Imperial Elite

Chapter 123 James: Everything happened so fast, I haven't even had time to react.

Old Joe's self-exile not only led to the early resignation of the current government in Bonitania, but also sparked near-nationwide protests.

This has also caused some minor troubles. First, the previously peaceful situation on Emerald Island has become turbulent again.

Originally, under Joe's policy of using force to purge the separatists and forcibly distributing land to farmers, Emerald Island was generally very stable, although some remaining separatists would occasionally cause minor disturbances.

After all, under Old Joe's policies, not only were people able to eat their fill, but after the burden on farmers was greatly reduced, even these farm laborers who were originally at the bottom of society could afford to eat meat.

In addition to relaxing economic restrictions, Joe also adopted a policy of "leave no one in charge" in cultural and political matters.

As long as cultural works don't openly rebel, you can say whatever you want, Old Joe doesn't care. As for politics...

After the independence turmoil subsided, the only thing Old Joe did regarding Emerald Island politics was to send troops to monitor the election and vote counting to prevent fraud in the first election after the turmoil subsided.

As for who exactly Emerald Island selected and what those people did, Joe didn't care at all. As long as the people of Emerald Island could afford to eat and their lives were relatively better than before, the troublesome old Joe was basically a ruthless signing machine.

This almost permissive approach has led the people of Emerald Isle to feel that they don't actually have such an urgent need for independence, since apart from still holding a Bonitania passport, everything else is basically no different from true independence.

In addition to the fact that all bills and administrative documents require Governor Joe's signature to take effect, he would approve almost anything as long as it wasn't too outrageous.

In this environment of near-autonomy, the only proposal that Old Joe rejected and had Parliament reconsider was the 1920 proposal to celebrate Patrick's Day on Emerald Isle.

Joe felt that the celebration plan designed by the council was too conservative. How could such a celebration, which was almost like a meeting of dwarves where everyone was drunk, be so stingy?
First, we need to do a good job of publicity. We need to let Citibank know through immigration that we are going to hold a large-scale celebration here. How can the Old World let this opportunity pass us by?
Let them all know that a large celebration is going to be held here, and then some idle people will come to join in the fun. Food, clothing, shelter and transportation all cost money, so won't this increase economic income?
Don't just think about farming in the future. With such a beautiful environment, tourism revenue is also very important!
Go find a way to squeeze out some money to subsidize alcohol sales, at least make beer cheaper than alcohol on the day of the celebration, invite all the bands you can, put on free performances, and get everyone hyped up!

Then, the only bill that Old Joe sent back to Parliament for reconsideration caused Emerald Isle's tourism revenue to multiply several times over that year, not only completely covering the alcohol subsidy squeezed out by Parliament, but also making almost everyone happy.

The day after St. Patrick's Day, almost every Emerald Isle dweller waking from a hangover said they would never drink so much again, but today they had to have one more drink to celebrate Old Joe's drink allowance.

Following this precedent, the celebrations for St. Patrick's Day in 1921 and 1922 became larger and larger, even with bands from all over the world coming to perform for the Emerald Isle Council.

Some bands thought Emerald Isle was a really nice place, so they decided to stay there. The unrestrained carnival atmosphere of St. Patrick's Day inspired these bands to start thinking about a new kind of music, different from their existing music, louder but more suitable for parties and celebrations.

For example, instruments with a strong sense of rhythm, such as guitar and drums, are great, while the piano should also be played faster, not as slowly as it used to be.

While these bands were inspired to make music in the atmosphere of St. Patrick's Day, Emerald Isle also established its own tourism brand by taking advantage of St. Patrick's Day.

From a potato farm that everyone used to shake their heads at, it has been transformed into a beautiful place where people are enthusiastic and carnival-like.

Old Joe's Paradise Island might be too thrilling for some, but Emerald Island is just right.

As a result, in addition to agriculture, tourism has also become an important industry on Emerald Island.

Then, in this environment where, after the people of Emerald Island have had too much to drink, someone will inevitably raise their glass and propose "Wishing Old Joe a long life!"

When Steve Jobs announced his resignation and departure, and also closed Wagner's training facilities on Emerald Isle, the first reaction of the people of Emerald Isle was disbelief.

After all, rumors about Joe have been circulating for years. First, there were rumors that Joe was dead, and then there were rumors that Joe had an affair with a French tech worker.

Anyone who believes such rumors is a fool. Who is Old Joe?

The number one villain in Bonitania, the most dangerous man in the Old World, a tough guy who needs a bed ten meters wide to sleep in, would suddenly announce his resignation and run away.
Reporters these days really have no integrity; they can't stand to see others doing well.

However, soon, with the publication of the Washington Naval Treaty and the discovery of more information about Wagner regarding London, the situation improved.

The people of Emerald Isle quickly went from "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" to "London! I'll f*** you!"

Especially when those Wagner training facilities actually began to close, some of the demobilized Wagner members, along with Wagner troops transferred elsewhere, appeared at the docks.

Meanwhile, the servants and employees at the governor's mansion revealed that Joe had sent his guards to pack his luggage, indicating that Joe was indeed leaving.

The people of Emerald Island are truly starting to panic.

Based on experience over the past few centuries, the general attitude of the people of Emerald Isle towards the government of Bunitania is one of trust, but not complete trust.

It's like when a king says he'll provide relief; people generally don't believe that.

However, if the king says that the country is in dire straits and taxes must be increased temporarily, then everyone would believe him without question.

This is arguably the best time in hundreds of years for ordinary people on Emerald Island. They not only have their own land, but also supplement their income with tourists, enjoy free band performances, even celebrate Patrick's Day, and receive a beverage subsidy that makes beer cheaper than water.

If Joe weren't still alive and young, the people of Emerald Isle would want to carry him to the church and canonize him.

But in this situation, Old Joe not only ran away, but he ran away so decisively.

As a result, many people on Emerald Isle came to the conclusion that someone like Old Joe wouldn't want to stay in Brittany and had chosen to leave.

If Brittany couldn't even tolerate someone like Joe, forcing him to leave, shouldn't we also try a little harder?
What if the governor who comes from Bonitania doesn't intend to follow Old Joe's approach, but instead plans to revert to the old policies? What good would it do for us to survive?
Suddenly, the separatist movement, which had almost disappeared, resurfaced and reappeared on the streets, declaring, "Choose me! Choose me and I'll lead Emerald Isle to independence!"

At first, these separatists made a big show of it, as if they were going to stage a major uprising across the island.

But soon, these separatists realized, "Wait a minute, something's wrong. Why is no one coming to listen to my speech?"

The reason no one listened to their street speeches was simple: at that moment, Old Joe's younger brother, James Harrison, the 19-year-old leader of the Best of the Bunitania Party who had long wanted to become a senator and was even legally prohibited from drinking alcohol, stepped forward to speak out.

"Although I am not very talented, I am surnamed Harrison, and I have learned something from Brother Tiger. At the same time, my life on Emerald Island has also deeply influenced me. Although I have not yet graduated from university, I am willing to lead the Best Party of Britannia to fight for the well-being of Emerald Island. In order to maintain the Harrison system, please vote for me!"

Of course, simply giving a street speech will not have a very good effect in a short period of time.

But James was no ordinary man. As a member of the Harrison family, he owned the BBC, the world's largest news broadcasting company at the time.

Although James had neither control nor inheritance rights, thanks to the Harrison surname, no one at the BBC dared to refuse James's request for the radio station to provide him with any small assistance, especially given Old Joe's furious outburst.

For example, arranging a 20-minute talk show for him.

As James, a Cambridge University student with extensive street experience and who had been thinking about forming a party and becoming a member of parliament since high school, gave his first-ever radio campaign speech, he was a little nervous at the beginning of the program.

But soon James became more and more fluent and excited as he spoke, to the point that his voice even cracked slightly in the final stages of his speech.

This would certainly be inappropriate for a professional speech, but for the people of Emerald Island, it's a speech that's 100% genuine and unadulterated by any technique.

They had only one choice: to mobilize everyone they could, even if it meant carrying James into Parliament and sending him to London!
Old Joe may be gone, but his brother is still here! From now on, we'll listen to James!

Even if Joe hadn't designed the seniority-based election system when he designed the United Farm Corporation system, to prevent politicians from trying to sneak into the system, it would have been a different story.

The people of Emerald Isle even wanted James to become the general manager of United Agriculture.

In the subsequent general election, despite the fact that James's Britannia Best Party sounded somewhat unconventional, and with less than a third of its members, including James, having either lived on Emerald Isle or being born there, the small party swept the Emerald Isle election.

With over 90% of the vote, the Brittany Best Party became the largest party on the Emerald Isle, and these honest Brittany residents truly used their votes to get James into the House of Commons in London.

Faced with this situation, James, who never expected to win so decisively, was stunned.

Over 90% of the vote! The largest party in the region!
Although there is a governor above, the Brittany Best Party won 100 seats in the lower house representing the Emerald Isle alone, which accounts for 15% of the lower house.

Meanwhile, thanks to the BBC's exceptional performance and the shock of Joe's resignation, even though James didn't campaign much in other districts of Buntania, the Buntania Best Party still garnered a significant number of votes in those districts.

Together they won 22% of the seats, making them the third largest party in Congress.

Second only to the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, which is just as young but focused on workers' rights.

James had expected to win, but he never imagined he would win by such a large margin. Just the day before, he was a student, and now he was about to decide the future of Bonitania in the council.

This completely baffled James, who had only wanted to test the waters. So he sent a telegram to Joe that very night, asking his older brother what to do in his current situation!

At this moment, the other parties in Bonitania are even more troubled than James.

Because the rise of the Best Party took away many seats, no party in Bunitani won more than 350 seats in the lower house in this first general election after the war, thus forming an absolute majority and a majority government.

This means that in this election, the Conservative Party, which won the most votes, will either form an unstable minority government or cooperate with other parties to form a coalition government, just like the pre-war cooperation between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

But whatever the Conservatives do, they have to consider what the rising Best of Bonitania party will do in parliament.

Nobody knows what a complete political novice like James will do.

The rise of the Best Party has also led to a divergence in opinions about Joe among the political animals in Bonitania.

Some people feel that they didn't act against Wagner too early, but too late.

If they had acted any later, one family could have controlled both elite military forces and wielded influence in the council.

What is this, friends? It's the Duke Protector of the Nation 2.0!
Some people believe that the rise of the Best Party was entirely due to public sympathy for Joe, which was then transferred to James.

If this hadn't happened, the Best Party would never have risen to prominence like this.

Moreover, after Joe left, who will be in charge of the Army's future development plans, and who will oversee the design of the Empire's tanks?
How can we then interfere in world affairs as easily and conveniently as we used to?
The Prime Minister is so foolish!
However, Joe, who had already made his move, didn't care about any of this. The political atmosphere in London was less important to Joe, who had already fled to Paradise Island to become its owner, than the weather in the morning or afternoon.

Joe had always been working hard and striving to live a better life.

His subsequent troubles were entirely due to inertia.

Now, after suddenly stopping, they arrived at Paradise Island, behind the villa next to the private beach that Joe had left for himself.

Joe felt he should have started selling a long time ago.

This three-story private villa is located next to a beach surrounded by mountains and forests.

Just a five-minute walk down from the mountain, you can enjoy the best beach in the entire Aegean Sea.

At the same time, since Joe is not short of money, this private villa is extremely luxurious.

Since it is located in the Aegean Sea, this villa is designed entirely in the style of ancient Rome, complete with things like ancient Roman statues and marble bathtubs.

Even the guards, who no longer need to undertake combat missions, have changed into clothing in a very ancient Roman style.

When the sun is shining brightly, the beach always turns white.

Joe, meanwhile, could sit on a beach chair on the sand, wearing shorts and a cold drink, or comfortably sunbathe on the balcony of his villa. He lived a leisurely life where he didn't even have to lift a finger to eat fruit.

This place is so pleasant, I don't even think about Bonitania.

If it weren't for some business to run and the fact that Joe is still the Supreme Commander of NATO, he feels he could stay on this beach forever.

During his break, Joe also reflected on himself.

I've done everything I should and could do to the best of my ability, so why has things turned out this way?

After reflecting on it, Joe felt that he hadn't done anything wrong.

The Buntania were a bunch of bastards to begin with, and now they've become an even bigger pile of bastards, the worst of the worst.

Therefore, based on this epiphany, Joe felt that NATO's military defense plan needed to be drastically revised.

In Joe's previous NATO defense plan, NATO forces would at most need to hold out for a week under attacks from the People's Revolutionary Union or Poland with Wagner's help, and then the Bonitania's heavenly army would come in and wreak havoc on those guys.

But now, Joe realizes that Britannia is absolutely unreliable.

Given their current overwhelming advantage, they can maintain their relative naval superiority by selling out Wagner.

If one day the situation on the Old World really changes, then whether the insectoids of Bonitania will dare to send troops immediately is a question.

Therefore, the old model of relying on total mobilization to transform NATO forces into a system with a large number of ordinary troops filling the gaps, supported by a small number of elite armored units, is definitely no longer viable.

In particular, after he left, Joe had serious doubts about whether Brittany could actually build a suitable tank.

Although he had previously submitted an army reform plan for MCS, or modern combat system, that plan was eventually scaled down to a 30-ton medium tank plan.

Now that their own people are gone, it's hard to say what they'll do with this armored vehicle plan.

Therefore, since we cannot rely on completely reliable armored forces, we can only rely on infantry and lightly armored units.

Joe's plan is to begin a large-scale military reform of NATO forces over the next few years, transforming them into wasp-like units—small, agile, and capable of inflicting severe pain and regret even if they are not lethal.

As for Wagner, Joe was also preparing to begin reorganization.

With these restrictions in place, the kind of large-scale armored assaults of the past are naturally no longer possible.

Considering that there may not be a next-generation tank to replace the Hound tank in the future, Wagner must also transform.

The focus is shifting from large-scale armored assaults to small-scale infiltration and attack.

Strip away bad assets like tanks and heavy artillery, which are ridiculously expensive to use and maintain.

Since it's no longer of any use, we'll just sell it for the money.

Furthermore, converting Wagner into a highly mobile light infantry force has another advantage: not only is maintenance cheaper, but the response time is also faster if there are future missions.

At the same time, elite light infantry would make for a good movie.

After all, tanks are just something to watch for fun; infantry assaults are much more interesting.

Furthermore, most of Joe's related industries are also able to produce related equipment, which means that the profits can be kept within the company.

But before that, Joe plans to make a movie.

Because Hollywood studios are practically begging for mercy, the film crew was kicked back to the Old World as soon as they returned to the United States.

Now he's followed Old Joe to Paradise Island.

Although the living conditions on Paradise Island were excellent, Hollywood Studios, which made a lot of money, even booked a hotel for the film crew on Paradise Island.

It's about stuffing money into Joe's pocket, in addition to the box office revenue share.

Joe had nothing to say about the money he was given.

Even though Joe was still angry, he couldn't really stay angry at the production company that sent him three telegrams a day asking, "Have you eaten? How was your day? Do you have any ideas for the movie script? We're not in a hurry, we're just asking. If you have any ideas, we'll start transferring money to the production team's account right away, any amount you want!"

So, under the cool sea breeze of the Aegean Sea, looking at the white beach, Joe, who was gradually becoming twisted in anger, came up with a brilliant script.

Since everyone loves Hellgate: Paris so much, have you ever wondered where the Hellgate came from?
That was naturally due to the Black Prince's achievements back then, which were later closed by Joan of Arc. In the failed siege of 1429, although Joan of Arc was unable to liberate Paris, a nun, a friend of Joan of Arc, successfully closed the gates of hell.

After spending half a day writing the script outline, Joe was very satisfied with the script and was about to start refining the outline when...

Catherine, who had been called by Joe to help with typing and proofreading, saw the script outline.

Then, Catherine, who had hardly ever argued with Joe over the years, had a fierce argument with him. The argument was finally calmed down by the cries of Catherine's child, Joe's second son, Leon, who was also born in the United States.

Catherine also put the script away and asked Joe to come up with a new one.

Considering that even Catherine felt the script was a bit too much, Joe had no choice but to back down.

Let's see if we can make some related spin-off movies, to appease the locals for now and also to annoy the London gentlemen.

Joe felt he couldn't vent his anger without giving the London gentlemen a piece of his mind.

However, unfortunately, Joe simply didn't have any talent in this area, and for a while, he couldn't think of a way to make the film disgusting to the gentlemen of London.

Just then, the election ended, and James sent a telegram to Joe asking him what he should do now that he had suddenly become a third-party member of Congress.

This gave Joe an idea. As everyone knows, the famous Lord Protector was a native of Cambridge, and everyone knows about his deeds. So what if we add a little magic to the original history?

For example, Charles I and the Parliament at the time had become vampires, and His Excellency the Lord Protector happened to be a hereditary vampire hunter?

As for the subsequent wars of Bonitania, it can be explained that those countries were also under the control of vampires, and the Duke of Bonitania was hunting down the vampire army.

This worldview would then be able to connect with "Hell's Gate: Paris," and if possible, even make a "Hell's Gate: London" film, since London has experienced numerous fires throughout history.

It's entirely possible to make a sequel like this.

Moreover, controversial figures like Cromwell wouldn't elicit a strong public reaction, since they're all Britannians...

But those gentlemen who can't stand Wagner's rise are going to get their lungs pierced this time.

After deciding on the subject matter, Joe summoned his secretariat to begin working on the script.

Of course, this is done in the spirit of not making things up, and not adapting things without making them up.

This time, Cromwell will be wearing a bikini armor, played by the actress who previously played the nun.

There was no way around it; that person was practically born with a divine body for wearing uniforms. Even the well-informed Old Joe couldn't resist wearing the barely altered nun's habit.

After playing the Teutonic Colonel once again, Schneider, who was almost too afraid to leave his home in Brittany, once again played the villain Charles I.

Upon hearing Joe's arrangement, Schneider was so moved that he burst into tears on the spot.

It's not easy! I've played so many bad guys, this time I can finally play a decent guy!

The previous lead actress was somewhat dissatisfied with Joe's arrangements.

She felt that her performance last time was excellent, and the box office results proved it, so why was she relegated to a supporting role this time?

Not only was she relegated to a supporting role, but she was even playing Cromwell's wife! Isn't that going against the natural order?!

Then, after Joe made her put on the bikini armor that the props department had just made, he also had the second female lead put on the bikini armor and turn around in front of her.

Faced with the disadvantages in modeling and physics, the actress could only admit that Joe wasn't targeting anyone.

So, after everything was prepared, the film "The Mystery of the Protector of the Nation" officially began filming on Paradise Island.

While Joe was filming the movie, Teutonic also encountered a minor problem.

Because the Gauls occupied the Rhineland, the entire Rhineland went into strike, while the Teutonic government attempted to stabilize public sentiment and gain support.

They began providing large-scale subsidies to striking workers in the Rhineland to support their patriotic movement.

From this perspective, the way the officials and the people get along is a good thing.

There's a small problem here: the Teutonic government didn't pay reparations because it didn't have the money, so how are they going to find the money to pay subsidies to the striking workers?
The answer was naturally to print money. As large amounts of paper money flowed into the market, the Teutonic inflation rate began to soar.

Soon, prices rose as high as the government's mother, and even a loaf of bread could sell for 500,000 marks.

And this is far from the peak of prices.

------------

Just as immigrants from the Emerald Isle brought St. Patrick's Day to Citizen.

Emerald Isle immigrants soon brought rock and roll, a novelty, to Citibank.

Although in the 20s, this music was considered noisy, indecent, and rebellious.

However, as time went on, rock music, along with the awakening of youth culture, became one of the most important popular cultural phenomena in the second half of the 20th century.

While people today enjoy rock music with headphones on, they might also enjoy a beer from Emerald Isle.

Let us enjoy together the gifts that these two Emerald Isles have brought to the world.

——————"Our Story" by Citibank

(End of this chapter)