Shadow Empire

Chapter 607 Everyone has their own understanding of the federal dream
Councillor Williams' campaign speech was in the Port District of Golden Harbour City.

Although many people think that the Bay Area, Starlight District and downtown are the core of the city, everyone knows that the port is actually the core.

The reason why Jingang City has achieved such great development today is not because of what those wealthy people have done, but because Jingang Wharf has brought a lot of opportunities here.

Even a cargo ship docked here can bring thousands of dollars in revenue and corresponding jobs to the city in just a few days.

Therefore, the docks are very important. Holding a public campaign speech here can also release the importance of the docks, cities, and urban infrastructure to a greater extent, and can better cater to the preferences of low-level workers and even the poor.

The plan was good, but the staff who were setting up the venue for the speech told him that many refugees were gathering there.

They did not march, but gathered together in the form of a rally. These people were organized. They held up signs that read "We need food", "We need doctors", "We need shelter" and so on, and stayed there quietly.

It's also possible that Councillor Williams hasn't arrived yet, anyway they are very quiet now.

There were already a number of reporters on the scene, including from the state newspaper, who were observing the groups.

This is a very important speech. The friction between the refugee group and the locals has been escalating. If these people appear at the speech, it is hard to say whether any conflict will break out.

Once it breaks out, it will definitely not be a good thing for him, as someone can use these things as a means of attack against him.

Even if the situation doesn't break out, with so many refugees watching, the locals will be more or less unhappy.

On one side are refugees who have no votes, and on the other side are locals who have votes. This was not a multiple-choice question from the beginning.

He couldn't handle it on his own, so he asked Lance to help. This is why gangs cannot be banned in the federation.

The police or other law enforcement agencies cannot take action against refugees at all. Not only refugees, but it is difficult for them to play a value and role in large-scale mass incidents.

On the contrary, it is easier for the gangs to do things at this time, and the post-event work is also very simple.

After Lance hung up the phone, he took a car directly over to have a smoke. From a distance, he saw a group of refugees sitting in the open space next to the lecture venue. He seemed to be able to smell the odor emanating from that group of people from a long distance away.

The weather is getting hotter and people are smelling worse. They can actually go take a bath. There is sea everywhere nearby.

But sea bathing is not a good choice if people bathe in sea water and do not clean the remaining salt on their bodies after coming ashore.

Those salts can cause serious damage to human skin, making it dry and cracked.

Almost all bathing beaches or sandy beaches have some freshwater showers so that tourists can clean off the remaining salt on their bodies.

But there is no such equipment in the Xingang area, so they cannot bathe in sea water.

Sweat, sebum, and all kinds of things eventually accumulated together to form this group of people exuding a strong smell, which was as eye-catching as the signs they held up!
Damn...

"Do you want someone to drive them away?" asked Erwin, who was sitting in the driver's seat.

Lance shook his head. "You can't drive them away even if you find someone. These people are obviously organized. Do you see those people?"

Lance pointed at some people who were walking among the crowd in the distance. They were different from the others.

Others were sitting or standing, holding signs or just standing there quietly.

But these people keep moving back and forth among different groups. They are like wires connecting these groups and are playing an important role.

Erwin nodded, "I see. What happened to them?"

"If you don't find out who organized them, even if you arrange people to drive them away, they won't leave. It may even trigger a series of conflicts and make things out of control."

Lance lit a cigarette. "It looks like we can't handle this matter well. Congressman Williams won't be able to come and give a speech anytime soon."

Erwin, who was sitting in the front, was a little unconvinced, "Is it that serious?"

"It's much more serious than you think!" Lance's expression was very serious. Once anything is linked to politics, it will definitely not be clean.

"These people may be more eager for conflict than we are."

"Go back first and find Bonnie (the refugee gang leader who was supported)."

After returning to the office, Lance immediately called Congressman Williams and talked about what he saw in the port area. "There are obviously traces of human manipulation behind those people, so you'd better cancel your speech this afternoon."

After hearing this, Congressman Williams frowned, "Is it that serious?"

"Is it impossible to drive them away?"

Lance directly snatched away his little hope, "I think they are more eager for bloodshed than you are."

Congressman Williams was an old politician. He immediately understood what Lance meant. "You mean, they plan to use this incident to draw more attention?"

There was obviously some anger in his tone. He was seen by some as a stepping stone for them to assert their demands, which was something Congressman Williams could not tolerate.

"Do you have any solution?", he asked.

Lance hummed. "Use refugees to fight refugees, but this will take time. If your afternoon schedule cannot be changed, then you must be prepared to be watched by the Federation and even the world. And it's not a friendly look, but a scrutinizing and dissatisfied look."

Congressman Williams knows how to make choices. This is just a "routine," just like the Senate already knew the results of the presidential election before they came out but was unwilling to say it. These are basic political aspects.

They need to make the people understand what is fair and what is just, even if it is false fairness and false justice.

The Federation is a magical society and also a "placebo effect society." These false fairness and justice are the placebos given by the federal government to the people, allowing them to become numb to their lives and not think about doing anything to change them.

Since the result is unlikely to change, Congressman Williams does not have to attend the speech. He immediately made a decision, "I will change my schedule, but I hope there will be a result for this matter."

Lance smiled and said, "As you wish, sir."

Congressman Williams hung up the phone angrily. He sat there for a long time, even though it didn't cost much to prepare for this speech, and some of the people he invited to help were not really big favors.

But he was still very unhappy, even a little angry.

Because he was "forced to retreat", he was forced to retreat by those refugees. Councillor Williams, who already regarded himself as the master of this city, could not accept this result. He needed some people to pay the price for their "arrogance"!
The word "arrogant" may seem a bit strange when used to describe refugees, but it is not so strange when used in politics.

"Refugee" is a label for these people, but also their political identity. Some of them are using this political identity to try to influence a city's mayoral candidate to achieve their political demands. If this isn't arrogance, what is it?
You go to stay at someone else's house, but you really think of yourself as one of the owners of that house, and you want to use some of your own labels to force the owner to compromise with you.

This is typical arrogant thinking. They think that Congressman Williams can't handle this matter, and they think that no matter what, they will succeed!
Sometimes being “weak” does have a huge advantage.

Congressman Williams sat for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed a number, canceling his afternoon schedule.

Soon James got the news and came to his room.

James is also one of the resident guests at his main events. He is not only the son of Councillor Williams, but also one of the municipal councillors of Jingang City, and has enough status to sit in the front row.

As soon as he walked in, he asked, "Why was the afternoon event cancelled? Did something happen that I don't know about?"

Congressman Williams looked at him and nodded. "Lance went to the scene. He said that the refugee groups might be controlled by someone behind the scenes. He suspected that the purpose of those people was to escalate the conflict in order to assert their demands."

James couldn't sit still after hearing this. He swayed his body back and forth twice, "Are you serious?"

Congressman Williams looked at him without saying anything, which made him realize that this was true. He took a breath and said, "Damn it, why didn't they drive these refugees out in the first place?"

Why not? That's another story, but Councilman Williams doesn't want to talk about it now. "So the afternoon event is cancelled, but I'm going to let Lance take care of it. I'm sure he'll have something soon."

James hesitated a little, "He is now...do we need to show some appreciation for this?"

What he meant was that Lance had already currying favor with the senators and the Department of Defense and was no longer an ordinary gangster. So Lance's actions could no longer be taken for granted as they had in the past.

Councilman Williams nodded with relief, "I'm glad to see that you're not that stupid!"

James had a helpless expression on his face, "To be honest, I can't tell whether you are laughing at me or praising me!"

The laughter eased the expression of Councilman Williams. "We are partners. If I am fine, he will be fine. Similarly, if he has any problems, I will do everything in my power to protect him, so you don't have to worry."

"I will call to express my gratitude and then invite him to dinner at my home. We can also talk about some things at the same time."

He added, mainly in case James didn't understand, "Good things."

While the father and son were exchanging ideas, the newly built speech stage began to be dismantled amid the workers' complaints. However, the complaints were not loud because the dismantling was also included in their remuneration.

Looking at the site over there being demolished, some refugees were suddenly stunned.

Soon, the news reached one of the refugees. This guy looked to be in his forties. Although his clothes were simple, they were very clean and there was no peculiar smell on his body.

He looks very "upright" and is surrounded by many people.

He is a member of a local political group in Slad and a small leader.

As an opposition party that cannot be considered an opposition party, it cannot exert much power in the local area. Slade is not a place with a relaxed political environment, and it is very difficult for political groups in such small places to develop.

He heard that the political environment in the Federation was more relaxed, so he began to think about trying his luck in the Federation.

Give it a try, it doesn’t cost anything and you don’t have to bear any consequences.

After he came here, he found that although the political environment here was relaxed, everything was tied to money.

Even the presidential campaign has a price tag. With 20 to 30 million in campaign funds, one is eligible to attempt a charge for the presidency, but that's just eligibility.

In fact, strictly speaking, the guests and runners-up for the candidates during the election, including celebrities and politicians who publicly express their support, are valuable in themselves.

You don't know them and don't have a close relationship with them. If you want these influential people to support you, you have to offer a price.

So the apparent campaign funds are only 20 to 30 million, but in reality its total value may be 50 million or even more.

In such an environment, one cannot become a politician just by talking, let alone realize one's ambitions.

Even to become a city councilor, one needs background and money. At this point, he finally understood that the so-called relaxed environment was for those with backgrounds, not for ordinary people like them.

He wants to speak out. He gave up everything in the country and came to the Federation not to work as an ordinary person.

The life that the rich and powerful people here led also deeply attracted him. He wanted to become one of them, but there was no good way.

Until he set his sights on these compatriots.

His plan was simple, wasn't Councilman Williams going to be elected mayor?

His requirements were not high, and his initial plan was to become a refugee opinion consultant and have Councillor Williams set up a special office for him in City Hall.

Then, using this as a springboard, he continued to move up, first to become the public opinion consultant for refugees in Jingang City, and then to the public opinion consultant for refugees in Likalai State.

In the end, he could even become an advisor to the Presidential Refugee Public Opinion Office, or join the Immigration Bureau to handle all matters related to refugees.

He has seen very clearly during this period that the prosperous federal society has attracted the attention of all refugees, and they are very likely not to leave the federation after the war.

Then there are problems, contradictions, and disputes, and these problems need to be resolved.

As a "refugee expert", he will definitely find his place in this land.

As long as he can complete the first step to success, take a step forward and don't fall, the rest of the way will be very easy.

What if Councillor Williams doesn’t adopt his ideas, doesn’t make him a refugee representative, doesn’t give him his own office in City Hall?
It’s very simple, create conflicts, escalate contradictions, and cause bloodshed!

The federal government is deepening its ties with military alliances. If news breaks out at this time that the federal government is suppressing refugees, there could be changes.

The federal government would certainly take relatively conservative measures to deal with these bloody incidents. At that time, as a "meritorious official" who helped the federal government appease the emotions of the refugee group, it would not be excessive to give him a government office job, right?
It can be said that his ideas have a high possibility of being realized because he is the person who creates problems and at the same time the "key man" who solves them.

The refugees do not fully trust the federal government. If the federal government were reliable, it would not let so many people starve to death.

So his position will be very prominent.

But... he looked at the people who were demolishing the site and couldn't help but frown.

He considered many possibilities before organizing today's event, including the possibility that Councillor Williams would accept their opinions, reject their opinions, or just deal perfunctorily with them.

But I never thought that the guy would just run away without even showing his face?

"Dave, what do we do next?"

Mr. Dave, a man with ideals and aspirations, felt a headache. It was not Congressman Williams who became the troublemaker now, but him.

If today's rally does not produce any results, it will be difficult for him to gather these people next time, at least not thousands of people like he did today.

People will also be disappointed in him, and their disappointment in him will turn into no longer supporting him and becoming a wait-and-see attitude.

But it makes no sense to hold a rally directly outside Congressman Williams' estate, which is private property and they can't even get close, otherwise the federal police have the power to expel them.

This kind of expulsion, even bloodshed, will not bring any positive impact and is not what he wants.

As for going to the City Hall... he had already learned that the place was just a decoration, and for a moment he had a headache.

How much would it be if he had capitalist support behind him?
He gave these people some roast chicken or something and the problem was solved.

"I'll think about it." He replied perfunctorily with a serious expression, his brain spinning at high speed, trying to find a point where he could break through.

After a long while, his eyes stayed on the reporters, and then he strode towards them.

At the same time, Bonnie also came to Lance's office. He still behaved a little restrained, but much better than last time.

"How was your time?" Lance asked him to sit down and made him a cup of coffee.

Bonny had changed into a new set of clothes and looked much more energetic, so Lance gave him some opportunities to work.

For gangsters like the Lance Family, alcohol might be worth a little more.

But for these refugees who have no purchasing power, job opportunities are the most important thing!
Boni took commissions from these people, whether it was food or money.

With the money, he quickly gathered a large group of people, which already had some initial gang style, and was currently the largest group among the refugees.

(End of this chapter)