Empire of Shadows

The morning after the bonfire party at the farmstead, Lance finished his breakfast and set off on his journey back to Golden Port City, while the others would stay at the farm for a few more days.

And William, William was going back with him in his car.

It was obvious that William had something he wanted to talk to Lance about in private, and at this time.

Lance did not refuse. After the car had left the farm, William finally brought up what he wanted to talk about.

“A few representatives from our state’s Federalist Party contacted me before we came to the farm. They want me to go to Manteno and have a chat with them.”

The people of the Federation did not pay much attention to the concept of “father-in-law and son-in-law.” Many times, a son-in-law would directly call his father-in-law by his name, and no one would call him “father-in-law” or “father” or the like.

So the relationship between the two would be very delicate—

This was only limited to ordinary people. For people like Lance and William, everyone was on an equal level.

Lance flicked the match in his hand and then threw it into the ashtray with a lid on the armrest. “What did they want to talk to you about?”

William also took a puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled. “I’m not very clear, but I heard a little piece of gossip. They are planning to make a small move.”Looking at Lance’s somewhat baffled expression, he could only explain in more detail, “They are planning to push me to run for mayor.”

“Golden Port City?” Lance’s voice rose slightly. “If it’s Golden Port City, I would advise you to forget it!”

“The Williams family’s influence here is still very great. Unless he doesn’t compete with you.”

“As long as he himself is not willing to give up the position of mayor, you can’t compete with him. Even if I help you, it’s not very likely to work. After all, it’s the Socialist Party that has the final say here.”

He had thought that William was talking about Golden Port City, but in fact, it was not. “They were talking about Lake City.”

Lake City was also in Likalai State, but it was not well-known, because the scale of the city was very small, with a permanent population of only a little over a hundred thousand, and there were no special super-industries.

There was a lake next to Lake City, which was connected to several rivers, and it was named for this reason.

Overall, it was a slow-paced small city, with its own set of living systems. Although it was not famous, it also did not have much internal pressure.

A considerable number of the citizens of Lake City supported the Federalist Party. More than sixty or seventy percent of the previous mayors were members of the Federalist Party.

It was not until recent years, when the ruling power of the Socialist Party was too strong, that the flag of the Federalist Party was pulled down from this city.

Now, William had the Lance Family behind him, and Lance had connections in Congress, the state government, and all aspects.

The Likalai State Federalist Party Committee and the representatives had some ideas.

On the one hand, they could take back Lake City to make their resumes look better. No matter how it developed later, it would be a good resume.

On the other hand, they could also apply for more funds and resource tilting from the Federalist Party. After all, to have won a mayor, there had to be some indication, right?

In the end, it was still about interests.

But in any case, they believed that William had a chance, so they planned to have a talk with him.

After listening to William’s general idea, a preliminary impression, an outline, gradually formed in Lance’s mind.

“I remember that Lake City seems to be in this vicinity?”

“A little over two hundred kilometers.”

“That’s indeed not too far. You can give it a try.”

“If you can become a mayor, it will be helpful for our development on the farm, and it will also be a huge boost to your career.”

“A municipal councilman, in the end, is not even a basic politician. Only after you have taken this step can you be considered to have truly entered the political arena!”

The thing about a municipal councilman depends entirely on one’s identity and background.

For example, Councilman Williams, Councilman Wade, and these people, they were also municipal councilmen, and at the same time, they could also be considered politicians.

But William, this municipal councilman, if you don’t consider Lance’s influence, then he is not a politician.

A politician, this profession, in the end, is a profession that represents how many people’s fate you can at least decide.

If you can only decide the fate of a few thousand, ten or twenty thousand people, you are not a politician in the true sense. You are just a representative of a group.

But if you can decide the fate of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people, then even if you are nothing, your influence is enough to support you to become a politician at any time.

In Golden Port City, the Williams family was at the very top of the political ecosystem. Even with Lance’s support, if William wanted to make certain decisions and change certain things, he still needed Mayor Williams’s nod.

So it was better to leave here. Although Lake City was small, with Lance’s support, there would not be any powerful characters above him to suppress him. He could become a real ruler, rule these people, decide their fate, and smoothly enter the threshold of a politician.

After becoming a mayor, the road ahead would be much easier. To take a step back, in the future, to be a representative of the Federalist Party and to be active on the political stage of the state and even the federation was also possible.

To go further, to seek a seat in the state senate, or a key department head of the state government, and then to go higher and farther step by step, these were all the paths of a politician.

William’s current age was actually just right. In his forties, in his prime. If he could come out in ten years, that is, in his fifties, and lay a good foundation, then in the future, there might not be a chance to fight for a higher-level ruler.

For example… a governor?

The speaker of the state senate and house of representatives.

These are all possible.

Lance would support him. “You can first have someone go and inquire, to see what the situation is in Lake City. After you go to Manteno, ask the people from the Federalist Party if there is any extra aid.”

“If there is this possibility, then we will not consider the problem of how much money to spend, but how to do it.”

William clenched his fists. Ever since Victor’s birth, he was full of drive!

The reason why he had not had much motivation before was partly because he only had a daughter, and he and Emily did not plan to have another child.

Their family was in a relatively awkward position. To have more children would inevitably change the original life, and their development was not enough to support the subsequent changes.

This was actually very awkward. People always say that it’s not as good as the top, but better than the bottom. In fact, how many people will really bow their heads and compare with those who are far inferior to them?

So for these awkward families, all that’s left is the “not as good” in “not as good as the top.”

But now it was different. A series of changes and a son had given him the drive to fight again. All of this would be inherited by someone, and his efforts would not be in vain.

William nodded. “After I go back, I will talk to them in detail about this matter. If they really plan to push this matter, I will definitely make it clear to them.”

What to make clear?

To make clear how much help the Federalist Party could provide him.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that running for mayor seems to be a very simple matter. In fact, it’s not simple at all.

Especially since William was not from Lake City. People simply did not know him.

Humans are lazy in learning new things. They would rather vote for a politician they dislike but know, than to take a risk and vote for someone they don’t know.

This required the Federalist Party’s side to put in some effort. For example, at that time, they would invite some of the more well-known and influential celebrities in Lake City to cheer for William.

This was also the force that politicians relied on the most in an election, besides relying on campaign funds, and there was no other.

Lance nodded and said, “Don’t be blindly optimistic. First, find out clearly before you say.”

Along the way, the two would chat for a while from time to time. In two days, the convoy had entered Golden Port City.

This trip had also deepened Lance’s idea of building a railway to the farm. If he had come back by train, he would not have been so tired now.

Sitting in a car for a long time is also very tiring, both mentally and physically.

I don’t know when civilian aircraft will appear—

In fact, there were airplanes now, but they had not yet been applied to the main battlefield, and were mainly used for reconnaissance.

In fact, the militaries of all countries knew very well its potential in war, but it was a pity that in this aspect, the development of all countries was still a little behind that of various chariots.

After William had arrived in Golden Port City, he had immediately set off for Manteno by train, while Lance had returned to his company.

Bolton had been waiting for him at the company since early in the morning to report on his work.

The moment Lance leaned back on the sofa without any image, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Have them get some buses and modify them. I’m fed up with long-distance travel in a small car!” Elvin, who was sitting next to him, agreed with a grin.

Then Lance looked at Bolton. “What’s the situation on the New Birmingham side?”

These few days, Bolton hadn’t been doing nothing. He had also been doing his homework, and had found a way to mobilize some of the local resources.

The local Empire immigrant gang, and also some of the “informal” intelligence personnel, had obtained some not-so-important news.

“There are quite a few gangs, both large and small, locally. There are also some motorcycle gangs. The guy who was selling the goods that we suspect are ours belongs to a small gang of no great scale.”

“But there is a very interesting thing. We found that this gang itself does not operate a liquor business, and only he and another person are shipping the goods. The other people in the gang have not shipped any goods, as if they don’t know.”

“Because you said not to contact them too early, so now we are mainly investigating some information, and have not yet officially contacted these people.”

Lance nodded slightly. He rubbed his neck. The faces of many people flashed through his mind one by one.

In the end, his gaze fell on Elvin. “You go and make a trip yourself.”

Elvin did not refuse. He also knew that this matter was different from the other fights and killings, and required a little more thought.

The people in the family who used their brains were ultimately a minority. The majority were still just those who would fight and kill.

Now he gradually understood a little why Lance had previously mentioned wanting to recruit some highly educated talents. Not to say the majority, but only a few, he was not at ease using them.

(End of a Chapter)