It was in the morning when Gastens followed Yarrow Rose, the governor of Enspen, to the top of the hill. Although it was the depths of winter, the clear sky and warm sunshine made the cold wind in the mountains gentle, and in front of them was a small plain surrounded by mountains, and the Liuyin River turned a bend on the southwest side of the plain, where the river slowed down and hit the fertile plain of the land.

"This is the plain of Elena, after the name of the ancient goddess Elena, and the ruins of the temple of the goddess can be found near the foot of the mountain on the plain. Around the bend in the river is the factory that meets your conditions, the property of the Count of Edry, and the maintenance plant of the province of Enspan of The Surging Power Company. ”

Yarrow Ross's tone was sincere and respectful. Gastens knew that he was not looking at himself, but the six princes behind him. He nodded at Yarrow Ross and stepped forward, taking a closer look at the land. The morning sun shone on the silvery whites, giving the plain a sense of finely carved silverware. The steaming factory, on the other hand, resembles an elaborately carved decoration on silverware, gorgeous and restrained.

"This is the end of the Johor Bahru vein, which is called Luoshan under our feet now, and the mine we just passed by is a medium-yield iron ore. To the east of the mill is the end of our largest pyroxene vein in Enspen, the Johor Bahru vein. From the factory to the east, through the pass, half a day's journey by carriage, you can get an abundance of pyroxene. If you come here, you have to cross a ferry crossing, and the one-way trip does not take more than half a day. With both pyroxene and steel, as well as fertile land, it's definitely a great place to be. ”

Yarrow Ross recommended very hard, and Gastens listened very carefully. He found time to write a letter to Daisy yesterday, reporting on his current situation and his next steps. With the permission of Prince Eliot to return to the province of Ensten, Gastens decided for a short time not to wander again. He already has a team of 1,000 people under his command, and the backbone is all his old subordinates, and there is no problem with loyalty. Moreover, the vast majority of these soldiers were serfs, and there was no pressure to put them back to farm. The working-class people in charge of production came from Strongwood in Toulucas, who had no relatives in the local area, and even had problems with language, so they had to rely on themselves. With soldiers and workers, if he can take the factory in front of him and get the attached land, he can start to produce in the fields, cultivate his power, and stabilize for a while. Although geographically speaking, the province of Engspan is sandwiched between the Republic of Negro and the Ankenriin Empire, and if the Great War is fought, it will be attacked on both sides. But before that, Gastens felt that even if he was not perfect, he should have a force of his own, and there was not much time and space left for him to be picky.

"Very good, I am very satisfied, and His Royal Highness the Prince should also be satisfied."

Gastens took one last look at his surroundings and began to descend the mountain. As for why Yarrow Rose worked so hard to recommend this place, and how his worried attitude changed when he first met, it was necessary to return to the two major powers in the province of Enspan. Yarrow Ross initially thought that Gastens wanted their own well-equipped factory, so he shirked left and right, but after Gastens said that as long as the factory had basic production conditions, he immediately changed his tone and began to strongly recommend his opponent, the factory under the name of Count Rhett Eredri, which is Gastens's goal today.

The movement of a production regiment of more than 1,000 soldiers moving together and crossing the mountains was enormous, and the management of the factory saw them before Gastens led his team through the crossing, and when they crossed the crossing, the management had already ridden fast horses on the east side of the ferry, and a group of more than a dozen people, all dressed in formal knighthoods, stood in the snow, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Gastens.

"Welcome, Sir Ross, to you and your friends."

He was greeted by a middle-aged man, Akarat James, one of the sons-in-law of Count Erideri, who was in charge of the repair shop and the surrounding land. He bowed respectfully to Yarrow Ross and turned his head to salute Gastens.

"Presumably this is the one who recently returned from the front, Major Gastens, right?"

There is no impermeable wall in the world, not to mention that Gastens has attended several drinking parties held by Yarrow Rose after his return, and the heads of the province know that he is such a number one person. Gastens nodded at James with a serious expression.

"I am Gastens, and according to the provisions of the wartime law, your land and factories will be expropriated by us from now on."

"Huh?"

Akar James didn't expect the person to come so directly, and he didn't react for a moment. Gastens didn't have the patience to wait that long, and with a wave of his hand, the soldiers behind him began to divide into multiple routes, according to the plan that had been laid out long ago, towards the factory, the town next to the factory, and the passes and ferries in the distance. Everyone's steam packs are fully charged, ready to fire.

As soon as Akar James saw this formation, he knew that he couldn't stop it. He looked at Gastens with some embarrassment, and tactfully dissuaded.

"Major Gastens, this factory is a surging industry, managed by Count Eridri in the province of Enspan. You'll have no problem with this factory, but may I report it to the Earl? ”

"You repay yours, I'll do mine", Gastens waved his hand and walked to the factory first, "It's a wartime economy, and the front line is still waiting for our products, so we can't delay." I'll borrow the factory first, and if the Count of Elidrin has any opinions, you can ask him to come directly to me. ”

Gastens didn't mind being shot by Yarrow Ross, the sphere of influence in Enspen had already been demarcated, and if he wanted to cut a piece of meat from it, he would have to move closer to one side and suppress the other. Since Prince Elliot asked him to find Yarrow Ross instead of the Count Rhett Elidry, he naturally wanted to help Yarrow Rose stand up. As for the power game behind these big shots, it is far from what he needs to worry about now, the pawn who rushed to the front.

"Major Gastens, Major Gastens!"

Gastens was on foot, and James was not good at riding, so he let his retinue lead the horse and himself followed Gastens. Ignoring his garbled arguments and excuses about the ownership of the factory, land disputes, prior reporting, and so on, Gastens tried to thwart himself, and instead asked about the land and the factory as he went. Akar James was distressed and unhappy with the banditry, but because of the wartime economy, he dared not speak out, so he had to stop his efforts to stop Gastens and began to introduce the situation of the factory.

According to The Paper's style of work, they will set up maintenance factories in provinces with high demand for their own manufacturers' equipment, and Enspan province has always been an important customer of The Paper because of the existence of the Johor Bahru vein.

The name of the factory is Elena Maintenance Factory, which is the same name as this plain. The plant is fully equipped for production and maintenance, capable of building medium-sized steam plants on its own, and is also a backup plant for The Paper, which is used to supply products to the Republic of Neglo when necessary and reduce transportation costs. More than 3,000 acres of land attached to the factory can stably supply food rations for about 8,000 people. The small landowners and serfs who worked on this land were all attached to the Eridri family, about 6,000 people, and because of the blessing of the Count of Eriederick, they were less affected by the front-end time and were basically able to maintain production. There were more than 300 workers in the factory, most of whom were serfs from the Eridri family, who were not paid, only fed, sheltered, and managed. The Paper has stationed a technical team of more than a dozen people here to guide production.

Knowing the basic situation, the group has arrived at the main gate of the factory, the troops of Gastens who arrived in advance have taken over the defense of the factory, the workers who have been interrupted from their work and the technical team of The Surging Power Company, as well as the management of the factory who did not go to meet the visitors, are all concentrated in the square in front of the factory, waiting for the departure. The soldiers formed a loose circle, with their guns pointing downward, and contained the men here.

"Major Gastens, the production of this factory cannot be stopped, we are repairing equipment for two textile factories in the province, they produce military uniforms, and they are also on a wartime mission-"

Aqar was led by the nose by Gastens and has not given up his efforts. But Gastens was tired of listening, and he turned his head and interrupted Akarta.

"It's okay, Mr. James, from now on, this factory will be temporarily borrowed by us, and the relevant procedures will be handled later. If Count Rhett Eridley has an opinion, you can ask him to come directly to me. Now, you're good to go. ”

Aqar wanted to say something, but Ivan, who had been following Gastens, stepped forward and blocked his view.

"Hey, do you hear me, sissy, you can go!"

Akarat looked at Gastens, and then at Yarrow Ross, who had ignored him all the way, and knew that it was time to leave, he took a deep breath and looked up again, his expression had become calm.

"I'm going to pack my things."

"Yes", Gastens began to speak, looking at the people in the square.

"We are the production group of the three armies of the Guards, and our commander is the sixth prince, Elliot Gibson, if any of you want to leave, you can follow him, if you don't leave, I won't let you suffer, do you understand?"

Hearing Gastens' words, some people came out of the crowd one after another. Most of them were factory managers, and they followed him out of the factory and to the town near the factory, which was the factory's accommodation area, where they would simply pack their bags and leave.

Gastens said goodbye to Yarrow Ross, the governor of the province of Enspen, in front of the factory, which was now in a mess and not yet qualified to receive the big man. And this big man made an exception to stand up for himself, which can be regarded as giving enough face. Gastens and his men sent the big man off the corner before refocusing on the factory.

Now, this factory, called Elena, is his.

It took Gastens's team most of the day to tidy up the factory, pacify the technical team of The Urging Power Company, and by the evening his third guard regiment was already camped next to the town attached to the factory. The workers of the factory, also gathered in the middle of the town by Gastens.

"Brothers, workers," Gastens remembered, as if it was not the first time he had spoken to these workers. The last time he gave a lecture was in Slongwood, where he introduced himself to the workers at Slotter's Power Equipment maintenance plant. And this time, he was facing the serf workers of his own country.

"My name is Gastens, Gastens Warren, and I used to be a serf—"

At the very beginning of the speech, Gastens's confession and his surname had already caused a whisper of discussion among the people below. People who were still a little frightened and panicked before invisibly had a trace of trust in this companion like themselves on stage.

"Many of you may wonder how I got rid of serfdom. I can tell you that it's very simple, go to the army, the death squad, die three times and you are still alive, you are a free people. However, I believe that everyone has only one life, and obviously it will not be easily wasted on the battlefield. Now, I am the steward of this factory and this land, and I have an unshirkable responsibility to each of you. Before I came, I also asked James, and he said that more than nine of you are serfs of the Eridri family, working here, without pay, just food and shelter, right? ”

The workers remained silent, but their eyes were fixed on Gastens, waiting for what he was about to say. This person on the stage is a celebrity next to the Sixth Prince, and he doesn't deal with Eridri, what will he do to these workers, everyone is a little worried and a little expectant.

"I know you are, because so am I. When I was still a serf, I once thought about a question, why must I be a slave, and I must serve those masters? Everyone has two eyes and one nose, what's the difference? ”

The workers remained silent, they looked at Gastens and said nothing. The soldiers and workers gathered around the square, watching their leader, chatted from the central platform.

"Look, the boss is going to fool around again."

Ivan turned his head sideways and muttered to Zink.

"The boss never fools, he does what he says."

Zink was serious, he looked at Gastens in the distance, and there was a glint in his eyes.

"Cut—I don't understand humor."

Ivan muttered and fell silent.

I didn't have an answer to this question until I rushed to the battlefield and I realized that everyone is the same. It doesn't matter if it's a nobleman, or a common person, or a slave, whether it's poor, rich, handsome, or beautiful, in front of bullets, in front of life and death, it's the same. Since then, I have been firmly convinced that there should be no such thing as a slave in this world! ”

"!"

Zink, who had also come out of the serf, spoke heavily, slamming his fist into the palm of the other, staring intently at his head. The workers in the middle of the square were also whispering, their expressions a little panicked and a little expectant, their eyes fixed on Gastens, waiting for what he would say.

"- So, from the moment I took over this factory, I promise that all of you, no longer serfs! I will take back your contract from Count Elidri and give you all the same status! From today onwards, you will work in the factory, you will be paid and given holidays like other workers, and you will become a free and complete person! ”

The square was silent for a few seconds, and then a huge noise erupted, and everyone was talking, clapping, and shouting. Gastens, who was standing in the crowd, smiled and looked at the excited people in front of him.

These people will one day become companions who will fight with him.

It's for comrades.