That night, the President of the United States of America, Joe Dun, heard the noise at home, but he only inquired about the situation from his subordinates, made a phone call with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, and then went back to sleep peacefully.
He and a group of dignitaries agreed that this was just a small disturbance, and the people's rioting would stop after a few days. After all, the strike also meant that the workers would lose their source of income, and this price should be even more unbearable for them.
And now is the time when everyone is in a rage. They send people to suppress it. It is estimated that not only will it not be effective, but it will make them more emotional. Therefore, they should avoid the limelight first and let them let go. If they do not retreat on their own, then
It is not too late to dispatch the guards to suppress it.
In this way, the strike march continued for three more days.
Just when the powerful people expected that they would turn a blind eye and let the people scream in vain for three days, the matter should be over, but the matter did not develop as they thought.
As the demonstrations intensified, the people found that the government seemed to have become a dead person. No matter how they appealed, it turned a deaf ear. It was as if such a huge protest had not happened. They decided to let the government take its hands off its ears.
March 9th.
Led by Equality and gangs, workers began destroying factory facilities to attract attention.
This move worked immediately. The factory owners sent hundreds of thugs to suppress the situation and asked the government for support in maintaining order in the city.
At noon, President John held an emergency meeting with chamber of commerce representatives and subordinates.
"Things have gotten out of control. Please mobilize the guards to suppress it with force immediately!" The protest march has seriously damaged the interests of businessmen, the representative of the Chamber of Commerce said impatiently.
The Sheriff wiped his sweat: "There have been more and more people protesting in the past few days. The strength of the Guards alone may be a bit tense..."
"Then bring in the army! Let these untouchables know who has the final say in Dunman, and they won't be able to overturn the situation!"
"The transfer of the army is a big deal. Since the end of the civil war, we have been thinking about recovering as quickly as possible and the economy is developing rapidly. Going against the people is not a wise choice."
"Is it really necessary to cancel the new conscription law under pressure? Do you think this is just a matter of a new conscription law? No! Once this precedent is set, let them know that marches and protests are useful, and they will continue to use this
The solution! Today, we protest against the low wages and too hard work, and tomorrow we protest against the poor urban construction, and slowly make the country listen to them!"
President Jordan listened to the argument silently, looking at the newspapers on the conference table that had been spread everywhere recently, as well as the Dunman language versions of "Equality", "The Internationale", and "Women's Manifesto": "This is something planned and premeditated.
We need to act with caution."
Those who had not followed the argument just now also said in a deep voice: "This theory of equality is a book written by a very powerful organization on Bressey's side. That organization called the Equality Association attacked Bressey's government a while ago.
The building also caused the World Expo to end early."
"That guy came to our place?!"
"These books are proof."
"No wonder, when the new conscription law was first proposed, they didn't make any move. Suddenly, they started making trouble, and it can last for so long. We have to solve it."
"Then what should we do? Find these people out first? I think since they are inciting the workers to protest, we should wipe them out in front of everyone, which should effectively stabilize the situation."
President Jordan frowned, worried about the appearance of the Equality Society: "These people were able to capture the government building when Bressy held the World Expo, and survive afterwards, traveling thousands of miles to Dunman.
There must be something special about inciting people to protest and a way to deal with us."
"This matter really cannot be taken lightly, but the situation is already very serious." The Sheriff said, "We should arrest some people to investigate the situation first and try to trace the clues of the Equality Association."
"Well, no matter what, we have to find out who is behind this matter first." Jordan agreed with the method proposed by the Sheriff.
"How long will this take?" a factory owner asked anxiously.
Originally, the workers were just suspending work, and they were able to hold on for the long term. But now because they have never expressed their stance on the abolition of the new conscription law, the workers have begun to destroy factories and destroy their value in order to force them to give an explanation.
"It's not clear yet..." The Sheriff knew only a little about the Equality Association's affairs and did not dare to give a time hastily and shoulder the huge responsibility.
"Let them make trouble, no matter how big a fight they make, I will let them know that their struggle and resistance are meaningless." A representative of the Chamber of Commerce snorted coldly, "We have no shortage of cheap labor.
If they are unwilling to do it, then we will bring in the Sder people and recruit workers from the immigrants."
"Yes! The labor market is huge, and the steady influx of Sder people is cheaper. If they don't do it, others will do it!"
Qiao Dun immediately stopped the businessmen's profit-driven thoughts: "No, we must not introduce any more immigrants. The current conflict between the immigrants and our locals is already very fierce. If we encourage them to come over, the situation will really be uncontrollable."
The most important thing is that a new large number of foreign workers have been hired, and our own people have no jobs to do. This will not only be the abolition of the new conscription law, but also a great turmoil for the entire society."
"Then who will guarantee our interests? Now our factory is being smashed and robbed by workers!"
"The Equality Society, an organization that is causing trouble to all countries, must be eliminated immediately! Otherwise, we will be like Bresci!"
All parties whose interests were affected during the mass demonstrations and protests were vehemently demanding that Qiao Dun handle the matter as soon as possible. Qiao Dun was under great pressure and did not rush to speak.
"Everyone, calm down first." Someone took control of the situation.
Qiao Dun took a deep breath and looked at the ugly people in front of the conference table.
As the president, he naturally cannot be like these people and only care about his own interests. He has to balance all parties and look further. Now is the critical period for Dunman to be reborn. He led the United States to defeat the Alliance with difficulty.
The army has completed the unification of Dunman, and it will have to be even more cautious next.
"Mars." Jordan called the sheriff.
"Your Excellency." The Sheriff stood up.
"Mobilize the guards to protect the factory and various mansions. At the same time, arrest a group of people who are leading the protests, investigate their backgrounds, and trace the clues of the Equality Association." Jordan ordered.
The Sheriff straightened his back: "Yes!"
"Nordin."
"Your Excellency, President."
"Control public opinion and prohibit newspapers from carrying out relevant reports."
"yes."
"The meeting is dismissed." Qiao Dun took a few books on the table and left the conference hall regardless of the voices of those present.
——
There was a crowd of people in the central square of the Old South. They did not leave even at noon. They ate their own food despite the slight cold and asked the government to cancel the new conscription law.
Due to large-scale public protests, the Old South Testament fell into a semi-paralysis situation.
But even at this point, the Tun Man government was still very calm and did not issue a statement on the new conscription law or give an explanation to the people.
At Quinn's Tavern on Mainline Street, four blocks from the Central Square, key players in the plan met to discuss countermeasures in detail.
They included representatives of the Equality Society: Boyne, Verak, Keating, Sarah, and Yves.
Representatives of the locals: Boss Xin, and seven or eight other leaders from various gangs.
Representatives of immigrants: Monroe, Lao Jin, Ruffalo, Apu.
"In the past few days, apart from the factories sending thugs and the government sending some guards to protect some facilities, there has been little movement. Have we not done enough?" asked a gang leader.
Boyn mused: "It's unexpected that the government is so calm, but I think as we continue to expand our momentum, they should take action soon."
Monroe moved his wrist: "Sure, those factories don't have enough thugs for us to fight. If they don't take action, if those businessmen can't kill us, they will kill the government."
This joke made the gang leaders laugh.
Recently, after they led the people in the neighborhoods under their control to take action, they did not face a fierce attack from the government. On the contrary, they continued to gain momentum and became more and more vocal. Groups that were not originally included in the plan also followed them to come forward.
spoke up.
They believed that the balance of victory was tilted a little more in their favor.
"The question is what the government has been doing since it has not come forward. If they take action, will they compromise with us, use force to suppress it, or have other more clever methods." Verak pointed out the issue they should think about most at the moment.
.
"Yes, we have to be prepared to deal with it." Ruffalo, the gang boss, agreed.
Keating expressed his opinion: "We have distributed so many books on equality that we are overflowing with them. I think the government must have seen these books and guessed that we would intervene in this protest march."
"The Equality Society is now very famous. If they knew you were there, they would definitely think that you were the one driving and instructing these things." Boss Xin made a prediction based on his own experience, "Then they might have started secretly investigating the whereabouts of the Equality Society a long time ago. As long as they
If the Equality Association can be wiped out in one fell swoop, the government will achieve a crucial victory in this struggle."
"That's right." Keating nodded, "Xin and I have the same idea. I think the most dangerous thing right now is our Equality Society."
"Then...are you going to hide and avoid the limelight?" Lao Jin from the Flash Gold Gang asked.
When he asked, the atmosphere in the tavern became a little strange. Many gang leaders looked at the members of the Equality Association with complicated eyes.
When the Equality Association first joined forces with them, they said that the Equality Association would not ask for anything and would be at the forefront, leading them to repeal the new conscription law. They were also willing to come forward because of an organization like the Equality Association that could confront the Bresci government head-on.
Take risks and do things together.
If the Equality Association retreats because the Tun Man government will directly target the Equality Association in the future, it will be equivalent to the previous guarantees made by the Equality Association being ignored.
Without the Equality Association, how can they still fight the government?
Is it possible that when the government sent out heavily armed guards to suppress them, did they really come?
impossible.
After Lao Jin asked this question, Boyne, Keating, and Verak immediately realized how much of a gap in trust this poor answer would create in their cooperation.
"President!" Just when the three of them were about to deny it in unison, a member of the Equality Association ran into the tavern and looked at Boyin panting.
But he looked panicked, which caused a commotion among the gang leaders present.
"Whatever it is, just tell me directly." Boyin is not afraid of any challenge, and he will not hide it in front of his collaborators, asking them to tell the news immediately.
"The Dunman government has taken action." The man gasped, "While they sent people to control major newspapers, they also strengthened the protection of factories and mansions. The guards also fired warning shots and arrested more than ten of us!"
"They arrested someone?!" A gang leader couldn't sit still.
Verak glanced at the fussy leader: "This is normal. We have made such a big fuss. If they don't even arrest a few people, we can just sit back and wait to win."
"But our people shouldn't be captured by him like this, and they are probably really going to take action now. If we attack and destroy factories and mansions again, I'm afraid there will be a lot of casualties." Monroe said.
.
Boss Xin was not afraid at all: "If we are really scared if we fire a gun, why are we talking about making the government afraid of us and repealing the new conscription law?"
"Then what should we do? Fight them with swords, guns and sticks?"
"Of course we have to fight! Or will we just disperse like this? Has the slogan these days become a joke?"
"If we fight such a heavy casualty, which one of you can withstand it? How many people are really not afraid of death? People are selfish, and few are willing to risk their lives to enjoy it after fighting for their rights under a hail of bullets."
As they talked, a group of people focused their attention on the people of the Equality Association again.
Having said so much, the final question comes back to the Equality Association who advocated marching and protesting and declared that they would rush to the front.
Boyne, Keating, Verak and others knew very well that all the gang leaders had said to each other was actually waiting for them to speak.
"I think the government's arrests not only serve as a deterrent, but also include the reason for tracing our whereabouts." Boyin followed everyone's wishes and began to speak, "In this case, the government is targeting us, should we avoid the limelight, and
The warning shot fired by the government and whether we should continue to fight merged into one thing, which is how equality will respond."
The Equality Association has withdrawn, declaring this demonstration a failure. Because without their leadership and connection, the people would be scattered.
Equality will not retreat, everything will continue, and the game with the government has just begun.
Boyin looked at the members of the Equality Society sitting with him one by one. He saw exactly what he thought in the eyes of Verak, Keating, Sara, Yves and others: "Please don't worry.
, Equality will not retreat, we will not put you in front to block the gun. Not only that, we will also take the initiative to attack them and catch them off guard!"