Empire of Shadows

If a sharp dagger, or a loaded handgun, is the greatest confidence in an ordinary person’s heart, giving them the courage to flip the table in the face of a difficult choice.

Then the army is the greatest confidence of a country’s ruler.

An army of 200,000, if in normal times, might still require a period of time to gather so many people. Not everyone is willing to join the army.

And now the situation is relatively special. To join the army means to participate in battle, which means that it is possible to be injured or even to die.

But just as the sentence above, the current situation is special. The famine is still raging.

Because when the famine had just begun last year, people had dug out all the potatoes and corn to eat. The corn and wheat that had been kept for seeds had not been spared, which had led to the fact that until now, the spring planting in many areas had not been completed.

Especially in some of the more chaotic places, they had directly given up on this year’s spring planting, which also meant that in the autumn harvest four months later, most places would fall into a state of complete crop failure.

The famine would continue.

Of course, it wasn’t that there was no good news. The good news was that Diego was planning to have a fierce battle with these anti-government armed forces, which meant that at least hundreds of thousands of people would lose their lives in the upcoming turmoil.

Having lost this part of the group that had the greatest demand for food, the situation of the famine would be significantly alleviated.And it was precisely because of the famine that the 200,000 troops that Diego was recruiting had quickly been filled.

They were equipped with the equipment that they had gotten from the Jede Republic, and were planning to first start from the south and to clean up the forces around the Zhuolan region, and then to further expand the ”Orthodox Zone.”

The area truly governed by the government, abbreviated as the Orthodox Zone.

It might be due to the influence of the Federation Control Zone. Diego had planned to also give his own territory a name.

Although his naming ability was not very good, for the sake... at least it was just giving a name and not doing anything else excessive, everyone had also chosen to tacitly accept.

The action of declaring war on the anti-government armed forces was done very fully. On the balcony of the Presidential Palace, he was, in the face of the dense crowd of military officers and citizens in the square in front of the Presidential Palace, delivering a righteous declaration of war.

”...The anti-government armed forces, headed by Pedro, Ross, and others, are the cause of the country’s turmoil, and also the source of all disasters.”

When he had said this sentence, he had subconsciously glanced at Lance, who was standing on the edge of the balcony, and who had been primarily invited to attend the ”war declaration observation ceremony,” and also the Federal Ambassador to Rapa by his side, and some other diplomatic personnel.

Everyone knew what this glance meant, because the real person who had created the turmoil was in this city, and was right by his side, less than twenty meters away from him.

But it was just this twenty-meter distance that had made him, this country’s nominal supreme ruler, powerless. This had to be said to be a kind of sorrow, the sorrow of the weak.

He had quickly withdrawn his gaze. Because he had a large number of troops, his confidence now seemed to be a lot more sufficient. He would even, at a time like this, use the ”glance” to warn Lance and the others.

At the same time, this was actually also a warning, a deterrent, to those ministers.

”I believe that with the joint efforts of me and all of you, everything will be perfectly resolved by us, whether it is the turbulent domestic situation, or the famine...”

He had begun to talk about some of his subsequent political policies, but Lance and his group were in a daze.

”He’s been holding a lot of soldiers recently and has started to become a little arrogant,” the Federal Ambassador to Rapa was a little dissatisfied with that glance from Diego just now.

This kind of a look, which was clearly with a warning and a provocation, had made him a little unhappy. To be warned and provoked by a country bumpkin landlord.

In his mind, he now hoped that some anti-government armed force would rush in, and then to shoot him in the head a few times.

Lance had laughed lightly. He had slightly tucked in his chin, and had turned his head to look at other places, so as not to let his mouth shape be completely exposed to the eyes of Diego and the people around him.

”You don’t have to be so angry. He has actually gotten himself into a big trouble.”

This sentence had made the gazes of the people around Lance all focus on him. The ambassador had asked with some confusion, ”What stupid thing has he done again?”

Lance had pursed his lips. ”He has received more than ten million in military equipment aid from the Jede Republic.”

Albert, as the highest-ranking officer sent over by the Agency for International Economic Cooperation, was still somewhat sensitive in terms of economy, market, and capital.

He immediately realized, ”You mean, the domestic arms industry groups?”

Lance nodded slightly. ”Gray Industries and McGreg Industries are both sending people over. There are also some other arms industry enterprises. They will all be sending special commissioners here recently.”

Hearing these arms industry groups, the people who had learned of some of the inside story couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.

If the Federation was a large enterprise, and the federal government and Congress were the executive president and the board of directors of this enterprise, then the capitalists, the financial groups, the plutocrats, these people were the shareholders of this company.

Just like in an ordinary company, some shareholders hold a little more shares, and some hold a little less.

For now, perhaps people thought that some of the financial conglomerates, or the conglomerates that held a monopoly position in a certain industry, for example, the ”Ten Oil Brothers,” the ”Three Steel Giants,” and the like, they were the largest shareholders of this country.

But in fact, there was another group of people who were, at an ultra-fast speed, catching up with these old, established, major shareholders, and that was the arms industry group.

This war had, up to now, only broken out for two years, but it was just these two years that had already allowed the domestic arms industry enterprises to begin to develop wildly.

Not to mention the shipbuilding industrial group, which had already obtained more than a billion in military purchases in an era where the per capita wage was only forty or fifty, just the major arms industry groups that manufactured the army’s weapons and equipment had also received massive orders.

Before, the Federation had done a statistic. A federal soldier, from head to toe, the annual consumption was about 400 or so.

If they participated in combat, and the combat was relatively fierce, and the intensity was high, then this money would continue to expand.

Just the equipment costs that were spent on the individual soldiers, in a year, would be about 2 billion Federal Sols. Of course, the specific scale and accuracy of this number were still up for debate, but there would not be too much of a gap.

So much money, how many terrifying interest groups and industrial groups could it breed?

Just like this time, the front line had just said that the semi-automatic rifle was not good to use, and Gray Industries had begun to rapidly iterate and to manufacture, and had begun to re-equip with fully automatic rifles.

Also as a major producer of firearms, McGreg Industries—their names were a little different, but they did indeed belong to two groups.

McGreg Industries had also begun to crazily iterate and to push for more projects to be included in the military purchases.

In the words of some institutions, in more than two years, the federal government had already smashed about 6 billion in funds for various military purchases. The influence, the destructive power that this money had produced in the Federation, was astonishing!

And the arms industry itself was a group that could get in touch with the top-level dignitaries of the Federation. Although there was still relatively fierce competition internally, they were also beginning to form a barrier.

These capital groups, which people usually did not pay attention to, were, out of control, wildly expanding, and in the places that people could not see, had already become a super monster!

For them to come to Rapa, it was clear that they had taken a fancy to the market here.

If there is a war, if there is a conflict, there will definitely be the procurement of military equipment. It is conceivable that the addition of these people will inevitably make the situation in Rapa even more chaotic.

However, this was also the result that Lance and his group had wanted.

If this country is not in chaos, how can it reflect the redemption of the Federation?

How can the Federation, like a beam of light, shine into the hearts of the people of Rapa, who are in hell?

Their gazes, as they had once again looked at Diego, were already filled with some pity. Without a doubt, the government army would soon have to face a well-equipped anti-government armed force, and maybe even one that had received military training.

In order to make their own weapons sell well, they would definitely send some military officers to train these anti-government armed forces, to let them be able to fight with the government army for a longer period of time, and to fight on a larger scale.

In the midst of Diego’s roar of satisfaction with the future, and with his desire for power, he had waved his fist, and had shouted the slogan ”Long live Rapa!” The entire square in front of the Presidential Palace was filled with a tsunami of shouts.

Diego had squinted his eyes slightly, feeling the shouts of those people. He had, with a satisfied heart, waved his arm, and had left the balcony.

The others had also, one after another, left.

Next, there was still a... social event.

Lance and his group had all been invited to attend. They also, more or less, had felt that Diego might have something to say.

This social event was more like a buffet, or a cocktail party, or the like, and it was in the Presidential Palace.

Diego had opened some of the wine he had collected. Lance and his group were just standing in a corner, watching. After Diego had finished introducing his wines, and had had everyone have a simple taste, his tone had changed, and he had begun today’s main topic.

”I just so happen to have a friend by my side who knows a lot about wine,” he turned to look at a person in a white formal suit by his side.

The guy had nodded slightly, and had raised his wine glass to toast everyone.

”Fernandez is a good friend of mine, an old friend. You may not know him, but it doesn’t matter.”

”Because in the future, everyone will be in frequent contact.”

”He will be invited to be the chief consultant of the Presidential Office...”

Lance looked at the Fernandez who was greeting everyone. He gently nudged the Federal Ambassador with his elbow. ”Do you know him?”

The Federal Ambassador was, on this side, definitely more familiar with the high-level of Rapa than Lance. Lance, until now, still couldn’t tell who was who among their ministers.

But the Federal Ambassador shook his head. ”I’ve never seen him, nor have I heard of such a person.”

His face was also full of confusion. The high-level of Rapa was actually very simple. Plus the Ravila family, there were just five clans, and some of the people who had extended out.

He had really never heard of this person.

Fortunately, there was no need for them to ask. Someone had taken the initiative to ask, a minister.

Now the high-level of Rapa was also clearly divided into three factions. A part was standing on Diego’s side. These people, seeing that Diego had easily gathered so much military power, and that he also had the support of the Jede Republic’s side, had continued to maintain an attitude of looking up to him.

A part of them, now, also couldn’t see the future direction clearly. One moment Diego’s side was strong, and the next, the Federation’s side was strong. But this, after all, was not the Federation’s homeland. They also couldn’t be sure if the Federation would definitely be able to last until the end, so they held an attitude of not offending anyone, and had remained neutral.

And then there was a part, for example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rabour, who had already received instructions from Senator Cleveland from the Federation’s side. He belonged to the typical surrender faction.

To say so might not sound very good, so let’s change the name, and call him an ”active, ideologically progressive person.”

After all, everyone is human.

The number of these people was not large at present, and they still needed to be developed.

The one who had asked Diego this question was a high-ranking government official who was on the fence.

Diego and that guy had looked at each other, and only then had Diego said, ”Fernandez is from the Jede Republic, and was once a professor at Jede University.”

In fact, there were still some of his identities that he had not said. For example, Fernandez had once been an aide to the president of the Jede Republic.

This identity was a bit sensitive, and was not as easy for people to accept as the identity of a university professor, nor was it as aggressive.

Although the others had felt that it was a little abnormal, they had not taken this matter to heart.

They felt that maybe Diego had realized that his brain was not enough, so he had found an aide.

There were also some who felt that this might be a part of the deal between Diego and the Jede Republic.

Soon this social event had ended. Diego’s main purpose was to let people know that there was such a person as Fernandez, and also what he was doing now.

Lance and his group had soon left after this social event. What they had not noticed was that upstairs, in the presidential office, Diego was chatting with Fernandez.

”Who is that young man?”

”It seems you haven’t mentioned him before. Your materials on him are also not on the list.”

At the social event just now, he had looked as if he had been dealing with people all along, but in fact, his attention had been all focused on the small group of the Federation.

He had found a very interesting phenomenon. Whether it was that international economic cooperation agency’s Director Albert, or the Federal Ambassador to Rapa, they all seemed to be, vaguely, centered around that young man.

This was what had made him the most curious. He certainly knew what kind of ability was needed to be able to hold these two positions. Then what about this young man?

What kind of ability did he have?

Or, did he have some special identity?

In the intelligence they had obtained from the Rapa side in the early stage, this character had not been found.

Diego’s gaze had also rested on the bodies of the several cars that were continuously moving away. ”Lance, Lance White, a federal gangster boss. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

”He is very resourceful in Golden Port City, and he also knows some of the big shots in Congress. Some say he is a character who has been pushed to the front by some interest groups.”

Fernandez frowned. ”The files you gave us don’t have this character’s file. We can’t so simply judge whether he is an important person or not.”

Diego pursed his lips. ”Just a mouthpiece.”

The reason for making such a, perhaps, somewhat willful judgment, was the matter of Lance having reprimanded him.

He didn’t think that a gangster boss would have the guts to, face to face, threaten him, a country’s president. The only thing that had given him the guts to do so, was probably that someone behind him had instructed him to do so, for example, those people in Congress.

And more importantly, he didn’t want to publicize the matter of him, as a country’s president, being scared into submission by a gangster boss. This was not a glorious matter.

Everyone would be disappointed in him, and that included himself.

The current Lance, for Diego, was like a ”taboo.” As soon as this person was mentioned, it would make him angry, and even make him lose his temper.

Fernandez had looked at Diego with some confusion. He felt that Diego’s emotional fluctuations on this character were a bit large, a bit ridiculous.

A minor character, how could it make Diego show an obvious impatience and annoyance?

However, he had not continued to pursue the matter. He had some understanding and research on Diego, and knew that this person’s temper was very bad. If he had to be stubborn, he might not be able to control himself.

So, the intelligence on Lance, he planned to go and collect it himself.

Compared to Lance, what Diego was more concerned about was how to, as soon as possible, to take back those out-of-control regions.

While the two ”big shots” were briefly discussing Lance, Lance was also talking about this Fernandez. ”For such a character to have appeared by Diego’s side, it means that the Jede Republic is trying to, through some other ways, to help Rapa to fight against us.”

”Now it’s no longer just a problem between us and the Rapa government, and these ruling groups. It’s also a problem between us and the Jede Republic.”

”I will report this to Congress separately. In addition, you all see if you can collect some information on this person. We need to understand it in more detail.”

The Federal Ambassador nodded. ”I also have friends on the Jede side. I will ask them to find out.”

The Jede Republic, as the first to be in charge of the Yalan League, the federal government had definitely also deployed an embassy and some diplomatic intelligence collectors on the Jede Republic’s side. There was a relationship of intercommunication between these people.

”As soon as possible.”

During this period, there had also been many military officers from the Jede Republic who had come to Rapa. The Federation also knew about this, and Lance also knew about this, but there was no way to refuse, and he couldn’t.

If these military officers didn’t put on their uniforms, who would know if they were soldiers?

Now the Federation could only control the Jede Republic, and other regions, from sending a large number of troops to Rapa.

Even the transportation of weapons was very difficult to solve, because these things were indeed relatively hidden.

If they were packed in a moisture-proof weapon equipment box, you could tell at a glance that they were weapons.

But what if they were packed in the boxes of other things?

Or just mixed in with the grain or something. Who could find out?

With this military equipment and these military officers, no wonder he was going to have a fierce fight with the anti-government armed forces.

On the third day after Diego had announced that he was going to declare war on the anti-government armed forces, Lance had come to the dock to welcome several important, from the Federation, guys.

They represented the interests of the different federal arms industry groups. This time, they had come to promote their weapons, and it was allowed by Congress. Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that they had been crazily sending benefits to Congress.

Lance’s business of several hundred million a year could make the congressional side give him the green light. Now that the arms industry group had a business of several billion a year in their hands, Congress would be even easier to be persuaded.

However, the congressional side also had a requirement, which was that they could not destroy or disintegrate the plan of the Yalan League.

This was the bottom line!