Shadow Empire

Chapter 833: Bring freedom to the people!

After the maid brought coffee and small meals, Mr. Gomez couldn't help laughing and said, "You have changed a lot, Cassia."

They have a good relationship.

The Deputy Minister of Commerce and the President of the Lapa Chamber of Commerce have many collaborations themselves.

The president was not very interested in how to revitalize the economy. In his eyes, Rapa was no different from a primitive tribe in the eyes of these real rulers.

They just want to exploit wealth from society, and they don't care whether ordinary Lapa people have money or not.

In any country with absolute rule and absolute corruption, there will inevitably be an absolute privileged class.

Mr. Gomez represents such a group.

They are not the rulers, but each of them has close ties with the rulers. They form another privileged interest group that surrounds the ruling core and does not belong to the ruling class.

Just like the president does not care about how his people live, in fact these chambers of commerce are continuing to exploit the people's potential value under the slogan of helping people improve their lives and promoting trade.

But there was one thing they did well, that was when they were full, they would let the ordinary people drink a little soup to fill their stomachs with the dry food.

In that terrible, poor and chaotic country, this small group of people, less than one percent, controls 90 percent of the wealth and everything!
Although Mr. Casillas was also part of the privileged class in the past, he was only the outer layer of the privileged class and a useful tool, so his situation was actually worse than that of Mr. Gomez and other core privileged class members.

When they met again this time, Mr. Gomez found that this old friend had changed a lot compared to before.

He began to look more confident, more commanding, and more mature.

Mr. Cassia couldn't help laughing twice. "Only when you step out of that small world can you realize how big the outside world is, Gomez."

Mr. Gomez agreed. “So how big is the world?”

This unexpected question made Mr. Cassia stunned for a moment. His mood became a little depressed. "It's terrible. At least it's much worse than I thought before I came out."

"I don't know if you can understand this feeling. When I dressed nicely, waxed my hair, polished my shoes, and controlled my behavior, I thought I was going to attend a high-society social event."

"But when I pushed open the door, I saw the most primitive desire."

"They were eating with their hands, which was not at all classy, ​​civilized, polite or elegant."

"But it's barbaric!" He raised his finger and pointed at the ceiling diagonally, "It's barbaric!"

"Some of the food looked at least cooked, so they used their hands, but some of the food was raw and bloody, and they also used their hands."

"Even alive!"

"They pounce on their food and tear it apart, not caring at all whether the food is in pain, screaming, or whether it is their own kind!"

He shook his head and picked up his coffee. "To be honest, all my beautiful fantasies about the Federation have been shattered in the past few months."

He took a sip of the coffee and it tasted good, much better than the most expensive coffee he had ever tasted.

He heard that this kind of coffee beans costs hundreds of dollars a pound. This is fucking... a luxury!
After he put down his coffee, he invited Mr. Gomez to try it, "Give it a try, it's unexpectedly good."

Mr. Gomez took a sip and it was indeed very good coffee, roasted to just the right degree.

The oil is very rich, but at the same time, it does not have the bitterness of over-roasting, beyond the bitterness of the coffee itself.

He pursed his lips and said, "Good coffee, you can't get it in Lapa."

It’s not a question of whether you have money or not, it’s that you can’t buy it even if you have money.

It is conceivable that any luxury brand will not sell in poor areas unless there is a large order.

So even if Mr. Gomez was willing to pay a thousand dollars a pound in Lapa, no one would sell it to him unless the price he offered was high enough for those companies to make a trip just for him.

He then put down his coffee cup, picked up a small square piece of snack and put it in his mouth.

The crust is puff pastry and very sweet.

When the saliva soaks its outer shell, the plastic shell melts in an instant, and then the sugary core with a strong fruity flavor flows out, filling your mouth with the sweetness and fragrance of fruit.

He noticed that the small squares had different colors and should represent different fruits.

The bitterness in the aftertaste of coffee is masked by the candy, which is a good match.

"Cassia, what are you worried about?"

Mr. Gomez asked back, he leaned back in his chair and patted the upholstered armrests with his hands. The thick and smooth feel told him that this chair must be worth a lot of money.

He looked at the other furnishings in the room and said, "Look, you live in a villa that is bigger than even the president's, and you enjoy this kind of coffee that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars a pound."

"Your family studied in the best schools in the Federation, your wife socialized with the ladies of high society, and you also worked in important government departments of the Federation. Whether you admit it or not, you represent a country to some extent."

"Not only do you bear your responsibilities, but you also hold the country's position and power in the international community."

"You have a better life than 99 percent of the people out there, and you're complaining."

"Can I take this as showing off on your part?"

Mr. Cassia couldn't help laughing after hearing this. "I really haven't thought about it that way. It's just that a lot of things have happened recently."

"Rapa is very powerful in our eyes, but in the eyes of the federal people, it is like a baby in swaddling clothes. No one cares about it, the people in this country and their ideas."

Mr. Gomez realized what was wrong and asked curiously, "What happened?"

Mr. Cassia was finally able to confide, "Have you seen "Sneak Attack on Jingang (Sneak Attack on Jingang City/Sneak Attack on Jingang City)?"

Mr. Gomez shook his head. “You know, there are no movie theaters over there.”

“Even if there were, there wouldn’t be these new movies.”

There are only two cinemas in the whole of Lapa. The first one is the "National Cinema", which is mainly used for senior officials to relax.

They would watch some movies from abroad, especially those from the Federation, which was also a way for them to learn about the Federation.

There is also a cinema in the Presidential Palace, which is the President’s private cinema. However, he doesn’t watch movies much. It is just a decoration and he is not interested in movies.

He can do what can be shown in movies anytime and anywhere, so it has no appeal to him.

Mr. Casillas briefly explained the plot, and Mr. Gomez immediately captured the core of the film.

While others saw the confrontation of naval forces between the Republic of Dentra and the Federation, Mr. Gomez saw the value of a strategic location in war.

"You mean, they have ideas about Yalan?"

Mr. Cassia couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "It's more than just an idea?"

"I think they are evaluating the risks and benefits of invading the Alan nations, and they intend to invade!"

Mr. Gomez's mouth was a little hard to close. It took him a while to come back to his senses, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Mr. Cassia nodded vigorously. "They have been talking about these things recently. They even called me over to talk to me and asked me whether the people of Lapa yearn for the Federation and whether they are willing to make friends with the people of the Federation."

Mr. Cassia certainly didn't really think that this was what the federals wanted to ask. He knew what was behind it, and Mr. Gomez naturally knew it too.

He couldn't help but take out a cigarette and light one.

As a "rich man" in Lapa, he produces all his cigarettes by himself.

He has tobacco fields that produce high-quality cigarettes specifically for him.

Because of poverty, Lapa does not sell cigarettes like in the Federation.

In Lapa, tobacco farmers sell fresh or dried tobacco leaves on the roadside. People buy them home and process them themselves, at least cutting them into shreds before smoking them.

There was no good tobacco to be bought on the market, so where could a bunch of lackeys get good varieties? All the upper class people grew their own tobacco, or got it from other members of the same class who grew tobacco.

Mr. Gomez's tobacco fields are large and supply many high-ranking officials. This is also one of his important businesses.

The cigarette in his hand was obviously different from the ones in the Federation. It was a little bigger, a little longer, and made of raw tobacco leaves.

Uncured tobacco leaves are very choking when lit, and both the tar and nicotine are very strong, but some people just like this. There are also many people in the Federation who like raw tobacco and believe that this is the cigarette that men should smoke.

Cigarettes like those with cooked tobacco leaves are called "ladies' favorite cigarettes" by them.

"If they really want to invade Yalan, it may not be a bad thing."

Mr. Casillas originally thought that his old friend Mr. Gomez would say something on his side, but he didn't expect that as soon as he opened his mouth, he said something completely different.

He stared at his best friend with wide eyes, as if he was recognizing his true face for the first time!
"Don't look at me like that!" Mr. Gomez smiled and handed a cigarette to Mr. Cassia, "I'm serious."

"What do you think of the lives of the people of the Federation?"

Mr. Cassia took the cigarette, lit it and took a puff, but then he coughed twice. The cigarette was too choking!
Its power is too great, and the amount in one bite is much larger than that in one bite by the Federation. It was a bit difficult to adapt to it for a while.

This made Mr. Gomez burst out laughing!

"Look, Cassia, it's only been a few days and you can't even stand the cigarettes we've been smoking."

"You've really changed a lot!"

Mr. Cassia was a little embarrassed. He knew that this slightly sarcastic statement was not malicious, so he could only roll his eyes and take another puff.

It's much better this time.

He said hoarsely with a voice swollen by nicotine, "I just wasn't mentally prepared!"

Then, without waiting for Mr. Gomez to continue mocking him, he answered the question he had mentioned earlier, "The life of the federal people is a hundred times, a thousand times better than the life of our people!"

"Although my beautiful vision of the federal upper class was shattered, I still identify with this country."

His attitude was serious and he was not just saying it casually, "They elect the city's managers through elections, these people, and some grassroots politicians."

"These lower-level politicians then elect the upper-level rulers, and then the president and members of Congress of this country!"

“It can be said that the opinions of ordinary people determine the direction of the country’s future rulers, which is something we can never do!”

On the surface, Lapa is an electoral system, but in reality it is a hereditary system.

The president’s son will always be the next president, and the official’s son will always be the next official. There will be no change.

"They live freely and with dignity."

Mr. Gomez nodded and said, "Yes, compared with the situation in China, I believe that the homeless people here live a much more decent life than them!"

Mr. Cassia admitted this with a grim look on his face, "What do you want to say?"

Mr. Gomez shrugged, looking relaxed. "Since we all know that federal rule is better than our domestic rule, why not let the federals rule Lapa?"

"Anyway, the situation won't get any worse than it is now. Maybe because of their arrival, Lapa will get opportunities and changes!"

Mr. Cassia opened his mouth wide and looked at his good friend in disbelief, "Are you crazy?"

"Are you planning to betray your country?"

"And..." He hesitated, "Isn't the President your relative?"

The president's third wife was Gomez's cousin, and the president had two children with this wife.

It sounds like a lot, but if the president has more than twenty children, it is not very impressive.

Gomez took another puff of his cigarette and exhaled the thick smoke. "I am also a Lapa person. I also have freedom and ideals in my heart."

Hearing this, Mr. Cassia couldn't help but laugh out loud, his laughter was full of sarcasm, "You are just a speculator, do you want to surrender to the federal people?"

"Darkness is covering Lapa. If I can bring the sun to the people, do you think I'm a hero, or a jerk?"

There was a constant gleam in Mr. Gomez's eyes, and his other hand was trembling slightly. This was an opportunity!
An opportunity that may not come once in a thousand years, an opportunity to completely rebuild the Lapa class!

If the president can be a ruler, why can't he?

If he led the federals into Lapa and killed the president, would he have a chance to claim that position?
Although the President is his brother-in-law, he is also the brother-in-law of many people.

The reason he was able to become the president of the Chamber of Commerce was not because of his relationship with Mr. Gomez’s cousin, but because he was smart and stood out among those idiots!

He also has his own ideas and ambitions, and he feels this is an opportunity.

"History will prove that we are not sinners!"

What he needs to do now is to convince his good friend, Mr. Cassia.

Only after he was convinced could the matter proceed, because he himself did not know any federal officials and he needed someone to guide him.

Mr. Cassia smoked a cigarette and thought about what he had said. It must be said that he had a point.

As a qualified tool, his life in Lapari was not actually easy, but it was only because he was capable and belonged to the privileged class that the ruling class used him.

He also had many grievances against the ruling class, but the entire Lapa army was controlled by the ruling class, which was also the core of their continued rule.

Relying on one's own strength, one cannot create any waves at all, but what about relying on the power of the federal people?
He picked up the coffee and took a sip. The mellow taste of coffee, the smell of smoke in his mouth, and the residual nicotine mixed together to form a unique flavor.

Mr. Gomez did not rush him, but waited for him to think for himself.

When he saw Mr. Cassia's eyes fluctuate and begin to become hesitant, he continued, "And, Cassia, my friend."

"Do you think that if we hadn't done this and sent the news back, the Federation wouldn't have invaded Yalan?"

"Will they spare the invasion of Alan and Lapa because of your loyalty?"

This question caught Mr. Cassia off guard. Once the federal forces invaded the Alan region, they would definitely completely unify the entire land.

Otherwise, their invasion would be meaningless, and Yalan is not a particularly large landmass. It is completely within the reach of the Federation.

Mr. Cassia replied with a gloomy face, "They will still invade."

"Yes, they will still invade. If the president decides to resist, a large number of people will be sent to the front lines to die."

"When he thinks he is no match for the federals, he will surrender. Nothing will happen to his men, and only ordinary civilians will die."

"If he surrenders right away and doesn't resist at all, he will continue to strengthen his rule."

"I have a question. Do you think that if he is under the control of the Federation, he will remain the same as he is now, or will he plunder wealth even more frantically and then find a way to transfer the funds to the Federation?"

Mr. Gomez leaned forward a little and said, "I'll tell you a secret. I helped many people open accounts in the federal bank and deposited a lot of money."

After he finished speaking, he leaned back again. Some things you say and impose on others will not be taken seriously.

Only what they think out through their own efforts and intelligence will be valued by them.

Mr. Cassia's mind was a little confused. He supported his forehead with both hands and said, "I don't know!"

Mr. Gomez didn’t push him, “Think about it!”

"I think this is an opportunity. You have been advocating federal rule for all these years. Now there is an opportunity for the people of Lapa to enjoy freedom as well. We should not give it up."

“People should enjoy a better and freer life, rather than being born to be ruled and enslaved by certain people!”

(End of this chapter)