nucmednet Chapter 19 Afternoon
Chapter 19 Afternoon
Alice opened her eyes. Three days had passed since she officially became a vampire. It proved that vampires did indeed have their own unique abilities, such as magic.
Before her transmigration, Alice was a materialist, so she quickly accepted the existence of magic. The simplest form of blood magic, "blood-transformed weapons," became her research focus in the past few days.
Blood rose from all around, taking shape in her hands and gradually transforming into something familiar to her. The more familiar she was with something, the better the quality of the weapon it became.
A moment later, she held a pistol in her hand, a Glock 19X, made of a polymer that Amerlane Industries could never manufacture, and fired 9x19 Parabellum pistol cartridges.
Fine beads of sweat crept onto Alice's forehead. Conjured pistols and conjured swords were not comparable; the sheer number of parts in a modern pistol was already overwhelming.
“Miss, afternoon tea is ready. Also, General Smedley of the Military Council would like to have a meeting with you.”
"Okay, I'll get started right away."
As it turned out, this government system did work effectively, so she and Alicia didn't have to hold the helm of the ship all the time; they only needed to decide the direction when necessary.
Afternoon tea time was a rule set by Alice. For civil servants, afternoon tea time is a real rest time. This one-hour lunch break does indeed help improve the overall combat effectiveness of civil servants.
Alice calmly accepted that she was now a girl. After all, once you wear women's clothes, you can do it again and again. She took off her soft nightgown and put on the new clothes the tailor had sent her the day before—a suit from her previous life, which fit her well, but Alicia didn't like it.
Throughout the North, Redridge's civil servants were promoting this style of clothing: men wore suits and trousers, and women wore suits and office lady skirts. Of course, stockings were essential, but unlike the modern stockings Alice was familiar with, these stockings were not elastic. Everyone used leg rings or garters to hold them in place, or simply wore pantyhose. The knitting machines at the Redridge Textile Factory played a crucial role, and the large-scale production of stockings in Redridge provided a solid guarantee for the government's finances to a certain extent.
Good afternoon, Miss.
"General Smedley!"
“I’m here to report on the military’s progress—um, Miss Commissioner.”
Alice took the report from Smedley. Although modern government procedures have produced countless paper documents, reports and procedures, the new National Planning Bureau was created for this purpose. Before the typewriter was invented, the Planning Bureau had to recruit government talent on a large scale. Fortunately, due to the war, there were many literate people who had lost their jobs or were homeless.
"Through our efforts, we have trained personnel for three divisions and filled the vacancies in the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, and 3rd Infantry Division. Now, the entire Amelansi Vanguard Army has a total of six divisions with personnel, totaling 73,095 people. We have incorporated the veterans and sergeants of the 1st and 2nd Divisions into these units according to your training methods."
"Very good, how is the weapon and equipment allocation?"
"In terms of weaponry, relying solely on the Trian Armory is probably not enough. The speed of weapon distribution cannot keep up with the training speed of the new troops. Only the First, Second, Third and Fourth Divisions are fully equipped. The Fifth Infantry Division lacks artillery, and the Sixth Infantry Division is even short of guns."
"Go to the Trian Armory and the Trian Machine Factory. You are a high-ranking officer in the army, you have the authority to do so. Just have them handle this problem."
"Yes."
The modern system of decentralization has a long way to go... Alice quickly said goodbye to Smedley, who hurriedly left the conference room and ran towards the arsenal and machine factory.
Alice watched his retreating figure, pondering—it seemed that, at this stage, relying on capital to spontaneously drive industrialization was not feasible.
She picked up a pen, and Anjie came in and placed a glass of blood beside her.
"Thank you, Ange."
"Miss, my master told me that you should take a rest."
Alicia is currently arguing with the people of Hira City. After all, the Free City is a troublesome place no matter how you look at it. The merchants and citizens there may not want to relinquish their dominance, but Alice has long had her eye on the huge urban class and non-agricultural population there.
"Have all the heads of the committees in the Organization Department come to a meeting tomorrow morning."
Alice summoned the heads of the various committees and looked at the paper in her hand, on which a preface had already been written.
Conclusions on Industrial Development
The heads of the eight committees quickly entered the meeting room. Alice stood up, and Ange guided them to their seats.
"Distinguished officials, this is the second meeting of the Amelansi Provisional Government, and it is an important meeting concerning our future. Please listen carefully to what I am about to say."
Alicia wasn't there, but she had already given Alice the authority she deserved. Alice instructed the stenographer, Angela, to begin recording their work.
"I'm sure you've all visited our factories. Currently, Trian has eight factories, and these factories are the source of all our power and wealth."
Factories were a new thing, and those who were lucky enough to enter them were amazed by their efficiency. Black smoke billowed day and night, driving huge machines to run, forging steel, spinning cotton, and every day several cartloads of goods rolled off the production line.
"But today the State Planning Bureau gave me a statistical table, and I saw our reality in these numbers—our foundation is still not solid, our factories are far from enough, and our steel is still lacking!"
Alice handed out the industrial development plan, which she had written hundreds of times before, so she completed it in one night with ease—Ange took away her paper and pen and made her go to bed—the newborn vampire still needed rest.
"In the first national industrial development plan, we will establish hundreds of civilian and military industries, including steel, chemical, textile, timber, shipbuilding, and military industries, covering the North, Red Ridge, and Kut. This is the main focus of the Industrial Council. The five-year plan will be jointly supervised by the government, the Industrial Council, and the military, and will be carried out with national power. The completed factories will belong to the Amerlansey Industrial Group."
"Excuse me, Your Highness, I need to understand further?"
Anders Carter, the head of the Industrial Department, raised his hand and asked. He was an old blacksmith and the director of the Trian Machine Manufacturing Plant.
“The production plan is issued by the Industrial Committee and is not allowed to be interfered with by chambers of commerce or private capital. You are directly responsible to me, just like your Trian Machinery Manufacturing Plant.”
Anders Carter nodded and wrote the words down in his notebook.
"At the same time, the Six-Year Compulsory Education Law will be implemented, requiring all minors in Amelansi, regardless of race, gender, or family background, to uniformly and compulsorily attend school. This part will be jointly handled by the Education Committee and the Science Committee."
The idea of compulsory education had been compiled into an "Education Guidebook" and handed to them the moment Alice established the Education Committee, so they were not unfamiliar with the term. The Science Committee also expressed its understanding, after all, industry is a complex system, and workers with knowledge are more efficient than illiterate workers.
"Gentlemen of the Propaganda Committee, your task is to vigorously promote the National Industrial Development Plan and the Six-Year Compulsory Education Law."
Alice set the tone, stating that even though they had the ability to protect themselves and even launch attacks, in her view, their ultimate victory depended on their status as an "industrial nation."
Only by becoming an industrialized nation can they create a generational gap with the rest of the world!