Shadow Empire

Chapter 915: I will take care of you because you are the president

Diego's public speech lasted only thirty minutes, and Lance could still tell that he might have made some cuts to the manuscript.

There is an obvious sense of division in some places, especially in the content that "praises the people".

Lance had not dealt with Diego for a long time or many times, but he could feel that he was a typical president and ruler who still had the "old slave owner mentality."

He treats the people of this country as his slaves, so he feels uncomfortable when he says something flattering about the people.

This is just like the slave owners before the federal emancipation movement. Instead of asking them to say, "As long as you work hard, I will release you and give you a piece of land so that you can live a peaceful and prosperous life," you might as well just pull out your gun and shoot them twice, so that they can at least die comfortably.

They could not say such things; to them slaves were animals, no different from horses in the stable, cows in the cowshed, sheep in the sheepfold, and dogs in the kennel.

They are all tools for them to make money and gain wealth.

Not even as good as a tool.

They couldn't say the words.

But if you ask them to say "If you don't get your ass off that rock and move your hands so I know you're fucking working, I'll hang you", they will definitely be happy to speak this long sentence clearly and continuously, and with some dark humor -

Long sentences have always been the enemy of the poorly educated.

Diego has the same mentality. How could he possibly praise his slaves?
He can't do it, he is a president who wants to save face.

On this issue, he is actually not very qualified, because a qualified president will say what is necessary when necessary, even if it is against his will.

After Diego finished speaking, Lance patted the edge of his pants, supported himself with his hands on his knees, and stood up.

"Please help me contact the president. I want to see him as soon as possible."

Gomez immediately went to make a phone call. At that time, Diego had just returned from the large balcony of the Presidential Palace.

He always gave public speeches on that balcony, including his father, his grandfather, and his ancestors.

They are all like this, of course before it may not have been in the Presidential Palace, but somewhere else, but they needed to stand in a protruding place that was higher than others.

Diego wiped his hands and cheeks with a snow-white satin handkerchief. The current temperature made him feel very comfortable. He wiped his face and hands not because he was hot, but just because there was too much oil.

It only takes a short while for a thin layer of oil to be secreted from his body surface. If he doesn't wipe it off, his skin will soon start to reflect light. He doesn't like this state.

His skin color is a little dark to begin with, and he would find it weird if it were shiny and oily.

The used silk handkerchief was casually thrown to the housekeeper. The spotless white handkerchief was already covered with a layer of dirt and grease.

If this handkerchief can be restored to pure white after treatment, it can still be used.

If not, it will be disposed of.

Even if the things in the Presidential Palace are smashed or burned, they will not be given to servants to use. This is the rule.

"Master, it's Gomez's call."

The president looked at the butler who was standing not far away with the receiver in his hand, turned around and staggered over, "Go find the best shoemaker in the city, I need a new pair of shoes."

"These shoes are so uncomfortable that I can't even walk straight or steadily."

He attributed his unsteady gait to bad shoes rather than to his obesity.

The butler agreed with a smile. He was used to Diego making excuses for himself.

He picked up the phone, his tone slightly impatient.

Gomez had been getting too close to the Federals, and he didn't like it.

People from the Federation are not good people. He and the President of the Republic of Czech and German share the same view on this point.

It’s just that the Czech Republic has the strength and capital to refuse, but he, the president of Lapa, a poor and backward place, does not have this qualification.

He had originally planned to get rid of Gomez, but he ran to Lance for no reason, which made him feel a little tricky.

In a few days, he plans to announce the decision to remove Gomez from the position of president of the Chamber of Commerce and appoint a new president.

"What's the matter that requires you to call me now?" His tone was unfriendly, with a sense of dissatisfaction and anger that could be felt, and a little bit of something disturbing.

It's like a bone in the meat. When you chew it, you always want to find it out, chew it into pieces, and then spit it out.

Gomez knew that once he made this call, he had no way out, and it was also a statement.

"Mr. Lance wants to meet with you."

Diego was very angry when he heard this answer. He felt that Gomez had betrayed him. He trusted Gomez so much!
Well, not much trust.

"Are you working for the Federation now?"

"Gomez?!"

Gomez felt a little bitter in his mouth. He knew how terrible this fat man was. He pretended not to hear this sentence that was not so easy to answer. He adopted another way, which might even make people feel that he was being targeted, to continue the conversation.

"And your answer?"

"Mr President!"

Diego felt a little itchy. He glanced at the time and said, "Before dinner today."

"I have time before dinner. Come to the Grand Presidential Palace."

He hung up the phone right after he finished speaking, and after cursing Lance, the Federation, and Gomez, he staggered towards his room.

He now needs to drink a glass of ice juice and then lie on the bed for a while to relieve his physical fatigue.

If the temperature wasn't a little lower now, he would actually prefer to lie in the open-air pool.

The feeling of water rushing over his body made him feel much better.

More than an hour later, Lance arrived at the Presidential Palace. The President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs received Lance in the conference room of the Presidential Palace.

A side hall, not the main hall.

It’s not that Diego is reluctant to use the main hall, but mainly because Lance has no official background. Using the main hall will make Diego feel inferior to the Federation. Even when receiving a non-official person, the main hall must be used.

Although he is indeed shorter than the Federation.

In the side hall, there are no such concerns.

After Lance shook hands with both of them, he was led by the staff to sit down on his sofa.

"I just listened to your public speech, President Diego. It can serve as an important warning and help to the people of Lapa. I believe the problem will be solved soon."

Diego and the Minister of Foreign Affairs both nodded, there was nothing wrong with this statement.

But Lance quickly changed the subject, "I noticed that you said that the Republic of Jede sent a batch of food aid to Lapa."

Diego confirmed the news again, "Yes, 350,000 tons of wheat."

"We're going to turn it into wheat flour so that it's more filling than just eating the kernel."

What he meant was to make wheat flour into bread or cakes, and then add other things into it, as long as it didn't starve people to death.

Lance nodded slightly, "What agreements have you reached with the Republic of Jede?"

"What made them willing to give out so much food?"

Diego was stunned for a moment, and then an unhappy expression appeared on his face, "I'm afraid this has nothing to do with you, right?"

"This is a deal between us and Zedd. You don't need to know, and there's no need to know."

It can be seen that he is very unhappy now and feels offended.

If someone else said it, such as the federal ambassador or some diplomat, he would feel a little more comfortable.

Who is Lance?

A gang leader actually walked in so brazenly and asked him what kind of deal he had reached with the Republic of Czechoslovakia? !

He could feel the arrogance behind Lance's seemingly calm appearance and the fact that he didn't take him seriously!

So he was very impolite when he spoke, and his voice was a little loud.

Lance listened to his noise without rushing to refute or do anything. He smiled and picked up the coffee cup that the butler had just brought. He stirred it with a stirring stick a few times and took a sip. "This is related to the interests of federal investors in Lapa."

He looked up at Diego and said, "I, we, the investors from the Federation." "They are not attracted by the high cultural level of the people here, nor by your ability to help them achieve class leap, nor by the complete supporting industry here."

"People come here to invest because of the cheap labor and resources."

"If you have reached some kind of agreement with the Republic of Zede, for example, by exchanging resources, the Republic of Zede would give you some food aid."

"Therefore, the interests of federal investors have been damaged..."

He put down the coffee cup in his hand, although he was very careful and did it very gently.

When the bottom of the coffee cup touched the saucer, there was still a slight sound.

He looked up at Diego. "We will hold you accountable."

The two men stared at each other, Diego staring at Lance with as much ferocity as he was able to display, but he was still far from enough for Lance.

His eyes, including his expression, were indeed fierce and scary, but also weak.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs promptly interrupted them, "This is our country's internal affairs!"

Diego took a deep breath and looked away. Lance then looked at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and said, "I said, we need to ensure the interests of investors."

The Foreign Minister was a little annoyed. "How can you guarantee that?"

Lance responded quickly, "I want to know what deal you made!"

For a moment, the president of a country and his foreign minister were so questioned by Lance that they could hardly speak clearly.

Seeing that the two were still silent, Lance began to speak, "Mineral resources, large trees in the wild, rubber plantations, orchards, light and heavy industries, including labor, these are all what we need."

“If you allocate some mines or resources in a certain area to them.”

"Or maybe something else happened, which damaged the interests of federal investors."

"Then it's time for us to act!"

He did not show weakness, and stood firm in his face, "A small character who betrayed his country may just be selling some insignificant news."

“But if a person in power sells out his country, then he is really selling out his country!”

Diego couldn't help but scold, "What do you mean?"

He pointed at his nose and stood up, "Are you saying I'm selling out my country?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also quickly stood up and persuaded him to sit down. The butler and several soldiers in the distance also looked over here.

"Do you believe that I will kill you?" He had already said something inappropriate. As the president of a country, even if he was an unqualified politician, he should not lose his composure in anger.

But then again, he is already an unqualified politician. Who can expect him to make the right choice like a qualified politician?

Lance didn't take his threat seriously at all. Without even raising his eyelids, he picked up a fruit he had never seen before and took a bite.

Sour and sweet, this strange fruit is everywhere in the tropics.

He shook his head, not sure whether he was dissatisfied with Diego's actions or with the fruit in his hand.

He threw the fruit into the trash can, then looked up at Diego, "I believe it!"

"I believe you can kill me."

His gaze shifted to the face of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for a moment, and then moved back, "But before you kill me, you have to consider how you will explain your actions to the Asian Alliance, and you also have to consider how to explain to the Federation why you did this."

"Then you have to consider whether your explanation can convince everyone and whether the Asian Alliance controlled by the Republic of Czechoslovakia will kick you out of the Asian Alliance."

"And how are you going to deal with the pursuit from the Federation?"

"You, your family, the minister next to you, and all your friends, everyone's family, will die."

He said these words in a very calm tone, but they were full of conviction.

He leaned back on the sofa and took out a cigarette to light it for himself. "It only takes one day for the Federation Navy to appear here and wipe Zhuolan off the map."

"Want to try?"

Diego still glared at Lance fiercely, but now, he didn't say anything to provoke each other.

Because he knew that what Lance said was most likely true.

Lance showed an intriguing smile on his face, "So, Mr. President, we can be enemies or friends."

“Sharing information is the most basic etiquette between friends.”

"Tell me something that interests me."

"For example, what kind of deal did you reach that made them willing to provide you with so much food?"

If we calculate it based on the lower price that Lance paid for it, thirty-five dollars a ton, that would be 17.5 million federal soles.

If they sent a million-dollar grain, Lance would admit that this was possible. Stabilizing the situation in Lapa would be beneficial to the entire Asian Alliance.

But this is 17.5 million. No one would give away such a large amount of money casually. They must be trading it, and the thing being traded must be very valuable.

At least, it's worth the food!

Lance's attitude was undoubtedly very tough, so tough that it was a little incomprehensible.

Diego's little eyes were fixed on Lance, but he did not see the uncertainty, fear, uneasiness or anxiety that he wanted to see in Lance's eyes.

He only saw calmness, and the turbulent waves hidden beneath the calm appearance.

Diego pushed away the Minister of Foreign Affairs next to him and sat back on the sofa.

"We will send some excellent talents to the Czech Republic, and then rubber blocks and copper ingots."

The Czech Republic has been promoting the development of industry. Rubber blocks and copper ingots can be said to be one of the most core materials of the industry.

Lance smiled, "You see, it's not that complicated when you put it into words."

"You made a very wise choice at the crossroads of life, Mr. President."

Lance nodded with satisfaction. No matter whether Diego was hiding something, he got the answer he wanted.

Then he stood up, holding his legs, and said, "I will tell the Senator everything that happened today truthfully."

"As for how they plan to deal with this issue, I will contact you as soon as there is new information."

"Now, I should go back."

He held out his hand and looked at Diego, who could only reluctantly shake his hand, and then it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

There was no further communication between the three of them. Lance nodded slightly and strode outside.

Watching Lance's leaving back, Diego picked up the coffee and took a sip, but then threw it hard on the ground, staining the off-white camel hair carpet into coffee brown.

After he said that, he glanced at the broken teacup and the wet carpet on the ground, then turned around and staggered away.

After Diego left, the Foreign Minister sat back down and lit a cigarette for himself.

He had a hunch that the federals were definitely not here just to invest, they wanted to get something more.

They want the cheap labor here, they want the cheap resources here, and they even want the people here.

Power, land, anything!

He knew very well that Lapa could not be a match for the Federation; the two sides were simply not on the same level.

It seems like it was just yesterday that the Federation wanted to forcibly station troops there!

If the President of the Czech Republic had not rushed to set up a United Alliance of Asian Blue Countries, perhaps the Federals would have begun to enter their lives by now.

Thinking of this, he sighed heavily. There was almost no light in the future!
Even though he could barely see some clues about how the future would develop, he was powerless to change it, which was a terrible feeling.

On the other hand, after returning to the hotel, Lance called Senator Cleveland directly. He told him what he had discovered and mentioned some of his subsequent thoughts.

This matter may have some hidden dangers, so Lance's idea is to see if there is any way to let the navy's warships circle around Lapa, or go to the Republic of Jede.

Let them more clearly realize the gap in strength between the two sides!
The Senator agreed to this, and also told Lance to be careful.

(End of this chapter)