Shadow Empire

Chapter 1040 The Changing World Order
Especially at times like these, it is all the more important to eliminate groups and individuals that may bring negative impacts.

Lance wanted people to realize that although this place and the outside world are on the same land, they are absolutely two different worlds.

Police cars were constantly running around the concession, and some people were dragged out by the hair from their homes or workplaces by the police.

More often, they were arrested outside the concessions and then sent back.

These people will be publicly executed as a warning to others that even if the situation changes drastically, it is not a reason for them to act recklessly.

Because above this city, there is a pair of eyes watching over it and observing the people within it.

Lance thought that everything would become clear in a month or two at most.

Once the government forces in Rapa and these anti-government armed groups have fought to a standstill, the forces that control people's thoughts and voices will disappear, and people will be able to voice their opinions and have their own ideas.

Something similar is happening in another place.

The pedestrians on the road almost all hunched their necks and lowered their heads, and even if something happened on the roadside, they dared not look around.

Everyone cautiously looked at the small patch of ground in front of them, and the atmosphere in the entire city became solemn and frozen.

This is the capital of the Republic of Dantra, where the Dantra Presidential Palace is located.

This place used to be very lively, but as the war dragged on, the once bustling place became somewhat desolate.

In the early stages of the war, the streets were filled with people cheering for victory, who seemed to have already envisioned Dantra crushing the Slade to the ground!
They will plunder the land of the Slads, steal their wealth, burn their crops, humiliate their wives and daughters, and then kill their men.

Every Dantra person became excited, became...like a wild beast!
They gathered in the capital, chanting the president's name to express their love for him. Even in the dead of winter, many people gathered in the streets of the capital to discuss the war and the future.

But look at it now, there's no one on the streets, just like the streets of the Federal Republic that began to experience a few years ago during the Great Depression.

Even if one or two passersby occasionally walk by, they are always in a hurry.

There were hardly any people gathered outside the Presidential Palace anymore, and more troops and police were on duty outside the palace to drive away and arrest people who were throwing stones into the palace.

"If we choose to negotiate now, everything we've invested will be for nothing, and we will lose all our advantages..."

In the warm, even somewhat sweltering room, the president sat behind his desk, holding a receiver and speaking loudly to the person on the other end.

He looked to be in his fifties, not very tall, and had a fairly ordinary middle-part hairstyle.

His face looked somewhat tired, with that "aged" look that's typical of middle-aged and elderly people, yet he was a charming person.

A pretty floral collar covered his chin, but unfortunately, he didn't seem to have had time to groom himself these past few days, resulting in a stubble-covered chin that looked quite unsightly.

He looked a little haggard.

Perhaps a little more than limited, he was trying to persuade the person on the other end of the phone, who was also one of the main supporters of the war.

Starting a war is not as simple as a country's leader or head of state saying, "I want to start a war," and then the war breaks out.

The country has never belonged to the president, but to the upper class, the conglomerates, and the political families.

Only when a president has convinced enough people to stand on his side can he be qualified to wage war.

In other words, the declaration of war was merely the final outcome after all the powers had reached an agreement, not the beginning.

"Although we are at a disadvantage now, our war potential has not been exhausted, and we can continue to fight them."

"Our general is bringing us more metal raw materials, oil, and people from the east. We can definitely prolong this war!"

"Furthermore, we now have a huge advantage, namely that the battlefield is in our own country."

"Our supply lines are shorter, and our support forces can reach the front lines much faster. We have a much greater advantage on the battlefield than they do."

"All it takes is a resounding victory for us to push the battlefield back to the border!"

He stopped talking, lit a cigarette, and some sounds came through the receiver, which only he could hear.

His furrowed brows alerted his chief of staff that he was in a bad mood.

After explaining a few more times, he cursed "Fuck!" and slammed the phone down on the base.

He looked up at his chief of staff with some irritation. "It's... on the phone. He's disappointed with our current progress and objectives in the war."

"This is very bad news. I think they intend to press the end button on the war."

War is also a business, and also a form of treatment.

It's a business, as evidenced by the rapid economic recovery after the Federation entered the war, as they sold large quantities of supplies to the war-affected areas.

Sladesh, and its allies.

Because of the war, most of the industries in these countries have been converted to serve the war effort, so the gap in the civilian market is filled by the federal government.

After all, no one likes war, but life must go on. We can't let the outbreak of war cause the whole society to regress to the primitive society overnight, can we?
It is considered a treatment method because class contradictions have reached a fever pitch and become irreconcilable. If a foreign war is not launched to release the gradually increasing domestic pressure, then...

It is quite possible that Dantra has already begun to fight a civil war.

As the stronger side in the war, the entire Dantra people believed they were the victors from the very beginning, which is why they launched the war without hesitation.

They would resolve the ever-emerging class conflicts within the country through plunder, ensuring the country's continued development without causing it to fall apart due to the outbreak of conflicts.

This idea was supported by almost all of Dantra's upper class, who saw it as a way to consume a portion of the energetic lower class and then plunder huge profits, even land.

They routinely relocate discontented troublemakers to new lands, allowing them to create new classes and then integrate them into the class barriers.

I must say, it's really useful.

Everything was so perfect, including the initial progress of the war, but good times are always short-lived, and everything stopped the moment the Federation joined the war.

The nightmare has begun. Even now, some people are still investigating the Dantra Navy's attack on the Federation merchant ships, because the Navy has not submitted any reports of sinking Federation vessels.

At the same time, the naval commanders did not issue any operational orders to inherit the federal cargo ships.

They believed it was likely a trick by the Federals themselves, that they had sunk their own cargo ship and then framed the Republic of Dantra.

However, even if they did have the evidence, it wouldn't be of any practical significance, because as an enemy nation, the Federation could simply deny that it was true.

They could say that all of this is fake, fabricated evidence to smear the federal government.

These people are still investigating these things, just trying to figure out why things turned out this way.

The arrival of the Commonwealth changed the course of the war; they initially held the advantage, but now they are constantly retreating and becoming disadvantaged.

Some officers and staff officers in the country believed that the best way to change the status quo was to launch an offensive on federal territory, so that the federalists would have no time to attend to the battlefield here.

They did give it a try, attacking Golden Harbor City, but the effects only lasted a few months before everything went back to normal.

For more than two years, the war showed no signs of improving, and little wealth or assets were plundered. It was a miracle that the war had resulted in minimal losses, let alone profits.

This has led to the fact that the true ruling group in this society is no longer willing to support the continuation of the war!
They want a ceasefire.

If there were still hope of winning if they continued fighting, they would definitely persevere. But judging from the current situation, even if they force themselves to continue, there is no hope of victory whatsoever.

Neither capitalists nor politicians would do something that is destined to result in losses, let alone the fact that their purpose in launching a war is to make a profit and solve problems.

The ceasefire will have no impact on these capitalist forces, politicians, or political factions.

The public's discontent and hatred will not be directed at them, but the president's days will certainly not be easy.

You started the war, and you surrendered, and to the Slade. Public opinion and sentiment will boil over, like churning lava that can melt everything!
The president wants to maintain the status quo, but judging from his connections with these powerful families, it seems he can't.

He was now slumped in his chair, looking rather dejected, not at all like a president of a country. He looked like someone who had voluntarily given up overtime pay to work until 3 a.m., full of exhaustion and helplessness.

The chief of staff didn't know how to comfort the president, who had been involved in the entire process of planning the war game, declaring war, and right up to this moment.

All he could do was make the president a cup of coffee and bring it over.

The president straightened up, his eyes bloodshot. "They want to use me as a bargaining chip..."

He picked up his coffee, then took a small bottle of whiskey from the drawer and poured it into his coffee.

Fine wine and coffee, one cup after another.

The war is about to end, and as the party seeking "peace," both the Slade and the Federation will make exorbitant demands, asking for a great deal.

In addition, someone must be held accountable for this war.

This war resulted in the deaths and injuries of millions, and many more died indirectly as a result of the war. The number of deaths that may have been directly caused by the war exceeds ten million.

So many people have died. This cannot be resolved by simply signing a ceasefire agreement and having a few people read it aloud in public. Someone must be held accountable.

So what could carry more weight than a president?

He will die.

Moreover, he knew very well that it wasn't the Federation people or the Slade people who killed him, but the actual ruling class within the country. They were worried that he might do something excessive, so they killed him.

Just like used toilet paper, it's thrown directly into the toilet and then flushed away with water.

He looked at his chief of staff. "Things weren't like this from the beginning."

The chief of staff sighed, "It may be a bit late to say this now. Neither we nor the Slards have won this war. Only the Federation is the sole winner."

The president was breathing heavily. He looked at his chief of staff, his lips tightly pressed together. The hatred surging in his eyes made the chief of staff almost unable to look him in the eye.

"No, there is another way."

The chief of staff had no idea what the president was thinking, but at that moment, he felt a shiver run through his very soul.

He knew something big was about to happen.

But at this moment, there was nothing he could do but remain silent. He was the president's man, and if the president fell, his life wouldn't be easy either.

If the president is tried for war crimes, then his chief of staff will very likely also be implicated.

They might fabricate some charges against him and lock him up.

For several days in a row, the whole world seemed to be in turmoil, and the sound of gunfire on the front lines had subsided considerably.

However, in the diplomatic arena, they had already entered into a period of high-frequency contact.

People from different countries are making contact with each other; even the Slads are making contact with the Dantras.

Last month they were planning to make artwork from each other's skulls, but now they're secretly contacting each other behind the backs of the Commonwealth.

This is how the world is ultimately: friendship, affection, and whatever else they may be, cannot withstand the test of self-interest.

The Federation's appetite is too great, so great that even the Slade people are beginning to worry that this might be the Federation's attempt to seize control of the continent of Tanfite.

Compared to the Federation, which was stronger and more irresistible in every way, they actually preferred to mingle with their old neighbors, the Dantras.

Although their hatred dates back to a very distant past, they were, after all, neighbors and had also had periods of friendship.

The Federation people also contacted the Slade and the Dantra people. They wanted to gain more benefits from this war and get the most lucrative piece of the pie. They certainly couldn't just focus on fighting; they also needed to negotiate.

Some media outlets and newspapers seem to have sensed the changing tide, no longer focusing on war but instead beginning to talk about peace. It seems that overnight, the world order has indeed undergone a subtle shift...

(End of this chapter)