Shadow Empire

Chapter 593 Account
After most people had left, Senator Cleveland called Lance and Tom to his reception room.

The study was a very special place, and it was unlikely that Lance would enter his study until he showed that Senator Cleveland could take him seriously and treat him as an equal.

The reception room is actually quite nice, with several sofas and a small bar, and the environment is also very good.

"You heard what we said just now. I have a few things I need to explain to you."

Senator Cleveland took out a cigarette, and Tom immediately used his silver lighter to light it for him. He took a puff and exhaled slowly, "War is the will of Congress. In order to advance this goal, anyone, anything, or anything that tries to prevent the war from coming will be crushed."

Lance nodded. In fact, what he meant was to tell Lance that he could go for it boldly, and Congress would back him up.

But you can only believe... 10% of this kind of thing, no more than that.

It's not that they wouldn't do it, wouldn't crush those who tried to prevent the war from happening, but when it was all over, Lance might just become a used tissue that they would ball up and throw in the trash.

So he will have his own considerations on how to do it and to what extent.

"The second thing is that the Ministry of Defense will soon release the cost. This cost will definitely be higher than we imagined, but this does not mean that all the money will be spent. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lance nodded, "Everyone gets a share."

This answer stunned Senator Cleveland for a moment, and then he burst into laughter.

Having drunk some wine just now, his mood was more erratic and more straightforward. He pointed at Lance and looked at Tom, "You see, some people are indeed born smart!"

Although he was shaking his head, everyone could tell that it was an expression of appreciation. “Since you can understand it clearly, you should also understand what I am going to say.”

Lance nodded again. "I will flexibly adjust my work strategy based on the part that can actually be used."

This brought another smile to the Senator's face.

The construction cost may be two or three hundred million yuan, but the funds actually used for the construction of the military base may be only 60%, or at most 65%.

Except for a portion of flexible money, the rest of the remaining funds will be distributed among officials at all levels.

It's not that they are evil, it's just normal.

Those senators, congressmen, and top federal politicians only earn two or three thousand dollars a year, but any one of them owns real estate, cars, stocks, bonds, and anything of value.

It may be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands times this number!
This money does not come out of thin air. Some of it is political donations and bribes, and some of it is directly transferred from certain links.

Federal government politicians don't care about the process; they only care about the results.

As long as the result is that money is spent and things get done, they don't care, and the people don't care either.

How much they can save depends on how capable they are.

As for the eating manners?

Gentlemen never care about this, because the way they eat is for others to see, and those lackeys are not qualified to see it.

"One last thing. Don't create a big scandal. I heard that you plan to use a large number of refugees. These people have some special 'attributes'."

"Even if something happens, we must suppress it immediately and not let it spread. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lance is not stupid, so of course he wouldn't say, "Tell people to shut up."

Senator Cleveland was very satisfied. Lance was very smart, had a quick mind and a flexible bottom line. He admired such young people very much.

Sitting in his position, he comes into contact with almost all the best young people in the Federation, but most of these young people are useless.

It's not that his brain is not flexible enough and he is very rigid, but he actually has a fucking moral bottom line!
Come on, this is politics, who the hell has such a thing as moral bottom line?
It doesn't mean that one can only be a politician if one abandons the moral bottom line, but to be a politician, a politician who can decide the future of the country, every policy formulated and issued, while benefiting some people, will inevitably greatly damage the interests of another group of people.

If we stop promoting certain policies just because they hurt the interests of some people, then the country will not develop.

From their perspective, as long as there are more beneficiaries than losers, it is definitely a policy worth implementing. As for whether there will be moral hazard, that is not important.

Lance got his approval on all three important questions, and he smiled more. "Bruni will be in charge of this aspect of the work. You can have more contact with him then."

"He has good connections in the Ministry of National Defense. He has already selected several generals for the garrison, and they all have good relationships with him."

"You can get to know the garrison commander through him. Besides, with old guys like us here, no matter who it is, they will give you some respect."

"Do you have any other questions?"

Lance shook his head, "No more, Senator."

Senator Cleveland nodded and stood up, holding the armrest of the sofa. Lance stood up soon after. "These things will be implemented soon. You can start preparing in advance."

"If you have any problems, call Tom. If he can't solve it, I'll take care of it."

"Then... that's it."

He didn't shake Lance's hand, just nodded and quickly left the room.

Lance soon left the room. The sky became a little gloomy and there was a light drizzle. The luxurious villa looked different in the rain.

Almost everywhere visible to the naked eye, there are various luxurious buildings hidden among the plants, and people are swaying in the streets and alleys.

Those people standing on the street corners in raincoats were observing everything here.

"You're pretty lucky, I have to say, Lance."

Tom smiled as he drove, "Of course it also has something to do with your ability. Both are indispensable."

He knew very well that the work of building the military base would definitely not be entirely handed over to Lance. He would get a part of it, but even this part would be enough for him to make a lot of profit.

The most important issue is not profit. He can take this opportunity to connect with people in the Ministry of Defense and the military and develop his own network of contacts.

This is what Tom envied the most.

Because as a senator's staff, he is actually not able to develop his own personal network, or even develop any!

If Senator Cleveland knew that he was still contacting other senators or other government officials privately, he would definitely be wary of Tom and eventually marginalize him.

Other senators are also unlikely to become friends with other people's staff and develop into a link in their network.

The same goes for those officials. They could have faced Senator Cleveland face to face, so why did they have to make friends with his staff?

But Lance is different, he cannot be considered a senator's man, so he has more freedom than Tom.

If anyone needs Lance, it might be troublesome for them to go to the senators. It would be better to contact Lance directly. So Lance can contact more senators and government officials.

He is freer in some ways than Tom, and much freer!
If it were ordinary people, Tom would not be jealous because they might not be able to develop very well.

But Lance was envious. He saw with his own eyes that this man, who was initially just a marginal character at a banquet, gradually developed into a person of value to the senator through a few simple things.

He was growing so fast that he was now too envious and jealous of him.

It can be expected that if he does a good job this time, he will come into the eyes of other senators and officials.

When they have a project that can be cooperated with Lance next time, they will continue to look for Lance, and Lance's network of contacts will be truly consolidated and expanded.

And what about him?
Tom, who was driving, suddenly felt a little confused. Although being a senator's staff was indeed a high-ranking position, everything he had now was based on this layer of skin - a senator's staff.

Without this layer of skin, what would he have left?
If he no longer worked for Senator Cleveland, would the senators and officials he knew still meet with him?

Will you still have contact with him, or even discuss cooperation?

He didn't know. Or maybe he knew but he pretended not to know.

Maybe one day in the future, the Senate will recommend him to work in a certain department, or even recommend him to work in the state legislature, but by that time, how long will he have to wait?
The drizzle of rain fell on the car window. Lance's success made him confused, just like the rainy day outside where the road could not be seen. The rain and fog obscured the direction of progress.

Lance didn't expect that Tom would have so many thoughts in his mind at once. He smiled and said, "Thank you for helping me communicate and coordinate with the senator. You also contributed to my success, Tom."

Tom looked at Lance through the rearview mirror. "You are really good at talking. I am not complimenting you, I am just stating a fact."

The drizzle gradually became heavier, crackling on the roof and windshield. Tom, who was driving, had no intention of continuing to talk, and the car was very quiet.

It was not until the car stopped at the entrance of the hotel that Tom turned around and said to him, "We're here. You'd better go back and start preparing. If you have any questions, call me."

Lance didn't know why his mood suddenly became low, and he didn't have the idea of ​​​​telling him, "Okay, I get it, I will."

After getting off the car, he watched Tom's car leave, shook his head slightly, and returned to the hotel.

I have basically completed the tasks for this trip to Xinjin City, but I didn’t expect to encounter some unexpected surprises.

He knew that these gentlemen in the Federation were very sweet. From another perspective, they were actually capitalists, political capitalists.

They treat politics as a bargaining chip and wealth, cashing in and trading it to gain huge benefits.

He had heard a joke before, which said that if you want to end the war smoothly, you have to fill these people's stomachs first.

The war will not end until their stomachs are filled.

It seems to be the case.

Lance booked a ticket to go back in the evening, but asked Lawn to stay with his men because he knew that he would meet Mr. Serre again soon.

Nothing unexpected happened on the way back. For a big customer like Lance who had contracted an entire luxury carriage, the railway operating company would provide the best service and would not make Lance feel uncomfortable at all.

There was no conversation along the way. It was three days later when we returned to Jingang City. I felt a lot more comfortable being back here, after all, it was my own territory.

As soon as he got out of the car, Councilman Williams asked Arthur to come over and invite him over.

Along the way, Arthur asked a lot of questions about New Gold City.

He had been in Jingang City since he was born and had never been to the outside world. He also knew that the surname Williams was not very useful in the outside world.

And he was the kind of person who sometimes did stupid things, so he stayed in Jingang City.

People say that Xinjin City is the core of the Federation, and he also wants to go there to have some fun and take a look.

Lance gave a brief answer. When he heard that there was a two-hundred-meter-high building in Xinjin City, his eyes almost popped out!
He wanted to go and see.

The car soon stopped outside the Williams family's manor, and Congressman Williams stood at the door of the manor building to greet him with a smile on his face.

After the two men shook hands, Congressman Williams took his arm and welcomed him into the room.

Lance knew why Congressman Williams wanted to see him. After they sat down, they thought quietly for a while. They needed to use their brains before speaking.

"This time you are going to New Gold City..." Congressman Williams looked at Lance with a slightly strange look. It was obvious that he and Senator Cleveland knew each other first, but now it seemed that Lance had a better relationship with the senator than he did.

He didn't know how to express his feelings, but he knew that what he needed to do now was to work more closely with Lance.

If there was a "superior-subordinate relationship" between the two parties before, this situation no longer exists now and they are equal.

Congressman Williams also has his own connections and channels to get some information, which may be a little delayed. After all... these are not directly from the senator's mouth, and he also wants to know what will happen in this city.

Because he will soon become the mayor of this city.

According to past rules, the old mayor would begin the handover work around October or November, and Councillor Williams would take office in December and take full charge of the daily work of the city hall.

It is already August and there is not much time left before he takes office. He needs to know whether this is a "trouble" before he takes office.

"I heard that a war is about to start?" he asked tentatively.

Lance nodded, "It's clear that Congress has a strong desire to go to war."

The economy continues to decline and class conflicts frequently occur in the country. If nothing is done, it may trigger some unpredictable large-scale political events.

War seems to be one of the few and perfect opportunities to export conflicts, plunder interests, and return everything to its original state.

After hearing Lance's answer, Councilman Williams was a little worried, "Will it affect us?"

Actually, it affected him, not "us", but he used this word at this time just to make everything seem related to Lance.

Lance did not expose his little thoughts. Many things here will definitely change after the garrison is established, especially when the war breaks out, everything revolves around the war.

Lance shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know, but they said the war will be far away from the Federation. As long as the war doesn't burn here, it won't have much impact on us."

Congressman Williams shook his head slightly. “Who can tell the truth about this kind of thing?”

He paused, "Is there anything I can cooperate with?"

Lance must have brought a mission back from Xinjin City this time, and he did not hide it. "They are likely to build a military base in the vacant land under the industrial zone and requisition the New Port Wharf as a temporary military port."

"I have taken over part of the work, and I may need your cooperation."

Congressman Williams nodded and said, "If you need anything, give me a call."

His contact with Lance will only become more frequent in the future, so there is no need to say too much at once. In addition to wanting to know some accurate information, what he wants to know more is how high Lance's position is in Senator Cleveland and what kind of information he can know.

Now it seems that Lance is much more important in the eyes of the senator than him, the mayor.

After Lance returned to the company, he called the director over and said, "I want to discuss something with you."

The director was a little nervous.

Generally speaking, when your boss tells you that he wants to discuss something with you, it’s probably not a good thing.

He sat up straight. To be honest, he liked this job very much. It paid well and was his favorite career.

At the same time, with the popularity of "Mystery of Angel Lake", he also began to become a well-known figure in the film industry as a producer.

He didn't want to lose this job, because if he did, he would lose not only his salary, but also his status in the industry, his influence, and even his dreams.

His attitude was very humble, except for his hands on his knees.

Lance smiled and waved his hand, "Don't be so nervous, it's not a bad thing."

“I want that money back.”

Seeing his confused expression, Lance added, "The money for the Korgan Cinema should be returned."

The director nodded when he heard this, "That's a good thing. How much money do you want to get back?"

"Based on the screenings at other cinemas, there should be at least 100,000, right?"

He became excited as he spoke, "So our box office revenue this time will exceed one million, which is definitely a big deal!"

"A major event that will go down in history!"

He was the producer of the first movie with a box office of over one million. He felt happy instantly when he thought that all the people working in this industry in the future might get to know him through this incident!
And Shuang also made him give a heartfelt compliment, "Mr. Lance, you are such an amazing person!"

(End of this chapter)