The Walking Dead: Starting as a Cowboy

Chapter 186 Unreasonable Conscription

With the killer dealt with, Woodbury calmed down immediately.

I'm sleeping much better at night now.

Walking down the street in the morning, Andrea could feel the atmosphere of Woodbury.

Residents passing by greeted Andrea with smiles.

Good morning, Andrea.

"Good morning."

"Andrea, you look great today."

"Thank you for everything, Andrea."

"Have a nice day."

"...

""

A barrage of blessings rained down on Andrea, making her feel a little dizzy.

She quickly realized that this was feedback from the residents of Woodbury for solving the murder case.

When Andrea arrived at her office, there was a piece of paper on her desk.

The notice read: "Woodbury Recruiting Notice." Below it were a dense list of requirements, outlining everything that needed to be done after being recruited.

The entire text does not use the word "coercion" at all, but every paragraph, whether explicitly or implicitly, reveals a sense of coercion.

Regardless of disability or chronic illness, regardless of age or youth.

Anyone with a normal mind would find the governor utterly depraved; he even wanted to kill newborn children...

Even old men on their deathbeds were brought into the army and sacrificed their lives for him.

Andrea let out a long sigh.

The notice on the desktop had somehow ended up on the Woodbury bulletin board.

On the empty bulletin board, only this notice stood out prominently, visible to every passerby. When they realized what they had seen, they were stunned and lost in thought.

More and more people gathered around.

The whole scene was eerily quiet, but no one could sense their inner collapse.

As parents, they not only have to worry about their own lives, but also about their children's.

Even more devastated was a single mother whose son, fifteen or sixteen, also suffered from asthma.

If anything happens, the probability of death is extremely high.

There are also children who, despite their parents' advanced age, still want to pick up guns and go to the battlefield.

Absurd, speechless, shocked and at a loss.

The silence didn't last long; they all raised up protest signs made of simple cardboard, covered with various slogans written in marker.

They marched in a large group to the governor's office building, raised protest signs, and shouted angrily.

In fact, the governor was not in his office.

Their resistance and venting are meaningless; they only waste their own energy.

Andrea did not step forward to negotiate. She knew that at this moment, the fact that the residents had not taken up arms to resist was already a testament to their patience.

No armed personnel appeared; it seemed that this was the only place in Woodbury where there was any activity.

They persevered until the early hours of the morning without eating or drinking.

The sky was dark, and faint, panting shouts could be heard.

Andrea appeared, her face filled with grief. She walked up to the crowd and sighed heavily.

"Andrea is here!"

"It's Andrea, Andrea, could you please go and talk to the governor for us? We don't want to join the army."

The crowd erupted in excitement upon seeing Andrea, and many rushed to her side. One of them grabbed Andrea and pleaded that he did not want to be drafted.

This request was clearly unreasonable, and Andrea would not agree to something she couldn't do, so she remained silent.

Andrea did not answer, which undoubtedly made the atmosphere quite awkward.

She glanced at everyone around her. "Conscription cannot be canceled; it's the governor's order."

"Sigh~"

Sighs, both long and short, rose and fell among the crowd. They knew that the governor's decision was not something they could sway.

The air seemed to freeze.

Andrea gritted her teeth, a troubled expression on her face, and said with difficulty, "I—I can't help you cancel conscription, but I might be able to persuade the governor to reduce the number of people being conscripted."

Upon hearing this, several people's eyes lit up, and they all looked at Andrea.

Yes, we can't completely abolish conscription, but abolishing some of it would be good.

At least my elderly parents don't have to go to the battlefield.

"Andrea, my father is over seventy years old. He needs a cane to even go out. He can't go to the battlefield. Please help me and talk to the governor."

"My mother is the same; she also has diabetes, and her body can't even support her running."

"."

"As if grasping at the last glimmer of hope, they urgently expressed the dire state of their parents' condition."

Andrea listened and nodded, and took out a notebook and pen to write down the details.

To prevent false reports, Andrea sternly warned, "The information you provide to me must be true and reliable. If there is any deliberate misrepresentation, the governor will be furious, and everyone might be conscripted, understand?"

Andrea's warning was quite effective; many of the people who had previously made false reports came to Andrea requesting that she revise what she had said.

Only a small portion of the population survived with their parents and children, so the record was completed in a short time.

Andrea spread her arms and waved them: "Alright, I've collected your demands. I'll go talk to the governor right away. You can all disperse and go back now."

"You go ahead, we'll leave right away."

People in the crowd spoke up, their eyes filled with gratitude as they looked at Andrea.

"All right."

Countless eyes were fixed on Andrea's shoulders as she walked heavily outside.

Many people in the crowd bowed deeply, their gratitude beyond words.

Once Andrea's figure disappeared into the night, the crowd finally dispersed.

Andrea found the governor's location and knocked on the door.

The governor's voice came from inside the door, "Come in."

I pushed open the door and entered. The lights were on. The governor was nestled on the sofa, taking a sip of steaming hot cocoa and reading a book.

How leisurely you are, you bastard.

A hint of mockery flashed in Andrea's eyes as she glanced at the governor's empty sleeve.

"We have received feedback from the residents, and their wish is that the elderly and children should not be sent to the battlefield."

L

"Well done," the governor said casually, turning a page lightly.

He knew that after this period of time, the residents of Woodbury would certainly not accept this kind of conscription.

So when Andrea had discussed it with him beforehand, he agreed to Andrea's request to reduce the number of soldiers to be recruited.

Of course, he had this idea from the very beginning.

The broken windows theory states that if someone suggests removing the roof and the suggestion is rejected, but the suggestion to remove the windows is changed, the probability of success is much higher.

That's what the governor is thinking now.

Moreover, he didn't really want those old folks with their limbs to go to the battlefield. In that case, would he take care of them or kill them?

Who knows, firing the first shot might scare you to death.