Shadow Empire - Chapter 935 Subsequent Plans and Scams

The senator didn't eat much in the evening, and at a formal dinner like that, no one would really eat a lot.

Everyone's clothes are custom-made and fit their bodies very well. For example, Senator Cleveland would have a batch of custom-made clothes made every two or three months.

It's not that he personally has any special fetish for wearing new clothes, it's simply because the change in body shape makes some things seem less fit and appropriate.

For example, if he has gained a little weight now, then the clothes he wore before will appear tight and unsightly.

If you are thin, then wearing clothes that are obviously too big will become a joke in social occasions. Who the hell would wear ill-fitting clothes to attend such a social occasion? That person is an idiot.

Therefore, the more perfectly fitted the clothes are, the more difficult it is to change the size.

To put it simply, if you eat too much, your stomach will expand.

If you don't button up your jacket, your shirt and vest will be out of shape.

So they would eat very little in formal occasions, and so would the ladies.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to see some upper-class ladies and gentlemen having a big meal when they return home after social activities.

The cook was called up at night to make some meat, but the senator didn't feel like eating when he couldn't see these things.

But when I saw them and smelled their strong aroma, I couldn't help but want to eat some.

At this time he looked a little "sloppy", he took off his coat and only wore a dark brown vest, stretching his neck, not wanting to get his clothes dirty.

"Would you like some?" the senator asked. "They've got yours," he said, glancing at his two aides.

Lance thought for only three or four seconds, then picked up the plate and said, "Sure, why not?"

The senator couldn't help laughing when he heard the answer and said, "I just said, you are so smart and likable."

Three people were watching, but he was the only one eating. And they were not eating, they were talking about something.

If Lance also joined in, the awkward feeling would be much less and the atmosphere would be better.

Lance smiled and helped himself to some beef, mixing it with the sauce and putting it in the bread.

Because the schedule is tight at night, the chef cuts the beef into thin slices and roasts it over high heat.

Tom and his chief of staff joined them, and the four of them quickly enjoyed a sumptuous snack.

After cleaning, Senator Cleveland sat back on the couch, took a sip of his wine, and said, "Tell me about it."

Lance also lit a cigarette and sorted out his thoughts. "The situation in Lapa is continuing to deteriorate. Due to the lack of food, the death toll from famine is increasing."

"Some people have begun to give up their illusions about the Lapa government and have started to find their own way out. Some of the anti-government armed groups have their own territories."

"The battle between the Lapa government forces and Pedro's armed forces, if they can win and repel the government forces, then soon more independent armed forces will begin to emerge."

"The political situation in Lapa will be in complete chaos."

Senator Cleveland did not give up trying to understand what happened to Lapa. He nodded and said, "Once the lion lets other challengers find out that it is not as powerful as they thought, then this old lion, which has no teeth, will become food on the challengers' table."

"This...Pedro, can you win?"

"Besides him, there are other anti-government forces, and I had people pretend to be anti-government forces to loot a warehouse near Zhuolan. Now Diego, their president, is very nervous."

"The number of Lapa's soldiers is small, and their equipment is outdated. They don't even have many artillery pieces, let alone other advanced combat equipment."

"He will most likely deploy artillery in Zhuolan, just in case someone attacks Zhuolan, he will have to protect himself."

"So this battle is likely to end in mutual killing."

Senator Cleveland nodded as he listened to what he said; he could imagine it.

How could soldiers who have two or three meals a day, receive a salary every month, and do not need much training be a match for the anti-government militants who live and die?The Federation is no longer the Federation that has never experienced external wars. This war has made the Federation’s military, Congress, and everyone else realize that "will" is a very important thing in war.

When the charge sounded, if the soldiers did not dare to rush out of the trenches and rush towards the enemy's position.

Even if they rely on an iron wall, they will eventually be conquered.

They obviously just needed to keep shooting and not let those people get close, but because of nervousness and lack of psychological preparation, their actions changed, and in the end their defense line was broken!A group of people who have no way to retreat, the fighting power they can unleash, even if Senator Cleveland cannot see it, he can imagine it.

"The defeat of the first government army will ignite the rebellious sentiment throughout Lapa. Once people's ambitions are aroused and ignited, it is difficult to extinguish them."

Lance pursed his lips and shrugged, "Until destruction."

"The only thing I'm worried about now is that the Asian Alliance will get involved too early. For example, the Czech Republic will send troops to help suppress the rebellion, which may disrupt our plan."

Lance leaned forward and flicked the ash off his cigarette. "I hope the navy can stay in the waters near the Republic of Jede, or... destroy the pirates or something?"

"The military movement of the Federation will prevent them from dispersing their forces within the country. If the situation deteriorates further, or if they understand something, they can withdraw."

"They will eventually understand why these things happened!"

Senator Cleveland nodded and said, "Yes, you are right. I will arrange this matter."

They will not announce this matter to the public until the negotiations are concluded, although some people may have already guessed it.

But there is still a big difference between announcing and not announcing.

Once it is announced, they must assume responsibility for route safety and maintain bilateral trade and transportation, so that the federation cannot openly strangle them.

Now a large amount of materials cannot be transported, which is also a huge pressure on them.

But they guessed it, since the Federation itself would not admit it, there was nothing they could do.

Once this negotiation is over and the navy is "lifted", it would make sense to send some warships to cruise around Alanya.

"Besides these, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Lance shook his head, "Not for now."

Senator Cleveland nodded. "Have you considered some follow-up arrangements?"

“Once Diego’s regime is overthrown, is it possible that the new regime will think about replacing him?”

He said meaningfully, "The situation in the empire has changed from chaos to stability because of greed." Their goal is to make Lapa part of the federation, not to support a strong new regime for Lapa that is as full of potential and hope as the rising sun.

But at the same time, this is a situation that is 100% likely to happen. So many anti-government armed forces will become warlords, and then engage in separatist and competitive activities. Eventually, they may become one again and achieve unification under external pressure.

Lance scratched his head. "Don't worry about this, because we have the most important thing..."

Senator Cleveland followed up with, "Food."

"Yes, food!" Lance reaffirmed his answer. "Now they have even eaten the food for seeds. I am having people destroy the railway transportation so that food from the Republic of Czechoslovakia cannot be transported in."

"The famine will continue. They can't solve the problem of feeding tens of millions of people. Even if Diego's government is destroyed, they can't produce enough food to meet everyone's food needs."

"Be obedient and you will have food to eat."

"Disobedient..." Lance curled his lips and didn't continue speaking.

Famine still broke out frequently in this era. Without further improvement of crops, the wheat yield per mu was only 70 to 80 kilograms, which was not enough for people to eat.

Once famine occurs somewhere, hell will emerge into the world in an instant!

But the people who created all this don't care much about it, and don't have any psychological burden.

Even Lance suggested combining famine and food into important materials for controlling Lapa.

Senator Cleveland took two more puffs of his cigarette and then stubbed it out in the ashtray. "You're definitely not the only one. The second half of the report is a bit too idealistic. I want to hear your true thoughts."

Words and plans such as "cultivating anti-government armed forces", "artificially creating famine", and "controlling the internal affairs of other countries" must not be written in the report.

The federal political arena has never been able to keep secrets. As long as it can be decrypted, it means that the matter will be made public in the future.

So Lance wouldn't leave himself in obvious written trouble.

He softened his tone a bit, "To be honest, I'm still thinking about it."

Senator Cleveland showed some interest. "It's rare to see you so confused. If you have any questions, please tell me. I may be able to give you some suggestions."

"I plan to gain their support through narrow aid, and then through discussion, initiating a referendum, to allow the Lapa region to be governed by the federal government. Eventually, they will be assimilated, and it won't take too long."

Tom, his chief of staff, and Senator Cleveland all fell into deep thought, "Let's use personal names!"

"Just use your name. This will be of great help to you when you return home."

Senator Cleveland's eyes shone with a gleam of light, "That's definitely not your plan. Can you tell me about it?"

Lance smiled and said, "Actually, I've considered running for president in Lapa before."

Senator Cleveland was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and praised Lance fiercely, "You are a really thoughtful guy!"

"But this plan is not very feasible. After all, he is the president and you are not from Lapa."

"No country would easily allow a foreigner to become their ruler, even if it is only temporary."

"Maybe hunger can make you overcome everything!"

"In short, I fully support your plan. What we need is to open up the situation. No matter how you plan to do it, it's best to do it as soon as possible."

"We intend to end the war within two years. If you include other things, you will solve the problem of Lapa within this year."

Lance nodded and said, "No problem."

“I have acquired a lot of mines in Lapa, and I plan to register a mining management company in the federal government.”

Senator Cleveland nodded. "That's great. Any questions?"

Lance leaned back and said defensively, "I plan to launder some of the funds through these mines, so the mines' accounts will look very good."

Senator Cleveland's eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at Lance with a changing expression in his eyes.

Lance was very calm, "I believe that everyone should make money."

Senator Cleveland did not immediately comment. “If I participate, it means more people will join in, and your shares will be diluted a lot.”

Lance showed a nonchalant smile on his face. "My purpose was just to launder money. If I can make a little more, it will just make up for the loss in taxation."

The chief of staff understood, but Tom still didn't quite understand.

Lance's meaning was actually very clear. If he wanted to use the mining company to launder money for himself, he would definitely fabricate financial statements.

For example, there is an abandoned mine with only an old man and a dog as a janitor, but in the federation, this mining company generates hundreds of thousands of profits every year.

These mining companies are all held by an asset management company, which will then be pushed to go public.

The financial report looks so good and the returns are stable, it is many times more cost-effective than depositing money in the bank.

In this way, the stock price can be continuously pushed up, inducing some investors to buy the company's stock.

When the bubble is almost washed away, they cash out their stocks and leave the market, then find a company to burst the bubble and end everything.

Every participant can make a lot of money!In this way, Lance can make some money himself, and at the same time, he can continue to strengthen his interpersonal relationships in Congress through this "bribery" method.

With such a big "deal", Senator Cleveland would definitely take him along, and this would be his chance to officially enter this circle.

As for whether it's worth it?

In his opinion, it is worth it. All capital investments cannot be separated from the support of the federal government, just like a company said more than a decade ago that it would build 20,000 kilometers of railways to cover the entire federation.

The federal government also stated that they were discussing related matters with the company, which suddenly caused the company's market value to surge from hundreds of thousands to nearly one billion!

Countless people in the financial market are waving their money to buy its stocks but they can't buy them at all!

Behind all this is the cooperation between the federal capital consortium and Congress, which is not perfect but certainly close.

If others can do it, why can't Lance?

(End of this chapter)