Shadow Empire

Chapter 154 Cooperation and New Look
"Who did you turn to?"

When William asked this question, he was actually a little nervous because it was related to his visit here today.

From the second he heard that Lance began to "struggle" that day, he began to pay attention to the political situation in the entire federation and observed some... a lot of changes.

The Federation at this moment seemed to have an... indescribable weird feeling!

It is obvious that the working class can only get a low income of less than 40 yuan a month, but the media, newspapers, and politicians are all shouting "our economy is growing rapidly". So who stole the money that should have gone to the working class?
The momentum of finance driving economic development has become difficult to suppress in some financial centers. Even in Jingang City, some similar companies and operations have emerged.

They don’t sell any physical goods, but rather a “concept”, at least that’s what William thinks.

You spend one hundred dollars to buy my product, which is only worth fifty cents at cost, and I promise to buy it back at one hundred and thirty dollars in a few years.

And I will introduce you to our salon, where there are many customers who have purchased our products like you.

When some people began to purchase expiring products at prices slightly lower than the recycling price, customers who were originally somewhat uncertain became confident.

They will buy more products, use more money, and they believe that everything will make them more money.

Even if they don’t know and don’t want to know, in fact this company doesn’t even have a factory!

Many strange things that were happening made William feel that a great era was about to come, just like the eve of a storm!
The quiet ocean was pressed down by thick dark clouds that could be touched by hand. The distance between the sea and the sky was infinitely shortened, and the atmosphere was so solemn that people subconsciously held their breath.

What they are waiting for is a flash of lightning.

It could be the lightning that represents destruction, or it could be the light that represents new life!
Of course, William may not know much about Jingang City, or what happened to the Federation. His position does not allow him to access much valuable information.

He didn't want to be a blind and deaf man when the storm was coming. He wanted to stand higher and get more information for himself and his family.

Some of the things Lance mentioned before made him start to take it seriously, so he had to know who Lance had turned to.

Lance watched William's thoughts flow, and instead of answering immediately, he asked, "Does it matter to you who I turn to?"

"In what capacity do you come to ask me this question?"

"A friend, my girlfriend's father, or something else?"

William nodded, "Very important!" On the second question, he thought for a while, "Maybe it can be a partner?"

"Partner?" Lance laughed twice. "Good point. Keep going."

William licked his lips, “Don’t you have any coffee?”

Lance shouted and asked someone to bring two cups of coffee. William continued, "If you are relying on politicians, the mayor, Councilman Williams, or anyone else, then I will go back to my office."

"But if you're not a politician, then maybe I can try to do something."

"They want votes, not MPs!"

Lance understood immediately. "As soon as you came in, you asked me who I had joined. To be honest, I had a lot of guesses. You should be more clear, William."

Seeing that William was still waiting for his answer, he smiled a little, and these smiles made William's face less serious.

"The Pasretto family, I met Mr. Pasretto through Alberto Coti, he has a great appreciation for me, and there will be some cooperative relationship between us."

"I am just providing services for them, not joining them. I can withdraw when necessary."

William suddenly laughed out loud twice, "Great choice, Lance, I'm not saying this for myself."

"You did the right thing!"

"The mayor will leave Jingang City in two years. He can't stay for too long. If you join him, he won't take you with him when he leaves..."

He thought for a while and shook his head vigorously. "It is very likely that he will not leave with any inferior forces. When that day comes, the new mayor and your competitors will purge you."

"If you hook up with local celebrities like Williams, you will work for them all your life and then be thrown into the garbage dump one day."

"You made a very smart choice!"

Lance waved his hand, "Stop bragging about me. Let's be practical. What do you want to do?"

"Member of the Imperial District."

There was some heat in his eyes. "I have been thinking about this. Although the Empire District has no political influence, this will allow me to enter the City Hall in another respectable way."

Lance frowned and thought about it. He had always hoped to support someone to represent his own interests in the political arena.

But the performance of Alberto and Mr. Pasletto made him see another side of the world. As long as you are strong enough, the world will still revolve around you.

However, based on the caution and vigilance he had gained from past experience, he felt that supporting his entire team was the best option.

What belongs to others will always belong to others.

You can't always give up more benefits in exchange if you want others to say something or do something for you.

He nodded and said, "I will push this matter forward. Who is the current member of the Imperial District?"

Federal cities are divided into administrative regions and have an equal number of city councillors.

There are eleven city councilors in the eleven administrative districts of Jingang City.

Areas like the port area, the bay area, and the city center are basically controlled by veteran congressmen like Congressman Williams. The only areas that others can really participate in are the Imperial District, Sumuli District, and Xilin District, which have no political influence.

The people living here are either elderly people who are about to reach the end of their lives, or immigrants without political rights. The area is not rich, and there will not be any big capitalists who will collude with them.

These places are not attractive to real city celebrities, but for a civil servant like William, who is still working as an ordinary clerk in the city hall office, even if he is the lowest-ranking member of parliament, it is a huge promotion!
"Ruth, a Liberal, but some of his political views are very extreme and his brain is not very good."

William gestured on his temple. "He always felt that some new policies were the greatest destruction to the spirit of the free federation. He even said, 'Taxation is a shackle that enslaves the free will of the federation.'"

Lance was also a little stunned after listening to it. "Although I think what he said is good from the perspective of a taxpayer, it is obvious that he is not standing on the right path of historical development."

"Congress has also been discussing this recently. They hope to lower the tax rate to a level that ordinary and low-income people can afford."

Lance looked at William, who looked at him back, and both of them were speechless.

"Are you sure you didn't make that up?" Lance couldn't help but ask, "That doesn't sound like something a human would say."

William’s smile was restrained, but it made the expressions funnier to others!
“That’s what they say on Capitol Hill!”

Lance shook his head, "So how did he become an Imperial District Councillor?"

"The mayor and the governor are both socialists."

William laughed for a while and then said softly, "The Empire District is a region dominated by immigrants."

understood!

“So he’s very tolerant of immigrants?”

"He believes that as long as he obtains legal status, he should enjoy all federal rights and obligations."

"Sounds good!" Lance commented sincerely, but he didn't really think so.

If Mr. Russ really believed that imperial immigrants should be treated equally as native citizens of the Federation, he should do something to change the status quo, but Lance has been here for half a year and has not heard of what he has done.

Perhaps during the election, compared to the Socialist Party, which was obviously biased against immigrants like them and only thought of the federalists as the supreme, and the Federal Party, which had no one running for the election, this Liberal Party member who claimed to be tolerant of immigrants would become one of the few choices. As long as he did not do anything unnecessary, it might be the best result for the immigrant voters in the Empire Region!

Of course, it is also possible that he tried but failed in the end. After all, under the rule of the Socialists, who the hell would like a Liberal who sings "Long live freedom" every day?

They were very tolerant by not strangling him and forcing him to pick cotton in the cotton field!
William continued, "If you can take over the territory left by Camilla's gang and control most of the Empire District, then I will definitely be the next round of Empire District councillors."

“We can work together and go further.”

Very straightforward words, Lance really likes straightforwardness, it allows him to save some brainpower.

Lance thought about it seriously for a while, "I think there is no problem. Next, I will solve some social problems. If someone can cooperate with me, it would be great."

There is still a year before the election for city councillors, and although William can prepare now, there is no need to rush.

Lance gave him a check for three thousand dollars and asked him to get the thing up and running and find two helpers or something.

Moreover, this matter is not just between the two of them, but also the matter of the Federal Party. William will report this matter to the local party congress.

He doesn't need any political funding from the federal party, so a little political support wouldn't be too much, right?
After discussing some general things, William prepared to leave. He picked up his scarf and hat. Before leaving, he reminded Lance, "You have to go see Pat when you have time."

Lance nodded and said, "I'm busy these days, let's go in a few days."

William nodded and left. Lance picked up the cold coffee and took a sip.

In fact, even if William didn't come to see him, he planned to find a time to talk to William.

If the members of the Imperial District Congress were not on his side, some things would be difficult to handle later, but he was the one who proposed this matter, and in this "game", he was at a disadvantage.

In two consecutive days, Lance recruited more than one hundred people and temporarily stopped recruiting. This made many people who missed the ride feel deeply regretful and look forward to the next time.

These more than one hundred people were simply selected, and Alvin had told them that not everyone could stay here for a long time.

If someone does something that breaks the rules, harms the interests of the company, or is cowardly and deserts the company, then they will be kicked out, or even more than just kicked out.

This also made everyone feel a little serious.

On the morning of the last day of the year, Lance came to the outside of the office, where all the newly recruited staff had already gathered.

They took off their blue work clothes and changed into clothes similar to those of Lance and the others, but with some differences.

In terms of style, what Lance and his men wore were all custom-made, while their subordinates were all produced in factories.

After Lance's garment factory was handed over to Reid (the old tailor's son-in-law), he managed it quite well. He had run a garment factory before, but he didn't know how to make it run normally.

After seeking Lance's consent, he has begun to take the initiative to accept some orders. In a period of rapid economic development, it is still easy to maintain daily expenses.

This batch of clothes was produced on an expedited basis, with roughly the same style, black tops and bottoms, black windbreakers, and black hats.

Wright gave Lance a very interesting idea, which was to add a red silk ribbon on everyone's left upper arm.

This will make the all-black clothes look a little more lively, or rather, more serious.

At the same time, this ribbon can also be used to distinguish their hierarchical relationships.

One bar, the lowest level member.

Two bars, captain.

As for the three stripes, they are senior cadres, and they are eligible to enjoy a full set of hand-made custom clothes, the same as Lance and others.

So early in the morning, the workers in blue work clothes were somewhat envious when they saw their friends who had worked with them at the dock a few days ago suddenly changed into this handsome and serious outfit.

Around eight o'clock, Lance and his friends drove over.

After he got out of the car, these new members came over one after another.

Looking at these not-so-familiar faces, Lance felt a little excited because they would all become his team.

"Today is our first official meeting. We met some of the brothers yesterday or the day before yesterday, but for some of them, this is the first time we meet today."

"I know you are very curious about your new life and are looking forward to it. I am too!"

“This is a first for me too!”

"But fortunately, what we are going to do is not a bad thing. Your job is to clear up the chaos on the streets of the Empire District."

"Don't be afraid to cause trouble if you see someone robbing, someone doing something illegal, or hurting someone else."

"Don't be afraid, just go up and beat them up!"

"If they try to hurt you, say they have a pistol, your temporary captain will take action to deal with them."

These newbies certainly couldn't go out to work on the streets on their own on the first day, so Lance arranged for more than a dozen elderly people to work with them.

Including Morris, Hiram, Lawn and the like, each of them would work with about ten team members and teach them how to "eat" on the streets.

At this time, the value of "example" and "standard" is very great, which will affect their future "work attitude" and "work style". Lance cares about this very much.

He didn't want his "Lance Family" to become the next Camilla Gang. That was not what he wanted, so from the very beginning, he had to tell these people what they could and could not do.

There are rewards for doing well and punishments for doing badly.

"I know you guys might be wondering why I don't bring you a pistol or something."

"I did this because I don't want some unnecessary problems to escalate. We have just started doing things together. I welcome you to join our big family, but we need to have a preliminary understanding before we can truly become a family."

Hiram and his men dropped travel bags off a car. Lance pulled one over and opened it, revealing it was full of baseball bats from the sailing team.

"Take them with you, they will be useful to you!"

"Protect yourself, then it's my job!"

"As I said before, don't be afraid of trouble, but don't bully others. We are not members of the Camilla Gang, and we are not proud of bullying, defrauding, or extorting the weak."

“Don’t do those nasty things. Maybe someone will say we are gangsters or something, but I hope you understand one thing.”

"Even if we are a gang, we are the whitest of all the gangs!"

Everyone seemed a little excited. They received the bats from Hiram, and looking at these bats in classic colors, Lance thought of Alberto's sales pitch.

He was an avid Clippers fan, and when he heard that Lance needed some handy, street-worthy weapons that wouldn't get him in trouble that often, he sent him a bunch of Clippers bats.

According to Fordyce, he still has thousands of them in his warehouse, which he bought just to support the sailing team!

Lance requested a truck today, but it wasn't driven by the Howard brothers, as they were not there because they had other things to do.

These men will travel to the Empire State District in trucks and clear the streets.

When this group of people got on the trucks with baseball bats and were taken away by three trucks, many of the men in blue work clothes couldn't help but develop a stronger desire!
After watching them leave, everyone else returned to the office and continued to work. Alvin still had a lot of work to do. He had to verify the identity information of these new members to see if it matched the situation in the empire.

And find ways to continue recruiting soldiers from within the empire. These people may be able to play a role in street fighting, but they may be a little worse on the truly important "battlefield".

At this time, those little rats and scumbags on the streets of the Empire District have no idea that a terrible storm is about to break out here, affecting the entire Empire District!
(End of this chapter)