Shadow Empire

Chapter 1200 Meeting
"Please have a seat, Mr. and Mrs. White."

Before their successful campaign speeches began, Lance and Barbara were led to their seats.

This is the scene of Senator Cleveland's victory speech. As a senator who has served two terms in Congress, this is his third successful election. It also means that if he does not start his "golden age" soon, he will most likely have to say goodbye to Congress in six years.

There are no explicit restrictions on who can become a federal senator. As long as you are elected and the voters in your state believe that you can represent the interests of the vast majority of voters, they will vote for you.

Of course, there is a prerequisite: you must be among the candidates nominated by the governor for the Senate.

There is no doubt that the governor cannot fail to nominate a Cleveland senator here, and he cannot fail to win the election. His two elections as senator have already brought him great prestige and support, but this is also a burden.

Like gold, the more gold you pick up on a path to the future, the heavier your burden becomes, and the slower you walk. It's a dilemma.

In his second election, which occurred before this election, he had already achieved a very high political status and had reached the ceiling of his career.

If he fails to break through the glass ceiling in this election, he will likely be in serious danger in the next election.

He wants to be elected four or five times, or even six times, like some successful politicians, but that might not be so easy. It remains to be seen whether he can break through that ceiling this time.

Of course, he thought it was possible, because they had already devised a complete plan to oust Porter and then put their own people in power.

But that's all for the future. Right now, he needs to enjoy his moment of victory!

As a key stakeholder for the Cleveland senator, Lance was also invited to attend the Cleveland senator's victory speech, or rather, event.

The event will be short, consisting of a brief speech followed by a cocktail party.

To outsiders, they would call it a "dance party." After all, it's during a time of prohibition, and even senators must outwardly abide by and respect the laws and regulations enacted by Congress. As for whether they actually drank alcohol at the dance party...
That's a different matter. Drinking alcohol isn't illegal; what's illegal is the production, transportation, and sale of it. As a senator, he knows this better than the average person.

Moreover, these drinks were brought by enthusiastic members of the community, and he had no right to stop them, so it had nothing to do with him.

Lance sat in the middle of the right side of the first row, a very important and conspicuous position. To his left were some bigwigs in the local political arena, all of whom were looking at Lance with curiosity.

The legends surrounding Lance made him seem mysterious to many who had never met him.

He still invited Patricia first, but the girl refused to appear on such occasions. She was not used to such serious and formal occasions, so in the end, Barbara accompanied Lance.

She was adept at handling everything here, chatting with the wealthy ladies with feigned sincerity and insincerity. As a major star in the Federation, she also possessed a special aura, which made the wealthy ladies quite interested in her.

Just before the event started, Lance noticed that she had even exchanged business cards with those ladies, which seemed to indicate that her social skills had improved.

However, this was obviously not unexpected for Lance. As his status and power rose, Barbara, as an individual dependent on him, was also affected by his "halo" and gained a huge boost in social status.

While some celebrities, even big stars, are scolded by investors and directors on set, Barbara is treated with gentleness by everyone. This has allowed her to gradually develop a more profound aura, moving beyond the superficial qualities of business and acting.

Lance said thank you and sat down with Barbara. Neither of them seemed to care much about the stares from those around them.

After waiting a few minutes, Senator Cleveland, who had been chatting with someone nearby, jogged to the podium. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone with a smile. "A victory that was expected. It didn't exceed any of our expectations, but it still surprised us!"

When he uttered those opening words, his confidence was like a wall of air rushing towards us, and everyone could feel that strong confidence!

Even proud, arrogant self-confidence!

"During the election, a reporter asked me how I viewed the issue of our 'election opponents'."

“I don’t think that’s quite right, because our opponents aren’t within the party.”

"The Socialist Party is facing an unprecedentedly difficult and dangerous moment since its founding!"

“We must maintain a high degree of unity at this time, in terms of ceremonies, work, and all aspects. Only in this way can we lead the Socialist Party out of the quagmire.”

"We need to unite every force, yours, his, everyone's!" He pointed to two spots in the audience, and everyone listened attentively.

"Everyone knows that the victory came from the Socialist Party's choice and the efforts of each and every one of us, but someone stole the fruits of victory."

"I don't envy them, nor do I hate them; I just pity them."

"Doesn't someone who has to steal even victory deserve pity?"

A chuckle rippled through the room, clearly indicating that this statement had gained considerable support; perhaps only Senator Cleveland would dare to say such a thing in this setting.

This is tantamount to a declaration of war, but the Liberal Party has no way to do anything about it. The reason is simple: they cannot force any vote to pass in Parliament. If they want it to pass, the Socialist Party must compromise, and compromise comes at a price.

Some say politics is the art of compromise, which is actually a more positive view. To put it more directly, politics is the exchange and transaction of interests.

You give me what I want, and I'll give you what you want—it's that simple.

"On such a happy day, we should not talk about unhappy topics or unhappy people."

“I want to thank the voters of this state for their support. It is their choice and support that has made me who I am today. I will never forget them and I will never forget everything here.”

"In the coming years, my office will have more contact with the lower and middle classes of society, especially the bottom class, to listen to their voices and live up to your support."

"I will bring in more investment to improve the working environment in this state, and we will also strive to emulate developed areas in terms of social welfare..."

He stood there and said a lot, some of the promises he had made to the voters that he wanted to keep, and some fragments of his vision for the future.

He also mentioned some capitalists and political interest groups who supported him, ensuring that everyone got what they wanted from his victory.

Some people have said that the so-called "victory speech" and "victory celebration" are actually a large-scale "spoils-sharing scene." Although this statement is a bit... not very pleasant to hear, it is essentially correct.

After a brief speech, Senator Cleveland summarized the day's speeches and activities.

He raised his arms, radiating a powerful aura, and declared loudly, "Although we are currently at a disadvantage, I believe we will return to the top. We are born winners!"

The event was a great success, and everyone responded with enthusiastic applause. Senator Cleveland stepped down from the podium and began to chat warmly with the people in the front row.

The main purpose was to express my gratitude, and also to respond to their questions about potential financial rewards.

Some local capital groups have invested money and votes in this sure-win election, so it's only natural that they want to express their stance through this attitude and, incidentally, gain some returns.

Senator Cleveland spoke with them about changes in local policies as well as changes in broader policy environments.

The politicians, on the other hand, talked to them about their ideas and plans on how to counter the Liberal Party.

When he approached Lance with his wine glass, his smile became much more genuine. If his relationship with others was a transaction, like a prostitute and her client, then his relationship with Lance was more like a long-term casual sex relationship.

There's no real affection between a prostitute and her client beyond the exchange of benefits. They might support Senator Cleveland today, but they'll support someone else tomorrow, as long as that person offers them the same return or even more.

Just like how politicians who are old and faded in appearance will inevitably choose those glamorous young women when they no longer have much executive power and influence.

But friends with benefits are different. Even if Senator Cleveland grows old and loses her looks in politics one day, there is still some emotional foundation between them besides the transaction. They can still be friends and do things for each other without exchanging benefits. That's the difference.

After clinking glasses with Lance, he glanced at Barbara. "I've seen your posters and clips of your performance. I'm sorry, ma'am, my job doesn't allow me to watch the whole movie. I don't have that much time, but your performance clips have also impressed me."

"You are an excellent actor. I hope you can bring more works to the people of the Federation to enrich their lives and entertainment."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Lance, "Your Wanli Group is doing very well, in every aspect. I heard you are also the honorary chairman of the Federal Film Commission?"

When he first heard about this, he found it a bit unbelievable. Later, he even asked someone to find out the details and then realized that this matter was actually related to him.

Lance had previously asked him to handle the matter of the Golden State Arts Committee registering the Film Committee. It was such a small matter that he wasn't even called directly; Tom was called, and Tom explained it to him.

He didn't pay any attention at the time and just let Tom do it.

At that time, the Socialist Party was at its zenith, and the federal government directly blocked the Arts Commission, preventing their applications from being approved. Meanwhile, Lance registered the Film Commission ahead of time.

Although this is just a non-governmental organization, its name and the official attitude determine whether it is an "official organization".

Ask any ordinary person which sounds more like a formal organization: the Film Commission or the Film Workers Union. Without a doubt, it's the former. Plus, the federal government has announced that it will adopt the industry standards set by the Film Commission as the criteria for judging all aspects of the film industry.

It can be said that Lance and Wanli Pictures have now effectively influenced the development of the federal film industry, including those major production companies.

The Film Commission is actively applying for a film rating system, which was also proposed by Lance. The final rating will be determined by the Film Commission itself. Although Lance doesn't pay much attention to the development of this industry, it is indeed under his control.

Senator Cleveland brought this up because of the rapid development of the film industry in the past two years, coupled with Lance's mention of the global effects of "cultural export" and "cultural invasion," and the need for more films that can promote federal culture to be exported.

Therefore, Congress has also established a related working group, which is attached to a committee in Congress and can be considered a very promising office.

That's why he recently took the time to organize some of Lance's affairs and suddenly realized that Lance had done quite a lot. Not to mention all industries, he had already ventured into some rapidly developing emerging industries and done very well.

Lance smiled and nodded twice at Senator Cleveland's words. "It's just a small achievement, nothing special."

Although Senator Cleveland said today that it was an expected victory, it is still something to be happy about.

He patted Lance's arm and clinked glasses with him. "Once Congress is back in operation, they might talk to you about how Congress is planning to allocate funds to push things forward."

"You can keep an eye on it then. Even if you don't do it yourself, you can use it to enhance your influence on the film committee."

Lance nodded, clinked glasses with him, and took a sip.

"I'll go talk to someone first, we'll talk later," he said, taking a sip of his drink and then smiling and nodding to Barbara. "Excuse me for a moment."

Barbara bowed to him politely, and after Senator Cleveland left, Barbara stared at Lance with admiration in her eyes, saying, "You're amazing."

A senator, who was like a god in her eyes, was now acting like a good friend to Lance. How could she not feel a shock that was beyond words?
Although she knew these things, it was still a relatively conservative guess, such as that Lance was just a business partner with him, and there was a clear superior-subordinate relationship between them.

In many people's eyes, Lance's identity as a gang leader limited his potential, but unexpectedly, in such a public and formal occasion, Lance not only came to attend Senator Cleveland's successful campaign speech, but also chatted with him for a while like he would with his good friend.

All of this surprised Barbara even more!

Lance's lips curled up slightly. "So-so!"

The event was a great success, meeting everyone's expectations, and people got what they wanted.

The next day, Lance and Senator Cleveland went to the station to take the train back to Golden State.

As Lance left the Cleveland Senator's estate, he noticed some people holding up signs on the roadside, questioning and protesting the Cleveland Senator's successful election.

Once on the train, Lance brought up the matter during a casual chat with him.

“There are people like this in every state, in every place, even in towns.”

"If you do something that helps some people, you will inevitably cause losses to others."

"Those who receive help will support you, while those who lose out will condemn you. This is the most basic truth of this society."

"Ignore those people, they can't cause any trouble."

Lance nodded. "If you need anything, you can tell me. I have someone who is very good at handling these things."

Senator Cleveland was somewhat tempted, but decided to back off for the time being. "I'm already elected. These people will accept this fact after a while. I'll contact you again when I need to."

He paused, then asked, "How's things going with Wade?"

"I haven't been paying attention to the situation there during this period of time."

Lance shrugged. "I don't know where to begin, but they're completely finished. The prosecutor's office got the evidence of them accepting bribes, extortion, blackmail, and illegally seizing shares from legitimate businessmen."

"The core members were all captured, and of course the newspapers will mention that some of them have disappeared."

Senator Cleveland lit a cigarette. "Missing?"

"Is it the kind of disappearance I imagined, one that will never reappear?"

Lance smiled and nodded. Clearly, those people had returned to Mother Earth's embrace, and now they had mostly begun to decompose or turn into animal excrement to nourish the land once again.

“You handled this matter promptly and well. There may be some voices from the Liberal Party, but you don’t need to pay attention to them.”

"Now that the FBI director is one of our own, even if Congress puts pressure on them, they won't investigate you."

"But this doesn't mean there aren't any other concerns. The Liberal Party is planning to form a new law enforcement agency to operate independently of us, so we still need to be meticulous and cautious, and not be careless!"

"When I go to New Gold City this time, I'll introduce you to the new FBI Director. I'm sure you'll get along very well!"

(End of this chapter)