Chapter 711: No fighting on the front line today

  Chapter 711: No fighting on the front today

  . The eastern suburbs of the Thousand Pillars City.

  The winding trenches were carved into the battlefield like twisted centipedes, cutting the land in half.

  Soldiers wearing steel helmets stood nervously in the trenches, holding their rifles tightly in both hands, leaning forward, staring at the wilderness in front of them with their eyes narrowed.

  Although it was a rare sunny day in the rainy season, an invisible black cloud was pressing on everyone’s head, and both the soldiers in the trenches and the fish in the Ever Flowing River were suffocated.

  Inside the front-line observation post.

  General Alayyang stared at the earth slope in the distance with a frown.

  There were deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his black eye bags were slightly swollen, his pupils were turbid like the water of the Ever Flowing River, and there were a few strands of silver at his temples. His haggard face seemed to have aged a dozen years overnight, completely different from the high-spirited look a week ago.

  Gopal standing next to him was the same, with a sleepless look on his face. He was always the most opinionated, but now he seemed to be silent.

  An entire army of 10,000 people was captured as a whole…

  This has never happened since the birth of the dynasty in the province of Bharata!

  This is not only a shame for their officers, but also a shame for the entire Gray Wolf Army – and even for all the wolf tribe! What is

  even more distressing is that the more than 10,000 captured wolf tribe warriors.

  They were captured by the most vicious thugs in Jingalon Port, a group of slaves who were tortured to the point of being twisted both physically and mentally.

  God knows what kind of humiliation the pride of the wolf tribe will suffer when they fall into their hands.

  However, even though they were worried about the fate of those young men, they were temporarily unable to care about those poor guys. At

  the same time when the news of the defeat on the front line reached the capital, His Majesty, who was far away in Tiandu, quickly sent a telegram, asking them to retreat 100 kilometers to the Thousand Pillar City area to defend and stop all offensive actions against the alliance.

  The City of Thousand Pillars is the holy city of the Xilan Empire, and it is also a holy place in the hearts of all the survivors in the Borneo Province. The iron chains wrapped around the totem poles symbolize the blessing of this land. Every year, a large number of believers go here to worship and pray for inner peace and tranquility.

  Once the alliance takes this place, not only will the royal family of the Xilan Empire lose its dignity, but the stability of the entire province will be seriously affected.

  The mobs who burn, kill and loot in the name of doomsday will sweep across the entire Borneo Province.

  In any case, this settlement must not fall into the hands of the alliance!

  General Alayyang is ready to fight to the death.

  At this time, his adjutant trotted in from the trench behind, panting and saluting.

  ”Report! The buildings in the battle area have been cleared. There is no bunker or field on the entire front! I assure you that apart from our people, not even a mouse can be seen, let alone survivors!”

  Alayyan nodded, and did not ask where the troublesome survivors were sent. He just continued to raise the telescope in his hand and stared at the east. There

  was silence there. Except for a few abandoned houses, there was no trace of human habitation.

  Gopal, the staff officer standing next to him, finally spoke.

  ”The alliance abided by the ceasefire agreement… It seems that they don’t want to make things too big after all.”

  His voice was full of relief.

  However, almost as soon as he finished speaking, a faint dust shadow appeared in the wilderness in the distance.

  The moment they saw the dust shadow, all the officers in the observation post were stunned. Alayyan, who came to his senses first, shouted loudly.

  ”Prepare for battle!”

  At the same time as the roar fell, a piercing alarm sounded in the trenches that were more than ten kilometers wide.

  The machine gunner squatting on the machine gun bunker hurriedly loaded the ammunition belt into the gun, and the gunner hurriedly turned the capstan, making a clanging sound that almost made the capstan spark.

  Soldiers carrying rifles filed out of the explosion-proof bunker, their chests pressed against the edge of the trench, and their panicked eyes looked out with the rifles in their hands. The

  bright bayonets flashed blindingly in the scorching sun.

  Everyone was nervously staring at the dust shadow that was getting closer and closer, waiting for the order to fire, and silently praying in their hearts that the order would never come.

  Most people here have experienced the great escape by the Yongliu River, where tens of thousands of people were chased by two hundred people, and some even jumped into the river.

  The memory of fear is deeply engraved in the hearts of every wolf soldier.

  No one wants to experience the fear of that day again…

  Alayyan’s face was as dark as water, and he didn’t say a word, as if he was thinking about something. Gopal, who was standing aside, was sweating profusely, and his hands holding the telescope were shaking.

  This is the front line –

  he swallowed his saliva and said nervously.

  ”General, if the Alliance brazenly tears up the ceasefire agreement, this is the front line, we should at least move back a little -”

  In fact, they have already torn it up.

  Before the formal ceasefire agreement is signed, the Alliance soldiers must not step out of Golden Gallon Port. Now the only thing to be confirmed is whether the man is from the Alliance or a group of pseudo-soldiers composed of rebels and thugs.

  ”Wait a little longer.”

  Alayyan interrupted him, staring at the front.

  The dust shadow finally got closer.

  A desert-colored armored off-road vehicle caught the eyes of a group of officers and stopped about one kilometer away from the trench.

  Some soldiers who were in the front and sharp-eyed could even see it with their naked eyes, and sweat oozed from the palms of their hands holding their rifles.

  Just as everyone was waiting with bated breath, the car door was pushed open and a soldier wearing an exoskeleton jumped out of the car.

  He carried a flagpole on his shoulder. When unfolded, it was three people tall. On the blue flag was a golden stripe with distinct roots. In the upper left corner was the Alliance emblem.

  The officers were stunned. They didn’t know what he was going to do. The soldiers in the trench felt depressed and desperate.

  There was no doubt that

  the exoskeleton was the Alliance!

  They didn’t even change into civilian clothes…

  The wind blowing from the Yongliu River blew the flag. [Zero Chong] untied the mask and eyepiece of his helmet to get some air, but he almost died from the smoke.

  He smiled awkwardly at the silent and serious trench in the distance, closed his mask again, and then heavily inserted the three-person-high flagpole into the soil under his feet.

  Driven by the exoskeleton, the flagpole pierced into the soil as deep as a person’s, not only beside the Yongliu River, but also in the hearts of the wolf soldiers.

  The soldiers and officers in the trenches in the distance watched helplessly, but no one fired a shot, silently swallowing the humiliation.

  An imperial soldier gritted his teeth and tried to aim, but the centurion next to him reached out and grabbed the barrel of the gun, shaking his head to stop him.

  Gopal at the observation post swallowed his saliva again, smiled to hide his embarrassment, and said calmly.

  ”They are quite restrained…”

  Alayyan did not speak, and neither did the adjutant behind him. He laughed dryly again, feeling bored, and turned his attention back to the telescope in his hand.

  The soldier who had planted the flag returned to the car, and then a chain seemed to be thrown behind the car, with something like a plow tied to it. The

  off-road vehicle started again, turned on the spot, and sped away in a direction parallel to the trench, with its back to the Yongliu River.

  The huge tires threw up a cloud of dust, and the taut chains made a clanging sound, plowing a deep and shallow gully on the ground.

  At this moment, the officers standing at the observation post finally understood what they meant, and anger appeared on every face.

  The flagpole was inserted at the location of the ceasefire line!

  Facing the 300,000-strong army of the empire, they only sent a flagpole!

  This is a naked provocation!

  It is a provocation to the Grey Wolf Army and the entire empire!

  ”These bastards!” The adjutant standing behind Alayan cursed, wishing he could rush up and shoot the rear of the car, then looked at General Alayan and said sincerely, “General! Give the order! They tore up the agreement first!” Alayan did not speak

  , but the staff officer Gopal standing beside him was shocked when he heard it, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

  ”The ceasefire agreement has not been signed yet. Ordering those bandits to stay in the settlement is just a unilateral request from His Majesty… They are indeed not obliged to abide by the agreement that has not yet been signed. It is inaccurate to say that they have breached the agreement.”

  ”Are we just going to watch these guys go back under our noses?!” The adjutant clenched his fists angrily, “How can we explain to His Majesty if we don’t tell him what the soldiers think?!”

  ”This is exactly what His Majesty meant…” Gopal coughed lightly and said hurriedly in a low voice, “Remember the previous ceasefire edict? The important content is written in the title, and the content is actually secondary…”

  Alayyan nodded silently, still without speaking, but silently put down the telescope, passed by the stunned adjutant, and left the front-line observation post.

  Gopal was right.

  A loyal minister should be most sympathetic to His Majesty’s painstaking efforts, and ability is not the most important quality.

  If he really ordered to open fire, even if 300,000 troops came out in full force to crush the Golden Gallon Port into pieces, even if he won a proud victory in the end, he would not have any good ending. At most, the weeds on his grave would grow

  several feet high in three to five years. If he listened carefully to every word of His Majesty, even if he fought the most stupid battle, at most he would be scolded and endure the saliva of the people of Tiandu. In the end, he would most likely be raised high and then gently put down, and would not really be punished.

  Sharing some of the infamy for the royal family, isn’t it what a minister should do?

  Looking at the lonely figure who turned around and walked back to the trench, Gopal’s face was a little uncomfortable, although he was relieved in his heart. With

  a light sigh, he reached out and patted the shoulder of the adjutant with wide eyes, and also passed by the latter and caught up with the general who was returning to the front-line command post.

  Today, the Yongliu River is calm and there is no war on the eastern front.

  Later, an imperial edict was issued, saying that the suburbs of Qianzhu City were breezy, and occasionally the Alliance armored personnel brazenly broke in, trying to cross the ceasefire line to launch a sneak attack, but seeing that General Alayan’s defense line was impregnable, there was no chance for them to take advantage of it, so they threw down their military flags and fled.

  The propaganda poster showed the photo of the fleeing.

  The rolling dust raised by the wheels looked really hasty, and it could be regarded as a vindication for the disgraced General Alayan, and restored some of his reputation.

  Late at night, the fleeing off-road vehicle finally fled back to Jingalon Port along the coastline.

  Looking at the dim lights in the distance, [Two Liang Moonlight], who was sitting in the driver’s seat, yawned for a long time, moved his slightly sore arms and muttered.

  ”MMP! Why do we always have to do this kind of stupid missions with little money?”

  [Shanhe Rumeng], who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, did not say anything, but subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror, hoping that a certain “real newborn” would reflect on himself.

  However, perhaps because [Bian Chusheng] was sitting next to him, Lingchong obviously did not realize that the “real newborn” was himself.

  Obviously misunderstanding the captain’s eyes, he straightened up from the seat and said with a beaming face.

  ”I’ve been running around all day, and I’m going to find someone to press when I get back?”

  Shanhe coughed.

  ”Don’t go into the fellow villager’s house again.”

  Lingchong smiled and squeezed his eyebrows.

  ”Who is bored enough to go into the fellow villager’s house? I mean there is a laundry in the north of the city.”

  [Bian Chusheng], who had just woken up, was stunned for a moment, and happened to hear the second half of the sentence, and blurted out subconsciously.

  ”Fuck, who did it?”

  Lingchong smiled.

  ”Who cares who he is, it’s probably a professional life player… Don’t worry, Blue Rat won’t cheat Blue Rat, it must be a formal one! The locals run it informally!”

  Since the last time I posted the battle report on the forum, many players have come to Golden Gallon Port to join in the fun, mainly those who are active in the Silver Moon Bay area. They not only brought money and goods, but also brought some industries there.

  At present, Golden Gallon Port is in ruins, and there are business opportunities everywhere.

  Even if it can let the residents of Dawn City have an extra coat in their wardrobes and put an extra pair of shoes on the shoe cabinet, it would be a huge sum of money to buy a house in reality.

  Therefore, all kinds of professional life players also show their magical powers, whether it is to make money from the locals or to make money from the garrisons, almost all the ways they can think of have been thought of.

  Of course, the industries run by the players are still relatively formal. After all, the circle of closed beta players is too small, and any random trivial things will be taken to the forum to beep, and it is not good to be seen by the dog planner.

  ”Forget it.”

  Version Chusheng yawned with a bored look on his face, changed his posture, and closed his eyes again as if he had kidney deficiency, “I’d better go back and continue to be informal.”

  Moonlight: “???”

  Zero Chong: “???”

  Shanhe: “…”

  MMP!

  How did he draw these top-notch people!

  …

  Although the formal ceasefire agreement has not been signed, due to the restraint of the warring parties, the temporary ceasefire agreement has come into effect in the tacit understanding of both parties.

  Based on the data from drone mapping, the players stationed in Jinjialun Port drew a territory with a total area of ​​about 10,000 square kilometers with the port as the fulcrum.

  Compared with the buffer zone proposed by the Xilan Empire, the announcement drafted by the players is much more straightforward.

  They first announced the establishment of the Z government in the Jinjialun Port area, and then claimed actual control over the area in the name of Jinjialun Port.

  At present, the chief of police in Jinjialun Port is served by Chief Bihari, and the chief of the security bureau in the port area and Tulip Street is replaced by the former duty chief Mandar.

  Except for the former president of the settlement court who was dismissed for refusing to serve the new authorities and replaced by a citizen who once served as a court recorder in the port area court, there is no change in the positions of other administrative departments including customs, taxation, education, transportation, fire protection, etc.

  In addition, Jinjialun Port has specially established a civil defense office.

  The former Avengers First Corps was officially renamed the Militia Corps and was under the command of the Civil Defense Office, but the wartime command power was controlled by the alliance forces stationed in the port.

  The former corps commander Laxi was promoted to the director of the Civil Defense Office, in charge of strategic dispatch and logistics, and no longer directly commanded the front-line combat troops and participated in the front-line battles.

  Although this guy is a talent, his agitation and execution ability far exceed those of other liberated slaves, but being too impulsive is also a problem that cannot be ignored.

  Therefore, after discussing on the forum, a group of players finally decided to move him away from the front line and transfer him to the rear office.

  In this way, he can cultivate his military literacy, which may be useful in the future, and prevent this guy from making small moves, such as shooting randomly on the front line.

  With this, with a series of personnel appointments, the framework of a temporary regional Z government was hastily built.

  Players who are good at making trouble even designed a new currency for this new regional regime – gallons, and the exchange rate with silver coins is temporarily set at 10:1.

  That is, 1 silver coin is equivalent to 10 gallons.

  The reason for doing so is mainly because the Xilan Empire has closed the market to the Golden Gallon Port, and the purchasing power of the Xilan currency in the local area continues to depreciate. Unlike the French Fries Port, this place does not belong to the Alliance’s territory, so it is still inconvenient for players to directly connect it to the Alliance’s market.

  After all, if you really do that, it is equivalent to forcing a settlement of one million people to enter the “Customs Union”, and it is hard to say who will benefit in the end.

  In contrast, it is a good choice to have an intermediate currency.

  In this way, the Golden Gallon Port can formulate a loose or tight monetary policy according to its own economic needs, and the inflation caused by the over-issuance of currency will not impact the Alliance’s market. At the same time, it can also reduce the impact of the depreciation of the Xilan currency on the settlement’s finances.

  As for the original Xilan currency, it can still circulate freely in the settlement, or the survivors can smuggle the materials needed by the port from other parts of the Borneo Province.

  However, some imported goods including food and production tools shipped from the Alliance that are “priced in silver coins” need to be purchased with gallon coins issued by the Golden Gallon Port authorities.

  At the same time, all financial expenditures of Jin Jialong Port on the settlement, whether it is personnel salary expenditure or goods purchase, will gradually be changed from “foreign currency (Xilan currency)” to self-issued gallon currency payment.

  While the tax rate remains unchanged, the regional tax will also be replaced with the new legal currency according to the change of settlement currency.

  As for the right to issue currency, it is of course held by the Jin Jialong Port authorities, and the issuer is the port bank of Jin Jialong Port.

  Except for the position of the city lord, the entire settlement has basically returned to the track of order from defense to public security.

  At present, the settlement temporarily implements the laws of the alliance.

  When the time is right, the “shareholders of Baiyue Company” will consider convening representatives of various industries and classes in the local area to establish a representative meeting similar to the Dawn City, and formulate a “common law” suitable for the actual situation in the local area based on the “fundamental law” of the alliance.

  But to be honest, although the order of Jin Jialong Port has returned to the normal track, the efficiency of this huge machine is still shockingly slow.

  Although the former Governor Nihak was a “bargaining expert”, he was absolutely a complete layman in regional governance.

  This can be seen from the slums that stretch to the side of the Governor’s Mansion. The entire settlement of millions of people does not even have a plan.

  That guy would rather endure the stench that is so close to him than to move money from the treasury to build a drainage ditch in the slum.

  Not only that, except for the organizational structure of the customs and tax departments in the entire Golden Gallon Port, which is slightly commendable, the other departments are like decorations. They don’t even know how many people they have under their command or whether there are any people…

  …

  Port area, former Governor’s Office.

  Looking at the fire chief standing in front of the desk with a timid face, Fang Chang couldn’t help but knocking on the account book on the table with his knuckles and asked.

  ”Where’s the money? I want to know where the money went?”

  The man was startled, afraid that this guy would take out a gun and put it to his head, so he hurriedly said carefully.

  ”Sir… Money, isn’t the money in your hands?”

  He had heard it a long time ago.

  The first thing the Iron Men did after landing was to control the Security Bureau, and then the big bank on Tulip Street.

  The 500 million dinars that His Majesty deposited there all went into the pockets of these people, and the more than 100 billion Xilan coins became war compensation.

  Fang Chang rolled his eyes and continued to control his temper.

  ”I asked you before! It is clearly written in the account book that the Governor’s Office allocates 30 million Xilan coins to you every year for firefighting in Jin Gallon Port. You spend this budget every year. However, when I asked you how many fire stations there are in the entire settlement, how many people are there to put out fires, you don’t know!”

  ”Sir, that money is mainly allocated by Governor Nihak. I really haven’t seen it!” The man was so anxious that he was about to cry, and kept wiping the sweat from his forehead. “As for firefighting… It is mainly the responsibility of the survivors in each district. We don’t have money. We can’t turn out a fire brigade.”

  Of course, he also took a little, but it was far less than that of Governor Nihak. The two are not at the same order of magnitude.

  Fang Chang stared at him. Although he had expected it, he couldn’t help asking.

  ”What do you mean by ‘self-responsible’?!”

  Not daring to meet the man’s eyes, the man looked away with his eyes wandering, and stammered in a low voice.

  ”Each community has its own organization… In the remote suburbs, the elders of a clan often arrange a few young men to prevent disasters. In neighborhoods where multiple clans live together, usually a few strong guys will collect fire money and go wherever there is a fire.”

  Fang Chang looked at him blankly.

  ”…What about Tulip Street?”

  The man said with a bitter face: “The owners of those houses have their own servants, and there are people watching the yard every day, so how could they let a fire start?”

  Good guy!

  The autonomy rate must be maxed out? !

  Fang Chang was shocked.

  Under normal circumstances, the property fees and services of a community should be proportional, but during the period of Governor Nihak, it was completely the opposite.

  There are many tax items in the account book, and the fire expenses are also recorded in detail in the account book. However, the specific responsible units cannot operate because they have no money, so they can only delegate power and responsibility to the grassroots, so that the local survivors need to form their own civil society to maintain the operation of basic public facilities, spending money on the same thing again.

  In a sense, Governor Nihak, who can collect this tax, is a talent, and the survivors of this settlement are also talents. The excellent regional matching mechanism on the wasteland perfectly matches them together.

  If Master Sid were to lead these guys, he would get all the ABCDEF coins, and the managers would fill the drawer of President Melvin with IOUs. I am afraid that Boulder City will not go bankrupt, and may even be able to fight back and forth with the alliance of the same period.

  This is not impossible. The locals who hope for the afterlife are like docile lambs. No wonder the Weyland people regard them as friends.

  Fang Chang did not give these guys a hard blow. He felt that his moral standards had improved a little because of Miss Dolly.

  In the past, he would have made full use of the rules of the game to squeeze them dry. As for what would happen to the people here in the future, it was none of his business.

  Seeing the adult’s eyes flickering, the man was slightly afraid. He swallowed his saliva unconsciously and said carefully.

  ”Actually… the slums rarely burn, so you don’t have to worry too much about those guys.”

  After a pause, he continued tentatively.

  ”I have lived here for so many years and have never seen many big fires, nor have I heard of anyone being burned to death. And they usually don’t use fire to eat, and don’t use hot water much. As for those citizens, they live well without us, and everything is the same as before -”

  ”Then why should I keep you? Anyway, everything is the same as before with or without you.” Fang Chang choked back the guy’s words without any hesitation, and threw the account book on his chest with a sense of disappointment.

  Looking at the man who hurriedly took the account book, he stood up and left his seat, stretched out his hand to grab the guy’s collar, stared at the dodging eyes and said word by word.

  ”Within three days, I want to see a complete list!”

  ”The above needs to have the actual person in charge of the fire protection issues in each street. I need you to implement each street for me, including the area they are actually responsible for, even if the area has been demolished, find them for me! Remember, don’t expect to find a few people to make up the number. We have our own informants at the grassroots level. We are not blind!”

  The man was sweating all over and looked like he was about to cry.

  ”But, sir… I don’t have any manpower, the money is in the hands of Governor Nihak, and our entire department has only ten people.”

  He even counted his youngest son who was not yet an adult, otherwise the entire department would not even be able to get ten people together.

  ”Then go recruit people! Recruit another twenty for me! Remember, these twenty people are not allowed to recruit people from the same clan as you! Not even one!”

  ”Yes, yes–!”

  Looking at the guy who rolled and crawled out of the office, Fang Chang exhaled the turbid air in his chest, picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of tea.

  These guys.

  If the others weren’t worse, and there was really no tall guy to pick from a bunch of short guys, he could only pick the ones who were skilled in the business. He even wanted to lay them all off!

  Picking up the list on the table, Fang Chang took a deep breath and yelled outside the office.

  ”Next! The one in charge of the sewers… Plasde! Do you want to keep the shit in the pit to generate electricity? If you don’t clean it up, I’ll let you go swimming! Come in!”

  The hoarse voice was like a judge urging death. When

  the people who were queuing in the corridor outside the office heard it, they all trembled at the same time, fearing that they would be called.

  But what is coming will come after all.

  ”Yes, yes! Sir! I, I, I will swim!”

  The man whose name was called turned pale. Under the gaze of two militiamen with rifles, he walked out of the team tremblingly and entered the office door as if he was going to the execution ground.

  The hoarse roar soon came again, and the officials standing at the door all shrank their necks and closed their eyes, as if the spit was stabbing themselves.

  Because the problem was almost the same –

  they seemed to have already seen what would happen next.

  The two militiamen standing in the corridor with LD-47s on their shoulders couldn’t help yawning, and their eyes wandered aimlessly over the crowd.

  The commander didn’t say what to do, but just asked them to bring their work tools over. Then they came, but there was no follow-up. All they saw was a group of officials appointed by the former governor shrank their necks and trembled. It’s

  almost time for dinner.

  I heard that we won’t eat beans or soil for dinner today, but something called corn, which is said to be shipped from Silver Moon Bay by a large cargo ship.

  That is an imported product that can’t be bought with Xilan coins, and only the masters can afford it. The two of them were already hungry and their stomachs were growling, and they couldn’t help but mutter in their hearts.

  When will the target shooting start?

  　I am going home, brothers. I am afraid that my schedule will be disrupted again.

  　　
  　

  (End of this chapter)