Empire of Shadows

Dave and several worker representatives walked out of the docks, all wearing the brand-new work uniforms Lance had given them. It had to be

Dave and several worker representatives walked out of the docks, all wearing the brand-new work uniforms Lance had given them.

It had to be said that after putting on neat uniforms, everyone’s spirit and appearance had undergone a huge change.

They hadn’t received higher education, so they didn’t know how to describe this feeling. In short, they felt that they had become a single, twisted rope, and had become more powerful.

If the capitalists dared to face them now, they could smash one with a single punch.

They smoked their cigarettes, a swagger in their walk. They were no longer like they were before.

If someone who understood the history of unions saw this scene, they would understand that these worker representatives were entering a special stage, a stage of transformation.

When they emerged completely from this stage, they would no longer be ordinary working class; they would gain a greater space for development in the political arena.

This is how unions came to be.

When the working class banded together to fight against the exploitation and oppression of the capitalists, everyone was together.But only the first group of people who shouted “Workers’ Great Unity,” began to formulate some regulations, and were seen as fools by some for running around to help everyone defeat the capitalists, eventually transcended the working class.

They established the Federation of Labor. Another group of people discovered these issues and realized that this was an opportunity to change themselves, so the second group of people became the rule-makers of the industry unions.

By the time those workers, those workers who were no different from them, reacted, there was no longer a place for them, neither in the Federation of Labor nor in the industry unions.

Perhaps Dave and these people could no longer establish any Federation of Labor, or establish an industry union, and there was no place for them in it.

But they were indeed transforming. In a place they themselves couldn’t see, a blank space was being released.

Johnny, walking at the very front, pulled open the restaurant door. The others filed in. They soon saw Lance sitting at the table in the middle of the restaurant.

There was no one else in the entire restaurant. Lance had booked it for an hour.

It wasn’t mealtime now. Lance had temporarily booked it for only twenty dollars.

“Mr. Lance?”

“Someone just said you wanted to see us?”

Lance gestured for them to sit down and had the restaurant’s waiter bring some coffee over.

Only after everyone had sat down did he speak. “The militia will be entering the city in a few days. To be precise, the day after tomorrow.”

Hearing this, everyone showed expressions of disbelief. The militia entering the city was a big deal in the Federation. It represented that order had been broken.

After the Federation’s internal conflicts were resolved, they had established a series of rules. Some were written on paper, framed, and placed in museums or some political buildings to remind people of their past promises.

There were also some that were not so easy to record, which were promised orally, with a guarantee that they would be abided by.

Politics and the military are separate. They should not be changed by the will of any single person.

Seeing that the workers were getting a bit nervous, Lance continued to turn up the heat. “And I have reliable information that besides solving the public security problem, they also want to solve the strike problem.”

“Suppress the strike?” Johnny stood up in shock. This was not in the script.

The others also looked shocked. Lance slowly nodded. “Golden Port is not allowed to be chaotic, and you should know that behind the current chaos is actually the confrontation of two interest groups.”

“The locals, and the outsiders!”

They had heard these rumors. The workers, especially those with the right to vote, most often talked about political matters, although the closest they ever got to the political arena was the moment they cast their ballots into the ballot box.

But they were still keen on talking about politics and figures related to politics.

Of course, they had heard the story of the “locals” and the “outsiders.” After all, the massive new port district was right there, still not completed, and not fully operational.

But to say they had a deep understanding of these matters was not entirely true.

Lance explained briefly, “The Mayor may have orchestrated all these events, including the current chaotic public security situation, through a self-directed shooting.”

“Shootings, explosions, fighting for territory, many areas have fallen into great chaos!”

“Plus, we went on strike at this critical moment!”

“Now, if you were the governor, what would you think?”

“You should all know that Golden Port is very important!”

These worker representatives, to be elected by the workers to become representatives, were definitely not chosen because they were better at tightening screws or could carry more things.

It must be because their brains were good enough, at least better than the other workers’.

They could consider more things, more detailed things, which is why they were elected to be worker representatives.

Those who were foolish would never have this opportunity in their lifetime.

So they also used their brains to think. With very limited information, a truth that was not correct, or at least not entirely correct, began to appear before them.

“We have become pawns on a chessboard!” Dave roared with unwillingness. He had felt this the most and the strongest during this period.

His clenched fists creaked. Lance believed that if given a chance, he could now smash this wooden table.

The other worker representatives also showed expressions of anger and unwillingness. Although they often talked about politics, who would want to become a part of a political game?

And, the next key node of this game involved the “militia.”

“Once the militia comes in, this strike will become very dangerous,” Lance crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and patiently discussed the possible trends of the strike with them.

“Either, we don’t compromise, and in the end, we will be treated as unstable factors disrupting the city’s stability by the mayor and some people who are eager for the city to stabilize, and then be suppressed by the militia!”

“Or, we choose to compromise, but what we get in return may be a longer period of no pay raises, no more welfare benefits. They will not respect us, because our strength is laughably weak!”

Lance’s words made their breathing heavy. The thought that this was the near future filled them with a deep sense of despair.

“These damned capitalists and politicians, they never care about us at the bottom!” a worker representative slammed his fist on the table. The coaster and coffee cup on the table jumped. He was startled by the sound and then scratched his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t notice…”

Lance shook his head. He took a sip of his coffee to prevent it from splashing out the next time they hit the table.

He pointed at the man. “You’re right. No one cares about us except ourselves.”

“Actually, I heard from Vaughn that the General Union is very dissatisfied with Golden Port going on strike without approval. Vaughn is supporting our strike under great pressure.”

“I have always believed one thing, and that is that no one can help us but ourselves!”

Dave nodded vigorously. “You’re right, Mr. Lance. Only we ourselves will care about ourselves!”

He paused, looked at the fellow workers beside him, and lowered his voice slightly. “Is there any way for us to… change this ending?”

“At least I don’t like this ending. Whether we are suppressed, bleed and sacrifice, or we choose to compromise and turn these days of effort into a joke, is what I want!”

The other worker representatives also chimed in. Their position was simple, clear, and independent.

Lance took a drag of his cigarette. “Actually, I called you here for this matter. I do have an idea. It may not be mature, and there is a little risk.”

“If it succeeds…” he leaned back. At this time, he didn’t need to show an aggressive or invasive posture.

On the contrary, a more stable and defensive posture like leaning back was more appropriate. This would make his words more persuasive, as if he already had a complete plan, and everything was under his control.

“Mr. Lance, please tell us what to do!”

Lance seemed to hesitate, to be thinking. After a while, he nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell you.”

“You should know that mobilizing the militia is definitely the result of the governor submitting it to the state assembly and getting approval. In other words, this is an internal affair of Likalai State.”

“The matter has not yet fermented further. It’s possible that no one in other parts of the Federation is even reporting on our strike.”

“I said, the General Union is very dissatisfied with our decision to strike. If they don’t help us convey our demands, it will be very difficult to let more people know what is happening here.”

“If the state government then intervenes administratively, it’s even possible that Congress will only know that dispatching the militia is to solve the public security problem, without knowing that they are trying to use the militia to suppress a legal strike!”

“So, my idea is, before the militia enters the city, let’s go for something big!”

He licked his lips and paused. This was to give these worker representatives a process of interpretation, understanding, and then processing it themselves.

They would, according to their own ideas, add some details that Lance might not have said, and use these details to convince themselves.

After waiting for two or three minutes, the big-bearded man said, “Do you have a plan?”

Lance nodded, but didn’t say, instead looking at the others. “What about you guys?”

“Want to join?”

The other worker representatives looked at me, I looked at you.

At this moment, Dave slapped the table. His strength was greater, and a lot of coffee splashed out. Fortunately, Lance had the foresight to drink a couple of sips.

“I’ve heard a saying—”

“Victory is never begged for!”

“This saying is very appropriate now. We have been forced to the edge of a cliff. There are cliffs on both sides. No matter which way we go, it’s a jump down!”

“Since we are all jumping down, why not choose a direction we can control, instead of the one they left for us?”

“Even if jumping down will break all my bones, at least I resisted!”

His words were a bit incoherent, but the general meaning was very clear. Johnny immediately stood up as well. “Yes, tell us, Mr. Lance, we’ll listen to you!”

The others also expressed their positions. Only then did Lance nod slightly. “Actually, what we need to do is very simple.”

“There are a large amount of supplies at the Golden Port docks. Loot a batch, destroy a batch, burn a batch!”

In an instant, everyone was stunned.

Even Johnny was a little at a loss.

Lance looked at them and stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

“Only when the Golden Port docks are in turmoil will it attract greater attention, because the owners of these goods on the docks are from different regions of the entire Federation, and even the whole world!”

“When they see us get hurt and sad, they will only clap their hands and laugh, thinking they’ve watched a farce.”

“Only when they feel the pain themselves will they realize how painful it is!”

“Pain will make them shout out, they will speak up, let more people know about this turmoil, know about this destructive strike, and only then will they take our demands seriously!”

Lance’s words were very powerful, and this was what the workers wanted to hear.

The big-bearded man frowned. “Mr. Lance, I’m not questioning your idea, but if we do as you say and destroy some of the supplies, will they let us go?”

The “they” he was talking about, of course, referred to the owners of the goods.

If their things were destroyed, someone would have to bear the responsibility and consequences. It was conceivable that they had no advantage at all in confronting these capitalists.

Lance tapped his fingers on the table twice. “First, the dock management company and the owners of the goods have mostly bought insurance.”

“If an accident happens, if they want compensation, they won’t come to you, but will sue the insurance company!”

Ocean transport in this era still had great risks, including port storage.

Perhaps a storm could ruin a shipment, or cause the goods in the warehouse to be soaked in water, so most port businesses would buy insurance.

Although Lance was not sure if the insurance company’s terms included compensation for goods that were deliberately damaged, when the only place the capitalists could recover their losses was the insurance company, they would definitely unite and sue the insurance company.

On the contrary, the ones who actually destroyed these things, that is, the strike and the workers, would not have to bear too severe economic compensation.

“The only risk you might have to face is being sued for destroying things at the docks.”

Lance’s gaze rested on their faces one by one. Some looked very worried, some looked indifferent.

After about ten or twenty seconds, he continued, “If they really sue you, or others…”

“I can assure you, I will arrange the best lawyers to defend you, help you reduce your sentences to the greatest extent, and through some…”

He raised his hands and turned them slightly outwards, “…some technical means. You know, some technical means are very technical and challenging, but this can get you out without having to wait that long.”

“Only in this way can we let the Federation know that here, there is still a group of us who need the attention of the people and the whole society!”

“Only when we have done these things will a power significantly higher than the state government come to interfere in these matters.”

“The war is about to break out. If at this time, an important material transport node like Golden Port has a long-term accident, the Federation government will not be able to accept it!”

Dave said that word, “Congress!”

Lance pointed at him. “You must have read a lot of newspapers!”

Dave was suddenly a little embarrassed. “I like to read newspapers and learn about some national affairs.”

“This is a good habit, keep it up.”

Lance smoothed his eyebrows. “You can go and discuss it with your friends, colleagues, and fellow workers.”

“But it must be as soon as possible!”

“We must grasp the initiative in our own hands. Even if we have to jump off a cliff, we are the ones who jump actively, not them forcing us to jump!”

“If the initiative falls into their hands, we will have no chance to choose. Whatever they say it is, we can only be that!”

Johnny suddenly asked a question, “Lance, it’s almost payday. If we make too much trouble, they will definitely not pay us, and may even use this as a bargaining chip.”

He glanced at the others. “I don’t mind, but there are over ten thousand workers on the docks, and there are always people waiting for money to live.”

This was already in Lance’s plan. “We’ll solve this problem from two aspects. We can take some of the supplies from the docks.”

“You guys work at the docks every day. You definitely know better than I do what’s more valuable in which warehouse.”

“This part can make up for some of your economic problems.”

“If you’re still short of money, you can come to me. I can lend you a sum of money first, with no interest. After we’ve negotiated the terms and the wages come down, you can pay me back.”

Johnny’s question and Lance’s solution seemed to be a very good choice. The worker representatives looked at each other, thought there was no problem, and all stood up.

Lance repeatedly urged them that time was waiting for no one.

For the militia, they would only assemble and enter the city by vehicle after forty-eight hours.

But for the workers on the docks, they might only have twelve hours, or even have to make a decision before tonight!

Soon, these worker representatives left the restaurant. They quickly returned to the docks and began to spread these ideas.

At first, they were cautious, but soon more people joined in.

Their mood was the same as when the worker representatives had first heard the news. Either be suppressed, pressed to the ground by reality…

Or, choose to compromise, and kneel down again!

Neither path was what they wanted. After kneeling for a long time, people become numb.

But fortunately, there was another path, a third path!

(End of chapter)