Chapter 21 Chapter 21

The Portella della Ginestra tragedy shocked the whole of Italy.Newspapers ran headlines with bold, shocking headlines: Innocent Men, Women, and Children Slaughtered.Fifteen people were killed by drinking bombs, and more than fifty people were injured.At first it was speculated that it was the work of the Mafia, and indeed, Silvio Ferra gave a speech accusing Don Croce of being behind the scenes.However, Don was prepared for this. Secret members of the Friends gang swore before the magistrate that they had seen Pasadipo and Terra Nova lay their ambushes.The people of Sicily wondered why Guiliano, in some of his remarkable letters to the press, did not deny any of this outrageous accusation.He was uncharacteristically silent.

Two weeks before the national election, Silvio Ferra cycled from San Giuseppe Giato to the town of Piani Risi.He rode along the Jato River and then around the edge of the corner.On the way, he passed two people who yelled at him to stop, but he continued to pedal fast.He looked back and found that the two were patiently and laboriously following behind him. He quickly distanced himself from them and left them far behind.When they entered the town of Piani de Grisi, they were gone. Ferra spent three hours in the Socialist group hall with other party leaders from the surrounding area.After they finished their discussion, it was nearly dusk.Eager to get home before dark, he pushed his bicycle through the central square, happily greeting the villagers he knew.Suddenly, four men surrounded him.Silvio Ferra was relieved to recognize one of them as Kundner, the mafia boss of Montelep, whom they had known since childhood.Ferra was also aware that the Mafia was cautious in this part of Sicily, not wanting to anger Guiliano or break his rules against "bullying the poor."So he greeted Kundner with a smile, "There is still a way to go home."

Kundner said, "Hey, friend. We're going to walk with you for a while. Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you. Just want to reason with you." "Judge with me here..." said Silvio Ferra.He first felt a pang of fear, the same manageable fear he had felt on the battlefields of World War II.Therefore, at this time he restrained himself from doing stupid things.Two of them deliberately stood beside him and grabbed his arms.They wheeled him quietly across the square.The bicycle rolled to one side and fell to the ground. Fella could see that the townspeople sitting outside were aware of what was happening.Surely they would come to his rescue.However, under the atmosphere of horror of the Portela de la Ginestra tragedy, their spirits have been completely broken, and no one has uttered a cry.Silvio Ferra, with his feet nailed to the ground, tried to turn around and look back at the clubhouse.Despite this distance, he could still see some of his comrades staying within the door frame.Couldn't they see that he was in trouble?However, no one crossed the threshold.He shouted, "Help me." There was no movement in the town, and Silvio Ferra was ashamed of them.

Kundner pushed him forward roughly. "Don't be a fool," he cried, "we just want to talk. Come with us now, don't shout. Don't let your friends get hurt." Darkness has almost fallen and the moon has risen.He felt a gun against his back and knew that if they were going to kill him they would do it in the square.Then they will kill any friend who decides to come to the rescue.He started walking towards the end of town with Kundner.The reason they didn't intend to kill him may be that there were too many witnesses, some of whom must have recognized Kundner.At this point, if he struggles and resists, they may panic and shoot.Better to bide your time and listen.

Kundner addressed him in a reasonable tone: "We want to persuade you to stop all communist folly. When you accused the 'Alliance Gang' of causing the Ginestra incident, you gave them attack, for which we forgive you. However, our patience is not free, it has a limit. Do you think it is wise? If you continue like this, you will force us to do things that will cost your children Father's business." By this time they were out of town and started up a rocky path that led to Mount Kamita.Silvio Ferra looked back in despair, but saw no one following.He said to Kundner: "Are you going to kill the father of a family just for something as trivial as politics?"

Kundner laughed hoarsely: "I've killed some people because they spit on my shoes." The two people holding his arms released their hands. Ra knew they were coming.He turned sharply and ran down the rocky path in the moonlight. The townspeople heard gunshots, and a leader of the Socialist Party went to the armed police for help.The next morning, Silvio Ferra's body was found thrown into a ravine.When the police came to question the townspeople, no one admitted to seeing what happened.No one mentioned the four, and no one admitted to recognizing Guido Kundner.Despite their rebellious spirit, they were Sicilians, unwilling to break the laws of secrecy.Some, however, told one of Guiliano's gang what they had witnessed.

A combination of factors helped the Catholic Democrats win the election.Don Croce and the Friends gang did a great job.The massacre at Portela della Ginestra shocked all of Italy, but for the Sicilians it hit even harder, leaving an incurable psychic wound.The Catholic Church, which campaigns for votes in the name of Jesus, has become more careful about its philanthropy.The murder of Silvio Ferra was the final blow. The Catholic Democrats won a landslide victory in Sicily in 1948 and would spread throughout Italy.Obviously, they are bound to rule for quite some time.Don Croce is master of Sicily, the Catholic Church will be the state religion, and things are going so well that Minister Trezza will soon be Prime Minister of Italy.

Pisciotta was ultimately proven correct.Don Croce sent a message through Hector Adonis that the Catholic Democrats could not forgive Guiliano and his men because of the massacre at Portela de la Ginestra.This is a scandal of one sizeable magnitude; accusations that the massacre was orchestrated by political necessity will mount again.The press would be full of diatribes and strikes would be violent all over Italy.Minister Trezza, said Don Croce, would naturally be troubled by the matter, and that it was no longer possible for the Cardinal of Palermo to help a man who was supposed to have massacred innocent women and children; but he, Don Croce, Will continue to fight for forgiveness.He suggested, however, that it would be better for Guiliano to emigrate to Brazil or America, in which case he, Don Croce, would help anyway.

Guiliano's men were shocked to see his indifference to such a betrayal and his seeming acquiescence in it.He led his men into the depths of the mountains, and bade the little chieftains camp near his camp, that they might be called together at short notice.As the days passed, he seemed to recede deeper and deeper into his personal world.Weeks passed, and his chiefs waited restlessly for his orders. One morning, he was walking alone in the mountains without a bodyguard.When it was dark, he returned to the camp and stood by the light of the campfire. "Aspanew," he called, "call all the chiefs."

Prince Oloto owns hundreds of thousands of acres of estates, planting various crops such as lemons, citrus, cereals, bamboo, olive trees that provide rich olive oil, grapes for wine, tomatoes that stretch as far as the eye can see, green Pepper, deep purple aubergines as big as a coachman's head, etc., have made Sicily the granary of the whole of Italy for more than a thousand years.Part of the land here was leased to some peasants on a 50/50 basis, but Prince Oloto, like most landowners, first robbed the big expenses, such as the use of machinery, the supply of seeds and transportation, and all expenses. Interest.Farmers are lucky enough to get 25% of the wealth watered by sweat.Yet they are rich compared with those who are forced to sell their labor by the day and receive only starvation wages.

The land was rich, but unfortunately the nobles left large areas of their estates lying idle and gradually falling into ruins.Back in 1860, the great Gary Balti promised farmers their own land.However, even now Prince Olotto still has 100,000 acres of land lying idle.The same was true of other nobles, who used their land as a cash savings, selling a few plots in exchange for dissolute spending. At the last general election, all parties, including the Catholic Democrats, had promised to strengthen and implement land sharing laws.These laws provided that uncultivated land on large estates could be bought cheaply by landless peasants. However, the aristocrats always took measures to prevent the implementation of these laws. They hired some leaders of the Mafia to intimidate those who wanted to claim the land.On the day of claiming the land, as long as a mafia leader rode around the estate on horseback, the peasants would not dare to ask for it.The very few who insisted on taking it would inevitably be included in the assassination list, along with the male members of their families.This situation lasted for a century, so all Sicilians knew about this practice.If an estate is protected by the Mafia, the land there cannot be claimed.Rome could pass hundreds of laws, but none of them had practical significance. As Don Croce once casually said to Minister Trezza, "What use are your laws to us?" Shortly after the election, the day came when claims were made for the vacant land on Prince Olotto's estate.All 100,000 acres of land have been marked by the government, which is really a show of hypocrisy.Leaders of leftist parties are urging people to make demands.When that day came, some five thousand peasants gathered outside the gates of Prince Oloto's palace.Government officials wait in huge tents, furnished with tables, chairs and other officially provided equipment, to register farmers' requests.Some of the farmers are from the town of Monteleip. Prince Oloto hired six Mafia bosses as his tax collectors, on the advice of Queen Cross.So on that fine morning, sweating in the smoky Sicilian sun, the six Mafia bosses rode back and forth along the walls of Prince Olotto's estate.The gathered farmers watched the six of them under the ancient olive trees. They were known throughout Sicily for their cruelty.The farmers waited, as if hoping for a miracle, they were terrified and did not dare to approach. Miracles, however, will not be the power of laws.Minister Trezza had given Marescialo a direct order: the armed police should not leave the barracks.In the whole of Palermo that day there was not a single National Police in uniform to be seen. Crowds wait outside the walls of Prince Olotto's estate.The six mafia bosses rode back and forth on horseback, as consistent as a metronome, with impassive faces, muskets in holsters, shotguns slung over their shoulders, and pistols tucked in belts under their jackets.They made no gesture of threatening the crowd--they really had no sight of them; they just rode silently to and fro.The farmers uncorked the wine-bottles and uncorked the grain-sacks, as if hoping that the horses would grow weary and take the patron saints away.Most of them were men, only a few women, Miss Justina and her parents among them.They came to express a challenge to the executioners who killed Silvio Ferra.Yet no one dared cross the slow course of the horses, nor claim the land that was theirs by law. Their withdrawal was not simply out of fear, these riders were "respected men" who were actually the local law-makers. The "Friends" have established their own invisible government, which is more effective than the Roman government.Is there a thief or a cry for stealing cattle and sheep?If the victim told the armed police, he would never recover his belongings.But if he visits the mafia bosses and pays twenty percent, the lost livestock will be found, and he will have a guarantee that nothing like this will happen.If a sadistic bully kills an innocent worker over a glass of wine, the government will have a hard time convicting him because of perjury and secrecy statutes.If the victim's family went to one of these six revered men, there could be both vengeance and justice. Habitual thieves in poor neighbourhoods would be executed, old feuds between families would be settled with dignity, and disputes over land boundaries could be settled without lawyers.These six are the judges, whose opinion cannot be appealed or ignored, and whose punishment is harsh and cannot be escaped unless you emigrate to a foreign country.These six have powers in Sicily that even the Prime Minister of Italy cannot exercise.The crowd, therefore, remained beyond the walls of Prince Olotho. The six mafia bosses rode away from each other because that was a sign of weakness.Separated from each other, they were kings in their own right, each with his own formidable air.The most frightening thing is Don Ciano on a mottled gray horse. He is from the town of Pisacquino. He is in his sixties. His complexion is as gray and mottled as his horse's fur. At 26 he had become a legend when he assassinated a Mafia boss who had preceded him.The man had murdered Don Ciano's father when Don himself was a 12-year-old boy, and Ciano had waited 14 years for revenge.That day, he jumped from a tree on the man's horse, grabbed him from behind, and forced him to drive through the main street of the town.When they rode in front of the people, Ciano chopped him into several pieces, cut off his nose, lips, ears and genitals, and then carried the bloody body to show off at the door of the dead man's house.Since then, he has ruled his precinct with brutal, harsh tactics. The second Mafia boss was Don Azana of Piani de Grisi, who rode a black horse with red hair on the tips of his ears.A calm, thoughtful man who believed that there were always two sides to a dispute, he refused to kill Silvio Ferra for political purposes, and he did mediate in saving Ferra's life for many years.Fela's murder grieved him, but there was nothing he could do because Don Croce and the other Mafia leaders insisted on making an example of him in his area and without delay.Mercy and kindness combined in his reign, making him the most likeable of the six tyrants.But now when he was on horseback, facing the crowd, his face was stern, and all doubts in his heart were gone. The third on horseback was Don Pido of Caltanissetta, whose bridle was decorated with flowers.He was known to be particularly sensitive to flattery, to display a haughty air of conceit, to be obsessed with power and to stifle the desires of youth.At a village festival, a young country hero dazzles the local women by dancing with bells on his feet and green silk suits made in Palermo, with his side Sings and plays a guitar made in Madrid.Don Pidoux was irritated by the flirtatiousness of this country valentine, and that women should not adore a real man like him, but fell in love with this affectated, effeminate youth, and he was furious.After the festival, the young man was never seen dancing again, but his body was found riddled with bullet holes on the road to his farm. The fourth Mafia boss was Don Marcuzzi, a well-known ascetic from the town of Vilamura, who, like the old nobles, had his own chapel in his house.Don Marcuzzi lived a very simple, albeit a bit affectated, life.Personally, he is a poor man because he refuses to use his power for profit.But he relished that power; he went out of his way to help his fellow Sicilians as much as he could, but he was also a faithful believer in the old habits of the Friends.He became famous for executing his favorite nephew for the scandalous act of violating secrecy laws by passing information to the police against a rival Mafia faction. The fifth rider was Don Buxilla of Partinico.Previously, when Turi Guiliano was disfranchised, on a fatal day, he had visited Hector Adonis on behalf of his nephew.Now, five years later and 40 pounds on, he's still wearing the old-fashioned peasant clothes, even though he's become a millionaire in those five years.His brutality was tinged with tolerance, but he could not tolerate deceit, and executed many thieves, just as the judges of the English High Court in the eighteenth century did, even small pickpockets were not exempt from capital punishment. The last was Guido Kundner, who, though nominally a native of Montelepe, had built his reputation by capturing the bloody battles of the town of Corleone.He did it out of necessity, since Montelepe was directly under Guiliano's protection.And in Corleone, Guido Kundner found what his murderous heart longed for.He had resolved four family feuds by arbitrarily eliminating those who opposed his decisions.He killed Silvio Ferra and other union organizers.He is perhaps the only mafia boss who is hated more than respected. It was these six who, by their fame and prestige, and by the great terror they displayed, excluded the poor Sicilian peasants from the lands of Prince Olotto. Two jeeps full of armed men sped down the road from Montelep to Palermo, then turned into a trail leading to the estate's walls.All but two wore fleece masks with small holes for the eyes.The two without masks were Turi Guiliano and Aspano Pisciotta.Among those wearing masks were Corporal Canio Silvestro, Passatempo and Terra Nova.Antolini also wore a mask all the way from Palermo.The jeep stopped about 50 feet from the Mafia riders as others pushed their way through the crowd of farmers.They also wear face coverings.Before that, they were having a picnic among the olive groves.When the jeep appeared, they opened their food baskets, took out their weapons, put on their masks, and spread out in a long semicircle, aiming their guns at the knights.There were about 50 of them in total.Turi Guiliano jumped out of the car and checked everyone's position.He watched them ride back and forth on horseback.He knew they had seen him, and that the crowd recognized him.The smoky Sicilian afternoon sun tinged the green fields with a tinge of red.Guiliano wondered that thousands of hard-line peasants should be so frightened as to allow these six to take the bread from their children. Aspano Pisciotta waited beside him like an impatient viper.Only he would not wear a mask; the others feared a family feud with the six mafia bosses and the Friends.Now Guiliano and Pisciotta bear the brunt of their blood feud. Both of them wear gold buckles engraved with lions and eagles.Guiliano had only one heavy pistol in a holster on his belt.He also wears the emerald ring he got from the Duchess some years ago.Pisciotta was carrying a small submachine gun.He was pale with consumption and excitement; he was impatient with Guiliano's delay.Guiliano was watching the situation carefully to verify that his orders had been carried out.His men had formed a semicircle so that if the mafia bosses decided to flee, they would have a way out.If they did flee, they would lose their "dignity" and their great influence, and the peasants would no longer fear them.But he saw Don Ciano turn his roan and continue on before the wall, with the others following.They never run away. From a high tower in the ancient palace, Prince Oloto watched the scene through a telescope through which he looked at the stars.He could clearly see Guiliano's face down to its finer details--the oval eyes, the delicate face, the full mouth that was now drawn tight; , he thought, it is a pity that fortitude is not a more merciful property.For fortitude is indeed terrible when it is undisturbed, and then the Prince knows that his fortitude is undisturbed.He was ashamed of his role.He knows his fellow Sicilians very well, and he will be responsible for everything that is about to happen.These six marvelous men he had paid for would fight for him, and they would never run away.They had terrorized a large crowd at his walls.But Guiliano was standing before them like a vengeful god.For the prince: the sun seems to have gone dark. Guiliano strode up the trail where they rode.They ride on horses, mighty and tall, and control the horses to maintain a slow and steady pace.From time to time they fed the horses the oats that had been piled against the jagged white stone walls.As the horses continued to eat, they excreted incessantly, leaving what seemed an insulting stream of manure; then they continued walking slowly. Turi Guiliano approached their lane, with Pisciotta close behind.These six people rode on the horses and continued to walk forward without looking aside.There was an uncanny expression on their faces.Although they all carried short-barreled shotguns on their shoulders, they had no intention of removing them.Guiliano waited.They passed him three more times.Guiliano stepped back and said calmly to Pisciotta: "Dismount them and bring them to me." Then he crossed the path and leaned against the white stone wall of the manor. Leaning against the wall, he knew that he had crossed the thread of fate, that what he was doing today would determine his fate.But he didn't feel any indecision or restlessness, just a pent-up anger at the world.He knew that behind these six people loomed the huge figure of Don Croce, and knew that Don Croce was his number one enemy.He's also irritated by the people he's helping.Why are they so tame, so timid?As long as he can arm and lead them, he can create a new Sicily.However, he then had a pang of pity for the ragged, hungry peasants, whom he raised his arms in a sign of encouragement.They remained silent.For a moment he thought of Silvio Ferra, who might be able to wake them up. At this point, Pisciotta became the protagonist of the scene.He wears a cream sweater woven with dark, sprawling dragons.His glossy black hair, shaved like a blade, bathed in the blood-red Sicilian sun.He turned his head like a knife and pressed towards the six tower-like men riding on horses, staring at them with deadly eyes like poisonous snakes.As they passed, Don Ciano's horse dropped a spatter of manure at his feet. Pisciotta took a step back, nodded to Terranova, Passatempo, and Silvestro, and they ran towards the encircling circle of fifty armed and masked men.The men dispersed further, closing off the escape routes that had been left open.The mafia bosses haughtily marched on, seemingly oblivious to anything, although they had of course seen and understood what was going on.They've won the first round of the fight, though.Now it was up to Guiliano to decide whether to take the last and most dangerous measure. Pisciotta stepped up to block Don Ciano's path, raising his hand haughtily to the hideous gray face.But Don Ciano didn't stop.When the horse tried to move away in fright, the Don held its head so tightly that they would have walked over him if Pisciotta hadn't avoided it in time.When Don passed by, Pisciotta rushed towards him with a grin on his face.Then Pisciotta stood directly behind the horse, aimed the submachine gun at the horse's gray hind legs, and pulled the trigger. Sticky meat, large pieces of blood rain, and thousands of golden horse dung particles were flying in the air, like blooming flowers.A burst of bullets swept the horse's thighs, and it fell instantly.Don Ciano's body was held down by the body of the fallen horse until four of Guiliano's men pulled him out and tied him up behind him.While the horse was still alive, Pisciotta took a step forward and mercifully fired a volley of bullets at the horse's head. There was a murmur of surprise from the crowd.Guiliano was still leaning against the wall, his heavy pistol still in its holster.He stood there, arms folded, as if wondering what Aspano Pisciotta was going to do next. The remaining five mafia bosses continued their walk.Their horses hoofed when they heard the gunfire, but the riders quickly brought them under control.They proceeded as slowly as before.Pisciotta stepped into the path again, raising his hand again.The lead rider, Don Buxilla, stopped.The man behind him reined in the horse. Pisciotta called to them: "Your relatives will need your horses in the days to come. I promise to give them. Now dismount and pay respects to Guiliano." His voice was heard clearly in everyone's ears. echoed loudly. After a long silence, the five dismounted.They stood there looking at the crowd arrogantly, with fierceness and savagery in their eyes.The long circle formed by Guiliano's men broke away, and twenty of them approached them with loaded guns.They carefully and calmly tied the five men's arms behind their backs.Then they took all six mafia bosses to Guiliano. Guiliano watched the six without expression.Kundner had humiliated him, even tried to murder him, but now the situation was completely reversed.Kundner's face hadn't changed in five years, still the same murderous look, though now his eyes looked glassy, ​​as if hovering behind the mafia's challenging mask. Don Ciano stared at Guiliano with contempt hanging on the gray face.Buxilla seemed a little taken aback, as if he had been surprised by so much malice in an incident that had absolutely nothing to do with him.Others named Don looked him straight, coldly, as if respected people with supreme power had to do so.Guiliano knew them all by their popularity; some of them he had feared as a boy, especially Don Ciano.Now that he had humiliated them before all Sicily, they would not spare him, and would always be his sworn enemies.He knew what had to be done, and he knew they were loving husbands and fathers, and their children would cry for them.Their eyes flicked over him haughtily, without the slightest hint of fear.They mean very clearly.Let Guiliano do what he has to do, if he has the guts to do it.Don Ciano spat at Guiliano's feet. Guiliano looked at them one by one. "Get down on your knees and let you make peace with God," he said.They didn't move a muscle. Guiliano turned and walked away from them.Standing against a white stone wall, the six mafia bosses are sharply outlined.Guiliano approached his line of men, then turned back."In the name of God and Sicily, I execute you," he said in a loud and clear voice audible to the crowd, and he tapped Pisciotta on the shoulder. That's when Don Marcuzzi started to kneel, but Pisciotta had already fired.Passatembo, Terra Nova and Corporal, still wearing their masks, also opened fire.The six bundled bodies were thrown up against the wall by a hail of machine gun bullets.Puddles of purple-red blood were splashed on the uneven white walls, and lumps of flesh and blood were pulled out from those irritated bodies.In the continuous rain of bullets, they were lifted up again and again, as if hanging by ropes to dance. On the tower of the palace, Prince Olotto turned away from the telescope.He stopped watching what happened afterward. Guiliano walked forward towards the wall.He drew his heavy pistol from his belt and fired slowly, ceremonially, through the heads of the fallen mafia bosses one by one. There was a powerful hoarse roar from the watching crowd, and a few seconds later, thousands of people poured into the estate of Prince Oloto.Guiliano watched them.He noticed that no one in the crowd approached him.