Chapter 2071 The Cruel Truth

"Joan, what's the matter with you? Your face doesn't look normal, maybe you're infected with that..." Haakon looked at the young mage's pale face with concern, and seemed to think that the word "smallpox" was very unlucky, so he deliberately avoided it. Ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine." Joan forced a smile, "You went on to say that someone deliberately sold blankets that bred the smallpox virus to the aborigines. What happened afterwards?"

"Later, Slude and I followed the clues and traced the source of all the virus blankets, that is, the profiteer named Johnson."

"When we found out the address of this person, we took a dozen or so brothers and went to confront him."

"This guy Johnson has a ghost in his heart. When he heard the knock on the door, he pushed open the window and looked out. When he saw a group of us coming to him to question him, he was so scared that he quickly retreated and tried to slip through the back door."

"Fortunately, Slude was more thoughtful. He went around to guard the back door of the grocery store in advance, caught the profiteer, and forced him to ask him why he deliberately sold the virus-tainted blankets to us Asa people. More importantly, these viruses Where did he get the blankets from?"

"Johnson wanted to deny it at first, which pissed me off. I was whipped twice. The guy howled like a pig, and immediately begged for mercy. He confessed that he was hired by the colonial military to use virus blankets in the Vymur Valley. Spreading smallpox, even if the virus can't kill us all, at least it can scare us away from the epidemic area with our families. In this way, the colonists can take advantage of the trend to occupy the land we left behind, follow in the footsteps of the virus, and continue to expand their territory. Haakon snorted angrily, "I have to say, the person who planned this poisonous plan is really smart, but unfortunately he didn't use his intelligence in the right place, he is simply more insidious and cruel than the devil!"

"So who is the mastermind behind the scenes?" Holden asked.

"As Johnson, he is not qualified to deal with the big boss. The person who is usually in charge of contacting him is Lieutenant Colonel Henry James." Haakon replied.

Slude followed his brother's words and made a more in-depth analysis: "At the level of Lieutenant Colonel James, it is impossible to mobilize such a huge amount of manpower, material and financial resources. Everyone knows that this conspiracy has been planned since five years ago. Lieutenant Colonel James is the most loyal lackey under the command of "The Butcher" Laval. Laval borrowed the power of cultists and even demons in the war two years ago. At that time, there was a lot of trouble, and almost everyone knew it, so we have reason to doubt, Laval and the 'Conquering Order' behind him are the masterminds of this disaster, and the specific infection plan was probably carefully designed by a certain virus expert employed by the military."

"After we get these statements from Johnson, we intend to send him back to River Valley as a tainted witness for the prosecution of the colonial government and the military."

"On the way home, a cavalry patrol suddenly rushed out of the woods and surrounded our team. These malicious cavalry were all equipped with magic crystal muskets, and belonged to the colony's elite troop, the Blue Lancers. ', the commander of this patrol is the cavalry captain named Bob Anderson."

Slude took a deep look at Joan and continued to describe the situation at that time.

"Captain Anderson claimed that he received an alarm from Johnson with a 'communication stone' during his patrol, and learned that he had been kidnapped by Asa horse bandits. Take them all back and put them in jail."

"Of course we cannot accept this charge, try to clarify the truth, tell Captain Anderson that we are not kidnappers, and tell him that the profiteer Johnson has personally confessed to the crime of selling virus blankets."

"However, the arrogant cavalry captain didn't listen to our explanation at all, and warned us that Johnson must be released immediately, otherwise he will be rude to us."

"The dispute between the two sides became more and more intense. Captain Anderson actually ordered the cavalry to shoot at us, killing and wounding several of our tribe."

"Under this situation, we couldn't bear it, so we could only stand up and resist. After a fierce fight, the cavalry was repelled by us. As for that Captain Anderson..."

Slude smiled bitterly, staring into Joan's eyes and slowly said: "Captain Anderson, I shot and shot down the horse with my own hands in the melee. Not long after that, an angry hunter swung a knife and cut off Captain Anderson's scalp. Just two minutes before, Captain Anderson had thrust his saber through the chest of the hunter's brother—the poor boy, not yet fifteen years old."

"That's right, I killed Captain Anderson, it's his own fault, I don't feel guilty about it!"

"Joan, I don't know who you are Bob Anderson. Since you wrote to me specifically to inquire about the cause of his death, it must have something to do with it. This time I came to the Vymur Valley with the purpose of avenging him. Bar?"

Joan didn't know how to answer Slude's question, and the entanglement in her mood was beyond words, so she could only keep silent.

The woods were silent.

Hearing Slude tell the truth about Bob Anderson's death, the Hailar and Zion siblings who came to investigate with Joan also felt complicated, not knowing who to blame for this tragedy.

Captain Anderson's death in the line of duty was worthy of sympathy, but Slude had no choice under the circumstances at the time, so he was not guilty.

In the final analysis, the blame can only be blamed on the careerists who planned this virus conspiracy.

The aborigines who were unfortunate enough to be infected, as well as their relatives and friends who were infected by them, were all victims of the conspiracy.

As for Captain Anderson, if he knew nothing about the conspiracy and only went to rescue a profiteer selling virus blankets, a citizen of the Empire, out of a sense of military duty, then there is no doubt that he himself was a victim of the conspiracy.

The oppressive silence lasted for a long time. Slude took out the magic crystal rifle from the storage bag, loaded the bullets, and threw it at Joan.

Joan subconsciously reached out to catch the rifle, raised her head, and looked at Slude blankly.

"I've said everything I need to say, and I swear to the gods, there is no lie, the gun that killed Bob Anderson is now in your hands, if you want to avenge him, just shoot me! "

The girl's bleak words echoed in Joan's ears and touched his heartstrings, making him recall Mrs. Anderson's mournful face when she faced the dead son's body, and then think of Aunt Ishta's loving face...

Joan has lost his mother since he can remember. Both Mrs. Anderson and Aunt Ishta made him feel the warmth of a mother. In a daze, the faces of the two "mothers" seemed to merge into one before his eyes. The hand of the gun dropped powerlessly.

...

Historical Materials: Smallpox Blanket ("American Story", Bi Lan)

Jeffrey Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America who made outstanding achievements in the war, was named "Baron" and commanded all the armed forces in North America. The King also appointed Amherst Governor of Virginia. Amherst said yes, but on one condition, I couldn't live in a wild place like Virginia. He especially hates North America, especially Indians. He openly stated that the world would be a better place if all the Indians were extinct. In the eyes of Amherst, the Indians are out-and-out "savages" (Savages).

Originally, the French were the best for the Indians. During the "New France" period, the French not only respected the rights of the Indians, but also continuously donated guns, ammunition, blankets and other materials free of charge. Over time, Indians forgot how to use bows and arrows, got used to hunting with guns, and became increasingly inseparable from the daily necessities provided by white people. Now that the French were driven off, the Indians hoped to get the same funding from the British.

When the Indians asked Amherst for help, Amherst said, Are you out of your mind? When the French fought with us, you helped the French, and now you still have the face to ask for things? Hunting without a gun and bullets? All starve to death! Save me from doing it! You want blankets, all right, I have some here. Therefore, Amherst gave the Indians the blankets used by smallpox patients, allowing smallpox to spread among the Indians who were not immune, and wiped the Indians from the earth.