Empire of Shadows

Pedro picked up the teacup and took a small sip. It was fragrant, unlike the water steeped with these leaves he had drunk before; it had a fragrance he had never experienced.

He looked curiously at the leaves beneath the clear tea in the cup; they seemed different from what he usually drank.

However, his attention quickly shifted from the leaves to Lance.

”Mr. White—”

”Lance!” Lance corrected Pedro’s title. ”We are quite familiar with each other. Using overly formal titles would suggest a distance between us. We are friends, not strangers.”

Pedro didn’t insist on saying ”Mr. White.” He wasn’t sure what expression he should wear, but he looked at Lance with a faint hint of that familiar ”student who got good grades and wants to show off” emotion.

”Did you ever think we would meet in this way?”

Pedro was a teacher himself, and in his former role, he deeply understood the genuine, heartfelt smiles on the faces of excellent students when they achieved a bright future.

He could feel it and sincerely wished them well.

But this time, the roles were reversed; he was the ”student.” It was a novel experience.He thought he completely understood what it felt like to be in this position, but it seemed there were still some differences.

He pursed his lips, somewhat anticipating Lance’s answer.

Lance took another small sip of the hot tea. Drinking this in winter was indeed very comforting.

He slowly placed his teacup on a coaster woven from a local, sturdy herb, then looked up at him. ”I did.”

”When I taught you how to find direction and how to realize that direction, I thought that someone among you would reach this stage today.”

”Standing in this city, standing before me, in the stance of a victor.”

He paused, then shifted his gaze from Pedro to the others. ”I just didn’t expect there to be so many people.”

”In my mind, perhaps only three or five people, at most, would stand here ultimately. Two or three would be normal.”

He seemed somewhat wistful. These men were quite resilient. Or perhaps, when Pedro and Ross first raised the rebel banner, a faction was unknowingly born. They seemed like a loose coalition, but in reality, they were already a tight-knit faction.

With a faction, these ”trainees” were less likely to run into trouble because they had allies. Anyone wanting to deal with them would have to consider their allies.

This, too, had elevated Pedro’s status among these men to its current height.

Pedro was actually somewhat dissatisfied with Lance’s answer. He would have preferred Lance to show shock or disbelief; only then would he feel truly comforted.

After all, as a middle school teacher, reaching this point meant he had essentially made history.

There were almost no true reformers in history who overthrew an old regime and established a new order from a genuinely bottom-level background!

Regardless of the country or social context, ”foundation” was the key factor determining everything.

Just like the peasant uprisings before the Empire, they were eventually crushed.

He did indeed have the support of the Federal people, but he succeeded!

He was different from everyone else!

He would be recorded in the world’s history, a page that every successor would have to confront.

He possessed this glory, and he wanted to enjoy the distinct honor due a ”historical figure,” but he didn’t receive it.

He heard no surprise or any other strong emotion in Lance’s tone. Everything was too calm.

Lance looked at him, speaking to him as he had in the seminar.

”Change is painful, much like the process of correcting one’s bad habits.”

”Smoking, drinking, perhaps incorrect posture, and other small issues. Fixing these problems in the beginning is very painful.”

”Physiologically and psychologically. In this process, some bad habits will be abandoned, just like those who stray halfway.”

”It is truly a difficult thing. But from another perspective, if these bad habits have already caused serious illness, and failure to change means death.”

”Then, what drives him to change and achieve successful reform is not just willpower, but fear.”

As the most educated person present, Pedro listened patiently to Lance’s words. He faintly realized that ”willpower” and ”fear” represented two different drivers, leading to two different effects.

”I am not surprised you are here, because survival is human instinct. If you seek my praise, the only thing I can offer is congratulations.”

”You found the crux of the problem. But now, how will you deal with that problem?”

Everyone fell into deep thought as they listened to Lance. Lance’s example was simple and easy to understand, but it was precisely this simplicity that stirred different thoughts in each of them at this moment.

Pedro’s gaze, initially confused, quickly refocused. He looked at Lance. ”We will solve all the ailments plaguing Rapa and heal it!”

He said this with great confidence. His visit to the Presidential Palace yesterday had already given him a very special feeling.

He felt he had been chosen by God to save this country, and he was certain he could do it!

He looked at Lance with a determined, even slightly aggressive gaze.

Lance remained smiling, offering no comment.

But in this situation, not commenting was the clearest comment of all.

Pedro seemed eager to prove something. ”We have overthrown the Ravila family’s rule. Next, we can draw the pattern we want on this newly wiped clean blackboard, according to our ideas!”

”We have infinite possibilities to bring fresh change to this country.”

”The people, the constitution, the law, fairness, and justice...” He rattled off many concepts to Lance, seemingly desperate to prove something.

But the more eager he was, the less Lance’s expression changed.

Because Lance knew Pedro was getting anxious.

Lance raised his hand, interrupting Pedro. ”Can all these things you mention truly be achieved?”

Pedro almost instinctively replied, ”The Federation achieved it!”

Lance questioned him again. ”You’ve never been to the Federation. How do you know the Federation achieved it?”

”You’ve never been to the Federation. How do you know that the people living at the bottom there enjoy all these things you speak of—things that are so beautiful, yet intangible?”

These words silenced Pedro instantly. He looked at Lance in confusion, because these were precisely the things that Lance, and the Federal people, had promoted in Rapa.

In their descriptions, this system of governance was efficient, clean, and treated everyone equally.

But now, Lance was telling him that if the Federation itself couldn’t achieve it, how could they?

For a moment, he felt a comical urge to laugh, and at the same time, something inside him began to collapse.

He realized this was a dangerous emotion, so he immediately stopped himself from overthinking. ”Regardless of whether the Federation can do it, I believe I can!”

Lance slightly shook his head. ”Confidence is a good thing.” He stopped there, withholding the intended conclusion. ”Alright, let’s not discuss this any further. You surely didn’t just come to visit an old friend like me today!”

The group exchanged glances.

The conversation between Lance and Pedro just now had left everyone vaguely sensing something intangible. They couldn’t name it, but they felt that their tremendous efforts seemed to be rendered meaningless by a few of Lance’s sentences.

Their expressions varied; the result of their huge sacrifices and efforts was being dismissed?

Pedro was the quickest to understand what Lance meant and the fastest to snap out of the daze. ”Besides wanting to see you and chat, we mainly came about the ’Zhuolan Treaty.’”

Seeing Lance only nod without speaking, he had to elaborate. ”The ’Zhuolan Treaty’ is an unequal treaty signed by Diego. Many of its clauses involve severely selling out the national interests of Rapa.”

”We all believe these clauses are inappropriate and need to be removed or amended to align with both our interests.”

”We should be two equal nations, Lance.”

”You taught us to pursue liberty and seek fairness and justice. You brought us to this position.”

He seemed to be trying to use ”emotional leverage” to influence Lance, but he was completely mistaken.

Perhaps only those who hadn’t endured the brutal baptism of a capitalist society would believe that ordinary people could maintain emotional bonds strong enough to sacrifice their self-interest.

Lance shook his head. ”You cannot do it.”

”The treaty I signed with Diego has taken effect according to international convention. If you wish to revoke these terms, you must first wait for the new Rapa government you form to be established.”

”Then, you must formally propose trilateral talks—state-to-state and to me personally—to discuss the clauses you deem unequal and offer suggestions for improvement.”

”However, you need to be prepared psychologically, because withdrawing a clause often means paying a greater price. What you gain may not be what you want.”

Ross, standing nearby, couldn’t hold back. ”Lance, does our presence in the Presidential Palace not prove that we have taken control of this country, and that our revolution has succeeded?”

Lance glanced at him, chuckling slightly. ”The Emperor of the Empire was once driven out of the imperial capital, but he eventually returned.”

”Conversely, those who stood there claiming to control everything and reconstruct the Empire became a thing of the past.”

”Ross, this world is far more complex than you imagine.”

”When one of you...” His gaze lingered on the group for a moment, finally settling on Pedro. ”...can reach that step, then come back and talk to me.”

”Right now, we are just friends, and we won’t discuss anything else.”

Ross, who was virtually second only to one person within the rebel army, flushed when Lance spoke to him this way.

When a person holds a position of authority for too long, they tend to become arrogant, and Ross was showing signs of this.

He wanted to erupt in anger, but meeting Lance’s eyes, the rage in his mind miraculously and gradually melted away. He looked darkly at Lance, then glanced at Pedro.

It was clear that Lance was implying that only if Pedro became the Great President would he be qualified to talk to Lance.

If Pedro became President, what about him?

This was clearly going to be an unpleasant meeting. Lance didn’t try to detain them, and they didn’t want to stay.

Some were uncomfortable with the aura Lance exuded, which made them feel uneasy and exerted huge psychological pressure on them, making them afraid to even breathe deeply.

Others were eager to return quickly to address the issues of the Ravila family’s rule and form the new Rapa government as soon as possible to negotiate these matters and make the unequal treaty somewhat more equal.

On the way back, Ross’s temper flared up again. ”Look at him! It’s as if he still doesn’t view us as equals!”

”It’s as if we’re still pawns, puppets, in his hand!”

”He’s too arrogant!”

”All Federal people are too arrogant!”

Pedro was much calmer. ”They have the right to be arrogant.”

”You... Hmph!” Ross glared at Pedro. He opened his mouth to say what was on his mind, but ultimately held it back.

Although he hadn’t received a higher education, he knew that some words, once spoken, could not be taken back.

Back at the Presidential Palace, Pedro began to speed up the work of organizing. At the same time, he started calling the various states—their tribal states—hoping that the neutral ones in the civil war would send representatives to a meeting he planned to hold in March or April to determine the structure of the new Rapa government.

Without the support of these tribal states, they would remain merely a provisional government.

The liaison for each tribal state indicated they would arrange for someone to attend, which somewhat relieved him.

At seven in the evening, he received the scheduled call from the Jede Republic President.

He sat in a chair in a different office, not the Presidential Office.

He knew Ross and some others were obsessed with that position, and if he sat there, it would escalate their already strained relationship into a serious rift.

So, he switched offices.

At seven o’clock, punctually, the phone rang. He picked up the receiver after three rings. ”This is Pedro...”