Chapter 1000

"I heard that you and Wei De had a very unpleasant time?" Tang Mu chatted with Lanse while eating expensive steak.

This time Lanse came to New Jincheng mainly to attend the wedding of Sai Lin Na.

On November 28, Sai Lin Na would hold a wedding at the Amen Cathedral in New Jincheng; his wife's father was a middle-level cadre in the Social Party, and such a marriage belonged to a political marriage.

The development of New Jincheng was very good, which meant that the Williams family could obtain a large amount of benefits from the development of New Jincheng.

Political development cannot do without financial support; no money?

No money, what politics!

Some people want money, some people want fame, this is the most suitable marriage.

Mayor Williams had already determined that he wanted James to take over his shift, so naturally, he had to continuously build momentum for James now, let him at least meet with some high-level officials in the Social Party, and know them.

Federation politics is a very simple yet very complex system; each link is interlocked, and finally, it forms this complex, simple, and stable society.

If James wants to run for Mayor of New Jincheng, or if he wants to run for Governor of Laizhou in the future, he must have his own supporters among the middle and high levels of the Social Party.

This requires more people to be able to know him and have some good feelings for him.

Mayor Williams and James had already arrived; they were busy with the wedding of Sai Lin Na, which was a big event.

Since they came to New Jincheng, it was inevitable to visit Senator Shi Diwen.

Senator Shi Diwen had been busy during this period; he didn't have time to see him during the day, and even at night, he didn't necessarily have time.

He often returned to his villa or manor after eleven o'clock; at this time, it was no longer suitable to receive guests, which was very impolite, so whether Lanse could see Senator Shi Diwen in these few days was really not certain.

Of course, if he had any urgent matters, the senator would also push aside some work to see him.

Unable to see the senator, Lanse greeted Tang Mu, and Tang Mu took the initiative to invite him to have dinner together at night.

If it weren't for Lanse coming too suddenly, he would definitely have let his wife prepare a table of sumptuous dinner to entertain Lanse.

During the time he had known Lanse, he could be said to have completed the accumulation of the most basic wealth; Lanse gave him hundreds of thousands, plus what others gave, he had already obtained more than one million in benefits from Lanse and people related to Lanse.

At this time, the purchasing power of one million was absolutely terrifying!

When the two people ate, it was impossible that they were just eating there; chatting was still the most important thing.

Chatting and chatting, Tang Mu talked about Governor Wei De; now many people knew that he and Lanse had some conflicts, which was very common in Federation politics.

Not to mention every year, every few years, there would be.

Some people sprint for governor, some people sprint for senator, and even some people sprint for president.

Before they succeeded in sprinting, they often had a very good relationship with some supporters; the purpose of these supporters supporting them was to want to obtain their own share of benefits from their sprinting results.

The most famous case among them was the years when the Federation monopoly-related bills were pushed forward, those capitalists, and the president they pushed to power.

Before the "Anti-Monopoly Law" came out, the Federation belonged to the super-trust groups; they held absolute control over almost all industries through various means.

From raw materials, to channels, to pricing power, they were firmly grasped in their hands, which had a huge negative impact on society.

Some voices of opposition also appeared in society, believing that capital monopoly was digging the roots of social development; if monopoly behavior was not eradicated, the Federation would eventually split because of this.

Huge social public opinion pushed the development of the whole situation; in order to ensure their profits in the Federation, these monopoly groups supported a president to power.

The first thing the president did after taking office was to draft the "Anti-Monopoly Law," which was also what people liked to talk about most at that time.

Under the presidency of this president, some super-trust groups in the Federation were all disintegrated, and no monopoly behavior could be seen in the Federation.

Of course, some people also think that this president and these super-trust groups are acting in a play, a play specifically for ordinary people to watch.

The companies that achieved monopoly were indeed dismembered, but their actual monopoly behavior did not stop.

The Federation originally had two steel companies controlling more than 90% of the Federation's steel production; after the Anti-Monopoly Law, these two companies became nine, which seemed to be much more reasonable, but these nine companies still controlled the Federation's steel production.

Even because they were "dismembered," they occupied more market share; each enterprise seemed to only occupy a few percent or 10%, but added together, they almost completely monopolized the steel market.

Some people think this is a wonderful performance, because behind the nine steel companies are still those original people; they are still manipulating the market.

But some people also think that these are real; at least the competition between the nine enterprises made the market much more transparent, and the price also became a bit more reasonable.

And regardless of whether it is real or not, in short, similar things because of becoming enemies after taking office are common in the Federation, and it can only be said that Lanse's luck is not very good.

Facing Tang Mu's curiosity, Lanse did not hide anything, "He wants more money, but I don't want to give it to him, and he behaves too tough, so neither of us can bow our heads."

Tang Mu understood Lanse's meaning after hearing this; whoever gives way will be very passive.

Governor Wei De is a "governor," the person with the highest status in a state; he will definitely not make concessions.

Lanse is not a small character either; now, if he makes concessions, it is not just concessions; this will trigger a series of problems, and he does not just represent himself.

Tang Mu curled his lips; he used his dinner fork to casually stir the food on the dinner plate, "Actually, at this time, only a middleman is needed to solve your problems."

The role of a broker is basically displayed at this moment; find a middleman, it must be the kind of middleman with status and authority, such as a former governor or a former member of Congress.

These people have the status and qualifications to do the work of the governor, and they have very rich connections in the entire Federation political arena.

At this time, it is not Lanse making concessions to Governor Wei De, or Governor Wei De making concessions for Lanse, but they are making concessions to this middleman—

"For my sake..."

This is the importance of a middleman.

"If you need it, I can find a suitable candidate for you." Tang Mu's status in the political arena had risen a bit during this period; he could already talk directly with those senators, instead of having to go through Senator Shi Diwen.

This is a huge improvement, and it also represents that he has the potential to transform from a staffer to a politician; of course, the premise is that Senator Shi Diwen agrees.

People like him who are staffers for Senator Shi Diwen must hold many political secrets related to Senator Shi Diwen in their hands.

If Senator Shi Diwen himself does not agree, he will likely only be a staffer for the rest of his life; no one will let a guy who knows some of his private matters run wild outside.

Unless Tang Mu doesn't want to live.

As for how he will develop in the end, Tang Mu himself actually has no thoughts; he is very satisfied with his current life and situation.

Although he has no power in his own hands, as a staffer for Senator Shi Diwen, he can still do it by borrowing the tiger's power.

And he is also very rich; people will also respect him; apart from not having power that belongs directly to him, he is actually not much different from those big shots now.

Lanse shook his head, "I know that finding a middleman can solve this problem, but I don't want to do that; I just want to see how much ability he has and to what extent he can let this matter develop."

"Wei De also has people in Congress supporting him." Tang Mu took the initiative to mention this matter after roughly understanding it; a guy who has huge influence in a state and has now successfully run for governor cannot have no backing in Congress.

He casually picked up a small piece of lamb chop, tore off a piece, and said while chewing, "And wanting to remove a governor requires paying a huge price; the senator's side is very difficult to agree with such a thought."

"Now everyone is united against the outside; war is the most important thing at the moment, not internal political strife, so they will not agree with your idea, unless you can convince the senator behind Wei De."

Lanse nodded, "I also didn't consider solving the problem between me and Wei De through the senator's side."

"Besides, this matter is actually not that serious; my goods are not sold through the governor; he can't control me." They were chatting, and the restaurant's doorbell suddenly rang; Lanse looked at the entrance, and the guy who had just walked in, who was obviously the leader of this group, seemed to sense Lanse's gaze and looked over, meeting his gaze.

The two people's gazes met in the air, as if they each had a kind of suction with the other's eyes, firmly attracting the two people's gazes.

They just stared at each other like that, their eyes full of something with considerable weight; in the process of their staring, the temperature in the restaurant seemed to have some changes.

Many people noticed these; they all turned their heads to look at Lanse or the guy who had just walked in, and then withdrew their gazes.

There were even two tables of guests who finished their dinner hastily and left quickly after putting money on the bill.

Tang Mu also turned his head to look at the entrance of the restaurant; it was seven or eight middle-aged men, and they were standing at the door.

The restaurant manager seemed to be a bit confused about the situation; he was soothing these guests in a low voice while prompting them that they shouldn't stand at the door.

Tang Mu's gaze finally rested on the face and body of the guy who was obviously the leader, observing back and forth; he didn't know these people, but he could feel that these people and Lanse must have had a conflict.

The other party's eyes were very fierce, not at all like the eyes of looking at a friend.

"Who are they?" Tang Mu asked.

Lanse hummed twice, "People from the Peileisi family."

"The Federation's Five Great Families?" Tang Mu was stunned for a moment, "I've heard of this group of people; is their power very large?"

Lanse withdrew his gaze and looked at Ma Duoer standing beside him; Ma Duoer nodded slightly and walked to the window.

Lanse dared to come to New Jincheng, so he certainly didn't come alone, and he also had his own "business" here, the embassy's bar.

In order to avoid guests causing trouble inside, the Lanse family also had many people in New Jincheng.

Lanse continued to enjoy the food; his attention seemed to be all on the food, not on the people of the Peileisi family, "Is it very large?"

"I don't know much about them; perhaps it is very large, but the reason their power is very large is just because...", Lanse used his dinner fork to fork the cut beef pieces and put them into his mouth, while looking at Tang Mu, "... they hadn't met me before."

Tang Mu was infected by the confidence that permeated from his bones; he laughed, "Why are they looking at you like that?"

"It's as if you did something unforgivable!"

The eyes of those people who were staring at Lanse just now seemed like they wanted to eat Lanse, full of violent feelings.

If it weren't for Congress mediating the battle between them and Lanse before, they might have already started fighting the first time they met just now.

New Jincheng does not allow fighting; it is a new regulation after the last time trouble was caused; even if it is the Federation's Five Great Families, they dare not do so at this time.

Lanse shrugged, "They have some opinions about me; they attacked my people, so I hung an important family member of theirs on some pole and roasted him."

"Roasted?" Tang Mu looked at Lanse in disbelief, "Is it the kind of roasting I understand?"

Lanse used a dinner knife to scrape on the sheepskin of a piece of roasted lamb with skin; the charred and crispy sound made Tang Mu burst into profanity, "Motherfucker, you made me have no appetite at all!"

He directly put down the knife and fork and looked at Lanse in disbelief; Lanse looked innocent, "I just hung him up, but a fire broke out there, and in the end, it was like this; he was roasted."

It sounds much more reasonable; Tang Mu only recalled at this time that Lanse, after all, is still a very famous gang leader in the Federation.

Usually, during their interaction, Lanse behaved too much like a politician or a person on the edge of the political arena, so Tang Mu would ignore some of his attributes.

He covered his cheeks with both hands and pressed his index fingers on his temples, "God, I might not have an appetite for these few days just thinking about it."

Lanse ate very happily, "You missed these delicacies, Tang Mu; God will punish you."

Tang Mu shook his head with a bitter smile; when he shook his head, he saw those few people walking over, and he immediately warned Lanse, "Your enemies are coming over."

Lanse didn't look back, just felt the footsteps approaching continuously; a mocking look appeared on his face, "Do you know?"

"If it were me, I would pull the trigger the first time."

Tang Mu watched them approach, "But they are not you."

A chair was directly picked up from the next table and placed beside Lanse's dining table; Peiji sat directly on that chair, staring at Lanse without blinking, "Lanse?"

"Lanse·Huai Te?"

Lanse put down the knife and fork; he picked up a napkin to wipe the oil stains on his lips and corners of his mouth; he turned his head to look at this person, "I've seen your photo; you should be called Peiji, Peiji·Peileisi."

Peiji's expression had some subtle changes; Lanse had a kind of slow and arrogant smile on his face, "Do you know?"

"I've seen the photos of all the main members of the Peileisi family, including you, your father, your mother, you and your younger brother; you also have an older sister in college."

Just one sentence made Peiji stand up suddenly; his face was full of anger and a trace of fear that he didn't even notice himself, "Fuck!"

"Are you threatening me?"

Lanse spread his hands, "Threatening?"

"No, no, no, this is just a friendly understanding."

"You want to kill me, but I don't intend to be killed by you; I can only get to know all of you first."

Peiji looked down at Lanse, "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you here?"

The few people behind him all surrounded him; these people all put their hands into their clothes; obviously, as long as Peiji spoke, they would pull the trigger.

Ma Duoer and the three of them also stood up, their hands also put into their clothes; a fight seemed inevitable.

At this time, Tang Mu was already nervous; he admired Lanse very much; Lanse was still that relaxed, unhurried, calm, and composed appearance until now.

There were obviously more of Peiji's people around, but he acted as if he didn't see it.

And he also found that Lanse completely occupied the upper hand, although he only had a few people here.

Peiji's breathing was very rapid, which showed that he was already a bit... chaotic; he looked at Lanse, wanting to pierce Lanse with his gaze.

The atmosphere became a bit frozen again; the restaurant manager who was pressed against the wall could only close his eyes, begging that they wouldn't mess around in the restaurant.

This is a high-end restaurant; if they mess around here, not to mention how much money it will cost to redecorate, how much business time will be delayed.

Just the negative impact brought by their fighting will make the guests here decrease a lot; this kind of loss is very difficult to make up for.

Who is willing to go to a restaurant where gangs have fought to have a meal?

Want to get close to a gunfight?

Xie Te!

He can only hope now that someone has called the police, and the police can arrive here faster.

Just when the two were confronting each other, the sound of braking suddenly rang out outside the door; Tang Mu turned his head to look outside; seven or eight cars stopped there, and at least twenty or thirty of Lanse's people got out of the cars.

They didn't enter the restaurant, just stood outside; these people were dressed in uniform, and under the windbreaker, one could vaguely see the submachine guns carried on their backs.

Lanse looked at Peiji again, showing a kind of teasing expression, "Now what?"