On 4 October, a message came from the Hofburg: in view of General Kalilved-Kuster's great contribution to the empire in armaments, the great Austrian Emperor and King of Hungary, Franz, would personally award him the Order of the Order of the Golden Fleece. With immediate effect, he was promoted to lieutenant general, and the newly established Austro-Hungarian 19th Army was under his personal command.

It didn't take long for some high-ranking officers throughout Vienna and even at the front to get the news. Except for the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, Boroyevich, everyone was shocked, they didn't know what this kid Kuster had done to make the emperor so close to him! For a time, the entire army top brass was a little jealous.

Even Kuster himself was shocked, he thought he would not be able to return to the front lines for a long time; But this news really opened his eyes, so much so that he still doesn't know what the top management is thinking.

Soon, however, Kuster was asked to go to the High Army Headquarters in Vienna. He hurriedly tidied up his outfit and walked quickly to the door.

I found a car to sit on, and after several rounds, I soon arrived at the headquarters.

A high-ranking officer greeted him outside the door, and when he got closer, he realized that it was none other than Conrad from before.

He appeared very kind, and intimately pulled Kuster into the room.

After the two sat down in their chairs, Conrad sent his blessing:

"Congratulations, General Kuster. I have just received the news of your promotion and wish you well from the bottom of my heart. But I'm sorry, but the emperor is out of business, so I'll give you the honor. ”

Kuster was not angry, but said:

"If it's just a bestowal, I don't think you should have to welcome me so much."

"Haha! You guessed it, I have a more important purpose. ”

After being broken, Conrad smiled and said:

"I'll tell you, the Nineteenth Army is actually an empty shell, and it has only four hundred men now. You don't need to be too angry, the Empire is recruiting soldiers to replenish its forces; It is believed that it will be completely completed by the end of the year. ”

Kuster was a little unhappy, raised his eyebrows and said:

"Our mobilization efficiency is so slow? Our empire is second only to the Russians in terms of human resources (excluding overseas colonies)! ”

Conrad took an unhurried sip of tea and said quietly:

"Don't be in a hurry, because the conscripts haven't set off yet. The replenishment of troops at the front line is also very tight, and we have to reorganize an army at the end of the year, and this pressure is not ordinary.

Didn't you make a bunch of weapons before? The emperor intended to form a new army; It's almost all about equipping the weapons you've developed. I've also seen those weapons, and they're really creative, and they must be good on the battlefield. ”

Kuster Says:

"So how many people are there in my army? If you only rely on my few factories, it will be difficult to make a considerable number of weapons. ”

"Not sure yet. However, there should be 3 full staff, about 50,000 people. That's not a small amount.

So the empire intends to bring a few more factories under your control, so that it can probably be manufactured. ”

"But what will I do after I'm gone, and whose jurisdiction will those factories fall into?"

"Don't worry, they'll be handed over to your son, Vasalai Kuster."

Kuster frowned, and said with some confusion:

"Are you sure? Give it to him, I'm afraid he'll lose it. ”

Kuster's suspicions didn't come out of nowhere; Vasalai was his eldest son. He is more diligent and hardworking, but his brain is not flexible. When Kuster was not yet a general, Vasa went out on his own. But whenever he had some money, he gave it to his second brother or to the poor, which led to him eventually achieving nothing.

"You can't even trust your own son, do you! It really is. Well, I don't have much time, so I'll give you the medal now. ”

The two of them got up from their expensive and ornate chairs at the same time. With a shudder, Conrad took a box out of a drawer and awarded the medal inside to Kuster.

The two saluted each other, and then Kuster put on his military hat and walked out of the room.

Back at the arsenal, I saw Fox standing outside the door, motionless. When he saw Kuster, he ran to congratulate him:

"Congratulations, General, you're about to be back on the battlefield!"

"Hmm." Coustic nodded and said to him:

"Go and find out to me how many factories the Empire has in our hands."

"No need to look it up, I just got a list." Fox took out a crumpled ball of white paper from his waist, unfolded it, and read it to him:

"A tailor's factory, three military factories, and two large tractor-making plants."

As if thinking of something, Kuster suddenly looked up and said:

"Good! I want 50,000 winter uniforms, but unlike the ones we use now, they are gray and black. Well, maybe the language can't express it clearly, let me draw it for you. ”

Kuster walked inside with Fox and pulled out several blank sheets of paper to draw on.

Fox watched it for about 1 hour, and said with some fatigue and surprise:

"These uniforms look very stylish, but isn't it against your words to make so many types - the extra types of weapons are all causing logistical trouble."

Kuster patted him on the head:

"That's not right! This garment is not the same as a weapon; Weapons require constant ammo support, and the more types of weapons you have, the more complex your ammo will be.

Clothes are not needed; Have you ever seen anyone who uses up a set of clothes in a day? We just need to send each person a set of clothes, but we need to use them according to the season. ”

As he spoke, Kuster's work had been completed, revealing a piece of military uniform.

Most of these are the military uniforms of the later Sandezi: all-black X guard uniforms, gray X defense uniforms, and a variety of highly distinctive military uniforms.

Even Fox on the side was fascinated, and said for a long time:

"It's incredible, and I'm looking forward to wearing it, let alone the other officers. Once these uniforms circulate in the army, it will definitely increase your prestige! ”

"I also want to make some improvements to our existing helmets to make the burden lighter for the fighters, which will help save stamina and fight better."

Kuster pulled out another piece of paper and drew a model of an M35 steel helmet on it.

Fox stared carefully, touched his chin, and said with a twinkle in his eyes:

"It looks beautiful! Looking around it, the curled edge design makes me feel wonderful and a little nostalgic at the same time. General, are you going to let me mass-produce it? ”

"Yes, it's not difficult to make this helmet; It's not a problem for factories to make tens of thousands of dollars a month. ”

"That's for sure. Alright, I'm going to get busy. Fox cleaned up the table, said hello to Custer, and walked outside.

Kuster was also not idle, but was busy building a new set of military ideas.