Chapter 983: Lanse's Law

Lanse had just gotten out of the car when he heard Attorney General Terry's hearty laughter. He laughed loudly as he walked down the steps, walked to the car, and took the initiative to open the car door for Lanse. "You're finally back, Lanse!"

"If you didn't come back, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep at night!"

Lanse got out of the car, shook hands with him, and said, "Then change to a female companion."

This sudden little joke, which should be considered a joke, wouldn't cause disgust. Attorney General Terry nodded with a smile. "I'd like to, but I'm afraid my wife wouldn't be very willing."

The two let go of their hands and walked up the steps under the leadership of Attorney General Terry. On the steps, they met some of his confidants.

Some of these people Lanse had met before, and they took the initiative to greet Lanse. There were also some Lanse hadn't met. Under the introduction of Attorney General Terry, they were considered to have met.

These people were actually just a name to Lanse right now—if he heard these names in the future, he could quickly associate that he seemed to know who they were, but couldn't completely connect them with their faces.

This is why people always hope to appear in front of big figures frequently to get familiar.

The repetition rate of people's names within the Federation and even the world is really too great. If it's just a name, it's hard for big figures to have a deep concept of them.

Only when they leave a deep impression on big figures will big figures think of their faces when talking about their names.

These people will serve as the main government officials after Attorney General Terry takes office as governor.

The governor is in charge of the entire state's administrative power. In the Federation's system, the governor and the president are of the same rank, so this also gives the governor greater power.

He can completely ignore the requirements of the president or Congress and appoint government officials within the state at will. Even if he lets a dog or a cat serve as deputy governor, this is his power.

However, such extreme phenomena basically won't appear in real life. After all, politics is not absolute opposition; everything can be traded and compromised.

Then there is no possibility of "if."

A group of people entered the living room. The servants had cleaned up here, and it looked very tidy. Of course, after the servants served some things, they took the initiative to leave.

Attorney General Terry's butler personally checked it, confirmed that there were no other servants in the main building, and then closed the big door.

This is a... protective measure.

Not everyone can keep secrets. Those servants are just people who take dead wages. If someone offers conditions they cannot refuse, they will definitely compromise.

In order to avoid letting Attorney General Terry not trust these people, and also to avoid letting them feel the discomfort of being suspected, so when discussing important matters, and not in a relatively private, such as a study-like enclosed space, they will definitely clear the field.

Lanse walked to the independent sofa on the right side of the sofa group and sat down. This position is the position second only to the owner.

Although Attorney General Terry indicated that he should sit in the middle position, Lanse still sat here.

"Do you have any other competitors?", Lanse looked at Attorney General Terry with some curiosity. "Who else can be your opponent?"

"I remember the deputy governor talked to me last time, he doesn't really want to run for governor in Likarai State."

Lanse was entrusted by Terry last year to talk to the deputy governor once, which could be considered testing the deputy governor's attitude toward running for governor.

After all, as one of the top three politicians in Likarai State, if he were to run for governor, without the interference of other external forces, his winning rate would actually be higher than Attorney General Terry's.

The reason is very simple: in terms of popularity, the deputy governor would be much higher than Attorney General Terry.

The position of attorney general seems to have great power. He has a certain influence in the judicial field, but ordinary people cannot feel these.

Criminals might feel it more strongly, after all, they always have contact with prosecutors, and those rich people, they might relatively understand Attorney General Terry more, and they are also groups that often deal with the judiciary.

But it is very difficult for ordinary people to connect with prosecutors who are far away from them, so they cannot talk about their understanding of Attorney General Terry.

But the deputy governor is different.

The deputy governor is mainly responsible for specifically executing some of the governor's administrative orders. He will contact more ordinary people, and ordinary people will know more about him.

And exactly, at any time, the part of the voters that is the largest is composed of these ordinary people.

When they walk into the polling station and get the voting card, looking at the few names written on it, they will very likely choose the name they know to check, and then throw it into the voting machine.

This is also a conclusion reached by many organizations after investigation: about 68% of voters, when facing politicians they don't like or choose, will cast their vote for the person they know on the list, rather than choosing one at random.

So if the deputy governor runs, his winning rate is great, but he told Lanse that he wouldn't run in Likarai State.

Lanse talked to him relatively deeply, and the deputy governor didn't hide his thoughts. The Lanse family, the Williams family, the Lawrence family—the influence of these forces in Likarai State is too great now!

So great that even if he becomes governor, he has to consider taking care of their emotions when issuing some normal regulations.

If they support, then everything is good.

But if they don't support the new policies issued by the governor, what to do?

Clearly, this would make the governor very faceless. The deputy governor is a person who loves face. He doesn't want to offend Lanse now, nor does he want to offend others. He is willing to take the initiative to withdraw from the election and go to other states to participate in the election.

Of course, he made such a decision, also hoping to get some support from Lanse here.

Lanse didn't skimp on his wealth and some contacts for this. As long as the deputy governor needs it, he will definitely stand up for the deputy governor's campaign.

So after removing this person who was most threatening to Attorney General Terry, others, in Lanse's view, didn't count for anything.

Attorney General Terry pursed his lips. "We are indeed leading those competitors in public opinion now, but Lanse, until the last moment, the moment the answer is revealed, I can never let go of my heart."

Lanse nodded to show he could understand his current worry. These worries, in Lanse's view, were necessary and normal. After all, Attorney General Terry's current advantage couldn't be said to be very large.

If Lanse suddenly turned to his other competitors, then Attorney General Terry would definitely lose the opportunity to become governor. His nervousness became very reasonable.

"Don't worry!"

"Terry, we are old friends!"

"You are not meeting me for the first time either. When have you seen me say no to friends?"

The atmosphere in the living room, which was still a bit heavy and serious, disappeared immediately with Lanse's statement, replaced by a kind of relaxation.

Including Attorney General Terry's subordinates, they all showed happy smiles on their faces. Once Attorney General Terry takes office as governor, these people will naturally be reused.

If they are not reused, who will be reused?

And now the "atmosphere" in Likarai State is very strange.

Lanse bribed a large number of government officials, which led to the state government and local officials and gangs twisting into a rope.

Plus Lanse's opposition to the chaos of urban public security, Likarai State has become the area most suitable for gang survival, but at the same time, it is also the area least suitable for gang survival. Saying it is suitable for gang survival is because criminal business here will be very stable, such as the current sale of moonshine, which is very stable.

Every city, every bar, gang, they take out a part of the "performance" they take out every once in a while and send it to the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, then those agents of the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau won't find trouble with them.

Police stations, municipal officials are all the same. Everyone can get the benefits that belong to them from the profiteering industry.

And society is also stable, not turbulent. It can be said that this place has become a model of "living and working in peace and contentment"!

Saying it is not suitable for gang survival is because the essence of gangs is destruction.

Many other gangs in the region are laughing at the gangs in Likarai State, saying they are "castrated little chickens," which is a very humiliating evaluation.

Because in Likarai State, there are almost no large-scale fights between gangs. It can't be said there are no fights at all, but large-scale fights can basically no longer be seen.

The rest are small-scale, low-influence fights, mainly happening between street families. They fight for whose business the street girls on a certain street belong to.

This kind of fight won't scare people. A group of people was beaten by another group of people, which is the limit.

Situations like street shooting and killing are almost invisible.

The underground world has order, and everything seems to have to follow the rules, which is very uncomfortable for many gangs who want to take root and develop here.

Once they use force within the city range, it means they will offend the entire city's gangs, as well as police and officials, and eventually be cleaned up together.

More than one foreign gang has tried to obtain their own territory in Likarai State in their own way, and then became piles of corpses in the suburbs.

Even the spectacle of Jincheng—Angel Lake, where the water level rises every year—now the lake water doesn't rise much, and this year there is a slight decrease.

People say this is all thanks to Mr. Lanse's regulations, which restored peace here.

Apart from gangs benefiting relatively greatly here, the rest are officials at all levels.

Not just Jincheng, the "game rules" formulated by Lanse have begun to be executed throughout Likarai State, from mayor, to police chief, and even an ordinary city policeman.

They can all get the share that belongs to them from the liquor interests sold by gangs in the city!

So everyone is willing to be an official now, and also willing to climb higher, because higher status means more extra income every month.

Like Attorney General Terry, he has an income of 300,000 every month. Who is not jealous of this income?

It doesn't seem like much, but you must know that an income of 300,000 is already the income of 5,000 workers for a month!

He alone tops the income of 5,000 workers without eating or drinking. Who doesn't want this money?

The next attorney general, also can get so much money. What about other government officials?

How much can they get?

It is said that the governor can also get a stable "investment return" from Lanse's foundation every month!

Yes, the governor also has his share, and it is still very clean money. No one can do anything about investment returns even if they come to check.

According to the Federation's legal provisions, government officials can do business and invest.

And the tax rate paid on investment income in the Federation is very low, lower than the tax rate paid on wages earned by those workers who work hard for a month!

Lanse's "tentacles" are like a blood vessel, soon covering the entire Likarai State. The political scene of the entire state seems to have been completely eroded, infiltrated, and finally formed a super monster.

From actual life, everyone's political achievements are very good now, and gangs don't make trouble, the city's public security has gone up, and their pockets have become full. Who can feel dissatisfied with such a good life?!

If someone is really dissatisfied with such an environment and wants to do something to deal with Lanse or destroy "Lanse's Law," then this person and the forces behind him will become the enemy of the entire Likarai State.

This is also why Attorney General Terry must meet Lanse to talk about votes. Lanse indeed already has the ability to manipulate the results of the Likarai State gubernatorial election, and everyone must maintain enough respect for him.

Attorney General Terry got the answer he wanted, and he was obviously much more relaxed. When he spoke, his tone was also light.

Lanse took out the cigarette case. He took out a cigarette. Those state prosecutors beside him, some were state government officials, immediately took out their lighters one after another.

Just when they planned to fight to light the cigarette for Lanse, Attorney General Terry took out his own lighter and lit it.

Others silently put away their lighters.

Lanse smiled and covered the flame on the lighter in Attorney General Terry's hand with his hand. Actually, this kind of kerosene lamp rope lighter wouldn't be blown out by the wind even if it wasn't covered, but this is a habit.

After he took two puffs and lit the cigarette, he patted Attorney General Terry'

After he took two puffs, lit his cigarette, and patted Attorney General Teri on the hand to have him take the lighter away, he took another puff and exhaled quickly before truly drawing a breath into his lungs.

The first few puffs always had a kerosene taste; this was the reason Lanse did not like these kerosene lighters, as they would ruin his smoking experience.

Attorney General Teri took back the cigarette. He looked at Lanse, and Lanse looked at him; both of them couldn't help but laugh.

The people standing around them, although they didn't understand why these two big shots were laughing, all followed suit, and for a time, the living room was filled with the joyful laughter of the people!

When the laughter had mostly died down, Lanse asked, "Will the results of this year's gubernatorial election come out before Harvest Festival, or after?"

Attorney General Teri replied immediately, "On October 15th, one week before Harvest Festival."

"After all, Harvest Festival is an important holiday; it is unlikely that either the federal government or the state government would let the voters and people like us spend a flavorless Harvest Festival."

Harvest Festival holds a very important status in the Federation, second only to the New Year, and sometimes people even feel that the festive atmosphere of Harvest Festival is better than New Year's Day.

New Year's Day doesn't usually have various float parades, but Harvest Festival does, and there are many celebrations, agricultural product competitions, exhibitions, and so on; it is very lively.

Lanse nodded, "In that case, if you have no other plans for Harvest Festival, let's go to Lawrence Farm to spend the holiday together."

"I chatted briefly with Mayor Williams earlier; we might have some new ideas, and since you are the Attorney General, I also need some of your suggestions."

Attorney General Teri immediately realized that this might be a meeting regarding the formation of an interest group. He was a man of Liklai State, and Governor was very likely the "peak" of his political career.

After he stepped down from the position of Attorney General, there were only two paths to take: either run for President or find a way to secure a seat in the Senate.

Whether running for President or trying to enter the Senate, he would ultimately need Lanse to provide him with sufficient help!

So he didn't deliberate for too long before agreeing, even though he knew that as long as he went to Lawrence Farm to attend this Harvest Festival "party," he would be labeled as part of the "Lanse faction," yet he still decided to do so.

After all, this is the Federation, a federal country; the federal government only has the power of suggestion and guidance regarding everything within a state, and they cannot decide what the political ecology within a state is like!

"Good, I will definitely go. May I bring my family along?"

This was a very clever inquiry. Lanse did not object, "Lawrence Farm has many fun things; if your wife and children have nothing else to do, they are more than welcome to go and play, just consider it a vacation."

"On the farm, they can ride horses, go hunting with the cowboys, and do anything they can't do in the city; it's very interesting!"

Lanse smiled and mentioned that he still had a horse, "The first horse I owned in the Federation is on the farm, but it's a bit of a stranger to me; even when I go over with a carrot, it doesn't pay much attention to me!"

This was clearly just casual chatter, because the important content had already been discussed, the atmosphere was so relaxed, and they had no other serious topics to discuss.

Everyone was chatting about happy things they knew of to set the tone for the current atmosphere.

This meeting was very smooth and successful. Attorney General Teri kept Lanse and his family for dinner, and as the news of Lanse and Attorney General Teri having dinner together spread, the last bit of suspense regarding the gubernatorial election could be considered to have come to an end.

(End of chapter)