Shadow Empire

Chapter 1025 Blackmail
The clean and bright factory buildings have been built according to the requirements of the two weapons experts from the Federation, and frankly, it cost a lot of money.

This project was spearheaded by the President, with the Ministry of National Defense and the military following up, and a state-owned enterprise also participating. It was a truly high-profile and significant project.

Its purpose is to solve the current problem that standard bullets cannot be imported from the federal government. Once these two bullet production lines are completed, the Republic of Germany will be able to achieve "bullet freedom".

They can not only use them themselves, but also sell them to neighboring countries.

Just as they themselves were unwilling to change their clothes easily, the countries of the entire Asia Blue region were also unwilling to change their clothes.

Because changing uniforms would mean a large outflow of foreign exchange, and they had very limited foreign exchange reserves. Since the Commonwealth did not recognize their own currency, they could only use foreign exchange to make purchases.

If there isn't enough foreign exchange, some federal officials and capitalists will reveal their greedy nature and demand more valuable things from them.

If these two production lines can be successfully built, all problems will be solved, and the status and authority of the Czech Republic within the Asian Union will be elevated to a new level.

The president's secretary followed the two experts throughout the process. "Mr. Smith, we have renovated the entire factory area according to the second version of the design you gave us. Do you think it meets your requirements?"

In fact, the factory had been built for some time, and then they excitedly approached the two people, saying that they hoped they could transport some production lines over through their own channels as soon as possible for installation and to organize production.

But Smith, the engineer, said that the factory here did not meet the standards for federal assembly line production.

He came up with many reasons, such as the ground not being flat enough, the slope of the ground not being steep enough, and the volume of the space. In short, they always had all sorts of reasons.

After a period of renovation and wasting more than a month, they finally felt that the requirements for the renovation were met.

The purpose of our visit today is to invite them to see if this place meets the basic requirements for setting up an assembly line.

After circling the room twice and still finding nothing wrong, Engineer Smith nodded with a hint of arrogance, "It's barely usable."

The disdain in his tone, along with his infuriating attitude, caused the ministers, gentlemen, and old men around him to show a hint of anger on their faces.

Initially, they had great respect for the two experts, after all, they represented an attempt and effort by the Republic of Germany to break free from federal control in military logistics!
This time, it may only be a matter of resupplying ammunition, and we will no longer rely on the Federation.

But what about next time?

Perhaps they could produce their own artillery shells instead of buying them from the Federation.

Could these industrial upgrades lead to rapid overall industrial development, allowing more things to break free from dependence on the federal government?
It's very possible that there's absolutely no problem with it!
Therefore, they attach great importance to this factory construction plan and even took the initiative to allocate 20 million federal sols to build a military factory that "meets the industrial production standards of the federal arsenal".

They didn't know what this standard actually meant, but it was very expensive, with many of the building materials being imported from the federal government at high prices.

Buying their special grade concrete in the federal territory might only cost a few hundred dollars per ton, but if they wanted to buy it, it would cost thousands.

The same was true for some other things; they were sold to them at several times the price.

The Foreign Trade Office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the diplomatic department of the Asian Union have both discussed this matter with the Federation. They are not asking for much preferential treatment, but at least they cannot sell to them at several times the price.

However, the federal government refused to negotiate, arguing that these materials were high-tech products and that they didn't care about the money.
In the end, they could only endure the various discomforts and force themselves to swallow this piece of shit sent by the Federation, and even chewed it a bit.

Then it came to this point: the first construction, the demolition, and the rebuilding. The twenty million dollars allocated by the President should have been enough to even cover the cost of purchasing the production line.

But now, they've only built one factory and already used up most of it, which makes them wonder if they'll need to pay more foreign exchange if they want to buy production lines.

Fortunately, the engineer, Smith, has finally given his approval, which is a significant step forward.

Although everyone was impatient with this guy and thought he was a bit too arrogant, it was a step forward in the end.

"So... Mr. Smith, when can we purchase the bullet production line?"

They had actually inspected the bullet production line that Engineer Smith had mentioned. Although it wasn't the most advanced bullet production line in the Federation, its production speed of about 22,000 rounds per hour still made manual production feel hopeless.

Furthermore, these machines can produce 528,000 bullets a day, 24 hours a day.

They will buy two production lines from the federal government, which can produce one million bullets a day, or thirty million bullets a month.

If they can purchase more production lines, they will keep doubling their output based on the current daily output of 528,000 rounds.

This is an astonishing number!

In just three months, they can produce 100 million bullets, which is enough for them to use for a long time and to export.

One hundred million bullets could bring the Republic of Germany a profit of about one million seven or eight hundred thousand, so they were not very resistant to the investment.

Not only could they escape federal government control, but they could also make money and meet their own bullet needs, so why wouldn't they do it?
The president's secretary stared intently at Engineer Smith, as did everyone else—the ministers, the gentlemen, the old men.

They were afraid that this arrogant and foolish fellow would come up with some ridiculous excuse to postpone the matter.

He had already done some things during this time. For example, he suffered from diarrhea due to the change in environment, but he claimed it was caused by eating roadside snacks that tasted like feces from the Czech Republic. He kept putting it off for more than a week.

On another occasion, he slept with a high-ranking noblewoman. A military officer from the Department of Defense sent his daughter to the bed of Engineer Smith, who was inquiring everywhere about where to find high-class prostitutes.

Then he said that the high-ranking official's daughter had a sexually transmitted disease, which caused him to be very itchy. He needed treatment, so he went back to his country and received treatment for two weeks before returning.

In short, he always had various reasons to keep pushing the time back, unless they had repeatedly investigated and confirmed that the two of them were indeed designers and engineers from a military enterprise.

Perhaps they have already disappeared, or are living a very miserable life.

Upon hearing these words from Engineer Smith, everyone immediately showed an expression of disbelief. They couldn't believe that everything had happened so quickly and so easily!

The president's secretary quickly realized what was going on, "Shall we discuss this issue now?"

Engineer Smith nodded and said, "No problem, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Then... let's go back to the Presidential Palace first. I'll personally report to His Excellency the President; he'll be very pleased!"

Engineer Smith replied with an indifferent expression, "This has nothing to do with me, do as you please."

Soon the convoy took them back to the Presidential Palace. Interestingly, the Presidential Palace of the Czech Republic was much more grand and magnificent than that of the Federal Presidential Palace.

It looks like a small, magnificent palace, after all, it is the "private property" of the presidential family.

Yes.

The presidential palace of a country is actually the private property of the ruling family. If one day a member of their family no longer wants to be president, the newly elected president is not qualified to work in the presidential palace because it is private property.

However, they are unlikely to give up on continuing the presidency, as it would not benefit them.

When the president learned that the matter could finally move to the next step, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The fighting in the Republic of Lapa has been very intense recently. After receiving aid from the Federation, Diego has rebuilt an army of about 400,000 men, and is still recruiting.

It is said that Diego has begun to consider using quota-based recruitment to obtain more soldiers.

If a household has two or more men, they will be conscripted according to the quota of one out of two, two out of three, and three out of five.

For example, if a family has seven men, then three soldiers are first conscripted according to the rule of three out of five, and then one more soldier is conscripted according to the rule of one out of two, which makes a total of seven soldiers.

When the next conscription takes place, one soldier will be selected from every three. As for whether all men will eventually be conscripted, or even women will be sent to the battlefield, Diego himself doesn't know. What he does know is that he has gone mad.

Some events in Lapa have also led to changes in some member states of the Asian Union, and he knows that the diplomatic ambassadors of these countries are behaving very favorably toward the Federation.

Now they are waiting, waiting for the right opportunity.

As long as Lapa completes its "subversion" and is the first to withdraw from the Asian Union and join the Federation, these countries will immediately follow suit.

The reason they are hesitant to do so now is out of fear of an attack from the Czech Republic, but if someone does it first, then it will be easier for them to follow suit.

All of this requires the Czech Republic to increase its "deterrence" within the Asian Union, and the ability to produce its own weapons and ammunition is one aspect of this.

This means that in this area, the Alan region, their combat potential is unmatched by anyone else.

“As long as his demands aren’t excessive…” The president looked at his secretary, put the pen back on the table, and rested his chin on his clasped hands. “…Then grant his request.”

With the president's instructions, his secretary immediately returned to the negotiating table.

Although it's called a negotiating table, it's certainly not as formal as a real negotiating table.

"Engineer Smith, you've already inspected the factory building you asked us to construct. So when are we going to purchase the production line you mentioned from the Federal Reserve?"

"Our time is very tight, Engineer Smith. We have invested a lot of money and promised you a share of the profits that is far higher than what we can get, in order to make you feel our sincerity and expedite the completion of the project."

Engineer Smith smiled. "You guys are in a hurry!"

The president's secretary pursed his lips; he wanted to say something, but ultimately held back.

Perhaps realizing that his words had not achieved the desired result, Engineer Smith then shook his head, "Actually, setting up an assembly line is not a complicated matter."

"The first step is to buy the production line back from the federal government."

"The second step is to assemble it, test it, and ensure that it can be produced smoothly."

"The third step is that you can then start full-scale production."

"Theoretically, this production line can produce 22,000 bullets per hour, but in reality, if we increase the production speed, 25,000 or even 27,000 bullets per hour is not a problem."

"Our most advanced production line in the Federation is now an improved version of it, which theoretically produces 38,000 rounds per hour, but in practice it produces about 41,000 rounds per hour."

Upon hearing these figures, the president's secretary, along with representatives from the military and the Department of Defense in the room, all showed expressions of surprise and delight.

The president's secretary couldn't wait any longer and asked, "So what are we waiting for now?"

Engineer Smith tilted his head slightly, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "You, you guys, you don't think that just because you say 'What are we waiting for,' I can conjure up an assembly line from my hands, do you?"

“You have to spend money, you have to buy it back, before you can do what I’m saying.”

The president's secretary asked, "How much?"

"Fifty million."

Everyone was stunned when he said the number, including the president's secretary, who said somewhat uncertainly, "You mean... fifty million Larries?"

The "Lari" is the legal tender of the Czech Republic. Its exchange rate with the Federal Sol is approximately 10 to 1, meaning 10 Laris can be exchanged for one Federal Sol.

Fifty million Larries refers to five million Federal Sols.

Although the price is a bit high, it's still within their budget.

But are these figures from the federal government really in Larry?
Instead of... using Federal Sol?
The president's secretary had a slightly uneasy look on his face. The next second, Engineer Smith shook his head and laughed, "Of course it's the Federal Sol. You don't think anyone in the Federation would need your country's currency, do you?"

He then laughed arrogantly, a laugh that was irritating, "I don't know why you people from the Asian Alliance are always like this, always thinking that you and the Federation are on the same level."

"No offense intended, I'm just stating the facts. If it weren't for the huge help you've given us, I wouldn't even want to be here!"

The president's secretary's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "We've inquired, and the bullet production line you mentioned costs less than four million."

Engineer Smith did not refute, but instead agreed, saying, "Your information is very accurate. To be more precise, it would cost about 3.2 million to buy a complete production line."

He held up one finger, which signified a shift in his tone: "But even if you offered fifty million, you couldn't buy this production line in the Federation."

“I don’t need to make any promises to you. I know you think I’m blackmailing you, but you can try it yourselves first.”

"You should send your people to try and buy these production lines, see if you can get them."

"Then we'll discuss whether this price is reasonable."

Engineer Smith wasn't in a hurry at all; instead, he spoke these words slowly and deliberately.

The president's secretary's expression shifted several times. "Fifty million, is it for two production lines or..."

"Two!" Engineer Smith's mood wasn't worse than expected; the average price had increased almost eightfold. Those damned Federals!

The president's secretary couldn't sit still any longer. "I need to report to His Excellency the President that I have no authority to make decisions regarding such a large flow of funds."

Engineer Smith remained unchanged, saying, "Go ahead, we have plenty of time."

"If you need a longer time, I think I can go back to my place with my friend first, and then contact me after you've discussed it."

He seemed certain that the presidential secretary would be gone for a long time. The presidential secretary did not answer his request, but instead apologized and left quickly.

Before long, the president looked at his secretary and listened to what he had said, and couldn't help but get angry. "This is extortion!"

His secretary nodded repeatedly, and said with some grievance, "I've always been suspicious of what these two Federation people are here for."

"They don't seem to be here to help us complete the assembly and production of bullets; they're too greedy."

The President nodded. He had considered it for a while. The fifty million figure was right on his mind, but it was still within his tolerance.

If the other party asks for more, he might consider having the university start developing its own bullets.

Fifty million... that's enough funding for research, but he doesn't have that much time.

"Let our people go to the federal government first and ask if they are willing to sell these production lines, even if we offer more money."

"Give them five million for one set, or ten million if five million isn't enough. I don't believe these capitalists can tolerate this!"

He seemed to have a deep understanding of the character of these capitalists, and from the moment he opened his mouth, he kept adding to the stakes.

The secretary did not refuse. "I will contact them immediately. As for Engineer Smith and his team, I told them to go back first and that we need to think about it, after all, it's such a large sum of money."

The President was pleased with the secretary's reasoning, "Just tell them to contact me as soon as there are any updates on this matter."

(End of this chapter)