Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 409 Argument towards

  July 22nd, 2 am

  Verak planned to go to rest, and Quentin and Clark returned to the tavern with Stuart, Connie, and Oscar.

   "How is it?" Verak sat down in the cubicle with the five of them despite his sleepiness.

   "We still need to make some preparations during the day." Quentin and Clark looked at each other and said.

"If you are confident in persuading each other now, you can talk now. If you decide earlier, won't you have one more day to implement the plan?" Verak felt that the two were getting stronger, and he didn't want to see the benign rivalry become lost The original meaning was lost, so I reminded one sentence.

   "Just give me half a day." Clark said.

  Quentin thought about it, and decided to shorten the time: "The result will be determined at noon tomorrow."

   "Okay, it's getting late, let's all rest first." Verak said.

"I want to ask you, how is the situation at Bresci?" Quentin's inquiry made the other people who were about to leave sit down again, and their eyes focused on Verak. "I read the news and said, The government forces surrounded the Fourth Division led by Comrade Morais in Nanre City, and their situation is not optimistic now."

"They..." Verac didn't want to put the pressure on them from Brisey, but they thought about the detailed situation, and they had no right to hide it. "The situation is very bad. The government army surrounded them a few days ago. Nanre City, but considering that a rash attack would harm civilians, they have been besieging and not attacking, before giving Morais and the others a chance to build fortifications and Joseph to mobilize troops."

   "Will those people worry about harming civilians?" Connie sneered.

"They don't care about the life and death of civilians, but if a large number of people die when they attack Nanre City, there will be fewer people willing to support them in Brasili, which is not conducive to their recovery of other areas." Verak explained. , and continued with the words just now, "In the past few days, seven thousand recruits, including my best friend Nord, have rushed to the front line, and it depends on how Joseph will carry out the rescue."

   Quentin asked after hearing this: "Are you sure you want to save?"

"Bressy didn't disclose the specific plan to me, but what is certain is that Joseph will not sit idly by Morais and the others." With Verak's status, he naturally knows more detailed content, but those content When it comes to confidentiality, he doesn't intend to disclose it to a few people at will, "The most difficult thing now is that Morais's ammunition reserves are not sufficient, and it is unknown whether they can wait for support."

   "Are they fighting now?" Oscar asked.

"Well." Verak took a deep breath and nodded, "The government army called on the citizens to evacuate Nanre City the day before yesterday. Morais and the others chose to respect the opinions of the people and not interfere with their going or staying. Citizens who are willing to evacuate can After leaving, the government army launched a tentative raid on Nanre City in the early hours of yesterday. After that, they launched attacks yesterday afternoon and evening, but were successfully repelled by our comrades."

   No one breathed a sigh of relief, and no one could laugh.

  They still remembered what Verac just mentioned that the ammunition reserves of the Fourth Division were not sufficient.

  The government army launched three attacks in one day, clearly to consume the ammunition of the Fourth Division of the Equality Army. When the bullets run out and the artillery shells are gone, what will the tens of thousands of unarmed comrades use to stop the government forces?

"The government army also knew that the fourth division was suddenly besieged, and they didn't have much supplies, so they kept pressing and fighting, trying to exhaust the ammunition of the comrades." Quentin looked at Verak, "If this continues, they It won't last a few days."

   "Everyone is very clear." Verak was also concerned about Morais' safety.

  The breathing of several people became heavy.

   "General Joseph and the others are not too far from Nanre City. If they were going to support them, they would have acted a long time ago. They wouldn't be waiting for the 7,000 recruits." Stuart guessed.

"I don't know much about the military arrangements over there. Apart from worrying, all we can do is believe that they can tide over the difficulties and win the final victory." Verak frowned, showing an ugly smile, "Go and rest, Maybe as soon as we wake up tomorrow, we will be able to see the news that Joseph and the others successfully rescued the Fourth Division."

   "Don't worry too much, we have survived so many difficulties, and this time we will definitely be able to do it." Clark knew that Verak was thinking more than them, so he tried to comfort him.

   "I am more convinced than you." Verac patted Clark, got up and opened the door of the cubicle, "Don't think about so many things before going to bed, you won't sleep well."

   "Come with me." Quentin went out first, leading a group of people to their residence.

  —

  July 22nd, 12:30 noon

  After a morning of investigation and visits, Clark and Quentin came to the cubicle one after another, ready to determine the final direction.

   "Who are the three of you helping?" Verac first asked about the choices of Stuart, Oscar, and Connie.

   "Quentin."

   "Clark."

   "Clark."

  Stuart has been helping Quentin with the investigation from yesterday to now, while Oscar and Connie chose to help Clark.

"why?"

   "I think Quentin is right." Stuart said.

   "We both agree with Clark's idea." Connie said.

   It’s the same as not saying it. Verak actually wants to hear their deepest thoughts, but even if they don’t say it, he basically feels the same.

Quentin has always been unpredictable, and he even saved Clark a few days ago. As a witness of Quentin's actions, Stuart is of course more inclined to support him who is calm and rational, rather than risking his own safety on impulse Clark to the rescue.

  As for Oscar and Connie, their personalities are more similar to Clark's, and they are more emotional. After getting along for a month, they get along better with Clark, and they are more willing to believe in his arrangements.

   "Let's come and express your new opinions." In his mind, he secretly planned the areas that several people would focus on strengthening next, and Verak signaled the start of the finalization meeting of the plan.

   "You go first." Clark raised his chin slightly at Quentin.

"Okay." Quentin readily agreed, "I still stick to my point of view yesterday, which is to select suitable candidates from among the immigrants to support and help the whole to move towards unity. I am also here to formally respond to your concerns. Do you think old immigrants It is difficult to change the former, I admit this, but this problem can be completely avoided, after all, apart from us, Heping Street is not without newcomers who have just come here. In the morning, Stuart and I conducted a detailed investigation, and we have selected two good ones. candidates."

Stuart took out his notebook and read to it: "The first one is a young man named Carney. He came to Bash with his business father when he was a child. Recently, due to the outbreak of war, the company went bankrupt and closed down. His father couldn't bear the sky-high debts and chose to commit suicide by drinking a bullet. He was desperate, so he came to Heping Street to beg for life..."

"He didn't commit suicide like his father. He was originally from a wealthy family, and now he comes to Heping Street to do dirty work and has never complained. It shows that he is a person with strong adaptability and tenacity." Quentin commented on the No. 1 candidate card Ni, "In addition, he is very knowledgeable and broad-minded. I believe that if he is given a chance, he will definitely seize it and lead the people on Heping Street to unity."

"The second Lockwood is a Bresci and Bash mixed race. His mother is Bresci, married to Winterhold earlier, and has been living here with his father who was a sailor. The reason why he would He came to Heping Street because his mother was discriminated against because of the war and was killed by an unknown person not long ago. His father worried that he would be affected, so he told him to hide in Heping Street." Stuart co-operated on the notebook.

   "Heping Street is not stable, is it? Hiding here is probably not as safe as staying in his own home." Clark questioned.

Quentin calmly explained the reasons behind it in more detail: "I also think there is something unreasonable about this matter, so I made a special trip outside today to investigate, and the new discovery has not had time to mention it to Stuart. In fact , the real situation is not the case. Lockwood's father is a selfish alcoholic who never works and often beats their mother and son. Lockwood's mother thought about taking him back to Brisey, but every time his father After being caught, she could only let it go and support this unhappy family with her meager salary. This time when the war broke out, Lockwood’s mother was discriminated against and lost her job because of her Bresci background. Lockwood His father forced his mother to do shady jobs in order to get money to eat, drink and have fun. His mother couldn't bear the humiliation, and finally chose to hang herself—”

   "Bastard!" Connie couldn't help interrupting Quentin, "How can this kind of trash deserve to live in this world!"

   "So...Lockwood finally killed him." Quentin remained calm, "Hiding in Peace Street."

   "Why do you think he is suitable as a leader?" Clark asked with a frown.

"Maybe human nature is really strong enough, no matter what kind of shock you encounter the day after tomorrow, it will not change fundamentally." Quentin said, "Except for avenging his mother, he has not done anything outrageous. He came to Heping Street In the past month, I have helped many people, and I am deeply loved by the immigrants. In this block, it is rare to have a warm person who can infect other people with warmth."

   "But he can't even protect his mother." Connie's chest heaved violently, and she was very angry at this incident. "If he had dared to confront his father earlier, these tragedies would not have happened."

Verac can understand Lockwood from a certain angle: "We have been educated differently from him since we were young, and we will react differently when facing certain things. He was beaten by his father when he was a child, and his mother always took him away. Catch it back, in his world and cognition, maybe his father is invincible, he can't summon the courage he never had before to change the status quo. In the world he knows, the rule followed is the need to unconditionally Follow the will of the father, and the will of the father cannot be violated. It was not until the death of the mother that everything was broken, and he broke free from the shackles and made that late decision that he regretted."

   Connie sighed.

Verac patted her lightly: "We can say that Lockwood is cowardly, but I think that's just him in the past. From the moment he dared to avenge his mother and end all misfortunes, he has changed his appearance Fortunately, he has been suffering all his life, and he still remembers the love his mother gave him, and insists on being a kind person."

   "He must regret that he didn't do this earlier, and didn't take his mother away earlier." Oscar also felt very sad.

   "So I think he is suitable to be the leader of Peace Street." Quentin concluded.

"Well, if the situation of these two people is correct, then you can consider training them to become the leaders of Heping Street." Verak can see the shining points in these two people. Nothing.

   "I don't quite agree." Clark and Verac sang different tunes.

  His disapproval represents that the questioned point in Quentin's plan has not been resolved.

   "Then tell me your own opinion." Verak was very interested in Clark's opinion.

Clark looked directly at Quentin: "My opinion is that we should come forward to lead the people of Peace Street to unity. What you question is that we will not gain the approval and trust of the people of Peace Street faster than the immigrants, and we There is a risk of exposure if you come forward. I think both of these two points can be resolved."

   Quentin made a gesture of please.

Clark said: "First of all, I don't think there is any need to argue about the issue of speed, because it is already difficult to compare. What I am more concerned about now is, will these candidates do things more purely than us? For example, the first one you mentioned Carney, do you think that a person like him will sincerely work hard for everyone's unity? It is true that everyone's unity is good for him, but is this benefit worth other temptations? If one day, If the patrol team wants to work hand in hand with him, how will he choose?"

"You mentioned before that the key to what we do is to make everyone aware of the importance of unity. As long as everyone understands this, even if no one pushes and leads them, they will hold together and work together to block external threats. So I don't care if Carney can always do things for everyone, as long as he can make everyone form a whole, his subsequent changes are nothing to worry about." Quentin said.

   "But when the time comes, he will become the backbone. If he can unite everyone into a whole, he will be able to dismantle everyone back to their original appearance." Clark still can't feel relieved about these candidates.

   "What about Lockwood? He is upright and helpful. If you think he will betray the settler collective, even if we change this place briefly, the future Peace Street will still be disintegrated."

"I'll finish my second point first, and then I'll talk to you about the candidate." Clark felt that the topic was about to extend to another direction, so he quickly pulled it back, "The second point, we come forward, how to avoid conflicts?" risk of exposure."

  (end of this chapter)