Chapter 1294: Thunderclap

The housekeeper answered the phone, and only after he consulted with Lanse did Lanse take the call.

"Mr. White, I hope my presumptuous call has not disturbed your rest or work."

"You may address me as Amado."

In the local minor language, Amado means "benevolent" and "kind." This name is not exactly ubiquitous, but it is certainly not rare; the middle class likes to use such names.

Because they have already cast off poverty and no longer need to struggle on the poverty line.

Looking at the names people here choose, one can actually roughly guess the family situation at the time of their birth.

For instance, those males named with words like "courage" or "perseverance"—which possess strong positive drive—basically come from the lower-middle class of society. For these families, just staying alive is not a simple matter; their children need more courage than others to walk through this world.

Besides this, there are also some beautiful visions for the future, such as "wealthy" or "healthy."

By the time one reaches the middle class, when people no longer consider filling their stomachs or wearing warm clothes, they begin to consider spiritual things. Words like "benevolence," "sunshine," or "lively" become the mainstream for naming.

What they pursue more is a kind of spiritual hope, wishing that these children will be able to obtain happiness in the future rather than struggling in life.

Reaching the higher classes, the visions they have when naming their children mainly revolve around governance and power. The simplest example is Diego, the former ruler of the Republic of Lapa.

The word Diego in the minor languages of the Xiang Yalan region represents "mentor." As the ruling family, his father bestowed this name upon him, hoping he could serve as a ruler, a mentor to the people, leading this country forward.

Amado's voice was just like his name, very gentle; one could even hear a sense of kindness in it.

Lanse did not respond to him immediately. After about a few seconds, he chuckled twice and continued, "I am the Commander-in-Chief of the First Mobile Brigade. Javier is not stupid; he has a bit of cleverness—just a bit—and that cleverness caused him to miss many key pieces of information he failed to bring to me from you, so we need to communicate."

Only then did Lanse respond to his words, "Mr. Amado, that is the reason I left him a slip of paper with my phone number."

Amado chuckled twice more, "I heard him mention some thoughts regarding our subsequent transactions. We can meet your requirements, but I have a—concern, Mr. White."

"And just now I heard that gentleman from before say this is the Lanse Manor. Are you Mr. Lanse White?"

The name Lanse White cannot be said to be known by everyone in the Xiang Yalan region, but those who are very attentive and sensitive to the Xiang Yalan situation and federal relations all know this person.

It can be said that Lanse spearheaded the "fall" of the Xiang Yalan region and personally pushed Lapa into the "abyss."

However, there are also people who believe Lanse is a "saint." He pushed for the integration of a backward region and a developed region. Once the Xiang Yalan region is annexed by the Federation and becomes a part of the Federation,

these poor people can instantly become federal citizens, can go directly to the Federation to work, and can enjoy the Federation's social welfare benefits.

Recently, after President Porter took office, the Porter administration introduced some policies regarding social welfare. The war dividend allowed the national treasury to have huge unbinding actions, and ample funds could allow more people to benefit from it.

Of course, the specific things have not been fully implemented yet; they are currently still in the discussion and congressional hearing stage. President Porter's idea is to use these actions as a means for him to canvass for votes in the midterm elections.

He wants to tell people through this method that only by voting for him will the benefits he currently promises—medical reform and social security reform—truly enter the congressional discussion and voting stage from written discussions and hearings.

The federal government's elections are becoming increasingly commercialized and capitalized. This in itself is not a good trend, but politicians like it because it is simple and direct.

They do not need to light a cigarette in the middle of the night behind an office desk, holding their foreheads while dissecting social problems, and then possess excellent expressive ability to persuade voters. They only need to create a hook.

No professional analysis is needed, no professional expression is needed; just say a few words and promote it.

Capitalists also like it, which means that capital's infiltration into politics has deepened significantly. Their voices in federal politics will grow louder, and their influence will also grow larger.

The more money, the higher the status, the greater the power, and they are the wealthiest people in the Federation; it is impossible for them not to like this.

As for the public—it is hard to say whether they like it or not. Perhaps they like it more; after all, everything has become simple, simple to the point that they can also understand politics, and their sense of participation has also become stronger.

Originally, these were all federal matters and had nothing to do with the people of the Xiang Yalan region, but it was precisely because of the appearance of Lanse White that the people here had the opportunity to become federal citizens.

For those locals who focus on politics and national trends, Lanse White is as famous as the president of the Jieda Republic.

Amado also knew Lanse and had done some homework before calling him.

Lanse did not deny his identity, "It is I."

"Mr. White, the First Mobile Brigade might be an organization people fear in Ruli, but in the Federation, in your eyes, it is just a small character."

"I do not really want to get involved in the struggle between you, as this means that if either side gets angry, it is possible for us to be completely finished!"

He went to investigate, and although there were no channels that could clearly tell him what relationship the officer whose last name was "Porter" had with the federal president, he could imagine that a person who needed a big shot like Lanse White to be his opponent must not be a small character.

He could only consider Little Porter in the direction of the Porter family.

Even, one could continue to sublimate this relationship; this is a conflict, a game between the Socialist Party and the Liberal Party in the Xiang Yalan region!

However, he was not truly unwilling to participate; rather, he wanted to obtain more or more explicit returns from Lanse.

Lanse did not follow his words, "You can give up. As long as you hang up the phone now, I can pretend this matter never happened."

This sentence choked Amado, who was trying to grasp the initiative. He did not react for a moment because that is not how one chats.

Fortunately, although he was old, his reaction was not slow, and time had given him more wisdom, "Mr. White, we are willing to become friends with you and the people over there, but I want to know, if we do this, what can we get, and what guarantees are there?"

"After all, our 'opponent' is too vast for us."

This was getting to the point.

"What do you want?" Lanse still did not put his chips on the table but asked a question in return.

Sometimes the person who speaks first can grasp the initiative, but sometimes, the initiative can also be grasped by the person who speaks later.

Amado knew this was not a simple phone call; after all, Lanse was also very famous in a certain field.

After some thought, he replied, "If—the federal government wants to target us, I hope it is a limited targeting."

"Secondly, if possible, I hope we can continue to stay here in Ruli and assist you in managing the city and the people."

One is a guarantee; in the most unfavorable situation, he needs Lanse, or rather the Socialist Party, to stand out and ensure that these leaders of theirs can avoid the blow from the Liberal Party.

The other is the interest he wants. If they are sent to the Federation or their current organization is disbanded, they will become no different from ordinary people.

Do not look at the fact that they have money; they know very well that federal people have plenty of ways to deal with those wealthy people who have no background.

After listening, Lanse considered for a while, "Amado, it seems you have many choices, but in fact, you do not have many choices."

"Either cooperate with me and become the stone in my hand; after I beat that guy on the other side until his head is bleeding, you will be properly thrown to the side of the road."

"Or, you do nothing. I will find others, and then wait for the regime to completely change, and then welcome the steamroller. Everything uneven will be crushed or filled in."

It took Amado quite a while before he said in a somewhat melancholy tone, "You are very—overbearing, Mr. White. You have never truly considered it from my standpoint."

Lanse asked again, "What qualifications do you have to make me stand in your position and consider for you?"

The tone was very ordinary, just the calm and ordinary tone of strangers chatting, but the words spoken made Amado even more depressed.

Yes, he had no qualifications whatsoever; neither the Liberal Party nor the Socialist Party were people he could touch.

Before he could have any thoughts, Lanse said again, "You have already been dragged into this, Amado, you and your First Mobile Brigade, when you handed over Pipi to me."

"So what you need to consider now is how to do the work and tasks I have assigned to you, rather than thinking about obtaining more promises from me."

"If you do well, I will appropriately arrange your future work according to your abilities."

"If you do not do well—"

Lanse chuckled twice, "Tools that are not handy only deserve to be in the trash can!"

If it were many years ago, Lanse might have used a negotiation-like method with them to constrain each other's rights and obligations, but now he does not need to.

Just like those hunters, if a hound is not useful, cannot find prey, and does not bite the prey, then the fate of this hound is only to become food for other animals, rather than being corrected by the hunter.

It does not deserve the hunter to do that!

After ending the call, Amado sat there for a long time, his face full of helplessness. Once the Federation intervenes more deeply in Ruli, and this is inevitable,

this incident will become a fuse. Those in Ruli who support the Federation and those who oppose the Federation will have a contest.

Then those who support the Federation will win, those who oppose the Federation will be wiped out, and then the Federation's control over this place will become stronger, and the management of society will naturally also be strengthened.

The soil for the existence of these illegal armed forces of theirs will constantly shrink until they are finally wiped out.

Amado could imagine that the federal government would absolutely not allow them to continue to exist. Their existence itself is a kind of confrontation against government management, a kind of provocation, and even more so a "bad example"!

Therefore, indeed, as Lanse said, it seems he still has many opportunities to choose, but in fact, he has none at all.

The next day, these commanders of the First Mobile Brigade gathered together again, and Amado also made a decision.

He had no opportunity to choose. Regardless of whether he works for Lanse or the Socialist Party now, the Liberal Party will regard him as a person of the Socialist Party and then fiercely target them.

Then, what else is there for him to consider? When the initiative is completely in the hands of others, and he does not have even a tiny bit, he can only passively move forward.

Rather than wanting to go wherever he wants.

This is perhaps the sorrow of all small characters compared to big shots at a higher level.

In a few days, the focus of public opinion regarding the terrible things the federal people did in Ruli seems to be gradually failing. People like fresh things; once the freshness is lost, they will shift their attention.

People began to discuss again some social changes brought about after the arrival of the federal people, discussing the appearance of more cheap goods in the market, discussing those local factory owners and enterprises that went bankrupt because of the federal cheap goods.

It was also at this time that a piece of news was suddenly exposed.

That core figure in the whirlpool of time, Pipi, was "caught" in Lapa.

He was discovered by border guards when crossing the border line and was arrested; subsequently, he confessed his identity and the reason for crossing the border line.

After the Lapa media knew he was a key figure in the major case in Ruli some time ago, many media and reporters interviewed him intensively.

Lapa is the first country in the entire Xiang Yalan region to lean toward the Federation. Of course, Lanse put in a lot of effort here, but because of this, it has almost become a state of the Federation.

From top to bottom, they are all people of the federal government, and these government employees and key officials were all dispatched during the Socialist Party's ruling period.

The Porter administration does not attach much importance to the actual governance of the Xiang Yalan region, or perhaps his main work now is placed on constantly increasing his own power and the midterm elections.

The federal president's first term is a process of climbing to real power. Only when reaching the next stage is the president truly a "complete body," a "federal president" in the true sense.

Even if he has some ideas about the Xiang Yalan region, or wants to make it important, it will need to be next year or the year after.

So the government employees in the Lapa region are still that group of people from the Socialist Party, so this matter becomes easy to operate.

Pipi confessed in front of the media that the federal officer was Little Porter, and publicly pointed at Little Porter's photo through the method of photos, saying it was this person.

Public opinion was instantly in an uproar!

It was past eight o'clock in the evening. President Porter was socializing. He had an appointment with the presidents of two heavy industry enterprises to have dinner together today, preparing for the upcoming midterm elections.

It is very clear that he also heard news from some people lurking within the Socialist Party that the Socialist Party intends to "snipe" him during the midterm elections.

It is not the kind of "sniping" where one aims at his head with a high-precision rifle from hundreds or thousands of meters away and pulls the trigger, but rather pushing out a person to compete with him in the election campaign, defeat him, and let the Socialist Party regain the power to govern.

There is still one year until the election, and he has already started operating in advance. He must ensure that there are no accidents in this midterm election; otherwise, his situation will be very bad.

After he took office, he created some messes. These messes have not exploded now purely because he used his presidential privilege to cover them up.

Once the Socialist Party comes to power, with his current strength against the Socialist Party, it is very likely to attract the Socialist Party's retaliation.

Therefore, the midterm election must absolutely not be lost!

To obtain a stable victory, one must have a good relationship with these capitalists. The money in their hands can help him, let him be known and liked by more voters.

The employees under them can provide him with stable votes.

"—We are considering correcting the evaluation method for environmental assessment!" President Porter sat at the dining table, waving the knife and fork in his hand while chatting about these topics of his.

There is more heavy industry in the north, and pollution is also more serious. The federal people have already begun to attach importance to environmental pollution and other issues, and Congress also has relevant committees.

For some heavy-polluting heavy industry enterprises, the federal government's decision is to let them stay away from the city, go to a farther place, and provide better solutions to solve pollution.

Use some chemical or physical means to minimize the impact of pollution on the environment.

Congress set up a set of standards a few years ago, which will greatly increase the production costs of these heavy-polluting enterprises.

For the past two years, these heavy-polluting enterprises have been seeking solutions that do not increase costs, but the results have not been very good.

But as it happens, these enterprises possess a large number of workers.

In the south, a garment factory might have thousands or tens of thousands of workers, which is already considered a super large factory.

But in the heavy industry enterprises in the north, a large factory often might possess tens of thousands of workers!

This is a stable and important vote bank, plus the political contributions of capitalists, and some problems he is currently facing, he has to make more concessions.

"Letting people re-accept pollution emissions might not be very easy, but letting them accept treated pollution emissions is much simpler."

"Qualified or unqualified, this standard is decided by the federal government. In other words, if we say the emission is qualified, then it must be qualified!"

President Porter is a mature politician. He knows very well how to open a gap on these issues.

It was also at this time that his housekeeper walked to his side, bent down, and whispered something. He was stunned for a while, and then, unable to control his face, he stood up, "Excuse me for a moment, gentlemen."

"I have some urgent matters that need to be handled. I will be right back!" ===== CHAPTER 1295 =====