Chapter 1048: Broadcast

There were many reporters on both sides of the long stairs leading to the Presidential Palace. These reporters were mainly from the Federation and the Republic of Jiede. The constantly flashing lights made everyone walking on this long staircase appear exceptionally solemn.

They were expressionless, looking at the lintel of the Presidential Palace high above, and there seemed to be a special and sacred expression on their faces.

Pedro walked in the very middle of the crowd, neither leading others nor falling behind.

But most people's gazes still fell on him.

For some time now, people had had enough understanding of this group that called themselves the "insurgent army." They knew that Pedro was a very strong person among these people and played the role of the main commander at present.

Many people outside speculated that once they overthrew the Lavila family's rule, Pedro might become the new President.

As for whether they would implement the previous hereditary system or lean toward a civilized society and use an electoral system, it was not so easy to guess.

However, no matter how they chose, Pedro would inevitably stand in an important position.

When he walked to the top of the stairs, he almost subconsciously turned his head to look back.

Below the long staircase were soldiers lined up neatly, as well as the gazes of others looking up at him.

At this moment, the emotional fluctuations in his heart had reached their peak, but he didn't show it. He just turned his head and continued to walk into the Presidential Palace.

This feeling... he didn't know how to describe it, just like the feeling of a mountaineer who, after experiencing hardship and suffering, finally climbed to the top of the mountain.

The mountain forests and strange rocks in front of him disappeared, and the field of vision opened up entirely—it was the blue sky and white clouds, as well as a world without end!

That kind of feeling was joy from the inside out!

He nodded to those who had waited for him for two or three seconds and entered the Presidential Palace with everyone.

Diego stood in the hall of the Presidential Palace. He was wearing his presidential ceremonial dress, which looked gorgeous and also somewhat ridiculous, but he had no spirit, and his face was full of decadence, numbness, and some expressions that people couldn't see clearly.

He just stood there, looking blankly at these people walking in from outside. Immediately after, his body began to tremble slightly; he realized that the game was over.

This also meant that his life had come to an end.

He licked his lips. As the owner of this building, he wanted to speak first, but Pedro didn't give him this opportunity.

"President Diego, this should be the first time we have met face-to-face at such a close distance." Pedro walked out of the crowd until he reached Diego.

"Actually, I wanted to meet you a long time ago, but at that time, I didn't have such qualifications."

"So I had to meet you in today's way."

He was taller than Diego, so he looked down at Diego from a condescending perspective.

Diego had lost quite a bit of weight recently. In just two months, he looked like he had lost at least forty or fifty pounds.

Actually, wanting to lose weight is not as difficult as one imagines, just like quitting smoking, or quitting anything.

Being unable to do it is just one's own indulgence deep in one's heart.

Always emphasizing difficulties, emphasizing that one cannot do it—actually, these things are not that difficult at all.

The Diego who had lost weight looked a bit ridiculous. His clothes were clearly more than one size too big. In a short time, the butler couldn't find suitable clothes for him to wear, so he just found a piece of clothing that wasn't too bad for him.

Diego looked up at Pedro, his lips pursed, and there was a trace of mockery on his face. "You think you won?"

He could feel the excitement hidden in Pedro's tone. A little worm crawled to the tip of a tree and thought it possessed the entire grassland.

This world is much more complex than he imagined!

Pedro frowned. There were reporters all around, and flashbulbs were constantly flashing. He couldn't show an expression that was too "complex" at this time.

He said softly, "Do you have any other means?"

"Your soldiers, your family, the people you relied on—they have already fled with their property and soldiers. You have lost all opportunity and ability to turn the tables."

Diego shook his head slightly. He reached out his hand and shook hands with Pedro, this "dragon slayer." "We are all just chess pieces on a chessboard. As long as you haven't jumped off the chessboard, you will never be able to escape the fate of being manipulated, Pedro."

"I indeed have no way to do anything to you or you people anymore, but someone can."

"From the very beginning, everything was designed."

He now seemed to have become more rational, calmer, and smarter.

Death was imminent, and some things that hindered his thinking had been discarded by him, leaving only a purer self and a purer thinking ability.

Pedro knew what he was referring to, and his heart felt a little dull. The pleasure brought by "reaching the top" was rapidly disappearing. "On such a happy day today, you said these unhappy things. You really are a bastard, Diego."

Diego's face was still that numb. "It doesn't matter anymore, actually."

Pedro seemed to agree very much with this point of view. "Indeed."

As he spoke, he let go of his hand, took a step back, and then raised his hand. Eight soldiers came from behind and surrounded Diego. "Everything is over, for you."

"Next is the trial for you, Diego."

Diego looked at him, and for the first time, some smiles appeared on his face. He said in a very light voice, "No one can judge me, and neither can you."

Pedro shook his head and had people take him away to be guarded. As for him and other insurgent leaders, they began to tour the Presidential Palace.

This building had too much meaning and symbolism for them. As lower-class people who weren't even allowed to enter hotels, they had endured the worst of everything in this country and had also grown up in the worst environment.

When they were now able to reach the top of the mountain, they had a different feeling—everything was so fresh, everything was so bright, and intimate.

Finally, they arrived in Diego's office, the Presidential Office.

Pedro's heart was pounding. He walked to the side of Diego's huge chair and reached out to pat the back of the chair.

The feel of the thick leather made him feel for the first time, just by touching it, that this chair must be worth a lot of money.

He had an urge to sit down. This position was full of temptation for him at this very moment! Just when his expression was a bit dazed, Luo Si also walked over from the side, and his hand also stroked the thick leather back of the chair.

Pedro's gaze flickered slightly, and he smiled and left that position, which was full of temptation for him.

Actually, how could he not want to be this President himself?

It was just that he was very clear about one point: he didn't have this ability, including everyone in this room—they didn't have this ability, nor did they have this qualification.

Rule is built on power.

The Lavila family, or other Lapa tribal families, they all possessed this power.

No matter who it was, any minister, let him sit here, they were all qualified, because they held power in their hands and held the truth.

But... what about Pedro?

He had no prominent background, no amazing backing, and even the money that fed the soldiers under him now came from Federation aid.

If he sat in this position, how could he balance these forces, and how could he continue to feed a huge army to maintain his authority?

The Lavila family, other ministers—they had their own large pieces of territory and wealth accumulated over a dozen generations or even more.

Feeding an army was a very easy thing for them, and these armies were also loyal to them, not to anyone else.

Pedro now had many troubles that urgently needed to be solved. He simply couldn't become the President. If he insisted on doing so, it might only take three months, or half a year, and he would be overthrown again.

So, the reason why he didn't do so, even though this position was full of temptation for him and he was qualified to sit on it in people's eyes, was just this.

However, he could wait, wait for a period of time, years, a dozen years. At that time, he would only be fifty-something, sixty years old. At that time, his influence and strength would already be full-fledged, and at that time, he could ascend to this position.

But now, he still needed to endure for a period of time.

Luo Si also wandered around the President's chair for a long time. He even had the action of wanting to sit on it, but in the end, he held back.

Others also couldn't help but come over to pat and touch it, but no one suggested sitting on it, or simply sat on it themselves.

Finally, they also took a photo together, right in the Presidential Office, with everyone standing in front of the presidential desk, with confident and sunny smiles on their faces.

Next, there were some takeover matters, including Pedro representing the entire insurgent army, broadcasting to all of Lapa and even the entire Yalan map via radio and telegram that their righteous cause had won!

"... After a hard and long battle, we finally overthrew the rule of the tyrant dictator Diego. Next, we will form a provisional government in Zhuolan and welcome people from all walks of life with ideas to gather in Zhuolan, and we will jointly discuss the new national structure."

"The Republic of Lapa is not the country of any one person or any one force; it belongs to all of us Lapa people, so I hope everyone can actively participate in the discussion and create a country and government that belongs to us, belongs to the people!"

"In the next few days, we will conduct a public trial of Diego and members of the Lavila family..."

Lanse listened quietly to the voice coming from the radio station until the very end.

He turned off the radio station, walked to the window, and looked toward the city center.

With the entry of Pedro and these people's armies into the city, basically no routed soldiers could be seen anymore; they had all run away, and the city's public security had stabilized again.

However, around the Concession, they had deployed many troops, but both sides were currently quite restrained, and there were no signs of any friction.

"How much longer until your people can reach the designated location?" Lanse turned to look at the others in the office.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs had now vaguely become the number one spokesperson for this group of people. He thought for a moment. "They will be able to reach the outskirts of Zhuolan in these few days. At most five days later, they will be able to encircle Zhuolan."

"Five days!" Lanse repeated this time. He lowered his head and thought for a while. "Let them come in first, but try as much as possible not to expose themselves."

"During this time, we still need to use their hands to get rid of Diego."

"Although we could also kill Diego, I still hope that they will be the ones to complete this most important link."

Actually, most, or even the vast majority of Lapa people didn't have any direct feelings about the President. Whether Diego was a tyrant or a dictator couldn't cause any impact on them.

On the contrary, some Lapa people would foolishly think that the President was the orthodoxy and that the people who killed the President were rebels, which had nothing to do with any liberation or freedom.

And Lanse didn't want to bear the reputation of killing a country's President. This reputation was not only unpleasant to hear, but it might also trigger a series of collisions between the Federation and the local people.

So the best way was to borrow the hands of Pedro and these people to solve these problems.

The other ministers in the room also nodded one after another. They actually didn't want to do it themselves to kill Pedro; after all, they were considered to be on the same side before. Letting them do it themselves wasn't impossible, but it would give them an uncomfortable feeling.

Now that someone could do it for them, it was naturally the best.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs asked, "Then next... do we need to do anything?"

Lanse shook his head. "Nothing needs to be done. Take care of your own safety, and then watch them perform this big play."

Later in the evening, Senator Cleveland called Lanse.

"I heard that the anti-government armed forces have captured Zhuolan. Has Diego fallen into their hands?"

The content of Pedro's "Victory Broadcast" had also reached the Federation. Senator Cleveland was still quite concerned about this matter. Lanse had told him that the plan had been completed by eighty to ninety percent, and he wanted to know if all of this was still under control.

"Yes, they went to see Diego this morning and will soon launch a trial of Diego."

"It is very likely that they will execute Diego immediately at the trial site or after it ends."

"If Diego doesn't die, the Lavila family and some of their die-hard elements have the possibility of starting a war again."

"We have now cut off all-around aid to them. They want to stabilize as soon as possible more than anyone else, so everything is in the plan!"

The Senator was very satisfied with the advancement of the entire plan. He also mentioned another idea. "If there is a need, I can mobilize a few warships to go over. Whether it is used to threaten or deter them, it can be done."

Lanse thought for a while and asked, "Is it appropriate for me to contact Admiral Wells (the new commander of the Jincheng Naval District) directly?"

"Yes, you contact him directly. I will give him a call in a while..." ===== CHAPTER 1049 =====