Shadow Empire

Chapter 888 Diego
Diego had heard some things about Lance White, so when his brother-in-law, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, talked to him about this matter, some images appeared in his mind.

But he looked at his brother-in-law with some uncertainty at this time, "How much investment do you think a gangster can bring us?"

"A few thousand, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands?"

He looked down upon these things.

But his brother-in-law obviously has a different view.

"Diego, the times have changed. If we can't keep up with the times, we will not remain where we were in the past, but will be completely eliminated by the times."

Lapa is not a rich country, everyone knows that.

But this does not mean that there are no wealthy countries in the land of Asia, such as the currently most powerful Republic of Czech.

The stable political regime, reliable military, and rising capitalism in the country have made the Czech Republic the richest and most powerful country in Asia, without a doubt.

The meeting of the United Alliance of Asian Blue Countries was also initiated by the Czech Republic.

They are the core group that really does not want the Federation to station troops in Yalan and expand their influence because they are on the fast track of development.

Rapid development has brought about a huge increase in national strength. If there is no external interference, it may take ten or twenty years.

The Republic of Czechoslovakia can begin to annex the surrounding countries, and may eventually unify the entire Alan region and become the only country in Alan.

That is why they were so strongly opposed to the federal troops stationed there, and why they pushed for the holding and passage of the Asian Alliance Conference so quickly.

Everyone can see the development of the Czech Republic, but not everyone can learn these things.

It is highly likely that the ruling group will not be able to take the money that should have gone into their own pockets and put it into other people's pockets.

Although they cannot do so, it does not prevent them from continuing to rule their country in the same way as before.

Some countries around are developing, while some are still standing still. In the short term, at least in the next ten years, there will be no changes. Lapa will still be Lapa, and the Czech Republic will still be the Czech Republic.

But now that the federal variable has been added, things are different.

The Foreign Minister is exposed to such work every day, so he is very clear that elimination does not mean becoming poorer and more backward, but being "erased".

The ruling group, and this country.

The Federation's ambitions were almost written on their faces. This time, they rashly participated in a war that had nothing to do with them, which showed that they could no longer bear the loneliness.

Of course, the Foreign Minister did not know that joining the war was not just because he could not stand the loneliness. The most important thing was that there were too many conflicts in the country that needed to be resolved by exporting war.

For example, the ever-increasing unemployment rate and the continuous increase in high school students graduating year after year who need jobs.

The social economy is going downhill, factories and enterprises are constantly going bankrupt, more people are losing their job opportunities, but the cost of living has not changed.

The contradictions between classes become more and more numerous as the class differences become greater.

It is easier for federal politicians to export problems than to solve them from within.

War will bring orders and promote economic recovery, but it will also consume some population, allowing the rapidly expanding federal population to maintain a relatively appropriate average.

Of course, this refers to what the federal government can get when they are not sure whether they can achieve ultimate victory in this war, which is a guarantee of profit.

The results were unexpectedly good. They exceeded their goals by a lot, so their strategy began to change.

People are like this. If they win one dollar, they hope to win two dollars.

Their international stance is changing, and the pressure they put on the Asian region will continue to increase.

Moreover, in order to counter the Federation, the Foreign Minister believes that it is very likely that the Asian Union will eventually evolve into the ultimate form of a country.

The political group, mainly composed of the ruling group of the Czech-German Republic, controls the political changes in the other ten member states and becomes the "co-leaders" in the true sense.

He talked about this matter with Diego, but Diego didn't care much about it. He felt that this day might not come while he was alive.

As for whether it will come after his death, he doesn't care.

Diego never liked his brother-in-law's "complaints". "You always talk about the times and trends. Can they change anything for us?"

"No, it can't change anything. The country is already like this, and no one can change it!"

"Also, is this why you support us establishing diplomatic relations with the Federation?"

His brother-in-law also played a role in establishing diplomatic relations with the Federation.

Cassia was originally only the Deputy Minister of Commerce. The Minister of Commerce was controlled by someone from another family and he basically did nothing on a regular basis.

Cassia is the main person in charge of the development of private businesses in the country, but no one thinks his job is important.

Because the monopoly enterprises that really make money are all in the hands of the ruling group, many of the people that Cassia needs to connect with and help in her work are small and micro enterprises.

They are at the absolute bottom of Lapa's business system. Even without Casillas, they can easily handle these bottom-level ecosystems.

On the contrary, after visiting the Federation twice, Cassia proposed the idea of ​​establishing diplomatic relations with the Federation and won the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, they had previously invited federal businessman Alberto to visit, which allowed the Foreign Minister to witness Casillas' diplomatic abilities.

Relatively speaking.

So there was this opportunity.

His brother-in-law was silent for a moment, then smiled and agreed with his point of view, "You are right, you see it more clearly."

"I was overthinking things."

This compliment made Diego smile, "Haha, I don't know if you are sincere, but I like what you said."

He touched his cheek and said, "Call Gomez and tell him I want to meet the gang leader."

"He wants to do business on my turf, which is equivalent to taking money from my pocket into his own pocket. I have to know what the person who stole my wealth looks like, right?"

The Foreign Minister looked at Diego with some concern, "I heard that he has a good relationship with the top federal officials, so don't mess around."

Diego snorted twice, "I won't do anything rash. I know this."

Gomez received the news soon. Not long after he sat down, he went to see Lance again, "Diego said he wanted to see you at dinner."

Lance was looking at some documents he had sorted out before coming here, as well as some confidential documents sent by Senator Cleveland.

He closed the file and looked at Gomez strangely, "Why did he want to see me?"

Gomez knew Diego well. "Someone must have said something to him and he became interested."

Lance raised an eyebrow, "Then let's go meet him. After all, he is the 'Demon King' of our game."

Gomez was a little worried. He looked at Lance and said, "Don't anger him easily!"

Lance nodded, "I know."

At Diego's invitation, at around five o'clock in the evening, Lance and his group, including Roger and other members of the merchant group, were invited to the Presidential Palace in Zhuolan.

The Presidential Palace was built on a slope northwest of Zhuolan and looked as magnificent as a king's palace.

Logically speaking, a presidential palace would not be built like this. After all, no president can stay in power forever, so no matter how well it is built, it is impossible for him to live here forever.

But the Yalan region is an exception. Many presidents, prime ministers and the like here are hereditary, so they build the places where they live, work and live like palaces.

The convoy slowly circled up the winding driveway and finally stopped outside the Presidential Palace. Lance got out of the car and the President's men were already at the door to greet them.

Although this place is poor and backward, they still have the necessary etiquette. This at least shows that although they are poor and backward, they are also a civilized country.

After seeing the Lapa Hotel, Lance has become a little immune to the luxury of the Presidential Palace.

Soon, led by a palace attendant, he and the others came to a huge reception room.

It was probably 700 to 800 square meters or even larger, very spacious, with exquisite murals on all the walls, and the luxurious, glittering decoration style, giving off a nouveau riche vibe. In such a large room, there were only a few sofas and a coffee table in the middle of the room.

Diego was already sitting there, looking short and fat.

If a person is short and fat, and people here generally have a slightly darker skin color, he will definitely not look good.

Moreover, his obese body has brought him many health risks. Some of his skin has developed acanthosis nigricans. He may have diabetes, and it is not mild.

When Lance entered the room, he saw him drinking water in big gulps, but in such a small place, people probably didn't know his situation or what he would face.

When Diego saw Lance, he had no intention of standing up. He just looked at him with curiosity, "You are Lance White."

Lance bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you, Your Excellency the President."

Diego raised his thick, fat hand and motioned for Lance to sit down, "I heard you came to Lapa to invest, I'm curious."

"I was born in this country for more than 40 years, and I never knew there was anything worth investing in here."

"On the contrary, I think you should be more interested in Jiede. Their economy is more developed and there are more opportunities to make money. Unlike us, everything is backward and the people are poor."

"So, can you satisfy my curiosity?"

Seeing the fat man showing a curious expression, Lance did not disappoint him. "In fact, in my opinion, there is not much difference between Lapa, Aldera, and Jade, the countries in Asia."

"With a developed society and economy, there are indeed opportunities to make more money, but this also means that competition will be more intense, and those who lack competitiveness will suffer losses."

"Lapa's economy is not developed, but the competition here is very small. We don't need to pay too much to get a steady stream of income."

"Besides, Mr. President, you should know better than me."

“People are the only thing that can generate continuous benefits, not anything else.”

This sentence may be a bit incoherent, but Diego actually understood it.

He understood not because he understood the implicit meaning of Lance's words, but because he understood what he said very directly.

People are resources, and as long as you have people, you can make money.

Just like his way of making money, the resources grow in the ground and will not run away, but mining requires people.

As long as there are people, even if they go to cut down trees, they can bring benefits.

Therefore, people are the core resource.

That's how he understood it.

Diego was very satisfied with Lance's answer after listening to it. He asked again, "So what do you plan to invest here?"

Lance pursed his lips and spread his hands. "I just got here and haven't systematically observed this society yet. I can't really give you a definite answer. I have to see what's here before I can make a decision."

Diego nodded and said, "It's a very prudent approach, no problem."

He glanced at Gomez in the crowd around him and asked, "Are you familiar with Gomez?"

This question made Gomez break out in a cold sweat. He had a stern face without any expression, as if he didn't hear what Diego said.

At the same time, he begged Lance in his heart not to say things like "we know each other well" or "we are friends". He already had some special information, and if he was still so close to the Federals, perhaps Diego would really have to consider how to make him shut up.

Lance also glanced at Gomez, then smiled and said, "I've seen him a few times."

"The first time, Alberto introduced me to him. Later, he went to the Federation several times. It just so happened that I also lived in Jingang City."

Diego had an expression of "I see". He also asked curiously, "Why didn't Mr. Alberto come?"

"He and I are old friends!"

Alberto and Diego did have some friendship, and he gave Diego some things, which were not considered particularly good in the Federation, but were definitely rare in Lapa.

Diego has few friends. This federal friend, who he rarely sees and has no relationship with Lapa and no interests in the domestic ruling group, has become one of his few friends.

"he died."

Diego was stunned for a moment, "What a sad news, I thought I still had a chance to chat with him."

This news made the atmosphere in the room a little heavier. During this time, Diego picked up another large glass of ice juice on the table.

"In fact, I have a good impression of the Federation people. They are rich and generous, but some of your recent actions are not pleasing to me."

"They said you wanted to invade Alan and annex eleven nations, including Rapa, is that right?"

This question made the atmosphere in the room not only heavy, but also solemn and tense.

Lance was not that nervous. Perhaps for others, some rumors about President Diego could make them feel scared and uneasy.

But Lance was not afraid. He had encountered more dangerous things than this, and he believed that even if Diego was a fool, he was a fool who could control a country. He would not be stupid enough to really do anything.

"That's a lie, Mr. President."

"In fact, the federal government just doesn't want to be attacked by the Dantelas again, and also wants to help our neighbors develop their own economy."

Diego tilted his head and asked, "So why don't you just give us the money?"

"If you just give us money, we'll be rich."

There was no noise in the hall. Lance frowned slightly. This question was stupid, but not that stupid. He felt that maybe people's evaluation of President Diego was not so accurate.

"I give you a fish, and you eat it, and it fills your stomach, but it only fills your stomach once."

"But if I teach you how to use a net, then you can catch fish for yourself and keep yourself fed."

“So the Federation and the Asian Union mentioned the issue of developing a bilateral free economy during the negotiations, using the Federation’s advanced development experience to drive the economic development of the backward Asian Blue region.”

"This is more meaningful than giving you a sum of money directly. Having a sum of money is just a sum of money, but if you learn how to make money, you can keep making money!"

Diego grinned after hearing this, "You're good at talking, Lance."

He glanced at the time, then stood up holding the armrest of the chair, "Let's talk about this first. Are you hungry?"

Lance touched his stomach at the right time and said, "I am indeed a little hungry."

"Well, my friend from the Federation, I'll take you to taste the delicacies of Lapa!"

The dinner was not luxurious at all. Beef, mutton and other ingredients were very common, as well as seafood.

All I can say is that the ingredients are fresh enough and the taste is okay, not bad, but it’s not necessarily amazing or delicious.

After dinner, Lance chatted with Diego for a while. When he was about to leave, Diego told Lance that although he was a federal.

But he hopes that Lance can respect and abide by the laws of Lapa. If he breaks the law here, he may not let Lance return to the Federation directly.

Lance said yes, but he didn't really take it to heart.

The fleet he brought this time all consisted of the latest armored vehicles that had not yet been put into service and were bulletproof in nature.

By removing the disc on the roof and installing different accessories, you can choose between a machine gun turret and a small-caliber artillery.

With these things, even if Diego pulls out their regular troops, they can still fight.

However, he expressed his respect for the local laws of Lapa.

After returning to the hotel, Gomez said bitterly, "He doubted me."

Lance looked Gomez up and down and shook his head slightly, "Is it possible that you are too rich?"

(End of this chapter)