North America 1773: Do Britain and America even deserve to be called great powers?

Chapter 29 The Governor's Office's Warning and Acquiescence

Everyone was stunned by Finn's gunshot, followed by Finn's series of tiger-like roars.

"The butcher has been defeated! Lay down your weapons, and those who surrender will be spared!"

"Mr. Li only wants justice, not lives!"

"Surrender and you'll be spared!" Behind Seamus's shield wall, Kieran's slingers shouted in unison, their voices deafening.

The Bloodhands thugs exchanged bewildered glances, looking at Jack rolling and howling on the ground, then at the unmoving shield wall, and the shadowy figures looming on the roof.

Finally, the first person threw away the iron chain in his hand.

Then came the second, and the third.

The incessant clanging sound became the death knell for the butcher's era.

The battle ended faster than expected.

When the last Bloodhands gang member was disarmed and crouched on the ground with his hands covering his head, the entire "Gallows Alley" was deathly silent except for the groans of the wounded.

Levi came down from the roof and walked up to Jack, who had been taken down from the wall by two Irishmen.

"Butcher" Jack's face was deathly pale, sweat and blood mingled together. He covered his bleeding wound with his only remaining left hand and glared venomously at Levi.

"You...you wizard from the East..."

Li Wei ignored his curses.

He walked over to Finn and took the gun, still smelling of gunpowder, back from his hand.

"Tell everyone that from this day forward, One-Eyed Finn is in charge of the Boston docks."

He turned his head, about to say something to Fiona.

Suddenly, a series of synchronized drumbeats came from the other end of the street.

Ta-ta-ta.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

At the end of the street, the morning mist was slowly pushed aside.

Beyond the morning mist, a squad of soldiers in scarlet uniforms and black tricorn hats approached slowly in orderly steps.

The white, crossed armbands on their chests were particularly striking in the morning light.

The soldiers in the front row carried long-barreled rifles on their shoulders, their bayonets gleaming.

This was the regular British army, and the de facto rulers of Boston.

They arrived so quickly, so coincidentally.

The leader was none other than a British lieutenant who had met Fiona once at Boyle's bakery.

His leather boots were polished to a shine, and his white gloves were spotless, standing out starkly against the surrounding blood and filth.

The British lieutenant glanced at the prisoners squatting on the ground and the groaning wounded, without even frowning.

His gaze swept past everyone and landed directly on Li Wei.

"Mr. Li, is that so?" The British lieutenant's voice was not arrogant, but rather carried a hint of curiosity.

"The Governor's Office received a report that an armed riot had broken out in the northern district. It now appears that the rumors were true."

He took two steps forward and stopped in front of Li Wei.

"Lieutenant Andrew Gage asked me to give you his regards."

He said he was very grateful for the tea, but hoped that my next "business" would be less noisy.

The lieutenant's gaze swept over the outline of the pistol in Li Wei's arms, his expression suggestive.

"After all, firing shots and setting fires would disturb the Governor."

Li Wei remained silent.

He took the finely crafted flintlock pistol from his pocket, and without pointing the muzzle at anyone, calmly handed it back to the lieutenant.

"Please convey my gratitude to Mr. Gage. It's time to return this keepsake to its rightful owner. It helped me resolve some 'business' disputes, and I no longer need it."

The lieutenant looked at the gun, then at Li Wei, and finally his businesslike expression softened slightly.

This Easterner stated to the Governor's Palace that what happened today was not a riot challenging official authority, but merely a gang shootout, a "business" taking place in the shadows.

The fact that the lieutenant pushed the gun back into Li Wei's hands was tantamount to the official acceptance of this ending.

"Mr. Li is a smart man." The lieutenant took a step back and waved to the soldiers behind him.

"The Governor's Office will characterize what's happening here as a dockside gang feud, but only this once. Boston needs order, not endless chaos."

……

The British lieutenant's leather boots made a final, clear sound on the cobblestones. He and his crimson-clad soldiers came and went like a sudden gust of wind, taking with them the suffocating sense of order and intimidation.

The morning mist seemed to gather again, leaving only the stench of blood, sweat, and the panting of nearly a hundred prisoners in the alley.

The silence of "Hooked Lane" was even more chilling than the fighting that had just taken place.

All eyes, whether on the standing Irishman or the squatting former "Bloody Hands" member, were on Levi.

He calmly sheathed the still-warm flintlock pistol, its exquisite silver ornaments belonging to Andrew Gage reflecting a cold, powerful gleam in the morning light.

Adjutant Gage's greeting was both a warning and a tacit agreement.

The bigwigs in the Governor's House didn't care who was in charge at the docks; they only cared whether the commotion would disturb their peace and whether the new leader "knew the rules."

Li Wei happened to be the one who knew the rules.

He didn't look at the prisoners, but turned to Finn and Seamus. "Take Jack with you."

The two men, one on each side, lifted up "Butcher" Jack, who was slumped on the ground.

Jack's right hand was pierced by an arrow, a bloody mess. His proud brute strength was drained away with the blood, and he could only stare at Levi with his venomous eyes, letting out a beast-like growl.

Li Wei ignored him and walked straight into the depths of the alley, where the surrounding crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

The destination is Parker's Grocery Store.

The shop's doors were shattered into pieces, the shelves inside were overturned, and cheap cereal and dried beans were scattered all over the floor, mixed with mud and water.

This is where the Bloodhands' atrocities began, and Li Wei chose it to become the stage for the end of the old era.

"Hang him up."

A rough hemp rope was thrown onto the roof beam, and the noose landed precisely on Jack's neck.

Jack began to struggle frantically, scratching with his intact left hand, uttering incoherent curses and pleas for mercy.

"Wizard...devil...let me go...money, all my money is yours..."

The rope was slowly pulled tighter, lifting him little by little off the ground.

But he wasn't strangled; he was simply left with his toes barely off the ground, in a state of extreme pain and humiliation, half-suspended.

He was like a fat pig hanging on a hook, kicking his legs in vain.

The butcher, who had spent half his life killing pigs, was now the pig in Li Wei's hands.

This scene sent chills down the spines of all the onlookers.

Li Wei didn't stop. He took out a stack of papers from a file folder that Fiona handed him. This was a list that Fiona had compiled overnight from the displaced people of the southern district.

"Aunt Maggie's Tailor Shop, fire tax, two shillings."

"Lame Tom, protection money, one shilling."

"Red Rose Brothel, weekly tribute, five shillings."

"Luke the lame porter, loan interest, eight shillings."

……

Each time Levi read a line, he had Seamus glue the paper to Jack's body. He read slowly and clearly, making sure every resident of the South could hear him.

At first, the crowd was deathly silent. They were afraid of Jack's lingering power. But as one indictment after another was pasted on, Jack's tall figure was quickly covered by white paper, turning him into a ridiculous and pathetic paper figure.

Suppressed sobs began to rise from the crowd; it was Aunt Maggie. Then, a child picked up a small stone and threw it, hitting Jack on the leg.

This action was like lighting a fuse.

"Skin-scratcher!"

"Give me back my son's medical expenses!"

"You heartless butcher!"

Years of suppressed anger and hatred erupted at this moment. A torrent of curses and cries filled the air. The people, once fearful bystanders, became participants in the trial. They used the most vicious language to strip Jack of his last shred of dignity.

Jack stopped struggling. He hung in mid-air, listening to the curses of those who had once groveled before him. His spirit completely collapsed.

This humiliation is a hundred times more cruel than killing him outright.

Li Wei watched all this unfold. What he wanted was not simple revenge, but the restoration of order.

He wanted everyone to understand that Jack's barbaric era was over, and a new era with rules and boundaries had begun.

After the butcher's trial, it's time to deal with his henchmen.

Li Wei turned around and faced the nearly one hundred "Bloody Hand Gang" members squatting on the ground.

Although they were numerous, they could only lower their heads and dare not meet Li Wei's gaze.

"Now, you have two choices."