Shadow Empire

Chapter 962 Remote Control, Infiltration, and Small Targets

Lance also saw the newspapers about planes appearing on the battlefield. Even though the current Federation government can be described as very...wise and pragmatic, there is still a small group of people within the Federation who feel that they are not doing a good enough job.

The diversity of federal society is simply a miracle!
Even now, groups of people holding anti-war signs appear on the streets of some major cities. It is not surprising that some newspapers and magazines have investments from this camp or even hostile forces.

The boss pays them their salaries, so naturally they say whatever he tells them to say.

Phrases like "war is a crime against humanity" and "peace should not leave people with blood on their hands" frequently appeared in newspapers.

Previously, these newspapers didn't have much to report. They couldn't very well report on the federal army, which they had always opposed, winning victory after victory in the war, could they?
Too much good news coming too quickly can cause some wavering people to switch sides, so they don't report on these news items much, but instead report on domestic entertainment news.

But this time, these newspapers wrote about it as if it were New Year's Day, using a tone of joy and happiness that even Lance could sense, in an article titled "Is a Huge Defeat the Turning Point of the War?"

The text uses wordplay to convey to the reader that the Federation is not just suffering a defeat on the battlefield, but is facing a life-or-death situation. It is as if if the withdrawal is not announced now, millions of Federation soldiers will die on the continent of Tanfield, in a foreign land.

It lavishly praises the Dantras' advanced aircraft and their brilliant tactics, without mentioning at all the heavy blows the Federation inflicted on them on the front lines of the battlefield.

It's not just within Lapa that there are those with ulterior motives; there are also such people within the Federation.

In fact, if we look at this matter on a larger scale, isn't it also because some "Ministers Raboul" and "Ambassadors Kassia" within the Federation resentment towards class stratification that ultimately led to all of this?
The federal government always talks about freedom, which gives people the wrong impression that the barriers between classes are not so strong.

There are also all sorts of inspirational books that make it seem like as long as you work diligently on the construction site, you will one day achieve great things.

But they never talk about whether these people who actually did this have any other family background, social connections, or whether they were appreciated by others.

They only write about the process of these people's "success," such as putting in 100 yuan on the exchange and coming out with hundreds of thousands.

Repeat this three times, and a super-capital giant will emerge.

Let alone novels, you can't even dream of something like this, but people still believe it!

The two countries, the Federation and Lapa, seem completely different, yet in some ways they seem exactly the same.

Lance then looked at other newspapers. The more official media would discuss the impact of this failure very carefully, as well as how to deal with it, and explore the possibility of developing the federal aviation industry.

Those whose opinions are already skewed will only offer pessimistic predictions.

It's as if the Federation's industrial and scientific capabilities are all fake; these people can't even put a negative view on it.

Lance put down the newspaper and continued eating his breakfast.

The war on the southern continent was raging fiercely, and the civil war in Lapa was also in full swing. The Diego government wanted to quickly establish a new image as a presidential government, so they launched wars on multiple fronts at the same time.

And his advisor, Fernandez, subsequently issued some new rules under Diego's name, such as the curfew policy to be implemented in Zoran.

No one is allowed on the streets after 8 p.m. unless they have a government-issued pass or something similar.

If not, they will be arrested and interrogated, even if they have done nothing wrong, just for coming out at an inappropriate time, they will be locked up.

The timeframe can range from a few months to three years.

They had originally decided that no one was allowed to leave before six o'clock, but Lance and the others protested slightly.

Since Lance's factory workers usually don't get off work until 7 p.m., he couldn't possibly let so many workers sleep in the factory.

It's not that I can't sleep, it's that I can't do it.

It's like the food that the masters don't finish can only be thrown into the trash can, instead of being given to the servants.

We cannot allow these people, these servants, these workers, to try to get used to benefits that they should not be entitled to.

Over time, they will come to believe that this is what they are entitled to. If one day they suddenly lose these benefits, will they feel resentful?

I used to be able to eat the leftovers from the old man every day and find a comfortable place to sleep in the factory. Now that they don't give me food or let me sleep in the factory, they will complain.

They might not show it normally, so openly telling you "I'm unhappy," but at a crucial moment, some people might bring out their emotions, which could cause some trouble.

So if we don't feed them or let them sleep, they might think the master is a bit extravagant and inhumane, but at least they won't resent or hate him.

Thanks to Lance's efforts, the 6 p.m. curfew was postponed to 8 p.m., even though it wasn't completely dark at 8 p.m.

"The anti-government forces around Zhuolan are constantly retreating, and they have already ceded some of the cities they had captured."

Mr. Albert, who was sitting diagonally across from Lance, spoke about this matter with some seriousness, showing that he cared about it a lot.

Lance shook his head. "They're only dealing with minor figures like Pedro and Ross right now. They haven't faced the government forces head-on yet."

“You should know that among these people, there are not only Pedro and Ross, but also other people.”

Mr. Albert’s gaze passed over Lance’s left shoulder and landed on a picture frame on the wall behind him.

Lance sat in the middle seat, with twenty-five people standing in two rows behind him. Some of them had serious expressions, while others were smiling.

He was somewhat surprised to see this photo when he last came here. After getting Lance's permission, he went over and took a closer look, then turned to look at Lance with a complicated expression.

He saw Pedro and Ross inside. He actually knew that Lance had organized some kind of seminar or something, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.

What can he accomplish in seven days?
Moreover, it was publicly stated that this was a cultural exchange seminar, discussing the institutional differences between the federation and Lapa, and some ideological issues between the two countries; it was an academic seminar.

But at that moment, he suddenly realized that this might not be a serious seminar; it was very unserious!
He saw Pedro, Ross, and others among the two rows of people, as well as those he hadn't noticed and didn't recognize until now.

Perhaps at some point in the future, their photos will suddenly appear in the newspapers, accompanied by titles such as "warlord".

Therefore, he expressed his agreement with what Lance had just said.

"I know, and I look forward to that day."

“However, Mr. Lance, Diego has defeated too many weaklings, and he is now starting to get arrogant. And most importantly, the attitude of the higher-ups in Lapa is also starting to change.”

“Some people are more actively moving closer to us, but others are starting to gravitate towards Diego,” he said, referring to the recent surge in visits to the federal government for study and observation.

These people took their families with them to the Federation for study and observation. They went as a family, but returned alone.

Everyone knew what they were doing—moving their families—but Pedro didn't investigate their actions further.

On the one hand, he now desperately needs a huge victory, a victory that clears out everything around Zhuolan, to consolidate his position.

Secondly, he also wanted to see just how many people were on his side.

Under such high pressure, some fence-sitters began to lean towards Diego.

These people are the least principled; they gravitate towards whichever side is stronger.

Lance nodded, and after a moment's thought, he said, "How about this, I'll make the arrangements."

"Our President Diego has indeed... forgotten his own ugliness; he's just a fat penguin, not a swan!"

Mr. Albert nodded. "That would be best."

Without trying to avoid him, Lance picked up the phone, dialed a number, listened to the call, and took notes. After hanging up, he dialed another number.

"The day after tomorrow... the supply convoy of the Lapa government forces stationed in this part of the city will pass through the vicinity around 3 p.m.

“I have a suggestion for you: don’t wipe them all out at once. You can control the supply convoy and then have the government troops stationed in the city come out to rescue them.” “You can ambush them on their way to the accident site.”

"You can discuss the specifics with the instructors; I believe they will give you more detailed answers."

He then hung up the phone and looked at Mr. Albert with a smile, "Pay attention to the news the day after tomorrow or the day after that morning, you're sure to find something you want to see."

Mr. Albert nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Lance took out the cigarette case. Recently, this ivory cigarette case has been used for a long time or has not been properly maintained. Now it looks like there is a small area that is slightly yellowed.

However, he doesn't really care. He's gotten used to using it and doesn't really want to change it for the time being.

However, Mr. Albert noticed this, but he didn't say anything; he just remembered it.

Lance offered him a cigarette, then crossed his legs and said, "Have you gotten any information on that Fernandez yet?"

Mr. Albert is backed by the federal government. Letting him investigate is better than Lance using his personal connections to investigate Fernandez. This is the federal government's job, not his.

Mr. Albert nodded. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today."

He took a document out of his briefcase, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

Lance, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, picked up the document and began to read. It stated that Fernandez and the current President of Germany were actually university classmates.

President Czerd has many siblings, and in the Alam region, capable men tend to take on more responsibility for reproduction.

In some countries, polygamy is explicitly enshrined in law, and it is quite common here.

In some countries, although polygamy is not explicitly permitted in the law, if a man has the ability to marry multiple wives, the police and the law will not cause him any trouble.

In this environment, the president is undoubtedly the most capable person.

The previous president, Czech Republic, was a very capable and charismatic person. Apart from his excessive pursuit of sex, he had virtually no negative flaws.

Moreover, having many wives was not considered a moral issue or a crime in Geddar, so he was a person without any flaws.

The current president is just one of his many children. During his university years, he did not reveal his identity and got along very well with this Fernandez.

They shared similar ideals and were both very capable, which made them very good friends.

Sometimes the president would ask Fernandez for advice on questions he didn't know the answer to, and the latter would give him his own opinions and perspectives. The two learned from each other through these discussions and considered each other confidants.

As Fernandez was about to graduate, the president asked him what he wanted to do in the future.

Fernandez said he wanted to be someone who could help Geed become a world power.

At the time, the previous president was still in office, so after graduating, Fernandez did not go into government service but instead went to work for a foreign company.

The gradual opening of society and markets in the Czech Republic attracted many investors, which coincided with a period of explosive growth in foreign investment.

He gained a lot of experience and knowledge in foreign-invested companies and visited more than one country, all of which contributed to his later experience in assisting the president.

After the previous president died of illness, or some say suddenly, the current president unexpectedly but also logically succeeded to the presidency and appointed Fernandez as an important aide.

The intelligence provided by Mr. Albert shows that the current momentum of development in the Republic of Germany is indeed partly due to Fernandez's efforts.

The president values ​​him highly, so he sent him here to assist Diego in stabilizing the situation in Rapa.

If Lapa becomes completely unstable and leaves the Asian Union, it will set a bad precedent!
During the negotiations between the federal government and the Asian Union, they secretly contacted many small Asian countries, and who knows what they promised the leaders of these small countries.

Now some of them, such as the leaders of Makan, are thinking of defecting to the Federation.

However, because Makan is a small country with a small population, and it is located next to Jiede, they did not dare to make any rash moves for the time being.

However, if Lapa were to secede from the Asian Union due to its civil war, it would essentially give these smaller countries, which are eager to leave the Asian Union and join the federation, a chance.

This was something President Czerd would absolutely not allow, so he sent Fernandez here to stabilize the situation.

I don't expect Diego to achieve complete unification, but at least I hope things don't continue to deteriorate.

Lance pursed his lips, a cigarette between his fingers, and stared at the document for a while. Then he tapped his fingers on the document. "We need to find a way to get rid of this guy."

"I don't know how much of the information in this report is true, but let's just assume it is."

"So such an outstanding and capable person might change some of our upcoming plans."

"Let's see if there's any way to get rid of him. This document says he has family, a wife and children. Let's see if we can kidnap them."

"If we can lure him out of the presidential palace, we'll have a way to get rid of him."

It's not that Lance wouldn't dare to kill someone in the presidential palace, it's just that Diego is sometimes not very bright. If he's overstimulated, he'll go crazy and do things that people can't understand without considering the consequences.

Now is not the time for him to go crazy. Those anti-government armed forces need a target, a dictatorial, terrifying ruler.

Only in this way can their current actions be considered, to some extent, an act of "justice".

If Diego leaves the game too early, chaos and destruction will ensue among these anti-government forces and other rulers, which is not what Lance wants.

When people become too chaotic, they stop caring whether you're a foreigner or not.

Limited chaos, in which people still abide by certain rules and systems, is good chaos.

Mr. Albert nodded. "I'll have someone give it a try."

Their conversation ended there; after exchanging opinions and discussing matters, they went their separate ways.

Two days later, in the afternoon, a supply unit that probably no one knew was on its way to the "front line," driving old trucks with the cargo beds full of all kinds of supplies.

These supplies were provided by the Czech Republic. The outside world doesn't know what Diego traded for them, but it's actually not very complicated.

The gold mining rights, the recruitment of outstanding talent, and the mutual exemption of all import and export taxes between Lapa and Jeddah.

Diego was a little reluctant about the first two conditions, but he still agreed. However, he agreed very quickly to the import and export duty exemption, which the German side thought would be difficult to negotiate.

This has further increased the importance that President Czerd, including Fernández, attaches to Diego.

It's not that he's particularly smart, but rather that he's incredibly "stupid".

As leaders of different countries, they certainly hope that this populous nation has a sufficiently foolish leader, rather than a clever one.

Therefore, it would be in their best interest to let this fool rule for a longer period of time!

The convoy traveled quickly along the road, and when it was about 20 kilometers away from the front line, several fallen trees blocked its way.

Although the convoy stopped, no one got out of the vehicles, and the soldiers nervously raised their weapons.

There's an obstacle blocking people's way on a perfectly good road. There must be people around there!

(End of this chapter)