In the summer, on a sunny day, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Free Lorraine Canal kicked off at the construction site, about 20 miles southeast of Somsonas. The canal was the first major project to be carried out by agreement between the Union of Lorraine Industrialists and the Provisional Government of Lorraine.

Mr. Blinders, Acting Governor of the Provisional Government of Lorraine, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on behalf of the Provisional Government of Lorraine, and the construction of the canal in the Ulster Free Federation, which was in ruins, in Lorraine, which was most devastated by the war, made people optimistic about the post-war economic and social recovery. The most immediate benefit of the canal project is that more than 4,000 Lorrainians have been given a three-month stable job, which will allow them to tide over this difficult period of inactivity.

The traditional reputation of the Clumber-Heyssen family, the heroic reputation that Weiss gained during the war, coupled with the development plan of "one main line and two veins" and a stable source of funding, the financiers were happy to provide them with commercial loans totaling up to 500,000 gold crowns - due to the devastation caused by the war, in the later stages of the war, the federal economic system was almost collapsed, and the value of the krona banknotes that were in use before the war was severely depreciated, and the gold krona with a clear gold content became the only reliable currency in the federation, and the purchasing power of 1 gold krona, It is almost equivalent to 800-1000 kroner before the war, and when converted, this loan is equivalent to 500 million kroner, you must know that the total assets of the military industrial giant Grumman Group in the year of the outbreak of the war were 1.4 billion kroner!

With a huge amount of financing, Weiss couldn't wait for the technical team of the Ulster Institute of Technology to come to Lorraine and directly send the construction plan of the canal to Professors Yang and Xiao Yang, asking them to conduct technical verification, and the two Professors Yang recognized their overall plan and invited professors from relevant colleges to review it, and finally put forward 17 suggestions for modification and improvement with practical value. Weiss then submitted the proposal to the Provisional Government of Lorraine for consideration, and personally attended five meetings to convince government officials and experts to approve the project to build a ten-mile canal from the southern part of Somsonas to the neighboring town of Malles. The canal is a purely commercial project, and its peculiarity lies in the fact that the Provisional Government of Lorraine does not need to come up with a single crown, and the builders and operators undertake not to charge any fees to the navigators or irrigators of the canal after the canal is completed, on the condition that the Provisional Government of Lorraine transfers the state-owned land on both sides of the canal to the relevant members of the Union of Industrialists of Lorraine for industrial and commercial purposes at an equal price, and allows them to purchase land from local farmers for centralized agriculture or industrial and commercial purposes. This kind of long-term operation thinking, not to mention in the Federation, is also quite rare to look at the entire Orlens Ball.

The construction of the canal feels like a huge undertaking. Whether it is China's Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal or foreign Suez Canal and Panama Canal, they are all super projects in history, with extremely huge investment, and the completion of these canals has not only brought considerable economic benefits, but also has an immeasurable political and military role. The cost of the canal cannot be generalized, and different geographical environments, technical processes and various external factors may lead to huge differences in the cost of the canal. For example, the Suez Canal was built in the middle of the 19th century at a cost of 18.6 million pounds, or about 97,800 pounds per kilometer, the Corinth Canal was 6.3 kilometers long and cost $600 million, or about $95.23 million per kilometer, and the Panama Canal in the early 20th century was 65 kilometers long and cost more than $300 million, or about $4.61 million per kilometer. The Weiss canal, is built on the basis of the original artificial canal for irrigation, it is only 10.5 miles long, the preset width and depth are 50 feet, 20 feet, its geographical location is relatively flat hilly area, there is no hard rock, in the mode of manpower-based, machinery as a supplement, the construction period is expected to be 99 days, the estimated total cost of 8000 gold crowns, equivalent to 450-5.2 million crowns before the war, after the opening of navigation can make the ships between Somsonas and Mason travel more than 200 miles.

The Provisional Government of Lorraine quickly approved the plan, which seemed bizarre to officials. For them, it was a no-brainer to be able to secure at least three months' jobs for thousands of residents and create a new industrial zone in the barren area south of Somsonas, near the Mason River, without any government funding. In addition, the Provisional Government of Lorraine will also receive a large amount of government revenue from the sale of land along the canal, which will alleviate their current financial pressure to a certain extent.

For the members of the Union of Lorraine Industrialists, the construction of this canal marks that they have leapt into the eyes of the world with a new look, and the non-official industrial and commercial organization built on the basis of the cooperation and mutual trust relationship of old comrades-in-arms has sublimated from the initial information exchange into a community of interests that prosper and lose. After the canal was built, the members of the alliance were able to buy land along the canal at a relatively low price to build factories, conduct commerce and trade, or develop modern new agriculture. Today, it is just a piece of land with little economic value, with only a few farmlands, pastures, and sparse trees. After the canal is completed, the geographical and transportation advantages of the area will be revealed, which will increase the value of land and industrial and commercial use.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Acting Governor Blinders drove with Weiss to Somsonas for a celebratory dinner that night. In addition to a few officials and celebrities from Mason, mainly members of the Union of Lorraine Industrialists and deacons and clan elders from the villages and towns around Somsonas. Mr. Blinders clearly came with respect on occasions when many of these guests were staunch resistors during the Norman occupation, and now they are at the vanguard of post-war reconstruction. On the way, he said to Weiss: "If the canal is completed and the surrounding land is developed, I think the federal government will be happy to see a capable and dynamic person like you play an important role in the management of Lorraine, and I am sure that the people of Lorraine and the people at large will hope for such an outcome." ”

"You're exalting me too much!" Weiss modestly replied, "I am only a not-so-successful guerrilla commander, and now we who used to come together in the hope of doing something for the industry of Lorraine." Of course, it was also because of the change in our roles that we wanted to be able to move from resistance fighters to industrialists. When it comes to politics, those of us don't have much interest in it, and we don't feel like we're capable of it. ”

Blinds laughed, and said, "Although I am a native of Lorraine, my age and my physical condition are too good to be able to take on the role of a long-term ruler, so I really hope that among you, the younger generations, you can choose a person of real prestige and ability to take on this great responsibility." Preparations for parliamentary elections are already in full swing, and I am sure that with your influence, it will not be difficult to win some seats in Parliament. After that, whether it's trying to have more influence, or electing the speaker and governor you feel fit, it's all a matter of advancement or retreat. Speaking from my own experience, you have reason to consider it properly, and I think that those of you who are bent on business are more popular than those who are obsessed with power and talk about economics. ”

This topic Weiss did not think about it, in fact, everyone discussed it at the first gathering of old comrades-in-arms, but considering all factors, they still decided to start with industry, do a good job in industry in a down-to-earth manner, and then consider the possibility of politics. After all, with their abilities, they are not suitable to compete for political status wholeheartedly, which is tantamount to a castle in the air. On the other hand, if they do what they have done in a down-to-earth manner and make some achievements, even if they do not achieve anything in the first parliamentary elections after the war, then there will always be opportunities in the second and third elections in the future.

What Blinds says is, after all, his personal opinion, or rather teaching. Weiss was humbly taught, and he did not continue on the subject. Driving to Somsonas, passing through the city near the end of the reconstruction, Blinds asked curiously, "Why did you choose to expand the canal in such a place relatively far from the populated area?" To be honest, from my perspective for many years, this is a project with a lot of investment and slow results, and it may take more than ten years or even two or three generations to see results. After all, large companies like Grumman and Nebula have been slowly accumulated over many generations. The same is true of your Clumber-Haysen family. What is it that makes you so determined to do something that you believe will soon work? ”

"Times have changed." Weiss affirmed, "Economic development, scientific and technological progress, and even the evolution of philosophical theories, all at an accelerated pace." Of course, the same is true for military reforms. We hope that Lorraine will become a Lorraine that has the strength to defend freedom, instead of being easily occupied by the enemy like in the previous two wars, and the people will use their own blood to resist the enemy's aggression. Someday. The enemy will come back, and Lorraine at that time will no longer be a Lorraine that they can ravage at will! ”

"Yes! Times have changed. Blinders sighed meaningfully, and then he babbled to Weiss that he had also been involved in industry many years ago, and that he had turned to politics because of the last war, and had held many different positions for more than two decades. Now appointed by the federal government as acting governor of the Provisional Government of Lorraine, he was not the highest-ranking in his long political career, but at his age, it was probably the last meaningful office. Brynders hinted that the re-establishment of the political order in Lorraine after the war was the last major event he worked towards, and that he was so far satisfied with the changes in Lorraine, but as in other areas occupied by the Norman army, there were many people who compromised with the enemy during the period of the enemy's occupation without punishment - this must be well founded, so that the qualifications of many of those who were preparing to run for the local council elections in Lorraine were questioned by all walks of life, but these people had strong economic power and were in a free and equal democracy. There are drawbacks - the rich will always have an advantage over those from humble backgrounds. For example, it is easy for those factory owners to use various means to get workers to vote for him before the election, and those who are harsh in their management but present themselves as philanthropists in society, and they are also very advantageous in such popular elections.

In the past, Weiss didn't like to be nagged, but Blinds's nagging was clearly to share some of his experiences and insights with his favored juniors. Therefore, he became a competent listener, taking in every word and every word of the other party, although everyone acted in different styles, and some opinions were inevitably biased, but this chatter still gave Weiss a lot of inspiration. In a short time, the car arrived at the Château de Clumberg-Haisen, a large lawn that had been used by the Normans as a battlefield for the war, which was the place for luncheon today. The members of the Clumber-Haysen family and their friends were busy, and the tables were already covered with white tablecloths, and the corners of the cloth fluttered in the breeze; Plates of delicious food are served one after another, and the dishes are especially inviting in the sun.

The partners who attended the opening ceremony of the canal were still behind, and the Lord and the temporary officials of Somsonas did not go to the ceremony, but waited here for the arrival of Brynders and his party. As an industrial town in central Lorraine, Somsonas has a peacetime population of more than 40,000 and fewer than forty municipal and sheriff officials combined, a configuration that is commonplace in the Federation. Social order in towns and villages, often maintained by local dignitaries and trade unions, with the help of local officials, is normally as stable as a centralized state with heavy codes, and the administrative costs are much lower. Now in the post-war transition period, there are more than 20 temporary officials and security officers in Somsonas, and even if more than half of them are standing here, they do not look crowded.

After getting out of the car to greet the Lord and the others, Blinders jokingly said to Weiss: "You don't invite one or two celebrities to such a large-scale celebration!" I heard that in order to build momentum, someone has spent money to invite a big star, and after a while, Mason will be lively. ”

Weiss smiled: "How can there be big stars in a small place like ours? Besides, we're doing the real thing, and every kroner has to be used on the cutting edge. ”

Compared with Weiss's disapproval, the Lord is more sophisticated: "Mr. Blinders reminds that the construction of the canal is a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people, and that proper publicity can attract more sponsors and reduce the pressure on funds." ”

Talking about the election, not the moment, Blinds said to the Lord: "Celebrity support is just a formality, don't worry too much about it." As for the introduction of sponsors, there are pros and cons, and it mainly depends on the decision of the decision-maker. ”

In the immediate aftermath of the war, Weiss worked for a time with the Provisional Government officials as acting head of the military front. Judging from the contacts, the interim officials of the Provisional Government, represented by Blinds, are diligent, pragmatic, and informal, and it would be quite good if the official officials could reach their level. However, it is precisely because they are temporary, the core personnel are directly transferred by the federal government, and the auxiliary personnel come from all walks of life, including many technical experts, some of whom have sufficient experience in public management, are fair and capable, and some have a broad vision, quick thinking, and no distractions. It is a pity that most of the elites in these temporary officials will return to the federal government departments or educational and medical institutions after the transition period, and those who serve as the president and governor of the state of Lorraine through the democratic election process, regardless of their ability, can not do anything bad under the federal constitution and the mechanism of separation of powers and checks and balances, but their management and decision-making are directly related to the local economic and social development of Lorraine and the quality of life of the people.