chsdbacks Chapter 354 Luo Sha! How dare you come to see me!
Chapter 354 Luo Sha! How dare you come to see me!
A furious roar echoed from within the Wind King's palace!
"Luo Sha! How dare you show your face in front of me! The spy you sent out has been caught red-handed! Rumors are flying all over the country, and the common people are all cursing me for mistreating the people and for being incompetent! As the Kazekage, you can't even handle this small matter properly!"
Da Ming slammed his hand on the sandalwood wooden table, causing the documents on it to rattle loudly.
Hearing the big name's scolding, Luo Sha's cold face became even more menacing.
He forced back his emotions and argued, "Your Excellency, you allocate too little funding to the village each year. This results in too few ninja in Sunagakure, making it impossible to defend such a large border. Also, the benefits in the Land of Water are too good; they give you houses, guarantee job placement, and pay six times our wages... There's no way to stop them..."
"Couldn't be stopped?"
Daiming abruptly interrupted him, grabbed a thick copy of the "Feng Kingdom Code" from the table, and threw it hard at Luo Sha.
"Can't stop them? Why don't you send troops to burn their granaries? Why don't you arrest all the people from the Land of Water? If this continues, the Land of Wind will perish! Go to the border now, and if they escape again, commit suicide to atone for your sins and never come back to see me!"
Luo Sha suppressed his anger, a deep furrow forming between his brows: "Yes, Your Excellency."
Three days later, the kingdoms of Wind, Earth, and Thunder simultaneously issued a "joint liability order".
The notice board bore blood-red characters: "Anyone caught smuggling themselves to the Water Kingdom will be executed on the spot; anyone harboring a smuggler will have their entire family beheaded; neighbors who know but fail to report will be fined 100000 taels of silver, and those unable to pay will be reduced to slavery!"
On the desolate border of the Land of Wind, the cold wind whipped up sand and gravel, stinging one's cheeks.
The ninjas of Sunagakure lurk in the shadows, secretly monitoring every inch of the land.
In the distance, a large number of soldiers patrolled back and forth, long swords gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Three barbed wire fences, with sharp iron spikes hanging from them, stretch across the border between the two countries.
Even so, the number of people attempting to illegally cross the border continues to rise.
For them, it was better to take a gamble than to starve to death in the Wind Kingdom. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of reaching the Water Kingdom, it would still be a way to survive.
In a cave in the southern part of the Land of Wind, fourteen-year-old Xiaoyu huddled behind his father, clutching a crumpled poster of immigration policy tightly in his hand.
The poster was obtained by his father at great risk from the town. Its edges had been repeatedly rubbed until they were rough, and the number "20 taels for immigration reward" on it had been touched so much by Xiaoyu that it almost pierced through the paper.
Xiaoyu's body trembled slightly as she lowered her voice, "Dad... can we really get there?"
Through the cracks in the cave, he could see the torches of patrolling soldiers flickering like will-o'-the-wisps on the distant border.
"I heard from an uncle in the village yesterday that those who are caught will be beheaded..."
The father took out a dry, hard wheat cake from his pocket, with a few grains of sand still clinging to it. He carefully broke it in half and handed the larger half to his son.
Upon closer inspection, his palms were covered in calluses and cracks: "Don't be afraid, Father has already contacted the Water Kingdom's guard team, and they will meet us on the other side."
Xiaoyu bit into the wheat cake and forced it down: "With Dad here, I'm not afraid of anything!"
A tenderness, tinged with longing, flickered in the father's eyes: "When we get to the Water Kingdom, I'll become a farmer. You study hard. I heard you can earn 50000 taels a month there. I'll buy you new clothes and a new schoolbag then..."
Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, and most of her previous fear had dissipated.
In the dead of night in the desert, the temperature plummeted.
Xiaoyu followed her father and mingled among more than twenty illegal immigrants.
He gripped his father's hand tightly, his teeth chattering from the cold, but he dared not loosen his grip even slightly.
As they reached the border, torches lit up the opposite side, their orange-red light reflecting on the ground like a warm ribbon of light.
The stowaways ran excitedly, shouting, "It's the Water Kingdom's guard! We've arrived!"
Xiaoyu's father looked up at the torches on the opposite bank, his shoulders trembling violently.
Tears welled up in her eyes, mingling with the dust on her face: "Xiaoyu, we did it... We'll never go hungry again... You can go to school now..."
Such scenes play out every day at the borders of the three countries of Wind, Earth, and Thunder, as the number of illegal immigrants continues to rise.
Some border cities of the Land of Wind are already deserted.
Luo Sha stood on the city wall at the border, the wind making his white robe flutter.
He gazed in the direction of the Water Kingdom in the distance, his eyes bloodshot.
A Sand Village ninja strode up the city wall, his expression devoid of emotion: "Kage-sama, the patrol team caught a group of stowaways near the barbed wire. There were forty-one men, thirty-two women, and seventeen children in total."
Luo Sha slowly closed his eyes, imagining what those people looked like: the men were wearing tattered clothes, the women were holding crying, hungry children in their arms, and the children's faces were full of fear.
He had killed many people, but the mass killing of his fellow countrymen who shared his faith and blood, especially many children... this infuriated him...
But if they are released, the Daimyo will never forgive him, and the foundation of the Land of Wind will soon collapse.
After a long silence, he finally opened his eyes and sighed weakly, "Execute the daimyo's orders... Kill them all..."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
The ninja bowed in response, turned and left without pausing.
Luo Sha leaned against the railing of the city gate tower, gripping the cold wood tightly with both hands.
He gazed towards the distant water kingdom, his heart filled with bewilderment... If this batch is killed... there will be another... and the next...
The allure of six times the salary and the immigration reward of 200,000 taels of silver would act like a giant magnet, drawing away the people of neighboring countries and also eroding the foundation of the nation.
However, the immigration registration office in the Land of Water presents a completely different and bustling scene.
The spacious courtyard was crowded with immigrants who came to register. They were dressed in all sorts of clothes, but all had expectant smiles on their faces.
Ali, dressed in a brand-new blue cloth shirt, stood on the steps, waving and shouting, "Everyone line up, register one by one, don't rush! As long as you fill out the form, you'll get a temporary residence permit. Tomorrow you can go to work in the factory or go to the farm to work! Everyone will definitely have a good life..."
Ali is in his thirties and was originally an ordinary farmer in the Land of Wind. He immigrated to the Land of Water a little over a month ago.
Now, he has not only found a stable job, but also received a generous reward for introducing fellow villagers to immigrate. He looks radiant and full of energy.
After the registration was completed, an immigration officer walked up to Ali and handed him a thick wad of banknotes.
Each banknote is printed with the national emblem of the Land of Water, and they are so new that you can smell the ink.
"Ali, you brought 30 people with you this time. According to the rules, each person will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver. If there are more than 20 people, you will be rewarded with an additional 100 million taels of silver, for a total of 700 million taels of silver. Please count them."
Ali took the banknotes with both hands, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.
He had never seen so much money in his life. Holding the thick wad of banknotes in his hands, he felt incredibly at ease.
But he did not forget that most of his fellow villagers who came with him were from poor families and needed money to get by when they first arrived in the Land of Water.
He waved his hand and shouted to his fellow villagers, "Brothers, I plan to give each of you 5 taels of this prize money as a settling-in allowance! Also, I'll buy each of you a mobile phone so we can stay in touch. And I'll buy you all a decent set of new clothes. Tonight, I'll treat you all to a meal at a restaurant..."
The crowd erupted in cheers, and the villagers surrounded Ali, patting him on the shoulder to thank him for his generosity.
Some whispered among themselves, "No wonder Ali worked so hard to bring us here. Turns out, he can get 20 taels for bringing one person, and 700 million taels for bringing 30!"
"But he was willing to share his money with us and even treated us to a meal; people like that are rare!"
Ali heard the discussion, but just smiled and waved his hand.
Zhao Er stood on the street of the Water Kingdom, looking at the bustling crowd, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
Just then, Ali, who was next to him, noticed his silence.
He chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Zhao Er, what's wrong? Are you worried about work? Don't worry about that. Just fill out a form at the job market, and someone will quickly help you find a job!"
Zhao Er snapped out of his daze, looked at Ali, and hesitated for a moment: "Ali, I'm not worried about work, I just feel a little sorry for you."
Ali was clearly a little surprised, but he quickly understood what Zhao Er meant.
He smiled and shook his head, comforting us, "Let's not dwell on the past. We're all family now. From now on, we're both citizens of the Land of Water. Let's work together, and we're sure to have a better life!"