Nanre City, which used to have pleasant scenery and was often visited by tourists to escape the summer heat, is now as deserted as a dead city. Every house in the city has closed its doors, and government troops have gathered in large numbers outside the city.
"The government forces are investing more and more troops, and it is clear that they are sure to defeat us."
In the city hall that was taken over by the International Equality Alliance, Morris and other officers from the Fourth Division of the Equality Army discussed how to deal with the current situation.
"Chairman Boyne wants to support General Joseph's decision. If General Joseph still insists on counterattacking Protse to support us, then we will have to hold on here for at least five more days."
"Five days...it's almost impossible..."
"What do you mean almost? That is simply impossible. The government troops are six or seven times more powerful than us, and their firepower is much stronger than ours. If they were not afraid of harming the civilians in the city, they would have destroyed us just by bombarding us.
We were all reduced to ashes."
"That's right, and we can't always rely on civilians to provide cover. If we continue like this, we will either lose the support of the people, or drag innocent people to die with us."
Morais listened patiently to the discussion of his subordinates until their voices gradually disappeared, and then he spoke: "You are right, the reason why the government troops surrounded us and did not launch an attack even though they had the upper hand, is that
They want to use us as bait to attract more comrades to take the initiative and fall into their trap. Secondly, they are worried about the people in the city."
"But this situation probably won't last long. For them, Nanre City is the key to further dismantling our defense line. Even if they want to encircle us, Wellland will not allow them to delay for too long," the chief of staff said.
.
"Yes, plus Chairman Boyn's unconditional support for General Joseph, General Joseph is inclined to capture Pro City and fight with us... The situation we will face next is basically foreseeable, so what needs to be discussed is
How to keep Nange." Morais established the theme of their meeting.
How should we defend ourselves in the face of firepower and government forces that are generally stronger than our own?
"How is the construction of the fortifications going?" Morais looked at the leader of the second regiment who was responsible for building the fortifications.
"More than half of it has been completed. It will be completed in two days." The leader said.
"We must ensure that once the government forces launch an artillery attack, the people will have a safe place to hide. In addition, we must first solve the problem of food and drink for the people and protect their personal property. I hope that even if we lose this war
It won’t affect the people too much.” Morais values the reputation of the International Equality Alliance more than anything else.
Because once trust is broken, it's not that easy to rebuild it again.
He must work hard to realize that war is just an experience for the people, not a painful experience.
The pain of war should not be associated with them.
"Dongdongdong!"
"Please come in." Morais and his subordinates looked at the person coming.
The messenger gave Morais a military salute and said: "A telegram from General Joseph."
"Just tell me."
"Yes." The messenger read while holding the telegram, "General Joseph will organize troops to launch an attack on Proo City. After capturing Proo City, he will lift our siege. Then our two armies will cover and fight to resist the government army's southern offensive."
"Didn't he say how long it would take to capture the city of Polo?" Morais asked.
The messenger swallowed: "No, but General Joseph said that we must hold on... for seven days."
"Seven days?!" The officers looked at each other.
Five days is a great test, let alone seven days.
The government forces will definitely not be able to wait that long. If they fail to capture Nanre City in three or four days, they will launch a full-scale attack and wipe out the Ping An Army at all costs.
"We have to talk to General Joseph. Seven days will definitely not work..."
"We need to talk about it. I can still be 60% to 70% confident in five days, but in seven days..."
For a time, the morale of the army was shaken, and the officers expressed their hope that General Joseph's support could be earlier.
Morais slowly raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then calmly faced the messenger: "Call back to General Joseph. We will hold on for seven days."
"Yes." The messenger quickly left.
"Seven--" an officer couldn't help but remind Morais.
"Do you think that if General Morais can come earlier, he still has to set a time of seven days?" Morais glanced at the subordinates present, "I understand his character. Since he said seven days, then this must be the earliest
It’s time.”
Many people's hearts sank.
There is support, but they can't wait until that time.
"Haha." Morais chuckled a few times and seemed not to be affected by the current atmosphere of the enemy at all. "You can't just look at this side of things. General Joseph also has another characteristic, that is, if he dares to say it, he will definitely do it.
We can do it. Don't let me down. Cheer up and we'll hold on for seven days. After seven days, there will still be many battles waiting for us to fight."
——
July 19, early morning
Bash Empire, capital Winterfort, Bressey immigrant gathering area ‘Peace Street’
The name Heping Street has been around for a long time, and no one even knows who came up with such a name. The only thing the immigrants from Brescia who now live here can think of is that the person who named it must have been very fond of the new people who moved here.
Life is full of beautiful expectations.
Unfortunately, this name, which was born out of expectation, has become the biggest irony for the Bressy immigrants.
With the word peace on their heads, their motherland, together with the Kingdom of Welland, framed Bash and launched an invasion.
As a result, the street sign of "Peace Street" was sprinkled with foul-smelling black water by the angry Bashi people, and the entire street was in turmoil.
At the intersection of Heping Street, in a breakfast shop less than ten meters away from the "Heping Street" sign that everyone now keeps a respectful distance from, Stuart was sleepily washing two piles of dinner plates that were almost as tall as any person.
"Hurry up and wash it! The guests are here soon, and we don't even need to use the plates!" The owner of the breakfast shop was sitting in a rocking chair, holding a low-quality cigar and urging Stuart fiercely.
"Got it!" Stuart endured his dissatisfaction and sped up.
In fact, these dinner plates should have been washed last night, but he was too tired last night and thought he would sleep for two hours first and wash them when he woke up.
Unexpectedly, I slept until almost dawn when my boss found me and grabbed me.
"You know what the heck! If you can't wash these dishes before the first customer comes, you won't be able to eat at noon!" The boss seemed very experienced in dealing with these newcomers, and he never gave Stuart a good look.
He only eats once a day and sleeps directly on the kitchen floor, which maximizes his value.
"Huh...huh..." Stuart was from a very good background. Not to mention he didn't have a bed to sleep on, and he didn't have enough to eat. In the past, if the food didn't suit his appetite at all, he would just ask the servants to throw it away.
"You have to remember! It was me who gave you a place to live! It was me who gave you food! It was me who gave you this life! If I hadn't taken you in, you would have either starved to death on the streets or been patrolled.
The team was arrested and executed as a traitor!" The boss scolded Stuart.
"Huh...huh..." Stuart kept taking deep breaths to control his emotions and avoid punching his boss.
"hurry up!"
"Bang!"
Stuart threw the plate into the sink, stood up and faced the boss.
Stuart was tall and stood less than four or five meters away from the boss, causing him a lot of pressure.
"You, what do you want to do?!" The boss reached out to a wooden stick next to the rocking chair.
"I don't want to do anything, so you don't need to be so nervous." Stuart glanced at the boss's hand holding the stick, "I want to talk about cooperation with you."
"cooperate?"
"I used to do some business in Brexi. If you trust me, I can help you take care of your money, make your money make money, and become the richest man in Heping Street within a few months." Stu
Art wanted to use his talents and do some easy work. Otherwise, he would get up early and stay up late every day washing dishes. He would not be able to master any useful information after being here for a year.
"Just you? Let me become the richest person here in a few months?" The boss sneered, "Have you forgotten how you escaped here?"
When Stuart came here, his background was that his business failed, he owed a lot of money, and he had no way out and fled here.
Now if I say that I want to help the boss make money, how can the boss believe it?
"Go back and wash all the dishes quickly!" The boss glared at Stuart.
Stuart was about to cry but had no tears.
At first, he thought that since we were all from Brexi, we should stick together to keep each other warm, so he blocked his way out.
Who would have thought that the more native you are, the more hated you will be by the immigrants?
This was probably the first thing he learned here.
"I can really help-"
"Go back! If you don't want to do this, get out! There must be someone else who wants to come here besides you!" The boss didn't give Stuart a chance to fight for it.
Can't cause trouble...can't cause trouble...can't cause trouble...
The overall situation is important... The overall situation is important... The overall situation is important...
"...Okay." Stuart continued to take a deep breath and returned to the sink to wash the dishes.
…
It's dawn.
In order to have lunch, Stuart did something he never thought he could do - wash two piles of dishes.
"Why are you still standing there? Go get ready for breakfast!" The boss came up to check and still didn't praise Stuart, so he rushed him to do other work.
"...Okay." Stuart agreed through gritted teeth.
At this time, two patrol team guards yawned and walked towards the breakfast shop.
When the boss saw the two approaching, he looked flattering and invited them to sit down in the store: "Are you two officers exhausted? Sit down quickly and I will prepare something for you."
"I was tired last night, so you can make breakfast, mainly to order more." One of the guards ignored the no-smoking sign in the breakfast shop and smoked with another guard while waiting for breakfast.
"Okay, please wait a moment." The boss retreated into the back kitchen.
"Why are they again?" Stuart said angrily when he saw the two guards coming in.
These two guards were from the nearby patrol team and were responsible for night patrols. Every time they changed shifts at dawn, they would go around Heping Street and go to their shop to eat and drink for free.
"Shh!" The boss hit Stuart and warned him not to talk nonsense, "Do your breakfast! Don't say anything you shouldn't!"
The boss's idea is very simple.
No matter how good the two guards are, they can't destroy his shop. On the contrary, after getting to know them well, they can take care of him if anything happens.
"Don't expect to get along well with them. They just treat you as their easy prey." Stuart saw through the boss's thoughts.
"You can't fucking understand what I'm saying?! Get out of here if you keep talking too much!" the boss whispered.
"Whether you want to hear it or not." Stuart was too lazy to help the impersonal boss and was preparing for breakfast while the boss went out to get close to the guards.
After getting angry, Stuart gradually came to understand his boss's approach.
How could the boss be a fool after spending so long in the immigrant gathering area? Of course he knew that these guards would not take him seriously, and they just wanted to take advantage of him.
But what can you do if you know?
Begging for money from these guards? That means you don’t want to live! They can find any excuse to accuse you of being a member of the International Equality Alliance. By then, your life will be dead, and the store will be ransacked!
The boss has no other choice but to get close to them and curry favor with them.
They have no background and are the real ants in this city.
The money for the meal was definitely not available, so all the boss could do was talk to the guard over the meal, and work hard for the possibility of furthering the relationship.
If it doesn't work, it's just a waste of time.
Now that it's done, with the guards as backers, if something happens in the future, there will be some way to solve it.
"Alas..." Stuart sighed.
The boss didn't treat them as human beings, and the guards didn't treat the boss as human beings. He hated the boss's attitude towards him, and he also hated the guards' attitude towards the boss.
None of these should exist.
He must find a way to change the boss's perception, and also start a revolution in Bash to prevent the guards from bullying others from happening again.
Vaguely, Stuart found that he had a clear understanding of the underlying affairs, and the purpose of his trip seemed to be achieved bit by bit.
More than an hour ago, he felt that staying in the breakfast shop was the worst decision in his life. If he could do it over again, he would definitely ask the comrades at the sub-station to arrange him to a more comfortable place.
Now, more than an hour later, he no longer has this thought.
Isn't it tiring and painful that Comrade Verak expects them to overcome and grow from?
While making breakfast, Stuart thought about something and felt better.
"Ah hiss!"
"Crack!"
Suddenly, there were screams and the sound of breaking glasses from outside. Stuart was so shocked that he almost let go and threw the knife in his hand.
Immediately afterwards, the guards yelled and cursed.
"You old thing! Do you want to die?"
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean it..." The boss was begging for mercy.
"Damn! What bad luck!"
"Peng!"
"Ouch!"
Stuart put down his things and hurriedly came out of the back kitchen. He saw one guard covering his burned hand, and another guard was so angry that he put his pistol against the boss's forehead.