Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

While Paul and Gerald were engaged in a deep conversation, a man dressed as a guard from the Lord's Mansion hurried into the factory and quickly approached Paul.

He saluted Paul and Gerald, "My lords."

Then, he turned to Paul.

Paul asked, "Are you looking for me? What's the matter?"

"The Administration Council wants to discuss something with you. The specific reason is in this letter."

Since Gerald was present, the guard hesitated to speak openly and simply handed the letter to Paul.

Paul opened the letter and quickly scanned it. His eyebrows first furrowed tightly, then relaxed.

Gerald, suppressing his curiosity, waited for Paul to finish reading.

"If it's not too bold to ask, what has happened? If you can tell me."

Paul handed the letter to him, "War has broken out in Horn Bay."

"I see."

Gerald took the letter and skimmed through it.

His face showed no surprise. Anyone slightly knowledgeable about the situation in Horn Bay wouldn't be shocked by the outbreak of war. It would be more surprising if it hadn't erupted.

Paul said, "The initial news was brought by carrier pigeons. The war has probably been raging for over a week now."

He then asked, "Does the kingdom have the power to protect the Ordo merchants in Horn Bay?"

Gerald shrugged with a bitter smile, "Given the current situation, it's a bit difficult. Besides, there's Jars between the royal territories and Horn Bay. Frankly, this is the first time I've heard of using state power to protect merchants abroad. Generally, aren't they left to their own devices? After all, they chose to chase wealth, so they must bear the corresponding risks."

"Alright then!" Paul didn't continue on this topic.

"Count Grayman, does the outbreak of war in Horn Bay trouble you?" Gerald noticed a hint of concern in Paul's eyes.

Paul replied, "Horn Bay is an important trade hub and restocking point for us. If it's unstable, it will pose a serious threat to our trade with the East."

He apologized to Gerald, "Given the circumstances, my lord, I must immediately discuss countermeasures with my officials. I regret that I cannot continue accompanying you on the tour."

Gerald waved his hand, "Don't worry about me, please attend to your matters."

He understood the importance of the massive maritime trade in the Northwestern Bay to Paul.

Paul nodded slightly to him and, accompanied by the guard, walked out of the workshop.

…

The countries of Horn Bay generally practiced a militia system. Taking the Horn Bay Alliance as an example, the alliance had ten main cities including Fort Ness, each forming a district with surrounding satellite towns. Each district served both as an administrative and military unit. Each was required to provide a squad of infantry and cavalry, along with five armed ships with crew. This had been the general composition for a long time. The Horn Bay Alliance's army, both land and sea, commanded by ten generals, would take turns leading in wartime, with the position of the Chief General being the highest. Ꞧâ𝐍оʙÊ𝙎

All freemen in the Horn Bay Alliance were militiamen, divided into four classes based on wealth: the first and second classes provided cavalry, the third class heavy infantry, and the fourth class or the property-less provided light infantry or rowers.

Previously, each class of militiamen had to provide their own weapons – this was why they were classified by wealth.

However, this time, to thoroughly address the threat from the inland countries, the alliance underwent military reforms, spending a large sum of money to purchase a significant amount of weapons and armor from the Northwestern Bay. On one hand, metal armor was used to increase the number of heavy infantry, and on the other, leather armor provided some protection to the previously almost unarmored light infantry.

At this moment, Queller Foster, wearing a well-crafted suit of full armor, stood on a high platform with other important military leaders of Horn Bay. Below the platform was a sea of people.

As a noble's son, Queller was inevitably involved in the war.

The second son of the Foster family watched the scene before him with a somber expression.

A war mobilization rally was being held in Fort Ness.

The leader of the pro-war faction, Councilor Horace, was passionately and loudly instilling in the audience the righteousness of their cause in this war and the certainty of their victory.

"Citizens of the Alliance! My dear compatriots!"

"The evil Horn Bay Church and their inland lackeys have already gathered. As I speak, their armies have begun crossing the border, violating our beautiful country! Tell me, should we stand by and watch this invasion?"

The crowd below was wildly excited, shouting "No!" and "Down with the Church's lackeys!"

The calls were incessant.

"I see your passion for protecting your homes and country!"

Horace continued to shout, pleased with the people's reaction.

"The despicable and shameless Horn Bay Church dared to frame our great Alliance with a premeditated murder! They falsely claim to serve the Lord of Light, but the Heavenly Father will send down his wrathful thunder to punish them."

"All this time, the Horn Bay Church has been acting under the name of the Lord of Light, but engaging in bullying and deceit. Citizens, my fellow compatriots, which of you doesn't have a relative who has been oppressed by the Church's so-called witch-hunting activities? But are they really hunting witches? Oh, just look at 'The Record of Injustices.' It's clear as day. They're only using the guise of witch hunting to extort the wealth of innocent people."

The reaction from below was intense, "To hell with the damned Church!" "To hell with the damned Elvis!"

The curses were endless, with everyone riled up by the painful memories of the witch-hunting campaign.

"Because of the witch hunts, our trade activities have been disrupted. Because of the witch hunts, we live in constant fear. Because of the witch hunts, we even have to be careful with every word we say!"

"We've endured all these, back when we naively thought the Church was truly considering the common people! But, when the damned Church wanted to hand over the hard-earned money of our people to those lazy ingrates in the inland, we realized we had been fooled. Reality slapped us hard!"

"So, the heroic people of the Alliance gave a heroic response—expelling the Church's lackeys from our territory, refusing to recognize it as the Heavenly Father's representative on Earth, and bravely facing the Church's wrathful threats of war!"

"Now, they have put their despicable threats into action! But we must tell them, our great Alliance is also daring in protecting its people! We—swear to resist to the end!"

Horace's rapid-fire speech completely ignited the emotions of the crowd below.

"Resist to the end!"

"Resist to the end!"

The loud chants almost echoed throughout the entirety of Fort Ness.

…

In stark contrast to the fervor in the square, the Speaker's office was silent.

Joe Foster and his friend, Speaker Marcus, stood in front of the window, watching the crowd dispersing from the rally.

"My friend, do you think we will win this war?"

Unlike his confidence in front of others, Marcus asked this question with trepidation in front of his close friend.

Foster spoke slowly, "Whether we can win the war or not…"

He pointed outside the window, where night was approaching, and the households of Fort Ness were starting to light up their homes. The lighthouse on the dock also began to blaze—a dense array of lights had always been the pride of Fort Ness, indicating the residents' wealth.

However, Foster said:

"The lights of the entire Horn Bay are dimming. In our lifetime, we may never see them lit again."