Hail, a symbol of deep winter, falls in the middle of the night and turns into snow after that. The snowflakes fluttered in the wind, pouring into the plackets and cuffs of the soldiers' clothes from all directions, making them curl up tighter, trying to keep their little heat. At dawn, the blizzard had stopped in the middle of the night, but the sky was still gloomy, white and white, like the face of a dead man.

Gastens was trapped in the camp of the 7th Readiness Army Headquarters by hail and blizzard, and the commander of the 7th Readiness Corps, Frank Lowwell, gave him a place to sleep. The sound of the hail crashing on the tent, and the violent snowstorm in the second half of the night, gave Gastens a hardly sleepless night, and when he stepped out of the tent again, his whole body was languishing.

"It's snowing!!!"

The early soldiers were already running in the snow, and the midnight blizzard had accumulated a blanket of snow more than ten centimeters thick on the ground. The temperature dropped to about minus 10 degrees overnight, and Gastens stood at the door of the tent, blown by the wind, and couldn't help but wrap his trench coat tightly.

His costume was not enough for this level of cold.

Finding Frank Lauwell in the Big Tent, Gastens briefly chatted with him and asked about the troops' supplies and equipment. This time the deep winter came a little early, and there were not too many warm clothes sent from the rear, but fortunately, the 7th Combat Reserve Army already had a sufficient reserve of pyroxene, and the soldiers could still hold on as long as they were careful. As for food, there is no need to worry, now that Ankenrein has entered the wartime economy, all supplies are prioritized to ensure the front line, and the soldiers may not eat well enough, but they will definitely be full.

After chatting, Gastens said goodbye to Lowell and set out on the road to the camp of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division. The road is less than two kilometers, but it is extremely difficult to walk because of the cold and snow. When he found a place with a foot deep, he saw Ivan, Zink, and Bimpo Bobruf having a snowball fight near the camp, and their laughter could be heard from afar.

"Boss, Boss is here!!!"

The first to see Gastens was Ivan Warren, who immediately told his companion the good news about Gastens, and then rushed to Gastens as fast as he could, hugged him, and hugged him tightly, as if he was going to break Gastens' bones with his own strength. Gastens coughed twice, stretched Ivan's arm, and re-met with several of his friends who lived and died.

Although it was less than three weeks before we parted, we all had the joy of meeting again after a great disaster. Ivan and Sinkra took Gastens into the tent, boiled him water, and took out Lundin, who he had gotten out of nowhere, and insisted on making him a pot despite Gastens's objections. It wasn't until Gastens sat down and drank that they asked about Gastens' experience along the way. Gastens did not hide it, he told the truth all the process from the time he followed Prince Eliot's 3rd Guards Division to leave Strongwood, and the thrills and battles in between, which made Ivan and them excited.

When he had finished telling his story, Gastens turned his head and asked his brothers what had happened after he left, and the answer was similar to what Lowell had told him. At first, the production of the factory went smoothly, but for a while, the front-line battle was lost, the captured rifles were greatly reduced, and the factory was forced to stop production. After that, there was a series of bad news from the front, the 6th Army and the 3rd Guards Division lost the battle and were trapped in Green Pine Mountain. The troops in the province of Scat were also routed by the enemy, who advanced to the Tulucas Line. Later, the Tulucas Line collapsed, the 7th Army abandoned Stralongwood, and Commander Lowell felt that neither the factory nor the workers could be taken with him, so he wanted to kill them for the sake of secrecy. Remembering Gastens's instructions, the soldiers saved the factory workers before Lauwell's firing squad was about to be executed, in the exchange that they had to bring them back.

"Where are they now?"

Gastens sat in the tent for a while, roasting the pyroxene, feeling the chill he had just made his way to dissipate a little. Hearing the news of his return, more and more death squad soldiers were gathering in this tent, and Gastens couldn't help but be a little moved when he looked at the familiar faces of these people.

To live, as long as you live.

"They should be on the construction site, the breastwall defense has not been repaired yet, and it is up to them to install a movable wooden shield behind the breastwork, I talked to Gurakos before, and their task now seems to be to cut down trees and install wooden shields."

"Cut down trees, where are there trees around here?"

"A dozen kilometers to the east, there is a forest, and the 7th Combat Reserve Army has a brigade over there, which is responsible for ensuring supplies. But Gurakos, they're not in the woods, they should be on the construction site of the breastwork, do you need me to call them over? ”

Zink is the most talkative of Gastens's old subordinates, and he takes on most of the conversations with Gastens, which will be eager to try, and it seems that as soon as Gastens agrees, he will immediately rush out to call someone.

"No need", Gastens thought about it and decided that it would be better not to disturb them, he already had preliminary arrangements for the whereabouts of these people, and when everything was done, it would not be too late to come back to them with good news.

"Are you going to come back to us as a company commander? During this time, we think about you the most, if you can come back, none of us are afraid! ”

Bimpo Bobruff is usually more restrained, but even he, after seeing Gastens again, has some overflowing joy and faint worry, he is worried about whether Gastens will continue to lead them in the future. After all, with such a good position in the staff of the three guards, and hugging the thick thighs of Prince Eliot, a normal person would give up these low-level brothers who got up from the mud.

"I shouldn't be your company commander—" Gastens was trying to play a prank for some reason, he deliberately dragged out his voice, and sure enough, he heard the long sighs and chatters of his brothers, but he immediately shouted his thoughts at the top of his voice before everyone's emotions exploded.

"—but I will find a way to come back, please rest assured, even if we have all survived that defeat, then I will never leave you, and please do not leave me!"

"Of course! Without the boss, we don't even know what to do! ”

"No, no, don't forget us, boss!!"

The relieved soldiers quarreled with Gastens. Gastens liked the atmosphere, chatting with his brothers, then going to lunch together, and by the way, he also inspected the food of the 7th Combat Ready Regiment. During the construction of the Thorny Hills defensive line, the 7th Combat Reserve Army started cooking in regimental units, and Ivan's 4th Company, where they belonged, needed to walk more than a kilometer to the regimental canteen to receive everyone's meals.

Gastens received a jar of stewed beans, a piece of hard, dry black bread, and a jar of messy soup with pieces of meat and unidentifiable greens. The bread looked miserable, but it was abundant, and Gastens felt that even a big man like ten thousand should be able to eat enough. As for the stew, the only effect may be to replenish water.

"Do you eat this kind of food normally?"

Gastens and his brothers took a seat in the tent that had been set up in the fourth regiment of cooking companies and was used as a canteen, and asked about their usual standard of living. The rest of the soldiers of the Fourth Company crowded into this tent, and it was not lively for a while.

"Well, we are a combat reserve army, responsible for logistics, and our own people will definitely not be wronged. Now it is a non-war state, and the other units are in the same configuration as us, that is, there is less meat in the stewed soup and more water. Otherwise, if you give too much canned food or bread, it will be difficult to say if someone finds out. ”

Zinke is now a company commander in the 4th Company, and his rank has been promoted to second lieutenant. He did his job well, and he could say a few words about what Gastens cared about.

"This amount, I can definitely eat enough, as well as meat and beans, and it is relatively comprehensive, it seems that our logistics are not bad......", Gastens sighed twice, and began to complain to his brothers, telling about the days when he was hungry and full on the way to escape. The brothers who hadn't seen each other for a long time were eating happily and chatting. The brown bread, which was hard to swallow, seems to have become more delicious.

After dinner, Gastens said goodbye to his brother and returned to the headquarters of the Seventh Combat Reserve Army to say goodbye to Frank Lowwell, and went straight to Prince Eliot. Prince Eliot still valued Gastens very much, and he had been busy since he returned, talking to several legion commanders one by one, finding out the basic situation of the Thorny Hills defense line, and contacting the rear to confirm his father's attitude towards this defeat. But even so, he invited Gastens in the evening, and gave him ten minutes to state his request.

When Gastens, who had waited for most of the afternoon, saw Prince Eliot, he was standing in a daze on the map, which Gastens had seen, and which had been hung in the staff headquarters of the Third Guards Division, reflecting the situation of both the enemy and us. The small red flag representing Ankenrein, which once reached the border between the provinces of Antara and Scat, has now retreated to the middle of Tulucas, as if all previous victories had come to naught.

"What are you looking for me?"

Prince Eliot seemed to be in a bad mood, completely deprived of his usual demeanor and politeness.

"Your Royal Highness, I want to take people back and find a factory in the province of Enspan to produce weapons", Gastens had already thought of his words, he was steady and calm, as if he were talking about yesterday's hail and blizzard.

"Oh, you're scared, you're going to be a deserter?"

Although the content of the speech was accusatory, Eliot said it in a joking tone. He looked at Gastens, waiting for his explanation.

"Your Highness, I dare to ask, do you have any comments on the design I gave you before?"

"Very good, they like it very much, the people from the weapons research institute said that your design is very good, and the most cost-effective way to improve the power of our weapons is a credit for you", speaking of happy things, Elliot's expression seemed to look better, Gastens felt that Elliot was not usually such an emotional person, he guessed that maybe the recent defeat had changed Elliot's personality.

"And when will the new weapons be supplied to the front?"

"I don't know this yet, I said that the new weapon will be tested, the time has not been decided, and I have also urged, what, what do you want to say?"

Elliot was halfway through speaking, and suddenly realized Gastens' thoughts, he stopped, walked around the same place twice, and when he looked at Gastens again, his eyes were no longer faintly depressed, but replaced by exuberant fighting spirit.

"Tell me what you think."

"Your Royal Highness, whether you admit it or not, the battle we fought in Green Pine Mountain is not a victory. Although I have not been exposed to high society, since you are the fifth prince, you have at least four older brothers. They are your brothers and your competitors. Now that we have lost the battle, it is difficult for me to figure out what His Majesty the Emperor thinks, but others will inevitably think that you may be affected by this. They will certainly not let the new weapons that have the opportunity to help you turn the tables so smoothly, and it is more likely that in the depths of winter, His Majesty the Emperor may remove the defeated generals, or even call you back from the front line. I've heard that more than 400,000 troops are being trained in the rear, and I don't know the distribution of generals in these teams, but have you ever heard that they will be assigned to the Western Theater of Operations, or to your name? ”

Gastens's words clearly struck some of Eliot's thoughts, and he fell silent, walked around in place with his head down, leaned slightly, raised his head, and looked at Gastens.

"Let you go back, what can you do for me?"

"I need your authorization and financial support, and then I will give you a factory that serves you, a weapons factory, guaranteeing that you will not let the supply of weapons get stuck in your throat. You know my background, I have built a steam engine, I have built a rifle, I can do this well. ”

"Yes, just do as you say", Elliot quickly made up his mind, what Gastens wanted was insignificant, but what he said made a lot of sense. Even if it is just an idle move, he has to put down the chess piece first, hoping that this move can play an unexpected role in the future.

"What else do you want, let's say it together", Elliot looked at the countless people, and naturally guessed that Gastens had not finished speaking, he picked up a cup of tea on the table, and drank it without looking at it.

"I hope to go back with my old men, with the workers at the Strongwood factory, who are my people, I control a factory, and I need my own people. The soldier is the force, and the worker is responsible for production. ”

Gastens made no secret that there was no need to hide his edge to prove his ability now.

"Very good, very good, I didn't expect you to have such an idea, I'm right. I will write you a letter to you and you will bring it to Yarrow Ross, the Administrator of the province of Enspan, and he will meet your needs. In addition, I will give you another regiment of soldiers, so that there will be no accidents. ”

Elliot was a very executive man, and since he had promised Gastens, he was going to make this move. Gastens responded one by one and solemnly expressed his gratitude. After that, he bid farewell to Prince Eliot and returned to his camp.

The mission on the battlefield is almost over, and the impact of this defeat on Roswell is definitely more than what was just discussed in the tent. Gastens could sense from many details that perhaps, the opportunity he was waiting for, was in the near future.