Shadow Empire

Chapter 172 The Rights and Obligations of the Chamber of Commerce and the Unification of the Imperial District
Chambers of commerce are not uncommon.

But just because it is not uncommon doesn’t mean it is necessarily low-end. The Chamber of Commerce is not low-end at all.

The people in the seats looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. Finally, the oldest gentleman asked, "Mr. Lance, if we join this chamber of commerce, what can it bring to us, and what do we need to pay?"

"If we don't join the Chamber of Commerce, will it be..."

He was worried, but since Lance didn't seem that difficult to talk to, he asked what was really on his mind.

Lance was still sitting there with his legs crossed, but his body did not lean forward or backward. Instead, he maintained a straight posture, which made people involuntarily listen carefully to his every word.

"I have no intention of asking you for wealth in another way. As I said, in the Empire District, in my territory, no one wants to pay protection money."

"If you don't join the Chamber of Commerce, you won't lose anything. My people will still patrol the streets and maintain law and order."

"They won't make things difficult for you or blackmail you just because you haven't joined the Chamber of Commerce. If you run into trouble, you can still go to Bolton or our people."

"Nothing will be any different from now!"

"Whether you join the Chamber of Commerce depends entirely on you, whether you are satisfied with your current situation and whether you still want to do something for your children."

"Then let me talk about joining the Chamber of Commerce."

"I believe you have more or less understood the Chamber of Commerce. You should have seen clearly over the years that in the Federation, if we are not united, we will definitely be bullied..."

Every time before he is about to say a lot, he has a subconscious tendency to take a few puffs, which helps him to better sort out his thoughts.

He pulled out of his pocket the cigarette case, a silver and ivory cigarette case Luigi had given him, which shone with an expensive glow in the light.

The frame is made of pure silver, and the rest is made of the finest ivory. It looks as smooth as jade and feels comfortable in the hand.

The price of this thing is not cheap, but it is not too expensive either. The current market price is about one or two hundred yuan.

At the flick of a switch it snapped open, revealing two neatly arranged rows of cigarettes.

The cigarettes were pressed into the cigarette box by four silver plates. He opened one of the sides and took out a cigarette.

Then after closing the cigarette box, I took the cigarette holder and knocked it against the surface of the box. This would make the tobacco more compact.

Then he put the cigarette holder in his mouth, leaned to one side and reached out to touch the match, when Burton hurried over, took out the match from his pocket, bent over, stuck out his butt, and rubbed it.

Lance raised his head slightly and glanced at Bolton. Bolton's ingratiating and flattering smile appeared like a clown in the firelight, but you couldn't really think of him as a clown.

At least the Joker doesn't have that kind of determination and vision.

He tilted his head, lit a cigarette in the flames, and patted Bolton's hand. "Thank you."

Bolton smiled and said, "You're very polite." Then he threw away the match and returned to his seat tactfully.

Lance exhaled a puff of thick smoke, and some old smokers seemed to feel the signal and couldn't help but start touching their cigarettes.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became very relaxed. Lance raised his hand holding a cigarette casually and asked, "Why don't the federal people dare to bully the Sumuli people?"

"Because they are very united, if you bully one of them, you might have offended someone in their family tree."

"The honor of their family will make them travel from Sumurri Island across a third of the world to come to you, and then shoot you, in order to wash away the shame you brought upon their family."

“They are very united, so the federal people don’t bully them, nor do they dare to bully them casually.”

"But what about the Imperials?"

A rhetorical question left people speechless.

"Heller, that son of a bitch, bullied his own people and set a very bad precedent. The federals know that we are not united, so they can exploit and oppress us at will."

"They know that no one is going to come to the Federation from the Empire on a ship, come up to them, shoot them, and tell them that this is all because they extorted one of you."

“Without costs and considerations, behavior will become unbridled.”

“I want to change this situation!”

He raised his hand again and pointed diagonally upwards. The green smoke from the cigarette butt formed a cloud of smoke rings under the not-so-intense spotlight, slowly, curling and expanding.

His eyes moved across the faces of these people one by one, he nodded slightly, and continued:

"I want to change this situation. We are not like the Sumurians, who have very special family relationships, and the Empire cannot provide us with any assistance."

"Those of us who have drifted here can only rely on ourselves and our brothers and sisters."

“The Chamber of Commerce plays such a role.”

"It's simple. We make money together and act in unison."

"I, or other members of the chamber of commerce, can share some money-making tips or business opportunities we've discovered."

"There are some businesses you see but can't do, and then you watch others make a lot of money with these business opportunities that you discovered first."

"This situation will never happen again as long as you join the Chamber of Commerce."

"You don't have money, but the Chamber of Commerce does. We can do the business you can't do. This is the power of unity!"

"If you are in trouble, we will come together to help you and face it together. I believe that as long as we unite together, the federal people will also value us and listen to our voices."

"Of course, there are many benefits to joining the Chamber of Commerce, such as regular salons, gatherings, and anything..."

"Also, if ..."

He suddenly paused, as if he was thinking about how to word it. For more than a minute, he just stood there like a sculpture.

To the point that some people even wondered if he had suddenly fallen ill or something. Although it was offensive, people still looked at him with concern.

Fortunately, he came out of that frozen state, "For example, I have a business that can make a lot of money, and I am willing to share it with you, and then the Chamber of Commerce will do this together."

"If you make money from this business I shared with you, then you need to give out 15% of the net profit."

"Ten percent goes to the initiator. After all, I make money with you, so I deserve some from you."

"The remaining 5% will be handed over to the Chamber of Commerce as its development fund. After all, we need to organize a large number of activities and publicity."

"So what does it cost to join the Chamber of Commerce?"

"First, the membership fee. This is not protection money. It's ten dollars a month. This is just the initial fee. Maybe it will change in the future."

"As our business gets better, it may not be long before we completely cancel the membership fee and switch to a recommendation review system."

“When that time comes, it won’t be so easy to join.”

“Secondly, when one of us needs your help and you are able to do it, you must lend a hand.”

"If you don't lend a helping hand when we are in trouble, then don't expect others to lend a helping hand when you are in trouble in the future."

"Finally, I need you to unite. Only when we unite and become iron and steel, can we stop being bullied!"

Lance took the last puff of his cigarette when Burton came over with an ashtray. Lance didn't like this extremely flattering "Mr. Burton", but he didn't hate him either.

A useful villain, this is how one can describe him.

"Thank you for your help." He put out the cigarette in the ashtray.

Burton didn't seem to feel that he was acting like a clown at all. "No, it's not a bother at all. I'm sincerely honored to do something for someone with such great sentiments like you."

Lance couldn't help laughing and patted Bolton on the shoulder. "I'll ask Erwin to make you two sets of clothes later."

An expression of surprise suddenly appeared on Bolton's face, but Lance used his eyes to stop him from thanking him. Now was not the time.

"Work hard, and everything will be better in the future."

He returned to his seat excitedly with the ashtray in his hand, his mind full of a bright future.

If you give a little benefit to a villain, you will not lose anything, but he will think you are a generous person. Even if he may think that you are not doing right sometimes, at least he will not hurt you. But if you speak coldly to a villain, even if he does not cause any substantial harm to him, he will try to retaliate against you just because he thinks his self-esteem is hurt.

Lance had seen many such villains, although he was not worried whether Mr. Bolton could cause trouble for him under the rules of the current era.

But he doesn't mind telling people that as long as it is useful to him, it has value.

The others were discussing and negotiating in low voices. Lance did not force them. It did not matter if they did not want to participate, because soon he would let these people see the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce - betting on grapes.

But his worries were obviously unnecessary. Even if it was just protection money, these people were willing to pay ten dollars a month.

At least the Lance family really maintains order on the streets every day, and they can be seen frequently. With the help of these people, some policemen seem to rarely come here.

In the past, the police would sometimes go to their shops, eat something, drink something, and then not pay a penny, and would take some things with them when they left.

If you confront them, they'll say it might be stolen goods.

If you meet someone with a slightly less bad temper, he will take away a large box of your goods.

If you come across someone with a bad temper, your entire store may have to be closed for investigation.

But since the streets were full of Lance's people, the police harassed them less frequently, and even if they did come, they would not be too excessive.

Soon these people expressed their willingness to join the Chamber of Commerce, and Lance asked them to go back and promote this matter to the people in their neighborhoods, but also put forward a requirement.

"...I am definitely not forcing you to join. You must make it clear to people that whether you join the Chamber of Commerce or not, we are all imperial citizens."

"I will take care of you within my ability, not because you joined the Chamber of Commerce, paid dues to me, or didn't pay."

As he spoke, he patted his thighs and stood up. A large group of people also stood up.

"So be it……"

People took the initiative to come forward and shake hands with Lance, and then say goodbye to him. It can be seen that Lance still has a lot of prestige in their minds.

Lance didn't mind the hassle, he shook hands with everyone in the line and said goodbye to each other.

After they all left, Lance let out a long breath.

Erwin was actually here too, but he was sitting in the corner, and so were the others.

After everyone had left, he came over and asked, "Will it work?"

Lance nodded, "It will definitely work!"

“I can’t guarantee that everyone will think I can change something, but as long as some people believe it and actually change it, others will believe it.”

As we were talking, some staff had already arrived for work. It was getting dark outside, and some dancers, singers, and even strippers began to enter the venue.

They greeted Lance enthusiastically. Now under Lance's management, Empire Night Nightclub was much better than before, at least for people like them.

That bastard Heller likes to show his own superiority by trampling on other people's personalities, but Lance won't do that.

He greeted everyone in a friendly manner, which made these people like him even more.

As more and more people arrived, it was no longer appropriate for Lance to stay downstairs, so he went upstairs with Alvin and the others.

Heller's office was renovated, removing the bar and bookcases, making the space a little larger and allowing for more sofas for people to sit.

After everyone sat down, looking at the dozen or so good brothers around him, Lance expressed the thoughts that he had not expressed when he was downstairs.

"I plan to unify the entire Empire District so that there will be no other gangs or families here."

They didn't react at first, but soon Hiram showed excitement!
"Is the war going to start again?"

Currently, more than 30% of the territory in the Empire Zone is still controlled by the Red Dog Gang. In fact, there is not much overlap in their business operations with Lance.

The Red Dog Gang mainly sells smuggled liquor, pimps and provides erotic services, and also provides security services for some bars.

After all, security guards with a big gang background are more intimidating than the bar’s own security guards.

Just like when Lance and the others went to the bar to look for someone before, the first words the security guard said after being controlled were "I'm from the Red Dog Gang."

If it were some people from small gangs, they might really be scared.

But even though there is no conflict between the two parties and the overlap in their businesses is not high, it does not mean that they will not affect Lance's overall plan.

Controlling the entire imperial area is actually a firm statement, just like there is only one Pasreto family in the entire Sumuli area. You can say that this is a symbol of "status" or "strength".

Otherwise, in just the Empire District, there are two big gangs and some messy neighborhood families. No matter how well Lance performs, others will not think he is that outstanding.

If you can't even handle the situation at your own home, how can you convince others to agree with you on certain things?
Moreover, this can also increase the confidence of the imperial immigrants in him.

Although the Camilla Gang became a mess later on, in the early days they did take up the banner of standing on the side of the Imperials against other gangs.

Even the Camilla Gang at its peak was unable to unify the Imperial area, but Lance did it. So to a certain extent, he can better represent the interests of the Imperial people in Jingang City!
In fact, if you think about it carefully, there are so many things that can be done, but no one has stepped forward to do them. Maybe they are too short-sighted, or maybe they really can't see these things.

Just like Mr. Jobaf, he has never thought about helping the poor for so many years. Perhaps the capitalist's enthusiasm for profit makes him unable to see the benefits of his efforts, but this also happens to be a good thing for Lance.

As for whether or not to go to war with the Red Dog Gang immediately, Lance shook his head slightly, "It is not necessary to go to war. If they can take the initiative to give in, that would be the best outcome."

"We can talk to them first, but if they are not willing to back down, then we have no choice but to kick them out."

"The unification of the Empire Region is something we cannot avoid and must accomplish. Its priority is on par with that of the Empire Chamber of Commerce!"

Morris leaned against the corner of the sofa. He was not tall, and if he sat on the sofa it would give people the feeling of "a child mixed in with a group of adults", so he hated sitting on the sofa.

But he could still accept sitting on the back of the sofa.

"I'll send someone to keep an eye on their people right away."

Lance nodded, "What's their boss' name?"

"Bill."

"Yes, keep an eye on Bill, and then the senior officials active in the Empire. It is best not to start a war if it is possible, but if a war really has to start, we need to disintegrate their resistance in the shortest possible time."

He said, looking at Erwin, "Have you recruited any soldiers?"

Erwin nodded. "The news has spread. Some people in the empire want to come and join us, but they need some money."

"The situation in the empire is very corrupt now. There are some problems within the rebel army. Many people want to come to the federation."

"Not only the Imperial Army, but some rebels are also planning to come here."

The emperor of the empire was forced to flee everywhere and was about to become a historical joke, but some conflicts broke out within the rebel army.

It is said that His Majesty the Emperor sent a message saying that he intended to surrender, but he did not know who to surrender to, and needed the rebels to give him a candidate.

These "private messages" were actually public, and combined with some of his conspiracies, made people clearly realize that whoever the emperor surrendered to could be the next emperor!
There was not just one rebel army, but many, and everyone started the uprising with the idea of ​​overthrowing the tyranny of the imperial royal family.

But now it seems that the fruits of victory are within reach, but a problem arises that they have not thought about before, that is, who will pick this fruit!

For a moment, the turmoil within the empire was brewing again, which Lance found extremely exciting to hear, but his attention soon shifted away from this aspect.

No matter how good the emperor is at playing, that is the emperor's business and has nothing to do with him.

What he needs now is to solve the problem in front of him!

"Arrange some people to come here as soon as possible. We need some military training and recruit more people. We are a little short of manpower."

"Although I don't want to go to war, we must be prepared for a full-scale war."

"There can only be one voice in the Empire District, and that is my voice, Lance."

"There can only be one family, and that is our Lance family!"

(End of this chapter)