Chapter 1021

Lans stood behind the podium on the high platform, his hands resting on the edge of the podium, his gaze falling upon the underclass people of Lapa before him.

There were also some local middle-class people around; they were roles like supervisors in the factories, and there were also a very small number of Lapa wealthy merchants.

Behind them all was the Lapa ruling group.

These people were all gathered here today; they stood together, their gazes locked tightly on Lans behind the podium.

When Lans's gaze moved gradually across these people and returned after looking around, he spoke slowly, "People, and people, are not different."

"Even if our hair color, eye color, and skin color are different, our accents are different, and our religious customs and social habits are different."

"Human beings are still human beings; you are human beings, and so am I."

"I know there are some people outside who think that I represent the invaders led by the federal interest groups, and that our purpose in coming here is to invade your poor country, occupy your poor people, and try to squeeze oil out of this equally barren soil!"

Some people in the audience suddenly let out laughter, mainly the middle class and wealthy merchants, as well as some ordinary workers.

They all felt that what Lans said was very interesting, and Lans himself did too; he had a smile on his face that wasn't too prominent, looking at those people with smiles on their faces.

"I can understand the reason they think this way; it's like someone breaking into my home—I would certainly think this person has ill intentions toward me, but I would ignore the fact that they might just want to bring me something."

"At this very moment, with so much criticism directed at me, at the Federation, and at the federal government, what have we actually brought to Lapa?"

He had another pause; every sentence and every word of his was spoken relatively slowly, and his voice was also very standard and clear, allowing everyone to clearly understand what he was saying.

Even at this very moment, the New Federal Center radio station was broadcasting this speech of Lans's, which wasn't exactly a public speech, to other places.

His question caused many people to fall into thought.

Of course, it didn't exclude those with stereotypical prejudices who, upon hearing his words, directly cursed at him, thinking this was just the sophistry of an invader, but more people were thinking and reflecting.

Those who were truly impulsive, had stereotypical prejudices, and had the ability to execute, most had already joined the army; they wanted to save this country by executing their own ideas.

So those who remained were actually mostly not extreme.

After about ten seconds, Lans continued, "We brought stable order, brought a large amount of investment, brought advanced technology, and brought the breath of freedom from the Federation to Lapa."

"After the New Federal Center was established, the residents living here had their own houses."

"They can live in their own bright, clean, and tidy rooms, instead of living on the roadside; they have a home, a home in the true sense."

"Besides having a home, they also have a stable job, six or seven hundred Para a month, which is almost double their past per capita income."

"And, it is very stable."

After Lans paused for a moment, his tone became even more impassioned, "We also brought education!"

"We have established six elementary schools and four high schools in the New Federal Center, and we promise."

"Students with excellent high school academic performance will receive the opportunity to go to the Federation to study at university for free, with all expenses covered by our New Federal Center Management Company."

"We have also brought many things, those factories that are in production, those movies on the street; I really don't know, and cannot describe all the changes brought here."

"Too many!"

"The public transport buses on the street travel back and forth for free, making people's movement more convenient and effortless."

"Those sanitation workers who sweep the streets have given us a clean and tidy street and city."

"We have brought a large number of changes here, all of which are positive changes."

"I don't think this is what an invader should do!"

After he finished this sentence, he remained quiet; he needed to give people time to think. In regions with low levels of education like Lapa, they need to be given more time to think.

These words were not fabricated; anyone who comes here and takes a walk around will find that what he said is true.

Everything that happened regarding the New Federal Center, that is, within the federal concession, has also been spontaneously spreading to the surrounding areas among the people.

There is no hunger here, one can find a stable job, and there are hospitals and schools; this place has almost become the model of what a country should look like in everyone's mind!

Before, they might not have noticed these changes so clearly, but now that Lans has said it, that feeling has become even clearer.

"I look at you, I look at everyone here, and I ask myself."

"Am I an invader?"

He shook his head, "I didn't get any answer; yes, or no, neither."

"Because some things don't need an answer, but need to be discovered—discovering what I am doing and what life is like here."

"If letting you live a decent life, letting you have dignity, have a family, have an income, and have the ability to manage your income is what some people call invasion."

"Then I believe that if there is anyone in this world who needs to be ranked as an invader, then I must be at the bottom."

"I am an unqualified invader; I did not bring destruction, ruin, or slavery."

"What I brought to you is only happiness and freedom!"

The people at the scene began to applaud slowly, and soon the applause merged into one, while those listeners in more distant places also fell into deep thought.

"I really haven't heard of federal people doing anything bad; after they came, they have been building factories, investing, and hiring locals."

"I also heard that they renovated the slums of Zhuolan, letting the poor live in apartments!"

Under the radio broadcast in more distant cities, some people gathered there, and after listening to the broadcast content coming from the loudspeakers, they couldn't help but talk about these things with the people around them.

Everyone's eyes revealed a yearning and desire for the New Federal Center; they also wanted to go to the concession, wanted to have a stable and decent job, wanted to gain respect and dignity, wanted to gain... many things!

Those who didn't know much about Lans and the federal people started to think along these lines—is Lans an invader?

It is very difficult for people to make an evaluation; some even took the initiative to find reasons for the concession—

"He just didn't want his achievements to be destroyed by some bastards in the Lapa government, so they took that piece of land!"

When a person's behavior leaves people unable to find a reason to attack, they will start to defend this person.

Just like this moment!

Reporters kept pressing their shutters, the flashlights kept flickering; at the moment the flashlights lit up, the silver glow illuminated him, making him look exceptionally sacred in that instant and in countless subsequent moments!

The thunderous applause at the scene gradually subsided as he raised his hand to press down, and he had a smile on his face, "So, I don't think I am an invader; I just brought happiness and freedom."

"Today, we are standing here to celebrate the official completion and production of our new factory."

"This place will accommodate over five thousand workers, letting at least five thousand families get on the right track of life."

"In the future, we will continue to invest in more factories here, build more buildings, and recruit more workers."

"Thank you all very much for patiently listening to me say some things that might not be so interesting; thank you."

"Now, I announce here that... the factory officially begins production; please let our workers enter the production workshop!"

Lans himself also began to applaud; at the side, the silk ribbon leading to the factory's production workshop was pulled open, and colorful ribbons fluttered down.

The workers walked into the factory with their heads held high, carrying longing for the future on their faces.

They will engage in high-intensity production work here for at least twelve hours a day, and sometimes it might be fourteen hours.

Even in the Federation, capitalists would shout "incredible." Because even with such long working hours, there is no exploitation, no oppression; everything is voluntary on their part.

They will not complain because of long hours of physical labor and low income, and there will be no labor unions to take the initiative to contact them, help them provide various aid, or take the initiative to increase their benefits or anything like that.

No one will think that long hours of labor are exploitation and oppression of themselves; to them, not having a job is, not having a job.

Those federal people, those moral saints, might find it difficult to understand the situation of these people because they have always been living in happiness.

If one day they were also in a hell like Lapa, as long as they were given a little opportunity, even if it was just a little bit.

Never mind fourteen hours of high-intensity work a day, even if two more hours were added, they would feel happy!

Both federal and local Lapa reporters faithfully recorded all of this; soon, the content of Lans's speech and some photos appeared in federal and local Lapa newspapers.

Domestic federal media such as the "Federal Post" used "The Reflection of an 'Invader'" as the headline, opening a special edition to explain to the federal people the things Lans and the Imperial Chamber of Commerce had done in Lapa.

They also used many sets of data, such as employment rate, happiness index, per capita income, etc., to explain to the public that the Lapa locals living and working in the New Federal Center were many times better in all aspects than the Lapa people outside the New Federal Center.

Income, or something else.

Federal people are very interested in this aspect; whether it is the federal government or the federal people, they are all seeking more international recognition and a sense of glory.

Undoubtedly, bringing federal civilization to the barbaric and backward Lapa and helping the local people live a happy life is indeed something that can make federal people feel very honored.

Domestically, regarding Lans and these things he did in Lapa, public opinion began to pay more attention.

People also began to discuss Lans as a person more.

Because in this era, gangs are also an indispensable part of society, an important era symbol, so these media did not avoid Lans's identity and the things he did in the past.

It's just that most of them were mentioned in passing, so people couldn't talk about how much they disliked or were even dissatisfied with him.

In Lapa, this kind of propaganda was even more exaggerated; overnight, Lans seemed to have become the savior of Lapa.

Many people carried a feeling of pilgrimage, setting off from all over Lapa toward Zhuolan.

They wanted to use their own eyes to see with their own eyes everything that happened in the New Federal Center.

They wanted to use their own ears to listen to their compatriots living in the New Federal Center tell them about their current life and work situation.

At this time, there is actually not much time left before the New Year, but Lapa is in a high-pressure situation, and it is precisely because of such a situation that people want to find a dreamland where they can escape reality.

"You can also start to push the plan on your side," Lans sat in a warm room; the low-key luxury decorations and furniture made any small thing here worth the lives of several, or even dozens, or hundreds of Lapa people.

In the room, those ministers and heads of great families had some ingratiating smiles on their faces.

They had already defected to the Federation and had no way back; at this moment, they could only follow Lans and go all the way to the end.

Fortunately, this road can be seen; it has no fog, nor is it a dark night, and one can see the end of the road at a glance—a magnificent and huge building named "Federation."

That is their destination.

These masters, who often represent authority in the eyes of ordinary people, were much younger in front of Lans, as cautious as grandsons.

The purpose of letting President Diego promulgate the regional high autonomy bill is to establish more "New Federal Centers," and these people, the cities controlled by these local forces that have defected, will become "vote banks" that look toward the Federation.

Lans will arrange for the federal government and some capital to invest in their territory; this kind of thing actually doesn't need to consider whether anyone is willing.

Here they don't need to pay taxes, the labor force is low, and there is a relatively complete railway network; they have no reason not to come here.

Some capital groups are already in negotiations; once negotiated, these enterprises will soon start investing in building factories in these areas and recruiting local workers.

These locals who have started to get used to stable work and life will eventually become the most steadfast supporters of the Federation.

"Mr. Lans, on our side...", Minister Labur had a probing expression on his face.

Lans had promised them before that he would let them have a portion of the shares in the investments that landed in the Federation, which is also one of the reasons they fully supported Lans.

Who doesn't want to live a better life?

The industrial level of the Federation has been fully demonstrated in the war and is definitely world-class; if they want to gain more benefits and more stable income, they must find a way to join these federal investment projects.

The local Lapa projects will eventually be eliminated by these foreign projects; if they cannot determine it now, then they will soon be eliminated too.

Commercial competition is very cruel; before, they could rely on the advantage of power-based standards to interfere with market behavior, but in the future, I am afraid that doing so will be impossible.

Lans nodded, "I have already talked to those enterprises about this matter; they will let you have a portion of the shares, but!"

He emphasized his tone, "You only have the power to receive dividends, but you do not have the power to interfere with the operation of the enterprise; I need to make this clear to you first."

The others immediately had smiles on their faces, expressing their understanding of Lans's requirements one after another; after all, they didn't understand at all how those factories operated, nor did they understand those high-tech things from the Federation.

Before the sumptuous dinner was served, these gentlemen couldn't wait to sit at the dining table, and as "hosts" at that.

"Mr. Lans, how long will this civil war last?"

Someone asked such a question, and the attention of the others was focused here.

Lans thought for a while, "Before the first half of next year, it will end completely; there is not much time left for them."

The promulgation of the autonomy bill actually represents that the Lapa government and the anti-government armed forces have reached the end; except for continuing to bite each other hard to break free from the cage as soon as possible, they have no other choice.

If they don't move, then the increasingly tightening cage will only strangle them, not give them freedom.

Whether it is Diego or those anti-government armed forces, there is actually not much time left for them.

For the next period of time, Lans continued to consolidate his and the Federation's new image in the hearts of the Lapa people; one region after another began to build city centers with local special characteristics around the "New Federal Center Model."

More federal enterprises began to try to invest locally; more factories, more job opportunities, and more Lapa people had the opportunity to enjoy the happiness brought by stable work.

They also seemed to gradually feel the "goodwill" from the Federation in such happiness.

It even bred a very special emotion—

Even if Lapa were really annexed by the Federation, it seems there is nothing bad about it.

At least under the rule of the federal people, they are happy, but under the rule of the Diego government, they are unhappy.

People's thoughts are sometimes actually very simple; they just simply yearn for happiness.

The New Year arrived in such a tense yet relaxed atmosphere.

Lans returned to the Federation in advance; he spent the New Year in Jincheng this year. Although the environment in Lapa is not bad, compared to the Federation, it is still quite a bit worse.

Patricia and Ace also returned from Lawrence Farm; they will accompany Lans through the New Year, and then after a period of time, they will return to the farm.

Little Ace is still a bit unfamiliar with Lans; after all, the time spent apart far exceeded the time spent together, but children are still easy to get along with.

Ace is still very young; he hasn't even formed an independent personality and memory yet; now he is just a "chaotic" individual.

After being in contact for a few days, he liked to stick to Lans again, always wanting him to hold him.

For his eldest son, Lans still left him some patience.

Although he had it, it wasn't much.