Good Good

"Excellent, Arthur, excellent!" Dutch nodded in satisfaction, placing the globe back on the table, then sat down next to Arthur.

He was preparing to sell gasoline engine Tanks to Germany now. Technological development was extremely rapid; by the time he sold the gasoline engine Tanks, his gasoline engine planes would be flying. So, there was no need to worry about technology leaks.

After purchasing the Tanks, Germany would undoubtedly disassemble and study them to see how they were built, then imitate their production and stockpile military supplies.

This would take at least a year or two, especially since Germany had long wanted to start a war. The military reserves of Tanks would certainly be very large, which would require a long production time.

It would take at least two or three years to meet their military supply needs.

And once Germany had stockpiled its Tanks, he would send a message to the German government saying he was going to sell Tanks and other military hardware to the British government.

At this, the German government would surely become anxious.

They originally wanted to start a war, and now that even the Tanks were stockpiled, they certainly wouldn't give Britain time to stockpile Tanks! So, to fight a firepower-overwhelming war, once Dutch released the news that he was going to sell Tanks to the British government, this war would become unstoppable.

Moreover, it would start quickly, and Europe would rapidly explode!

This was his plan to instigate a world war.

A clear, overt scheme. By the end of the war, when everyone summarized the events, they would discover that the direct fuse for the First World War was Mr. Dutch Van der Linde's intention to sell Tanks and other military weapons to Britain. At that point, everyone would understand.

But by then, he would have established a firm foothold.

Unsolvable!

As for whether Germany's Tanks would leak information, it would be even better if they did. It would merely increase the scale of the world war. At that time, he could completely sell bombers or other weapons to Germany to stimulate Britain's desire to fight.

The Tanks used to ignite the fire could be replaced, but the fire would definitely be ignited. The fundamental reason was that the contradictions among Europe could not be reconciled, and only war could resolve them. Otherwise, even if he dropped an atomic bomb, it would be useless.

And the Van der Linde Gang's final development period would be the time for Europe to conduct military preparations.

Dutch was confident he could surpass the East within two years. Of course, this confidence was in Mr. Marko and the established research institute.

In addition, Dutch had another very important idea.

He planned to use the slogan 'All veterans worldwide are veterans' to become a great philanthropist in America after the world war, allowing all disabled veterans from around the world to come and work for him, to have an income sufficient to support themselves and a simple life, thereby undermining the foundations of Europe and America.

He wanted all soldiers worldwide to realize one thing: they must not fight Mr. Van der Linde, because Mr. Van der Linde was their true and final guarantee!

This was to achieve the goal of ruling without war. He wanted the whole world to realize that Mr. Dutch Van der Linde was the beacon of the world!

Dutch sat on the sofa, lowering his voice, and said to Arthur beside him, "Arthur, this plan is extremely important, and security measures must be well-executed.

During this time, I need you and John to go to Germany, or find acquaintances, in any case, use any method to contact German military officers, preferably those with some status, and bring them over to let them see our Tanks and military hardware!

As long as they see our current firepower with their own eyes, this plan will have been a complete success!"

Arthur frowned, feeling it was very tricky.

"Oh, sh*t!, Dutch, you want us to meet German military officers? Damn it, where are we two supposed to meet German military officers?" Arthur felt overwhelmed with pressure.

Dutch always came up with these impossible tasks for him; it was simply too bad!

However, Dutch completely ignored his words, simply patted his shoulder, and perfunctorily said:

"I believe in you, Arthur, you can do it! Alright, now you can go out and discuss it with John. I need to write something, Arthur."

Listening to Dutch's obvious dismissal, Arthur could only dejectedly walk out of the study.

There was nothing he could do. The current Dutch was like his stubborn, opinionated father; he couldn't refute him, and his opinions were useless.

He used to be able to make decisions, and Mr. Morgan could still act like a true elder brother. Now that Dutch had risen, he could only be an obedient younger brother!

"Sigh, Dutch!"

Arthur walked out of the study with a troubled expression, descending the stairs.

This damn Dutch Van der Linde, always acting on impulse, causing trouble for Mr. Arthur Morgan!

Arthur slammed his fist against the stair railing, making a thud that caused John, who was eating a small cake in the living room downstairs, to look up.

"Arthur!"

John's long hair had been shaved off, mainly because Saint Denis was too hot, and not getting a haircut would make him hot and itchy.

However, with his increasingly good life recently, John had also unfortunately developed a taste for desserts.

Now, when he had nothing to do each day, he would stroll around outside, buy two or three small cakes, give one to little Jack, and eat one himself.

As for Abigail, she ate what the two of them left over.

John had no damn romantic cells.

John used a metal fork to scoop up the cream and blueberries from the small cake and put them into his mouth, sighing contentedly.

"I feel like life is great now, Arthur." John placed the small cake in his hand on the table, a rare smile appearing on his usually expressionless face as he tasted the delicious food.

It was easy to make Arthur laugh a few times, but it was truly difficult to make John laugh.

"Yeah, John, the parasites in your stomach feel great too. They don't have to run around, and they get free food." Arthur nodded, looking at John's cream-stained mouth and scoffing.

"Oh, sh*t! Is there nothing good that comes out of your mouth, Morgan!" John got angry, sitting expressionlessly on the sofa and eating his cake.

He felt like he was getting a bit depressed from Arthur's constant teasing.

Seeing his appearance, Arthur rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

"Oh, sh*t!…Do you want me to praise you, Marston, a cold, ruthless tough guy? You're like a little girl who loves cake."

"Sh*t!, Arthur! Your mouth is for speaking, not for spouting nonsense!" John completely lost his temper at the sarcastic tone.

"Now that's what a person says!" Arthur nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, Marston, stop eating your damn cake, we're both in trouble now!" Arthur sat on the sofa, picked up the high-grade cigar on the table, then pulled one out and lit it, taking a pleasant puff.

The rich smoke permeated the air, revealing a hint of Tyndall effect glow under the illumination of the lights.

The light was dazzling, giving off a sense of extravagant indulgence.

Arthur sighed with a touch of emotion.

Their current life was far superior to when they were outlaws. Dutch had indeed led them to strive for a good life.

Arthur suddenly felt that Dutch's plan must have its own purpose! It was just that Arthur couldn't understand him!

Arthur, who had just felt that the plan to provoke a world war was somewhat unrealistic, suddenly found the plan reasonable, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Dutch's plan was a brilliant idea!

Arthur found a perfect excuse for Dutch in his own mind.

This was a manifestation of human nature.

If Dutch had really gotten thousands of dollars by robbing the Saint Denis train station with Arthur and the others in the game, Arthur would certainly not have mocked his naivety, but would only have thought Dutch truly had some ideas.

Listening to Arthur's complaints, John raised his head and asked, "What?"

"Dutch, Dutch has a new idea again, he wants us two to find a way to contact German officers. Oh, sh*t!, how are we two supposed to find German officers? We don't even speak German!" Arthur lay on the sofa, spreading his hands in complaint, feeling that this task was impossible to complete.

Before, if he was told to find bank information, he could find ways to inquire or directly threaten staff.

Now, with even the language barrier, how could he find German officers? And this was America, how could there be German officers?

John also sat up straight, his brows furrowed, and suddenly said, "I know, Arthur. Strauss is Austrian, he speaks German!

There's also a German-owned gold shop in Valentine; perhaps we can go ask the owner there.

I feel that anyone who can afford to open a gold shop must have a significant family influence behind him!"

John had, unusually, offered a useful idea, which greatly surprised Arthur.

"Oh, sh*t!, you're not John Marston, what the hell are you?" Arthur was so shocked that he even stood up from the sofa.

Seeing John's face about to darken again, Arthur laughed loudly and patted John's shoulder, saying,

"Good idea, John, I admit you're a genius now! Come on, since that's the case, let's go back!

Oh, and call Charles and Flying Eagle, I like them both!"

Arthur picked up his gambler's hat from the table, then, dressed in a bright golden suit, walked towards the door.

John looked up and complained, "Can't I finish this cake? Oh, sh*t!"

He grabbed the small cake, stuffed it into his mouth in one bite, then followed Arthur out, wiping the cream from his hands on his clothes.

---

A ray of sunlight shone through the gloom onto Valentine, bringing a touch of vitality and life to the entire town.

The sky had just begun to lighten, and there were already many people moving about on the streets of Valentine.

"Swish!" The newly opened bakery pulled up its rolling shutter, and as soon as the steaming bread came out of the oven, a crowd gathered and lined up.

The high wages and free room and board in Valentine now meant that everyone had some savings, at least enough to occasionally buy some sweets to satisfy their cravings, which was a very good option.

A small wooden house with a cow sign had opened its doors even earlier, and children under fifteen, each holding a moderately sized cup, lined up and entered the shop, only to emerge two minutes later.

When they came out again, their cups were filled with milk, the aroma overflowing, mixed with a hint of the milk's unique smell.

This was a free milk supply shop set up by Mr. Van der Linde to ensure the necessary nutrition for children's growth, only supplying free milk to children under fifteen.

However, the amount of milk given in one cup was actually enough for a family of three to drink in the morning, even with a little water added.

Women, dressed in work uniforms, collected breakfast with bowls and chopsticks at Mr. Van der Linde's free food supply shop. Their working hours were generally fixed, so they needed to eat a bit earlier, and then take Mr. Van der Linde's free carriage to their respective workplaces.

Men had it a bit tougher; mechanical processing and workshop workers would eat and start work at the same time as the female workers. Transport workers and farm laborers, however, would have their children eat and send them to Mr. Van der Linde's free school before eating breakfast themselves, and then proceed to their respective jobs.

To allow them to focus on their work, Valentine First School provided lunch, so that children did not have to go home.

As for the miners, they did not need to worry about their children at all; their children could apply for free boarding, with Mr. Van der Linde covering food and lodging.

So, every morning, Valentine would promptly enter its busy phase.

Valentine's four saloons also opened their doors early; now that everyone in Valentine had money, saloon business was naturally better, leading some people with savings to consider opening a saloon in Valentine, which resulted in the addition of two new saloons.

The newly added South Town Saloon was opened by a German, very small, with only three tables inside.

If it weren't for Mr. Van der Linde's appearance making everyone in Valentine wealthy, such a small saloon would likely have gone out of business long ago.

The German who opened the saloon was young, just thirty years old, very energetic, and full of the rigorous temperament of a German from Germany.

His name was Friedrich Trump, a German, and his life experience was very similar to Arthur's and John's. In 1885, at the age of 16, to alleviate family hardship, he came alone to America to develop.

To say "develop" was actually more like the wandering life of Arthur and John.

Although he came to rely on his sister, his sister, an ordinary person, was clearly unable to bear the responsibility of raising her young brother. This forced him to enter the Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada, where he opened a barbershop.

However, because the barbershop was not profitable, and even incurred a lot of debt due to the difficult times and the dangerous environment in Canada, he had to return to Seattle, America, moving between hotel and restaurant businesses.

To this day, at the age of thirty, he still had not married or had children.

Friedrich originally thought his life would be like this, but unexpectedly, a friend he knew, Joseph Friedrich, also a German, wrote him a letter three months ago.

This letter highly praised a town called Valentine in New Hanover, America, boasting that it was a paradise on earth, with the noblest leaders and the most perfect social system. It had the best development opportunities and the most beautiful living environment. And it invited Friedrich to move there to live.

Friedrich, whose business was not doing well at the time, had already lost the will to continue his business, so after seeing his friend's extreme praise, he half-believed and half-reluctantly sold his hotel and came to this town called Valentine in the American West.