Chapter 489 - Iron Birds and Thousand-Li Eyes
"Very well. Since that is your position, the truth shall reveal itself within three days." Wang Ruixiang did not yet know the precise location of Fu Yousan's concealed fields, but his confidence was unshaken. "You may go."
"Thank you, Chief." Fu Yizhuang led his family members away in a wretched procession.
"As for you households who have earned merit through exposure," Wang Ruixiang continued carelessly, addressing the remaining families, "I will grant you a second opportunity to declare."
"Thank you, Chief!" "The Chief is wise!" "The Chief's boundless mercy—"
"Enough flattery," Wang Ruixiang cut them off. "But do not imagine this settles matters so simply." He then announced the punishment scheme.
Every household caught concealing land would bear the full relocation costs for one immigrant family, including house construction, land clearing, and three years of provisions.
Those still kneeling turned ashen. No trace of relief at receiving exemption crossed their features.
The burden was substantial. Combined with regular taxes, these larger farming households would accumulate no wealth for three years—barely scraping by. Yet without a severe penalty, there would be no deterrent effect. Wang Ruixiang privately considered the punishment rather lenient.
"Well? Find the burden excessive?" Wang Ruixiang said. "Then perhaps we should forget this arrangement..."
"No, no—we shall never forget the Chief's great kindness," the old man kneeling at the front responded with desperate speed. Weighing evils, suffering three years of poverty remained preferable to losing the land outright—that would be catastrophic.
"Gratitude is nonexistent. You probably all despise me to the marrow." Wang Ruixiang spat before him, and the old man shuddered, unable to muster even a denial.
After the assembly dispersed, the village divided into two distinct atmospheres. Ordinary families treated the humiliation of the larger households as dinner-table entertainment, their conversations seasoned with no small amount of schadenfreude. The punished families, meanwhile, sank into dread. Wang Ruixiang's performance had terrified them. These households dared not light lamps, huddling instead in darkness to whisper their fears.
The Fu Yousan residence fell into deathly silence after Fu Yousan's roars and wails subsided—sounds that had accompanied Fu Yizhuang's beating as the son fled through the house. No one in the Fu household dared provoke the patriarch, but at present, the family demon possessed no recourse beyond throwing tantrums. He remained firmly convinced the Australians could not locate his land. Yet the Australians clearly believed with equal conviction that he had concealed holdings. Whether they found it or not, they would surely punish his family severely as an example. This terrifying prospect gave Fu Yousan no peace.
Fu Yizhuang summoned his courage to suggest that honest declaration remained the better course. Going now to beg for mercy would mean, at worst, bearing the cost of three years' provisions for one immigrant household. This earned him several fresh lumps on his head. Fu Yousan refused to accept any loss; he maintained that the Australians were people of unknown origin, lacking legitimate governmental authority.
His son attempted several times to point out that bandits also lacked official sanction, yet they extorted money and grain just the same... These truths, of course, earned him additional strikes of the rod. He was forced into silence.
"Bandits want money and grain, but they wouldn't want our land!" Fu Yousan's eyes blazed crimson. "These beardless thieves! Hmph—let us see how they find it!" He paced the central hall. "Go file a complaint with the authorities!"
Fu Yizhuang and Fu Sanzhuang, standing below, gaped in disbelief. Report to the officials? Had the old man lost his wits? Everyone knew the Australians effectively were the government in Lingao now. Even Master Wu treated them with deference. Filing a complaint would simply invite a beating.
"Who said anything about the county yamen!" Fu Yousan snarled. "Go to the prefectural yamen to file! These bandits! Sanzhuang, pack your things—take two taels of silver and ten days of dried rations. Leave tomorrow and beat the drum to lodge a complaint at the prefectural yamen!"
These brothers had been cowed by their father for years; his tyranny had frightened them witless. Though they recognized yet another of their father's delusional schemes, they dared not contradict him to his face. They quietly withdrew.
Fu Sanzhuang complained once they were alone: "Elder Brother, what should we do? Actually travel to Qiongzhou Prefecture?"
"Taking two taels of silver to report to the officials—do you imagine officials are living Bodhisattvas?" Fu Yizhuang knew his father's character intimately: obsessed with control yet incompetent in execution. He insisted on deciding every matter large and small, yet always delegated the actual work. As for appearing before officials—he dared not even face a petty clerk. If the family failed to perform to his satisfaction, he would lose his temper and resort to beatings.
"Besides, if government troops actually came for suppression, providing their provisions and wages would bankrupt our family!" Fu Sanzhuang agreed that their father grew increasingly senile. Sensible people avoided such entanglements at all costs—yet he wanted to throw himself into them.
Fu Yizhuang nodded. "Our family has no connections among the officials. How could Father even conceive of reporting to them? Truly addled."
"But Father ordered it." Fu Sanzhuang lacked the courage for open defiance.
"Find somewhere to hide for a while. Return in a few days and claim the task is done." Fu Yizhuang possessed greater resourcefulness. "He won't have the nerve to verify with the prefectural yamen anyway."
The next morning, Wang Ruixiang wheeled the "drone" from the command tent. This "treasure" was stored in a dedicated container converted into a specialized case, enjoying "Special Class 1 Equipment" treatment.
Wang Ruixiang and Jiang Hongjun carefully broke the seal and lifted the craft out.
Except for fragile components, the aircraft had been fully assembled in Bairun City and secured on a custom-built rack. Only the wings required attachment before takeoff. Given the relatively flat terrain and the availability of free labor to level a runway, Wang Ruixiang decided against the still-immature catapult launch, opting instead for conventional taxiing.
The native members of the work team had heard tales of Australian "iron birds" capable of flight but had never witnessed the reality. Seeing this blue-and-white object emerge, they swarmed around it.
The thing was breathtakingly beautiful. The streamlined form and smooth, gleaming surface of the model aircraft struck everyone who beheld it. But could such a thing actually fly?
In their experience, flying objects were kites and Kongming lanterns—constructs of gossamer-light materials. That something so manifestly heavy-looking might take to the air filled them with skepticism. Yet upon reflection, if Australians could make great iron ships float upon water, making this object fly was probably no more difficult.
When the iron bird soared into the sky, sensation rippled through the camp. Most native personnel had never witnessed anything like it. Many sprinted after the aircraft involuntarily, shouting as they ran, consumed by excitement.
Wang Ruixiang climbed the observation tower with his equipment to operate from above. His gear included the aircraft's remote control, a monitor, and various other devices. The model was equipped with both a video camera for real-time transmission to the small monitor before him and a still camera. Viewing the ground from above revealed details invisible from the surface. This was the source of Wang Ruixiang's confidence in using the aircraft for land surveying.
He designed a zigzag flight path centered on the camp. In addition to live video, the digital camera captured an image every ten seconds for post-analysis—uncovering situations that might escape notice during real-time monitoring.
After two sorties, Wang Ruixiang discovered unregistered fields and a housing settlement absent from any map, nestled in a hilly hollow five kilometers south of Meiyang Village. The captured images revealed a settlement of more than twenty rooms. The primary structures were brick-and-tile buildings—a thoroughly developed farmstead.
"Remarkably well hidden." Wang Ruixiang studied the recorded video and photographs with care. The farmstead's location had been chosen with considerable cunning. A single entrance existed, and the access path was virtually invisible from ground level. Without aerial reconnaissance, finding it would have been genuinely difficult.
"Aircraft are certainly useful," Jiang Hongjun observed approvingly. He was responsible for maintaining this drone—their "only child" with no replacement yet manufactured. Extending its service life remained paramount.
"Surveying and land investigation are child's play. The real value will emerge in combat." Wang Ruixiang's thoughts kept returning to military applications. "A pity it's merely a model. Even if it could carry ordnance, we're talking firecracker-level payloads."
Dismissing this line of thought, he summoned Huang Ande. The young soldier had graduated first in his recruit cohort, immediately entered the NCO training program as a corporal, and now held the rank of sergeant.
"Take ten men immediately and proceed to this location to apprehend the occupants." Wang Ruixiang sketched the farmstead's approximate position on the map. "The path is difficult to locate, but you must move quickly."
"Yes, sir!" Huang Ande snapped to attention.
"Escort the occupants back after apprehension. Leave five men at the farmstead to guard the property and grain—apply seals and await the Planning Committee's takeover."
Huang Ande completed the mission efficiently. Three hours later, Fu Erzhuang—along with the farmstead's long-term laborers, household servants, and their families—were roped together and marched back under escort.
They were paraded through the village streets, heading directly for the gate of the Fu Yousan residence. Seeing Fu Erzhuang, who had been missing for days, brought back in bonds by the Australians, villagers poured from their homes to watch the spectacle, following the procession to Fu Yousan's door.
Hearing the commotion outside, Fu Yizhuang hurried out. The sight of his captured brother caused his heart to plummet. He stood mute. Only a single thought remained: It's finished.
"Excellent—your brother has returned." Wang Ruixiang gestured toward Fu Erzhuang. "He most certainly did not visit his wife's family."
Fu Yizhuang's face shifted through shades of green and crimson; he had no idea how to respond. The surrounding villagers had already grasped the situation and began whispering among themselves.
"Not counting your brother, the farmstead contains eleven men and women, two oxen, twenty rooms, a well, and stores of grain and cloth in the warehouse. Quite a fine property." Wang Ruixiang smiled. "Since you insist it does not belong to your family, we shall happily accept it. Have you anything to say?"
Fu Yizhuang released a mournful sigh and hung his head.
(End of Chapter)