Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Chapter 1093 Stabilizing the Situation

11am, in front of the Imperial Palace.

The director of the relief agency, Seiichi Nakamura, stood on a makeshift platform, holding a loud speaker, facing the crying and angry crowd in the square. Behind him were neat rows of relief supplies and teams of uniformed relief agency staff.

"Dear fellow villagers!" Nakamura Seiichi's voice spread throughout the square through the loudspeaker, "Please listen to me!"

The crowd in the audience was still crying and shouting.

"My husband! Give me back my husband's life!"

“Murderer!”

“Give me back my son!”

Nakamura Seiichi took a deep breath and said, "The government has learned the truth of this incident. This was entirely the unauthorized action of a few individuals at Pu Yu, and they have been severely punished!"

"Now, the government has decided to give the maximum compensation to the families of all the workers who died in this incident. Each family will receive a pension of 2,000 yen and three months of food rations!"

The crying in the crowd became noticeably quieter. Two thousand yen was a year's salary for an average worker.

"Please line up," Nakamura continued, "We will immediately distribute pensions and food according to household registration. At the same time, the government will also provide employment assistance and children's education subsidies to the families of the victims!"

The relief agency staff below the stage began to set up tables and chairs, preparing for registration.

"Please trust the government!" Nakamura Seiichi said earnestly, "The government will give everyone an explanation for this tragedy!"

Gradually, more and more family members began to line up. Although they were still grieving, such a huge amount of compensation did give many poor families hope for survival.

"When registering, you must verify their identities carefully!" Nakamura Seiichi turned around and whispered to the staff, "Every pension payment must be made with their fingerprints and signatures. You won't be able to say anything in the future."

The staff nodded and started to get busy.

In the square, food was distributed bag by bag, and pensions were registered one by one. The government tried to calm the turmoil with money and materials. But the pain of those who lost their loved ones can never be measured with money.

"We don't want money! We want the murderer to pay with his life!" a middle-aged woman shouted heartbreakingly, "Give me back my husband's life!"

"Yes! We want the person who found the unpolished jade to pay with his life!" The crowd began to riot again.

Nakamura Makoto looked at his watch and saw that it was already the appointed time. He raised his horn and said, "Everyone! Please listen to me! The culprits of the unpolished jade, Asanogawa and Nijiya, have been executed!"

“It’s a lie!” someone in the crowd shouted. “You are lying to us!”

Nakamura Seiichi waved his hand. Behind him, two trucks slowly drove up, and the rear curtains of the trucks were lifted.

“Look!” he pointed at the truck. “Here are the bodies of Asano and Nijima. They have paid for their crimes!”

In the car, two bodies were hung by ropes, still wearing Pu Yu uniforms. There was a deep knife wound on Asanogawa's neck, and a short knife was stuck in Hong Yuzhang's chest, and blood had soaked through his uniform.

"Oh my God..." The crowd was in an uproar.

"These people from Pu Yu acted on their own and killed innocent people," Nakamura Seiichi's voice became stern, "They have received the punishment they deserve!"

The woman who had just been shouting for the murderer to pay with his life collapsed on the ground, crying bitterly.

"Now, the murderer has been brought to justice," Nakamura's tone softened again, "Please mourn for them. The government will not forget these innocent souls and will definitely take good care of their families."

The crowd gradually quieted down. Looking at the two bodies, the anger of many people seemed to have subsided a little.

"Take the body away." Nakamura Seiichi whispered, "Remember, let everyone see it clearly."

The truck slowly drove across the square, allowing everyone to see the fate of the two "culprits". The two bodies were indeed Asanogawa and Nijiya Akira, but they were assassinated last night. Their deaths were strange, but they were used at this moment to calm the public anger.

"Now, please continue to queue up to register," said Nakamura Seiichi. "Let us comfort the souls of the deceased with practical actions."

The atmosphere in the square was obviously much calmer, and more family members began to line up to receive pensions and food.

Only Nakamura Seiichi knew that the deaths of these two high-ranking officials were no accident. But at this moment, their bodies did perfectly calm the public anger.

The dead are always the best scapegoats, because they can no longer tell the truth.

Eleven o'clock in the morning, on the other side of the Imperial Palace.

Eleven o'clock in the morning, on the other side of the Imperial Palace.

Foreign Minister Shinichi Inoue stood in front of the group of students. His voice was gentle and sincere: "Dear students, I completely understand your anger. This incident is indeed a major mistake made by the government."

"A mistake?" Nai Zi, a student leader wearing glasses, sneered, "You shot and killed unarmed workers, and you call that a mistake?"

"Yes! This is a massacre!" Kawamura stood beside Naizi and shouted, "The government must give an explanation!"

The students around him also shouted: "Explain! Explain!"

Inoue Shinichi raised his hands to signal everyone to be quiet: "Please listen to me. First of all, the undisputed personnel Asanogawa and Nijiya Akira who fired the shots have been executed, and their bodies are over there." He pointed to a truck not far away.

The students turned around and looked.

"Secondly," Inoue Shinichi continued, "Lord Watanabe has ordered a thorough investigation of this incident. All the unscrupulous people who participated in the suppression will be severely punished. At the same time, the government will provide the maximum compensation to the families of the victims."

"Not enough!" Naizi said sternly, "We demand a thorough reform of the unpolished jade system! This privileged organization must be disbanded!"

"Yes, that's exactly the third point I wanted to make." Inoue Nobu nodded, "Lord Watanabe has decided to carry out a comprehensive reform of the unpolished jade. Abolish its privileged status and establish a strict supervision mechanism."

There was a murmur among the student body.

"Mr. Watanabe will announce the specific reform plan in detail at the press conference this afternoon." Inoue Shinichi looked at Naoko and Kawamura, "We sincerely invite you two to attend this press conference as student representatives."

Naizi and Kawamura looked at each other.

"Students," Inoue Shinichi's voice became more sincere, "the government is willing to listen to your voices. Let us use rational means to jointly promote this reform. Violence will only bring more harm, which is not the result that any of us want to see."

The students' emotions gradually calmed down.

"Naiko-kun, Kawamura-kun," Inoue Shinichi bowed slightly, "Please believe in the government's sincerity. At the press conference this afternoon, you can directly present your demands to Lord Watanabe."

Naizi was silent for a while, and finally nodded: "Okay, we will go. But if the government breaks its promise..."

"Absolutely not." Inoue Shinichi solemnly promised, "This is Mr. Watanabe's political promise."

The student groups began to disperse, but Inoue Shinichi knew that this was only a temporary lull. How to appease these young people would be the biggest challenge facing the government.

Because these students are the ones who really give the government a headache. They don't want money or materials, they want reform. And this is exactly the most difficult thing.