Chapter 2357 Thugs

Edmund Fogel had been expelled, and the tax collectors and customs officials he had appointed, some of whom were locals, had also been "blacklisted" by the "Sons of Liberty" and suffered cruel reprisals.

One day in early May, a customs official named John Malcolm was unmasked by an anonymous pamphlet, allegedly in the service of Edmund Fogel, in charge of the tax collection scheme.

At noon that day, a group of thugs broke into John Malcolm's house and wreaked havoc, beating Malcolm himself, his wife and underage children.

The thugs were still angry after venting, dragged John Malcolm out of the door, and paraded through the streets.

The thugs stripped Malcolm naked in public, smeared tar on him, stuck feathers on him, whipped him, and tortured him for hours. If it wasn't for a sudden rainstorm, the poor man would have been beaten to death .

The torrential rain lasted until dusk, until Joan cast a spell to disperse the rain clouds—just as he cast "mythical control of the weather" not long ago to create this heavy rain that disperses street thugs.

Standing at the door of the corner coffee shop, watching silently as John Malcolm was helped up by his family members and staggeringly fled back home, Joan was in a heavy heart.

Just as he had feared at the beginning, the street movement in Alfheim was moving in the direction of bloody violence, and those so-called "freedom martyrs", who kept advocating freedom, could not allow others to hold different political opinions from them, and chose to be different. Qiao An gradually aroused Joan's resentment for his position and the brutal suppression of "royalists" and "neutralists" by rogue means.

The radical behavior of the thugs cannot deny the legitimacy of this anti-tax movement, but after hearing and witnessing too many meaningless violent incidents, Joan's enthusiasm for political activities has gradually cooled down, and he does not want to get involved in them anymore.

During this process, what made him feel the most pain was not the violent behavior of the thugs, but his real awareness of his weakness as a small intellectual who wavered in the tide of social turmoil.

"People like me are not suitable for getting involved in political activities."

Joan sighed secretly, feeling lost.

When he decided to return to his hometown, the main reason was to avoid the disputes between the Midgard colonists and the aborigines. Now that his hometown is also in a political vortex, what's the point of staying here?

Leaving Yalfheim, Joan didn't know where else to go.

Looking up at the gloomy sky, the young mage felt depressed. Although the world is big, he couldn't find a clean place away from strife.

...

The subsequent evolution of the situation was far worse than what Joan had expected.

On the second day of the "Malcolm Incident", the Alfheim Colonial Assembly introduced a so-called "loyalty test law", requiring all public officials, lawyers and teachers in the colony to sign a written oath to the Colonial parliaments and governments—not the imperial central government—sworn allegiance.

Joan resented this approach, and what disappointed and chilled him even more was...Mr. Jefferson, who has written books for many years and devoted himself to promoting free thought, as the chairman of the parliament, not only did he not take the lead in opposing this blatant suppression of freedom of speech and thought Instead, it became the driving force behind the "loyalty test law".

Some people say one thing publicly, but do another thing behind the scenes. Can such people be trusted?

Thinking back to Rebecca’s evaluation of Jefferson, calling him a “hypocrite”, Joann only thought it was mean and harsh in the past, but now he realizes that Rebecca’s words may be unlucky. The disillusionment of disillusionment.

Joan is a visiting scholar at Leiden College, which is equivalent to having a teaching position. According to the decree issued by the parliament, he must also sign the so-called "Letter of Allegiance" to take an oath.

This practice disgusts him!

Qiao An didn't want to be coerced by political movements, and at the same time, in order to dispel the negative emotions that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time, she decided to find a quiet place to avoid the limelight.

The day after the introduction of the "Loyalty Test Law", Joan asked for leave from the new principal of Leiden College, Mr. Madison, and wrote to Master Rawls and all his classmates and friends, expressing that he had an urgent business trip and then cast the spell It was directly sent to "Cloud City".

...

When Qiao An returned to Yunzhong City, he went to find Daddy Gushu and copied the 7-ring spell.

Papa Gushu was no stranger to his perverted upgrade speed, so he copied a table of contents from his spell book and handed it to Joan.

There are a total of more than 30 7th-level spells listed in the catalogue. Excluding those that Joan has already learned, or with better alternative versions, there are only 4 new spells that arouse his interest, namely "Spell Reversal", "Mirage ", "Level 7 Monster Summoning Technique" and "Mage Yang Flame Palm".

The spells that Joan has been exposed to in the past generally follow a rule, and its modern version is often better than the ancient one.

After all, the times are advancing, and later generations always optimize the old version of the spell configuration on the basis of the predecessors. It is normal for each generation to be stronger than the previous generation.

The "spell reversal" that Joan copied from the old book daddy is a rare exception.

This ancient version of "Spell Reversal" is actually better optimized than the modern version of the spell of the same name that Joan is familiar with. If this version had not been lost in the world of Vales, there would be no need for future generations to "reinvent the wheel".

A creature protected by this spell can reverse harmful spells directed at itself, and use it against the caster himself, causing him to suffer.

As a 7th-level spell, the upper limit of the magic power level of "Spell Reversal" is only 20 degrees. The number of spells that can be reversed within one round (6 seconds) is not limited, but the cumulative magic power level cannot exceed 20 degrees. The limited part of the damage will be accepted as it is ordered.

In addition, "spell reversal" cannot reverse the regional spells such as "fireball" that attack multiple targets at the same time, at most it can only protect the subject from harm.

The duration of "spell reversal" is proportional to the casting level.

With Joan's current spellcasting level, after the blessing of "spell reversal", he can continue to be protected for 25 rounds, which is still very practical.

...

·Historical materials: American thug traditional arts ("The Collapse of the British Empire and the Birth of America" ​​[British] Nick Bunker)

As the cabinet was preparing a bill to close Boston Harbor, North suddenly scored a publicity victory of his own.

On March 8 news came of another dastardly crime in Massachusetts.

In late January, a Boston mob captured customs officer John Malcolm, stripped him naked, feathered him with tar, whipped him and tortured him for hours.

When he was on the Treasury Committee in 1772, North heard about the violent attack on the customs in the United States, but did not pursue it. This time, he must take decisive action.

·Historical Materials: The Past Life of McCarthyism ·The Loyalty Test Method ("Scarred in America" ​​(German) Holger Hoke)

In addition to the treason bills, states also enacted Test Laws (Test Laws), which required citizens to take an oath of allegiance to their states.

In most areas, the strictness of the loyalty laws depended on the strength of perceived pro-British sentiment and which side had the upper hand militarily.

In New Hampshire, where few active Loyalists were active, the immediate impact of the war was limited—from late 1777 only state officials, officials, and lawyers were required to take an oath of fealty.

Conversely, in Westchester County, New York, where the Royalists were stronger, residents there were at far greater risk of being declared a public enemy.

By 1779, the local committee, under the direction of the New York committee tasked with investigating and foiling all conspiracies, and backed by a large militia, was about to focus on trying some 1,000 people.

During this period, royalist refugees flooded into New York under the control of the British army, and the population of New York increased to 33,000 in one fell swoop.

Those who did not obey the test laws faced far harsher penalties than those who had previously refused to take the oath of allegiance.

Typically, the committee would strip them of their voting rights and bar them from holding public office, holding a profession, and doing business. They cannot serve on juries, acquire property, inherit land, or even travel at will.

During the war, thousands of royalists were affected by confiscation of property, and the law even allowed for the death penalty for traitors without a public trial.