Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 261 Caught them off guard

  That night, the President of the United States of Dunman, Jordan, heard the movement at home, but he only asked his subordinates about the situation, made a phone call with representatives of the chamber of commerce, and then went back to sleep in peace.

  He and a group of dignitaries and dignitaries agreed that this was just a small fight, and the people's quarrel would subside after a few days. After all, a strike also meant that the workers would cut off their source of income, and this price should be even more unbearable for them.

And now is the time when everyone is in a turmoil. They send people to suppress it. Not only will it not be effective, but it will make them more emotional. Therefore, avoid the limelight and let them release it. If they do not retreat on their own, then It is not too late to send out the guards to suppress.

   In this way, the strike march continued for another three days.

  When the dignitaries expected that they would turn a blind eye and let the people shout for three days, the matter should end, but the matter did not develop as they thought.

  The demonstrations intensified, and the people found that the government seemed to have become a dead man. No matter how they appealed, they turned a deaf ear, as if such a huge protest had not happened, and they decided to let the government take their hands off their ears.

  March 9th.

  Led by the Equality Association and gangs, the workers began to destroy the facilities in the factory to attract attention.

  The move worked immediately. The factory owners sent hundreds of thugs to suppress it, and at the same time asked the government for support to maintain order in the city.

  At noon, President Jordan held an emergency meeting with representatives and subordinates of the chamber of commerce.

   "Things are out of control, please immediately mobilize the guards to suppress it!" The demonstrations and protests seriously damaged the interests of the merchants, and the representative of the chamber of commerce said impatiently.

  The sheriff wiped his sweat: "There are more and more people marching and protesting these days, and the strength of the guard alone may be a little nervous..."

   "Then call in the army! Let this group of untouchables know who is in charge of Dunman, and they can't turn the world over!"

   "The transfer of the army will be a big deal. From the end of the civil war, we have been thinking about recovering the economy as soon as possible. It is not a wise choice to fight against the people."

"Is it really possible to cancel the new conscription law under pressure? Do you think this is just a new conscription law? No! Once this precedent is set, let them know that protests are useful, and they will continue to use it. Ways! Protesting against too little wages and too much work today, and protesting against poor urban construction tomorrow, slowly let this country listen to them!"

President Jordan listened to the debate in silence, watching the newspapers on the conference table that had recently been circulated everywhere, as well as the Dunman version of "On Equality", "Internationale", and "Women's Declaration": "This is a well-planned and premeditated We need to act cautiously."

Those who didn't follow along with the argument also said in a deep voice: "This theory of equality is a book written by a large and powerful organization in Brexi. That organization called the Equality Association attacked Brexi's government a while ago. The building also caused the World Expo to end early."

   "That guy came to our place?!"

   "These books are the proof."

   "No wonder, when the new conscription law was first proposed, they didn't make any movement, and suddenly they started to make trouble at this time, and it can last for so long to resolve our method."

   "Then what should we do? Shall we find out these people first? I think since they are encouraging the workers to protest, we should wipe them out in front of everyone, which should effectively stabilize the situation."

President Jordan frowned, and became worried because of the emergence of the Equality Society: "This group of people can capture the government building when the World Expo is held in Brecy, and they can survive tenaciously afterwards, and they have traveled thousands of miles to Dunman. There must be something special about mobilizing people to protest and how to deal with us."

   "It is true that this matter cannot be acted rashly, but the situation is already very serious." The sheriff said, "Either arrest some people to investigate the situation and try to track down the clues of the Equality Association."

   "Well, no matter what, we must first understand the situation behind this matter." Jodon agreed with the magistrate's proposal.

   "How long will this take?" A factory owner asked anxiously.

  In the beginning, the workers just stopped working, and they could survive for a long-term plan. Now because they have never expressed their position on the abolition of the new conscription law, the workers began to destroy the factory and destroy their value in order to force them to give an account.

   "I don't know yet..." The magistrate had only a half-knowledge about the Equality Society, so he didn't dare to give time rashly and take on huge responsibilities.

"They can just make trouble. No matter how big a fight they make, I will let them know that their struggle and resistance are meaningless." A chamber of commerce representative snorted coldly, "We have no shortage of cheap labor. If they don't want to do it, then we'll bring in Sdar people and recruit workers from immigrants."

   "Yes! The labor market is huge, and the constant influx of Stearns is cheaper. If they don't work, some people will do it!"

Jodon immediately stopped the businessmen's self-indulgent thoughts: "No, we must not introduce immigrants anymore. The conflict between the immigrants and our locals is already very fierce. If we encourage them to come over, the situation will really be out of control. The most important thing is that a large number of new foreign workers have been hired, and our own people have no jobs to do. This will not only abolish the new conscription law, but will cause great turmoil in the entire society.”

   "Then who will guarantee our interests? Now our factory is being smashed and looted by workers!"

   "The Equality Association, an organization that disrupts countries, must be cleaned up immediately! Otherwise, we will be like Bresci!"

  All parties whose interests have been impacted during the public demonstrations and protests are vehemently demanding that Jordan settle the matter as soon as possible. Under great pressure, Jordan did not rush to speak.

   "Everyone calm down first." Someone controlled the scene.

  Jordon took a deep breath and looked at the people in front of the conference table who were making ugly gestures.

  As the president, he naturally cannot be like these people, only considering his own interests. He has to balance all parties and look further. Now is the critical period of Dunman's rejuvenation. He led the United States to defeat the Union Army with difficulty and completed the unification of Dunman. Next, he has to be more careful.

   "Mars." Jodon called the sheriff.

   "Your Excellency the President." The sheriff stood up.

   "Mobilize guards to protect the factory and various mansions, and at the same time arrest a group of protesters, investigate their backgrounds, and track down the clues of the Equality Society." Jordan ordered.

  The sheriff straightened his back: "Yes!"

   "Nodin."

   "Your Excellency the President."

   "Control public opinion and prohibit all newspapers from making relevant reports."

"Yes."

   "The meeting is over." Jodon took a few books on the table and left the conference hall regardless of the voices of the people present.

  —

  There was a huge crowd of people in the central square of the Old South Testament. They did not leave at noon. They ate their own food in the slight cold and demanded that the government cancel the new conscription law.

  Because of the mass protests of the people, the old South Treaty Organization fell into a semi-paralyzed situation.

   But even at this point, the Dunman government is still very calm, and did not issue a statement on the new conscription law, and did not give the people an explanation.

  In the Quin’s Tavern on Mantelin Avenue, four blocks away from the central square, the main participants of the plan met to discuss countermeasures in detail.

   Among them were representatives of the Equal Society: Boyne, Verack, Keating, Sarah, Eve.

  Representatives of the local people: Boss Xin, and seven or eight leaders from various other gangs.

   Representatives of the settlers: Monroe, Old King, Ruffalo, Arpu.

   "In the past few days, except for the thugs sent by the factory and some guards sent by the government to protect some facilities, there has been no movement. Is it because we haven't done enough?" asked a gang leader.

  Byne mused: "It is unexpected that the government is so calm, but I think we are now constantly expanding their momentum, and they should take action soon."

  Munro moved his wrists: "For sure, those factory thugs are not enough for us to fight. If they don't take action, those businessmen can't kill us, they will kill the government."

   This joke made the leaders of the gangs all smile.

Recently, after they mobilized the people in the blocks under their control to take action, they did not receive a severe attack from the government. On the contrary, they went all the way, and the momentum became bigger and bigger. Groups that were not included in the plan also followed them to stand up. Vocalized.

  They think the balance of victory is tilted a little bit more towards them.

"The question is what the government has been doing during this period of time. If they take action, will they compromise with us, suppress it by force, or have other more ingenious methods." Verak pointed out the most important question they should think about now .

   "Yes, we have to be prepared to deal with it." Ruffalo, the boss of the black street gang, agreed.

   Keating expressed his opinion: "We have sent out so many books on equality and so on. I think the government should have seen these books and guessed that our equality will intervene in this protest march."

"The Equality Society is famous now. If they know that you are here, they must think that you are the ones who are pushing and instructing these things." Boss Xin made a prediction based on his own experience, "Then they may have started secretly investigating the whereabouts of the Equality Society. The government can win a crucial victory in this fight by taking the Equality Society out of their hands."

   "That's right." Keating nodded, "I think the same as Xin. I think the most dangerous thing right now is our equality."

   "Then... are you going to hide to avoid the limelight?" Lao Jin of the Flash Gold Gang asked.

  As soon as he asked, the atmosphere in the tavern became a bit wrong, and many gang leaders looked at the members of the Equality Society with complicated eyes.

  When the Equality Association first united them, it said that the Equality Association would not ask for anything, and would rush to the forefront and lead them to abolish the new conscription law. They are also willing to take the risk to do things together because there is an organization like the Equality Association that can face the Bresci government head-on.

  If the Equality Association retreats and evades because the Dunman government will point the finger at the Equality Association in the future, it means that the previous guarantees made by the Equality Association will not be counted.

  Without the Equality Association, how can they fight the government?

   Could it be that when the government sent heavily armed guards to suppress them, did they really go there?

impossible.

  Boin, Keating, and Veraker immediately realized how big a trust gap would be in their cooperation if they didn't answer this question well after Lao Jin asked this question.

   "President!" Just when the three were about to deny it with one voice, a member of the Equality Society ran into the tavern and looked at Boyin panting.

   But he looked flustered, and the gang leaders present were agitated.

   "What's the matter, tell me directly." Boyin is not afraid of any challenge, nor will he hide from his collaborators, asking him to tell the news immediately.

   "The Dunman government has taken action." The man panted heavily, "While they sent people to control the major newspaper offices, they also strengthened the protection of factories and mansions. The guards even fired warning shots and arrested more than a dozen of us!"

   "They arrested people?!" Some gang leaders couldn't sit still.

  Verak glanced at the fussing leader: "It's normal, we have made such a big commotion, if they don't even catch a few people, we'll just sit and wait to win."

"But our people shouldn't just be caught by him, and they probably really want to do it now. If we attack and destroy the factories and mansions, I'm afraid there will be a lot of casualties." Monroe said .

  Boss Xin is not afraid at all: "If you really fire a gun, you will be frightened, and you are talking about making the government afraid of us and abolishing the new conscription law."

   "Then what should we do? Fight them with knives, guns and sticks?"

   "Of course we have to fight! Or just disperse like this? The slogan these days has become a joke?"

   "Which of your gang can bear the heavy casualties of a fight? How many people are really not afraid of death? People are selfish, and few are willing to risk their lives to enjoy themselves after fighting for rights under the hail of bullets."

   While talking, a group of people refocused their attention on the people of the Equality Society.

   Having said so much, the final question returned to the idea of ​​a demonstration and protest, and declared that he would rush to the forefront of the Equality Association.

   Boyne, Keating, Veraker and the others knew very well that the gang leaders had talked so much among themselves, but they were actually waiting for them to speak.

"I think the government's arrest of people not only serves as a deterrent, but also includes the reason why we want to track down our whereabouts." Boyin followed everyone's wishes and began to speak, "In this way, the government is targeting us. Should we avoid the limelight? The government fired a warning shot, whether we should continue to fight or not has become one thing, that is, how the Equality Council should respond."

  The Equality Council withdrew, declaring the protest a failure. Because without their leadership and connection, the people would be in a state of disunity.

  Equality will not retreat, everything continues, and the game with the government has just begun.

Boyin and the members of the Equality Society sitting with him looked at each other one by one, and he saw exactly the same thing as he thought in the eyes of Verac, Keating, Sarah, Eve and others: "Please rest assured , Will equality retreat, and will not put you in the front to block the gun. Not only that, we will take the initiative to attack and catch them by surprise!"

  (end of this chapter)