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In Weixing City, Osenia was inspecting the factory construction accompanied by Patel.
“Prime Minister, please look,” Patel said, pointing to the workers operating machinery and the engineers directing them nearby, “This factory used to produce electrical appliances, and as per instructions, it is anticipated to be quickly converted for the production of electrical components for the Lion Tank.”
After a pause, Patel continued, “There are many similar conversions taking place, and we estimate that we can complete the first phase of the civilian-to-military engineering within a month’s time.”
Osenia nodded. Continue reading at empire
The pace was roughly within her expectations.
However, Patel next to her still hesitated. After some thought, he asked, “Converting so many factories from civilian to military use… isn’t that a bit of an overreaction? It’s not so bad here since most are already basic heavy industry and military industry. But I’ve heard that the changes in Revival City are significant. Many consumer and civilian factories have shifted to military production…
Especially those that make agricultural and construction machinery, the reduction in their output is significant. I’m genuinely worried that this might slow down the Union’s development.”
Osenia’s expression remained unchanged.
She reassured him, “Just carry out the orders with peace of mind, these are the commands of the Governor-General. Besides, there’s no need to worry too much. The shift in production capacity from civilian to military isn’t happening all at once.
The government and the military have consulted and set up multiple levels of mobilization orders, which include plans for the conversion of civilian factories for military use. These are activated step by step, and not all at once.”
“War is still the first priority, we must ensure we survive first.”
“But… isn’t Blackbird Heavy Industries located thousands of miles away? They haven’t posed any threat to the Union for a long time. Do we really need to take action against them now? The Union’s various constructions are flourishing, we’re on a rising trajectory, so why interrupt it like this?”
Osenia turned around to face Patel.
Patel met the gaze of the Prime Minister with openness.
He asked himself, filled with loyalty and committed to the public good, without any personal agenda, what was there to fear?
Osenia sighed inwardly.
These concerns were probably not just Patel’s own but reflected those of the entire Union.
The residents of the Union—at least the majority of them—held great affection for the Union and the Governor-General. The Governor-General never lied about promises; once included in the Union’s system and assigned a rank, residents would receive corresponding treatment; there would be no more living in constant uncertainty.
Just this assurance alone was enough to ensure that the vast majority of civilians, who had moved from chaos to peace, were wholeheartedly loyal to the Union and to the Governor-General.
Not to mention, in the Union’s ranking system, which has been operating for a year or two and seemed quite dynamic, there were sizable opportunities for mobility between different social strata.
Even though the Union wasn’t a utopia and also needed to generate revenue and development and inevitably encountered corruption within its system, life was still far better than in the past.
Under these circumstances, a few troublemakers couldn’t stir up much trouble.
Yet, those who opposed taking action against Blackbird Heavy Industries were not necessarily just those harboring resentment.
The general public, who supported the Governor-General and felt a sense of belonging to the Union, were diligently building their homes, looking forward to a brighter future, and watching that future gradually become a reality within reach.
In such a context, why suddenly go to war? Especially initiating it.
Of course, Osenia knew the reasons.
It could have been ignored before, but now that it was known that Blackbird Heavy Industries had violated the Smart Mechanisms embargo, they naturally had to be dealt with. The crisis posed by Smart Mechanisms couldn’t be allowed to continue.
While it may seem harmless now, with Blackbird Heavy Industries keeping to themselves out west, if left unchecked, when they finally decided to make a move, the scale could potentially grow beyond what the Union could handle.
Although it was difficult to speak directly to this reason, it wasn’t without alternative methods of circumvention.
In substance, Blackbird Heavy Industries posed a real threat to the Union. Leaving aside the sensitive information regarding Smart Mechanisms, which wasn’t ideal to disclose publicly, simple propaganda about the just cause of the war and portraying Blackbird Heavy Industries as a grave threat to the beautiful lives of millions in the Union, as a harbinger of disaster, would suffice.
In fact, related foreign propaganda efforts were already underway when the decision was made.
But looking at it now, it seemed the efforts weren’t sufficient, as even a high-ranking official like Patel wasn’t convinced.
While verbally reassuring Patel and encouraging him to focus on his duties, Osenia also made a mental note.
Upon returning, she needed to summon the people from the Propaganda Department, urge them to work more effectively, and even discipline some of those responsible for managing these efforts.
…
Weixing City was only the first stop on Osenia’s inspection tour. Then, she boarded the Wind Falcon and toured several other industrial bases in the vicinity.
Other areas in the Central Province, the Central-North Province, the Gaota Province… everywhere the civilian-to-military work was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
The scale wasn’t very large, but this was a dress rehearsal.
The time for full mobilization of war potential hadn’t come yet, just as Patel had said. As the Union’s Prime Minister, Osenia did not wish to disrupt the Union’s current booming development trend too much because of a war.
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