Chapter 1017: Similarities and Signing

The next morning, after Senator Cleveland arrived at his office, he quickly convened a group of core senators for a meeting.

This period was spent almost every day in various meetings because it was approaching the end of the year.

Enterprises become very busy at the end of the year, with many accounts waiting to be clarified, and they also have to let shareholders know how much money they have earned, and how much money they can earn next year.

Of course, they also have to erase some traces that might not be very good, such as some bad debts, some financial reports that cannot be made public, and so on.

Government departments are the same. The federal government is like a super huge group company, and every department is one of its subsidiaries.

The President's Office, Congress, the Department of Defense—these are all its subsidiaries.

The people are the largest shareholders of the Federation in name, and of course, the facts are indeed so.

If the issue of equity distribution is confirmed according to the weight of votes, then the ordinary people who occupy 99 percent of this country hold 99.9 percent of the votes in their hands.

Therefore, the high-level management of these subsidiaries, like the board of directors and management of those enterprises, want to retain the profits, so they have to produce a financial report that looks good but is not practical—

"We earned 1 million last year, but invested 1.05 million in a new project, so the actual income is negative 50,000. No money will be distributed this year."

You can't say they didn't earn money.

On the books, at least they still earned money, and earned quite a lot, but there are new projects that must be invested in, so the idea of distributing money this year is ruined.

But if you say they earned money.

Such a big company, such a large annual profit, why can't the shareholders get a single cent?

Oh, no!

Actually, it was distributed, but this kind of distribution is different from the "distribution" the shareholders imagined, because the shareholders' wages have increased.

The President will organize some changes in society in a public speech in the middle of this year and publish them, just like the shareholders' meeting in the middle of the year.

He will tell these "shareholders of the country" that although they cannot get a single cent from the Federation's profits, their income has clearly increased.

The year before last, the economy recovered, and the per capita income was only 47 or 48, but this year it rose to 60, an income increase of nearly 20 percent. Spread to the whole nation, can you say you didn't get any money?

Who can say with a clear conscience that they didn't get benefits from the operation of the company (country) last year?

Shareholders are easily deceived by the company's board of directors and president; after all, they don't actually come into contact with these things themselves.

Just as people are easily deceived by rulers, they also don't know where the power is used, and whether the social dividends should be reflected by the change in the ratio of labor to wealth.

Many people only shout "Long live the Federation," because their income has indeed increased, and some people in society will call them "vested interest groups under the era dividend period."

To put it plainly, you have already gained benefits from the changes of the era, why are you still making trouble?

The shareholders thought about it, and it was indeed so. Just like people are sure that their income has indeed increased, everything remains calm.

They never seriously think about a problem: why is it that equity dividends never come to them every year, and why do they feel so satisfied every year?

Senator Cleveland is currently the weight party on the board of directors of the "Congress" subsidiary. In order to let the company president—"Mr. President"—have a good performance at the year-end shareholders' meeting, they often have to hold meetings to hide things that might affect the stability of shareholder sentiment.

And discuss how these profits should be distributed, and what to do next year.

With Senator Cleveland's convening, soon his small private meeting room was full of people. These people were core members of his political interest group.

There were also some who couldn't come because of their own affairs or work. Senator Cleveland also explained the content of this meeting to them.

If they were interested, or if the content of this meeting was related to their vital interests, they would arrange for representatives to attend as observers.

If not, they wouldn't care that much.

After people arrived, the door of the small meeting room closed. Power seemed to be materialized at this moment.

It was located in this small room, right in the middle of the room!

"Lanse made a phone call to me last night," Senator Cleveland said while pulling a cigarette from his cigarette case.

The senator beside him skillfully took out a lighter and lit it for him. He said thank you, then looked up at the gentlemen at the conference table, "He talked to me about Lapa President Diego applying for a loan of 100 million from the federal government."

"He intends to use this loan to fight against those anti-government armed forces. You know, the situation in Lapa is very bad now, and the anti-government armed forces are constantly encroaching on the government army's territory."

"I heard from Lanse that if the situation continues to deteriorate, they will soon besiege Zhuolan, and the Lapa regime will become turbulent."

"Here, I need to explain a few sets of data to you."

"In the past year and a half, the armed conflicts between the Lapa government army and these anti-government armed forces have constantly escalated. In eighteen months, at least 400,000 people have died in the war because of the war."

"And the total number of government troops and anti-government troops currently held in Lapa is about 700,000."

"Lanse's and my opinion is that the number they consumed is still too small. Our plan is to consume at least 2 million militant people to reach our basic line for peacefully receiving Lapa."

The decoration of this small meeting room was very exquisite, luxurious, and at the same time very low-key.

Wall skirts, wall panels, and furniture made of precious wood—each one looked from the outside as if there was no big difference from those furniture in stores that were not very expensive.

But if people looked carefully and touched them, they could feel the preciousness of these furniture.

That kind of moist and gentle feel was like stroking a girl's skin, and the solemn and deep color tone would give people a solemn feeling.

Even if it was just a desk lamp, the gemstone lampshade and the gold-plated lamp stand, just placed there, would emit a kind of aura called "nobility" when turned on!

The gentlemen here were also dressed appropriately and were graceful. They interpreted the word "civilization" as a standard.

But the words that came out of their mouths, those numbers they uttered, made everything suddenly become chaotic.

You can't tell whether this is civilization or barbarism, nor can you tell whether these gentlemen are gentlemen or devils!

The political power and stability of a country, the life and death of 2 million people, in their eyes, were nothing more than some simple numbers, some simple descriptions.

Not a single gentleman at the conference table felt ashamed; everyone listened very seriously, and some even asked seriously.

"How to ensure that so many militant people can be consumed?"

"I mean, how can we confirm that our actions can make their war continue to escalate?"

Senator Cleveland nodded and said, "This is a good question, but it is not a good question. This matter doesn't need us to operate at all."

"Now, whether it is the anti-government armed forces or the Lapa government, they have no room to turn back."

"Either the government army is eliminated, or the anti-government armed forces are eliminated. They cannot have a chance to coexist peacefully."

"If someone among them really tries to sit down and negotiate, then it means this person has no value."

"I very much agree with some of Lanse's practices. What we need is the result, not the process."

"He can ensure that the people on both sides will fight to the end; that is enough."

When Senator Cleveland decided to push this matter, they were also a witness. In fact, its development was much better than everyone imagined.

Lanse didn't occupy too many war resources, didn't even occupy much government resources, and made Lapa's situation "a mess." For President Diego, the ultimate goal of this civil war was what he said in Congress: to consume all unstable, militant Lapa people.

Only in this way, when the federal government rules it, will these thorns not jump out.

They can resist the current Lapa orthodox government, so they can definitely resist the future federal government. In order to let the federal government successfully set an example in the annexation of Xiang Yalan, they can only wipe them all out.

And the most interesting and satisfying part of this plan is that they don't need to do it themselves, and there is no hatred between Lapa people and the Federation, only recognition of the Federation.

Everyone discussed it simply and felt there was no problem. Now the development of the situation in Lapa has always been within the scope promised by Lanse.

The senator who raised the question thought for a while, "In this regard, I have no problem."

Senator Cleveland puffed on a cigarette, "A fiscal appropriation of 100 million, and a new plan he proposed."

"We already talked last night, and I very much agree with some of his ideas."

"He mentioned increasing investment in Lapa, and at the same time, he will require Diego to allow regions to be autonomous before the civil war ends..."

When they heard this sentence, everyone showed an unbelievable expression!

Now the situation in Lapa is so rotten. If the government also agrees to regional autonomy, it can be said that this country will be completely split!

Regardless of the local ruling class in Lapa or the landlord class, these people can immediately establish small kingdoms.

Even if the civil war really ends and the government army wins, then the next thing President Diego will face is a new war, or admitting and accepting the result that the country was eventually split by himself.

Facing their shocked eyes, Senator Cleveland laughed twice. The laughter was very reserved, and the dental sound was very clear, but everyone could hear the kind of high-above arrogance in his laughter!

A kind of arrogance of a world power toward a weak country, disdain!

"Because he has no qualification to refuse. This needs to be exchanged for 100 million, and!"

He emphasized his tone on the word "and", "Only 10 million of this 100 million is cash, and the rest will be paid to him in the form of military supplies."

At this, more senators joined the ranks of this reserved and arrogant laughter. They would naturally laugh because they were all experts in doing business.

Calculated this way, this support of 100 million, in fact, the cost might be 50 or 60 million, maybe not even that much.

After all, the firearms for foreign trade themselves have profits and taxes. If these are removed, in fact, it is not worth that much money.

Therefore, the federal government only needs to buy these equipment from those military groups at a lower price, and then pay the Lapa government at the original price. Even if they leave profit space for the military groups, they can save 20 or 30 million.

This way, both face and substance are there.

"Lanse is indeed an interesting person. It's a pity his background is a bit poor, otherwise I really feel he might one day be in the same room as us."

Someone sighed like this.

Lanse is too good at making everything look beautiful. Every one of his practices can make people feel good, which is very rare, and he is still so young.

It's a pity that he has an Imperial background and a gang background.

However, this kind of thing cannot be forced. If he didn't have a gang background, he wouldn't have appeared in the eyes of these people today.

Sometimes, when people face different choices, they can only helplessly choose one of them, instead of wanting everything.

"I think this plan has no problems, very good, can't pick out any faults."

"I can even imagine that next, federal people will help these suffering Lapa people establish autonomous regions one after another. This is the prototype of the referendum he mentioned in the report before, right?"

In the report Lanse submitted to Congress before, he mentioned letting Lapa people choose for themselves, letting the federal government manage them instead of managing themselves.

Now, from this goal that everyone thought was impossible to complete at the beginning, it has been pushed too far. It looks like it is not impossible; it is very possible, and it even makes people feel that it only takes a few months to complete!

Senator Cleveland nodded with some smiles on his face, "Then I will give him an answer. This matter has to go through the treasury. If everyone has no other opinions, I will take it to let Mr. President sign it."

Now it is too late to submit a vote in Congress. The only fast way is for the President to sign a presidential order.

During the war, the President's power is infinite. Any proposal, he can directly sign and confirm execution.

Others naturally wouldn't refuse. This is also a good thing for them.

As war hawks, after annexing the Xiang Yalan region, they will definitely implement higher-level governance, so the ruling class in the Xiang Yalan region at this time will face a major purge.

The benefits released after the purge will be divided by Congress and domestic capital. They can get huge benefits from it!

Even if they only get a few mines, they can add some stable and decent income to the family, and also wash away a lot of money.

Although they don't have much money to wash in their hands, because what can reach their hands is already washed clean, but what if their family members need it?

This proposal passed quickly, and then he began to discuss other proposals. It wasn't until after two o'clock in the afternoon that the content of these few days was considered discussed.

After it ended, he didn't eat, but went directly to the President's Office. He bought a hot dog outside the President's Office and entered the President's Office while gnawing on the hot dog.

As a Social Party member, the President was originally in the same camp as Senator Cleveland, although there might be some problems in the faction, it didn't prevent them from being considered friends.

Federal people are like this; work and private matters are separated very clearly. As long as the President expresses some goodwill afterwards and says that some unpleasantness before was just work-related, then he can be re-accepted.

"You didn't eat lunch?", the President asked, looking at Senator Cleveland who came in with a small piece of hot dog in his hand.

"Do you want me to have the chef get you something to eat, steak, or lamb chops?"

The President's Office has chefs working specifically for the President, twenty-four hours a day. As long as the President is hungry, they can serve food in a very short time.

Senator Cleveland shook his head, "No, no need, I've already eaten enough."

He said "sorry," and then stuffed the remaining hot dog into his mouth. He hadn't eaten this kind of cheap food for a long time, and eating it occasionally tasted quite good.

Soft bread, plus a large hot dog sausage full of meat grains, and then poured with that kind of sweet and sour sauce—it was indeed delicious, at least it could satisfy people in terms of cheap taste stimulation.

After the President waited for him to finish the hot dog in his mouth and clean his mouth and hands, he took the initiative to hand over a glass of water, "Drink some water."

"Thank you!", Senator Cleveland picked up the water glass, took a small sip, and handed the document in his briefcase, "Take a look, need your signature."

The President opened the document and looked at it simply. He had seen this proposal before and also noticed some parts that were underlined and relatively important.

"Looks somewhat incredible, is there room for execution?", he said while taking out a fountain pen, but didn't sign.

This way, it wouldn't make people feel he didn't want to sign, and he could clarify the things he wanted to know.

In the daily code of conduct of these high-level politicians, they can always figure out the situation well and make responses.

For Senator Cleveland, who is now the "head of the largest political group in Congress," he must show equality and respect.

Senator Cleveland nodded and said the words he said in Congress again. After the President finished listening, he smiled and said, "I've always wanted to see this magical young man. If there is a chance, bring him here. I'm very curious about how he grew up and can think of these... terrible methods."

As his voice fell, he looked down at the place where he needed to sign, then signed his name, and picked up two stamps.

One was his personal stamp, which had anti-counterfeiting means to ensure that this document was signed by him personally.

There was also a stamp of the President's Office, representing that he signed it as President.

After the stamps were finished, he returned the document to Senator Cleveland, "You can go and ask for the appropriation..." ===== CHAPTER 1018 =====