Shadow Empire

Chapter 923 Conditions of Assistance

In the morning, Lance was on the phone with Erwin, talking about some things in Inden State.

"I heard from Gold Label that they are planning to give up the case of Richard's death, and their attacks on us have completely stopped."

"This may have something to do with the governor's race. There is still half a year left before the governor's race starts to warm up. Wade is very popular right now."

Lance distributed the money he earned to the mayor, the local police, the local law enforcement groups and interest groups. For them, only if Mayor Wade came to power could they protect these interests.

So they hope more than others that Mayor Wade can defeat the Lieutenant Governor in the election.

At the same time, because several economic development plans proposed by Mayor Wade have achieved certain "results", many people believe that he is a good hand at economics and can help Indenson's sluggish economy find new growth points.

Although some of it was due to luck and he benefited from the war, overall his performance was much better than others.

Voters in Indeno believe that even if he is not a good governor, he is a governor who can boost the economy.

Some people also feel that he has no specific interests or connections in the state of Indeno and can focus more on increasing everyone's income rather than colluding with others to put money into their own pockets.

Campaigns require money. Even though many people support Mayor Wade now, his campaign still requires money.

He is actually rich, but how many politicians fund their campaigns from their own pockets?

"Mayor Wade contacted me these days and talked about his campaign plans for the second half of the year."

Lance said "hmm", motioning for him to continue.

“The overall campaign plan will start around June and end in September, with the final vote in October.”

"Mayor Wade said he hopes we can donate at least $500,000 in campaign funds to be used for various election activities he is holding during the summer vacation."

"Five hundred thousand," Lance repeated.

Erwin said, "Yes, half a million."

Half a million is not actually a large number for a gubernatorial campaign.

The current governor spent about $2.7 million during his election campaign, and this year some consulting agencies generally believe that the economy is beginning to move upward as the federal government gains more benefits from the war.

The funds required for the campaign will also be more than in previous years. Preliminary estimates show that it may be necessary to increase the funds for the previous campaign by 20 to 30 percent.

That’s just over three million.

The president's campaign funding forecast for the next election year will need to reach more than 17 million!

The assessments made by these evaluation consulting agencies based on the patterns of campaign spending over the years have certain reference value. If there are potentially tough competitors, campaign funds will continue to increase.

A little over three million is Mayor Wade’s own view on how much he would spend on his gubernatorial campaign.

He can come up with this money. The Wade family can be said to be the most powerful family in Jingang City. The Williams family can come up with this money, let alone the Wade family.

But taking out this money would hurt them, and if they fail, they might lose everything.

So politicians don't use their own money to invest in campaign funds unless the person is very rich, so rich that he doesn't care how much money he spends.

Lance thought for a moment and then said, "Give him a million and double it."

"But you also have to tell him that I hope this money will be invested meaningfully and valuable."

Some things don't need to be said too clearly, but they cannot be left unsaid.

Never underestimate the bottom line of politicians, because they have no bottom line and are ready to break it at any time and anywhere.

If he says at that time that he thought this was just pure campaign funds, it would be difficult for Lance to deal with him.

Let me make it clear. If he pretends to be confused, then it can't be Lance's fault.

"I'll tell him!" Erwin paused, "Hiram has been telling me recently that he wants to go to Lapa."

With the current end of the "state of war" in Indeno State, Hiram has nothing left to do and just wanders around all day out of boredom.

He was fed up with this peaceful life. Recently he read in the newspaper that Lapa was like hell on earth, and he became interested in this.

It wasn't that he wanted to get a close look at what people who died of starvation looked like, he had seen that in the Empire, he just had a hunch that Lance would soon do something big.

Many years ago, when he was still cleaning ship hulls in a shipyard, his ultimate dream at that time was to become rich.

You can own a house in the federation and have a few hundred dollars in your pocket.

Get married, find a girl who may not be compatible with you but must be good-looking, then have children and live a happy life.

He had realized his dream a long time ago, so logically he should be able to stop and take a rest, but his old dream seemed a little boring to him now.

An exciting life is what he wants.

The feeling of speaking with bullets on the battlefield is what he pursues!
He wanted to go to Lapa, but he couldn't go without Lance's consent.

Alvin saw that he was too bored here all day, and he was too bored to bother himself, so he was also tempted.

"Golden Label Wines will have to wait until March or April to assemble the machines. From trial production to formal production, it will take at least June or July."

"He is like a huge fly here now. Everyone dislikes him, but there is nothing they can do about him."

"So...if that's okay."

Lance thought about it and agreed, "Let him choose the date himself and tell me the ship number before he comes..."

Before the call was interrupted, there was a knock on the door of the room. Lance said a few simple words and hung up the phone, saying "Come in" at the same time.

The person outside the door walked in. It was Andy.

Lance was a little surprised, because Andy was not very smart. Even in front of him, Andy would behave a little arrogant, although he didn't know what was so arrogant about this guy named Andy.

But he didn't care much. As long as this guy didn't affect his plans, Lance could pretend that he had no reaction to him.

"Mr. Lance, Pedro said he will call you in five minutes. He has something to discuss with you."

Lance nodded, "Got it."

Then looking at each other, Andy also looked at Lance. After they looked at each other for a while, Andy gradually couldn't stand the pressure hidden in Lance's calm gaze, and he looked away.

But then he suddenly felt a little ashamed and looked at Lance again. However, when he looked at Lance again this time, even though he had prepared himself in his heart, he still felt that he was much shorter than Lance.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Lance asked, obviously trying to send him off.

Andy also understood this, he pursed his lips, "No, not at all."

Lance tilted his head slightly, which probably meant "then what the hell are you still standing here for?"

Andy then said goodbye to Lance with a cold face and left the room.

In fact, Pedro called Andy first, and he mentioned his desire for more assistance on the phone.

More food, more money, more medicine, more intelligence.

And, there are weapons.

He explicitly asked for some weapons, but Andy did not agree.

Although they have a plan to provide weapons assistance, it is not the right time to do so. They need to wait until the situation worsens further, and these selected "seeds" have begun to sprout. Only when they have the idea of ​​overthrowing Diego's rule will they consider providing them with some weapons as appropriate.

Congress and the Department of Defense have discussed these issues before, and they believe that they should not push too fast or too aggressively, as this would be too obvious and deliberate.

And once the federal weapons flow into Lapa, it means that there is no turning back for some things.

So this matter requires extra caution.

He couldn't come to an agreement with Pedro, who suddenly brought up the idea of ​​speaking to Lance.

He had tried his best to explain that he and Lance had nothing to do with each other, but Pedro was convinced that Lance was the one who could make the decision.

He didn't want to waste time talking to Andy, who had no say in the matter, so he asked to talk directly to Lance.

Andy originally wanted to refuse, but under Pedro's tough attitude, he had no choice but to agree.

So this happened.

Andy felt... that he was humiliated by a lackey.

Not referring to Lance, but to the middle school teacher named Pedro.

He was just a middle school teacher like Yalan, who lived in a backward and poor place far away from the center of the world and civilization! Why did he think he was just a small fry, and why did he think Lance was the boss behind the scenes?

And his attitude towards him and that tone made Andy very annoyed!
He felt humiliated, but he didn't know how to deal with the matter, and it involved an arms deal, so he could only let Lance know.

If it was something else, he wouldn't have conveyed it. It's obvious that Pedro might have some big move recently.

After Andy left, Lance waited less than two minutes before the phone rang.

The voice coming out of there sounded familiar to Lance. During the seminar, Pedro was considered an "active activist in the federal system". He liked the federal government's external propaganda very much and brought it up for discussion many times.

Can the federal free election system work in Lapa where the education level is low and most people are illiterate?

Can the people of Lapa understand what the candidates mean when they say some campaign strategies?
And whether they can understand and comprehend what the vote in their hands means.

Lance encouraged them to discuss these things. The truth is not afraid of discussion. The more you discuss, the clearer it will become.

So he had a deep impression of Pedro, and the other party's voice was also remembered in his mind.

"Pedro?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Andy just said you have something to say to me?"

It was about three or four seconds before Pedro's voice came back from the receiver.

"That's true, Mr. Lance. He can't make the decision, but I believe you can make the decision on this matter."

"We need weapons!"

His tone was firm, with a determination that could cut through steel, which gave Lance some idea of ​​his current situation.

He guessed, "Are you in any trouble?"

Pedro did not deny it, but he did not admit it either. “The Lapa army is chasing us so closely that it is difficult for us to stop.”

"Also, Diego said we are an anti-government force. We have now completed all the voting procedures and we will announce it to the public soon."

Lance asked, "Announce what?"

There was a certain enthusiasm in Pedro's tone that he himself was not aware of. "Of course, to announce that we are real!"

"We also chose a name for our business—"

“Lapa Democratic Rights Front!”

Lance couldn't help laughing after hearing this. "It does sound like the name of an anti-government force!"

He paused, "How much do you want?"

This sentence made Pedro overjoyed. He even shouted "Yes", and his emotions were obviously a little excited.

"That's the rest of what I want to talk to you about. We are now heading in the northeast direction, and Diego's hand can't reach that far for the time being."

"If we want to put down roots here, we need money."

"To fight them, you need weapons!"

"More of everything!"

After listening carefully, Lance asked, "You have to give me a number, and I will find a way to deliver the money and other supplies to you quickly."

"But the weapons may take a few days. I have to order a batch from the Federation."

"How many do you want?"

Pedro actually already had a number in mind.

At first he just wanted a hundred weapons, even pistols would do.

But he soon gave up the idea and changed it to two hundred.

When talking to Andy, he was so emotional that he directly mentioned the scale of three hundred.

But now, the moment he opened his mouth, three hundred became five hundred.

After he finished speaking, he shut up and thought about countermeasures in his mind. He didn't know how much these weapons cost, but in his impression, they should not be cheap.

He had heard that when the Ministry of Defense purchased federal military equipment, it mentioned the Gray 1010 bolt-action rifle they were equipped with. This bolt-action rifle came from Federal Gray Industries and was priced at federal soles each.

As for the bullet, he wasn't sure.

One federal sole costs one hundred and eighty dollars, but he asked for five hundred. That is ten thousand dollars, an astronomical figure, and he wants more aid!
So when he made this request, he was a little unsure whether Lance would agree.

In fact, he didn't know that the outbreak of the war brought about many changes, including this classic bolt-action rifle produced by Gray Industries, whose price has dropped to fifty dollars.

In addition to the large production volume, the Ministry of Defense has launched its first war replacement program.

Soldiers on the front line need weapons with more powerful firepower. Sometimes they need to suppress the enemy, rather than using bolt-action weapons that shoot once the bolt is pulled.

So Gray Industries designed a brand new automatic rifle in a very short time in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Defense and the military.

Gray 1024 fully automatic rifle.

It was upgraded based on the 1010 bolt-action rifle. It can now fire thirty-five rounds continuously and is easy to maintain. However, its reputation on the front line is polarized.

Some people think it is very suitable for the battlefield. It can fire all the bullets in three to five seconds, which makes people feel safe.

But some people think that this will waste bullets, and if you are not careful, you will have to change magazines and may encounter danger in the process.

But no matter how it is evaluated, it is being fully equipped.

Naturally, the price of the 1010 bolt-action rifle, which has been completely abandoned by the military, has increased production but no large orders, and whose overall value has been squeezed out, is even lower.

For Gray Industries, or some arms dealers with inventory, if these rifles are not disposed of quickly, they will soon become a burden.

Not only do you need to hire people to manage it, but you also need storage costs and maintenance fees.

Therefore, as long as there is no loss, there are many arms dealers willing to make a move, and this is actually a not expensive expense.

Lance did not agree immediately, but was thinking, trying to recall if there was anything that had happened in the past two days that he had overlooked.

Pedro's idea of ​​using force to resist Diego, which went beyond the plan, should be a situation that will appear in the next "version".

Lance was curious as to why he was performing early.

He thought for a while, but there was nothing special.

During this process, Pedro did not rush Lance. He knew that this did require thinking and time.

About two minutes later, Lance spoke up. "In principle, we shouldn't smuggle weapons to Lapa, but I've also seen the crazy rulers here, and the ordinary people who live here like they're living in hell."

"So I can promise you."

"But, Pedro, this is subject to a condition. I can't give you all the weapons at once. You still need to prove to me that you will not use these weapons to kill innocent civilians."

This sentence sounded so high-sounding that Pedro had a slight doubt for a moment, suspecting that Lance was a good person!
But he quickly dismissed this unrealistic idea.

He asked, "How do you want me to prove it?"

Lance said without hesitation, "Own a piece of land that belongs to you."

"Attack a city and occupy it completely."

"I will first send you fifty rifles and five thousand bullets."

"After you capture that city, I will send you the rest."

"I have to ensure that these weapons I give you are used in the great cause of fighting against brutal rule. I hope you understand what I mean."

Pedro thought for a long time and realized that it was not appropriate to attack the city now as they had not yet developed.

You can only do this after you have a certain level of strength.

But now he had no choice. He didn't want to lose Lance, this "generous and kind man", so he agreed.

(End of this chapter)