Shadow Empire

Chapter 704 Do you want to be a general?

"Yalan is the key to protecting the interests of the Federation's Eastern Ocean!"

"We need to deploy more naval bases in the Eastern Ocean and build a war network that can cover the entire world!"

"When we make a decision, a certain telephone signal will be sent out and connected. Within six hours, the firepower of the Federation's fleet will be able to cover any place in the world!"

"We are no longer participants in the world's game, but the game makers and the final referees!"

Lance, who was standing in the most conspicuous place among the crowd and speaking, seemed to be radiating light. The next moment, people in the hall began to applaud.

Everyone carries "heavy" epaulettes on their shoulders. The lowest military rank here is major, and they can only do service work.

This is not a suburban senator's manor, but the private residence of a big shot in the federal military. Those gathered here are also senior military generals or representatives.

With the official declaration of war, the entire country entered a state of mobilization and war. The generals had already gathered here. With the final "integration" of the three departments of the Presidential Palace, Congress, and the Ministry of Defense, they would then rush to different battlefields.

Admiral Miles brought Lance over, and Senator Cleveland also agreed very much. The relationship between the senators and these military generals can only be said to be acquaintance, but it cannot be said that they have a deep friendship.

Politicians are more wary of soldiers than they are of capitalists!
After all, if capitalists want to seize power from politicians, they must at least feed the politicians first.

By the time they are really full and the transfer of power and capital is over, it is difficult to say whether they have really lost something or just pretended to have lost it.

But the soldiers are different. These soldiers want the power in the hands of politicians. They only need to pick up the phone and tell their officers "it's time to act" to overthrow the regime.

Similar situations have occurred in more than one country in the world, where the military has overthrown the regime and established a military government.

Therefore, there will not be a good relationship between federal politicians and the military. The various military committees established by Congress specifically for the military are not established to serve them!

Lance's plan involves the military. If the military disagrees, even if Congress agrees, it can still proceed, but it will be embarrassing.

If another person with a stupid brain turns the table, the entire Congress will be put in a passive position.

So someone was needed to convince the military to stand with them. There was so much money that they could just share it together. This could be considered a contribution made by the political arena to ease relations with the military during the war.

Lance carries this responsibility and opportunity.

He appeared in the mansion of the military general and announced this plan in front of everyone that would bring huge profits to the military. Both the navy and the army seemed particularly excited!
One of the white-haired admirals also showed some excitement on his face. He was a general of the Federal Army, but he had a lot of seniority and was also the president of the Federal Central Military Academy.

Whether it is the generals of the navy or the army here, many of them can be said to be his "alumni".

He could feel that what Lance said would have a huge impact on the future development of the military!
Once the federal military has a large number of overseas bases, they will be less constrained by Congress.

It’s not that the old general intends to overthrow the corrupt federal capitalist politics and be in charge of his own affairs, but being able to not rely heavily on Congress is undoubtedly good news for the military and their own future development.

His son is a lieutenant general, his grandson is a major general, and he hopes that his family's descendants will all be generals and dedicate themselves to the federation!
Congress and the federal government have been looking for ways to weaken factionalism in the military, which has always been a major concern of these military generals.

They were not born to be generals, but because their ancestors, the founding generation, were generals, so they were generals.

In the army, the identity of a general is more like a glorious inheritance of a family.

Now the federal government wants to take away this "family glory" from them. How can they accept it?

The conflict between the two sides itself can also be seen as one of the reasons why the Federation decided to participate in the war and launch a foreign war.

They didn't know which way to go in the future, and the distant road was also shrouded in fog. But now, someone was holding a lamp to dispel the haze on the road ahead, allowing them to see farther.

The old general thought a lot. He walked to Lance and patted his arm. "What you said is very inspiring. How about it? Are you interested in joining the army?"

This was not a sudden idea of ​​the old general, but a mature idea that came into being after he listened to Lance's ideas.

At least no one in the military's top think tank can come up with this approach.

Everything they do depends on the decisions of Congress, including the annual military budget, the size of the military, and even daily exercises, which all require the approval and nod from Congress.

Of course, Congress will not deliberately make things difficult for them if they disagree, but it really doesn’t feel good to have one’s lifeline always in the hands of others!

If one day the conflict between the two sides cannot be eased and Congress directly cuts off military funding, even if those soldiers are willing to be "loyal" to the military generals, you still have to pay them, right?
People are willing to sacrifice their lives, but you are unwilling to pay them or cannot afford to pay them. Why should they work for you?
The theory of overseas stationing proposed by Lance can reduce the military's control over Congress by requiring local financial support.

The more military bases they have overseas, the less control they will be subject to from Congress. As long as the number reaches a certain level, they can even directly confront Congress on certain issues.

This kind of advice, which can preserve "family honor" and "inheritance", is very important to the old general and everyone here.

Others can't think of it, but Lance can.

And the fact that he thought of it in such a systematic way can only mean that Lance is a talent, a talent who can provide them with more value!

Facing the old general's invitation, Lance smiled and shook his head. "I'm honored that you favor me, but I'm sorry, I don't have any intention of joining the army for the time being. After all, I still have my own career to pursue."

The old general was not angry either, and continued to raise the stakes, "Come on, I'll give you a general!"

He said this very smoothly, without taking Congress and the Department of Defense into account at all, as if the military was his own business.

He said that if he could become a general, he would definitely become a general.

Some other generals looked at Lance with a hint of envy and jealousy in their eyes, but they did not express any dissatisfaction or other negative emotions.

The military is a centralized, authoritarian, and independent system. Soldiers can question the orders of their superiors, but they must obey.

It is okay to question, even if they feel that the order is wrong, but as long as the order from their superior is officially issued, they must execute it no matter how reluctant they are.

This is where it becomes dictatorial. The old general can be said to be at the top of the pyramid in the entire military, although he cannot control the entire army like an emperor.

However, most senior generals will give face to the old general unless their interests are harmed.

So if he says he is a general, then he must be a general!
Lance's eyes were a little stunned. He hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head.

"I was very tempted, to be honest, but I still had to decline because I have my career and a group of brothers who believe in me."

"I appreciate your appreciation. If there is anything I can do to help, I will help you!"

“This is my promise to you!”

The old general had no complaints and would not invite again. He just felt a little regretful.

He thought this might be a good thing, but from Lance's perspective, once he joined the military, he would actually become very unfree, and he was not like the generals here.

They are either from a military family, as their ancestors founded the federal army, or they are from the Central Military Academy, whose alumni are spread throughout the military, and they also have relationship backgrounds such as "old principals".

Lance is a pure "person". He has no interpersonal network here because he was recruited into the army by the old general. Although people will be close to him, they will not be too close to him.

It seems that the old general can live for a few more years, but such things are unpredictable. It’s okay while he is alive now, but what if an accident happens one day before tomorrow?

Then it will be difficult for him to get along in the military.

So it’s better not to get involved.

If it could have been involved, the federal government would not have given military skins to those politicians in the Department of Defense, and would not have kept sand out of the military until now.

Compared to joining the military, which seems to give you a bigger but completely dependent position of power, being outside might not give you as much power, but at least you have more freedom, are easier to turn around, and are safer.

Lance's refusal was not so unacceptable. The old general smiled and patted Lance's arm again, "I'm not as stingy as you think!"

He looked at the others and said, "You need to find someone to record what Lance said. We will study it later."

"This war is an opportunity for the Federation, and it is also an opportunity for us!"

The small gathering ended quickly, but of course Lance did not leave. He discussed his idea with Admiral Miles, several other admirals and the old general.

"Provide wine to the soldiers?" The old general looked at Lance as if he was a lunatic, but then he fell into deep thought.

When Lance first proposed this idea, he thought it was not a good idea, but after Lance demonstrated again how much "two ounces" were, he thought it was a genius idea!
Two ounces was like drinking water to him. He didn't feel any discomfort at all, but the feeling of relaxation brought by alcohol was real.

In fact, the military was very pessimistic about the initial performance of this war. The Federation had not participated in such a large-scale war for many years.

The last time a war broke out with more than 10,000 people on a single battlefield was sixty or seventy years ago. These new recruits have never faced the enemy with the weapons in their hands except for hunting rabbits.

Their think tank did not come up with any very good results when conducting the evaluation, and many people believed that there would definitely be poor performance in the early stages.

But as the war continues, those soldiers who can hold on will become the new "skeleton" to support the entire military.

At that time, the old soldiers will be assigned to the new recruit companies, take on important tasks, and lead the new recruits to fight.

Fear, tension, anger, helplessness...

They have to face many problems, the most common of which are probably tension and anger.

They actually don't have any better solution. Now some troops have started live-fire training, and the soldiers are visibly becoming nervous.

I'm afraid things will become even more tense on the battlefield.

But if we could provide them with some wine...

The old general looked at the others, and these admirals were also thinking about this matter.

The old general took the matter much more seriously than the senator. He looked around and finally his eyes fell on an army general.

"You will be the vanguard this time, so you guys try it first."

"Lance, can you get some samples first so we can actually test its effect on the soldiers?"

Lance nodded, "No problem."

He did not agree immediately. After all, to these generals, these soldiers were their bargaining chips and their foundation.

They are very cautious.

Although money is important, it is only when there is a foundation that one can have money.

If they lost what they had now, even if Lance or anyone else could give them more money, the money would not fall into their hands.

On the contrary, if they can maintain everything they have now, then even if they do nothing, there will be people like Huang Si and Hong Si who will take the initiative to give them money in the future!

The Army General nodded, "Okay, I'll pick a company."

The old general knew that what Lance said must have been approved by Congress. As long as the people in Congress gave them enough money, they would not object to selling out their country.

These bastards are always worrying about problems with the military, but in fact, they are the ones most likely to have problems!

However, the old general did not show any dissatisfaction. After all, Lance's words were indeed valuable and could indeed bring them huge benefits.

They can cooperate without affecting their base.

Lance did not raise any objection to this, especially when he was communicating with Congress about this issue, what he suggested was to let the soldiers fight first.

Let them feel the atmosphere on the battlefield. Anyone will feel uneasy and nervous because they may lose their life at any time and anywhere.

At this time they would not protest the inclusion of "stress relievers" in the basic munitions order.

After some further discussion, the old general had Lance sent back.

This is not Lance's last battle, because the Ministry of Defense wants him to talk to them next, this time with Major General Bruni.

The Department of Defense is a hundred times easier to talk to than the military. After all, these people are just politicians in military uniforms. Deep down, they are no different from the senators in Congress.

It is only to prevent the military from having an allergic reaction to the Ministry of Defense that they are made to wear military uniforms.

When the generals in the Ministry of Defense heard that they would also have a share of the benefits, and that the amount was worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars every year, everyone became enthusiastic.

There are at least hundreds of people who are going to get a piece of this money, but as long as the money is big enough, people can still get a staggering amount.

The Deputy Secretary of Defense who received Lance told him directly that as long as the military and Congress had no problem with it, they would include "stress relievers" in individual military supplies and distribute them to the entire army.

There's no need for Lance to go to the Presidential Palace. Tom said that the majority leader said so.

In fact, there are quite a few people in Congress who want to share this money. Of course, the number of people is definitely much smaller than that of the Department of Defense. For example, Senator Cleveland may be able to get one or two million a year in the early stage, but with the continuous outbreak of wars and more troops being deployed, his annual income may eventually be as high as 20 million!
With this amount of money, let alone running for president, you can run for anything!

During this period, an interesting little incident happened. The photo of Lance in handcuffs was sent back to Jingang City, and some small commotion occurred in Jingang City.

There are rumors that Lance has been arrested in New Gold City and will soon be prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison.

This news caused a huge shock and there was some unrest in society. Mayor Williams made several phone calls before he got through to Lance.

After confirming that Lance was not in trouble, the Lance family cooperated with the police to act quickly and directly suppressed a small group of speculators.

Their bodies dyed a beach in the Bay Area red. Everyone knew what happened, but no one dared to speak out.

After all, the reign of the Lance family continues...

In addition to this incident, Lance had opened up some new situations in the upper-class circles of New Gold City. Many people knew that Lance could enter and exit various senators' mansions, so some brokers and speculators took the initiative to come to him and wanted to discuss cooperation with him.

There are all kinds of cooperation, for example, asking him to help take people to meet senators and giving him a sum of money after the task is completed.

There was also a request for him to find a way to lobby a senator to compromise on a certain proposal, and if he succeeded, he would be given a huge benefit.

Lance didn't agree to any of them, but that didn't stop him from attending various parties that invited him. It was also a preliminary exposure to the circle of New Gold City.

On January 18, the federal government announced that the first 200,000 troops would be rushed to the front line, and the whole world realized that the federal government was serious this time.

At the same time, the Dantra Republic and the Military Alliance declared war on the Federation, and the atmosphere in the entire Federation became somewhat tense.

After all, this is the first time that many people in the Federation have encountered a state of war and war in their lives, and they are somewhat confused about the future...

(End of this chapter)