While in America, the system says Roosevelt was an emperor.

Vito chuckled and shook his head, saying:

"Tom, you're too young."

"More than forty years ago, I was younger than you. I was being hunted by the Mafia in Italy and fled to America."

"Back then, I was full of youthful vigor and thought I could make a name for myself on my own."

"But after struggling for more than a decade, all I could do was barely survive."

"It wasn't until over twenty years ago, thanks to the Prohibition era, that I led the Corleone family to its rise."

"The size of the Corleone family remained almost unchanged after Prohibition was lifted."

"Do you think it's because I didn't want to expand anymore these past few years?"

Vito Corleone pointed to the Corleone family's sphere of influence—located right in the center of the constituency on Tom's map.

Although the Corleone family is the strongest mafia in the constituency, they only control about a third of the territory.

The remaining gangs divided up the remaining territory.

"Which Mafia organization in New York's underworld doesn't want to expand?"

"But once the Mafia expands to a certain extent, do you think the government will just sit idly by?"

"Over the years, whenever the Corleone family has made any big moves, the police, or even the National Guard, will get involved."

"The government will not tolerate the Mafia developing to the point of influencing elections in city constituencies."

"Circumstances are beyond our control. The fact that the Corleone family hasn't been squeezed out is already the best-case scenario."

Tom's lips twitched, but unfortunately, there was no three-year period for the original body to return to its place.

Pointing to the radio on the table, Tom continued speaking to Godfather Vito:

"Father Vito, the war has begun."

"The federal government machine is about to roar to life."

"As you said, circumstances are beyond our control."

"What do you think the federal government needs most during wartime?"

"Money, money, it's all about money."

"War is always about spending money!"

"For money, the government can make concessions to many people or things."

Tom took out his Finance Bureau work ID, showing his headshot, and slapped it on the table to show Godfather Vito.

"Just an hour ago, the Department of Finance held a meeting and demanded a thorough investigation of the taxes throughout New York City, in order to deliver a positive financial report to the city government, the state government, and most importantly, the federal government before Christmas."

"And I was appointed to be in charge of collecting taxes in Brooklyn and Queens."

"Under U.S. federal law, the Treasury Department can collect taxes using armed force."

"The bureau chief gave me fifty slots, slots for armed tax collection."

"As long as Godfather Vito helps me collect taxes, I will naturally allocate a few slots to the Corleone family."

"A legally armed force, with the power to levy taxes—Godfather Vito, you should understand the significance of that."

Vito the Godfather fell into deep thought, either speaking to Tom or talking to himself:

"What sustains any mafia organization?"

"Just like the government, it's all about money."

"And where does the Mafia's money come from?"

"It's nothing more than protection money and black market activities."

"The black market is easy to deal with. Just hire some gunmen at night, and they can bring production to a temporary halt in a few days."

In 1941, the unemployment rate in the United States was as high as 15 percent. There were plenty of people willing to risk their lives for a few hundred dollars or even a few dozen dollars.

In America, human life is always the cheapest commodity.

"Protection fees are a bit more difficult to obtain; they are the result of long-term trust established between ordinary businesses and gangs."

"Moreover, if ordinary businesses go too far, the police will intervene."

"But if they use the pretext of taxation to interfere with their business, the police can't do anything about it."

"At the same time, spread the word that if you pay protection money to the Corleone family, the tax bureau will not investigate the taxes."

"At that time, the trust between the gangsters and the merchants will be easily replaced by the Corleone family."

"After such a series of blows, how long can those small gangs hold out?"

"Ten days?"

"No, it would be good if we could last five days."

Vito the Godfather fell silent as he spoke.

He suddenly had a feeling similar to that when Prohibition was enacted—that the Corleone family could ride the wave of the war!

Tom just mentioned that he has taxing authority in two counties. If the Corleone family can influence several municipalities...

The Corleone family really has a chance to redeem themselves.

If the Corleone family can truly influence the election, the city government will reluctantly agree to let them "take the table."

After a long while, Father Vito took a deep breath and asked Tom:

How can you guarantee that what you're saying is true?

"Why should we entrust you with two counties and districts, each with a population of over one million, and fifty armed personnel slots?"

"Do you, a newly hired employee, have such a lot of authority?"

When Tom heard Vito ask that question, he knew the fish had taken the bait.

No mafia boss can resist the temptation to launder their money and go straight.

Tom, of course, couldn't say he made a living based on his looks, and replied:

"The meeting this morning was a bureau-wide meeting, with over a hundred staff members from the Finance Bureau present."

"If Godfather Vito is not at ease, he can go and find out the contents of the meeting himself."

By this time, Godfather Vito had already believed Tom. With so many people in the Treasury, it was easy to find out about this matter; no one would dare to lie about such a thing.

Vito the Godfather continued to ask:

"So, how much tax will the Corleone family need to collect for you, and how many slots will they be able to secure?"

Tom smiled and said:

"Before Christmas, I want to collect two million dollars in taxes from Brooklyn and Queens."

Tom certainly wouldn't reveal his secrets, otherwise how would he make money?

How bold people are and how productive they are.

Tom doubled the mission objective.

"The area I'm responsible for has a total of five municipal constituencies, and the economic situation in each constituency is roughly the same."

"Four hundred thousand dollars for one district can buy ten seats."

In New York City elections, seats are allocated using the Electoral College system, with each district consisting of 75,000 voters, for a total of 25 seats.

New York City certainly has more than 187.5 million people, but in free America, some people are not considered human.

The empire doesn't count bottom-nest rats when it comes to population statistics, nor does it allow bottom-nest rats to "vote".

Vito nodded and said in a calm tone:

"I'll give you three million dollars, and give me all fifty spots."

"I'm going to take over the entire Queens and Brooklyn!"

Tom was startled and thought to himself:

"Damn it, I ordered too little! I didn't realize the Mafia was so rich!"

"Any member of the Corleone family could easily come up with three million dollars in cash."

"And judging from Vito's tone, three million dollars isn't a lot of money."

Tom would certainly not agree; he wouldn't agree to it even for thirty million, let alone three million.

Tom was using the Corleone family, not working for them, and he wanted to keep them from getting out of his control.

Tom didn't directly refute it, but said:

"Godfather Vito, don't worry, you haven't heard my bad news yet."

"After hearing this, you might not make that choice anymore."

Upon hearing this, Vito looked puzzled.

What news could influence his decision? This involves the underworld of two different counties.

Vito the Godfather asked in response:

"So, what's the bad news?"