Managing a factory in an occupied zone and motivating the workers was not as easy as Gastens imagined. He thought he had done well enough, well above the average non-war wage for workers, below the non-war labor intensity, free food and lodging, and security guarantees for workers and their families from the war. In the case of Gastens himself, he felt that he would be satisfied with such conditions and work for the factory with peace of mind. But from the point of view of some workers, no matter how Gastens explains, he is the invader who destroyed the Duchy of Tulucas, and is an enemy that some people have to kill as quickly as possible.

"Head, there are two workers who tried to steal our drawings and we found out, what should we do?"

Binbo? Tthruv stood in front of Gastens with a serious expression, and Ivan and Zinke stood beside him, waiting together for Gastens to make a decision. After discovering that Ivan had returned from injury, Gastens redistributed his 57 soldiers, Ivan, Zinke and Bimbo? Bobruv received 15 each, and he kept 12 for himself, and initially established a management hierarchy below the company level. In terms of division of labor, the two groups of soldiers of Ivan and Zink were responsible for protecting the safety of the workers and supervising the progress of their production, while Beaubruf's team was responsible for maintaining the safety of the factory together with the protection company sent to Gastens by the commander of the 7th Combat Readiness Corps, Lowell. The two workers who tried to steal the drawings were discovered by Bobrubw's team.

"Let's go, let's see."

Gastens himself had nothing to do with such a thing, and he himself did not like wars of aggression, but now Ankenrein's feudal forces and the bourgeoisie were still strong, and he did not have the objective conditions to launch a revolution. In this case, he had to buy more space for himself by keeping the factory stable in production.

Two workers were held in an open field in front of the workers' dormitory outside the assembly plant, and the union president of the maintenance plant of Slote Power Equipment, Thomas ? Gurakos and several key trade union members stood in front of them, looking anxious. When he saw Gastens walking in with someone, he hurriedly stepped forward and began to explain.

"Sir Gastens—"

"Call me comrade!" , Gastens once again corrected the title of Gurakos. The people who are present now are either the working class he wants to fight for, or his old subordinates. To these people, Gastens did not hide his ideals, and they gradually accepted the knowledge of communist theory.

"Comrade Gastens", Gurakos's expression improved a little, "Tipton and Simmons, they really have their brains pumping, and they don't realize how good you are to us, my lord!" Now that there are more hungry and displaced people outside, we can still have food and clothing with you, these two guys just don't know what to do, and they have to steal the drawings and send them to the people of the Neglo Republic! Aren't you stupid to say they're not stupid? For so many years, how many people have died in our country because of the inaction of the Neglo Republic! They don't remember their grudges for so many years, but they remember the fact that Anken Ruiyin called, you say they are ridiculous? ”

"Tipton and Simmons?"

Gastens did not answer Gulakov, he walked up to Tipton and Simmons and looked at the two workers who were tied up.

"Who's Tipton and who's Simmons?"

The slightly chubby worker raised his head and glared at Gastens viciously, "Lao Tzu, Amanda?" Tipton, this is my brother Emile? Simmons! You have occupied our country, and we will never forget this hatred for the rest of our lives! We must remember when we die! ”

"Alright, you guys! Would you die if you didn't talk much?! Gulakov glared anxiously, he didn't want the two workers to anger Gastens. Although Gastens is usually amiable and harmless, Gulakov has heard Ivan brag that their boss kills people without blinking, and is very powerful.

"We just want to say, you have the ability to kill us!!"

Emir? Simmons then yelled, looking like he was going to kill or chop whatever he wanted. Gastens waited for the two of them to make a fuss for a while before he spoke.

"I, like you, don't like this war. No matter how our emperor explains it, this is a war of aggression. I can't decide the course of the war, and I can't save everyone. I can only save those who can do my power, and now that this factory is under my jurisdiction, I can guarantee that every comrade of the workers under my jurisdiction will not be wronged, persecuted, killed, or violated. You are against the aggressor, you are against the aggressor, I understand. But who is the aggressor, have you figured it out? I'm just like you, I'm a worker, I was a serf before, I don't like the emperor, the emperor almost killed me, am I your enemy? ”

Tipton and Simmons opened their mouths and didn't answer. Although they are patriotic and hateful to the invaders, they have not lost their rationality. For people like Gastens, they really can't hold a grudge.

"But...... But the gun you made is helping the emperor kill people! Help him win the war of aggression! ”

"Even if I don't make guns, won't the emperor fight this battle? You've been in the factory too, and we've built a thousand guns in one week. But do you know how many people are on the battlefield? Our Sixth Legion alone has more than 60,000 men! If we lose, do you think a thousand guns can change the outcome? If we're going to win, don't you think we can't win without these 1,000 guns? ”

"Yes...... Can...... But you are the aggressor! ”

"It was not me who invaded you, but His Majesty the Emperor. I'm just like you, I can't help myself. If you have the chance, you can vent your anger on His Majesty the Emperor, or join the army of the Negro Republic to fight our army. But if you leave with the drawings, you will harm all the comrades in this factory! Do you think that if you leave like this, will the chairman of the union, Gulakov, and your fellow workers, be able to live well? ”

Gastens' tone wasn't tough, but he did have a point. Hearing that he was willing to let the two go, Tipton and Simmons looked at each other and asked again.

"Are you really going to let us go?"

"Yes, why not? But I want you to think about it, if you're gone, I can't protect your family, your parents, your wife, your children – if you have one. What will happen to them when you are gone? I'm not threatening you, and I'm not going to do anything to your family, but why should I give him food, money, and security guarantees to people who don't work with us, you say? Moreover, if there is really a leak, who do you think I can save with a small company commander? ”

Gastens knew that violence could not be used against these working classes, and the country in which he lived on Earth had experienced a painful history of being invaded. As a citizen of that country, he was well aware of the shame and anger of being invaded, and he understood these two workers very well. It's just that now the two sides are in different positions, and all he can do is try to convince them so much.

"That's right, Comrade Garstens has said, you can leave if you want to, don't hurt us!" , Gurakos, who had been listening to it for a long time, couldn't hold it back, and he continued in a tone of hatred that iron is not steel, "Tipton, Simmons, you have been in the factory for so many years, have I Gurakos ever cheated you?" When those capitalists asked us to work hard, was it our trade union, or was it our Labor Party that was helping you fight for your rights? Simmons, when you were sick, the boss wanted to fire you, and it was a few brothers who helped you finish your work before the boss gag the boss's mouth, and you forgot about it? Tipton, did your own wife give birth, or did we find a carriage to help you get to the hospital, and you forgot about it? Now you are eating Comrade Gastens's food, taking his money, and your wife wants him to help protect you, and in this case you have to steal the drawings out, and not only kill Gastens, but also kill us! Even if you are stupid, you should have some conscience, right? Yes? If you really want revenge, go to the army! Don't take the blueprints to join the army of the Negru Republic, that's what it's called! Bullying your own people every day unthankfully, do you call it a kind? Yes!? ”

Gurakos's words are more direct and more effective. Gastens quieted down, enough he had said and done. If these two people are still obsessed, he can only drive them away and leave them to fend for themselves. However, Gastens did not want that to happen, and although the objective reality dictated that he and these workers were more hostile than cooperative, he liked these advanced working class from the bottom of his heart. He also hopes to develop these people into his comrades.

Scolded by Gurakos, Amanda? Tipton and the Emile? Simmons was silent. They looked at each other, exchanged glances, and looked at Gurakos again, as if they wanted to say something. Seeing this, Gastens knew that his words with Gurakos had an effect, so he took his own initiative to leave, leaving the space to these people.

After a while, Gurakos appeared with two writhing workers and apologized to Gastens in a rough voice. Gastens was not hypocritical, promising that as long as they did their jobs well, they would not be held responsible, and let them go to the workshop, which was considered to put an end to the matter.

The workers intent on stealing the drawings were just one of the minor problems Gastens encountered in the process of modifying those captured Welsh II steam rifles. The lack of materials, the exhaustion of metallurgical pyroxene energy, the different parts produced by the assembly line with different tolerances and cannot be assembled, and so on have all been encountered by him, and they have all been solved by him, or are on the way to solving them. The factory's modification of the Welsh II rifle was also increased from about fifty rifles per day to the number of Gastens rifles sent to Danny? Commander Carey promised 200 a day. But just as things were looking for good, Gastens heard news that was not surprising to him.

The second phase of the Green Pine Defense was defeated, Ankenrein lost Fort Edphi, the capital of Anta Province, the Sixth Army was completely disabled, the Legion headquarters was stormed by enemy cavalry, and the commander-in-chief, Joe? McFfee's fate is unknown.

Gastens who got the news asked to see Frank? Lowell, but the commander of the 7th Combat Readiness Regiment had apparently received the same news, and he did not have time to meet a company commander. Gastens could only ask Zink to go out with his fifteen brothers to intercept the rout on the main road outside of Stralongwood and see if he could get any news.

Although the means of obtaining information were primitive and indirect, the news brought by more and more soldiers who had been routed from the front line also gave Gastens a very vague understanding of the second phase of the Green Pine defensive battle. The armored spearmen invested by the Neglo Republic hold too much strategic advantage for the Ankenrein forces at this stage. To deal with such an enemy, it is necessary to have troops with strong morale and destroy the enemy with the tactics of a sea of people. But Anken Rein's troops hadn't fought such a legion-level battle for more than 800 years. Their soldiers were fine when they were fighting with the wind, and they couldn't see the difference. But when he encountered adversity, he immediately lost his confidence. Often, after a battle, as long as you encounter the enemy's armored spearmen, there are many more people who flee than rush forward. With this kind of morale, even Joe? McFrey is the reincarnation of the god of war, and it is estimated that he will not be able to change the military situation of the Sixth Army and the entire province of Anta.

On the third day of the news, Gastens waited for his comrades from the 4th Division. It was an escort of the captured Welsh II steam rifle back for processing, which belonged to a company of the 8th Regiment. By the time they left the 4th Division, the battle situation on the front line was still solid, and the 4th Division, because it had suffered too much damage in the first stage of the Green Pine defensive battle, was placed on the second line, and its position was even further back, and if it had retreated in time, it should have been able to retain most of its combat effectiveness.

This news reassured Gastens a little, although his backbone had been brought back by him, but the commander of the fourth division, Danny? Carey was nice to him, and he didn't want anything wrong with the chief. Maybe it was Gastens' prayers that worked, or maybe it was indeed the strategy of the 4th Division, and by the fourth day of the news, the commander of the 7th Combat Readiness Corps, Frank? Lauwell sent someone to ask Gastens to come over, saying that senior officers of the 4th Division were looking for him by name.

Gastens thought it was Danny? Carey, but when he found Lowwell, he saw a somewhat familiar face.

"Gastens, I'm Lott? Carey, Danny? Carey's younger brother, the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Division, I came here this time to ask about your rifle factory. ”

"Sir, the factory is fine, but Danny? Is Captain Carey okay? Gastens didn't care about the factory at this time, since he met Lott? After Carey, I felt a little bad in my heart.

"Brother, he...... Killed in battle", Lott? Carey lowered his head, his expression heavy. Commander of the Seventh Legion, Frank? Lowwill also bowed his head, and Gastens was stunned for a moment before he straightened up and bowed solemnly.

"Danny? Commander Kaili sacrificed his life for the country and is a role model for us! ”

"Thanks", Lott? Carey gave Gastens a grateful look and continued: "The priority now is to establish the Stranwood Line as the second line of defense of the border line, so that the front line does not rout again. The Steam Rifle of your modification works well, and we intend to recommend it to the 1st and 3rd Corps, which are now stationed at the front. Now that time is tight, what is your maximum production capacity? Can the use of the front line be guaranteed? ”

"At present, it is two hundred per day, and if we work in three shifts, we can probably reach three hundred, but the raw materials may be in short supply, and we need the help of Commander Lauwell," Gastens replied truthfully, and asked casually.

"Frontline...... Has it come to this point? ”

Little? Carey and Lowell exchanged glances, lowered their voices, and gave an answer.

"It's worse than you think."