"The situation is more serious than imagined", in the conference room of the Elena factory, all the members of the Communist Party council, are holding an emergency meeting. The news of the collapse of the defense line in the Western Theater reached Elena at a rapid speed, and it also forced everyone to once again put the threat of the Negru Republic on the table.

"There are more than 100,000 men under Paul Chung in the Western Theater, and this is not counting the number he recruited in the Duchy of Rylin in the later period. Together with the Fifth Army Corps of the Western Theater of Operations, which was building a defensive line behind them, we conservatively estimate that in this border battle, there will be at least 150,000 of our soldiers on the front line to resist the attack of the Negru Republic. We have no way of knowing the exact number of people because the generals who knew the situation died and fled. ”

As the head of intelligence, Sink Warren is giving back in front of all the council members. The routs fleeing from the front line rushed like a flood over most of the province of Enspan. Most of them had no intention of staying in the province of Enspan, and even a few of them did so in search of enough food and clothing to facilitate their subsequent escape.

"We asked some of the routers, and it was generally agreed that the enemy's steam artillery would be unstoppable. It is said that the three days that the Western Theater held the defensive line were piled up purely with human lives. The corpses on the front line have been piled up on many hills, and even the terrain has changed. They have no hope that Prince Eliot or we will be able to resist the Negru Republic, and even persuade us to flee as soon as possible. ”

"Have you tried to recruit from these people?" , Ivan asked, "Our troops are still too few." There is really a defensive war, and there are not enough people. ”

"These soldiers are scared, and many of them are still soldiers, so they don't want to spoil the atmosphere of the team," Gastens interjected, "but the food must be controlled." Now that the second round of potatoes has been planted, and rye and wheat are about to be harvested, there must be no problems in agriculture. You know, if the Negro Republic really fights and we can hold on, the next period will be even more difficult than before, and without food, it will never be possible. ”

"Don't worry, I'll leave it to you."

Charlie Harry Warren patted his chest and refocused the conversation on the strategy against the Negru Republic.

"How much time do we have left", Gastens looked at Zinke and asked the most crucial question.

"The army of the Neglo Republic repaired the border for a day, after which it began to move towards our side. Their movement speed is affected by the movement speed of the Steam Cannon, which is slow. And it's not known what they do with the cities along the way. If they don't attack the city and attack us directly, at least five days, they should have reached the Luoshan Pass. ”

"So it's only five days?" , Ivan muttered twice, "Do you want to call Bellanchier back?" ”

Bellancheer and his guerrilla columns behind enemy lines were still entangled with Eliot during this time. Although each attack was successful, there were some casualties. The council had previously discussed the matter of calling back the guerrilla column to replenish and replenish the personnel, and this time, in time for the attack of the Negru Republic, it was brought up again.

"It is estimated that it will be too late to call back", Gastens is more objective, "send another regiment out to replenish their strength and give them more provisions." To counter such a positional advance in the Neglo Republic, the guerrillas had to be strengthened. ”

"The factory now has about 1,000 finished Thunder 1 and 2,000 Valiant rifles that can be redressed for our army."

Thomas Gurakos added, "It should be able to support another expansion of the production brigade." ”

"The reloading rate of the brave rifles of the 1st Militia Division is about 40%, and with the addition of these 2,000, it can reach 60%. The production brigade now has the second, third and fourth regiments, and if one regiment is equipped with 1,000 Thunder 1 and the second regiment is sent out, there can be a guerrilla brigade on the side of Bellancheer, and we have a fully formed brigade in our hands. ”

"There are two brigades of troops equipped with the Thunder 1, and most of the 1st Militia Division has Brave rifles, and our front-line combat strength is about 15,000 people," Gastens got up and began to write on the blackboard behind him, "plus the 2nd Militia Division, there are about 25,000 troops in total." ”

"There can be a further expansion of the army," Ivan added, "and after the Negrus Republic came, more peasants fled in. On the premise of not affecting agriculture and industry, it is not a big problem to make another division. ”

"The food supply will be a little tighter," Charlie Harry reminded, "according to the current size of the army, our food stocks are about half a year. With one more division, food may not be enough for even half a year. ”

"The new troops don't have enough weapons", Gastens is well aware of Elena's problem now, "find some smart and clever workers to come out and speed up the progress of the second phase of the expansion of the factory." We need more weapons. In terms of troops, pull out half a division, and use the Glory Rifle and Elliot rifle that the Ming soldiers eliminated for a while, to do local defense and patrol. At the same time, we began to strengthen training and become the second echelon of our troops. ”

"Okay."

Ivan nodded, ending the discussion about troop strength. After that, everyone's attention returned to the Negru Republic.

"Head, are they going to hit us? Last time my brother Hurt came over, he wanted to make an alliance with us. We're all communists, so they don't necessarily want to destroy us, do they? ”

"They are compromisers, and communism cannot succeed through compromise", Gastens concluded, "no matter what they say, we must be ready to resist their attack!" ”

Gastens set the general direction for the discussion that followed, and the meeting ended after a long and in-depth discussion on the response plan of the Neglo Republic's army. Gastens left the room, took a sip of water, and turned into another room dedicated to meeting outside visitors.

There, Billy Barnard, the attendant of the Six Princes, was flipping through the latest issue of "Fluorite".

"I've kept you waiting."

Gastens pushed the door in, shook Barnard's hand, and sat down.

"I heard that many of the articles in this newspaper are written by you?" Barnard didn't seem to get agitated by waiting. He gracefully closed the newspaper and looked up at Gastens.

"It was a while, but not now," Gastens smiled, "How are the six princes doing?" ”

"It's not good, it's not good", Barnard didn't hide it, "The second prince Wenfeng has won a few battles in the north, our side is still trapped in Enspan Province, and the Negru Republic is coming again, and your Berlanchir is haunted every day." It is already very good that His Royal Highness the Prince can keep his mood calm. ”

"Then I'm going to say I'm sorry," Gastens smiled insincerely, "You and I are fighting each other right now." His Royal Highness the Prince invited you to come over, but I don't know what you think? ”

"Oh, I'm sure you've heard that," Barnard sat up straight, "the Western Theater defense line is crumbling, the border is lost, and the Neglo Republic army is coming. In the province of Enspan, only you and me are left in front of the enemy. What does His Royal Highness the prince mean, can we make a temporary truce and unite with the outside world? ”

"What is the unanimity of foreign law?" , Gastens also came to the spirit. Although he didn't hope for reconciliation with Eliot, he also wanted to hear what kind of medicine this Billy Barnard, or the six princes behind him, was selling.

"Quite simply, we know that your weapons are Elena's core secret, and we don't want to produce technology. We only hope that you will provide us with some Thunder One, and we will go up with guns to fight the enemy. You don't need to be out, you don't need to die, and you don't need to be skilled. As long as you produce weapons, we will pay for the Valiant rifle according to the price agreed before, and pay for it with one hand and deliver it with the other. If you want supplies or food, we're fine. As for the Thunder Type 1, you make a price, as long as we can accept it, it's easy to say how much. The only thing Elena needs to do is to secure our supply of weapons and let our soldiers go to the front line to fight the Negru Republic, how about it, this deal, it's a good deal, right? ”

Eliot's suggestion sounded quite sincere, even aggrieved. The prince of a big country, in order to resist the invasion of foreign enemies, bought a gun from Elena, and he couldn't even pay on credit. If this news is released, I don't know how many people will think that Elliot is a coward.

"That's a good suggestion," Gastens nodded, "but how can His Highness guarantee that the weapons we sell will not be used on our own?" ”

"This can't be helped," Barnard shrugged, "His Royal Highness can swear by his honor that he will never use the weapons sold from Elena on Elena's army." But if you have to be more objective in your way of guaranteeing it, you don't have one. After all, a business can't go on without some basic trust, can it? ”

"I ask for the blockade of the Tan Son Pass to be lifted, half of the cost will be paid with materials, see the materials first, and then give weapons, how about it?" If it was just a sale of weapons, Gastens did not have much resistance. Moreover, the Negro Republic has indeed been invaded by the city, and for the sake of Anken Rein's safety, Elliot should not dare to play tricks in this regard.

"No problem, His Royal Highness the Prince said, whatever you want, how you want, how you give, you are all up to you", Barnard was very frank.

"We can only supply the Valorant rifle, and the Thundering One is Elena's own weapon, so we can't provide it."

Gastens tightened his grip and tried to keep the most advanced technology from getting out.

"That's fine," Barnard said, still brisk with his face, "the best things don't get out, and we can accept them." ”

"We have limited capacity in our factory and need more production equipment, can you provide it? Just convert it according to the price of the weapon", Elena has been running out of factory capacity recently. The production of the new production line relied entirely on the second-hand equipment that William Richardson had brought with him, and although it worked, it was not very efficient. Gastens made this request because he wanted to see the sincerity of the other party.

"I'll need to go back and ask for help, but it shouldn't be a big problem," Barnard nodded and asked.

"We hope that you will be able to provide 5,000 Brave rifles within a week, and we want to establish a new weapon unit that can respond to the threat of the enemy as soon as possible."

"There is no way to do it with 5,000, our production capacity cannot be reached. It would be nice to have 5,000 a month," Gastens shook his head, "but if the equipment for the expansion arrives, there is hope that this production will be achieved as soon as possible." ”

"Second-hand is fine", Barnard's body is still straight. When negotiating, he subconsciously keeps his tension most of the time.

Second-hand? Gastens paused for a moment, and suddenly realized something. The other party wants the weapons in the hands of Elena's active forces!

"No, Elena needs some self-preservation," Gastens shook his head, "I'm sorry, we can't agree to this." ”

"In that case, I won't be able to go back......"

Barnard frowned and thought for a moment, then made another suggestion.

"If you can't get us to build up a new weapon force as soon as possible, I wonder if Elena can help send troops to defend against the enemy's attack first? How about waiting for our troops to take shape, everyone is changing guards, and we will take on the follow-up defensive tasks? ”

"You just said that you don't need us to send troops, just weapons."

"But you can't provide the number of weapons we need in the time we need, and if the Negru Republic does come and doesn't have enough weapons, we'll have to pay a considerable price to hold the province of Enspan. When the time comes, in case they are interested in Elena, in case there is any accident, I'm sure neither of us wants to see such a thing happen, right? ”

Barnard's voice was a little fast, he kept looking at Gastens to observe his reaction, and continued, "In addition, this idea was put forward by me personally, and I did not discuss it with His Royal Highness, if you agree, I will try to convince His Royal Highness, after all, the current enemy is now, the overall situation is important, if Elena can put the country first, none of us will embarrass you." ”

"So, our agreement is a truce, then we supply weapons, and you go up to fight. In the early days, our soldiers will also go up to fight a wave, right? ”

Gastens briefly summarized Barnard's intentions, and Barnard nodded, indicating that this was what he meant.

"Basically, about your troops, we have to ask for instructions when we go back, but this is basically the plan."

"I understand, the enemy is at present, it is difficult for His Royal Highness the Prince to have such a careful mind", Gastens stood up and took Barnard's hand.

"I also need to discuss the specific content with Elena's comrades, and I believe that you and His Royal Highness Prince Liu will also need a little time to discuss. It's better like this, today we will talk about this, the follow-up content, and when the six princes are confirmed, we will talk about it, how about it? ”

"Yes, after all, this is a big deal, and I can't settle it alone", Barnard shook Gastens hand very hard, "Your soldiers and weapons are very powerful. We hope that you will make the Neglo Republic realize that we in Ankenrein have never been easy to bully. ”

"That's nature."

Gastens sent Barnard out the door, arranged for him to be sent out of the country, returned to the factory office, and sat on his favorite couch.

If you can really reconcile with Eliot, then the next step is to unite with the outside world?

Can this be done? Should it be done?

Gastens fell into deep thought.