Lord of Industrialization

The food standards of Wesson's army were adjusted and determined. Eugene from the Kingdom of Gaul once said that "everyone is treated like a knight, except onions."

The daily fixed rations for ordinary soldiers here include 1,000 grams of staple food such as bread, steamed buns or noodles, 350 grams of fresh meat such as chicken, pig, and beef or meat such as sausage, jerky, canned meat, 60 grams of animal fat, and 200 grams of beans. 350 grams of fresh vegetables or 70 grams of dehydrated vegetables, and the rest include salt, maltose, tea, beer, etc. Seasonal fruits and milk are also provided every five days.

Starting with the platoon leader, officers also received additional supplies of cheese, milk powder, preserves, jam, refreshing tea and wine, which could be exchanged for pleasure water upon request.

However, the entire army eats "battlefield adaptation meals" all day long on the day before Sunday every ten days, which is a stew of oats, beans, wild vegetables, fat and salt and other messy ingredients in one pot, so as to avoid not being so good on the battlefield in the future. Conditions are not suitable.

Tomorrow is Sunday, but today the pot in the kitchen is not a mess of stew, but golden beans stewed with pork and steamed vegetable buns, and there is twice as much meat as usual.

After receiving his share of lunch, Metzger found a place to sit down casually. This was a temporary military camp and there was no officers' area. It would be the same wherever he sat.

The lunch was delicious, but his expression was very solemn, as if he was thinking about something very important.

Several young soldiers sat down across from them. Metzger raised his head. They were recruits from his platoon who had just joined the army this year.

Metzger's name is well-known among the Wesson Army, and even throughout the Wesson state and surrounding areas.

He killed a count in the first battle, and even killed the emperor in the battle to regain Constantinople last year. The reputation of the "Emperor Killer" spread across the continent with the footsteps of businessmen and wandering singers.

Metzger achieved good results in the assessment at Wesson Military Academy at the beginning of the year. Now he is serving as a trainee platoon leader in the army, assisting in commanding a reconnaissance platoon and acting as squad leader. When he thinks that the lives of dozens of people are in his hands, he suddenly becomes overwhelmed. Feeling extremely stressed.

As soon as the recruits sat down, a young man who was a little more than two meters tall and slightly stronger than the others and less than twenty years old asked Metzger: "Platoon commander, can we still fight this battle?"

Since Frederick expressed his willingness to negotiate with the Archduke of Franken, this issue has become a hot topic in the military camp. Some people think that a fight will not happen, while others think that the negotiations will eventually break down, and a fight will still be necessary.

Metzger took a bite of the vegetable buns and complained in his mind that the cooks in the kitchen actually mixed lard and shredded vegetables to make the stuffing. At the same time, he took the opportunity to organize his words, and finally raised his head and said to the man named Spike: "What shall we eat today?"

Spike immediately answered: "This morning it's bread and cheese, lunch is golden beans stewed with pork and vegetable buns, dinner is pumpkin stewed chicken and steam bread, and midnight snack is jam and biscuits."

Metzger asked him again: "How does the weight compare to before?"

Spike replied: "The portion is larger than before, especially there is a lot more meat."

Metzger nodded and said: "If there is no war, why should I feed you so well?"

Spike and the soldier next to him thought about it and thought it made sense.

Metzger continued: "I think this battle is definitely going to be fought."

At this time, a fearful voice suddenly sounded next to him:

"It's over. This battle must be fought. I won't be able to attend my sister's wedding."

"You're okay, I can't go home to hold the baby who's about to be born now."

"Oh, my family also said that they introduced me to a good girl, and I was thinking of going back for a blind date."

"The blame for this war lies entirely with Metzger."

"Yeah!"

Several non-commissioned officers who had become squad leaders or even acting platoon leaders complained as they sat down next to Metzger. They were all veterans who had joined the army when the Wesson Army was formed, but except for Metzger, none of them had passed the military academy. The entrance exam is just for non-commissioned officers, not officers.

Spike and the other recruits looked at these veterans with questions in their heads, wondering what they meant.

A veteran said to them: "You must be careful, what he says while eating will come true."

Metzger said helplessly: "Don't keep spreading such rumors, otherwise I will tell you that your blind date will not go well when you go home, and you will scare yourself to death."

"Be merciful!" The veteran became extremely nervous. "I'm almost thirty years old and haven't gotten married yet. Can't you say something nice to me?"

Metzger sneered and continued eating his lunch.

Another veteran asked him: "Do you have any inside information?"

After eating a bun, Metzger asked them: "Do you know what is the biggest problem in the development of Wesson State now?"

Spike jumped up as if he had been pricked by a needle and said in disbelief: "We have been developing rapidly since the principal took charge. Everyone's life is getting better and better. How can there be a problem!"

Metzger looked up at the big man and said expressionlessly: "Sit down."

Spike had no choice. The officer opposite him was older than him, so he could only sit down and continue eating, but he still looked unconvinced.

Metzger ignored him and recalled the discussion at the military academy. While eating, he said to the old comrades next to him: "The current permanent population of Wesson is about 450,000, of which about 160,000 are children under the age of 14. "There are about 50,000 people over 60 years old, and about 240,000 young adults, with men and women accounting for about half each. These are official statistics."

"Today, the main force of our army is about 20,000, and there are 10,000 city defense troops in various places. A total of 30,000 people, which means that one in four young and middle-aged men is serving as a soldier. The ratio is too high."

"What we lack most now is population. The expansion of the army has slowed down because of this. Moreover, factories and farms are short of people. My pig farm and Fuqiang flour factory cannot recruit enough people to expand their scale."

The veterans next to him looked at him with envy. This guy had many meritorious deeds and bonuses. Moreover, he had a high loan limit from the bank due to his merits. He now has a pig farm and a food factory under his name, as well as in Weissenburg City and Oak City. I bought several properties to rent out, and my annual income amounted to hundreds of gold florins to repay the loan.

Metzger continued to eat and said: "The Principality of Franconia has about 800,000 people, and the Union of Regans has about 600,000 people. Once we have such a large population, both factories and armies can be expanded."

"And the geographical location of these two places is very important. After taking down the League of Legens, we will be bordering Bohemia, cutting off the Osmaga Empire's road to the area east of the Elbe River in the north."

"After taking over the Principality of Franconia, we occupied the upper reaches of the Elbe River. The trade routes have been unimpeded since then. There is no force that can compete with us from the north to the sea."

"So this battle must be fought. The question is how to win and occupy so many cities and land."

The veterans nodded at the same time. Metzger had gone to a military academy and seemed to them to be well-connected. This analysis should have spread from the top, and this battle was definitely going to be fought.

Metzger participated in many military exercises when he was in the military academy, mainly helping to plant and remove flags. He knew very well that the argument for northward expansion was very popular among the top military officials.

Before the snow fell last winter, he and Eugene followed Staff Officer Helmut and others as businessmen to conduct on-the-spot inspections of Marienberg Fortress, the capital of the Principality of Franconia, and Regensburg, the capital of the Regens Alliance.

The Black Cat Troops also conducted field surveys of the two places and recorded important information such as roads, water sources, towns, etc. The map in Wesson's hands may be more detailed than that of the Archduke of Franken and the Archduke of Regens.

Therefore, Metzger can be sure that this battle will begin sooner or later, and the commander will not give up the opportunity to gather the enemy.

He said to his old comrades: "I will quietly reveal some news to you. If this battle is over, the army will definitely be expanded. Both the main force and the city defense army will be expanded in size. Then there will be a shortage of officers."

"You should seize the opportunity. Maybe you can enter the military academy like me and become a platoon leader."

Several veterans kept nodding, such an opportunity is not easy to find.

Metzger said to Spike: "Be smart, survive first, set up the function and get the bonus, then you can buy some gifts and go find the girl."

Spike's face suddenly turned as red as a tomato, and he didn't know what to say amid the laughter around him.

Lunch time ended quickly, and the call for officers to gather was heard in the barracks.

Metzger immediately arrived at the designated location and waited for his superiors to arrange the task.

The task came soon. In the afternoon, each company came to the canteen one after another, and each person received a dry ration for one person for five days.

The officers communicated with each other with their eyes and had a common answer in their minds.