'SEE YOU MORNING' 059 Parliamentary Inquiry in Lübeck

Recall the steam locomotives pulling rows of carriages, carrying passengers bound for different destinations and rumbling past the platform now and then. Standing on the platform and looking back at the square in front of the station, carriages crisscrossed and crowds streamed by, people heading for all directions passing one another in haste.

The school canteen and dormitories were equally packed with people. Familiar faces from the past flashed before his eyes one after another.

Inside a bedroom painted white, a lady in a white dress walked over. She held the rail at the head of the bed and spoke to Lübeck.

"Why do you stay silent? You look rather dull-witted."

Lübeck thought he recognized her. She seemed like a former classmate, yet he could not be certain of her appearance. He replied flatly.

"I simply have no desire to talk. There is no one I wish to speak to."

The words had barely left his mouth when several men materialized out of thin air in the same room, as if they had crossed the boundaries of time and space in an instant. Lübeck raised his fist ready to fight, only to find the strangers holding communication devices and speaking a language he could not understand. He quickly glanced at the rest of the group. Some were unfamiliar, while others looked like former colleagues, but the female classmate had vanished without a trace.

Realizing he was dreaming, Lübeck opened his eyes abruptly and surveyed his surroundings. He had indeed just woken up, lying in Emma's room. Lingering tension from the dream weighed on his mind as he wondered what had brought on such a strange vision. Amid his thoughts, fragmented conversations between Ruth and Emma drifted in from outside the door.

Youth is truly a precious thing. Lübeck had felt Emma's boundless energy the previous night and slept soundly until late morning today. For some reason, distant memories from long ago kept resurfacing in his mind.

Ruth spoke to the carriage orderly who had come to pick him up. Learning there were no urgent official duties scheduled for the morning, she sent the man away and told him to return later.

When Lübeck got out of bed and walked into the living room, Emma and Ruth were busy preparing food. They had clearly been chatting just moments before. When Emma saw him emerge from her bedroom, she fell silent at once, exchanged a glance with Ruth, and the two could not help but burst into laughter.

Lübeck walked over, stroked Emma's head and asked.

"Were you gossiping about me behind my back?" As he spoke, he gently pinched her cheek with his right hand. Emma giggled and said nothing.

Seeing she would not answer, Lübeck turned to Ruth and pressed the question.

"Then tell me, what mischief were the two of you saying about me?" He caressed her smiling cheek with his left hand. Her eyes crinkled into slits, like a blooming rose set off by the green leaves of his palm.

"I sent your orderly back. There is no need to hurry; we have a quiet morning ahead," Ruth told Lübeck.

"Very well," Lübeck said, seeing their preparations were nearly finished.

"I shall go start the fire."

When the orderly's carriage returned later, Lübeck boarded it and headed first for the garrison of the security forces. He arranged to meet Trudy at the town hall in the afternoon to address the parliament and vote on the proposal to confiscate long guns. The two talked about soldier training and equipment for a while. Just then, some soldiers asked about lunch, and Trudy invited Lübeck to join them for the meal.

As they waited and chatted in the mess hall, Trudy brought up the soldier who had been critically wounded. He had not survived his injuries.

"Who was it? When did he pass away?" Lübeck asked anxiously.

"Joachim. He died yesterday morning."

"I see." Out of the corner of his eye, Lübeck noticed the non-commissioned officers sitting at the same table watching their conversation closely.

"Has he been buried? Where is his body now?" Lübeck pressed on.

"Not yet. He is still kept at the hospital. A funeral will be held for him in a couple of days."

"How are his family taking this?"

"His parents are heartbroken, but thankfully he has brothers and sisters for support."

"Sad indeed. I saw him just a few days ago. To lose such a young life like this... This tragedy should never have happened," Lübeck murmured, unsure whether he was speaking to Trudy or to himself.

Noticing the officers still looking his way, he spoke to them in a solemn, resolute tone.

"Joachim's sacrifice will not be in vain." With that, Lübeck stood straight and saluted toward the hospital. Immediately after, he heard the sound of soldiers all around and behind him rising to their feet and returning the salute.

In the afternoon, Lübeck and Trudy returned to the town hall for the vote on the long gun confiscation proposal. Before the vote, Lübeck invited Trudy to give a statement on the casualties among security officers in the shooting incident. Unexpectedly, the proposal failed to pass by a narrow margin.

He observed that some parliament members, who were supposed to represent the interests of small and medium-sized farming households, were actually craftsmen elected for their personal reputations and educational backgrounds. Wealth had made these men timid and self-serving. Their interests diverged from those of the working class, so they failed to fight for the maximum benefits of ordinary people. Some even appeared to be under the influence of external forces.

He confronted one legislator who had voted against the proposal. "Why do you oppose it? Do you own a long gun at home?"

The man replied that he did not.

Lübeck asked again. "Will you need a long gun to fend off wild beasts in the future?"

"I will not. I am a watchmaker and never work the fields."

"Would you take up a long gun to fight against armed assailants?"

"I would not, nor would I dare to."

"Then why stand against the gun ban?" Lübeck pursued relentlessly. The legislator had no reply. Embarrassed, he could only turn his gaze toward the lawmakers representing powerful local factions.

After the vote concluded, Lübeck stayed behind and watched the other members disperse. Trudy and Müller caught his hint and walked over to him.

"Starting tomorrow," Lübeck said to the two, "deploy your men through law enforcement and administrative channels to every commune. Make it clear to the common people that the shooting incident was an act of rebellion. The former sheriff Michael chose not to pursue the matter fully because casualties were suffered on both sides, but that does not mean legal accountability will be waived. Such incidents must never happen again. Anyone involved will face severe punishment."

"Trudy, send word to all soldiers and security officers at once. A long-distance voyage will be launched soon. Tell everyone to inform their families and stand by for departure. The boarding list will be released in due course."

"Müller, publish the list of disputed boundary demarcations without delay and distribute it across all communes. Instruct local residents to protect boundary markers and await surveyors to conduct on-site verification."

After assigning the core tasks, Lübeck went over procedural details and personnel arrangements with them to confirm the plan for implementation.

He returned home late that day. Stepping down from the carriage at his gate, he looked back. Purple twilight dyed the sky, casting a reddish-purple glow over the road and spilling onto the wooden house's walls, doors and windows — his warm and sweet abode. Grief lingered in his heart over the loss of the young soldier, yet he also felt relieved, for the long-standing troubles were finally on the path to resolution.