Empire of Shadows

The corrosion of the political world by capital is the constant anesthetization of them with money.

A very clumsy method, but surprisingly effective.

Senator Cleveland stared into Lance’s eyes. ”How many shares can you offer?”

Lance deliberated for a moment. ”Eighty percent.”

A very sincere number.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that he himself would only get twenty percent. In fact, just this twenty percent could be worth over ten million.

If they could take a railway company with no rails and manipulate its market value to a billion, then for a ”so-and-so mining industry” that still had several mines in production, getting it to tens of millions or a hundred million shouldn’t be a problem.

And this number was directly related to how important Lance was in this matter, and how much status he had.

If one day he could reach the point of being on an equal footing with Senator Cleveland, then he might be able to get more.

But for now, this was all he could get.This was an ”admission ticket.”

Senator Cleveland frowned slightly. He calculated in his mind. ”Fifteen.”

Lance agreed almost without hesitation. ”No problem, then fifteen.”

The senator’s tightly knit brows relaxed. He leaned back and sat, pointing at Lance. ”When are you going back?”

His actions and his words were clearly different. He actually wanted to give Lance a personal comment, but he didn’t say it.

Lance thought for a moment. ”I can stay for a while longer. The Rapa side no longer needs my guidance. The anti-government armed forces have begun to awaken and are entering a period of rapid development.”

”The rest is to watch them successfully resist the government army’s encirclement and suppression time and time again, and finally, the counter-attack.”

”Diego and the ruling group have governed Rapa through high-pressure methods for so many years, including their families, their ancestors.”

”The entire Rapa is like a spring that has been compressed to its limit. When people realize that resistance is useful, the force pressing on the spring will disappear, and the spring will rebound very rapidly, very high!”

The two chatted for a while longer. Senator Cleveland then returned to Kaelen Manor. He still had many things to do, while Lance remained in New Golden City.

During his time in New Golden City, Tom would accompany him. This was actually an obvious manifestation of the change in his status.

In the past, Senator Cleveland would not have let his aides accompany anyone. Lance was already an exception.

Tom had now been promoted to the important position of the number two figure in Senator Cleveland’s ”office.” With him accompanying, Lance would not encounter any trouble in New Golden City.

In the morning, Lance planned to go and see Ambassador Cassia. On the way to the embassy, he handed two very thin envelopes to Tom.

Tom looked helpless, but he accepted them with pleasure.

It wasn’t that he was so eager to accept this gift, but that he knew very well that the subsequent changes from his acceptance would be significantly better than if he didn’t.

This was a very abnormal but also very reasonable thing. If your relationship with a person was connected by the transfer of benefits from the very beginning, then the transfer of benefits itself represented the stability of the relationship.

It would be very simple for him not to take this money, but he couldn’t stop Lance from overthinking.

If it were just two farmers, it would be fine to overthink, but they were not ordinary people. The consequences of their wild thoughts would be much more serious than a fight between two farmers.

”Thank you!” Tom took the envelope and said a heartfelt thanks.

The thinner the envelope, the more money it contained, because those who could use a check were at least in the thousands or tens of thousands.

Lance said with a smile, ”There is also a copy for your colleague.”

He was talking about the chief of staff. Tom nodded. ”I will.”

The two naturally stopped talking about this topic, and instead talked about Lance’s matters in Rapa.

Some topics Lance could talk about with the senator, but some topics were not very suitable.

As it happened, not everything in life was high and mighty, and in line with international political culture. There were also some very ”vulgar” things, and these were precisely the essence of life.

At least, the essence of the lives of ordinary people.

Rapa had many interesting customs, and the environment was also very beautiful, especially some of the primitive jungles, which had never been developed by any industrialization.

The ”process of civilization” seemed to have been put on pause here by a great force, but this was also the most tragic thing for the ethnic groups living there.

Because humans are not only in competition with nature, but also in competition with their own kind.

When their process stagnated, while other civilizations were still constantly moving forward, it had destined everything that was happening today.

Lance had contacted Ambassador Cassia in advance, so for Lance’s arrival, he and his family had made preparations to welcome him.

Some of the things that had happened in Rapa, he had also heard. He could only say that his mood at this time was very heavy.

Seeing Lance and Tom get out of the car, he could only squeeze out a smile, so as not to be impolite.

However, his family’s smiles looked much more sincere.

Lance shook hands with Ambassador Cassia, and then, under his introduction, he got to know his family.

His wife, his two children, and his wife’s younger brother.

They also had another house, which they had bought with the money Lance had given them. He still had some family members who were living in another house, and did not live here.

This was an embassy, not a dormitory.

After a simple introduction, Lance, Tom, and Ambassador Cassia had entered the embassy.

”Have they disturbed your life?” Lance gestured towards the direction of the bar. ”When I came, I saw that there were already many people at its entrance.”

According to the laws of the Federation, the house used by the bar was the Rapa embassy’s house, and it was on the land of the embassy.

Here, the laws of Rapa were exercised. In the laws of Rapa, drinking, and operating a liquor-related industry was not an illegal act.

So he could operate it legally.

Ambassador Cassia smiled and shook his head. ”They have specially made very good soundproofing equipment. You can’t hear the sound from that side at all, and it won’t affect us.”

”However, I hear that two other embassies are thinking of doing the same, and they have also opened business premises like bars.”

The matter of the Rapa embassy suddenly turning into a bar had caused some news in New Golden City. When someone had publicly gone to this business premises to drink, and was really not arrested, those drunkards had all gone crazy!

The bar’s business was exploding!

It was full of people almost 24/7. People were in great need of such a place that could provide a place to vent their emotions.

For the rich and powerful, it was a little easier. As for the ordinary people, the middle class, what they needed was not just to drink, but also an environment, an environment that could let them feel relaxed, and could let them release their emotions.

The hot business of the Rapa embassy’s pub had naturally also attracted the attention of some others. Who the fuck would have thought that Lance could still do this?

There was no shortage of ambassadors from poor countries, and there was certainly no shortage of resourceful people. Soon, a few embassies had also begun to follow the trend and had opened places that could sell liquor.

It had diverted some of the people who had come here to consume, but New Golden City was one of the largest cities in the Federation. The population and the consumption potential here were far beyond those of Golden Port City.

Even if there were already several competitors, there was no need to be too worried that it would snatch all the business.

This bar had brought huge profits, which had allowed Ambassador Cassia and his family to live a happy life, in the Federation.

So let alone the fact that it really didn’t affect his work and rest much, even if it had, and his whole family couldn’t sleep, he would have endured it.

Who had asked this thing’s income to be linked to his income?

The three of them were talking and laughing as they entered Ambassador Cassia’s office. They sat on the sofa, not on either side of the desk. That would be too formal.

”The situation in Rapa has become turbulent recently. Has Diego and his group contacted you?”

Lance’s question had made Ambassador Cassia a little nervous. He nodded. ”Diego has contacted me. He wants me to find out if I can get some grain or aid from the Federation.”

”I agreed, but I didn’t do so.”

Lance, listening, nodded slightly. ”Rapa has become like this. Diego needs to bear the main responsibility, but he is still guarding his wealth and is unwilling to take out some.”

He looked at Ambassador Cassia. ”It just so happens that I’ve come back these few days. There are some things I need to talk to you about.”

Ambassador Cassia glanced at Tom. Of course he knew Tom. The meaning he was expressing was also very clear.

What Lance wanted to talk to him about, could Tom also know?

To be honest, he felt a little flushed now, because he was participating in the discussion from the perspective of a traitor.

But if you were to say if he hated Lance, the Federation, or others, those politicians, it was clearly not necessarily so.

The development of history has a clear direction and inertia. This was his deepest insight in the nearly two years he had been in Federation.

Even without Lance, without the Federation, there would have been other countries that would have come to do these things, for example, the Jede Republic.

The Jede Republic’s willingness to unify the Yalan region was very obvious. With the rise of their national strength, this obviousness had almost been laid on the table.

If Rapa was destined to be destroyed one day, then Ambassador Cassia hoped that the one who would destroy the Rapa government would be the Federation, and the one who would rule it next would also be the Federation.

”We need to accelerate the process of freedom and democracy in Rapa. We need some... relatively neutral ruling groups, or capital groups.”

”You know, the ruling group is still huddling together. The struggle between them and the emerging forces will continue, and it will last for a long time.”

”This is not in line with our design for the whole thing, so I need you to be able to provide me with a list of high-ranking officials that we can win over.”

Lance said with a half-smile, ”I hope this won’t make you feel embarrassed. After all... you are a person of Rapa. This may make you feel uncomfortable!”

Ambassador Cassia was a little sensitive. He, with a smile on his face, lowered his head slightly. ”Mr. Lance, I need to correct a mistake of yours.”

Lance was a little surprised. ”I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

Ambassador Cassia looked at him very seriously. ”My family and I are all federal people now. We have already been naturalized. We are federal people now!”

Lance was stunned for a moment, and then he burst out laughing. He glanced at Tom, and Tom was also laughing. The two were laughing at the same thing.

”I’m sorry. This is my problem. My expression was wrong!”

”Then are you willing, on this matter, to provide us with some help?”

Ambassador Cassia asked back with a smile, ”Why not?”

Very good, he has even learned the classic federal phrase. It seems that his ”localization process” is developing much faster than Lance had imagined.

In Ambassador Cassia’s description, the ruling group of Rapa was not a monolith. There were also some conflicts among them.

It was just that the strength of the Ravila family had always been the strongest. They had controlled a large number of the army. Many of the military officers, the generals in the army, had also come from the Ravila family, or had a relationship with their family.

But this did not mean that the other ruling groups did not have any ability to resist.

What Lance needed was to first pry open a crack in the ruling group. Just like what had happened in the Empire before, when the nobles had chosen to be bystanders, the situation had deteriorated very quickly!

Senator Cleveland had said that there had to be a breakthrough development within a year. Otherwise, this plan might be shelved. Then he had to use all his means.

Lance and Tom had stayed here until noon. They had had a sumptuous lunch together, and then they had separated.

Senator Cleveland had no time to deal with Lance’s affairs for a short period of time, so Lance had planned to go back to Golden Port City, and then to go and see his son and Patricia, and also to see the development of the distillery.

He had said hello to Tom, and then had boarded the train back to Likalai State.

Tom had told Senator Cleveland about this, and the latter had not shown any reaction.

In the evening, he had also gone to Kaelen Manor.

On the way there, he had torn open one of the two envelopes that Lance had handed him.

There was no name on it, which meant that the amount in the two envelopes was the same.

This was a very smart move. At least it wouldn’t make people feel a little bit of a lump in their hearts.

Even if Tom’s current status was not as good as that of the chief of staff, if Lance had had to write a name on the letter, or to specify which one to give to whom, then Tom would definitely have felt a little uncomfortable, and would have felt that Lance thought he was not as good as the chief of staff.

It wasn’t like now, which had made him very comfortable.

Looking at the number on the check, he whistled. He tapped the check with his finger. The sound from the special paper of the check had made him feel a little intoxicated.

And the special smell of the ink, it was really great!

When he had seen the chief of staff, he had handed over the envelope.

The chief of staff had raised the envelope in his hand. ”What’s this?”

”Some local specialties that Lance has brought from Rapa.”

Hearing this, the chief of staff couldn’t help but laugh.

Now he had several local specialties on his side, almost all of which were gold.

Gold was still constantly appreciating, and this thing was small in size, and easy to operate. In some aspects, it was more convenient than to directly give money.

He was now a little sensitive to ”local specialties”!

”You’ve already seen it?” he asked, while tearing open the envelope.

He believed that Tom would definitely also have a copy.

Tom nodded and did not deny it. ”Yes.”

”Then you must be very satisfied. You are smiling when you talk,” he looked down at the number on the check, and the expression on his face had, in an instant, become very vivid.

”It is indeed a number that can make people happy. I have to thank him in person.”

One hundred thousand.

Do you say it’s a lot or not?

This year, the income of the federal people had had some increase, 47 or 48 a month. In these few years, because the international orders had exploded, many factories had begun to work in three shifts, and the labor force had become a little scarce.

In addition, with the conscription of several million, this had made people feel as if they were in a ”Golden Age” again. Just an ordinary worker could get a salary that was almost catching up with some of the white-collar workers.

Especially in some of the industries that required skills, logistics, the technical workers in the factories, the skilled workers, their income was even higher than that of the average middle class.

This was a re-shining era. In order to compete for more workers, you certainly had to continuously raise the price of wages.

Many people said that maybe next year, in the second half of the year, the salary in the Federation would break through the 50 mark!

This had made the society show a positive and upward trend.

A worker, in a month, if he doesn’t eat or drink, can save 50.

100,000, would require them to not eat or drink for 2,000 months, 167 years...

After getting this money, a person’s mood would definitely change.

A little later in the evening, Senator Cleveland, who had finished his work from outside, had returned to this house. The people in the living room had all stood up. He had looked at his two aides with some surprise. ”Did something good happen?”

The chief of staff and Tom had not lied, nor had they concealed. ”Lance has sent some local specialties.”

The senator was suddenly a little curious. While he was handing his briefcase to his chief of staff, he had curiously asked, ”How much?”

”A hundred.”

Senator Cleveland nodded. ”He is indeed a generous person,” this was very much in line with his impression of Lance.

He had seen many people. Some were very stingy. Although they had a lot of money in their hands, they were not willing to give it to others at all.

Some, although they were willing to give, would very clearly emphasize the ”transactional nature.” I have given you the money, so you have to bring me the benefits.

Unlike Lance, who was straightforward when he gave, and also gave a lot, and would never take the initiative to hint to anyone that this money was not for free, and that it needed a return.

Senator Cleveland did not feel unhappy that he did not have his own share, because Lance had already given it to him yesterday, and it was far, far greater than the share he had given to his two subordinates!

”Alright, what should be said, and what should not, you certainly know better than me.”

”If there’s anything he wants, just cooperate a little, but you can’t cross the bottom line.”

To have given so much money, in fact, even without Lance saying it, they all knew that this money was definitely not for free.

A smart person is just like this. You don’t need to say it. They will understand it themselves.

Tom and the chief of staff had nodded repeatedly. Then they had begun to enter their work state, to help Senator Cleveland to sort out the core of today’s meeting.

This was not a simple job!