstep, heartbroken as she watched Steve, who had already started walking, in the distant group.

"Run! Antonia, run!" Steve shouted, then suddenly ran towards the gunman who had turned around beside him, wanting to grab the gunman's clothes to prevent him from immediately grabbing his wife.

However, he had barely run two steps when a rifle butt swung over from behind.

"Bang!" The rifle butt struck Steve's back, and the sharp pain and force made him cry out suddenly and fall to the ground.

"Behave yourself!" The gunman who threw him down cursed, and immediately after, two gunmen walked over, forcibly lifting Steve from the ground, preventing him from moving.

Steve's eyes were bloodshot, and he kept roaring: "Run, Antonia, run, hurry and run!!"

"No!" Antonia stood at her doorstep, tears streaming down her face, not knowing what they were burning.

"F*ck! Why are you two so dramatic? Behave yourselves!" The squad leader, riding a horse, trotted over, reached out and lightly slapped Steve on the back of the head, then looked at Antonia, who was crying at Steve's doorstep, and said, "Alright, miss, don't cry anymore! Oh, damn it, we didn't mean to do anything to him!"

But clearly, what he said was not very convincing.

Looking at the fearful and worried faces in the windows on both sides of the street, the squad leader had a bit of a headache.

There was nothing he could do, so he had someone quickly call his superior.

Captain Binny rode a tall horse and galloped over from a nearby intersection.

His gaze swept around, looking at the worried faces in the windows on both sides of the street, then took out a small megaphone from his horse and stood in the middle of the street.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Don't panic, don't be nervous!

We are subordinates of Mr. Dutch Van der Linde. Our purpose in coming here is not to wage war, nor to enslave the people.

Our main purpose in arresting these damned gang members and ruffians is to take them for ideological and labor reform.

According to the will of Mr. Van der Linde, we are arresting all gang members and ruffians in Jon City, and anyone else who has committed illegal acts or has an illegal identity in Jon City, for ideological and labor reform.

This reform period will be two years, and the reform content will be work in the mines. During the reform period, each person will receive a monthly labor wage of five dollars, and food and lodging will be provided during the reform process. After two years, if the reformed person has one hundred dollars in savings, they can submit their savings and acquire the identity of a normal person.

Mr. Van der Linde will provide him with a six-square-meter house for his residence, and he can change his work content, including but not limited to: environmental workers, transport workers, mechanical workers, planting workers, and breeding workers, etc. The salary and benefits will be raised to twenty-five to seventy-five dollars per month, depending on the job position. At the same time, Mr. Van der Linde will provide food and lodging, free cigarettes and alcohol and clothes, free medical care, and they can bring their families to live there, and their children will also have the opportunity to attend school for free.

Therefore, gentlemen, ladies, if your child or husband has been taken by us, please do not worry. As long as they obey Mr. Van der Linde's orders and undergo good labor reform, there will be no danger, and they will be able to become qualified workers and reunite with you after two years.

So please do not worry, do not be anxious, and do not be impatient. Mr. Van der Linde puts people first. As long as your family and friends are obedient and work hard to reform, they will have a better tomorrow!

So, miss, don't be afraid, and don't cry anymore. Your husband will undergo two years of reform. If he fulfills his responsibility as a husband, then no matter what, you two will meet again in two years!"