Shadow Empire

Chapter 545 New Team
The time slowly pointed to seven o'clock, and Congressman Williams looked at the slightly empty living room with a unhappy expression.

James, Arthur, Lance, William, and a few others didn't even fill one-tenth of the living room.

When the clock rang out seven times, everyone's eyes were focused on Congressman Williams.

Councillor Williams also has a party tonight. As the mayoral election is getting closer, he will definitely need to work on this aspect.

He invited many Bay Area politicians and wealthy people to come, saying it was just a normal way of building relationships, but everyone knew that this was an act of "taking sides."

Once Councilman Williams becomes mayor, he will naturally be separated from the Bay Area interest group.

It is impossible for him to become the Bay Area's dog, or rather, there is a possibility that his interests are in conflict with those of the Bay Area.

This may sound a little unbelievable. They were originally a group of people. Why couldn't he become one of them when he became the mayor?

In fact, this is a question of leadership. Of course, the leadership here does not mean who leads, but who leads whom.

Congressman Williams has his own interests and political demands, and it is impossible for him to be led by the Bay Area.

The Bay Area also has its own interests and political demands. If the interests of both parties are consistent, the relationship between them will be more harmonious.

But this is unlikely. Lance knows that Congressman Williams intends to continue the construction of the new port area and the new bay area, and to push the New Port Terminal to take on part of the business volume of the Golden Port Terminal.

In fact, including those in the Bay Area, all the ruling class and privileged class in Jingang City know that it is very necessary to build a new port terminal.

However, the construction of the new port terminal will inevitably affect the interests of the old Jingang terminal, and most people here have many interest connections with the Jingang terminal.

This is just a microcosm of a conflict of interests, just like what some ancient dynasties faced when faced with change.

Everyone knows that change will bring new hope to the corrupt country, but they also know that change will harm the interests of their own families.

Between the hopes of the country and the interests of the family, they often choose the interests of the family rather than the hopes of the country.

Such problems and contradictions will always exist and will continue to exist as long as there are interests involved.

Today's gathering can be said to be a statement and a prelude to taking sides.

Those who come to participate in Congressman Williams' meeting must fully support Congressman Williams and his family in a series of subsequent urban reform issues.

Those who do not attend will stand firmly with the Bay Area and continue to defend their interests.

A new war is about to begin, but it now seems that Congressman Williams is at a disadvantage.

I waited another five minutes, but no one else came.

In fact, many of them agreed to come and said a lot of nice things, such as they cared about the city's reforms and were willing to support Councilman Williams to complete his governance philosophy.

But when the news of Charlie's murder came, they seemed to change their minds and decided not to come.

The butler hurried over, leaned over to Congressman Williams and whispered for a moment.

From his serious expression, it can be seen that this is definitely not good news.

After listening to this, Congressman Williams laughed twice. Although it was just laughter, everyone could hear the anger in his laughter.

The butler returned to stand in the corner, while Councillor Williams stood up, "Well, it looks like they can't come, let's go to the dining room."

Arthur couldn't help but ask, "Is it because of the traffic jam on the road?"

It was a stupid thing to say, but Arthur probably meant it on purpose.

James glanced at his stupid brother, then looked at Congressman Williams. He actually wanted to know the reason too.

Councilman Williams was silent for a few seconds before saying, "They had a big party in the Bay Area and they all went to the party."

This is what the housekeeper just said. All those who received an invitation and said they would come but did not come in the end went to the party in the Bay Area.

In this way, they are sending a message that they do not accept some of the plans and programs that Congressman Williams has put forward since taking office.

It's a protest, but...

Lance looked at Congressman Williams. He could feel that for the old man, this was more of a declaration of war!
Congressman Williams snorted angrily, glared at his young son, and then led the way into the restaurant.

Arthur walked at the end, with no negative emotions on his face. He did it on purpose, hoping his father would not misunderstand him.

There was a large long table in the empty restaurant, which was filled with a variety of delicious food, all of which was steaming.

It was originally expected that at least forty to fifty people, or even fifty to sixty people, would come, so the chefs in the manor prepared ingredients according to the scale of one hundred people and cooked food for sixty people.

In this way, even if the number of people coming exceeds their expectations, they can still ensure that food is delivered at any time and anywhere.

But now it is obvious that there is not enough food, but too much!
Seeing that there were only them at such a large table, Councilman Williams stood there for a while, then said, "Change to a smaller table, we don't need so many seats."

The butler immediately asked someone to change the table. They moved the food off the table and put it on the dining cart. Then they dismantled the large table and replaced it with a small table, and delivered each dish to the small table individually.

Although it is a small table, it can seat more than 20 people, so it is still a bit spacious.

As for the extra food, it will most likely become dinner for the people in the manor. They will have a treat today.

"Sit wherever you want," Councilman Williams ordered, and sat in the main seat.

Lance chose a seat relatively at the back. Although he was very powerful, it was not very likely that gangsters would be present in a political setting.

Arthur sat next to him, and his ranking was even lower than his. This boy knew his position very well, and he never fought for anything.

The butler and servants began to serve each gentleman at the table. He personally served Councillor Williams, while the others were accompanied by the manor maids.

Their main job is to serve food to the gentlemen, pour wine for them or do other services within their ability.

In such a solemn and serious occasion, no one would really stand up to reach for the out-of-reach dishes.

They would tell the maid next to them what they needed, and the maid would help them put the food on their plates.

If it is a family dinner where everyone is present, then you don't need a maid, making everything seem more casual and friendly.

But formal dining requires these people.

The butler poured wine for Congressman Williams, his fingers resting on the foot of the glass but not lifting it.

Looking back on his life, this little problem was actually not a problem at all, but he still felt a little emotional.

Others were also ready with their glasses raised, waiting for him to give his speech.

"I don't know what to say, actually.", he began, and everyone's attention was on him.

"I really want to say something tolerant and generous, like I forgive them, or find some reasons for them not to come."

"But these words cannot convince you, nor can they convince myself. They are demonstrating to me, even threatening me!"

"I won't say those tolerant words, I will let them know how stupid their choice is!"

"For our beautiful tomorrow!", he raised his glass, and others followed suit.

Lance also raised his glass and said along with everyone, "For tomorrow!"

Then took a sip.

Good quality wine can add a lot of color to the dinner, and this is obviously not the cheap stuff that Lans sells. It must come from the world's top winery, and a bottle of this now costs at least several hundred yuan or even more.

Until now, many people still don’t understand what the Prohibition prohibits.
It is said that liquor producing companies such as Jinbiao Liquor have begun investing in and building factories overseas, and then they will find ways to smuggle these liquors back into the country.

Prohibition of alcohol and drinking ultimately prohibits the poor from having the opportunity to drink.

On the other hand, Prohibition did work. It made the poor drink less and work better.

Everyone put down their glasses, and Congressman Williams signaled that it was time to eat. The dinner was indeed sumptuous, and the maids worked closely with the butler to get food for the guests, or followed their requests and placed their favorite dishes on their plates.

"The mayoral election will begin soon, and we need to warm up in advance. Although we all know that I have a high chance of winning, we cannot help but be on guard against possible accidents."

His tone still contained dissatisfaction with those people in the Bay Area, those old friends, and everyone present nodded.

"I'm not worried about the election situation in the Imperial District and the Port District..." He looked at Lance, and everyone else looked at Lance as well.

Some people don't know Lance very well, they have just heard of him. After all, there are only a few gangs in Jingang City that can face the Kodak family head-on.

And he has already done it, and nothing major has happened yet. It's like the Kodak family has backed down and there has been no reaction until now.

These alone are enough to make them take Lance seriously.

Lance nodded and said, "I can make sure that only your posters are in these two areas."

"I can also handle the Sumuli District."

After solving the publicity issues in the three districts, combined with James' current location and some forces in the city center, he can actually take over many areas in Jingang City.

This is also the reason why he has the strength to assert that he will win before the election. He has already won half of the eleven administrative districts. Except for the Bay Area and the Starlight District which may be more difficult to deal with, the other half will not be a problem.

He looked at Lance, "I still need your help with this."

Others might think that when he said "help more", he meant for Lance to focus on the three areas he mentioned, but Lance heard the hidden meaning in his words.

He nodded and said solemnly, "I will."

Then he talked about other people, hoping that their factories and workers would support him, or that these politicians would join him in the election.

"I've been thinking about something lately!"

After talking about the most basic things, he decided to talk about some practical stuff, "Once the navy is stationed in Jingang City, it will become one of the safest ports in the northern hemisphere."

“I expect that more ships will stop here by then, including some countries on the Tanfit continent.”

"Their freighters will also stop here to resupply."

"Our Jingang terminal is almost full, and if we don't expand the existing terminal, it will soon be overloaded."

“This is not conducive to the development of the port, nor is it conducive to the development of the city, so I plan to continue to build the New Port Port as the first thing I do after taking office.”

Lance had no objection, and James and Arthur naturally didn't say much either.

William sat aside and glanced at Lance without saying anything.

In fact, whether to continue building the new port terminal has no conflict of interest with him. In fact, resuming construction can provide more jobs, which can benefit him from these things.

Those grassroots talents didn't care whether he was the one who made this happen or not. Anyway, after he was elected as a city councilor, people had more job opportunities.

Just tell me whether you made the right choice or not!
Others were more or less related to this matter. One of them, a wealthy man in the Bay Area, said, "Mr. Congressman, the construction of the New Port Pier will bring benefits to the city, which has been proven."

"At least I personally support the continued construction of the New Port Terminal, but I am not sure how I can contribute my strength to this matter?"

This seems like a meaningless nonsense. Are you ready to rebuild?
How is it arranged?
But in fact, the meaning behind this sentence is to ask about the redistribution of benefits.

If a capitalist wants to contribute to urban infrastructure, then he does not really want to serve the people. He just wants to put the money in the people's pockets into his own pocket.

Congressman Williams nodded slightly. "They will give up at least half of their profits. I will have effective communication with them on these issues in the near future."

The "they" he mentioned are the investors behind the mayor, who saw the huge profits from Jingang Wharf.

With their promotion, the mayor presided over the construction of the New Port Pier.

At that time, the carrying capacity of Jingang Wharf was not very high, so doing so was undoubtedly a provocation and a signal of war, which led to a series of subsequent events.

Now the shares of Newport Wharf are basically still in the hands of those failed capitalists. If Congressman Williams really wants to rebuild Newport Wharf, the first thing he has to do is to ensure that the promoters on Congressman Williams' side can also make huge profits from Newport Wharf.

Who the hell would do something that doesn't make money?
Not a philanthropist.

Whether it is politicians, capitalists, or even gangsters like Lance, they are all seeking more profits, so it is better to make this matter clear at the beginning.

At least it can avoid conflicts and dirty things that may arise in the future.

Councilman Williams nodded in agreement, "I will talk to them during this period, and they will make concessions."

"This money has been rotting in these projects for so many years. No matter how powerful they are in other cities, in Jingang City, they have already realized how powerful we are, so you don't have to worry about this matter."

"You can come along when we talk."

"If there is no problem with this, then we will continue to expand the urban circle." The butler cut the beef cubes for him and he said as he ate.

"Continue to expand towards New Taipei City. I intend to have Jingang City annex Xigu City. However, this cannot be done in a short period of time. This will be implemented as a long-term goal."

Everyone who heard him say this was stunned for a moment, and then their eyes shifted to James.

James also understood the meaning of these words. Although he had some indescribable emotions, he still maintained his courtesy, nodded slightly, and smiled.

To put it bluntly, Councilman Williams' statement is that he intends to pass on power.

Otherwise, even if he served two terms, it would be impossible for him to annex an independent city in eight years.

Moreover, this matter still needs the approval of the state government or even the federal government. Losing a city means losing a lot of jobs, and the federal government may not agree.

So even if Golden Harbor City does eventually annex Valley City, it won’t be during Councilman Williams’ term of office.

Every mayor has his own governing philosophy and ambitions, which may not necessarily be the same as the previous one. If there is anyone who can inherit his ideas and actively promote them, he must be his political successor.

Currently, the only person who meets this condition is James.

This is why the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, and the president’s son remains the president!
Everyone at the table was full of interest in the future they described, which also meant that Jingang City would be larger in the future and more benefits would flow into the city.

And they, those who are attached to the Williams family who created all this, will get more!

Although there were not many people at the table, the atmosphere was very warm.

These people may be a little nervous, but most of them feel excited. They gradually realize that when they betray the mainstream and are betrayed by the mainstream, the benefits they gain will be far greater than those who join this interest group in the future.

Most of the time, risk and return are proportional.

After dinner, everyone chatted for a while and then took their own leave, but Congressman Williams kept Lance.

For him, Lance cannot be replaced by anyone else now and is absolutely the core of his plan!

(End of this chapter)