Shadow Empire

Chapter 631 What am I?
Smoke rose from the muzzles of their guns as several police officers put away their weapons. They glanced at the two dead truck drivers on the ground, then walked to the back of the truck and used pliers to cut open the lead seal on the truck.

Some vehicles around noticed what was happening here, but just as they were about to stop to take a look at the excitement, they were asked by the patrol police to leave as soon as possible.

Someone moved a distance away and stopped out of belief. As a result, a patrol officer got into the police car and intercepted the disobedient vehicle and the curious driver inside.

Having just shot and killed two "innocent passers-by", the driver of the car was pinned to the ground without any resistance.

At this point, no one dared to watch.

As the lead seal was cut and the truck door was opened, a strong smell of alcohol hit us in the face.

There were bottles of whiskey in the two carriages, and smiles appeared on the faces of the patrolmen.

One of them went to the roadside and called the police, and soon a large number of reinforcements arrived.

As for the two dead drivers?
They are not innocent.

As drivers, they know what's in their cars better than anyone else!
But they are still willing to transport them. Considering the freight is several times higher than that of transporting other things, they are willing to take great risks to transport these things to their destination.

They had done this many times before, and they thought this time would be the same as before and there would be no risk.

But they didn't realize that the rules of this city's underworld had changed.

Those who shoot down an innocent truck driver will certainly be punished, but those who shoot down a smuggler smuggling liquor will only be commended.

Of course necessary leave is also necessary, but it won't be bad because their work will not be lost, they will be recognized and have more bonuses.

At the same time, they also received a special "card", with which they could get a thousand chips from Jingang Casino.

These chips can be used by them in table games, or they can be passed around the casino and then exchanged for checks to transfer the money into their own accounts.

The train station, the inconspicuous roads, the seaside, the entire city is like a huge trap, trapping all the members of the smuggling gangs who fall here and their goods.

People were surprised to find that the police, hazardous materials management, and other law enforcement agencies were operating more efficiently than ever before.

They thought that all this was the beginning of a better future, but in fact... all this was just the result of someone's will!

"…The largest alcoholic beverage producer and smuggler in the Republic of Aldera is a middle-aged man named Eduardo."

Lance and Director Dale were sitting in a conference room. A Sumurian was explaining to them the gang situation in the Republic of Aldera.

The Republic of Aldera is located in the northern coastal region of Alan, with a hot climate and vast land that can be used to produce crops.

There is also an abundance of fruit there. Almost the entire Yalan produces fruit. Various crops contain large amounts of starch and sugar, which are essential raw materials for making wine.

Eduardo is currently the leader of the largest gang in the Republic of Aldera. They control a large amount of cash crop farmland and farms, and produce a large amount of low- and medium-grade liquor, which they smuggle into the federation for sale.

Coupled with their geographical location closer to the southern coastline of the Federation, they not only smuggled alcoholic beverages into the city of Jingang, but also into other cities and states.

However, Jingang City is still their main target, as the unit price of alcohol here is higher and the profit is greater.

There were a large number of photos on the slide, including some of the production in Eduardo's factory, where large amounts of wine were boxed and placed together.

The Sumurai man continued to introduce some of the contents in the pictures.

"According to some estimates, Eduardo smuggled about 20 million bottles of alcoholic beverages into the Commonwealth last year, and that number has increased this year."

“He opened more factories and also purchased various materials for brewing from ordinary farmers.”

"He has not announced their sales this year, but some people think it may have exceeded 25 million, close to 30 million."

Director Dale's expression became a little excited, and he repeated the number, "30 million!"

His eyes were full of surprise!

Lance had said before that he would give him a big case so that he could smoothly enter the State Prohibition Committee, and he would not be a marginal role.

He kept wondering what kind of big case could allow him to be promoted so smoothly.

In his opinion, if he could do what Lance promised, it would be a promotion.

Both status and power have increased, rather than status increasing and power decreasing.

He has been confused for some time. To be honest, he doesn't think it will alarm Congress if he only handles cases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because there are more and more cases of this scale, and as the prices of alcoholic beverages continue to rise, some mid- to high-quality whiskeys have risen to six or seven hundred or even higher prices.

This means that one thousand bottles of wine of this specification would have a case value of six or seven hundred thousand.

Of course, many bar customers cannot afford these drinks, but even if it is cheap whiskey that costs one hundred yuan a bottle, one thousand bottles would be worth one hundred thousand yuan.

It is very easy for a fishing boat to transport thousands of bottles. Any random arrest anywhere will result in a major case with a value of hundreds of thousands.

Unlike at the beginning, the price of alcohol has not increased irrationally, and you can get the title of "No. 1 Case Value in the Country" by solving a case worth hundreds of thousands.

He actually wasn't very optimistic about the "big case" that Lance mentioned, but they were already on the same line, so he could only choose to believe it.

But now, he realized that the big case that Lance was talking about was really a big case!
"A smuggling syndicate that smuggles 30 million per year should guarantee you a spot on the executive committee, right?" Lance asked casually, as if asking "Have you eaten?"

It's leisurely and there isn't that much emotion expressed.

Director Dell lit a cigarette excitedly. His hand was shaking a little as he lit the cigarette. "It's enough. Thirty million... It's enough for Congress to make a big fuss about this matter."

"But, how do we do this?" He took a deep puff of cigarette. The nicotine stabilized his emotions. He thought of some things he hadn't figured out.

Lance swayed on his tiptoes twice, "Send someone over there to arrest this Eduardo and get back all the money he's earned over the years."

"One for me, one for you, one for the State Prohibition Committee, and one for the Federal Prohibition Committee."

"Think about it. Last year it was 20 million, this year it was 30 million. After deducting the costs and the money he squandered, plus the money he got before, we can get at least 20 million from him."

"Even if it is divided equally into four parts, there will be 10 million sent to the upper level."

"You gave them the big news they wanted, and also gave them unparalleled benefits. Who could refuse to give you a decent promotion as well?"

Lance said so, but Director Dale knew very well that it was already a very rare thing for him to get two million.

Lance will definitely get a considerable share, the State Prohibition Committee will get 20%, and then Congress will get about 40%.

His eyes gradually became firm, "What do you need me to do?"

Lance shook his head, "You just need to write your speech."

Director Dale was excited and thrilled. If he could become an executive member of the State Prohibition Committee, it would mean that he would be in touch with Congress again.

The State Prohibition Committee's superior body was the Congressional Prohibition Committee, but this time he would not struggle to climb into that circle where he had never had a place.

He would continue to follow Lance.

Sometimes people just need someone to poke their nose into a problem in order to see it clearly.

For several days in a row, the Jingang City Police Department, the Hazardous Materials Administration, and the Coast Guard were all in the spotlight. Large quantities of smuggled liquor were seized and publicly destroyed.

The whole port is filled with the strong aroma of wine!
Many people looked at the wine being destroyed with distressed faces, because that was money! Maybe some wine still flowed into Jingang City, but Lance believed that it would not take too long for the amount of wine flowing in to become less and less, until there was none left.

He did not hold the local gangs who bought the alcohol accountable, as some speculated, until October.

But when his rules began to be fully enforced, anyone who dared to take wine from outside was challenging his rules.

In a blink of an eye, the second meeting was held. This time, most of the smuggling groups cooperated and agreed to Lance's request, two deposits, and a 10% commission.

They also put forward their own ideas that they might increase the prices of drinks.

The purpose of doing this was to pass the losses on to the operators of these bars. Lance did not object or raise any objections to this, which made them feel a little relieved.

In fact, they don’t know that whether prices go up or down does not depend on them but on the market.

Why does capital try every possible means to monopolize the market?
Because after monopolizing the market, monopolistic behavior can give capitalists "absolute pricing power". When there are no other competitors in a market, if something costs one dollar and the monopoly group says it will sell for one hundred dollars, those who need it must pay one hundred dollars to buy it.

But if there is no monopoly, something that costs one dollar may be sold for only a dozen cents or twenty or thirty cents.

Because of competition.

For capitalists, as long as there is profit and the shipment volume is large enough, it can still bring them huge profits, and they can completely lower the price of the goods.

Not to mention that industrialized production brings about an exponential reduction in manufacturing costs.

No company can monopolize the liquor market now. They can sell at a higher price, but as long as Lans' price remains unchanged, they will eventually have to lower the price back.

Without market competitiveness, products cannot be sold and no profits can be generated.

Eventually they will return to the starting point, or even increase sales at a lower price!
Making ten dollars from selling one bottle of wine and making fifteen dollars from selling two bottles of wine, although they are not capitalists, they still know how to choose!
The negotiations lasted for two days, and it was finally decided that twenty-one businesses could sell alcoholic beverages freely in Jingang City.

Of course, this "freedom" does not mean that they can sell alcoholic beverages on the streets, but that they can sell these alcoholic beverages to bar operators in places where people cannot see.

Lance asked them to set up an office here to ensure communication with the bar, make everything more commercial, and ensure the stable operation of the entire system.

This was new to them, but they all agreed, perhaps this was another opportunity.

There was another thing that made Lance a little curious. After the people from the Holy Bell Party inquired about him, there was no follow-up movement, which made him unsure of what the other party was doing or planning to do.

He could only ask someone to keep an eye on these people.

They didn't even come for the final signing, which meant their wine couldn't enter Jingang City.

Lance felt that they must be planning a big move, one so big that they thought it would be enough to destroy the Lance family and the new rules.

By the end of September, the concrete floor of the military base had completely solidified. They used the best material, but an eight-pound hammer could only leave a white mark on the ground.

Lance didn't know much about this stuff, but he heard that people put some iron powder and some other things in the concrete to make it so hard.

A large number of simple tents have been set up on the solid ground. "Federal speed" has not become a joke yet. It represents the most advanced overall level of industry on the planet.

Various prefabricated parts are produced in the factory and pulled here, and then the workers can put them together to form houses or even buildings just like playing with building blocks.

The military base has a new look every day. Apart from some arrangements which still have a long construction period, the military base is already initially habitable.

So in early October, the first batch of navy arrived at Jingang City.

The dock was crowded with people on October 2nd, and many people came over specifically to watch the fleet docked near the coast.

They didn't know what those warships were, but they were very interested in those huge cannons. The powerful gun barrels gave people a strong sense of security!
A large number of naval sailors were also observing this place. The conditions where they were stationed before were relatively harsh, the city nearby was not large, and there were no entertainment activities.

But Jingang City is different. It is a fast-growing new international city with a city center that never closes for business and countless things to enjoy.

The soldiers are looking forward to life here.

October is also the time when the mayor begins to hand over his work.

Councillor Williams defeated all his competitors in the election with a huge advantage and became the next mayor of Golden Harbour City.

Although Councillor Williams is not the mayor of Jingang City in a strict sense, everyone knows that the owner of this city has changed.

So today when the warship arrived at Jingang City, there were some procedural work to be done, which was done by Congressman Williams.

Lance was also there.

Major General Bruni also attended the meeting as a civilian general accompanying the Ministry of Defense. The main content of the meeting was about some supporting facilities provided by Jingang City to the Navy, as well as the rights and obligations of both parties in some special circumstances.

For example, if an enemy attacks Jingang City, the navy has an obligation to protect the safety of the city and its citizens.

After the war, the mayor also needed to organize citizens and workers to repair military buildings and fortifications that had been bombarded, and help salvage sunken ships.

For example, the city needs to provide fresh food and supplies to the military base on time and in quantity, and of course the military base will pay for it.

The specific arrangements will not be discussed here, because there are too many things involved, such as ensuring priority power supply to military bases, which cannot be discussed in a short time.

They just worked out a rough list of what to do and when, and they would continue to discuss how to do it and to what extent.

The person stationed here this time is Admiral Vincent Miles, who is fully responsible for the daily work arrangements of the military base.

If a war breaks out, he will also serve as the commander-in-chief and arrange and direct the combat plan.

Admiral Miles looks to be in his fifties. His ancestors are in that painting, and his entire family has always been members of the core faction of the army.

In fact, factionalism in the military is much more serious than in the federal government. His brothers and sisters, sons, nephews, daughters, nieces, etc. are also in the military, and their positions are not low.

There is a reason why the federal government has always been wary of the military's expansion and strength.

The meeting lasted for about two hours. In the end, the mayor and Admiral Miles shook hands, exchanged documents and opinions, and completed the entire process.

Although Congressman Williams wanted to stay and talk to the admiral, he had a lot of work to do and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future, so he left quickly.

Lance stayed.

Although the Miles family does not need the help of Congress to continue to maintain their power, they do not mind having a good relationship with Congress.

After all, the navy's budget is in the hands of Congress. Even if the entire navy is his people, it will be very troublesome if there is no money.

Several people are in the captain's room of the command ship, and everyone here is their own people.

Admiral Miles has a very tough military temperament. At least when he sits, he doesn't look so slouchy, and his eyes give people a very powerful feeling.

"Before I came here, I heard your name from several people. It made me curious about what kind of person you are."

"I got to know you a little bit through my own methods, but what I learned made me feel that you and the Lance they were talking about are not the same person."

"Because I understand that you are just the leader of a gang, but they say that you are from here..." He pursed his lips, as if thinking about what words to use to describe his thoughts.

After about ten seconds, he carefully said the word, "Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)