In the middle of winter, thousands of miles of ice and snow drift, the entire federation and even the vast majority of the planet Orens, economic and industrial production will enter a natural trough. Even under the strong stimulus of war, such seasonal fluctuations persisted, and even affected the course of the war in turn. In times of peace, no one can change this pattern – not only are the rivers frozen, the iced roads are difficult for people and vehicles to travel, food and ore are difficult to get out, most of the mines have stopped mining, and similarly, factory production has slowed down, and some have simply resorted to seasonal shutdowns to keep only the basic living wages of the workers.

When the world slowed down, Weiss and his partners did not hide in front of the fireplace to pass the time boringly, but all parties rushed, all kinds of negotiations, all kinds of entertainment, for the development of the industrial equipment to negotiate, compare, bargain, and then the equipment and materials by rail back to Lorraine, some too late to transport to the factory, stored in the warehouse around the Mason train station, waiting for the weather to warm up before shipment.

On a snowy day, Weiss took the train from Austria back to Mason, and before he got off the train, he realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere – the first time since the Normans withdrew from Lorraine that martial law had been imposed on Mason train station. At the ticket gates, and even on the platforms, everyone who was ready to leave was subjected to strict cross-examination, and those who had just arrived, like Weiss, were also questioned by sentry posts when they left the station. After checking his name and identity, the sentry's expression immediately became alert, and he was immediately taken to the side of the duty room.

In the duty room sat two men in full uniforms, similar in style to those of the military, but with different ornaments and emblems from any of the branches of the military known to Weiss. The two of them verified Weiss's identity again, and then said to him, "I'm sorry, Mr. Long Clumber Haysen, I'm afraid I'm going to delay you for a while...... We are inspectors of the Federal Inspectorate of Security and have been tasked with investigating the fraud in the local council elections in Lorraine. Because you were granted parliamentary status in previous parliamentary elections, you are required to cooperate unconditionally with our investigation. ”

Fraud in local council elections?!

Hearing this, Weiss was taken aback. In the Lorraine local council elections, a total of 15 members of the Lorraine Industrialists Union were elected. During the election period, they did not canvass for votes or hype, but only announced their candidacy within the coalition, and with the support of their parents and many employees, they won about one-seventh of the 101 seats in parliament, which is also a normal result. Given the proportion of industry in Lorraine's social economy, it is entirely possible for them to win 30% or more of the seats if they use legal and compliant means to the extreme.

Instead of questioning Weiss on the spot, the two took him back to the parliament building in a special car, where the upstairs and downstairs and the courtyard outside were already occupied by the inspectors in their new uniforms, and there were officers and soldiers of the federal army on guard on the periphery.

In one of the offices of the parliament building, two other inspectors began a series of interrogative conversations with Weiss. As I had spoken to Blinds earlier, his intention in the local council elections was largely a continuation of his family tradition, and his membership as a councillor had helped him more or less in his business business. He didn't get too involved in politics or even make a fortune out of it, nor did he do anything wrong during the election, all of which he told the two ombudsmen on the other side.

After recording the interrogation, the two monitors asked seemingly unrelated questions, and Weiss knew everything and told the truth.

At the end, one of the Inspectors nodded at Weiss, "Thank you for your cooperation, Warriors of the Basston Student Corps...... Mr. Clumber-Haysen. ”

If the other party used the title of "Lorraine guerrilla hero", Weiss would not find it strange, after all, his experience was published in the mainstream newspapers of the Federation, and it can be regarded as a "national hero" in a special period, and there are not a few people who know about it, but the Baston Student Corps did not last long, and the main combat experience was the dismal Northern Frontier Campaign, so he would be called so, presumably a friendly companion who had fought side by side at that stage. Weiss carefully identified and tried to remember, but he still couldn't recognize the man.

The inspector didn't seem to mind, and he smiled slightly: "It seems that you don't remember me, but it's okay, I can just remember you." You are a great fighter, and I sincerely hope that you will uphold that heroic and fearless bearing wherever you go, and not be driven by the desire for power and wealth. ”

Weiss could hear that these words were sincere, and he nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I will always be me, and my heart will not change!" ”

Another ombudsman took the transcript of the interrogation to Weiss to sign and confirmed, and then told him that he could leave, but that he was not allowed to leave Lorraine until the case was closed, and that he had to be with him. Just then, another ombudsman came in from outside, and after confirming the identity of the person being questioned, he said to Weiss: "Please come with me, someone wants to see you." ”

Acquaintances again? Weiss muttered to himself. The man led him down the long hallway, up the stairs, to a large room with a door open to the door, and knocked on the door to enter.

Weiss looked at it and was speechless. What is bad fate? It's called bad fate! I really have an inexplicable connection with this person in my life! You have to run into him in all kinds of troubles...... That's right, this is Mr. Brooks in front of him, the explosion of the training bomb at the Gaston Military Academy in the early years, and the follow-up investigation of the Monamolin Mountains incident, he handled the case and Weiss cooperated with the investigation. During the war, Weiss fought guerrilla warfare in Lorraine, and this guy also came to Lorraine to be in charge of the intelligence network, ostensibly to assist in the war, and secretly to monitor and supervise. I didn't expect that after the war, this guy turned into an official of the security supervision department again, and it seems that his position is not low!

"After the war, I left the army and now have a new job as an inspector of the first level of the Federal Security Inspectorate." After closing the door, the creature triumphantly introduced his new identity to Weiss.

"Oh my God! You are everywhere! Weiss smiled wryly.

"Don't be nervous, don't worry, we've known each other for so long and have worked together many times, and I'm still sure of your character. Please come over, just old friends to chat, talk about hearts. Judging from the information we have obtained so far, your focus is mainly on the business side and there is no urgent demand for political status, so I preliminarily rule out your involvement in parliamentary election fraud. ”

Brooks took the initiative to show his attitude, which eased the atmosphere of the conversation between the two a lot. However, Weiss will not let his guard down because of this guy's superficial teasing words and deeds, and being able to work in the Military Intelligence Department for many years and then transfer to the Security Supervision Department as a small leader is by no means a simple role.

Since it is a gathering of old friends, sofa tea is indispensable. Drinking the first sip of hot tea after getting off the train, Weiss said slowly: "I personally feel very sorry and very surprised that this kind of thing happened in Lorraine. During the parliamentary election process, we just signed up for the election according to the normal process, and we didn't even print campaign leaflets. I think most of the votes I got were voted for by the people of Somsonas, and we formed the Lorraine Industrialists Union, a commercial organization where members vote for each other, shouldn't it be illegal? ”

Brooks smiled and replied, "No, of course not. ”

"After I was qualified as a member of the parliament, some people began to praise other members in my ear, I don't know whether this was intentional or unintentional, but in my mind, the speaker should be open-minded, wise, and characterful, and these praises, some of them are true, and some of them have bad rumors, all kinds of lace news. It's not going to take the effort to screen these things, so I voted for one of our companions, but he wasn't elected speaker, shouldn't that be a violation? ”

Brooks shook his head to indicate that this was normal.

"That's all I have to say." Weiss spread out his hands, in fact, he had already said this to the inspectors just now, and Brooks brought himself in, probably not to hear it in person.

Brooks didn't continue to go around in circles, but said, "Actually, I came to you to talk about some things that have nothing to do with this case, such as your alliance of Lorraine industrialists, the canals and mines you operate, especially the newly discovered Xingyuan Stone Mine. ”

"It's working normally now, the mine management department has sent special supervisors, the military has also sent troops, and if you don't feel at ease, you can send more people. What we can do is make sure that every piece of ore ends up with the federal government, where it is refined by an agency that specializes in managing the mineral, so that every piece of the source stone can be used for national defense. As retired soldiers, we can still guarantee it. Wei said aran.

Brooks said: "The problem is not with you, these Star Source Stones have special strategic significance, whether in wartime or peacetime, there are always many people who fight for it. In the Federation, there are people who specialize in stealing and selling Star Source Stones, of course, to foreigners. They use many methods, such as instigating miners to entrap them by buying them at high prices, bribing them, or threatening or coercing mine managers, etc. I feel obligated to give you a heads-up call to be careful of those people. Speaking of which, it would be nice if you handed over the mining rights of this mine to the government, although the benefits have been reduced, but it has saved a lot of unnecessary trouble. ”

After hearing this, Weiss did regret a little, because when they first made that decision, they did not take this level into account, but from the overall situation of business development, United Mining Company needed such an opportunity to build a brand and build a solid foundation, so everyone agreed to fight for mining rights and monopolize the acquisition by the government. In this way, not only the personnel and equipment have operational benefits, but the price difference can also allow them to continue to operate and develop. Now, it is not impossible to reverse the original choice, but from the perspective of the impact of all parties, the gains outweigh the losses. Since we have done it, we can only do it head-on, formulate a more perfect management system, reasonably distribute internal authority, and form checks and balances accordingly, so as to avoid the situation that some people are affected by external forces and the situation that Brooks said.

After thinking for a moment, Weiss asked Brooks if he could send intelligence agents from the relevant federal departments to set up an intelligence network to warn in advance of abnormal situations, as in wartime.

Brooks laughed, "That's a good idea, I'll ask my superiors for advice." If there are enough people, we can send a team of people...... It's okay if you know this, but no one else can know about it. ”

"The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better." "I don't need to know who an informant is, after all, I'm not so infallible from wartime situations." There are some things, some emotions, that can hinder my judgment. You see, what can I do if the enemy captures my family and coerces me into secretly providing StarSource Stone ore every month? Maybe you'll do something wrong! ”

Brooks laughed even better, telling Weiss that sending intelligence agents was a joke. Intelligence services are neither unlimited nor pervasive. Since the federal government has strictly controlled each Xingyuan Quarry and asked the army to be stationed there, there is no need for the intelligence department to intervene. The Department of Security Inspectorate is much further down the line of defense than the intelligence services, and usually intervenes only after someone has done something bad.

Immediately afterwards, he turned the topic to the formation and operation of the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance: "The Lorraine Industrialists Alliance, which you have led the formation, is implementing a huge canal expansion plan. Through this plan, the efficiency of river transportation in Lorraine can be greatly improved. In addition, through the establishment of the Canal Industrial Zone, the scattered industries will be integrated together to form economies of scale and improve the technological level. In the short term, the investment is very large, the effort is a lot, and the results may not be so fast, but it only takes three or five years. Your craft is bound to be quite competitive. ”

Weiss said the above is true.

"From a rigorous point of view, then, there will be a deeper speculation about your intentions...... Are you doing it for purely commercial gain, or are you hiding some political agenda? For example, to make Lorraine stronger and more independent? For example, to use certain opportunities to fight for more autonomy for Lorraine? ”

Weiss understood what he meant, it was a thought-provoking way of thinking, he was not nervous, he was not panicking, but there was a chill behind it. He thought for a moment and replied, "The spirit of freedom in our alliance does not mean that a certain region or a certain group of people should enjoy special freedoms, but that all people are equal. As you are well aware, during the war, the Normans encouraged the Lorrainians to establish an independent state, but most of the Lorraines resisted with practical actions, so they did not succeed. Since there was no independence at that time, why did they pursue unrealistic so-called independence in peacetime after the end of the war? We are on a boat, and this boat is rusty in some places, and the power is not very strong, is that why we took the boat apart and made some small boats to row away alone? ”

"You say it very well, the true spirit of freedom has nothing to do with politics. With your vision and mind, it's unlikely that you'll pursue unrealistic regional independence, but not everyone thinks that way. As for the independence of Lorraine, during the war, we spent a lot of energy following clues and collecting evidence, and some people were dissatisfied with some of the shortcomings of the federal political system, or to seek more political and economic benefits for themselves, and cooperated with the Normans to promote the independence of Lorraine. Most of these people were duly punished after the war, but some hid deeper and destroyed evidence against themselves, and they were always a threat to Lorraine's stability. ”

When Brooks said this, Weiss suddenly realized that although his actions were positive and sunny, it was possible that Lorraine would have the ability to compete with the federal government in a few years, and inadvertently become the person that the federal government needs to pay attention to. Thinking of this, he smiled bitterly: "Okay, I understand what you mean." I need to cooperate with your focus, but I also need to keep myself in check—not in any way, mentally, mentally or in deeds. Right? ”

Brooks didn't look at any surprised by Weiss's reaction. A satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "It's good that you understand!" For the time being, I am in charge of the safety supervision of Lorraine, and we will continue to deal with each other regularly in the coming period, and I hope that we can always understand and recognize each other as we do today. ”

Weiss, of course, said yes, but he muttered in his heart: People and people, sometimes it is better to see each other than to miss, and sometimes it is better not to see each other again. Mr. Brooks, can we see each other again?