Shadow Empire

Chapter 188 Appeal
The sky is a bit gloomy.

The convoy was moving on the road, with two teams of mounted police leading the way.

In an ivory-white luxury car, a representative of the Socialist Party from the state was chatting with the mayor.

“Will this have a bad influence?” Mike has a very ordinary name, but he is definitely not an ordinary person.

From the perspective of the federal government system, he does not hold any government position, but the mayor has to give him some face, and even the governor has to take half a minute to try to explain his complaints.

This is the special feature of a party representative. His power alone may not be great, but if he can connect with a group of party representatives, they will have the ability to influence the nomination of a regional leader candidate.

If the mayor wants to move higher, he must have a good relationship with these party representatives. It is their vote that decides who to nominate and who not to nominate.

Maybe these few people cannot make him the only candidate, but at least they will not let him lose to his opponent by a small margin at the critical moment.

When Mike said “not so good” he meant that there were police cars clearing the way outside and he felt that it was a bit disturbing to the neighbors. However, the smiling look on his face did not show any uneasiness about “not so good” at all. Instead, it seemed as if he was saying “well done”.

The wonderful taste of power is particularly strong at this moment!

The mayor laughed heartily. He rarely showed such a strong desire to express his emotions in front of other people.

Because those people are not qualified enough to make him "straightforward", but people like Mike are.

"It is an honor for all citizens that you can come to Jingang City. No one will feel disturbed. The Socialist Party has led the Federation to the forefront of world economic development. This is what you deserve!"

Mike smiled happily, "It's not you, it's us!" He corrected the mayor's small wording error, "The development of Jingang City is mainly due to you, we did nothing."

"Coming here this time and seeing it developing better and better proves that all the decisions we made when we nominated you as the mayor here were positive and correct."

He paused and said, "I have met many old friends in the Bay Area these days. They are all very satisfied with your performance during your tenure here."

"As for the issue of the House speaker you mentioned, we will seriously consider it!"

The mayor was overjoyed when he heard this. He suppressed his excitement and tried to look calm. "Mike, you know me. I have great ideals and ambitions, but to achieve them I need to be in a higher position."

"One day when I can make the changes I want to make for this country, you will see it become better than it is today, and ourselves, every one of us!"

“Every one of us will benefit from this, I promise.”

He spoke as if it were the result of the country becoming a better place, but everyone in the car knew that they were actually talking about themselves.

Nominations, candidates, elections, results.

After the commodification of politics, every link here is filled with a lot of overflowing benefits!
These people are all qualified to have a piece of the pie.

A few people smiled at each other. Perhaps they did have the idea of ​​doing something for the Federation and the federal people before entering politics, but when they really stood on this stage full of fame and fortune, everything would change.

During this time, Mike and his friends had a lot of fun in the Bay Area, where some of the richest people in Likalai State gathered, and many of them were their friends and were very welcoming to them.

As capitalists, of course they are very enthusiastic about them.

From the perspective of the grassroots people, "big shots" refer to those who can decide their fate, such as senators, governors, presidents, etc.

But for the wealthy people living in the region, the local leaders and those who can decide who are the leaders are the ones they should respect.

You have money, but they arrange for someone who doesn't get along with you to be the mayor of the city where you live and work, and that's enough to make you very upset.

But if they arrange for one of your good friends to come over and keep you company, then there is no doubt that this will be a huge opportunity to soar!
They want to respect the president, but the president can't help them, so he can't get their respect!

The capitalists have so many ways to corrupt these people that it is difficult to resist. In addition, Congress currently has no requirements for political donations to be publicly regulated, so sometimes many problems are difficult to solve.

But for people like Mike, this trip was a pleasant one!
When the convoy entered the dock, the sky became even darker and the wind was cold.

If they didn't have to, they wouldn't want to come to the dock at this bad time. The wind here is so strong, like a knife!
But this place is very important, and it will probably be cloudy for the next few days, so they don’t have much time left here.

The development of Jingang City depends on it being the largest port in the Northern Hemisphere, so the port and dock workers, to a certain extent, determine the upper and lower limits of the city.

The Dock Workers' Union had received the notice long ago. President Scott, Vice President Vaughn, and others had been waiting at Pier No. 3 early in the morning.

They seem to have never been so positive towards the working class, even in such a cold day.

Some workers came early in the morning, their faces filled with deep dissatisfaction with today's "visit". If it weren't for some gifts, they would definitely not have come.

When the motorcade entered Pier 3, the union leadership immediately came to greet it.

The mayor was the first to get out of the car, followed by several other party representatives. President Scott, who was dressed elegantly, began to applaud, forming a sharp contrast with the ordinary-dressed dock workers who were standing sparsely around him.

On the contrary, Vice President Vaughn's clothes were more plain. It was not a woolen windbreaker, but just a very ordinary and common cotton coat, which made him look a little... weird.

He didn't look like a worker because he was too clean, but he didn't look like a respectable person because he dressed too "casually".

"Welcome to Jingang Pier!" President Scott looked "proud", as if this pier belonged to him!
Today's protagonist is the dock worker.

After Mike and others greeted them, they walked towards the representatives of the dock workers. They chatted very gently, without any airs at all, and seemed very friendly.

These are political veterans, they won't make stupid mistakes, and now is not the time for them to make mistakes.

They don't mind how prickly the dock workers' cracked palms are, nor do they care how dirty their bodies are. They always talk to them warmly and cordially, shake hands with them, and wish them a bright future.

These people have expressed their support for the Socialist Party because the Socialist Party has continuously emphasized overall economic development to create more job opportunities in society.

Only when ordinary people like them have the opportunity to work can they support their families.

To some extent, the Socialist Party has indeed played a huge role in the economic development of the federation. If the Liberal Party, with "liberalism" as its core, had continued to govern, the federal economy might still be in huge trouble now.

As for the Federalist Party?
I hope they enjoy their work!
The result of the visit to the dock brought Mike and others a very good mood, because everyone did not have too many complaints about the Socialist Party and had no other ideas except the hope of increasing wages.

This gave Mike and his team a clear assessment of the election situation in Jingang City. Although there were some fluctuations, it was still under control overall.

Seeing that it was already eleven o'clock, President Scott wanted to invite them to stay and have lunch together. During this time, President Scott was thinking about how to operate the State Longshoremen's Union and even the Federal Longshoremen's Union.

If he could get to know some more prestigious figures in the political arena, it would undoubtedly add a lot of points to him.

Especially if you want to join the General Union of Longshoremen, you cannot get in just by relying on your personal ability. There are so many capable union managers and excellent people throughout the federation. Why can he get in but you can't?

However, Mike and others refused. Compared with having lunch with the president of the dock workers' union, they were more concerned about the upcoming banquet from the capitalists.

"There is no big problem with the workers' stance on the docks. You are managing it very well. I will mention the situation here at the party congress after I return."

"The situation in Valley City is not as good as yours. They have a lot of problems and the election situation is a bit bad."

Mike was just about to talk about something in Valley City when the convoy suddenly slowed down. He looked back and realized something was wrong.

The road out of the dock was blocked by a large group of people in blue work clothes, and a large number of workers in similar clothes were gathering.

Mike's expression didn't show any change. He just looked at the mayor and asked with a smile, "Is this also part of our itinerary for today?"

The mayor's expression was not very good. He shook his head and said, "I didn't arrange this..." He saw some reporters around who were taking pictures. Things were becoming a little troublesome.

More and more people in blue work clothes gathered around. They neither took action nor shouted anything. They just stood there quietly.

But it was this kind of quiet standing, with everyone looking at these cars, that made the people in the cars feel tremendous pressure!
Several minutes have passed, why haven't reinforcements arrived yet?

He hesitated for a while and finally decided to get off the bus. At this time, a man who left a slight impression on him appeared beside the motorcade.

William was wearing a beige windbreaker with his fedora pulled down high as the wind was a bit strong today.

The sea breeze made his windbreaker flutter in the wind, and his upright collar was blown all over the place.

He looked at the car in the middle and walked to the door.

The mayor rolled down the window. Although his expression was still calm, it was obvious from his eyes that he was angry inside.

No one likes surprises, especially politicians.

"I seem to have seen you before. Why are you surrounding us?" He tried his best to keep no extra emotion in his tone.

The flash lights around him kept lighting up. William seemed not to feel the unhappiness emanating from the mayor. He said loudly, "I heard from them that some big shots are coming to the port today. We hope to talk to you."

Mike became a little interested. After he made sure there was no danger, he got out of the car and said, "I'm Mike. What do you need to tell us?"

The mayor also got out of the car. "Mr. Mike is very influential in Likalai State, but if you just need some minor help, you can go directly to the city hall to communicate with me."

He glanced at the uniforms of these people and asked, "Which company are you from?"

William did not answer his question, but continued, "Mr. Mike, I am a local, but these people around us are all illegal immigrants."

"Some of them have been in the federation for many years, working hard, earning the least money and doing the most tiring work."

"The President mentioned before that we need to solve the identity problem of illegal immigrants, but we never got an answer. When they knew that a big shot like you was coming here, they entrusted me to communicate with you on their behalf!"

He then looked back at the mayor, "Hello, Mr. Mayor. I used to be a member of the City Hall Office, but I have resigned."

"I am trying to learn from you. Sitting in an office cannot change the lives of the grassroots people. So, like you, I decided to go out and take a look. Maybe I can do something."

The mayor's expression improved a little. He looked at Mike. Mike looked at the people around him and asked, "What are your demands?"

"Our appeal is to allow these workers who have dedicated many years to Jingang City to truly settle here, so as to encourage them to continue to contribute their strength to the construction of the Federation!"

"This is something the Liberals can't do, but the Socialists can certainly do it. In Likalai, we have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants."

"If you can solve these problems, we will all be grateful to you!"

Very straightforward. Sometimes being straightforward is more effective.

Mike looked at the densely packed crowd around him. He felt as if there was no end in sight and he was completely surrounded.

This also gave him some other ideas. If these hundreds of thousands of people stood on the side of the Socialist Party and became firm party members, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

He turned to look at the mayor, "It seems that we may have to make some changes to our itinerary plans for today." He had decided to talk to them first.

Then he looked at William, “This is not the place to talk, can you find a few representatives to join you, and let’s find a place to sit down and talk?”

William nodded repeatedly, "Of course, no problem, Mr. Mike!"

Before the police support arrived, the two sides reached a consensus on communication.

In fact, they had no choice but to agree when they were surrounded by so many people. Who knows if these people without identity would suddenly get angry and do something inappropriate?
The negotiation was held in an auditorium in the port area. More than 30 representatives attended, as well as William, who was mainly responsible for speaking.

Mr. Jobaf sat in the corner in a daze. He realized very clearly that today's incident was definitely related to Lance.

Because only Lance could mobilize so many blue work uniforms, he would be the first one to not believe that they had no connection.

In a trance, he always felt that he and Lance were walking on two different paths.

He once thought about whether he could do something, but he was soon discouraged by the difficulties.

In fact, the more illegal immigrants there are, the more convenient it is for him.

Because illegal immigrants cannot open accounts in major banks, most of them cannot afford to buy houses and can only carry cash with them, which greatly increases the risk of losing their savings.

Robbery, carelessness, and theft are all possibilities that could cause them to lose everything overnight.

If you want your funds to be safe, the best way is to deposit them in his bank, which has enabled him to gain another huge fortune from the illegal immigrant community!
So he always persuades illegal immigrants to save money actively and put it aside to deal with emergencies, rather than encouraging them to consume.

In a trance, these illegal immigrants are about to become legal federal immigrants because of Lance. How grateful will they be to Lance in their hearts?

He didn't know, but what he knew was that among these people, Lance would be the top one besides their parents.

He is obviously more famous, has a higher social status, and is richer, but... why does he feel that he is becoming increasingly insignificant?
The negotiation process went very smoothly, or rather, William's communication plan was very effective.

These illegal immigrants do not need the federal government to provide them with anything extra, just recognize their immigration status.

This can bring a considerable amount of income to the local government. For example, the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in Jingang City will pay insurance and file taxes. After they have normal wages, they can spend more and promote economic development.

William cited many examples, as if confirming their identities would only benefit the city and even the Socialist Party, with no harm.

He knows exactly what these politicians care about, so he gives them what they want.

As for the increased competitiveness, locals may not be able to live as comfortably as in the past?

That's not what they care about.

"This matter is not so easy to decide!" Mike gave an answer after hearing the end.

However, he had already written down a lot of things on the paper in front of him, including some of the content and keywords that William said. "Even if I agree with your views, I cannot directly decide whether you can obtain legal status."

"We need to discuss this matter at the party congress. As for whether we can convince the president, I don't know, but I think there is still some possibility!"

"There are more and more illegal immigrants. This is indeed a problem we need to face and solve. You can pay attention to the Planet."

The Global Times is a relatively official and timely Socialist Party newspaper, mainly reporting on some new developments of the Socialist Party, personnel transfers, and some news that is worth bragging about.

If this matter can be passed at the party congress, it will definitely be published in the Planet as soon as possible.

William also knew that today's statement was just an expression, and it was impossible for a few party representatives to really decide on a policy that would affect millions of illegal immigrants across the country.

Their demands have been met.

After a brief farewell, Mike and the others got back on the car and left.

I don’t know if he sensed something, but after the car drove a few dozen meters, the mayor suddenly turned and looked towards the hotel entrance.

The representatives coming out of the hotel were shaking hands with a young man.

This young man's status is obviously higher.

Because even William just stood behind him.

Something happened, so I was delayed

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(End of this chapter)