Chapter 136, About to Collapse
Not doing things right?
Perbov seemed a little confused.
Henry also explained patiently at this time.
He first pointed at himself and said, "I am the wedge appointed by the Governor to Garbage Town. If the Governor wants to take Garbage Town, I have no choice but to do it. It would be best if I could get things done before the Governor's army arrives. At that time, the army only needs to come to maintain order and help the new alliance's system be implemented in Garbage Town. If the army has to resort to force, wouldn't that mean I'm not doing my job well?"
Perbov thought about it and nodded slightly, agreeing with Henry's idea.
Then Henry pointed his finger at Perbov:
"As for Major, you received the Governor's order to come to this wilderness to clear all settlements and relocate the population. The remaining settlements must also change their flags, accept the complete and thorough rule of the new alliance government, and wipe out all opponents. You did a good job, but not the best. Because within this 200-kilometer range, there is a special existence called Garbage Town. There are 100,000 permanent residents here, and there are another 100,000 small territories that rely on the operation of Garbage Town, and another 100,000 armed scavengers and adventurers who have been scavenging in the ruins of the tower for a long time..."
"No matter from the population or the importance of raw material mining, this is the most important place among all the settlements around Renaissance City. And it is in an awkward position at the edge of your mission scope. The Governor did not ask you to take over Garbage Town with only 800 soldiers, but if you can do it, wouldn't it be a perfect score for what was originally a qualified answer?"
After careful consideration, Pobov had to admit that he was indeed persuaded by Dennison Henry.
There is another key point here. Henry doesn't know it, but doesn't he know it himself? He came here with accumulated merits, striving to succeed Yan Fangxu, who will become the commander-in-chief of the army in the future, and become the brigade commander of the Xifeng Brigade?
At the moment, he has indeed completed his task step by step, and his completion is satisfactory. Not only have nearly ten settlements within a 200-kilometer area come under the rule of the new alliance, but the battle of the three pools has almost wiped out all the bandits entrenched in this area at a very small cost. No one can say that he did not do well enough.
But Perbov himself always felt it was not enough.
Now, Henry put Garbage Town in front of his mouth, and he couldn't help drooling.
Garbage Town... He still remembered that when he was just a miner in the Broken Cave Society and lived a truly dark life, Garbage Town was a powerful place in the distance. Whether the entire Abandoned Cave Society could have a meal depended on whether the merchants in Garbage Town were willing to pay more for the ore produced by their Abandoned Cave Society.
To him, the presence of Garbage Town is even more important than that of the closer Fuxing City.
And now, as a team leader of miners, do I have the opportunity to lead the army and seize such a place?
But despite his desire for glory, Perbov was still able to remain rational.
Even though Garbage Town could barely be considered a settlement within the 200 kilometers that the Governor allowed him to act on his own, he still remembered not to act on his own.
That was not a small settlement. As Henry said, there were at least 200,000 to 300,000 people within the sphere of influence of Garbage Town, and because of the unique industrial ecology, almost everyone was armed, and there were always 100,000 armed scavengers and adventurers who lived on the edge of a knife all year round.
They are indeed not an army, but their equipment may be better than those of the raiders, and they have stronger combat experience and will.
If things weren't handled properly and a military conflict occurred, he wouldn't have been able to win such a battle with only 800 men under his command.
Not to mention, there is the possibility of getting stuck in the quagmire between the garbage town and the green-skinned orcs.
So he stuck to his previous statement: "I need further authorization to act."
Henry smiled and said, "Of course. Once we get through, we'll go talk to him together."
His goal has been achieved.
Even if Perbov dared to follow him now, he would not dare to let him follow like this. He was not so bold as to encourage the army to do things beyond its authority without military orders.
It's too taboo. Even if I succeed, the Governor will find a reason to kill me afterwards.
He wouldn't make that mistake.
He came to see Perbov because he really wanted to borrow the military's communication radio.
Of course, in addition to this, a bigger concern is to convince Pobov himself.
Simply executing orders and Pobov taking the initiative are of course two completely different situations.
It would be even better if Major Perbov could lend a helping hand when he reports to the Governor later, thus increasing the chances of success.
But unexpectedly, this idea fell through in the end.
Because when the radio station was connected to Fuxing City, he received a message.
The Governor was no longer in Renaissance City at this moment, but was heading towards Garbage Town with Lieutenant Colonel Taddius and the 2nd Infantry Division.
The Governor left a message.
"I hope my army will only have to deal with those green orcs then."
He had heard these words once before when he met the Governor, but this time he had a different feeling.
He turned and looked at Perbov: "Do you understand what the Governor means?"
"I understand." Perbov said, "I will lend you a hand. But at the same time, I hope it won't come to the point of resorting to violence. My troops will stop 20 kilometers away from Garbage Town. The rest is up to you. If things don't go well, I will wait for the 2nd Infantry Division to arrive."
"That's enough."
…
Henry looked very confident while talking to Perbov, but he was actually very nervous.
Because he calculated his time.
If most people were walking, the distance from Fuxing City to Laji Town was a little over 200 kilometers. At a normal marching speed, it would take three to five days at a faster pace, and no more than ten days at a slower pace.
Combined with the words left by the Governor, it's time for him to deal with the garbage town.
He had to hurry.
Fortunately, following Perbov's combined arms battalion, speed can still be guaranteed.
This combined battalion was almost completely motorized. Even the most clumsy 155mm howitzers were equipped with wheels and towed by tractor trucks; all soldiers, including the engineering company and the logistics support company, also had troop transport trucks and baggage trucks to use.
Among all the troops, the armored company was the slowest and the most lagging behind.
Twelve old tanks were dragging behind, grunting and groaning, and could only run at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. People were afraid that several of them would break down on the road.
In fact, this is exactly what happened.
On the way, a tank did break down.
But this did not affect the speed of the entire force. A part of the maintenance personnel and the crew were left behind, and the rest still successfully covered a distance of 50 kilometers and arrived outside the garbage town.
By this time, it was already late at night.
The troops stopped on the spot and built a camp, while Denison Henry, with a small number of followers and guards, met the team that came cautiously from Garbage Town to check the situation. He explained the situation and then calmly entered the city.
The scouts who came to check the situation did not disperse, but still surrounded Perbov's troops in the dark.
Pobov didn't care.
He has already deployed sentries and guards. As long as these people don't get too close, they can just watch from the outside.
This calm attitude made the peepers outside even more frightened.
Of course, what is most frightening are the cannons, armored vehicles and tanks that cannot be clearly seen in the darkness but do exist.
Coupled with the soldiers' disciplined and well-trained appearance, the scouts clearly understood that although this team was small in number, its combat effectiveness was extremely strong.
Considering the background of the new agent, Mr. Henry, how could one not guess that this was a force from the New Alliance, affiliated with the Governor?
…
The next day, Denison Henry met the person he wanted to see.
His name is Jason Swann.
This is a man with white hair and a dignified face. There is fierceness, frost and vicissitudes in his eyes.
He is the biggest agent in Junk Town.
When Jason Swan was young, he had already been hanging around in Junk Town. He was just an ordinary scavenger at first, but he was brave enough to fight and join a small adventure group. Later, he became the boss. Later, he managed the entire adventure group into a group, and also seized part of the refined raw material business. Later, he opened up some business routes...
He became an agent and then slowly became the biggest one.
It was just a few words, but from the age of fifteen to now, thirty-five years later, he had gone through countless intrigues and life-and-death battles to reach his current position.
He controls the largest raw material processing plant in Garbage Town and holds 20% of the trade share. His adventure group, named "Clock Iron Blade", is one of the best armed forces in Garbage Town.
Industry plus military force make up Mr. Swann's current reputation.
He has always been serious and dignified. Even in the recent difficult times, he has always maintained this attitude, which to some extent has played a role in stabilizing people's hearts.
In fact, no one knows whether he is panicking or not.
This was not the first time Denison Henry had met Swann.
Every time they met in the past, he was as humble as an ant. Even after he was nominated as the agent, the relationship between the two sides remained unchanged.
Apart from the new industry related to alloy plastic steel that he controls, the power that Henry actually controls cannot be compared with that of the real boss in Garbage Town.
But today, he has to change his mindset and stand up straight.
He represents the Governor!
His mentality has changed.
Behind me stands the ruler of the entire planet. After the Governor takes control of Renaissance City, this ruler is no longer just a title, but a real and powerful force to back him up.
With such a strong backing, why should I kowtow to an armed merchant leader in a garbage town?
I'm really used to kneeling!
Swan seemed to sense something. He raised his head, his eagle-like and wolf-like eyes swept across Henry's face, and he spoke slowly in a slightly hoarse voice:
"Are you here to persuade me to surrender to the governor in Fuxing City?"
Henry's calves were still a little weak, and many rumors about Swann's ruthlessness and decisiveness flashed through his mind.
He is not a tough guy at all.
But he still tried to keep a decent face.
"Yes," he said. "Do you have any other choice?"
"I can kill you." Swann's tone was cold.
Hearing this, Henry's butt tightened, but then relaxed again.
This sounds scary at first, because Jason Swan is really capable of doing it.
However, a careful analysis shows that Mr. Swann was just pretending.
Because if he had dared to say something like "advising you to surrender" a month ago, Mr. Swann would probably not say a word to him and would have shot him dead.
But now, saying that he could kill him is actually a sign of guilty conscience.
After realizing this instantly, Henry felt more relaxed.
"Of course, you can do this. You are the master of Garbage Town. What's the difficulty in killing me?" Henry complimented Swann, but changed his tone and started again: "But this is not a choice."
Swann said nothing more, just stared at Henry.
Henry became more and more excited as he spoke: "Isn't Garbage Town now facing the most external and internal troubles? The increase in the number of green-skinned orcs has led to a reduction in production, which is the smallest impact. When those scavengers and adventurers find that the danger of entering the ruins of the tower has greatly increased, but the harvest has greatly decreased, will they still gather here? Especially now that Renaissance City has increased its attraction to refugees, the policies there are too tempting."
"Without these scavengers and adventurers, what will happen to the industries that rely on them? All the taverns, brothels, and clothing stores will have to close down. All the industries that process garbage will go bankrupt. The developed commercial industries will also be unable to continue. In the end, Garbage Town will become a real garbage town that no one cares about."
"To destroy Garbage Town, they don't even need those green-skinned orcs to break through our defenses and slaughter all our people. They just need to maintain the current pressure and make scavenging a high-risk, low-return business, which is enough to destroy our town built on scavenging."
Henry describes the crisis from the perspective of economic fundamentals.
Swann just listened in silence.
This is not a brilliant idea.
This danger has already been seen by some people and is even happening now.
Most of the adventurers and scavengers in Garbage Town do not have much personal dependence on the agents. A small number of them are hired, and even quite a few are independent adventure groups. They enter the city ruins, pick up garbage and sell it to obtain basic income; if they can pick up technological products, artworks, and relatively well-preserved psychic crystals that can be used in the pre-war era, they can make a lot of money.
Now, because they have to fight against the green-skinned orcs, the risk of adventure has increased and the benefits have decreased. They will also be specially recruited to fill the front line in the most intense places. Although they are given commissions and equipment, the battle is still too difficult to fight. Many adventure groups will refuse to be recruited, and even leave Garbage Town as a whole.
The number of people leaving is not large and the scale is not large, but this is an extremely dangerous sign and a precursor to the collapse of the levee.
(End of this chapter)
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