thefictionvixens Chapter 9 He is winning people's hearts
Chapter 9 He is winning people's hearts
For the next three days, the Seventh Granary was transformed into a military camp.
Fifty thousand refugees had their heads shaved and were dressed in uniform gray coarse cloth clothes.
Each person had a wooden tag hanging around their neck with their number written on it.
Lowe did not make them go to work in the fields immediately.
He made them train.
They didn't practice marksmanship, they practiced discipline.
They practiced how to swing the sickle in unison, how to bend over in unison, and how to stop all movements the instant they heard the whistle.
This looks ridiculous.
A group of people carrying farm tools marched like robots through the mud.
However, Lo Wei knew that this was for the sake of efficiency.
Agricultural production is essentially no different from industrial production.
Standardized movements can save energy, reduce errors, and most importantly, turn this mob into a precise machine.
Manager Case stood by the office window, looking at the scene below, his fat face jiggling.
"What is he doing? Is he training troops?" Case gritted his teeth.
The clerk beside him said tremblingly, "He said it was to... to improve harvesting efficiency."
"Bullshit!" Case slapped the clerk across the face. "He's winning people over; he's building his own power!"
Case felt fear.
Previously, Luo Wei was just a lowly clerk who could do bookkeeping; he could be easily killed.
Now, Lowe has 50,000 obedient "serfs" under his command, as well as Buck's defense army, and even the support of the Mechanicus.
If this continues, the Seventh Granary will no longer belong to Case.
"We can't let him continue like this." A ruthless glint flashed in Case's eyes. "Tonight, let those guys make their move."
"But... Buck's men are keeping a close eye on us."
"Then let's create chaos." Case took a bottle of liquor from the drawer and took a big gulp. "Burn those fermentation tanks. Without that green soup, these bastards will explode. Then let's see how they handle it."
……
late at night.
On the open ground behind the granary, fermentation tanks were neatly arranged.
The air was filled with a sour, foul smell.
Several dark figures crept over silently.
They were dressed as refugees, but moved nimbly, carrying Molotov cocktails.
"Hurry up," the leader whispered. "Light the fire and run."
They reached the bottom of the jar.
The leader was about to strike a flint.
"Click".
A soft sound.
That's the sound of the safety latch opening.
Several beams of bright light suddenly turned on, illuminating the open space as if it were daytime.
The figures in the shadows instinctively covered their eyes.
Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they realized they were surrounded.
Dozens of guards stood in the shadows, guns at the ready.
Luo Wei stood at the very front, holding a data tablet in his hand.
He didn't seem surprised at all.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time," Rowe said.
The leader tried to run, but before he could even take a step, he was knocked to the ground by a rifle butt.
The remaining few people were also quickly subdued.
Luo Wei walked up to the leader and squatted down.
"Who sent you?"
The man gritted his teeth and remained silent.
"It's okay if you don't want to say." Luo Wei stood up, glanced at the data panel, "Number 4492, Battalion 13, Company 4."
"Based on the medical examination data during your camp registration, your muscle density and bone wear don't suggest a long-term malnourished refugee. You're more like... a thug."
"in addition."
Rowe pointed to the Molotov cocktail in the man's arms. "I've never given refugees this kind of high-purity chromium fuel before. It's very expensive on the black market. Director Case really went all out."
The man's expression changed.
"Take him to the main dining hall," Rowe said to Buck. "Wake everyone up. Assemble."
……
The main dining hall.
It's actually just a spacious open-air plaza.
Fifty thousand refugees were woken from their sleep and gathered here, looking bewildered.
They saw several people tied to a pillar.
They also saw Luo Wei standing on the high platform.
Lo Wei was holding a megaphone.
"Just now," Rowe's voice was cold and serious, "these people tried to burn down the fermentation tank."
A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.
What is a fermentation tank?
That's their livelihood.
That's the source of the green soup.
Burning the fermentation tanks was a way to cut off their food supply.
Anger spread like wildfire among the crowd.
"Burn them!"
"Kill them!"
Luo Wei raised his hand and pressed it down.
“I checked,” Rowe continued, “these people aren’t refugees. They’re hired to sabotage. They’re well-fed and have plenty of Imperial currency, yet they want to take away your livelihood.”
Why?
"Because some people don't want you to be fed. Some people think you're trash, a burden, and that your existence is a waste of air."
Lowe did not name Case.
However, every word he said was like a knife, piercing the hearts of the refugees.
These people have had enough of being looked down upon and oppressed at the bottom of society.
We've finally managed to get some food, and yet some people still want to sabotage us?
"According to my rules," Lowe shouted, "Destroying means of production is punishable by death."
"But I think it's too easy for them to die like this."
Luo Wei turned around and pointed to the several huge fermentation tanks.
"Since they want to ruin the fertilizer, then let them become fertilizer."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
This time, there was no fear, only frenzy.
It is a release of violence that has been suppressed for a long time.
Buck's men untied the men and dragged them toward the feed inlet at the top of the fermentation tank.
"No, no!"
Those people struggled desperately.
But under the gaze of tens of thousands of bloodshot eyes, their cries sounded so weak.
"thump."
Several muffled thuds.
Several people were thrown into the churning green liquid.
The screams lasted only a few seconds before being drowned out by the roar of the mixer.
Luo Wei stood on the high platform, watching all of this.
He had no expression.
He knew it was cruel.
But in the world of Warhammer 40, mercy is the greatest luxury.
He had to use this ritualistic execution to completely bind these 50,000 men to his war machine.
From today onwards, these 50,000 people are no longer refugees.
They were accomplices.
They executed the enemy themselves and protected their food.
This bloody pact is stronger than any other contract.
……
the next day.
The harvest has begun.
Fifty thousand farm workers, divided into fifty square formations, marched into the wheat fields in a grand procession.
They carried extended sickles specially made by Rowe and baskets on their backs.
"preparation."
The whistle blew.
"Cut!"
Fifty thousand people swung their sickles at the same time.
"Whoosh!"
The sound was uniform, like waves crashing against rocks.
A large field of wheat fell down.
There were no unnecessary movements, no whispering.
Only mechanical waving, advancing, waving.
The efficiency is astonishing.
Father Alpha, standing on the edge of the field, watched as the electronic eyes flashed.
"This...this is practically biomechanical," Alpha exclaimed. "Your Excellency, you have transformed these flesh and blood into parts that are even more efficient than machine servants."
"Because they want to live," Rowe said.
"Machine servants have no desires, but humans do. Give them just a little hope, and they can unleash amazing energy."