Disarmament, Schemes, and Unions

The army of the Bayer Federation does not recruit soldiers from the public every year. Before the outbreak of the World War, a batch of soldiers was recruited every four years, and at the same time a batch of soldiers were discharged.

During the World War, although the Federal pursued a policy of isolation and did not participate in any international affairs, the President and the Department of Department of Defense at the time maintained sufficient vigilance and actively expanded military equipment by conscripting soldiers every two years.

This greatly expands the strength of each military region, with the aim of deterring neighboring countries and preparing for the possibility of being affected by war at any time.

War is an act of force without reason. If reasoning were effective, there would be no war. Therefore, maintaining a higher number of soldiers than in peacetime is the best way to ensure National Security.

However, this year is not the discharge season; last year and the year after were. The military will not release people until this time. Moreover, the military has already released all the soldiers who should have been discharged during last year's discharge season, so there shouldn't be a large-scale discharge this year.

The Sergeant's words mean that another batch of soldiers are now retiring.

In response to Lin Qi's Sergeant, the sergeant explained that the Department of Defense believed that international relations were becoming clearer and that there was no need for too many active-duty military personnel. Therefore, they would gradually reduce the number of personnel this year to alleviate the burden of Military Expenditure.

After listening to the Sergeant's explanation, Lin Qi roughly understood the reason. International wars had basically all stopped, and countries had begun a new round of development. If some countries that did not participate in the World War still maintained a much larger active military force than before the war, it could easily lead to some misunderstandings.

To avoid these misunderstandings and to foster genuine goodness and beauty among people, the Federal to disband a portion of its military is a very sincere gesture. This aligns well with the hopes of most countries internationally and puts people at ease.

In addition to the situation within the Federal government, the Department of Defense will not receive much military budget for at least two years, and various military expenses will also be cut. Therefore, an additional batch of soldiers will be included in the retirement list early this year.

In fact, this was also done to appease the public and give them the impression that "we will not go to war," which also suited the public's current wavering mentality and stance, allowing them to gradually calm down.

There are actually deeper reasons. For example, when Gefra Prime Minister, who was visiting the Bayer Federation, discussed the Federal's integration into the International Community with His Majesty the Gefra Emperor, the Progressive Party Committee Chairman, Gefra Emperor made a very clear statement: to reduce the size of the military.

The reason is simple: the millions of active-duty soldiers in the Federal are unsettling. If the number of active-duty soldiers cannot be reduced to 600,000 or less, Gefra Emperor said that not only would he not help the Bayer Federation integrate into the International Community, but he would also suggest that everyone be wary of the Bayer Federation potentially causing trouble.

After several rounds of secret negotiations, the Progressive Party finally decided to reduce the number of active-duty military personnel. However, they played a trick, as reducing the number of soldiers from one million to six hundred thousand is obviously not something that can be accomplished in a year.

They requested that it take at least four years to complete this task. After discussions between Gefra Emperor and foreign affairs officials from other countries, they agreed to the Bayer Federation's proposal, giving the region four years to reduce its military size. Everyone demonstrated great sincerity.

However, it is clear that the inexplicable arrogance inherent in the politicians of the Bayer Federation will not allow them to simply give up, nor will they be able to fully implement the demands of the Gefra Emperor, whom they once regarded as feudal, ignorant, and backward.

The Progressive Party has already devised a plan: most of these veterans will be assigned to local militia units, with the Department of Defense and some private patriotic foundations providing funding to local militia organizations to ensure that these people can maintain a certain level of military training after losing their military status.

If war were to break out in the future—which is inevitable, as everyone knows—if a country takes a clear stand on one side in the International Community and actively participates in various international affairs, war would inevitably break out once irreconcilable and sharp contradictions arise.

The Bayer Federation wants to prove itself, and ultimately it needs to do so on the battlefield, not just with words.

In the event of war, these militia members who maintain daily training can immediately be incorporated into the army and sent to the front lines. This plan ensures that their combat effectiveness will not decline, maintains their physical strength, and gives them sufficient psychological preparation.

In addition to the compensation and funding plan for these militia organizations, there is also a certain degree of policy support for some Private Armed Force companies, such as security companies. However, these things are not convenient to disclose for the time being, at least until Gefra Prime Minister leaves.

The Prime Minister of Gefra's visit to the Bayer Federation was also part of a series of political deals. The Federal had begun to reduce the number of active-duty military personnel, and Federal visit created the impression that the Federal had begun to become a member of the International Community.

After roughly figuring things out, Lin Qi smiled and said, "How could that be? I'd only complain that our scale is too small, not that it's too big..."

After walking for a while, Lin Qi said, "Next month or the month after, I'm going to invest in some other countries. You know, things are very chaotic outside right now, so you guys need to come with me."

When he finished speaking, the Sergeant paused for a moment, but quickly caught up. There was no excitement on his face; instead, he looked rather serious.

The people of the Federal are actually quite conflicted. Isolationism has cost them a lot, such as courage. They want to prove themselves but are also very afraid, especially when it comes to foreign affairs.

Lin Qi patted his arm. "Help me select twenty or thirty reliable young men to protect me and come with me. More people will be transferred later. This investment is very important to me."

The Sergeant's lips moved; he wanted to ask Lin Qi what kind of missions these soldiers would be carrying out outside the Federal, but in the end, he didn't speak.

Obeying orders is a soldier's mission. In the military, they are exposed to this kind of information every day. Instructors, officers, and superiors always tell them what to do, and they do it immediately without asking why.

This habit has remained unchanged to this day, and although he was somewhat confused, he still nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, Lin Qi, accompanied by Conner, a lawyer with whom Lin Qi had collaborated several times, went to the Labor Union headquarters in Sabine City to discuss some cooperation issues.

Lynch brought a lawyer because Lin Qi knew very little about the laws that concerned workers. This was not his fault; he had made a great effort to study legal documents, cases, and books.

However, there are simply too many laws, regulations, and rules related to workers, which also testifies to the intensity of the conflict between labor and management.

He doesn't understand these things, so he needs the help of a lawyer.

This was Lin Qi's first visit to the workers' headquarters. Even before entering the five-story building, its style seemed to reveal its nature.

Its relatively simple and plain exterior style makes it look like a square cement block that can be found anywhere in a factory, with some rust-like rust on the edges and corners, as if it was left on the cement block during the shaping process.

People dug out some windows and doors from this concrete block, and also hung a Labor Union sign with content that matched it perfectly.

Upon entering the lobby of the Labor Union headquarters, the floor was just ordinary cement. Perhaps because so many people were coming and going, some areas of the floor had been worn smooth by the soles of shoes, darkening in color and even having a slight mirror-like reflection.

An unremarkable solid wood reception desk, an average-looking girl—everything here is very ordinary, so ordinary that it makes you feel like this is really a worker's home.

Until... Lin Qi saw the local Labor Union leaders in the conference room on the fifth floor; they were a group of well-dressed men.

Judging from how well their clothes fit, these clothes are all handmade and must cost at least several hundred yuan per set.

They had their hair meticulously combed, and the waxed hair reflected a greasy sheen in the light. These people also seemed to clean their faces frequently; their faces were as clean as a young girl's bottom, a stark contrast to the dusty faces of the workers.

When Lin Qi entered the room, smiles immediately appeared on their faces, and they stood up. The leader greeted Lin Qi warmly and introduced him to the others after shaking hands.

All of this gave Lin Qi the feeling that he wasn't interacting with worker representatives, but rather with a group of capitalists or politicians—a rather peculiar experience.

After everyone had introduced themselves, they sat on opposite sides of the table. Lin Qi seemed a bit outnumbered, as he only had himself and Conner on his side.

After the guild secretary brought in some coffee and snacks, the meeting room door closed. What followed was indeed not suitable for others to hear, at least not for dissemination until it received approval from the Labor Union.

The president of the Sabine City Labor Union was a man in his fifties with gray hair and a gentle face.

He flipped through the documents in front of him, drawing the attention of those around him, before looking up at Lin Qi with a slight smile. "Mr. Lin Qi, 100,000 people in the entire Sabine City have lost their jobs, and the vast majority of families are in dire straits. We need help from all sectors of society. Thank you so much for being here today; at least it gives us confidence that our society wants to solve these problems..."

The very official tone actually made the chairman and these people seem less like workers; at least workers wouldn't speak in such a high-sounding manner.

===① The purpose of using a buttock to describe a face is to tell the reader that these people only talk nonsense. The author vividly and figuratively uses a harmless but not vulgar joke to expose the masks of some people, demonstrating his profound writing ability!