The seven-member Council of the Lorraine Industrialists Union is the day-to-day decision-making body of this commercial alliance, and its role is equivalent to the "brain center" of the human body. In the voting of the first alliance meeting, the seven people with the highest support rate were elected as directors, and they were also laughingly called the "Big Seven" by their old comrades-in-arms. In principle, this council is held at least once a quarter. After the construction of the Freedom Lorraine Canal, the first major project jointly undertaken by the members of the Alliance, the Council met almost once or twice a month because of the large number of issues to be discussed, and the focus was naturally on the development of the canal and the land on both sides. Under the intensive mode of industrialization, combined with modern technology, equipment and concepts, industrial efficiency can be greatly improved, but the construction of industrial zones is not a swarm of bees, which requires scientific division and design to play the efficiency of operation and transportation. With the start of the canal project, more than 2/3 of the factory locations have been determined, including metallurgical (steelmaking) plants, foundry factories, pipe factories, machine tool factories, chemical plants, etc., and in addition to the traditional heavy industry manufacturing industry, although the machinery manufacturing industry has planned the factory area, but the real landing is still a big zero.

In Mason, the capital of Lorraine, the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance rented a street-facing bungalow in the south of the city, temporarily using this place as the headquarters of the alliance. The first and second floors of the bungalow are offices, the third floor is set up as a conference room, and the four-and-a-half-floor terrace is a rest area. On a slightly sultry evening, the "Big Seven" gathered here, drinking herbal tea and blowing a cool breeze, and discussed the matters that needed to be discussed and resolved during this time, and finally the topic fell on the topic of Lawrence Automobile Factory.

The seven councillors, headed by Weiss, included: Lieutenant Colonel Rolle Walder-Stein, commander of the "Knights of Slyen", a lame middle-aged man nicknamed "The Hunter", who was appointed commander of the 2nd Guerrilla Column in Lorraine during the war, was relieved of his post after the war and transferred to the chairman of the Slien National Mobilization Committee; Guerrilla Major Grenson-Totenberg, brother of the late Haas Totenberg, commander of the 3rd Guerrilla Column in Lorraine, a heroic one-armed young man nicknamed "The Immortal Bird"; Morton-Palach guerrilla major, commander of the 7th guerrilla column in Lorraine, the "Brotherhood of Mineers of Ewenmar", an upright bald man, nicknamed "The Inquisitor", killed many Norman officers during the war, including some unlucky ones captured by the guerrillas; Alex Nodimik guerrilla major, son of the late Ryan Nodimik, commander of the 9th Guerrilla Column in Lorraine, a student of the Federal Engineering University, and an engineering blasting specialist in the Resistance, now runs one of the largest chemical companies in Lorraine; Mikel Wise, a veteran industrialist of Wallens, who ostensibly obeyed the Normans during the war, secretly delivered information and supplies to the Resistance, and led a guerrilla advance force in northern Lorraine in the later period, and was supported by this old gentleman, whose economic strength and business connections were the strongest of the seven councillors; Rosen-Pabuket, president of the Comomersen trade union, a valiant reliever, was arrested and imprisoned by the Normans three times, narrowly escaped death at the hands of the enemy, but was saved by the mediation of the locals, and was finally arrested until the Normans were defeated.

When it comes to the Lawrence Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Pabkett is undoubtedly the most vocal - he has worked at the Lawrence Automobile Manufacturing Plant for a long time, and is familiar with the founder of the Lawrence Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Maxson Lawrence, and Dr. Gall Pace, the core of the technology. He had already disclosed to the public the changes that had taken place in the Laureus automobile factory during and after the war, and had already made a connection with Weiss and others to discuss cooperation with Mr. Lawrence. However, the question now is not whether or not Lawrence is willing to cooperate and how to cooperate, but the intensification of contradictions within Lawrence: Lawrence financed the establishment of the car factory, and Dr. Gral Pace injected it with the technical "soul", the two have been friends since childhood, and have been close partners in the development and growth of the Lawrence Automobile Factory, before the outbreak of the war, Lawrence held 80% of the company's shares. Another twenty percent of the shares went to Dr. Pace as a reward for his long-standing contributions. During the war, when the fall of Lorraine was inevitable, Lawrence instructed Dr. Pace to move to the rear with his technicians and some equipment, while he himself remained in Lorraine due to the old age of his parents. During the Norman occupation, Lawrence has always adhered to the principle of non-resistance, non-compromise, and non-cooperation, and refused all kinds of coercion and temptation of the Normans, but maintained certain contacts with the Norman-appointed officials, which also created conditions for him to help Pabkt and other arrested people get out of trouble. During the war, the performance of the two was understandable, but the contradictory primer had been laid. After the war, Mr. Lawrence advocated the relocation of the factory back to Lorraine, and most of the technicians and skilled workers also wanted to return to their homeland, but Dr. Pace believed that Lorraine was constrained by congenital conditions, the development pattern was too small, and the cost of relocation was considered, so he felt that it was appropriate to move the factory to Aocheng and cooperate with the Grumman Group. Neither was able to convince the other that the factory had moved back to Lorraine, with more than half of the technicians and most of the skilled workers returning to Lorraine, and Dr. Pace had arrived in Aocheng with some of his personnel and all the production equipment, and had withheld all the subsidies and compensation that the government had provided to the Lawrence Automobile Factory. Recently, it is said that he has negotiated terms with the Grumman Group to buy Lawrence's shares, and he is still fully responsible for the operation and operation of the factory......

After talking about these bad things that are difficult to decide, Pabuket analyzed: "Grumman must be interested in the good reputation and great value of the 'Burning Horse' armored fighting vehicle, and it can just make up for their technical shortcomings in combat vehicles, and become the strongest military industrial enterprise that 'takes all' in land combat equipment." With their influence, they can fully encourage the army to purchase more 'fiery horses' to form a rapid combat force on the ground. ”

"Speaking of 'Fierce Horses', in the early days of guerrilla warfare, we used this equipment to repair the Norman army, and those battles were really enjoyable to think about!" Weiss lamented, "Unfortunately, the Lawrence Automobile Factory also contributed this classic equipment during the war, and in the middle and late stages of the war, they focused most of their energy on maintaining production, lacking new capital and technical investment, and as a result, they were gradually caught up by competitors in the same industry." Despite this, the Spirit's balance, practicality, and ease of manufacture won the favor of the military, and it remained the most produced combat vehicle until the end of the war. So, you're right, brand value alone is a very considerable asset! ”

"Then our original plan ......" Pabcht hid the words, a discerning person can understand as soon as he hears it: with the current strength of the Lorraine Industrial Alliance, it is impossible to wrestle with a real giant like the Grumman Group, since there is no power to prevent the Lawrence Automobile Manufacturing Plant from being acquired, the previously conceived cooperation plan has lost its viability, it is better to give up rationally and make other plans as soon as possible?

Weiss unhurriedly analyzed: "Your Lawrence automobile manufacturing plant also has a very valuable asset, and that is its skilled workers. As long as these people are still around, coupled with new production technologies and production equipment, operations will soon be restored, and as long as there is no violent friction between us and the Norman Empire for several years, there will be no sudden acceleration of armaments. While the Grumman Group puts its weight on the vehicle manufacturers, we focus on civilian vehicles, especially agricultural vehicles, and promote relatively low-cost family cars and agricultural vehicles, while maintaining military and civilian versatility. ”

"In that case, I'll make a connection, and ask Mr. Lawrence to have an in-depth talk, what do you think?" Pabkhet made a positive suggestion. To put it bluntly, power machinery manufacturing is a major development vein selected by the Clumber-Haysen family, and it has no necessary relationship with other members of the alliance.

"Then I'll bother you to arrange it as soon as possible!" "With the current situation, the sooner the better!" ”

"If you can, take Pamela with you when you go." "Hunter" Lohr Wader-Stein responded, "Let him follow for a long time." This cooperation, I have carte blanche to handle here, and it can be regarded as a test for him! ”

The son of old Walder Stein, Pamela Walder-Stein, was a muscular black-haired young man who was particularly heroic in the guerrilla resistance to the Normans, earning him the nickname "Gladiator" in the camp of the repressors. The elder Walder-Stein had leg problems and really needed to make the lad carry more of the burden.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the geo-geological team I have invited from the Ulster University of Technology will arrive in Lorraine next week. At the same time, once we find a mineral deposit suitable for commercialization, we will complete the registration procedures for new mines as soon as possible, and the distribution rules and transfer prices are still in accordance with our previous agreement, the 'Immortal Bird' and 'Inquisitor' are responsible for mining, the 'Hunter' is responsible for transportation, Alex and Sir Wise are responsible for smelting and processing, and I do not intervene in the production of conventional mineral resources. You don't have any objections, right? ”

In this exploration and survey, the preliminary work is taken care of by Weiss, and others only need to cooperate in the exploration and exploration process, basically "sit back and enjoy the results", and what objections can there be. The only thing they were curious about was how much potential value did Weiss look forward to the new minerals that he would never forget?

Two days later, Pabuket sent a telegram saying that Mr. Lawrence was willing to formally discuss cooperation with the Lorraine Industrialists' Union. So, Weiss called the "gladiator" Pamela Wader Stein and drove to Comersen. It's only been a month since I last met Lawrence, and the industrialist, who has just passed half a hundred, now looks particularly haggard. Still, he welcomed and thanked Weiss and his party for their arrival—it was one thing to be able to help in times of trouble, and quite another to be willing to help.

After taking a seat, Weiss roughly chatted with Lawrence about the current situation, and then explained his thoughts straight to the point: the war has just ended, and mechanical technology has shifted from the rapid development of the war period to the period of digestion and development, and the "Burning Horse" is certainly the meritorious equipment in the war, judging from the military's continuous additional orders, it seems that it is always in short supply, but with the end of the war, the focus of the federal army is on the reduction of troops and the integration of equipment, and the first problem of the federal government is to properly deal with the huge debts left over from the war. And to guide the social and economic order back on track, in the medium and long-term development trend, the Lawrence Automobile Factory and the "Burning Horse" armored fighting vehicle are still very good investment and business targets, but in the short term, if it cannot be successfully transformed, it will be difficult to move in the quagmire in the next few years, next to the big tree of the Grumman Group, which can greatly disperse and transfer risks. In addition, the development of the Lawrence automobile factory to the current extent, the accumulation of technology has reached a relatively stable equilibrium state, if the loss of Dr. Pace's technical core, in order to quickly transform or make substantial progress in the original field, must rely on a large amount of capital investment, which is not solved by Lawrence.

Weiss's analysis is both objective and rational, but at this particular juncture, if the two sides had not had the last contact and their intentions were made clear as soon as they came, Mr. Lawrence might have blasted them out as lobbyists for the Grumman Group. In order to dispel Lawrence's doubts, Weiss said that the Clumberhaytham plant could be invested in advance, and the reconstruction method and scale of the new Lawrence plant in Lorraine could be clarified, and then Lawrence and Grumman Group would formally sign a sale agreement after the funds were in place. In this way, Lawrence not only retained his passion for the construction of vehicle machinery, but also had the opportunity to travel lightly and reinvent his glory.

After a noon deliberation, Mr. Lawrence agreed in principle to Weiss's proposal and agreed to cooperate with the Clumber-Heisen plant and the Lorraine Industrialists Union. The two sides initialled a cooperation agreement of intent to cooperate, Weiss prepared and dispatched funds, and Lawrence was responsible for mobilizing the original factory technicians - he said that although the development opportunities of Aocheng were better and they were willing to offer good treatment, at least half of the engineers and technicians would rather stay in their hometowns than go out to "pan for gold".

After reaching the cooperation intention, Weiss and Lawrence further agreed on the future development direction: the two sides invested in the establishment of the Clumber-Haisen and Lawrence Machinery Company, the establishment of an automobile factory on the basis of the original Comosen factory, focusing on engine manufacturing and automobile assembly, the establishment of a mechanical research and development institution and an agricultural machinery factory on the north bank of the Free Lorraine Canal, focusing on technology research and development and agricultural machinery production, and the two factories and research and development institutions in the implementation of personnel and technology sharing. Lawrence very much agreed with this plan, but also reminded Weiss that all the previous technical research was carried out under the leadership of Dr. Pace, he only had business management experience, no professional and technical ability, Weiss was relieved that there must be brave men under the heavy money, this truth is unimpeded in all walks of life, the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance will send a comprehensive team to the capital to recruit outstanding talents, if Lawrence is willing, he can entrust the recruitment of professional and technical personnel to him to deal with.

Lawrence did not object, but said meaningfully, objectively speaking, the Clumber-Haytham family will unite everyone, it is true that it can avoid internal friction and form a joint force, but in the long run, whether it can handle the distribution of interests in the process of cooperative operation is the biggest test for the leader, and I hope that the Clumber-Haytham family will bring everyone a benign development, rather than short-term prosperity.

This was indeed the primary problem for the survival and development of the Lorraine Industrialists Alliance, and Lawrence was able to see it and point it out to his face, which made Weiss look up to him. He said with a smile that during the war, these people had entrusted each other's lives to each other, and now, they cherish peace and friendship, and on this basis, they are united to keep warm and seek common development. How to rationally distribute benefits and avoid internal friction and infighting is the principle that was considered at the beginning of the design of the cooperation framework, on the basis of which we have jointly agreed on 33 rules, as long as they are carefully observed and improved, I believe that the Lorraine Free Alliance will become a phenomenal business community.