Chapter 851: Expand or not?

Some people from the national trade unions had dispatched commissioners to New Jincheng, and some trade unions unrelated to this strike had also arranged for people to come and watch the excitement.

The rotating vice president of the Labor Alliance for this year had even come to New Jincheng in person, just to solve the biggest problem currently at hand—the strike was ineffective!

It was as if… the weapons in the hands of gangsters in a gunfight had misfired, unable to shoot bullets; this was fatal!

At the same time, they had never encountered such a situation before. In the internal meetings of the Labor Alliance over the past two days, they believed this was a probe.

They must launch a strong counterattack; otherwise, these people would shake the foundation of the Labor Alliance and shake the Workers' Party that was currently being established!

The last time it was this lively was during the first Workers' Skills Competition held in New Jincheng.

When the rotating vice president of the Labor Alliance entered from outside the door, the people in the hotel conference room stood up one after another to show their respect for this vice president.

The Labor Alliance had actually developed into a monster!

They had roped in 70% to 80% of the skilled workers in various industries across the federation and had great influence over these skilled workers. They had already become a political group with strong strength and influence.

A vice president was equivalent to the third or fourth-ranking figure of a political party. If they evolved into the Workers' Party, then this vice president would very likely be the chairman of the Workers' Party National Congress or something similar, holding a high position and great power.

The vice president was only about fifty years old, his hair was slightly gray, and his figure was upright.

Like all management of the Labor Alliance and trade unions, one could not see a single trace of working-class characteristics on him.

His hands looked very soft and were well-maintained, without a single callus.

Every gap between his fingernails seemed to have been specially cleaned by someone. He had no excess stubble; perhaps someone cleaned his beard for him every day. His hair, sideburns, and eyebrows were all groomed.

To say that such a person was a representative of the working class was actually like a joke.

But the working class of the entire federation seemed to have acquiesced to this fact, or under the interference of certain forces, they began to be unable to feel the most wrong part of this.

Why were the people who worked hard still working hard, while those who relied on their unity had already achieved class transition?

They did not consider this.

The vice president walked in with large strides, raising his hand to stop people from shaking hands and greeting him at close range; this would waste his time.

He had come here immediately after getting off the train, without delaying for a moment on the road.

The local branch president who received him had suggested he take a rest, but he had refused it.

He arrived at his seat, pulled out the chair, and then signaled for everyone to sit down before he sat down himself.

"The situation is not optimistic, so I won't waste time with small talk."

"The President is shocked by the results of this strike in New Jincheng. This may not be the first time, but it is the first time in recent years that our strike has been dispersed!"

"Some people have begun to give birth to a terrible thought; they believe our strike methods are no longer useful."

"We must turn the situation around here!"

He stopped as he spoke and looked at the people around him, "Who is responsible for following up on the work regarding those attackers?"

Not far to his right, an official of the Labor Alliance raised his hand, "I am responsible, sir."

The vice president nodded, "Tell us about the situation of those attackers."

The official responsible for this work pursed his lips, "These attackers are all refugees who fled from the Tanfeit Continent due to the war. They do not have any other components."

The vice president had actually heard about this, "Is no one organizing them?"

"Why would they clash with our parade?"

That official shook his head, "Some of them claimed that our parade affected their work and life in the federation, so they spontaneously intended to take action against us."

"No one organized them; someone had a temporary idea, and then others followed."

"A temporary idea?", the vice president shook his head, "I don't believe this. See if there is any way for us to get more reliable testimony; we can appropriately use some means."

"Give them money, give them legal federal citizenship, provide protection, provide work—anything they want, we can give them!"

"As long as they tell the truth, tell the truth to us, to the media!"

"I don't believe the benefits Lanse gave them can compare to the benefits we give them!"

"Don't be stingy with money and promises on this matter; the first thing we need to solve is to get through the current difficulties."

That official nodded vigorously. In fact, everyone knew what methods might solve the problem, but they were unwilling to take responsibility.

Just like the matter of bribing witnesses, the person responsible for figuring this out could not initiate it himself, let alone apply for funds for bribery; the people above had to say it themselves before he could continue to execute it.

After finishing this matter, the vice president continued, "We must first conduct a more rigorous investigation, and then I will talk to Lanse."

"If necessary, the President's side has already begun to consider the situation of continuing to expand the scope of the strike, but this is only a last resort and may not necessarily be used."

After saying this, the atmosphere in the conference room changed significantly. The expansion of the situation would put greater pressure on New Jincheng.

When everyone stood up to accuse a person who had done nothing wrong, asking him to apologize for something he had not done wrong, and to apologize to society, right and wrong were no longer important.

Stability was the key!

This was also the Labor Alliance's ultimate weapon. Now it was wartime, and they could not accept the sudden appearance of a large-scale strike; what this brought was not just stagnation in production.

It was even more likely that this expanded strike would lead to problems in the war.

This was equivalent to the Labor Alliance forcing the federal government, the public, and everyone to stand up and put pressure on Lanse!

Could he withstand the pressure of the Labor Alliance, the trade unions, the entire country, and even the entire military alliance?

If the federation lost the war on the front lines, then it wouldn't just be the federation that lost, but also Slader and other countries!

Half the world's pressure was concentrated on Lanse; the vice president didn't believe he could still withstand it!

As the discussion deepened, some work and matters that seemed difficult to handle were soon organized by him in a very orderly manner.

Capable people would show their ability no matter what they did, while those without ability, even if they tried hard, still had no ability.

After ending this meeting, the vice president returned to the hotel suite; they had already begun to arrange food, clothing, housing, and transportation according to political standards.

He lived in the best suite; if the President were traveling, it would have to be a presidential suite.

Sitting in the suite, he changed into casual clothes; this person looked very relaxed.

The branch president of the Labor Alliance of Liklai State sat on the side of the sofa with several core local members. After the vice president changed his clothes and came out, the few people "socialized" briefly and then sat in different positions on the sofa.

"Vice President, why… don't we push for the expansion of the strike now?"

The branch president's face carried some confusion. After the failure of the general strike in New Jincheng this time, he had no face, as if the branch presidents of the remaining eighteen states of the federation were laughing at him.

He was now eager to prove himself, to prove that this matter was an isolated case, that there was nothing wrong with his ability, but that these people, damn it, had problems!

If the strike could be expanded, he believed this was indeed a choice and method that could play a role.

The vice president lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and pressed one hand on his knee, "And then?"

The branch president was stunned for a moment, "What… and then?"

"I agreed to expand the scope of the strike, the President also agreed, and then what?"

"What do you intend to do?"

A smile appeared on the branch president's face, "I will first let all factories in Liklai State go on strike, stop production, and then force the Lanse family to agree to our plan; otherwise, we won't start work!"

"He cannot withstand such great pressure; we will definitely be the final winners!"

The people around him also nodded one after another, seeming to agree with his point of view very much.

The vice president sighed lightly, "This is why problems are only discovered by us after they have expanded."

"I have doubts about your work ability!", he looked at the branch president who showed shock and did not give the other party a chance to speak, "The pressure we bear will not be less than the pressure Lanse bears."

"The front line is at war, gentlemen."

"Although Liklai State is not a heavy industrial production area, it also produces a lot of equipment and goods, and these things must be transported to the front line."

"Once we cannot maintain the stability of supply to the front line, leading to the final loss of the war, do you think the federal government will think this is Lanse's problem or our problem?"

The branch president said almost without thinking, "This must be Lanse's problem."

The vice president had no intention of speaking; this was a super idiot!

"Lanse is only doing these things in one city, and we have launched a strike across the entire state. The power we invest is not equal, the consequences produced are not equal, and the returns obtained are not equal."

"Honestly, I suspect you took a back door to sit in this position."

"Don't say such stupid things next time; I am allergic to stupidity!"

The branch president suddenly became very embarrassed, and his face flushed red.

The people around him also lowered their heads, not daring to speak, let alone show any expression.

"Unless it's a last resort, we will not expand the scope of the strike, so we had better solve these problems locally instead of expanding them!"

He glanced at the branch president, "According to what I said in the conference room, act as soon as possible…"

For the past few days, Chief Bulu and Director Du Ke had been very busy because they had arrested quite a few people, and these people actually could not provide any confession of value to Lanse.

For example, regarding the strike and parade, everyone knew who was pushing it behind the scenes, and even if these people said it, it would be meaningless.

They were willing to cooperate, and the constitution gave them the power to do so; they could only let these people go little by little, but before letting them go, they certainly had to toss them around for a while.

For example, in two days, they were only given a little water and no food.

Or they were not allowed to rest well in the middle of the night; as soon as they fell asleep, police would use batons to strike against the steel bars, and the clanging sound made it impossible for people to sleep.

If someone really fell asleep, they would go in and drag the person out, then send them to the interrogation room to ask some relatively simple but, in their view, inexplicable questions.

For example—did you see a certain person when you went out that morning?

They only needed to take a random photo; anyway, this was just a way to keep them from resting well, not really hoping they saw anyone.

In short, these workers had been tossed around enough in these two days.

At first, they would warn these police officers with "I will sue you," but soon they found that such threats were meaningless because Lanse had said that if they lost their jobs because of this, they could go directly to Lanse's company to work.

What was good about being a police officer?

How could it be better than actually working for Lanse?

The income might not become higher, but the person would definitely be relaxed, able to take care of the family, and there would be great development prospects in the future.

For ordinary people, working as a police officer until death was just being a police officer.

So everyone was very positive.

Chief Bulu was discussing the development history of these matters with Director Du Ke when a police officer knocked on the door and requested to come in from outside.

"Come in."

After the police officer came in and saw that Director Du Ke was also here, he knew that Director Du Ke and Chief Bulu had a good relationship, so he did not avoid anything, "Several lawyers have come outside; they say they want to see their clients and also require us to provide an independent room."

Chief Bulu did not feel surprised at this time; he even took the initiative to say, "It might be those lawyers from the Labor Alliance, or trade union lawyers."

The Labor Alliance and trade unions both had their own lawyer teams because they often had to compete with capitalists, so having a stable lawyer team specially serving the trade unions appeared particularly important.

Every time a labor-capital conflict occurred, these lawyers would appear with a swoosh, just like this time.

Just as he was about to let the police officer make arrangements, the police officer added, "They don't want to see those workers; they want to see the attackers."

Chief Bulu was stunned for a moment; he glanced at Director Du Ke, and the two looked at each other for a moment before the latter stood up, "I'll go see what the situation is."

Soon he arrived at the work hall downstairs, and sure enough, a group of lawyers who looked very professional were standing there, whispering about something.

When someone saw Director Du Ke, one of the leading guys walked up to Director Du Ke and shook hands with him, "We are lawyers from the Jinli Law Firm; we demand to see our clients."

Director Du Ke shook hands with him, "I heard from the police officers that you want to see those attackers."

The lawyer talking to him nodded, "That is indeed the case; when can we see them?"

Director Du Ke was a bit confused, "But I didn't hear them say they hired lawyers; are you really hired by them?"

The lawyer speaking always maintained a smile but had a serious expression, "We have a power of attorney; their families hired us."

Director Du Ke looked at these people again, "I highly doubt their families can afford you!"

The lawyer shook his head slightly, "This has nothing to do with you; we can represent these cases for free; you have no right to stop us from seeing them."

"According to the Federal Constitution Amendment No…", the lawyer was just about to inform Director Du Ke of their rights when Director Du Ke raised his hand to stop him.

"I didn't mean to stop you; I was just curious.", he glanced at the police officer beside him, "Go arrange a room, and then have someone watch them."

His gaze stayed on these people for a moment, "Can you give me a business card?"

"Sometimes I also have legal questions I want to consult someone about."

The lawyer talking to him gave him a business card, "At any time, we have people answering calls."

Director Du Ke scanned it briefly, a law firm in Jin State, "How much do you charge per hour for consultation fees?"

"Twenty dollars, Chief."

"Director!", Du Ke reminded him, and then he put the business card away, "If there are other matters, have the police officer notify me."

Saying this, he left.

Soon he told Chief Bulu everything he had seen, and Chief Bulu then relayed these to Lanse.

Lanse was slightly surprised after hearing the phone call, "Record the names of everyone they have contacted, and place those people separately."

"If there is any further news, contact me."

Lanse frowned after putting down the phone. If the Labor Alliance lawyers went to see the workers, he could understand.

They had been providing legal aid to workers for more than a day or two, but this time they wanted to see the attackers, those refugees, and he felt it was interesting.

He didn't feel it was strange; he knew what these lawyers wanted to do.

Lawyers might be the only people who could openly contact these attackers now; in other words, they might represent the position of the Labor Alliance, negotiate with these attackers, or even bribe them.

It was just that for the past few days, the Labor Alliance had been bumping around like a headless fly; how did their behavior suddenly become methodical?

This was what Lanse was curious about.

Had someone suddenly become enlightened?

Or did they arrange for a more powerful character to come?

Just as Lanse was thinking about this matter, the phone rang again, "This is Lanse."

"Lanse, it's me, Debbie."

"Uh… the vice president is here; he wants to see you."

"What vice president?"

"The rotating vice president of the Labor Alliance General Association; he said he wants to make an appointment to talk to you alone…"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 852 =====