Shadow Empire

Chapter 648: Feeling the Trouble [666+7]
For the federal rulers at this stage, using gangs to control gangs is one of the simplest and most effective methods, and the key is that it works very well.

Unfortunately, Charlie and Bandy messed up the stability within Jingang City, leaving them in an extremely passive situation.

If the police force was still in their hands, they could easily get rid of Lance, whether by tracking down his criminal business or directly causing trouble for him, they could quickly get rid of Lance in Jingang City.

Or maybe there hasn't been any problem with the five major families, then any family could easily get rid of Lance.

These people are fucking trash!
But neither Mr. Hof nor Mr. Charles realized one thing.

The internal "stability" of Jingang City has lasted for so many years, why did it suddenly collapse in recent years?

Is the system not perfect enough?

No, this set of city institutional rules has been implemented for two or three decades and has always been very stable and efficient. This is not its problem.

Is it that the people who are doing the execution are incompetent?

Not really. Whether it is Charlie, Hunter, or the heads of the five major families, they are the best choices for their positions in this era.

There was no problem with the rules and systems, nor with the selection of personnel, so what exactly caused everything to be destroyed?
No one noticed this, they didn’t think about it, nor did they look for it. After all, to these gentlemen, it was just one of countless “little things”.

When these small things pile up and become big things, they want to find the root cause of the problem and make amends, but it is too late.

In fact, the problem lies in this era itself.

If Lance had a good job, his boss wouldn't skimp on his salary.

If Ethan wouldn't face huge blackmail for some minor problems.

in case……

Lance, coupled with too many ifs, ultimately brought everything down.

People cannot see the ant next to the first fallen block, they can only see the fallen block and the Empire State Building that was eventually knocked down!

It was Mr. Hof who came up with this idea, so he was also the one who contacted Joshua, and here, he and Joshua were the only ones who knew each other.

Other people might know him, but they would not take the initiative to take on this matter because the reputation of the Holy Bell Party is so bad.

Since they had already agreed on a solution, everyone's emotions relaxed a little. At this time, the housekeeper suddenly said that someone came to visit.

Mr. Charles asked the butler to bring the man over. The unfortunate businessman was holding his hat in his hand, with his shoulders slightly forward, looking as if he was curled up.

Although he also lives in the Bay Area, living in the Bay Area does not mean that he is the core of the Bay Area's interests.

Just like not all people living in New Gold City are senators, they could also be homeless people.

"What's the matter?" Mr. Charles glanced at the unfortunate businessman. He had seen this guy several times but could never remember his name.

But he didn't think about remembering this person's name, whether in the past or now.

He doesn't need to remember the name of such a minor character, just as a person wouldn't care what the ditch on his way to get off work is called.

To them, the general term is "dog".

The unfortunate businessman nodded. "Customs said my goods have some warning risks and need to be inspected before they can be cleared."

Mr. Charles and the other gentlemen in the room looked down at him, and that look made him feel extremely inferior and uncomfortable.

He spoke even more quietly, and he used to hold his hat with one hand, but now he used two hands.

The hat covering his chest could give him some sense of security. He himself didn't even realize it, but he did it instinctively.

Mr. Charles frowned slightly, "Is there any problem with this?"

He himself was also engaged in import and export trade, and he knew that exported goods had to be inspected by customs first and then released before they could be shipped out of the port.

This is to avoid some possible criminal activities. At the same time, due to the recent tense international situation, the federal government has begun to impose trade sanctions on member countries of the Dantra Military Alliance.

A large number of materials that can be used to produce military equipment have been completely stopped from being exported to these member states, so inspections will be more stringent.

The unfortunate businessman swallowed his saliva. "But my goods are just some cold-resistant cotton clothes and some heating items. They detained my goods and said it would take at least two weeks before my turn for inspection."

Mr. Charles was a little impatient. "So what's the problem?"

Before the unfortunate businessman could speak, he reminded him, "You'd better grasp the point of the matter, gentlemen."

"Our time is very valuable, I hope you understand that!"

He emphasized his tone, "Speak to the point!"

The unlucky businessman nodded in agreement. He did not dare to continue to express himself implicitly and directly said what he was thinking. "The customs may be making things difficult for us factory operators. If this batch of goods cannot be shipped out, I may have to face huge claims." "If it really doesn't work, I... can only ask Mayor Williams for help."

Mr. Charles finally understood what he wanted to express, and his tightly clenched brows almost twisted together, because he found that this was indeed a problem.

As for the matter of compensation... the capitalists in the Federation have already figured it out quite well.

Claims that are favorable to you must be written high, and claims that are unfavorable to you should not be written at all.

But international trade is also a game between capitalists, and the other party will certainly demand huge claims.

If this was really done by Mayor Williams, he had to admit that it was a heavy punch!
"Wait a moment, I'll make a phone call." Mr. Charles went to another room, but the atmosphere in this room did not ease.

The unlucky businessman stood at the edge of the wall. Every gentleman here needed him to look up. He even had to slow down his breathing carefully, for fear of causing displeasure to these gentlemen.

After waiting for seven or eight minutes, Mr. Charles came back from another room. He glanced at the unlucky businessman and said, "It seems that this problem does exist. Please leave your contact information and I will contact you later."

The unfortunate businessman wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded and agreed.

He left immediately after leaving his personal contact information.

After he left, Mr. Charles said, "They detained several batches of containers that were about to leave the port. The customs brokers in these congressional offices are all those companies in the old industrial area."

In order to better serve the businesses in Jingang City, the previous mayor took out the corporate-related work from the Social Services Bureau and established a special Business Services Bureau, which is the government department where Patricia works.

This government department holds information on all the registered companies in Jingang City, which naturally includes information on factories in the old industrial zone.

Therefore, from a technical point of view, there is absolutely no problem for Customs to block these declared containers, and they can catch them all.

After the door was closed again, someone couldn't help but ask, "Is what he said true?"

Mr. Charles nodded. "It's very likely true."

The federal customs is under the jurisdiction of the federal Department of Commerce, but the U.S. State Department also has certain management powers. On the surface, it is a department vertically managed by the federal government, but it requires the cooperation of local governments, so local governments also have a certain influence on it.

In other words, Mayor Williams does have the potential to influence Customs' decisions.

"Does anyone know the local customs commissioner?" Mr. Charles looked at other people, his eyes mainly focused on a few people with political backgrounds, such as Mr. Hof.

But unfortunately, these people, including Mr. Hof, remained silent, and they did not have much room for contact with customs.

After all, the appointment of internal members of the customs is not made by the local government, but by the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Commerce. Even people like Mr. Hof who have local Socialist or Liberal political affiliations find it difficult to interfere with these appointments.

There are no conflicts of interest or exchanges of interests between the two parties. At the same time, they do not engage in import and export business, let alone any friendship.

Seeing that these people remained silent, Mr. Charles closed his eyes.

"I'll talk to him later and see if we can find a way to solve this problem."

“If it can be resolved, then this is the best outcome.”

"But if we can't solve it..." He shook his head, "Then gentlemen, we have to consider what to do next!"

By then more factory operators will break away from them and bow to Mayor Williams.

Once fewer and fewer people on their side resist the brutality of City Hall, and fewer and fewer people remain, their confrontation will eventually become meaningless!

The city hall has issued a rigid policy and regulation that stipulates that chimneys are not allowed to smoke in old industrial areas, large industrial machines are not allowed to be used, and noise above a certain decibel is not allowed to be generated.

They have plenty of ways to stop these factories from operating, and the land they take away is enough to support the development of an entire district, so their insistence becomes unnecessary.

"This is a special time, and I hope that each of us can make a little more contribution for our common good!"

He paused and said, "Okay, that's all for today. I have to meet with the Commissioner later, so..."

He glanced at Mr. Hof and said, "Contact Joshua as soon as possible to finalize this matter."

"I want to see the news of Lance's assassination appear in the newspaper within a week."

Then he looked at the other people, explained their work and tasks, and the party ended there.

He stood by the window, lit a cigarette, and watched the men leave his house and walk out the front door.

For some reason, he always had a bad feeling.

Just like the crazy gamblers in a casino, they have already drawn big numbers so many times in a row, they won’t draw small numbers this time, right?

Definitely not!
This time it’s still big!
(End of this chapter)