Chapter 626

"The reporter from the 'Federal Daily' wants to come over for an interview, but these...", Major General Bruny looked at a worker who suddenly fell down in the crowd, and the people around him lifted his arms and feet and threw him into the shade to go back to work, and for a moment didn't know what to say.

Lanse seemed very calm, "Their country is suffering from war and aggression, and their compatriots are being slaughtered."

"The Federation is a country with international responsibility; we will become the first line of resistance, opposition, and even counterattack against the Dantra military alliance."

"Whether it is for human civilization or for themselves, this is what they should do."

"Help us build the Federation, and then counterattack Dantra."

He paused for a while, "I will arrange for people to accept the interview; if you have anything you want them to say, you can tell me in advance."

Major General Bruny nodded, "I understand."

Lanse took him to visit some underground works and the coastal defense artillery cluster that was being built.

Near New Jincheng, and even in the surrounding area, there was no obvious bay or strait structure, so the role of coastal defense artillery was basically equal to nothing.

If the commander of the Dantra Navy wasn't a perfectionist and didn't insist on landing against the bombardment of coastal defense artillery, they could completely move one hundred kilometers to the left or right to land.

Building these coastal defense artilleries was useless and had no military value at all!

But unfortunately, the construction of these coastal defense artilleries was also a big project.

Lanse joked casually, "Major General, do you think when we need to rely on these things to resist the attack of their warships, do they still have any value?"

Major General Bruny was a standard non-combat general, but he was also a graduate of a well-known military academy; he knew what Lanse meant.

When the federal navy had already been wiped out and could only rely on coastal defense artillery to protect the safety of the country, then in fact they had already lost, and lost very thoroughly.

"You are a smart person, Lanse, but not everyone is very smart."

"Those politicians and ordinary citizens who don't understand these things won't understand that the value of these things is just to give us some more time to escape."

"They believe these coastal guns can protect them, and those reporters also hope to see powerful gun barrels."

This was actually a face-saving project; some senators, as well as the Ministry of National Defense, all needed these.

The group turned around the construction site; overall, Major General Bruny was very satisfied; everything was as fast and good as Lanse promised.

And this mainly depended on cheap labor.

The money to hire a federal worker could hire more refugee workers; in the case of not building complex buildings, just leveling the ground and pouring concrete, having more people was absolutely an advantage.

After returning to the hotel, Lanse let the mayor's secretary leave; Major General Bruny didn't ask him to stay, so he knew that the remaining matters had nothing to do with him.

So he immediately got up and said goodbye.

When returning to the villa, the mayor wasn't surprised that he came back so early, but asked with some interest about what happened today.

He said it in detail, "I feel Lanse and this Major General from the Ministry of National Defense knew each other before, and the relationship is very close, not like the ordinary official business."

The mayor was a bit amazed and also a bit emotional; he took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets, "Lanse is a magical guy; I can't see him clearly anymore."

"A gang leader in a city and a Major General in the Ministry of National Defense—this is not a relationship they have the opportunity to come into contact with at all."

"His development is too fast...", he was silent for a while, "You can build a good relationship with him; temporarily lying low in politics is not shameful."

"On the contrary, if lying low can bring you more advantages, you can completely use him as an object you can rely on in the early and middle stages."

The mayor's evaluation of Lanse was already very high, and he was also very clear that the reason he lost was because he lacked high-end power support.

If there had been senators in the Assembly willing to support him behind his back, he might not have lost to the local forces, and then it would be another situation now.

This shortcoming existed in his political career, so it must also exist in the secretary's, which was also the problem most often encountered by "pioneering" bottom-level political forces.

They couldn't reach high-level politicians; if they only relied on their own accumulation, it would take at least several generations of effort to reach the middle level of the political arena.

At this time, they needed a backer, an reliance.

Lanse was a good choice; he had people in the Assembly, and he himself had ability, which was a good thing.

After the mayor's work was adjusted, he would soon go to the second or even third line of work and would not be responsible for any actual power departments or work; his political life was equal to ending at this moment and could not provide any help to the secretary.

If the secretary wanted to go further, someone had to help him.

With the level they could reach now, Lanse had instead become the best choice.

The secretary nodded, "I understand."

The two stopped discussing this topic and talked about some arrangements after the mayor retired.

At the same time, the secretary also had a small doubt in his heart: after he left, what would Lanse and Major General Bruny do?

What would they do?

Of course, do some things that were inconvenient for others to be present for.

"There are four million here...", Lanse gave a bank account and password to Major General Bruny, "This is the first sum of money; soon we will have a second sum, at least the same amount."

Major General Bruny put away the card recording the account and password; he nodded slightly, "But the quality of the project cannot have problems; this is the bottom line."

Lanse used a large number of refugees, but when the Ministry of National Defense made the cost, it was calculated according to federal workers.

The cost was very reasonable; for example, a worker was calculated according to the current per capita wage of the Federation, about forty-eight dollars.

Considering this was heavy physical labor and needed better nutritional supplements, another fifteen dollars of food subsidy was added.

Now it was the hottest season of the year; they might face heatstroke, sun exposure, etc., and have medical needs, so there was a ten-dollar medical subsidy.

Construction workers might have a greater probability of encountering danger than other industries, so there was a two-dollar commercial insurance fee for each person per month.

Calculating the messy things, the total expenditure for each person per month was about ninety dollars.

No wonder everyone said the Federation was a civilized and developed country, but their civilization and development were often concentrated in paperwork.

Forty thousand people, ninety dollars per person, was three hundred and sixty thousand in worker expenditure per month, but in fact, these refugees could only take away about fifteen dollars from Lanse's hands each month.

The cost of hiring a local worker could hire six refugee workers; the same forty thousand people, just this part of the cost could save three million each month.

Four months of construction period, twelve million.

Of course, Lanse definitely had to earn a little from it; plus some unexpected expenditures, the kickback for workers was about nine million.

A very suitable number, which was also what Lanse could operate directly.

Lanse said and took out a small card again and handed it over; it was still an account and password.

Major General Bruny looked at him with some confusion; he explained with a smile, "This is what I give you personally."

"Major General, we still have many opportunities to come into contact; you will gradually understand me; I am a very generous person and also a person who likes to make friends."

"You gave me such an opportunity to make money, so I must repay your kindness.", he tilted his body slightly, leaned closer, and lowered his voice, "Privately."

Saying this, he shook his body back, "I have always believed that if you have done something beneficial to a friend, you must have a reward."

"If you helped me this time and I don't know how to be grateful and repay, next time you encounter a similar thing, perhaps you won't take the initiative to interfere with the result."

"In my hometown, there is a saying: 'If someone helps you, besides being grateful, you must also repay the other party'."

The meaning between the lines of what Lanse said was to tell Major General Bruny that if he had similar things in the future that he could use him for, he could still come to him.

Besides the official business part, there was also a private thank you.

Major General Bruny pondered for a while and then smiled, "Call me Bruny; the title Major General sounds too distant."

He glanced at the small card on the desktop, pursed his lips, as if looking at a very interesting little thing that moved him; he picked it up and put it in his pocket, "Then I'll accept it."

Lanse nodded, "Of course!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, feeling that the relationship had become much closer; it wasn't just the connection through Senator Cleveland, but the point-to-point relationship between them had become much closer.

The great power of wealth was vividly reflected at this moment; before this, he had never corrected Lanse and had accepted the title "Major General" which implied a difference in status.

But at this moment, they became friends.

After this small episode ended, Lanse timely mentioned a small demand of his; just as he opened his mouth, Major General Bruny looked at him with his head tilted slightly.

He first pretended to be stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "Bruny..."

Major General Bruny nodded, "Yes, that's it."

"Okay!", Lanse maintained his smile, "There is a matter I might need your help with."

Giving money and then making a request—for federal politicians—non-combat generals were also politicians—for them, it was actually a good thing.

If you don't let them do something, they will be uneasy instead, because they will suspect whether there is some deeper problem behind this money or this transaction.

But if you ask them to handle things, they will understand that this is a money-power transaction, which will become simpler.

Major General Bruny nodded with a smile, "Tell me about it."

"The Coast Guard is managed by the Ministry of National Defense, right?"

Major General Bruny nodded again, "Yes, we manage it; what's wrong?"

The Coast Guard had a special department in the Ministry of National Defense called the "Coast Guard Command"; what was unexpected was that the current "Commander-in-Chief" responsible for this part was a General, of course, also a non-combat one, but it was concurrent.

In fact, the specific work was still the responsibility of the Brigadier General of the Command.

And the position of the entire Coast Guard was also linked to military rank.

"I have a friend who is currently a team leader locally; he is very responsible in his work and also has a sense of responsibility."

"We have chatted many times, and I think he should be given more responsibility, but I don't know who to find for this matter..."

Major General Bruny smiled after listening; this was too damn simple!

"I'll make a call."

"Please go ahead."

Doing favors in the open—no one was a fool.

Major General Bruny didn't avoid Lanse either, directly dialed the phone to Jincheng, and after talking for a few sentences, he covered the receiver and asked, "What was your friend's name again?"

Lanse answered immediately, "McCork."

He turned around and continued to say something, and also mentioned this name.

A few minutes later, he came back and sat down, saying with a smile, "I don't know how high your friend's rank is, but no matter what, he will become the deputy team leader next week; are you satisfied with this result?"

"If you want him to be fully responsible for the police work in the sea section of New Jincheng, he must reach the rank of Major."

Lanse really didn't know about this, but being able to have the status of deputy team leader already made him very satisfied.

As for that team leader, he was more responsible for administrative work, that is, arranging what they should do every day, how to do it, and who should do it.

The people who really executed these works were still people like the deputy team leader.

Moreover, with the status of deputy team leader, wanting to continue to win over and corrupt the team leader was just a small matter.

"Too satisfied, Bruny, I really don't know how to thank you...", he paused, "I have a few bottles of good wine over there; I'll bring them over later for you to taste..."

At this time, talking about money was too "vulgar," so Lanse changed a way to thank him.

Major General Bruny also liked Lanse's cleverness and also liked his generosity.

He considered it, "The naval general responsible for this side will come over in advance before the end of the year; remember to arrange for us to chat together then."

Lanse nodded forcefully, "I guarantee to arrange it very properly."

Major General Bruny taking the initiative to mention this matter was also to sell favors to both sides; no matter what, after the garrison arrived here, they would have more contact with the local area.

In the contact, friction would inevitably be produced, and there would be a need for a role that could solve these problems; Lanse was a good candidate.

He introduced the person who could solve problems locally to the naval general, showing his ability to control the situation, and at the same time could show his value and ability to Lanse.

To make friends, you must either have ability or have money.

If you have no ability and no money, you can't become friends!

The news of Major General Bruny's arrival in New Jincheng spread quickly; the fact that non-combat generals were equivalent to politicians was no secret; they were just "politicians in military uniforms," and this concept was deeply rooted in people's hearts.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Major General together had to be taken seriously by people.

Assemblyman Williams held a welcome ceremony; as a member of Senator Cleveland's circle, Major General Bruny had to give some face.

Plus Assemblyman Williams was soon to become mayor, so he gladly attended.

The question people talked about most at the banquet was the garrison issue.

Many of them were worried that the garrison would have conflicts with the local area, and once conflicts were produced, and during the war, many things would become very hard to control.

Most of the people who could come here had their interests revolving around New Jincheng; they were more unwilling than anyone to see New Jincheng have problems.

This kind of worry was inevitable; the military was a super monster; many times it would be suppressed by the federal government, but once it was released from the cage with the arrival of the war, some things were hard to say.

To this, Major General Bruny could only appease the emotions of these people as much as possible, and this was also part of his work.

It was also his arrival that made people smell the taste of war approaching.

Major General Bruny stayed in New Jincheng for about a week; originally he was going to leave in three or five days, but Lanse entrusted him with a matter, and he had to see the result before leaving, which also showed that he was a person with responsibility.

After McCork's order was issued to New Jincheng, he said goodbye to Lanse, and Lanse also sent a box of wine to him.

The things weren't precious, adding up to only a few thousand dollars, but it counted as a gesture.

McCork's promotion again let the interest network centered on Lanse see Lanse's "strength"; the Coast Guard was called "Sea Police," but in fact, they were indeed military establishment; being able to stick his hand into the military could only be said that he had some stuff.

The more stuff Lanse had, the more enthusiastic those people around him were; everyone hoped they could become the next McCork and reach the peak of life through Lanse.

After Major General Bruny left, Lanse continued to put the matter of winning over these power departments on the agenda; he handed the court and judges to Lawyer Roben.

Lawyer Roben had some connections in the Ministry of Justice and also had some face in the local judicial system; plus he was also considered to be within this system, so these things were done very simply.

Because of Chief Prosecutor Terry, the local prosecutors also met with Lanse privately.

At first, they didn't talk about things too deeply, but they left an attitude for each other and would continue to follow up later.

Everything was turning in a good direction.

In late September, the suddenly appearing "recruitment advertisements" began to appear all over the streets and alleys of the Federation; both the Army and the Navy needed to recruit soldiers, and they didn't mention the specific number of soldiers to be recruited.

In these recruitment policies, there was a very special policy.

That was, those who didn't have a legal federal identity but were currently staying in the Federation temporarily as non-citizens could obtain federal citizenship by joining the army.

For a time, a large number of refugees and illegal immigrants began to actively sign up to join the army to obtain this legal status...