Shadow Empire

Chapter 748 Trouble and Making Money

The sea is so vast that the water surface may seem calm, but in fact the water surface you see may have drifted to an unknown place after a few minutes.

The fluidity of water is difficult to detect with the naked eye, not to mention that beneath the calm sea surface there is a turbulent undercurrent. Once you are caught in it, you will soon sink to the bottom of the sea.

The four bodies were thrown into the sea and disappeared in less than a moment. Someone told Francisco the news. It might be that Christopher did it on purpose to anger him and make him lose his mind and go to Sumurri Island.

Francisco, who had completely calmed down, didn't do that. He just told Lance about it.

Because of the war, the situation in Tanfit is very complicated at the moment. Lance will only go back once the situation is a little more stable.

But before that, he can charge a little interest.

The outbreak of war brought about many changes in things, whether in the Federation or elsewhere, the Empire, other countries, and also Sumurri Island.

Sumuli is not a huge country, it is just a coastal island country with a population of more than 20 million, but it has a dream of becoming a continent.

This war is their chance to realize their continental dream, even though some people think it is stupid.

If they cannot obtain the land adjacent to Sumul Island, but instead obtain an enclave, the value of this enclave is actually not that great.

Because they could not truly rule that land unless they immigrated in large numbers and drove out the original residents of the land.

But the war faction does not consider these things. What they consider is to achieve their demands through war, even if the final result is not very good.

But this matter is more complicated than I imagined.

"We are in a little trouble now." In the Prime Minister's office, the four major families on Sumuli Island and some businessmen gathered here.

The Prime Minister's hair is a bit thinning and he doesn't look like someone who is easy to get along with.

More like a butcher working in a slaughterhouse than a prime minister!
He came from a good family. Sumurri Island was small and could not accommodate so many people, which meant that power was always passed down.

At this moment, he looked at every gentleman in the room with a helpless expression on his face.

The businessmen did not speak. They were waiting, waiting for the big shots to speak.

As a war advocate, Mr. Leonardo would certainly not sit idly by and watch others remain silent. He frowned and asked, "What trouble?"

The Prime Minister spread his hands and said, "We have no money."

This sentence sounded like a joke. The gentlemen in the room were stunned for a moment, and then they all laughed, including Mr. Leonardo and the heads of the other three families.

Everybody was laughing. Maybe they were really trying to look funny. Some businessmen were so exaggerated that it was like they were about to die.

Ahahahaha uh uh hahaha uh…

And the sound is very loud, you can tell they are using both their sucking and pooping strength at the same time.

But the Prime Minister did not laugh. He just looked at these people calmly with his hands on the table, waiting, waiting for their laughter to gradually stop and then disappear.

Mr. Leonardo took out a cigarette, and the businessmen behind him took out their lighters to light it for him.

But he raised his hand, produced a jeweled lighter, and lit the fire for himself.

He was not used to fire lit by lighters made of other materials. He was only used to fire lit by pure gold lighters.

If this sentence was said by an ordinary person, he would most likely get into some trouble. At this time, the gangs, no matter where they are from or which country they are from, are likely to get into some trouble.

They are not very reasonable and pay special "attention" to those arrogant people.

But he is the head of one of the four major families, which means he has privileges on this island.

"Are you sure you are not kidding?" He blew a puff of smoke at the Prime Minister, very impolitely.

The Prime Minister nodded slightly, "I don't joke about serious matters."

This time, people's expressions became much more serious.

The Prime Minister did not wait for them to guess, and took the initiative to solve the riddle, "Almost all of our equipment was purchased from the coalition forces."

He stretched out his hand and began to count on his fingers. "Steel helmets, weapons, bullets, even boots, and everything on the soldiers, except their clothes, underwear and socks, everything else was bought by us."

"We need to pay about 1,500 dollars (equivalent to more than 200 federal sols) for each soldier, and as they are injured on the front line, we will continue to pay more for supplies."

"This battle was brutal and tragic. Because... for some reasons, we were responsible for a part of the battlefield."

"In short, we have paid a total of about 300 million Yalei in military expenses so far, and we will have to continue to spend money in the future."

"There is still money in the treasury, and we have to keep a portion of it for normal budget and expenditure on the island. If there is another war of this intensity, we may not have any money."

Sumuli Island is a small place after all. In a country of 20 million people, many people do not pay taxes.

For example, the four major families have never paid taxes, but at the same time they control some of the most profitable businesses on the island.

The capitalists behind them will pay taxes, but not that much. Due to family and social environment issues, corruption is quite serious on Sumuli Island.

They would rather use the tax money to bribe officials than pay taxes.

By bribing officials, they will gain some new friends, but by paying taxes, they will just make people think they are extremely stupid.

As for collecting taxes from ordinary people, it is not impossible, but the possibility is not high. There is a tradition of resistance in the sumu. If they are willing to pay, they will pay. If they are unwilling to pay and are forced to pay, they will turn hostile.

In short, this is a very difficult place to deal with. If the corruption problems of the four major families and the government are not resolved, the government's annual tax revenue will only be around 2 billion Yalei.

Then one-third is spent on island construction and government maintenance, and if the Prime Minister does something creative, there will be nothing left.

When every prime minister of Sumuli stepped down, if there was still money in the treasury, it would mean that the prime minister was a good prime minister.

Most prime ministers leave a mess behind when they step down, which may be one of the reasons why government power can be passed on smoothly.

No one wants to accept this crap.

If put together, if the government runs out of money, it runs out of money, but it is different now. They are actively participating in the war. If the government runs out of money, it will not be able to continue investing in the war, making their early investment a joke.

The Prime Minister explained the matter simply but in detail, told people where the money had gone, and then reiterated the purpose of his invitation to everyone.

"So, this is the problem we're facing now, we're out of money," he spread his hands and threw the problem to everyone else in the room.

Someone asked, "Is it okay to impose taxes now?"

At this moment, they have not considered cutting their own flesh, but cut ordinary people's first.

The Prime Minister smiled and nodded. "Of course, we can, but we have forced them to go to the front line, and now we are forcibly confiscating their wealth. Do you think they will resist?"

"Conscription has already caused some social problems. If we take away all the money in their pockets, there is a high probability that you will see me on the guillotine again."

He told a bad joke and no one laughed.

Another businessman frowned and asked, "So what is your purpose in calling us to talk about this?"

"You expect us to bear the cost of the war?"

"I'm afraid we can't hold on!"

He was lying, but since everyone was nodding, it wasn't a lie.

The Prime Minister now acted nonchalant, "That's why I invited you here to discuss this with you. Anyway, we will soon be out of money."

"It's only been four months this year, and there are still eight months to go. This war obviously cannot be ended in eight months."

"It doesn't have to be the end of the year. In September or October, our finances will be exhausted and we will have no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield."

"After all, we can't let the soldiers spend their own money to buy their own equipment, replenish their ammunition, and then pay their own pensions, right?"

"Of course, if you are not afraid that they will mess around again, I can also do what you want."

Mr. Leonardo couldn't help it. If the war stopped, his interests would suffer the most, and he would not let the war stop.

"Issue national debt, war bonds, increase taxes, and when necessary, borrow from the allies." The Prime Minister couldn't help laughing when he said these words. Borrowing money from the allies and then fighting for them, even if he couldn't be considered a qualified politician, he couldn't help laughing at this moment.

Mr. Leonardo looked unhappy when he noticed his smile, "You think it's funny?"

The president pursed his lips and shook his head, "No, I just think it's a good idea."

He said that, but everyone actually knew that this was not a good idea.

The Prime Minister clapped his hands. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you about this. In case we need to recruit more soldiers for the subsequent war, or if there are too many casualties, we may stop halfway."

"As for the loan you mentioned, I will consider it. However, the countries around us are all involved in the war, and we don't have any resources to sell, so they may not give us much in the way of loans."

"Unless we sign some terrible terms, anyway... let's do this first, let's all think about it seriously and then come up with a solution."

"If any of you have good ideas, please give me a call."

Soon the gentlemen in the room left the place, but they gathered again in another place.

Christopher was also called over. He didn't know why Mr. Leonardo asked him to come over, so he found a corner and sat down.

In fact, the people in Sumul didn't care too much about marrying into the wife's family, but he himself did care a little about it.

Fortunately, his wife was dead, and he felt much better now.

As soon as he sat down, he heard the unhappy tone of the head of another family, "To put it bluntly, he actually wants us to take out the money and give it to him to continue to promote the war."

"If he had talked to us nicely, this matter might not be impossible to discuss, but he used this method to make me feel uncomfortable!"

“I don’t want to give him the money.”

This was a family head who was not in favor of war. Mr. Leonardo sneered, "To put it bluntly, you just don't want to pay, so you found an excuse for yourself."

The man who was refuted by him glared and said, "Are you willing to give it?"

“This is not three or five million, Leon!”

“And what does it get us for paying this money?”

"A medal of honor?"

"I could fill my swimming pool with medals of honor with that money!"

This sentence is the reason why these people are unwilling to speak out.

It’s not that they are unwilling to pay, but they want to see what they can get in return for the money.

The Prime Minister has never made a statement. They use money to support the country in going to war, and then what?
What will they get after the war?
If it were just a medal, they would rather remain silent.

Mr. Leonardo thought for a while and said, "I will go talk to him about this matter and try to make it happen."

"But if you want him to give in, you need something that can be used as a bargaining chip."

"If you are willing to pay this money, how much can you pay?"

"I'll take the lead. I can come up with 200 million (about 30 million federal soles)."

Others also began to express their opinions, and soon they had raised over 5 billion.

It is uncertain whether this money can last until the end of the war, but it can at least last until halfway through.

So the most crucial question is the one they raised: they can pay the money, but what can they get?
If what they get makes them feel great value, then they don't mind paying a little more to double the happiness.

But if the Prime Minister and the Sumuli government cannot give them any tangible benefits, they are absolutely unwilling to pay.

When they have gotten almost everything they want, everyone leaves and they still talk privately in groups of three or five.

Christopher returned to the estate with Mr. Leonardo and went to his study.

He asked the butler to bring some wine and some snacks to go with the wine. Mr. Leonardo ate the snacks and drank the wine. "What did you get?"

"What did you learn from our conversation?"

Christopher didn't know what Mr. Leonardo meant, so he could only say honestly, "The government has no money, but we do, but this money can't be spent in vain!"

Mr. Leonardo nodded. "That's a good summary."

He paused here, picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and the topic suddenly shifted to other places.

"I heard that the federal government is implementing prohibition, and the price of grapes has skyrocketed because of prohibition."

Not only is the price of grapes skyrocketing in the Federation, the price of grapes is also skyrocketing in almost all countries that trade with the Federation!

The forty-fold increase made everyone's eyes red. Sumuli is also a grape producing area, and the grapes here have been rising continuously due to the skyrocketing federal prices.

Christopher seemed to have sensed something. "You want to sell grapes to the Federation?"

"Please forgive me for being so blunt. The agricultural and animal husbandry trade in the Federation is monopolized by three major distributors. Even if our grapes enter the federal market, it will be difficult to sell them. We may even encounter difficulties."

During his years in Federation, as a native second-generation immigrant in Federation, he was well aware of the control that the three major channel dealers had over agriculture.

They just need to find a random reason and the grapes transported from Sumul will become substandard grapes. Unless they are sold to them at a low price, they will have to be taken back.

Mr. Leonardo shook his head, "No, I mean, their drinks are expensive right now too."

More than just expensive?

Christopher sighed and said nothing.

Mr. Leonardo continued, "You know more about the Federation than we do. If we smuggle alcohol to the Federation, will the profit be high?"

The wine from Sumur Island converted into federal sols is basically the same as the production cost of federal wine, or slightly lower, because the labor cost here is low and the prices of some wine-making crops are also relatively low.

But if you add the shipping cost, then it's about the same.

"It shouldn't be a problem to sell a bottle of wine that costs 50 yuan for 400 yuan, but this only applies to wines like whiskey and brandy."

"For products like wine, cider and beer, the profits are also high, but the unit price is very low."

Mr. Leonardo nodded, "If you were asked to do this..."

Christopher was surprised and happy at first, but soon hesitated because he had just thrown the bodies into the sea.

Isn't going to the federal government at this time tantamount to surrendering?

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "Mr. Leonardo, please forgive me for not being able to agree to this plan, because there are some other things involved."

He briefly explained the conflicts between him, Francisco, and Lance. Although Mr. Leonardo frowned, he did not blame him.

He changed his mind, "What do you think if we can supply alcohol to the gangs of Sumuli people who have not returned home yet?"

"We can also ask them to donate some money back. After all, only when we become stronger can they live more comfortably in the Federation."

Christopher thought about it seriously and nodded in agreement, "I think it's feasible!"

Mr. Leonardo is a man of execution. "Go contact the leaders of the Sumuli gangs in the Federation and ask them to arrange for their representatives to come back and discuss supply and marketing issues with us. Also, ask them to show their patriotic attitude."

He stood up, holding the armrest of his chair, and said, "I'll go talk to the Prime Minister. He will be interested in this."

As for what he wants, he has already thought of it - let his son become the next prime minister!

He wants to transform the Bianchi family from a single mafia family into a super family spanning both the underworld and political circles!

There may even be a chance, a possibility, to become a royal in the future!
For a man of Mr. Leonardo's age, this is very tempting!

(End of this chapter)