The movements of these officials were uniform, and their voices were very loud, like soldiers on the verge of being reviewed, and everyone was afraid of falling behind, which would displease His Excellency. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Of course, their hearts are not as harmonious as they seem, and although they do not mind serving the country, they have never had the experience of cooperating with the war with the railway system under their own control, so they do not know how to do it, and they do not even know what they should do more in order to meet the needs of His Majesty, the ministers, and even the army.

Of course, their superiors will take this into account.

"It's good that you have that kind of determination, but it's obviously not enough to be determined." Charles waved his hand and motioned for the officials to sit down first. "We have to take concrete actions to serve our country. And what I asked you to do, now there is a rough plan, and I called you here today to hand over this plan to you for implementation, and by the way, listen to your opinions to make changes. ”

With that, Charles waved to several uniformed officers, who nodded knowingly, and then pulled a number of papers from their briefcases.

"According to military needs, when war breaks out, the army will requisition a large number of wagons to transport personnel and supplies, which is inevitable, and the scale will be much larger than you think." As the document was distributed, Charles began to explain, "There will be a peak at the beginning, a lot of pressure in the first month, and then a little less demand, but it will last a long time." Your task is to do your best to meet the capacity needs of the army in such an environment, while at the same time using the remaining capacity to ensure the other basic transportation needs, and there are a few routes that are the most important, and I have marked them in particular, and the officers in charge of those lines will receive the greatest support - but also the greatest responsibility...... Again, because a lot of capacity will have to be deployed, there will be a nationwide capacity shortage. ”

As Charles spoke, the document was handed out to everyone, and everyone read it carefully, and all the officials concerned frowned, evidently finding themselves facing a great challenge. "So your first task is to rework the nationwide train schedule with the help of your assistants in the face of the difficult situation that is coming, and to make sure that there are absolutely no major problems."

"Understood." After Charles's voice, many people immediately responded, but compared to the excitement just now, their momentum was already a little weaker, and it was obvious that they all understood that the difficulties were not small.

"Another task is just as daunting." Charles continued, "After the outbreak of war, in order to ensure the supply of the rear, the Army will expand the presence of our department into a large agency, and from this office will send sergeants to each of the stations related to the front line, in order to monitor the transportation of supplies, and to assist in the removal of interference with transportation......

"What......?" Although his voice was not loud, these officials were shocked, not only the officials involved were ugly, but even the officials in charge of other lines were also worried.

Does the army want to impose military control over the country's railway system? For a moment, such a question flashed through the hearts of these people.

Although this arrangement is very well-reasoned, it actually affects the power of these officials to control the subordinate lines, and the army officers enter the station, which is not easy to talk about, even if they are purely concerned about the supply of the army, it will definitely affect the work below.

Over the years, these officials have lived very happily because of the tide of railway construction in the empire, and because of the protection of the Charles, almost no one can supervise them within their own authority, and they are also used to the days of fame and fortune, where would they want to be influenced by others?

And, although it seems that this is only a stopgap measure during the war, in order to meet the needs of the war, these officials have been through the ups and downs for a long time, and they certainly understand that it is easy for government departments to be relinquished, but it is difficult to take it back in the future. What's more, it was still sent to the hands of the army - when the time comes, it will be necessary to reason from the guns of the Qiu Ba, who can say it? For a while, everyone lamented in their hearts.

However, because of the many years of accumulation of power by His Excellency the Minister, none of them dared to raise an objection on the spot—not to mention that there were officers of the army here, and if anyone dared to express any objection, what should they do when the time came for them to exert their might or stab themselves in front of His Majesty the Emperor?

As officials of the Empire, they have no right to oppose the policies of the Imperial Government, let alone the courage to oppose the will of His Majesty the Emperor, and whatever they have in their hearts, they can only carry it out without reservation, otherwise, as His Excellency the Minister threatened, they will definitely lose their position.

So all of a sudden, the restaurant became very silent, no one was willing to speak, and the original cheerful atmosphere disappeared.

"Hey, what are you so worried about? Are you worried that you won't be able to complete your heavy responsibilities? Looking at their expressions, Charles couldn't help but smile and patted the table with his wine glass, "Don't worry so much, you are all the best elite officials in the empire, and you have also been trained for a long time in the past few years, operating the most important railway business in the empire, and you have extremely rich experience, I believe that your ability is ......"

In the midst of Charles's laughter, the officials had to laugh reluctantly, and by this time the waiters had already pushed the food cart to bring the dinner meal, and Charles also stopped his preaching and began to eat with the officials.

Despite the gloom, Charles was unaffected, and kept chatting with the officials next to him, who had no choice but to suppress their uneasiness, and carefully accompany His Excellency the Minister to chat and cope with the dinner—however, despite the abundance and deliciousness of the ingredients, most people felt that the food was unpleasant under the blow of the news.

As if feeling the atmosphere in the dining room, at about eight o'clock, the officers present chose to take their leave, but Charles did not mean to leave, and remained here.

By this time, the dishes in front of everyone had been consumed, and the remaining plates had been removed, and the tables were now filled with snacks and fruits for people to use after the meal.

After a full meal and a full meal, people will have a sense of emptiness mixed with satisfaction, which makes people become in a trance, and after the blow of the previous news, the spirits of these officials are even more sluggish, and everyone's eyes are lowered, as if they are enduring some kind of torture.

"Why are you all putting on this posture today?" Charles poured himself another glass of wine, and today his face had begun to turn red because of the alcohol, but of course he was still very conscious, "Are you afraid?" If you really want to cringe and fear the heavy responsibility you are about to bear, then it doesn't matter, I won't blame you, you are self-aware, just tell me now, and I will arrange a successor for those people. ”

"Your Excellency, I ...... That's not what we meant......" Seeing that Charles seemed to be a little angry, Victor LeCamus, who had always regarded himself as a confidant of His Excellency the Minister, finally couldn't help but speak, "Although we are very anxious about the task assigned by the Empire, we are determined to follow you to overcome it, and we definitely do not want to disgrace you because of our mistakes, please trust our determination......"

"Trust us!" Seeing that Victor LeCamus was the first to show his loyalty, the others were anxious and immediately echoed in unison.

"Oh, it's good to be determined, that's what I want to see." Charles picked up his glass again and beckoned to the group, "Then we'll have another toast for the Empire." ”

Victor LeCamus hurriedly picked up his glass and drank it with His Excellency. However, the doubts and uneasiness in his heart were not extinguished by alcohol.

"Your Excellency, there is no doubt that we are willing to resolutely carry out the will of His Majesty the Emperor and you, regardless of the number of difficulties involved, even at any cost......" He gritted his teeth, then looked at Charles cautiously, "However, there are some of these arrangements, I ...... I really don't understand ......."

"For example?" Charles didn't get as angry as he feared, but just smiled and asked.

Encouraged by his amiable attitude, Victor LeCamus, who, believing that he had always been trusted and reused, hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to go straight in: "Don't you think the army has gone too deep?" Originally, in order to help the defense of the empire, I was very supportive of the army having a liaison in our ministry, but ...... It is two different things to let them assist or interfere with our operations, which will seriously affect the safety of national transport, because they are laymen, inexperienced, and have always been impatient......"

In his heart, Victor Le Camus was completely opposed to the army interfering with his department, but this dispatch agency was arranged by Charles himself when he was in the War Department at that time, so he did not dare to say that he did not support it when he was given ten dares, as long as he tactfully said that he supported keeping in touch with the army and only opposed the excessive interference of the army, and at the same time, he did not dare to say that it was for fear of affecting personal power, but only that he was afraid that the layman soldiers would affect the safety and efficiency of transportation.

He believed that His Excellency would be able to understand what he was saying, and he also believed that His Excellency would be able to thwart the Army's plot with his influence before His Majesty if Charles wished to resist. So he really wondered why His Excellency the Minister would accept this arrangement as if he had no objection, which was really not in line with his understanding of His Excellency the Minister.

And his thoughts, in large part, were those of the other officials, who did not understand why Charles had agreed to do so.

"Your Excellency, I am equally in favor of making every effort to serve the Empire's wars." Seeing that someone was opening the way, the veteran Ange-Menek immediately followed, "But if the army intervenes too deeply, I am afraid that it will backfire...... After all, we have accumulated experience over the years and are very proficient, and I think that even without the guidance of the generals, we can do a good job of transportation in the rear. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" After these officials spoke, the others couldn't help but follow, anyway, the army people had already left, and they were not afraid of having ears on the wall again.

However, as they spoke, Charles remained silent, listening in silence, and after a long moment, he picked up his glass again, and tapped it lightly on the table.

The voice was very soft, but the officials, who were familiar with His Excellency's style, immediately stopped talking about their words, as if they had received some order, and the restaurant fell into silence again.

"You're right, these officers are inexperienced, and they are likely to cause you inconvenience, and you certainly don't like to be watched." Charles's tone was very calm, and there was no point in accusing them, "However, you know all the more that we are on a continent where major wars are fought every few decades, and the needs of the army are largely the needs of the state, and no one can be immune to war alone, so it is appropriate for us to make a small sacrifice, not to mention that this sacrifice is not very large." ”

Then, he glanced at the men.

"Yes, these officers have no experience, but who has experience in the first place? If they are not allowed to participate in this reason, then they will never be able to master modern weapons, and this is our irresponsibility, which should not be. ”

Although his tone was calm, there was a kind of rebuke hidden in his words, so the officials could only keep silent.

Yes, in fact, there is indeed some "small fuss" this time, and it is normal for officials to think that there is no need to do this, but in Charles's view, this is a rehearsal, and there is nothing unworthwhile to accumulate experience for future European wars, even if it is nothing to the detriment of the interests of the department.

As an epoch-making means of transportation, the impact of railways on the economy and military was very significant, and after the experience of the Prussians was carried forward, from the end of the 19th century, the armies of European countries were closely integrated with their own railway systems, and it can even be said that the railway systems of continental countries were operated according to military needs.

In the run-up to the First World War, the great powers of Europe, especially Germany and France, each mobilized millions of troops to confront each other in a matter of weeks.

Knowing this, Charles changed his usual style of treating his domain as an inviolable private property and took the initiative to allow the Army to expand its dispatch in his own department, so that they could learn how to operate the railroad system from the beginning of this war and use it for military purposes, which was a good learning opportunity, and the experience learned will definitely be useful in the future.

For him, of course, it will damage some immediate interests, but after all, there are greater interests to come.

And after Charles's announcement, the originally angry officials have fallen into a state of depression.

His Excellency the Minister's words are high-sounding, and no one can refute them from the front, not to mention that he has the power of life and death over the people here. Originally, they had hoped that the Charr would be able to stand up as their leader to prevent this from happening, but now they had understood that this was originally a move supported by His Excellency the Chancellor, so everyone could only lament in their hearts and accept the reality.

"But you don't have to be so depressed." Seeing that they had begun to lose heart, Charles couldn't help but smile and enliven the atmosphere a little, "Your Majesty will see our efforts, as long as we can serve the Empire with the same professionalism and enthusiasm as ever, will we not be duly rewarded?" It's impossible! Also, no matter who comes, I will continue to protect you, and no one will be harmed by serving the country. ”

After receiving Charles's assurance, the others breathed a sigh of relief, and His Excellency the Chancellor meant nothing more than saying that they would not be driven by the officers, but would be able to continue to be in charge.

"Also, considering your feelings, I have one more thing to explain to you." At this moment, Charles suddenly spoke again, "This matter also needs to be handled by you with peace of mind, and it also needs to be kept secret. ”

"What's the matter?" The officials were a little confused.

However, they could all see that His Excellency the Minister deliberately waited until the army was gone before he began to confess, so it can be seen that this should be a private matter of the ministry.

"Now while you are carrying out the task at hand, you can start to take stock of the transportation volume, passenger traffic and maintenance costs of the railway in your hands, estimate the actual value, and then compile it into a book and report it to the ministry."

In the silence, he added in a whisper, "This will be the basis for us to bring them to market and hand them over to the operation of the enterprise......

Even after receiving so much shocking news today, the words of His Excellency the Minister still shook these officials.

They looked at each other, and then they understood the real purpose of His Excellency the Minister to summon them over.

"In recent years, the government has spent a huge budget and a huge debt to build the railways of the empire, which is very abnormal, and the government does not want to keep the debt on all the time, and the government has also incurred huge personnel expenses in order to operate the railways itself. There are some railways that are built and operated by private individuals, and there are a lot of reasonable lessons that we can learn from and see as a good way to improve efficiency. "So, in light of these circumstances, we think it is necessary to divest these debts and the operation of the railroad and hand them over to state-owned or private companies." ”

"Oh!?" The officials still looked at each other.

"After all, you will retire one day, and I will make arrangements for you first." Charles stopped dodging and told them directly, "After all, being a director of a company is a decent job, and you can earn a lot of money." ”

Separating management and operation from property rights, and gradually transferring government-built railways to public or private enterprises to operate, can improve efficiency and reduce government expenditures, of course...... It can also allow private individuals to make a fortune from it. And he himself could take the opportunity to divest the government of his powers, so that any of his possible successors could not influence his control of the railroad business.

After that secret meeting, he listened to the advice of Baron de Beauvan and began to try to decentralize the great power that he had concentrated himself, especially by introducing enterprises to divide profits and wealth, and then to continue to monopolize the railway business by controlling the enterprises, while avoiding political risks.

The officials present certainly could not understand Charles's absolute scheme, but they felt that His Excellency the Chancellor's action was extraordinary, and although the reasons were reasonable on the surface, they all knew that there must be a deep meaning in it, so they could not respond immediately.

But it was also tempting for them, because they knew that their railroad was a lucrative business, and that their power would inevitably fall to others after a while. If you can become a director of a state-owned or private company after retirement, then you will definitely not need to worry about your life after retirement.

As for the possible loss of state-owned assets...... Phew, who cares.

"There is no need to be in a hurry about this matter, but you have to take it to heart and implement it seriously." Charles reminded them emphatically, and then, putting the words aside again, he picked up the glass again, "Alright, I'm done talking, let's continue toasting." You have to act as if nothing happened, you know? ”