Shadow Empire

Chapter 1000: Chatting, Chance Encounters, and Confrontations
"I heard you and Wade had a very unpleasant falling out?" Tom chatted with Lance while eating his expensive steak.

Lance came to New Gold City mainly to attend Arthur's wedding.

On November 28th, Arthur will be married at the St. Joseph's Cathedral in New Gold City. His wife's father is a mid-level cadre in the Socialist Party, making this a political marriage.

The development of Golden Harbor City is very good, which means that the Williams family can obtain a lot of benefits from the development of Golden Harbor City.

Political development cannot be separated from financial support; what if there's no money?

What politics can you have without money!

Some people want money, some want fame; this is the most suitable marriage alliance.

Mayor Williams has decided that he wants James to succeed him, so naturally he needs to continue to promote James, ensuring that James meets and gets to know some of the top leaders of the Socialist Party.

Federal politics is a very simple yet very complex system, with each link interconnected, ultimately forming this complex yet simple and stable society.

If James wants to run for mayor of Goldenport City, or even one day in the future for governor of Likale, he must have supporters among the middle and upper echelons of the Socialist Party.

This requires more people to know him and have some goodwill towards him.

Mayor Williams and James have arrived; they're busy with Arthur's wedding, which is a big event.

Since we're in New Gold City, it's inevitable that we'll have to visit Senator Cleveland.

Senator Cleveland has been quite busy lately, and I don't have time to see him during the day, and I'm not even sure if I'll have time in the evening.

He usually returns to his villa or estate after 11 p.m., which is no longer appropriate for receiving guests and would be considered very impolite. So it's really uncertain whether Lance will be able to meet Senator Cleveland in the next few days.

Of course, if he has something important to do, the senator will also put aside some work to see him.

Unable to find the senator, Lance greeted Tom, who then invited him to dinner that evening.

If Lance hadn't arrived so suddenly, he would definitely have had his wife prepare a sumptuous dinner to entertain him.

During the time he had known Lance, he could say that he had completed the most basic accumulation of wealth. Lance had given him several hundred thousand, and with the money from others, he had received more than one million in benefits from Lance and people related to Lance.

At this time, the purchasing power of one million is absolutely terrifying!

When two people are eating, it's not just about eating; chatting is still the main activity.

As they chatted, Tom brought up Governor Wade, who is now widely known to have had some conflicts with Lance, a common occurrence in federal politics.

It happens every few years, if not every year.

Some are running for governor, some for senator, and some are even running for president.

Before they succeed in their sprint, they often have very good relationships with some supporters who support them in order to gain their own share of the benefits from their sprint results.

The most famous example is the years when federal monopoly laws were being passed, the capitalists, and the presidents they elected.

Before the Antitrust Act was enacted, the federal government belonged to supertrust groups that held absolute control over almost all industries through various means.

They firmly control everything from raw materials and distribution channels to pricing power, which has had a huge negative impact on society.

Some dissenting voices have emerged in society, arguing that capital monopolies are undermining the very foundation of social development, and that if monopolistic practices are not eradicated, the federation will ultimately split.

The immense public opinion propelled the entire situation forward, and in order to secure their profits in the federal government, these monopolistic groups supported the rise of a president.

The first thing the president did after taking office was to draft the Antitrust Act, which was also the topic of most discussion at the time.

Under this president's leadership, all the super-trust groups in the federal government were dismantled, and there are no longer any monopolistic practices in the federal government.

Of course, some people believe that the president and these mega-trust groups are putting on a show, a show specifically for ordinary people.

Those companies that had achieved monopolies were indeed broken up, but their actual monopolistic behavior did not stop.

The federal government originally had two steel companies that controlled more than 90 percent of the nation’s steel production. After the antitrust law was enacted, the number of companies was reduced to nine, which seemed to make more sense. However, these nine companies still control the federal government’s steel production.

Because they were "dismembered," they even took up more market share. Each company may have only taken up a few percent or ten percent, but together they almost completely monopolized the steel market.

Some people think this is a brilliant performance because the same people are still behind the nine steel companies, and they are still manipulating the market.

However, some people believe that these claims are true, and that the competition among the nine companies has made the market more transparent and prices more reasonable.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, similar incidents of people becoming enemies after rising to power were commonplace in Liu Anbang's case. It can only be said that Lance was unlucky.

Faced with Tom's curiosity, Lance didn't hide anything, "He wanted more money, but I didn't want to give it to him, and he was being too forceful, so neither of us could back down."

Tom understood what Lance meant: whoever concedes will be in a very passive position.

Governor Wade is a "governor," the highest-ranking person in the state, and he certainly won't back down.

Lance is no small fry either. If he makes concessions now, it won't just be a concession; it will trigger a series of problems, and he will represent more than just himself.

Tom curled his lip, casually poking at the food on his plate with his fork. "Actually, all you need at this point is a middleman to solve your problem."

The role of the middleman is basically demonstrated at this moment: to find an intermediary, which must be a middleman with status and authority, such as a former governor or a former senator.

These people are qualified to do the job of governor, and they have extensive connections throughout the federal political arena.

At this point, it wasn't a matter of Lance making concessions to Governor Wade, or Governor Wade making concessions for Lance; rather, it was a matter of them making concessions to this mediator.

"For my sake..."

This is the importance of the middleman.

“If you need, I can find you a suitable candidate.” Tom’s political standing has improved recently, and he can now speak directly with senators instead of having to go through Senator Cleveland.

This is a huge promotion, and it also shows that he has the potential to transition from a staff member to a politician, provided that Senator Cleveland agrees.

Someone like him, who works as an aide to Senator Cleveland, must have a lot of political secrets related to Senator Cleveland.

If Senator Cleveland himself doesn't agree, he will most likely remain an advisor for life; no one will allow someone who knows some of his private affairs to run amok.

Unless Tom doesn't want to live anymore.

As for how things will develop in the end, Tom himself doesn't really have any ideas; he's quite satisfied with his current life and situation.

Although he himself had little real power, as a staff member of Senator Cleveland, he could still wield influence by borrowing the power of the powerful.

Moreover, he is very rich, and people respect him. Apart from not having direct power of his own, he is not much different from those big shots now.

Lance shook his head. "I know that finding a middleman could solve this problem, but I don't want to do that. I just want to see how capable he is and how far he can take this matter."

“Wade also has people in Congress supporting him.” Tom brought this up after he roughly understood. A guy with such great influence in a state and who has now successfully run for governor could not possibly be without backers in Congress.

He casually picked up a small piece of lamb chop, tore off a piece, and said while chewing, "Besides, removing a governor would come at a great cost, and it would be difficult for senators to agree to such an idea."

"Everyone is united against a common enemy right now. War is the most important thing right now, not internal political infighting. So they won't agree with your ideas unless you can convince the senators behind Wade."

Lance nodded. "I haven't considered resolving the issue between Wade and me through the senators' channels either."

“Besides, this matter isn’t actually that serious. My goods aren’t sold through the governor, so he can’t touch me.” As they were chatting, the restaurant doorbell suddenly rang. Lance glanced at the door, and the guy who had just walked in, who was clearly the leader of the group, seemed to sense Lance’s gaze and looked over at him.

Their eyes met in mid-air, as if there was a magnetic pull between them, drawing their gazes in.

They stared at each other, their eyes filled with something weighty, and the temperature in the restaurant seemed to change as they looked at each other.

Many people noticed this, and they all turned to look at Lance or the guy who had just come in, before looking away again.

Two tables of guests even finished their dinner hastily, leaving their money on the bill before quickly leaving.

Tom also turned his head to look towards the restaurant entrance, where seven or eight middle-aged people were standing.

The restaurant manager seemed a little confused. He tried to calm the guests down and reminded them that they shouldn't be standing at the door.

Tom's gaze finally settled on the face and body of the man who was clearly the leader, scrutinizing him back and forth. He didn't recognize these people, but he could sense that they must have some kind of grudge against Lance.

The other person's eyes were fierce, not at all like the eyes one would use to look at a friend.

"Who are they?" Tom asked.

Lance grunted twice, "People from the Perez family."

"The five great families of the Federation?" Tom was taken aback. "I've heard of them. Are they very powerful?"

Lance withdrew his gaze, glanced at Madol standing beside him, and Madol nodded slightly before walking to the window.

Lance certainly didn't come to New Gold City alone; he also has his own "business" here—the embassy's bar.

To avoid any trouble caused by guests inside, the Lance family also has quite a few members in New Gold City.

Lance continued eating, his attention seemingly focused on the food rather than on the Perez family. "Is it big?"

“I don’t know much about them, maybe a lot, but the reason they are so powerful is simply because…” Lance picked up a piece of beef with his fork and put it in his mouth, while looking at Tom, “…they hadn’t met me before.”

Tom was infected by his innate confidence and laughed. "Why are they looking at you like that?"

"It's as if you did something unforgivable!"

The way those people stared at Lance just now was as if they wanted to devour him; it was full of violence.

If Congress hadn't mediated their fight with Lance, they might have already started a full-blown brawl the moment they met.

The rule prohibiting open warfare in New Gold City is a new regulation following the last incident, and even the five major families of the Federation dare not do so at this time.

Lance shrugged. "They had a problem with me and attacked my men, so I roasted one of their important family members on some kind of pole."

"Roasted?" Tom looked at Lance in disbelief. "Is it the kind of roasted I think it is?"

Lance scraped the skin of a roasted lamb with his knife, and the crisp sound made Tom curse, "Damn it, you've ruined my appetite!"

He put down his knife and fork and stared at Lance in disbelief. Lance looked completely innocent. "I just hung him up, but then there was a fire over there, and that's how he ended up being roasted."

That sounded much more reasonable. It was only then that Tom remembered that Lance, after all, was a very well-known gangster boss in the Federation.

In their usual interactions, Lance behaved too much like a politician or a political outsider, which is why Tom overlooked some of his traits.

He covered his cheeks with both hands, pressing his index finger to his temples. "God, I was just thinking that I might not have an appetite for the next few days."

Lance, however, ate with great relish. "You missed out on all this delicious food, Tom. God will punish you."

Tom shook his head with a wry smile. As he shook his head, he saw the group of people approaching. He immediately warned Lance, "Your enemies are coming."

Lance didn't turn around, but sensing the approaching footsteps, a mocking look appeared on his face. "You know what?"

"If it were me, I would have fired immediately."

Tom watched them approach. "But they're not you."

A chair was lifted from the next table and placed next to Lance's dining table. Peggy sat down in the chair, staring intently at Lance. "Lance?"

"Lance White?"

Lance put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin and wiped the grease from his lips and the corners of his mouth. He turned to look at the man. “I’ve seen your picture. You should be called Peggy, Peggy Perez.”

Peggy's expression changed slightly, while Lance wore a dismissive smile. "You know what?"

“I have seen photos of all the main members of the Perez family, including you, your father, your mother, you and your brother, and you also have an older sister who is in college.”

Just one sentence made Peggy jump to his feet, his face filled with anger and a hint of fear that he himself didn't realize. "Fuck!"

"Are you threatening me?"

Lance spread his hands. "A threat?"

"No, no, no, this is just a friendly exchange of information."

"You want to kill me, but I don't want to be killed by you. I'll just get to know all of you first."

Peggy looked down at Lance. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you right here?"

Several men surrounded him, their hands tucked into their clothes, clearly ready to fire if Peggy gave the order.

Mador and his two companions also stood up, their hands tucked inside their clothes; a fight seemed inevitable.

Tom was starting to get nervous. He admired Lance, who remained relaxed, unhurried, and calm.

There were clearly more people around Peggy, but he acted as if he didn't see them.

He also discovered that Lance had the upper hand, even though he only had a few people on his side.

Peggy's breathing was rapid, which indicated that he was somewhat...confused. He looked at Lance, trying to pierce through him with his gaze.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense again. The restaurant manager, who was being held against the wall, could only close his eyes and beg them not to do anything inappropriate in the restaurant.

This is a high-end restaurant. If they mess around here, not to mention how much it would cost to renovate, how much business time would be wasted.

The negative impact of their fight alone will significantly reduce the number of guests here, and this loss is difficult to make up for.

Who would want to dine at a restaurant where there has been a gang fight?
Want to get into a close-quarters gunfight?

Shet!

He can only hope that someone has called the police and that they will arrive here as soon as possible.

Just as the two were facing off, the sound of brakes suddenly came from outside the door. Tom turned his head to look outside and saw seven or eight cars parked there, with at least twenty or thirty Lance men getting out of the cars.

They didn't go into the restaurant; they just stood outside. These people were dressed in uniform, and you could vaguely see submachine guns slung over their shoulders under their trench coats.

Lance looked at Peggy again, a mocking expression on his face. "And now?"

　Yesterday's
　　
　
(End of this chapter)