บท 55: Chapter 55: God’s Punishment
Browning was startled, then became angry again: "You said you wouldn't--"
He stopped talking halfway because Ma Shao said he would not separate him and his family, and he really kept his word.
Taking the whole family away certainly doesn't count as breaking up the family.
Ma Shao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Believe me, Mr. the most outstanding gunsmith within a radius of 500 miles. It won't be long before you adapt to and even like the life in the Sleeping Bear Clan."
"Impossible! Even if I die, with a gun I made piercing my heart, I will never become a dirty and shameless barbarian like you!" Browning was obviously a man of bad temper. He cursed more and more vigorously, and finally swore wildly, "Fake Beach, son of the beach!"
Ma Shao said, "I don't like killing people, but my people may not. Do you want me to translate your words for them?"
Browning finally shut up, but his eyes were still wide open and his beard was quivering.
It was already three o'clock in the morning. Ma Shao arranged the people on night duty and rested in the town, preparing to take further action on the town the next day.
During the break, some tribesmen expressed their doubts to him.
"Chief, why do we have to take in so many white children?" The tribesmen basically understood the significance of occupying this small town, but they were puzzled by the issue of taking in white children.
"First of all, they are hostages." Ma Shao explained, "I will send some soldiers to garrison in Clark Town for a long time. In the short term, there won't be too many soldiers stationed there, maybe 20 people... and there are more than 400 white people in the town. If they unite and fight to the death, the 20-man garrison will most likely be defeated even with the help of blacks."
"Now their children are in our hands. Even though they are only the children of a small number of people, they are enough to ensure that they cannot unite effectively."
The tribesman suddenly realized what was going on, and then said with admiration: "I understand! Chief, you are worthy of being the wisest man in Apache!"
Ma Shao smiled.
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, after Ma Shao woke up, he first called Thomas to the town hall.
Thomas obviously had not slept all night, and may have spent the night in sorrow or even crying, and looked very haggard.
But when he saw Ma Shao, who went to bed late and got up early but was still full of energy, his face became even more tired and haggard.
"I'm going to write a law for Clark Town and I need to consult your opinion," said Ma Shao.
"Okay...can I go wash my face first?" Thomas said.
"Go ahead."
After a while, Thomas came back after washing his face. He looked much better and even forced a little smile on his face.
"What's your full name?" Ma Shao asked.
"Henry Thomas."
Ma Shao nodded, then asked Thomas many more questions, including some English expressions that he was not sure about, while writing simple laws.
The contents of the law mainly include seven items, namely: the ownership and establishment of the town, land system, taxation system, abolition, police and public security, garrison, and gun control.
Clark Town belongs to the Sleeping Bear Clan, whose supreme leader is the clan chief. The mayor is appointed by the chief and must obey the will of the chief. The current mayor is Henry Thomas...
The town's land is owned by the clan, and residents can use it for fifty years.
A formal tax system was established for the town, and of course, most of the money collected would be handed over to Ma Shao.
Slavery was abolished permanently, the police force was composed of black people, and the sheriff was the position second only to the mayor.
The Apaches stationed troops here and had higher security powers. Even if the mayor broke the law, the garrison could arrest him.
Strict gun control. No one except police and military personnel is allowed to buy or use guns...
"See if there's anything missing, Mr. Thomas." Ma Shao handed the law to Thomas.
Thomas took a few pages of the law but did not read them carefully. He knew what was written in them; after all, they were written before his eyes.
"I think... no." He looked at the ugly handwriting and had to admit, "You are much better than those people in Congress."
The law was crude and obviously aimed against him, and indeed all white townspeople.
But objectively speaking, this law can be said to be well-organized, clear and easy to understand, and covers all important matters neither too much nor too little.
Although it exploits white people, it doesn't seem to be too excessive. There are also some innovations that he has never heard of. It is hard to imagine that this was written in just one morning.
For Ma Shao, this is just common sense. Any modern person who has received a systematic education will think that these are the most basic operations.
But in Henry Thomas's view, it was really incredible that an Indian could write such a law casually.
His spiritual world began to shake again.
As a believer, Thomas couldn't help but express his inner doubts: "Are you sent by God to punish me?"
"I don't believe in God." Ma Shao smiled, "But to be honest, sometimes I also doubt myself. Maybe I was really sent to this world by a god."
"I don't want to live this kind of life. I don't like fighting, nor am I a noble person, but I must do something for my nation. This is determined by my blood... It's human nature, isn't it?"
Thomas was silent for a moment, then nodded: "That's right."
Ma Shao then patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have your own interests and human nature. I can understand your hostility and confrontation."
"...But there is at least one thing I hope you understand. As a chief, I am a reasonable person who pursues long-term interests. I reject fierce revenge and exploitation. In fact, as long as you are willing to cooperate with me and provide me with what I want, I don't mind sharing some of the benefits with you. After all, this way I can make better use of you."
"You can choose fierce conflict and confrontation, which will indeed hurt me, and may even be the only way to hurt me. But I can guarantee that you will almost certainly fail, and the result of your failure in this scenario will be the loss of everything."
Thomas lowered his head and remained silent.
"Of course, nothing is absolute. If I lose in that situation, please give me a quick death, or at least don't scalp me while I'm alive." Ma Shao said with another smile.
The above are his true thoughts, and he feels it is necessary to make them clear to white people in order to reduce the possibility of their irrational confrontation.
Faced with a ruler who has no inherent evil tendencies, pursues long-term interests, is rational, honest, and powerful, only a fool would choose a confrontation that harms others and does not benefit himself.
Why did the United States become the main victim of terrorist attacks in later generations? Because as the ruler of the world, it did not possess these qualities at the same time.
The horse whistle achieved its intended purpose.
Although Thomas didn't respond, his expression was much more relaxed when he returned home.
"What happened?" His wife, her eyes swollen from crying, came forward and asked.
Thomas hugged his wife. "I believe our child will be fine, and--"
"And what?"
"And that Indian was indeed sent by God to punish me." Thomas sighed and got up to find a Bible.
Then came some strange family religious activities.
If Ma Shao saw this, he might doubt that his plan had failed because it didn't seem rational at all.
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