Chapter 20
An accurate message came from Wiltok: the emperor will visit Kuster's arsenal at 2 pm on October 3.
There are still 6 days from now, and except for today, Sunday, they only have 5 days to produce. Kuster was a little anxious, but he didn't dare to let the workers work overtime.
He still has 70,000 crowns to use. In order to reduce the burden on Fox, he asked some resource tycoons to buy 40,000 crowns of solid fuel.
These solid fuels will arrive in Vienna tomorrow, and then they can be sent to the explosives factory for processing.
At the same time, he used 20,000 crowns to hire someone to repair the damaged facilities. Now, there are only 10,000 crowns on hand, which cannot be spent. Because he alone raised the wages of the workers, the empire did not bear these extra expenses. This money must be kept for the workers.
As for his son far away in America, he is deeply besieged by several companies. Kuster will not ask him for money at this critical moment.
Kuster really wants to return to the battlefield, so that he can be more relaxed. Although the Austro-Hungarian army collapsed, there were still many senior generals alive. They were more prestigious than Kuster, so he basically had no chance to go to the front line in the next few months.
He walked back to his house depressed and continued to draw blueprints. To relieve the dull and tense mood.
But this time, he worked until night.
Looking up at the sky that had once again disappeared into darkness, Kuster's mood was full of mixed feelings. But he had to lie down and sleep.
On September 28, the workers' vacation ended and they had to come back to work.
Although some facilities had not been repaired, it did not hinder the work.
Kuster and Fox looked around the workers' work nervously. The important things in the arsenal were almost developed, and other weapons and equipment were too late to be developed now. So after the two said some encouraging words, they went to the tractor manufacturing plant.
As soon as they entered, they saw that the previous tank chassis had been modified and had the prototype of a rocket car. The armor and engine were all ready, and now only a rocket launcher was missing.
Then, they rushed to the newly established explosives factory.
Although the explosives factory had just been established, the production line was quickly determined. Now they have produced more than a few hundred grenades, and the development is very good.
However, Kuster is more worried about rocket explosives, which are still in the theoretical stage and have not yet been put into practical production.
Fortunately, the foreman of the explosives factory said that they would start production as soon as the resources arrived in the evening. Kuster and his partner went to the independent artillery factory with confidence.
The mortar mount has been completed, and now it is time to manufacture its shells. As for the rocket mount, the foreman here promised that it will be made tomorrow.
The two did not plan to visit the steel plant because they are not short of steel now.
Kuster said goodbye to Fox and worked alone in the house. But the urgency of time made him very anxious. His hands kept knocking on the corner of the table, which made his work efficiency extremely slow. So much so that by the evening, he had not come up with a new drawing.
On September 29, the explosives factory began to manufacture rockets. The rocket mount was also completed and installed on the tank body.
On September 30, a rocket was successfully manufactured. But after the test, it was found to be a dud and could not be used.
On October 1, Kuster looked at the documents in his hand, his hands and feet kept shaking. I don't know if it was because of the cold weather.
He rushed to the explosives factory and asked the workers carefully with a gentle face.
After confirming that they had only made 2 rockets that could be launched, Kuster's face was still pleasant, but he kept saying that they would make as many as possible.
On October 2, only 6 rockets were made, and Kuster could no longer sit still. He asked people to prepare to welcome the emperor, and also asked the workers in the explosives factory to work overtime for one day.
The workers certainly disagreed, and Kuster had to temporarily increase their wages.
In order to encourage the workers to make progress, the old Kuster also stepped forward and participated in the work.
But even so, only 9 rockets were made at night. And the rocket launcher designed by Kuster had to launch 10 rockets at a time, which was not enough.
Dawn was approaching, and Kuster and the workers were still immersed in work. But even if Kuster tried harder, the workers were still working inefficiently because they had not slept all night. They made a total of 4 rockets throughout the night. A total of 21 rockets, which could only support two rounds of bombing.
It was already 6 o'clock in the morning, and Kuster had to let the workers in the explosives factory go off work. He asked workers from other factories to fill the vacancies.
But these workers had never touched a rocket, so how could they know how to make it? After Kuster taught them, it was already 10 o'clock in the morning. There were still 4 hours left, and it would be great if they could produce one.
When Kuster walked out of the factory, he couldn't open his eyes because of the dazzling light. He pulled away Fox, who had worked with him all night, and complained:
"He is worthy of being the emperor. With his arrival, the originally gloomy sky has become clear."
Fox, who was standing aside, did not react at all, just like a walking corpse.
They had been working in the dim factory last night, and suddenly appeared in the sun, and they were more or less uncomfortable. Passersby on the street saw their strange way of walking and kept away from them.
Back in the room, it felt like liberation. Kuster set the alarm for 1pm, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep.
It wasn't long before 3 hours. Hearing the alarm ring, Kuster jumped up. He quickly washed his dark face to refresh himself. He went to the arsenal with a military cap.
The workers who had been idle because of the damaged facilities in the arsenal were transferred to the explosives factory, which made the arsenal look a little deserted.
Kuster went straight to the telephone station and called Wiltok:
"This is Kuster. Wiltok, where will the emperor's carriage stop?"
"The emperor's itinerary is confidential, and I don't know."
"Then how do you know they will arrive at 2 pm?"
"Well, I guessed. I just want to give you a bottom line. Maybe the emperor has arrived now."
"What! Your mother..."
Before he finished speaking, a soldier from the arsenal rushed over and said:
"General! The emperor is here! They are outside."
Kust threw the phone angrily, tidied his clothes, and ran outside the arsenal. He saw a group of guards and several people in gorgeous clothes.
But the most eye-catching person is Emperor Franz in the middle. Franz looks very kind, and his long white beard and bald forehead add some majesty. But Kuster was a little scared by his gentle and sharp eyes.
Suddenly, the emperor coughed a few times. The dignitaries around him were also a little panicked.
Kuster looked at them with some disdain. But he quickly adjusted his state and said to them:
"Thank you for the emperor's visit, and thank you for the nobles' visit. I will not let you down. Please wait a moment, I will take out some things.
But I don't recommend you to wait for me here, go 500 meters north, there is a wilderness. In this way, I can show the results of these days as much as possible."
Several nobles beside the emperor were a little dissatisfied, and one of them even stretched out his fingers. But the emperor stopped them and asked them to get on the carriage.
Watching them leave, Kuster turned around and ran to the warehouse.
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