Chapter 274: Chapter 270: Struggle and Peace
"Countess!" Kallen saw Perfikot also showing a happy smile, completely unaware that she was almost killed by Beifa just moments ago.
"I would prefer if you called me Perfikot. Calling me Countess only makes me feel like an oppressor." Perfikot was glad that Kallen had taken the initiative to come to her, so she half-jokingly said, "Though it’s true, I have no intention of denying it. But as my friend, I hope you won’t use that title to address me."
To Perfikot, she never cared whether she was a Countess or not. Compared to such titular names, what she genuinely cared about was far more important.
"Alright, I understand." Naturally, Kallen followed along.
The two sat down, Beifa had already put away the mantis knife on his wrist and started brewing tea for them.
The elegant tea fragrance permeated, yet the two sitting opposite each other did not care about it at all. Instead, they kept looking at one another, as if there were a thousand words to say, but didn’t know where to start.
Finally, it was Perfikot who spoke first: "What have you been busy with lately? I heard from your brother that you’ve been ’traveling outside’?"
"You’ve seen my brother? That fool, he speaks of everything!" Kallen complained shyly, then explained to Perfikot: "Lately, I’ve been setting up the Workers’ Federation at Pignes Castle according to the knowledge you taught me. Due to the unemployment issues at Pignes Castle, the federation is expanding rapidly.
Now, more than a thousand workers from different factories have joined the Workers’ Federation. Even some engineers have joined, and our work has achieved significant results.
The next step is that I plan to try initiating one or two protests, to familiarize the workers with how to carry out workers’ movements and clarify the direction and methods of struggle, so that in the future we can better..."
Listening to Kallen speak eagerly, a faint smile remained on Perfikot’s face.
She was very satisfied with Kallen’s performance. Although Kallen still appeared somewhat immature and blindly optimistic, Perfikot was pleased with her achievements.
Perhaps everything Kallen has done might seem insignificant at present. If the government at Pignes Castle or those streetlamp hangers wanted to suppress them, it would only be a matter of flipping a hand.
But this is the spark of hope!
She has ignited the light of hope. Even if suppressed, even if destroyed, this light of hope will ultimately illuminate the path for others to follow. In the future, countless people will continue along the road they have paved.
"You truly opened my eyes. I didn’t expect you to accomplish so much in just two months." Perfikot praised Kallen.
Her praise was genuine. After all, it had only been two months since she taught Kallen that knowledge.
Two months’ time, she was able to set up the structure of the Workers’ Federation and develop the membership to over a thousand, which goes to show her capabilities.
Though there’s a persistent high unemployment rate in Pignes Castle as a societal issue, it still couldn’t overshadow Kallen’s excellence.
After all, even knowing about the environment and social issues, nobody had previously organized and developed workers’ movements.
Just as she listened to Kallen’s recount, Perfikot suddenly frowned, interrupting Kallen, saying to her, "You plan to initiate a protest, that’s good. Worker movement is not a banquet invitation or a discussion. Ultimately, it requires hands-on action.
Yet I disagree with your approach and views. Worker movement is not a matter for compromise or negotiation; it is a life-and-death struggle between two classes.
Leave behind blind optimism and expectations. You cannot expect those streetlamp hangers to actively improve workers’ conditions. You must strive for your rightful power through genuine struggle.
Of course, your thought process of avoiding unnecessary sacrifices is correct. Your power is still weak. Facing the anti-progressive side’s blade is unwise at the start.
However, I hope you can remember: seeking peace through struggle will have peace; seeking peace through compromise will lead to peace’s demise.
Peace is the goal, whereas struggle is the means to peace; peace is relative while struggle is absolute; only through struggle can true peace be achieved.
Peace is not begged for, it is fought for. If you want to gain the power and conditions you deserve, you cannot rely on others’ charity. You can only fight for it through your own struggle."
Perfikot naturally had taught Kallen this previously, but she still wanted to emphasize it again now.
"I understand! To win the deserved conditions for the workers, merely peaceful protests won’t work." Kallen hurriedly expressed her stance upon hearing Perfikot’s words, explaining to Perfikot, "I just hope everyone can accumulate enough experience before truly launching a struggle. After all, none of us have organized any related actions before; there is much lack of experience in this area."
"I understand. Accumulating some experience through relatively peaceful means is a very good choice." Perfikot nodded, agreeing with Kallen, while also showing concern by asking, "Have you encountered any issues? If need be, feel free to ask me. I’m willing to provide help where I can to open a convenient door for you."
Perfikot didn’t mind providing some help to Kallen so that this spark might burn more vigorously.
After thinking for a while, Kallen spoke: "We might need some operational funds. After all, everyone is an ordinary worker; life is already tough. Some families need help, and organizing protests requires money. It’s difficult to initiate fundraising asking workers to pay.
According to Kallen’s plans, they actually needed some weapons, so the workers could have control over the arms themselves, to fight better.
But she didn’t plan to ask for Perfikot’s help in this regard, because Pignes Castle had been a military stronghold, and most factories were related to military industry. Workers could make guns and cannons themselves, so in this regard, they didn’t lack opportunities to acquire weapons.
"Alright, I’ll give you some funds later, but it might not be much, probably around a few thousand pounds." Perfikot didn’t take out a large sum, only provided an appropriate amount of funding and told Kallen, "You still need to solve your financial problems yourselves. Relying solely on external funding aid is not a healthy development concept."
"I understand. I am discussing this matter with the Workers’ Federation’s leadership, but we haven’t come up with a good solution yet." Kallen explained to Perfikot.
Afterward, they discussed many more issues until late at night...