Chapter 172: Work Report
While thinking about matters concerning Blackbird Heavy Industries, people began to gather one after another.
There were still fifteen minutes left until the scheduled time, but since everyone had arrived, Gu Hang directly announced that the meeting would start early.
The first to report was the military representative, Colonel Yan Fangxu.
After Gu Hang had taken away the First Windbreaker Brigade, the Second Infantry Division, and the Third Independent Regiment, there were still six brigade-level units remaining on the surface.
The 4th to 9th Garrison Divisions, following personnel reinforcements and cuts of surplus troops, had now been stabilized.
Each division consisted of seven infantry battalions and two artillery battalions as the main combat units, along with logistics, engineering battalions, and the headquarters' guard company, communications company, and staff department.
Each garrison division had a total strength of more than six thousand soldiers.
Combined, the six divisions reached nearly forty thousand troops.
Yan Fangxu, acting as the army group commander, divided the areas around Revival City into three war zones.
The first was the High Tower War Zone, where the 4th and 5th Garrison Divisions were stationed.
After clearing the area in the High Tower war, they were responsible for eradicating any remaining Greenskins and burning any land or suspicious green plants where Greenskins might have been.
Following the previous battle, some Greenskin creatures had survived.
These were mostly minor Greenskin mobs, such as lone Ork Boys, Gretchins, or a few Squiggoths.
They posed no significant threat, but they couldn't be ignored entirely, as it was uncertain when a full Greenskin tribe might resurge.
This cleansing was destined to be a long-term task.
Such sweeps would need to continue for many years until there were no sightings of Greenskin Orks for an extended period, allowing for some relaxation.
The second area was the Central War Zone, where the 6th, 7th, and 8th Garrison Divisions were stationed.
The 6th Division defended both Revival City and Guardian City, serving to protect the capital.
The 7th and 8th Divisions, stationed around Revival City, focused on sweeping an approximately 300-kilometer radius west and south.
The primary mission here was to clear out the raiders in the wastelands.
Raiders encountered were to be eliminated on the spot.
Those who surrendered or were captured would be assessed according to their past crimes.
Those guilty of severe crimes, especially cannibalism and other crimes against humanity, were summarily executed.
Other, lesser offenders were sent to prison.
Naturally, they weren’t given decent accommodations; instead, they were assigned F-level treatment, sent to mine caves or pick through the High Tower Ruins.
Under F-level treatment, they essentially lost their humanity.
Generally, offenders with minor offenses like theft, robbery, or fraud would not fall below E1 level, where they would still be treated as human, with only limited abuse allowed during incarceration or labor.
Prison deaths would incur penalties for the prison.
But F-level was akin to a death sentence, stripping one of human rights.
Some murderers and other serious offenders were categorized here, kept alive for their labor value.
These F-level individuals had to meet strict daily quotas in mining or scavenging operations.
If they didn’t meet their quota, they went without food and faced whipping.
Exceeding the quota would earn them a small food reward and cumulative work points, providing a slim chance to upgrade to E-level human treatment in five to ten years if they performed well enough.
Of course, realistically, that was challenging.
Poor nutrition, strenuous work conditions, lack of medical care, and harsh living environments caused many not to survive even a year.
Few managed to endure five years, hoping to improve their conditions with enough labor.
While eliminating the raiders, the 7th and 8th Garrison Divisions also aimed to bring the remaining survivor camps under the Alliance's direct control.
An estimated population of approximately 2.7 million people inhabited the area.
Their approach to these populations remained consistent with previous efforts.
Work teams were dispatched to assess each camp’s economic structure in person.
Camps with industries that could complement those in Revival City, especially those producing food or industrial and light industrial materials, were preserved.
Camps without such complementary industries, especially those struggling for survival, were relocated to Guardian City to address the industrial labor shortage.
However, this mission encountered some difficulties.
So far, only about 700,000 people had been integrated into the Alliance’s control.
Among the remaining two million were several large camps, each with a population of over 200,000.
While the attitudes of the citizens in these camps were unknown, their leaders were unwilling to relinquish power.
Under the New Alliance's policy, these leaders would not lose all authority as long as they cooperated peacefully.
These towns, especially those that could support such large populations, would not be disbanded immediately, as a sudden influx of such a large number of people into Revival City would be challenging to manage.
Instead, camps capable of supporting significant populations would be preserved, even the ruling class would be retained.
Their private ownership and dependent relations would be transformed under the New Alliance’s position-ranking system.
The ruling class would likely transition into bureaucratic roles under the New Alliance, enjoying fair benefits and continuing to manage their camps.
Of course, they would undergo systemic reforms and be evaluated by the New Alliance government.
The new arrangement would not be as comfortable as their previous rule.
Some leaders near Revival City and in smaller camps conceded to the New Alliance, surrendering under the military might.
However, larger and more distant camps were less willing to submit.
There was resistance during the military’s advance.
And as the distance increased, the resistance intensified.
Currently, several large settlements had rallied smaller ones to form a coalition of about seventy to eighty thousand people to confront the 7th and 8th Divisions.
The conflict wasn't severe; although the garrison divisions weren’t the core forces of the New Alliance army, they still had a significant advantage in equipment and firepower that these ragtag groups couldn’t match.
However, with only about twelve thousand combined troops in the two garrison divisions, they were outnumbered.
They could advance steadily, but their speed was limited.
Upon reaching heavily fortified survivor camps, more time was needed to break through defenses.
Even after securing these locations, troops had to be left behind to maintain military control and enforce security during the subsequent integration.
In comparison, the third zone, the Central-North War Zone, only had the 9th Garrison Division stationed there.
Their work mirrored the Central War Zone’s west and south expansion efforts.
Yet, the more sparsely populated northern lands near Revival City faced fewer battles, allowing them to steadily consolidate control over 500,000 people.
There was another factor aiding them: the activities of the Sisters of Saintly Lily.
For the past two months, the nuns had left Revival City, tracking the Original Owl Beast Sect northward.
Along the way, they had accomplished a lot, spreading their faith while targeting cultists.
Their impressive combat abilities and unique identities granted them significant influence in the north, greatly supporting the 9th Division’s operations.
Consequently, the 9th Division was assigned an additional task: to assist the nuns upon request in combating cult activities.
According to the 9th Division's reports, the Sisters of Saintly Lily had discovered increased signs of the Original Owl Beast Sect as they moved north.
Sister Superior Gretel had already led the main forces into what was traditionally known as the northern provincial region, with no new updates reported yet.
Meanwhile, around 600 kilometers north of Revival City, cultist activity had become noticeable.
In this northern region, six sisters remained, securing the rear for the forward-advancing battle sisters and purging local cultists as needed.
Upon receiving these updates, Yan Fangxu provided authorization, adding this task to the 9th Division’s duties.
This concluded Yan Fangxu’s report on military actions over the past month and current operations.
After listening, Gu Hang thought for a moment before giving instructions:
“I have no objections to the cleansing operations in the High Tower Ruins and Central-North War Zone; Colonel Yan has done a commendable job. However, the Central War Zone operation cannot continue to drag on. I trust the 7th and 8th Divisions will eventually win, but the prolonged advance will lead to unacceptable losses in population and time. This must be resolved swiftly.”
Turning his gaze to Tadius, seated beside Yan Fangxu and soon to be promoted to colonel, Gu Hang asked, “How is the situation with new recruitments and logistics? I need you to quickly replenish the losses of the three units that returned from the stars. After a week of rest, our troops will once again march to the battlefield.”
Tadius replied earnestly, “At present, our newly established training base has recruited over 20,000 new soldiers undergoing basic training, though the training results…”
Gu Hang interrupted, “Leave the training results to me, but 20,000 soldiers are insufficient. In addition to replenishing the current troops, I also need to establish three more brigade-level units. The 10th, 11th, and 12th new units must be capable of rapid strikes and mobile field operations, structured according to the standards of the 2nd Division. Moreover, the 2nd Division should receive adequate equipment, aiming for at least motorized capabilities if full mechanization is unachievable.”
Tadius responded confidently, “No problem. If training conditions aren’t a concern, I can recruit another 30,000 soldiers within half a month. For the organization of the three new units, I’ll prepare a specific plan based on current armory supplies. The outlook seems positive; although we may have limited production capacity for armored vehicles, production of artillery,
military trucks, and various ammunition is proceeding smoothly. The industrial production capacity at Guardian City’s military factories is steadily increasing, providing ample equipment to arm the new forces.”
After a quick calculation, Gu Hang realized that recruiting another 30,000 would raise the training camp’s strength to 50,000.
This would be more than sufficient to replace the over 4,000 soldiers lost in the previous three units and replenish all divisions’ losses.
The remaining soldiers would allow for the formation of three new brigade-level units, with surplus personnel to spare.
The 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions would not be ordinary garrison units with limited combat capabilities.
Once motorized, outfitted with armed vehicles, the troops could conduct rapid strikes.
By equipping them with adequate firepower, extra armored vehicles, and matching the 2nd Division’s manpower to around 9,000, their combat strength could easily surpass two garrison divisions.
As for training… raising all 50,000 soldiers to T5 rank would only require 500 Grace Points, a minor expense.
"That’s good. But I must caution that recruiting such a large number of young adults must be planned carefully to avoid disrupting the production schedules in Revival City and Guardian City."
“It won’t,” Tadius assured him.
“Currently, the inflow of population into the Twin Cities is significant. In the past month alone, 200,000 people entered from the Central War Zone, 150,000 from the Central-North War Zone, over 50,000 refugees from the Qing Valley region, and another 50,000 from Garbage Town.”
“A total influx of 450,000 people. Though Revival City’s urban development, industrial construction, and service industry, along with Guardian City’s heavy and military industries, require massive manpower, the expansion of production lines takes time, and it will take a while to absorb this population fully. I don’t have the exact numbers, but Ms. Osena likely does. Our current unemployment rate may be rising quite quickly. The army recruitment offers relatively favorable terms, and many newcomers are eager to enlist to quickly obtain formal status. We’re actually helping the cities alleviate some of their unemployment pressures and easing the strain on various industries to hire workers.”
Gu Hang looked over at Osena.
With precision, Osena responded, “Indeed. I have the corresponding production management report here; you may review it.”
Gu Hang took the stack of papers and began reading them thoroughly.
Meanwhile, Osena continued her report, “Currently, under the New Alliance’s rule, the total population, although not definitively surveyed, is estimated at 2.4 million. Following the military department’s war zone plan, we have similarly designated three regions: the Central Province, High Tower Province, and Central-North Province. With the Central Province’s expansion progressing smoothly, we estimate the total population will exceed 4.4 million…”
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Chapter length: 4,000 words.
Choosing between an on-time update and an extra 2,000 words today, I opted for the timely update…
I couldn’t finish yesterday; I underestimated the complexity of data calculations…
The missing 2,000 words will be made up for!
Today, I’ll aim to write more so tomorrow can be both timely and 6,000 words!
(End of Chapter)