I will be crowned king

Packing an entire arsenal into a steam train and transporting it from one location to another was a huge undertaking, no less difficult than packing an elephant into a refrigerator.

The two are similar in that they can be broken down into three steps: packing the factory, stuffing the bags into the train, and driving the steam train away; the difference is that the difficulty of the former is concentrated in the last two steps, while the difficulty of the latter is quickly broken from the beginning. The sky is the limit.

Sophia was deeply touched by this... Although she had made full psychological preparations in advance, selected the factory with the most suitable scale, established relations with the Railway Commission, and even considered the traffic conditions during the transportation, she was convinced that the plan was perfect. Even if he is a liar who claims to be loyal to him, it is nothing more than that.

But after actually getting started, what is meant by "plans failing to keep up with changes", "the gap between theory and reality", "unimaginable flaws"... all popped up one after another.

The first and most direct question: How to pack?

If rifles, gunpowder, lead bullets, even cannonballs, and cannons are all easy to handle, they can be packed into standard boxes, and the drawings can also be stuffed into tarpaulin bags... What about the various machines and equipment on the production line? Even if some parts can really be dismantled into parts and transported to the colonies for reassembly, what about the remaining parts that cannot be disassembled or cannot be loaded into train cars?

Of course, this problem has been basically solved, and the entire factory has been packed up - if you really can't take it with you, you can only choose to give up.

Then comes the second most troublesome part...how to transport the packed "Arms Factory" to the steam train at Central West Station and load it into the train accurately?

You must know that this is an entire military factory. There are nearly a hundred freight carriages that need to be used, plus at least five times that number of porters. The scale is large enough to block any transportation hub.

Moreover, the Central West Station of the Royal Capital is the most prosperous and densely populated area in Clovis City. Hundreds of freight carriages that have not been reported in advance suddenly appear, and a pile of goods that are definitely related to contraband (arms) just by looking at the packaging shape Stuffing goods into the carriage of a steam train... This is no longer treating people as fools. This is because the Ring of Order must come in person to avoid being discovered.

But if you know someone from the Railway Commission, or even one of its senior officials, they will tell you a secret, that is, there is an "abandoned station" outside Clovis... It is very dilapidated, very old, and it even looks like there is a cemetery. Pass the station, but as long as they bribe the conductor of the extra train at Central West Station, they will find a way to stop there for a while.

This not only requires a network of connections, favors, but also financial abilities—but Sophia has none of them.

The last step is to drive the steam train fully loaded with goods to the destination, then unload the goods, load the ship, and send it to the Beluga Port Colony. During this period, not only strong overall management capabilities are required, but also accurate timing and how to maximize and rationally utilize the warehouse space. , how to solve various unnecessary losses and hoarding during the turnover period...

Such complex "side details" were issues that Sophia did not consider at all at the beginning and did not realize until after the start. Any omission would produce astonishing waste and greatly increase the exposure risk of the entire plan.

"…But please rest assured that these problems have been resolved."

In the carriage of the fast-moving carriage, Erich wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and at the same time tried his best to restrain his right hand from reaching for his pipe: "I hired a young scholar from St. Isaac's College. He designed a set of formulas to help porters They saved a lot of trouble.”

"Formula?" Sophia, who was originally impatient, was stunned for a moment and asked with interest.

"Yes, he wrote a bunch of... numbers and symbols to prove how large a steam train is equivalent to a military factory, how it should be packaged to improve transportation efficiency, and what equipment and materials must be loaded on the train. , and which ones can save space by using local materials..." Erich became more and more confused as he spoke:

“In the end, the ‘factory’ that best meets the calculation results only takes one week to dismantle, pack and transport to another place, and it will take another week to rebuild it exactly as it is.”

"That bunch of numbers and symbols... he called it the 'train factory equation.'"

"We didn't quite believe it at first, but he gave the workers three weeks of leave and waited until the last week to start construction. As a result... it really only took seven days, and I had to pay the workers a month's wages. !”

Eric's face showed a bit of depression, and he was obviously very distressed about the three weeks' wages.

It only takes one week to pack up an arsenal, and another week to rebuild it. If dear brother Ludwig hears this news, he will probably be so excited that he can't help himself... Sophia's eyes flowed, and her curiosity became stronger:

"You just mentioned symbols. Are they from St. Isaac's Runes?"

Among the vast legacy of Saint Isaac, the Runes are probably among the most obscure.

But this is not because of how profound it is, but because it is basically useless knowledge in the eyes of most people; "Rune Literature" is also called "Ancient Literature", and is generally considered by church scholars to be the work of Saint Isaac who compiled many works of the Dark Ages. The ancient syllabic writing codified a whole system and gave each symbol its own meaning.

As a lover of occultism and magic, Sophia has also studied this knowledge, but in the end she found that apart from being used as passwords or decorations on jewelry, these runes are completely useless, and the weird pronunciation is almost impossible for humans to pronounce. thing.

"No, he created it himself." Erich shook his head:

"Not only that, he himself seems to be quite dismissive of Saint Isaac. It is said that it was because he often made slanderous remarks about Saint Isaac in private that he was kicked out of the college jointly by several professors and deprived of associate professors and lecturers. Identity, only the degree is retained.”

"I found him when I was recruiting porters. It is said that he had been living in a slum in the outer city. He made a living by teaching literacy and mathematics to workers' children. He also designed a simple water purification facility and heating system for the slum. device."

So he is not only a mathematician and paleontologist, but also an inventor with strong hands-on skills... Sophia is becoming more and more interested in this young scholar.

Young and talented, rebellious, not understood by the world but considerate of the lower class, these labels reminded her of Draco Vertes, a supporting character in a novella detective novel. Most of the time, he appeared as the protagonist's assistant, but in fact he was The brilliant scholar has saved the protagonist from danger many times with his own inventions, and the relationship between the two has also rapidly sublimated in the crisis and joy of daily life...

Familiar scenes and plots kept reappearing in her mind one after another. Sophia, whose delicate body was trembling slightly, took a deep breath, pursed her lips lightly, and pretended to be reserved:

"What's his name?"

……………………

"Wilhelm Gottfried, just call me William."

With pale skin, messy short hair, a pair of purple and black eye circles and almost transparent lips, at first glance, he seemed more like an undead than a human being: "Welcome, Governor Sophia Franz."

"……Thanks."

The slightly absent-minded girl suddenly woke up and said with a slightly stiff smile: "You must be the genius scholar that Erich mentioned, who helped us a lot."

"You're welcome." The young man said calmly, his misty eyes as if he didn't see the girl in front of him clearly: "It's not like I didn't get anything, everyone just gets what they need."

"Instead of wasting time chatting here, why don't I introduce the work progress to you - what do you think? I heard that we only have less than ten hours left."

"..."

This is a very difficult person to get along with... Sophia, who was disillusioned with the "genius inventor", frowned slightly. She suddenly understood the reason why the other person was kicked out of the academy.

But as Franz's eldest daughter, she certainly wouldn't be offended by this little disrespect and smiled slightly: "Of course."

Wilhelm Gottfried shrugged, turned and walked towards the factory building without any courtesy, not even giving Sophia a chance to ask questions.

His skinny body was wrapped in a starched white college uniform, and it looked like he was floating in mid-air from a distance; if the cold wind in Clovis in winter was stronger, Sophia would even doubt this young "genius" It will fly away directly with the wind.

Holding back her doubts, Sophia smiled and followed him closely from the factory gate to the factory building.

With an expressionless expression, William almost leaned against the factory door and pushed open the brand-new door panel. The silky-lubricated door shaft did not even make the slightest "creak" noise that would occur when it becomes old.

The girl's eyes showed a bit of surprise again... She had been here once and pushed through the door with her own hands. If I remember correctly, she seemed to have pushed it open with one hand.

It has only been more than a month and it has become so strong?

"Whirring whirring--……"

William, who was out of breath, flushed from exhaustion. The profuse sweat formed a large pool of water on the ground. He stood there and gasped for a long time, and his thin chest and slender throat were hard. It made a noise comparable to a broken bellows.

Just when Sophia was wondering whether he would die of suffocation due to lack of breath, William suddenly stood up expressionlessly, walked to a machine that looked like a clock and turned on the switch on it.

"Click - click - click -"

The crisp sound of gears began to sound, and the only hands on the huge dial began to rotate.

After confirming that the machine was operating correctly, the expressionless William turned his head, indifferently as if he was carved from the same mold as the machine:

"If you have any questions, you can start asking them, Governor Sophia Franz."

Taking a deep breath, Sophia looked around the factory very seriously, then smiled politely and said:

"I have two questions."

Wilhelm Gottfried looked at her silently, as if a machine was waiting for effective instructions.

"The first one." The girl raised her right index finger and pointed around in the void:

"The whole factory...I mean the equipment, the parts, the products and the workers?"

"Everything has been packed and loaded into the truck and shipped to the station you arranged before." William answered mechanically without any emotion:

"In fact, we had already started the construction before Mr. Erich gave the order. You came a little late, otherwise you might be able to catch up with the last batch of supplies to be loaded on the truck; of course, in fact, there is no need for you to come at all, our There is plenty of time, even half the twelve hours is more than enough.”

"Really?" Sophia's smile grew brighter, but the corners of her eyebrows twitched slightly:

"If that's the case, why didn't you tell Erich about this, only to have him run to Franz's residence to inform me to come here?"

William paused and showed his first expression so far - a slight frown:

"Is this the second question?"

"……No."

Sophia smiled more and more happily.

"So it's a supplement to the first question, I understand..." William suddenly understood, and then restored his original expression again:

"Because I have a small request that must be approved by you - and I don't know where you live."

"What request?"

"This is the second question..."

"no!"

"I am wanted and need a safe enough way to leave Clovis City. After thinking about it for a long time, I feel that it may be safest to go with your arsenal."

The young scholar gave the answer, plus a weighty enough addition:

"...wanted by the Tribunal."

"What?!"

Sophia was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered something.

Could it be that the trial court wanted to cooperate with the Whitehall police not because of arms smuggling, but because of... him? !

"Click - click - click - click..."

Suddenly coming back to her senses, Sophia, who suppressed her surprise, pointed at the rotating dial behind him and asked with a slight trembling:

"Second question...what is this?"

"Oh, this is a manual timer alarm machine."

"Manual... timer... alarm?!"

"Yes." William said nonchalantly:

"As long as its dial rotates for ten minutes, it will sound an alarm loud enough to cover two surrounding streets - enough for the Whitehall police patrolling nearby to notice something unusual and take the initiative to come to the door."

"They found that the entire factory has been completely emptied, and not a single munition is left in the warehouse. They will immediately seize all the steam trains that are about to leave the station. Your plan to move the factory will immediately go bankrupt... Of course, my escape plan will be the same."

"The only way to unblock it is to enter the preset password on the dial. The only person who knows this password is me."

Looking at Sophia, whose face was getting increasingly ugly, William Gottfried turned to look at the dial behind him - there were less than five minutes left.

But he firmly believed that Sophia would definitely agree.

The only problem is that the climate in the New World is said to be very harsh and unfriendly to people with weak health; and I am also seasick, so I don’t know if I can survive a full month at sea.

Wouldn't it be a big loss if he escaped the pursuit of the trial court and ended up dying on the rough sea... William was in a dilemma deep in his heart.