Shadow Empire

Chapter 472 I Actually Have a Suggestion and Circle
Sleepiness is a magical thing. It is not like pain. You just need to endure it and it will go away.

Or maybe it's like glue that's about to burst out, if you hold on, maybe it can last for a while.

The more sleepy you feel, the more sleepy you become, until your entire consciousness becomes a blur and you don't know what you said or did.

Tom was very sleepy now, his body was protesting to his consciousness, what he needed most now was "some sleep" instead of sitting here and listening to a minor character talk about his thoughts.

But he held back. Little people also have their own value. At least Lance made a lot of efforts in helping them suppress the workers' strike, and he did a pretty good job.

Lance also noticed his sleepiness and spoke much faster.

"This matter will have to start after the New Year this year..."

He explained why he bought grapes, his assessment of the situation, and his first business deal with the Liji Group.

Tom became a little more interested, and less sleepy.

For men, as long as you find his sensitive and exciting points, he can cheer up again in a short time!

Politics, economics, and gaming are what Tom is interested in.

He lit a cigarette, his eyes no longer completely closed like before, "And then?"

"Then this time I used a shell company to extort four million from the Liji Group."

Tom stared at Lance for a moment, "You are a warrior, Lance, so let me guess, they didn't pay you the money?"

"Yes, and he's planning to kill me!"

Tom couldn't help laughing after hearing this. He patted the sofa next to him and said, "Four million!"

He nodded and said, "Four million, how many times can people hire assassins to try to get rid of you?"

"You are the bravest person I have ever met. So what do you think now?"

Lance repeated what the vice president had said to him, and then said, "I am willing to donate two million to the congressman's foundation."

Tom squinted his eyes slightly and looked at Lance, as if trying to figure out whether he was telling the truth or a lie.

During the presidential election, the President's campaign funds were approximately 22 million.

In other words, if Lance can donate two million, it will be equivalent to one-tenth of the election campaign funds!

This is definitely not a small amount, but it is not too much either.

Tom didn't agree immediately, but thought about it seriously.

This matter is not as simple as four million or two million. Behind it is actually the stock price issue of a group that controls a monopoly in the agricultural product channel.

The fight for capital has never been so simple and easy. Sometimes just a "small stone" can cause a group company to collapse.

He pushed the hair off his forehead a few times and said, "I'm going to make a call. Please sit down for a while."

Tom stood up by holding the armrest of the sofa and left quickly.

He went to his study, closed the door, and made a phone call to Senator Cleveland.

Senator Cleveland also had social events in the evening, but he did not drink too much, and no one could make him drink too much.

As a rising senator, people are eager to curry favor with him, so how could they make things difficult for him?

Although everyone was very enthusiastic, not many people insisted on clinking glasses with him.

"Tom, what's the matter?"

Tom repeated what Lance said, "The market value of Liji Group is over 10 billion, and every point is a market value fluctuation of tens of millions."

"In addition to the issue of stock price, there is another point. If the vice president wants to go further, he also needs someone to support him."

"If we stand behind him, then our influence on the Liji Group will become greater, and some people may be interested in this matter."

He was a little drunk just now, but now he is gradually becoming sober and he realizes that this is not a trivial matter!
If they were to be more radical and join forces with the capitalists to take action against the Liji Group, they could make tens of millions in profits.

Then Senator Cleveland, who made them rich, would naturally be more respected and feared by them, and Senator Cleveland could also gain very practical benefits from this.

If they are more conservative, then when there are some changes within the board of directors of the Liji Group, they will choose someone who is in their interest to take office.

It doesn’t have to be the vice president, but it must be in their interest.

A monopoly agricultural product distributor with a market value of one billion can bring greater influence to Senator Cleveland!
For example, making him more famous among a large group of farmers!
In this age of information blockade, fame often represents votes!

In fact, many voters don’t know that many politicians at all, so when these people need to vote, they often choose to vote for someone they know and who they don’t think is too bad.

This is the truest side of federal voters. You have to be well-known to get votes!

This is also the reason why everyone is frantically carrying out various campaign activities now. Only in this way can more people know them.

Behind the Liji Group are a large number of farmers. Although the Liji Group is not a good thing in the eyes of the farmers, it does have a significant influence on these people.

The farmer class is an important social component of the federal government, so whether it is a radical step forward or a conservative step back, it can bring great benefits to Senator Cleveland.

It was after he figured this out that he gradually realized that Lance came to him and told him about his "confusion" not to ask for help.

He's here to make a deal!
A bold guy!

Senator Cleveland did not give him an answer immediately. "It's too late. The people I need to contact are either unreachable or have already rested, so let's talk about this tomorrow."

He paused for a moment, thinking, "I'm free from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., so keep an eye out for my call then."

"You can bring him to my office if necessary. We need to sit down and discuss these matters in detail."

"that……"

Tom reminded, "Lance, sir."

"Yes, Lance, tell him not to worry so much yet."

"Since we are in Xinjin City, find someone to take them out for some fun."

This is actually a statement that you will not take guests you look down with you around, but only those you think are valuable to you.

The next morning, Senator Cleveland turned down some less important work and had a brief communication with the senators in his political circle.

If one of them has bargaining chips in Liji Group, or if Liji Group is "one of their own", then he will most likely take a conservative approach.

But if he doesn't have his own people, and the capital supporters behind him have the intention to operate on the Liji Group, then this will be a radical choice.

A night of silence.
Early the next morning, Senator Cleveland got up and contacted the senators in the same political circle with whom he had a good relationship.

Congress is a very special place. Although the Socialist Party is still the majority party in Congress, there have been some predictions that the seats in Congress will face huge adjustments again in the next term.

It is possible that the Liberal Party will become the majority party in Congress again after many years.

So there are a lot of changes within Congress now, both good and bad.

It is very necessary for these senators to form political interest circles (interest groups). Sticking together for warmth is always the best choice, no matter how strong or weak they are!
After the phone was picked up and put down again and again, Senator Cleveland had some ideas.

There are no people from the Federal Agricultural Committee and the Federal Agricultural Trade Committee in his circle, so there will be no overlap with the Liji Group.

There are more directions for him to choose from.

Lance thought he would get a call at noon, and he had been waiting. Whether it was a capitalist or any other organization, including the mafia, if they wanted to move up and continue to grow, they had to have stronger supporters.

Otherwise, you will be trapped in a small place, and disaster may come at any time and anywhere!

If anyone wants to get rid of Lance, wipe out the Lance family from Jingang City.

Then they only need to replace the mayor and the police in the city to make the Lance family unable to survive!
You can't go against the police every day. They get paid to cause trouble for you, and you have to take care of your business, your family business, and your confrontation with them, among many other things!
There must be stronger support to enable him to go further.

Recently, when Lance had friction with the Kodak family, he could feel... a passive feeling.

The Kodak family chose to avoid them not because they were afraid of them, but because they didn't want the situation to escalate and eventually affect themselves. They didn't really value Lance. Even if they gave in, Bandy still didn't have Lance in his eyes.

Because the Kodak family has connections in Congress, it is easy to touch them, but it is difficult to deal with the bigwigs behind them.

Congressman Williams will take office in a year, and he cannot put all his hopes on him.

I can take advantage of this opportunity to get in touch with Senator Cleveland and see if I can expand my network.

He was waiting a little anxiously, and Tom was also waiting a little anxiously. Senator Cleveland was a very punctual man and seldom missed an appointment.

The bigger the person, the more they disdain to lie and break contracts. To become a big person, self-discipline and keeping promises are the most basic points.

If you can't do it, you may get in by chance, but it will definitely not last long.

It was not until about six forty in the evening that the phone in front of Lance suddenly rang!

He took a deep breath and waited for the phone to ring three times before answering it. "This is Lance White."

"I'm sorry, we discussed this for a long time this afternoon. This matter has more options than I expected, so it took us longer."

"We're going to have dinner later, come over and we'll sit down and talk."

It was a call from Senator Cleveland. He gave Lance an address and Lance immediately rushed to the address.

This is a villa located in a very closed environment on the edge of Xinjin City. It does not belong to any villa area. It is surrounded by a large piece of land, and there is a garden or something else inside.

In fact, it is more like a small manor.

The surrounding area is full of vegetation, and you can only see a long vegetation wall from the outside. There are steel fences and spikes inside, and it is very high.

When Lance arrived, someone was already meeting him at the door. He was only allowed to bring one person in, and he brought Madore.

The security guards at the house checked their bodies and made sure they were unarmed before allowing them in.

It looks very quiet here, but you can often see security personnel hiding in the dark. It seems loose on the outside but tight on the inside. That's basically it.

There were quite a few dogs in the yard. When they saw Lance and Madore, they all stood up and looked at them with their tails erect.

Someone nearby asked the dogs to sit down, and perhaps that was why they did not rush over.

After entering the room, Lance quickly came to a side hall on the first floor, and Madore was asked to stay outside.

Because Senator Cleveland only mentioned Lance's name.

After adjusting his clothes, Lance walked in through the door with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

There was a gambling table, and Senator Cleveland was sitting at the table. He turned his head and glanced at Lance, and said with a smile, "Last card. Wait a moment, I'll introduce you to the gentlemen here later."

There were also some other people looking at Lance, but they all had very casual looks and showed no interest in him.

They didn't play for big money, with winnings and losses amounting to only a few dozen dollars, which seemed a little unworthy of their status and worth.

But for them, gambling is just a form of entertainment, and more of a way to talk.

It's too boring to sit there and have a conversation without doing anything. It's more interesting to have a conversation while playing cards.

The cards they were playing were difficult for Lance to understand as they were rather complicated. After more than ten minutes, the game was finally over.

This little bit of winning or losing is the same as no winning or losing to them, but even if it is just a little bit of money, as long as they can distinguish the winning or losing, they will be satisfied.

The servants stopped beside them, each pushing a cart with a basin and towel. They washed their faces and hands.

Constant contact with poker and coins makes some of them feel uncomfortable and unclean.

"Let's go to the restaurant first and talk while we eat."

He took the initiative to lead Lance in front, and when they entered the restaurant, Lance saw Tom.

The two exchanged glances. There were quite a few people around Tom, some of whom Lance had seen last time and some of whom he had not. They should be the staff of others.

The restaurant was very large, but there were only two tables. One was in the corner, where Tom and his friends sat, and the other was at the largest and most luxurious table in the middle, where these people were sitting.

Some people always have a humble smile on their faces, some have a kind of arrogance and leisurely look on their faces, and some are so cold that you can't see any emotional fluctuations on them, but they all have one thing in common, that is, they have the trait of being either rich or noble!

A trait that can be seen at a glance!
The exquisite clothing is so exquisite that even the direction and angle of each thread and the way it is gathered are taken into consideration. All the accessories are also exceptionally fit. When people see them, one word comes to mind - nobility.

There are no nobles in the Federation, but these people are precisely the nobles.

They are nobles without noble titles, they are invisible rules, they are nobility that people cannot see!
"Come sit next to me."

Lance had already walked to the last seat, but was still asked by Senator Cleveland to move next to him. He hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over.

"Let me introduce you to our young and handsome Senator, Charles Liston."

Lance followed the direction he pointed and saw a middle-aged man who was actually around 50 years old. Because of his appearance and maintenance, Lance was not sure whether the appearance he saw could represent his real age!

Since it was such a grand introduction, Lance stood up and bowed slightly, "It is a great honor to meet you, Mr. Charles Liston!"

It can be seen that they are all in a good mood now, so Senator Cleveland doesn't mind saying a few more words, "Charles turned down important things in the afternoon and stayed with us to talk about the things you mentioned."

"He contributed greatly to our decision, just as his ancestors did!"

"Oh, by the way, you may not know this, but you can go and look at the founding charter. His ancestors signed it!"

This sentence finally made Mr. Charles smile, "Oh, Kangmang, Jeffrey, you don't have to let everyone know about this!"

Although he said this, Lance could see that Mr. Charles attached great importance to his ancestors' participation in the founding of the country and also wanted people to know about it.

There are fifty "founding families" in the Federation. They signed their names on the founding charter, representing their forces and jointly establishing the Federation.

Some people also think that they are the biggest exploitative ruling organization in the world, because everyone who signed their name is a big landowner, big farmer, big plantation owner, big slave owner...

They have a series of titles that make Xiao Heipi tremble with fear, even "big warlord"!
But the "Free Federation" that everyone yearns for was established by precisely these people who are best at wielding the whip. This is really fucking interesting!
But when people mention these things now, most of them don’t think about them.

They only feel a sense of historical weight and mission.

Everyone has their own "desires". Some people want wealth, some want sex, and some want fame.

Lance's face showed just the right amount of disbelief and shock, which greatly satisfied Charles' vanity. "You can call me Charles, just like Jeffrey (Senator Cleland)."

Lance nodded slightly, but he would not address someone like that. Calling someone by their first name was something only very close people were qualified to do.

He said this to give face to Senator Cleveland, not to himself. If he really said that, he would not know his own weight, but he could not directly oppose it.

So he would continue to call him "Mr. Liston" instead of "Charles," and everyone would be respectable.

He knows what propriety is!

(End of this chapter)