Chapter 890

Diego had heard some things about a man named Lanse White, so when his brother-in-law, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke to him about this matter, some images could appear in his mind.

It was just that he looked at his brother-in-law with some uncertainty at this moment, "How much investment do you think a gang guy can bring us?"

"A few thousand, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands?"

He didn't think much of these things in his eyes.

However, his brother-in-law obviously had a different view.

"Diego, the times have changed. If we don't keep up with the times, we won't be like in the past, staying in the same place, but will be completely eliminated by the times."

Lapa is not a wealthy country, and everyone is very clear about this point.

But this does not mean that there are no wealthy countries on the land of Xiang Yalan, for example, the Republic of Jiede, which currently has the strongest strength.

A stable regime, a reliable army, and the capitalism that is rising in the country make the Republic of Jiede the wealthiest and most powerful country on the land of Xiang Yalan, without one.

The initiator of this Xiang Yalan National United Alliance meeting was also initiated by the Republic of Jiede.

They are the core group that truly does not want the federal people to station troops in Xiang Yalan and expand their influence, because they are walking on the fast lane of development.

Rapid development brings about a huge increase in national strength. If there is no interference from external forces, perhaps after ten or twenty years.

The Republic of Jiede will be able to start annexing surrounding countries, and eventually it is possible to unify the entire Xiang Yalan region and become the only country in Xiang Yalan.

That is why they are so strongly opposed to the stationing of federal troops, and why they have so quickly promoted the holding and passing of the Xiang Yalan Alliance meeting.

Everyone sees the development of the Republic of Jiede in their eyes, but these things are not something that anyone can learn.

Letting the ruling group take out the money that should have been put into their own pockets and put it into other people's pockets, they are very likely unable to do it.

Although they cannot do it, it does not prevent them from continuing to rule their country in the way they did before.

Some surrounding countries are developing, and some countries are still marking time. In a short period of time, at least within the next ten years, there will be no changes. Lapa is still Lapa, and the Republic of Jiede is still the Republic of Jiede.

But now that the variable of the Federation has been added, it is not quite the same.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is exposed to such work every day, so he is very clear about this point. Elimination does not mean becoming poorer and more backward, but being "erased".

The ruling group, and this country.

The ambition of the Federation is almost written on their faces. This time they rashly participated in a war that had nothing to do with them, which shows that they can no longer endure loneliness.

Of course, the Minister of Foreign Affairs actually does not know clearly that participating in the war is not just about not being able to endure loneliness. The most critical thing is that there are too many contradictions in the country that need to be solved by exporting war.

For example, the constantly increasing unemployment rate, and the high school students who graduate year after year and need work.

The social economy is going downhill, factories and enterprises are constantly going bankrupt, more people are losing job opportunities, but the cost of living has not changed.

The contradictions between classes are increasing as the class differences become larger and larger.

Compared with solving these problems from within, it is simpler for federal politicians to export problems.

War will bring orders, promote economic recovery, and at the same time consume some of the population, allowing the rapidly expanding federal population to maintain a relatively appropriate average value.

Of course, this refers to what the federal government can obtain in the situation where they are not sure whether they can achieve final victory in this war, which is a bottom line of income.

The result was unexpectedly good. They completed the goals they wanted to complete beyond the standard, exceeding a lot, so their strategy began to change.

People are like this. If they win a dollar, they hope to win two dollars.

Their international posture is changing, and the pressure they exert on the Xiang Yalan region will also continue to increase.

And in order to counter the Federation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs believes that it is very likely that the Xiang Yalan Alliance will eventually evolve into the ultimate form of a country.

The political group dominated by the ruling group of the Republic of Jiede controls the political changes in the other ten member states, becoming the "co-lord" in a substantial sense.

He talked about this with Diego, but Diego didn't care much. He felt that this day might not come while he was alive.

As for whether it will come after he dies, he doesn't care.

Diego is always not so fond of these "grumbles" of his brother-in-law, "You are always talking about times, trends, etc. Can it change anything for us?"

"No, it can't change anything. This country is already like this, no one can change it!"

"Also, is this the reason why you support us in establishing diplomatic relations with the Federation?"

Regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Federation, his brother-in-law also played some role.

Casia was originally just a deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce. The Minister of Commerce was held by people from another family, and basically did not do anything on weekdays.

The domestic private commercial development was mainly managed by Casia, but no one thought that his job was very important—

Because the monopoly enterprises that really make money are all in the hands of the ruling group, so many of the objects that Casia needs to connect with and help in his work are small and micro enterprises.

In Lapa's commercial system, they are the absolute underclass. Even without Casia, they can easily handle these underclass ecosystems.

Instead, after Casia visited the Federation twice, he proposed the idea of establishing diplomatic relations with the Federation, which won the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

And before that, they also invited the federal businessman Alberto to visit, which made the Minister of Foreign Affairs see Casia's diplomatic ability.

Relatively speaking.

So there was such an opportunity.

His brother-in-law was silent for a while, then smiled and agreed with his point of view, "You are right, you still see things more clearly."

"It was me who thought things too complicated."

This flattery made Diego smile, "Haha, I don't know if you are sincere, but I like what you said."

He said while touching his cheek, "Call Gomez and tell him that I want to see this gang leader."

"If he wants to do business on my turf, it's equivalent to taking money from my pocket into his own pocket. I have to know what the person who stole my wealth looks like, right?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs looked at Diego with some worry, "I heard that he has a good relationship with the federal high-level, don't mess around."

Diego hummed twice, "I won't mess around, I still understand this little thing."

Soon Gomez received this news. He had just sat down for a while when he went to see Lanse again, "Diego said he wanted to see you at dinner."

Lanse was looking at some documents he had organized before coming, as well as some confidential documents that Senator Cleveland had people send over.

He closed the documents and looked at Gomez with some strangeness, "How did he think of seeing me?"

Gomez knew Diego very well, "Someone must have said something to him, and he became interested."

Lanse raised his eyebrows, "Then let's go see him. After all, this can be considered the 'Demon King' of our game."

Gomez was a little worried. He looked at Lanse, "Don't provoke him easily!"

Lanse nodded, "I know."

Under Diego's invitation, at around five o'clock in the evening, Lanse and his party, including Roger and some other business group members, were invited to the Presidential Palace in Zhuolan.

The Presidential Palace was built on a hillside in the northwest direction of Zhuolan, looking magnificent like a king's palace.

It stands to reason that the Presidential Palace would not be built like this. After all, no president can stay in office forever, so no matter how well it is built, it is impossible to live here forever.

But the Xiang Yalan region is an exception. Many presidents, prime ministers, etc. here are hereditary, so they build the places where they live, work, and live like palaces.

As the motorcade slowly circled up the winding driveway and finally stopped outside the Presidential Palace, Lanse got out of the car, and Diego's people were already waiting at the door to welcome them.

Although this place is poor and backward, they still have the etiquette that should be there. This at least shows that although they are poor and backward, they are also a civilized country.

After seeing the Lapa Grand Hotel, Lanse already had some immunity to the luxury of the Presidential Palace.

Soon, led by people here like palace attendants, he followed the people to a very huge reception room.

It might be seven or eight hundred square meters or larger, very empty, with exquisite murals on the surrounding walls, plus the entire luxurious, glittering decoration style, a breath of nouveau riche rushed to his face.

In such a large room, only in the middle of the room, there are a few combination sofas and a coffee table.

Diego was already sitting there, looking short and fat.

Once a person is short and fat, plus the skin color of the people here is generally slightly darker, he will definitely not look good.

And his obese body added many health risks to him. Some of his skin showed symptoms of acanthosis nigricans. He might have diabetes, and it was not too light.

When Lanse entered the room, he also saw him drinking water in big gulps. However, people in such small places are very likely not clear about his situation and what he will face.

When Diego saw Lanse, he had no intention of standing up, just looking at him with curiosity, "You are Lanse White."

Lanse bowed slightly, "Very happy to see you, Your Excellency the President."

Diego raised his thick and fat hand, signaling Lanse to sit down, "I heard that you came to Lapa to invest, I am very curious."

"I was born in this country since I was a child, and it has been more than forty years now. I have never known what is worth investing in here."

"Instead, I think you should be more interested in Jiede. Their economy is more developed and there are more opportunities to make money, unlike us here, everything is very backward, and the people are also very poor."

"So, can you satisfy my curiosity?"

Looking at such a big fat man showing a curious expression, Lanse did not disappoint him, "Actually, in my opinion, Lapa, Aldra, Jiede, these Xiang Yalan countries are not much different."

"Social economy is developed, indeed there are opportunities to make more money, but this also means that competition will be more intense, and those who lack competitiveness will suffer losses instead."

"Lapa's economy is not considered developed, but the competition here is very small. We don't need to pay too much to get a steady stream of income."

"And, Your Excellency the President, you should know better than me."

"People are the things that can generate benefits far and continuously, not others."

This sentence might be a bit headless and tailless, but Diego actually understood it.

He understood not because he read the meaning between Lanse's words, but because he understood what he said very straightforwardly.

People are resources. If there are people, you can make money.

Just like his way of making money, resources grow in the ground and won't run away, but mining requires people.

As long as there are people, even if they go to cut trees, they can bring benefits.

So people are the core resources.

That's how he understood it.

After listening, Diego was very satisfied with Lanse's answer, and he asked again, "Then what do you plan to invest in here?"

Lanse pursed his lips and spread his hands, "I just arrived here and haven't systematically observed this society. I can't give you a definite answer. I have to see what's here before I can make a decision."

Diego nodded and said, "A very cautious approach, no problem."

He glanced at Gomez in the crowd, "Are you familiar with Gomez?"

This question made Gomez break into a cold sweat. He kept a straight face, without any expression, as if he didn't hear what Diego was saying.

At the same time, he begged Lanse in his heart not to say things like "we are very familiar" or "we are friends". He had already mastered some special information. If he was still so close to the federal people, perhaps Diego would really consider how to make him shut up.

Lanse also glanced at Gomez, then smiled and said, "Seen a few times."

"The first time was when Alberto brought them to introduce me. Later, he went to the Federation a few times, and it just so happened that I also lived in Jincheng."

Diego had an expression of "so that's how it is", and he also curiously asked, "Why didn't Mr. Alberto come?"

"He and I can be considered old friends!"

Alberto and Diego indeed had some friendship. He had given Diego some things, which were not particularly good things in the Federation, but were definitely rare in Lapa.

Diego didn't have many friends. This federal friend, who basically didn't meet much, had nothing to do with Lapa, and had no interest dealings with the domestic ruling group, became one of his few friends.

"He died."

Diego was stunned for a moment, "Really a regrettable piece of news, I thought there would still be a chance to chat with him."

This news made the atmosphere in the room slightly heavier. During this period, Diego picked up the iced fruit juice on the table and drank a large glass.

"Actually, my impression of the federal people is not bad, rich, generous, but recently some of your practices make people unhappy."

"They say you want to invade Xiang Yalan and annex eleven countries, including Lapa, is that right?"

This question made the atmosphere in the room not only heavy, but also solemn and tense.

Lanse was not very nervous. Perhaps for others, some rumors about President Diego could make them feel afraid and uneasy.

But Lanse was not afraid. He had encountered more dangerous things than this, and he believed that even if Diego was a fool, he was a fool who could control a country. He would not be stupid enough to really do anything.

"This is a lie, Your Excellency the President."

"In fact, the federal government just doesn't want to be attacked by the Dantras again, and also wants to help our neighbors develop their own economy well."

Diego tilted his head and asked, "Then why don't you just give us money?"

"As long as you give us money, we will become wealthy."

There was not a bit of noise in the main hall. Lanse frowned slightly. This question was very stupid, but it didn't seem to be that stupid. He felt that perhaps people's evaluation of President Diego was not so accurate.

"I give you a fish, you eat it, you can fill your stomach, but you can only fill your stomach once."

"But if I teach you how to use a fishing net, then you can catch fish for yourself and can always fill your stomach."

"So when the Federation and the Alliance negotiated, they mentioned the issue of developing a bilateral free economy, using the Federation's advanced development experience to drive the economic development of the backward Xiang Yalan region."

"This is more meaningful than giving you a sum of money directly. Having a sum of money is just a sum of money, but learning to make money, you can always make money!"

After listening, Diego grinned and smiled, "You are very good at talking, Lanse."

He glanced at the time, held the armrest of the chair and stood up, "Let's talk about this for now, are you hungry?"

Lanse touched his stomach at the right time, "Indeed a bit hungry."

"Okay, friends from the Federation, I will take you to taste Lapa's food!"

Dinner can't be called luxurious or not. Beef and mutton are very common ingredients, including seafood and so on.

It can only be said that the ingredients are fresh enough, and the taste is okay, not hard to eat, but to say how amazing and delicious it is, it may not be.

After eating, Lanse chatted with Diego for a while. When he was about to say goodbye, Diego told Lanse that although he was a federal person.

But he hoped that Lanse could respect and abide by Lapa's laws. If he broke the law here, he might not let Lanse return to the Federation directly.

Lanse said okay with his mouth, but he didn't take it to heart in his heart.

The motorcade he brought this time were all the latest armored vehicles that had not yet been in service, which had bulletproof capabilities themselves.

Once the disc on the roof of the car is removed and different accessories are installed, a choice can be made between a machine gun turret and a small-caliber artillery.

With these things, even if Diego pulls out their regular army, it's not impossible to fight a battle.

However, on the surface, he still expressed his respect for Lapa's local laws.

After returning to the hotel, Gomez said with a bitter face, "He suspects me."

Lanse looked Gomez up and down, shook his head slightly, "Could there be a possibility that you are too wealthy?"

(End of this chapter)