I will be crowned king

In the northern part of Beluga Harbor, a tavern near the bank construction site.

As soon as it got dark, a group of workers wearing old coats and carrying shovels and wooden hammers appeared in groups on the street shrouded in morning fog.

In order to ensure that the bank can be completed as soon as possible, all parties in Beluga Port are sparing no expense, fully mobilizing all human, material and financial resources that can be mobilized, and must start construction despite the severe cold weather that has arrived.

Not only because of the wealth that the "New World Bank" can bring - in fact the bank has officially opened - it is also a symbol, an iconic symbol.

The first bank of the New World... This title and the magnificent architecture that comes with it will become an inexhaustible asset to the colony for hundreds of years to come - just like the capital is to the country and the cathedral is to the Holy See.

Under this almost paranoid persistence, despite the harsh construction conditions, tight construction deadlines, and various demanding requirements, which were simply based on the standards of military repairs and trench digging, the workers who were originally just ordinary fishermen, masons, and carpenters, The working hours are as long as those of an assembly line...but the generous salary and benefits still attract a steady stream of applicants.

There are no job opportunities at all in Beluga Port in the winter. Not to mention the penniless new immigrants and middle- and lower-class locals, even the colonists with a little savings will be greedy - the wages paid every week are almost It is equal to their original income of half a month.

But this was not because the new (and first) New World Bank president, Reinhard Roland, was a good man or a philanthropist. It was all just the result of careful calculation.

If the bank wants to start construction in winter, the construction conditions are destined to require large sums of money to recruit workers who are willing to work; compared with the small amount of wages, materials and various facilities are the real big deal, and they belong to the nine-headed cow. root hairs.

For ordinary construction workers in Beluga Port, wages are usually settled on a daily basis; the reason why he wants to change it to a weekly settlement is not only to prevent applicants from being frightened by the harsh environment and leaving after just one day of work; but also to avoid paying monthly or quarterly wages. The settlement time is too long and there are very few applicants.

Seven days a week, neither long nor short, as long as you grit your teeth, most people can persevere.

And after conducting on-site surveys and questioning several local foremen and storm division officers, Reinhard also concluded an important conclusion: Given the winter climate of Beluga Port, if workers are required to work outdoors at least every day with high intensity If you work for more than six hours without interruption, the average immigrant can last for eight to twelve days at most.

Beyond this time, even if you have adequate nutrition and keep warm, your physical fitness will decline rapidly, which will inevitably slow down the progress of the construction period.

Therefore, settling wages on a weekly basis allows those workers who are not physically fit to quit, replace them with new workers, and wait until next week's payday to replace them with another batch... Over and over again, the cycle continues, the workers get satisfactory compensation, and Reinhard gets In terms of project efficiency, Hai also avoided various conflicts that would arise due to long working hours and difficulty, achieving a win-win situation.

As for whether workers who have worked tirelessly for a week on the construction site can find other jobs after returning home, and whether their bodies will have any sequelae from continuous high-intensity exertion, that has nothing to do with Reinhard.

So a group of workers came and went, and by the way they took over the tavern and hotel business near the construction site. The tired work made them rather face the sullen eyes of their wives than squander the hard-earned money during their breaks. For wages, use alcohol to anesthetize yourself.

The worker wearing a peaked cap pushed open the door and walked into the tavern. Familiar sat down at a table near the bar; there were a few playing cards scattered on the table, as if left by the guests last night.

The peaked hat waiting for the bartender started counting in boredom. He found a jack of diamonds, an 8 of clubs and an ace of clubs, an 8 of spades and an ace of spades.

The peaked cap glanced around a few more times. No other playing cards could be seen on or around the table. However, he found two silver coins in the cracks of the table - just enough to buy a bottle of whiskey.

There were not many people in the tavern at this time. Guests in twos and threes occupied almost all the tables, but there were only one or two people there, and no one noticed his movements.

Looking at the card that brought him good luck, the corners of his cap turned up involuntarily, so that he didn't even notice the footsteps of the bartender approaching.

"any drinks?"

"Oh! Come on, have a bottle of whiskey first!"

The frightened peaked hat subconsciously said, slapping the two silver coins on the table: "By the way, get some kielbasa, so you don't have to ask for a tip."

"you sure?"

The bartender was stunned for a moment and frowned: "A whole bottle of whiskey...it's early in the morning."

"I have a few more friends, they will be here in a moment." The peaked hat raised his head and said meaningfully to the bartender: "We have made an appointment, and I will treat you today."

This is the secret code for the Faithless Knights to communicate with external "informants", which means that we are ready, and there is more than one person, ready to trade at any time.

But the bartender didn't seem to hear him. After taking the silver coins, he turned around and left without looking back, leaving the peaked cap frozen in place, wondering what happened.

At present, several companions have gathered outside the door, all waiting for him to bring the information back so that he can teach those damn traitors a profound lesson; the White Whale Port is now full of patrolling soldiers, who will take action without understanding the situation. To do so is tantamount to asking for death.

Playing with the deck of cards in his hand impatiently, the peaked hat restrained his impulse and chose to remain patient and avoid accidents.

Maybe he was also observing me to confirm that I was really here for trading and not a fishing hook for traitors... He thought silently in his heart, while quietly taking out the cigarette case from his jacket pocket.

A few minutes later, the bartender came back with a bottle of whiskey and several glasses, popped the cork off the bottle and poured a full glass.

Looking at the attractive color of the liquid and the diffuse fragrance in the cup, the peaked hat twitched his throat and handed over the cigarette case enthusiastically:

"Would you like one?"

The bartender who was pouring the wine immediately stopped what he was doing, squinted his eyes and looked at the enthusiastic peaked cap for a few seconds, and smiled slightly:

"OK."

He took the cigarette and sat down across from him. The happy man moved closer and poured a glass of wine for the bartender.

Just when he was hesitating about how to hint at the information he wanted, the bartender suddenly said: "By the way, since none of your friends are here yet, are you interested in playing cards for a while?"

What does this mean, he wants to tell me information using playing cards? But I don’t know the code in this regard... The peaked cap’s eyes flickered quickly, and he shrugged without changing his expression:

"why not?"

The bartender smiled slightly, took out a deck of cards from his arms, and stopped the cap's movement: "No, just hold the deck of cards. I happen to be missing a few cards in the deck, so I'm just playing around." Your friends later - by the way, how many of them are here?"

"Four."

Silently putting away the pair of good luck cards, the peaked hat said casually, looking around uneasily.

The bartender, who was chewing a cigarette, nodded and divided the cards and himself into five equal parts.

Looking at the bartender who was still calmly dividing the cards, he picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp. He was almost out of patience.

Just when he was about to show off his cards directly, the bartender suddenly said: "Can you talk about your plan this time?"

Um?

The peaked cap was stunned for a moment, and his irritable expression quickly became alert, and at the same time he withdrew his gaze: "Why are you asking these, I...I don't remember the need to tell you..."

"Before I came, I went to check the records and files of the Promise Keepers in charge of entering the city. You came in early November, but you stayed at a farm outside the city for a long time; why, that is your secret base. ?”

H-how did he know this? !

The peaked cap's pupils shrank suddenly.

"Don't worry, it's just a casual chat." The bartender comforted:

"Oh, by the way, the grenadiers in the Sky City raided the farm last night, so whatever you are hiding there is no longer a secret."

"boom!"

The peaked cap suddenly stood up with a startled expression, and the overturned chair behind him made a loud noise in the quiet tavern.

"you……"

"I advise you not to move, Your Excellency."

The bartender...or rather the commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, Norton Crosell said coldly: "Otherwise, we wouldn't mind taking your body fragments back to report."

While speaking, he silently took out the revolver hidden under the table.

Click——

There was a uniform sound of guns being drawn in the tavern. All the guests stood up at the same time, and dozens of long guns and short cannons were aimed at the cap.

be cheated!

The motionless peaked cap was frozen in place, and cold sweat fell down his cheeks like a waterfall.

What should we do... We must escape quickly... No, so many people can no longer escape. We must quickly tell our companions the exposed information. They should be... not good now! I, I just... seemed to have told him that there were four more outside...

"boom--!!!!"

The deafening explosion instantly interrupted his thoughts. The golden-red fire shot straight into the sky, and the entire tavern seemed to be shaking slightly.

When the fire light dissipated, it was replaced by piercing screams and a girl's immature call full of innocence.

A few minutes later, four charred and bullet-riddled bodies were thrown at the door of the tavern. Chief Sheriff Lisa Bach, who was carrying a shotgun, proudly thrust it into her waist and enjoyed the cheers of everyone in the tavern.

The peaked cap was shocked.

Norton calmly walked forward and patted his stiff shoulder: "A small warning, never try to escape from prison, or it is best to kill yourself before being discovered - never, never Don’t increase the workload for those of us who are responsible for finishing, okay?”

The peaked cap with straight eyes nodded blankly and froze in place for a long time.

……………………

Clovis City, Franz Residence.

At four o'clock in the morning, Sophia, wearing a simple coat and hurriedly put on makeup, walked into the living room with a cold face, and said angrily to the sudden visitor:

"Dear Lord Erich, I should have reminded you not to come to Franz's residence unless absolutely necessary... You should remember it, right?"

She didn't sleep well, didn't put on makeup or put on suitable clothes, and her important partner would be discovered by her father at any time... Sophia's mood at this time was almost extremely bad: "I hope you can give me a good reason, otherwise it will be so serious." Mistakes should never be let off lightly with just a 'I'm sorry'!"

"I'm extremely sorry, Sofia... Your Excellency the Governor!" Erich, who was sitting on the sofa, shrank his neck, not daring to look at Franz's eldest daughter with messy hair and disheveled clothes:

"I, I was originally planning to inform you later, but the matter was urgent and there was really no extra time, so I had to take this step."

"Say!" Sofia suppressed her anger and sat directly opposite him, leaning her head on the back of the sofa, closing her eyes and concentrating.

"Yes, yes!" Eric nodded quickly and said:

"The thing is, I originally planned to go to the factory today to check out the situation, but I met an old friend at Central West Station on the way. He told me that tomorrow...ah, today! After this afternoon, the factory on Whitehall Street The police and Inquisitors of the Order of Truth are to conduct a large-scale search of the station."

"It is said that they received a tip that a certain organization was planning a large-scale smuggling operation to secretly transport contraband from Clovis to the border and sell it to a certain marshal of the empire... and the contraband they wanted to smuggle was arms!"

"What?!"

Sophia's eyes widened: "Just this afternoon?!"

"To be more precise, it will be twelve hours later." Erich nodded quickly:

"In order to prevent the other party's plan from succeeding, not only will there be a surprise inspection today, but the police on Whitehall Street will be stationed at Central West Station every day. All trains must be randomly inspected for two hours and can only leave the station after obtaining a safety certificate!"

Two hours later, she still had to get the safety certificate... Sophia's expression turned extremely ugly.

Although many of the top brass of the Whitehall Police are members of the Franz family, even with their father's acquiescence, they would not be so tolerant as to allow them to smuggle arms at such a time... let alone evacuate an entire arms factory. .

In other words, I must load it onto the truck from the General Factory and send it to Beigang before four o'clock this afternoon, otherwise I will never have a chance!

"Your Excellency Erich, the information you provided is very timely!"

After thinking about all this, Sophia immediately restrained her anger and said in the most sincere manner: "Please forgive me for my rudeness. I will definitely compensate you for this later; but now there is something I must clarify..."

"Everything is ready!" Erich intercepted directly:

"The parts, finished products, machinery and equipment, drawings, etc. in the factory were all packed a few days ago. I have mobilized transportation workers to rush over there. Some mechanics and workers are also rushing towards the station. I am ready to let them Take the first step.”

"Well done!" Sophia's eyes lit up:

"Then let's set off, immediately!"