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At the deste entrance of the military camp, an old man leisurely puffed on a hand-rolled cigarette under the shade of a tree, with a teapot and small cups neatly arranged on a stool in front of him.
When a Dorne officer arrived at the scene with dozens of his men, he was greeted by this somewhatical sight.
The Great Tang Group''s security forces had evacuated Hotwind Port three days earlier, not even attempting to put up a brief resistance or fire a couple of shots before vacating the barracks.
Now, only empty buildings remained, undamaged and bearing no signs of destruction. Even the old gatekeeper would water the parade ground every day.
"Where are the people?" the Dorne officer asked the tea-drinking old man.
"They''ve all left," the old man answered straightforwardly, flicking ash from his cigarette before taking another contented sip.
"When did they leave?" The Dorne officer looked again at the quiet barracks nearby and continued his inquiry.
"Three days ago! They''ve all left," the old man answered again, without a hint of concealment.
"Did they take all their weapons with them?" The Dorne officer signaled his soldiers to approach the barracks for a closer look.
"Not exactly, they''ve sealed their weapons in storeroom number three inside the barracks," the old man shook his head as he continued, adding "All the keys for thepound are hanging on the wall in the dispatch room."
After saying this, the old man even lifted his arm to point, roughly indicating the location of the dispatch room.
"Thank you, sir," replied the Dorne officer, courteously nodding his thanks before quickly leading the remaining men away.
Sure enough, the Dorne soldiers found the keys on the wall in the barracks'' dispatch room, and in storeroom number three, they saw the neatly stored Great Tang K3 rifles and Maxim machine guns.
Boxes of shiny, well-oiled bulletsy in the corner, ready for use as if specially reserved for the invading Dorne troops.
The situation was the same in the port of Hotwind Port; the docks were empty, thepleted ships had vanished, but the equipment used to build them stayed in ce, even regrly maintained and oiled.
The cranes were still there, and some fishing boats continued to ply the waters of the harbor as usual. The remaining locals watched calmly as Dorne''s troops entered the city and then retreated again.
Since they had found no trace of the Great Tang Group''s forces, what was meant to be a street battle-ready Dorne military embarrassingly withdrew from a city that needed no fighting to be taken.
Latterly, officials rushing to their respective offices found documents that had been burned, along with data and files left behind for them.
Everything seemed so natural, as if devoid of any bitterness. The Great Tang Group had thus quietly departed, leaving behind Hotwind Port after five years of operation.
The machinery in the factories was all well-preserved, simply awaiting the removal of protective tarps and the return of sufficientbor to resume production immediately. Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire
With the most gracious manner, the Great Tang Group ensured the city''s preservation andpleted the transition, fulfilling their promise.
As for Dorne, it seemed they had to maintain their dignity as well. They could only watch helplessly as civilians lined up at the dock to board the great ships destined for distant Dragon Ind.
They didn''t dare to stop such departures because the quiet men and women standing at the dock seemed to hold an unchallengeable power within them.
Even the Dorne soldiers didn''t dare to approach and interrogate, only watching from a distance as cars loaded with people drove into the port,cking the courage to even attempt a blockade.
Aboard the bridge of a passenger ship converted from a freighter, the captain looked down at the throng below ready to board and asked his first officer, "Is this thest group?"
"Yes, this is thest group! There are 2000 people... It seems there are a few who changed their minds at thest minute, so we might go slightly over 2100," the first officer answered calmly.
Standing on a ship flying the g of the Great Tang Kingdom imbued him with boundless strength. He had no concerns about Dorne''s soldiers daring to board, such was the confidence that came with power.
"We won''t be needing the cars anymore; let''s leave them for them," the captain said as he looked toward the end of the dock where cars, now out of fuel, were parked haphazardly.
"The guns are abandoned, and so are the cars; we simplyck the transport capacity. There''s nothing we can do," the first officer replied with a wry smile.
If there had been a chance, he certainly would not have left ammunition and weapons for the enemy, but there was simply no way to transport such extraneous items any longer.
Over the past month, they had been traveling day and night at full speed, transporting countless people to Brunas.
ording to ounts, the Great Tang''s maritime department had moved a total of 100,000 people from Hotwind Port! It was nothing short of a miracle!
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In order to achieve this goal, they left behind firearms and ammunition, machinery, and even clothes and luggage...
What they moved, were merely people, nothing but people!
Here, I must particrly thank the private fleets; many fishermen even took the initiative to sail their vessels directly to Brunas with their friends and families—without this, the number of people transported could have been reduced by one third!
In Winterless City, the local nobility who had been suppressed finally celebrated openly, because the outsiders who loomed over them had atst scrammed!
King Dorne, in order to stabilize the situation in Winterless City, extensivelymissioned former Taren nobility, who reced the local administrators, then they carried out a remarkable counter-calction.
The originally low rubber tax was tripled, as rubber production and cultivation both take time, causing the local rubber farmers to suffer greatly.
However, these feelings were still suppressed, because before the Great Tang Group left, they nearly took all the local rubber with them, and the money from this would keep the rubber farmers quite stable for many years.
Simrly, in Northern Ridge, when Suthers''s troops entered Ice Crystal City, which they had lost over five years ago, they barely saw anyone in the streets.
Most of the people had moved away, and amongst those that remained, very few reminisced about Suthers''s rule. There was no one lining up to wee them, no petals thrown, no apuse offered.
For Suthers''s troops entering Ice Crystal City, the ce was almost no different from a dead city—streets deserted, the factories that used to operate day and night were now utterly silent.
Nevertheless, Earl Northern Ridge kept her promise; she didn''t destroy a single bridge nor took a single machine when she left. All factories were left as they were, simply without workers.@@novelbin@@
This migration, unprecedented in world history, swept away a poption of over a million from Northern Ridge, leaving behind mostly elderly who did not wish to abandon their homesteads, and some who believed there were still opportunities to be had by staying.
The rail tracks were still there, stretching all the way from Ice Crystal City to Wolf City. But all the train engines had vanished, because after all, transportation required engines, so Northern Ridge took them all.
The busy station remained busy, with the trains heading south from Suthers arriving on time. The ones dismounting from the trains were Suthers''s soldiers, who had finally achieved their dream of taking back thend that was upied many years ago.
The impatient Suthers''s soldiers gathered in the square of Ice Crystal City, united in toppling a statue of Count Fisheo.
The marble shattered upon hitting the ground; Count Fisheo''s head rolled far away, and at that moment, no one cared.
Almost at the same time, the Por Kingdom''s soldiers entered Osa, once again betraying their trust, tearing up the treaty they had to cede Osa.
What Sir Leibart and his sovereign did not expect was that over fifty thousand elves chose to leave their homnd and temporarily reside on Dongwan Ind.
The Ice Cold Empire reimed Eternal Winter City, thisrge port''s deste appearance was heartbreaking. Lacking the fleets from Brunas, Dragon Ind, and Dongwan, its scale seemed to serve no purpose except decoration.
Nevertheless, the Ice Cold Empire regained theirrgest port and also seized an important industrial area.
Already strong in industrial capabilities, the Ice Cold Empire, in this global feast of dividing up the Great Tang Group, also got a delicious slice of the cake.
As the Tang Kingdom and Qi Country went to war, the Laines Empire''s troops entered Jade City, simrly without encountering any resistance, and simrly secured everything they desired.
Millions left their homnds, some heading to Dragon Ind, some to Linshui and Dongwan, Jade City... was essentially left with just a shell.
Even if it was just a shell, Leines I was satisfied; after all, this was his former King City, where he was born and spent most of his life.
Now that he had reimed it, he also wanted to take back one of the most important cities in the world: Brunas!
With possession of Brunas, even if it was just the machinery and equipment there, Leines I was certain he would obtain untold wealth and a staggering technological advantage.
On the same day the Laines Empire''s troops entered Jade City, Leines I announced the renaming of Jade City to Leite, restoring the city''s old name.
Meanwhile, to celebrate his imminent bloodless conquest of Brunas, he also hosted a grand feast for his ministers in Laines City.
Of course he had to celebrate; under his nning and leadership, the Great Tang Group had be amb to the ughter, everyone''s target.
Even if the Great Tang Group was to stabilizeter on, with the world against them, it would be impossible to seek revenge on everyone—as long as the Great Tang could not carry outprehensive retaliation, he could ensure he himself remained invincible!
Isn''t this worth celebrating? Isn''t this a cause for wild joy?