Chapter 8: One Must Have a Conscience!

Ning Luo didn’t rush to find the other department heads.

The resource optimization plan still needed revisions. Whether it was Ning Luo or Colonel Hawkins, their ultimate goal remained the same—if the next war ended in failure, it wouldn't just be the military at risk. The entire empire could collapse from the chain reaction that followed.

Drafting an optimization plan alone wasn’t difficult. The hard part was creating a plan that everyone could accept. That wasn’t something one person could decide—not even the General Staff.

The next day.

There was no need for Ning Luo to seek them out.

Lieutenant Colonel Manners, the Minister of Transportation, came on his own.

This was within Ning Luo’s expectations. Colonel Hawkins visiting him was something that couldn't stay hidden in the logistics department—especially during such a tense time. So, Lieutenant Colonel Manners of the Transportation Department had hurried over immediately.

It was clear that Colonel Hawkins had deliberately let the other ministers know about this.

In a way, this was Colonel Hawkins intentionally delegating power to Ning Luo.

Within the imperial system—

The Quartermaster Director was the overall head of all logistics systems, but he wasn’t promoted from within the logistics system. The Quartermaster Director was the second-in-command of the entire General Staff, with authority above the entire logistics hierarchy.

Moreover, each logistics system operated independently—divided into the Eastern Front, Central, and the current Western Front logistics system.

Colonel Hawkins was the actual highest authority in the Western Front logistics system.

He was intentionally handing over power to Ning Luo, which indirectly signaled that this war required others to share responsibility with him. It was also a way to observe how others would respond.

Such as Lieutenant Colonel Manners of the Transportation Department.

“Captain, I fully support the General Staff’s decision.”

“Then, Colonel, could you sign this document?”

Ning Luo handed over the document that had been signed yesterday to Lieutenant Colonel Manners.

Lieutenant Colonel Manners immediately responded,

“How conventional! How conventional! With the kind of relationship we have, is this kind of thing even necessary? I give you my word—I’ll support you unconditionally.”

……

Lieutenant Colonel Manners didn’t support Ning Luo for no reason.

In the optimization plan Ning Luo proposed, the Transportation Department was a critical component. In other words, if Ning Luo’s plan was followed, Lieutenant Colonel Manners, as the head of Transportation, would gain significant power and could achieve greater merit during the war.

So—

That was why Lieutenant Colonel Manners had rushed over to express his support for Ning Luo. While this plan might cost other departments a great deal of profit, it was entirely a good deal for the Transportation Department. There was no downside for him—he wouldn’t lose out even if Ning Luo turned out to be a fraud.

However, when it came to signing the document—he still refused.

Later—

Ning Luo met with the heads of the Health Department, Ordnance Department, and Engineering Department respectively.

They were not as easy to deal with as the Transportation Department. The new resource optimization plan directly affected the interests of their departments. If given the choice, they would have rejected it without hesitation.

But just like Colonel Hawkins—

They had no choice. At the same time, they weren’t willing to relinquish power on their own initiative. So they preferred to observe the situation first—waiting for Colonel Hawkins to make a decision before they made their own.

After handling the Supply Department, Transportation Department, Ordnance Department, Engineering Department, and Health Department—

Only one department remained.

The Finance Department.

Generally speaking, from the name alone, one could tell how crucial the Finance Department was within the logistics system. Its authority came in two forms: one focused on decision-making and oversight. However, at present, the most important figure in the logistics system was Colonel Hawkins, meaning that the Finance Department leaned more toward coordination and support.

Even so—

The Finance Department was still considered the most important department after the Supply Department. Naturally, it was also the department whose interests were most affected by the resource optimization plan—virtually every line of the proposal touched on the Finance Department’s interests.

Thus, the Finance Department's stance was of critical importance.

Brittany Logistics Headquarters.

Finance Department.

The office of Lieutenant Colonel Walsley, the Finance Minister, was in fact the plainest among all departments in the logistics system. This was understandable—at such a sensitive time, especially within logistics, no department dared to stand out.

Particularly not a department as important as the Finance Department. Lieutenant Colonel Austin Calvin Pe Walsley was walking alongside Ning Luo down a corridor in the Finance Department.

“Captain, General Hastings was a fine general. I was deeply saddened by the news. I believe that General Asfled will be the Chief of General Staff who leads us to victory in this war.”

Lieutenant Colonel Walsley was trying to cozy up to Ning Luo.

And also, probing his identity.

After all, Ning Luo was far too young. Someone his age being in contact with the General Staff made it hard not to assume that Ning Luo had some sort of connection—particularly with the newly appointed Chief of General Staff, General Asfled.

“Colonel, do you know General Asfled?”

“That was about eight years ago. We met right here in Brittany. Back then, he was a colonel and I was a major. Now he's Chief of General Staff, while I’m still just a humble Finance Minister.”

Ning Luo stopped walking and turned to look directly at Lieutenant Colonel Walsley.

The look made Walsley’s skin crawl.

“Colonel, probing is taboo. If you want to know whether I have any connection to General Asfled, you can just ask me directly. I’ll tell you plainly—I have no relationship whatsoever with General Asfled.”

Ning Luo, of course, had no ties to General Asfled.

He didn’t even know what General Asfled looked like.

Eight years ago, General Asfled wasn’t even stationed in Brittany. Lieutenant Colonel Walsley had deliberately brought this up to test him. Ning Luo didn’t need to know where General Asfled had been eight years ago—he just needed to recognize that Walsley was trying to test him.

That said—

Even though Ning Luo made it clear he had no connection to General Asfled—

Whether Walsley believed him was another matter entirely.

“Captain, you misunderstood. Then I’ll just be frank. Honestly, I don’t know where General Asfled was eight years ago either—I just wanted to build a bit of rapport.”

Ning Luo continued walking forward.

“You should know why I’m here.”

“The Finance Department will, of course, comply with the General Staff’s orders. However, there are many matters that aren’t within my control.”

“Colonel, before I came to the logistics department, I didn’t conduct any investigation into you.”

……

Lieutenant Colonel Walsley furrowed his brow.

That was already a blunt warning.

At their level of authority, they couldn’t afford to be subjected to any kind of investigation. If someone wanted to investigate, even a clean record would turn up problems—especially when the army’s top brass had already set their sights on him.

For him, trouble was already knocking at the door.

“Captain, please speak frankly.”

“We can hold off on interfering with you and everything behind you for now, but…”

Ning Luo’s meaning wasn’t hard to grasp.

The former Chief of General Staff, General Hastings, along with his entire General Staff, had been completely replaced. That meant all the power and interests tied to the previous General Staff had been thoroughly wiped out—there was no chance for a comeback. So as a representative sent by the new General Staff, Ning Luo naturally needed to re-establish influence within the military’s power structure.

If it had been Colonel Hawkins, this kind of conversation would never have happened.

But Lieutenant Colonel Walsley was a different case.

The other department ministers were only protecting their own positions of authority. But the Finance Department—its influence was much wider, entangled in countless unseen connections behind the scenes.

If he were investigated, it wouldn’t just mean losing power.

There were countless people who would want him dead.

“How much are you asking for, Captain?”

“Do you think I’m in a position to decide that, Colonel?”

Ning Luo shot the question right back.

Lieutenant Colonel Walsley hesitated for a moment.

“How about one percent of the budget from the Finance Department?”

“One?”

“No, no, what I mean is—that one percent would go to you personally. Let’s say it’s to purchase the items you should be given. As for other matters, the Finance Department is willing to allocate ten percent of the budget.”

Ning Luo frowned.

Even he hadn’t expected Walsley to dare throw out a figure as large as ten percent—that was a significant chunk of the budget for the entire Brittany front.

“Ten percent?”

“Fifteen is doable, surely. The transport trucks can last another year—it’s fine.”

Ning Luo turned his head to glance at Lieutenant Colonel Walsley.

“Twenty percent would be a bit difficult… but we can manage. Just cut some of the wounded soldiers’ benefits. Delay a few reports.”

Ning Luo clenched his fist and tapped it lightly against the armrest.

His steps quickened.

This had gone beyond what he’d anticipated.

Lieutenant Colonel Walsley immediately caught up.

He shouted righteously at Ning Luo—

“Thirty percent, Captain Ning Luo! One must have a conscience—anything beyond thirty is simply unacceptable! People will die!”

Ning Luo said nothing.

He took a deep breath.

Then turned to look at Lieutenant Colonel Walsley.

“We’ll talk about all this—after we win the next war.”

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