Empire of Shadows

History has always been asking a very serious and very comical question to those who come after—

Why are some people willing to be a dog for an outsider, and even harm their own compatriots?

History has often seen these situations. A country’s security is threatened, and then a group of people, under the banner of patriotism, do things that sell out the country.

Why does such a history repeat, repeat, and repeat again, as if it will never stop?

Why can the later rulers never avoid the birth of this situation, letting history repeat itself time and time again?

In fact, the reason is very simple: class stratification.

Class stratification has made the entire society lose its driving force, and has made everyone have to obey the identity labels that the rulers have given them.

Some are willing to be cattle and horses, while some want more freedom.

Practice tells people that when a road is impassable, you can try another road.

To be a dog for an invader is another channel for them.The collar on a dog’s neck is connected by a chain to the invader who can break through the class barriers, and can easily do things that many of them can only dream of.

For these people, whose hearts are only filled with greed and the desire for power, this is another path.

Just like Gomez at this time. If you don’t consider the interference of external forces, his life has already been like this. There will not be too much of an improvement, but there is a great risk.

When his older sister gets old, her skin is loose and full of wrinkles, and she can no longer get the favor of the ruler of Rapa, will he, this president of the chamber of commerce, still be the president of the chamber of commerce?

There is a high probability that he will not be the president, and maybe he won’t even be able to be a person. Later, he will not be allowed to continue to prance around by Diego’s side, but will only be pressed down, to the extent that he can no longer get up.

Gomez was actually a smart person, but not that smart. He was just a poor person from Rapa who had not received a higher education, and had a beautiful older sister.

He had not received an elite education. He did not know when to make the appropriate choice. Everything he did was based on his instinct, and some reminders from the people around him.

He wanted to do his best to make up for his mistake, not just because he didn’t know if Lance could feel his sincerity.

At this time, for him to have somewhat reservedly said the sentence ”to serve Lance and Senator Cleveland” was already to show his attitude.

He wanted to be a dog, a barking dog.

A smile appeared on Lance’s face. ”We are friends!” he emphasized. ”Between friends, we don’t talk about service, but about taking care of each other, and helping each other.”

”I don’t quite agree with some of your actions, but this is your choice. I will not blame you.”

”You have no experience, and you come from a poor and backward place. I can’t ask you to be as smart as the people from the political families in New Golden City.”

”This time I can let it go, but it does not mean that I can let it go again, and again, and again. Do you understand?”

Gomez let out a heavy sigh of relief. ”Thank you, Mr. Lance. I don’t know how to express my thanks!”

He suddenly seemed to have thought of something. ”By the way, I know of a silver mine in the territory of Rapa...”

Lance did not say yes, nor did he say no, but just smiled with a reserved look, which made Gomez not know how to open his mouth.

After about twenty or thirty seconds, Lance came out of his thoughts. ”During this period, we will set up an import and export trading company. At that time, we will return to Rapa with you to engage in the business of import and export trade.”

Lance’s sudden talk about these matters had made Gomez a little unable to react. He was stunned for a moment. ”Mr. Lance, if you want anything, you can just tell me.”

”It’s not that I’m boasting, but besides Diego himself, now in Rapa, anything you want, I can get it for you!”

He was clearly bragging, but he was just not willing to admit it himself. Lance smiled and waved his hand twice. ”What I want is not what you can get for me, but to send my men in, you understand?”

Gomez was stunned for a moment, and then the expression on his face, out of his control, began to change. There were all kinds of emotions.

Unease, anger, terror, pleasant surprise...

He took a deep breath. ”I see.”

Lance nodded. ”This is your specialty. You just have to make the arrangements.”

”Gomez, I don’t mind telling you a little more. Actually, you have also seen that it is imperative for the Federation to annex the Yalan region.”

”For you to be able to make a decision so early, for you and your family, it is definitely not a bad thing.”

”As long as you serve the Federation, serve Mr. Senator well, what you want, you will always have.”

Gomez quickly stood up and bowed. ”Mr. Lance, I will fully cooperate with your work.”

Lance was very satisfied with his attitude. As for whether to realize his wish in the end?

There’s no need!

What the federal government wanted was a complete annexation of the Yalan region, not to have to support new puppets. Gomez had actually gotten it wrong from the very beginning. He simply did not understand what the ultimate purpose of the Federation was.

Lance had had him go and make some preparations. It was best if he could first return to Rapa and find some people in the country who were willing to support him, so that at least it would not seem so ”thin.”

This might not be a short period of time. This might last for a considerable period of time. The conflict was not so easy to intensify, and it also required time, and an opportunity.

After Gomez had left, Lance had given Senator Cleveland a call. This time, Senator Cleveland had no meeting to attend, and he had given Lance a lot of time.

Senator Cleveland was not completely ignorant. In fact, he knew some things about Lance and this Gomez, but he had chosen to play dumb.

At this time, Lance’s call had come. He had also, by the way, asked casually, ”That Gomez, I remember you mentioned him to me. How did your talk go?”

”Just so-so. He wants to get the support of the Federation to become the new leader of the Rapa region.”

Hearing Lance say so, Senator Cleveland was at a loss for a moment. ”You... how could he have such an idea?”

Lance, on the contrary, felt that it was very normal. ”They still don’t know why we are stationing troops in the Yalan region. Maybe many people just simply think that we are going to station troops, and are not clear about our real purpose, which is to annex the entire Yalan region.”

”Gomez thinks that there is a high probability that we will re-support some of the interest spokespersons in the Yalan region. He wants to be this puppet, so he will cooperate with all our work in Rapa.”

Listening to Lance’s words, a rough framework had already formed in Senator Cleveland’s mind. No wonder this Gomez had thought of bypassing Lance and directly contacting him.

After all, the matter of deciding a country’s puppet leader was indeed not something a gangster boss could decide. From this point of view, he was not completely stupid.

”Did you agree to him?” the senator couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

Lance also laughed heartily. ”I certainly did not agree to him...” he paused for two or three seconds, ”but I also did not refuse him.”

Senator Cleveland’s mood seemed very good. He cursed with a laugh, ”You are a real scoundrel, Mr. Lance.”

”You’re too kind!”

Some of Lance’s rhetoric, his actions, had made Senator Cleveland feel fresh and novel. In this situation full of novelty, it was very difficult for him to have any bad emotions towards Lance.

Who can hate a humorous and witty person?

”What are you planning to do?” the senator asked.

”I plan to, in the name of the Federation’s private chamber of commerce, to strengthen the economic ties with Rapa, to go to Rapa, and then to dump some goods on Rapa.”

”And to buy various agricultural products from Rapa at a higher price, including helping them to find jobs.”

”And by the way, to also bring them the freedom and democracy of the Federation.”

Rapa did not have a mature and complete industrial environment. They even had to import the needles for sewing clothes from the Federation, let alone other industrial products.

The price of these things imported from the Federation was not cheap, even more expensive than what was sold in the Federation, and this was also one of the ways the ruling class squeezed the working people.

Almost all of the import or production of daily necessities was in the hands of these people. They had absolute pricing power, and the public could only pay for their greed.

You can not brush your teeth, you can not wash your face, but you can’t not use soap, can you?

Alright, even if you don’t use soap, don’t use laundry detergent, and you don’t use anything, you still have to use an electric light, right?

Don’t use an electric light?

Then what about a candle?

Make a fire?

In a house too?

And what about the clothes people wear?

Everyone else is wearing, if not new clothes, then at least clothes that have been washed white and even have patches, but they are still clothes. You can’t just come out wrapped in leaves, can you?

Rapa did not have the ability to weave. Even if some people could weave some cloth by hand, it could not compare to the sturdy and beautiful cloth of the Federation.

When power and capital are completely combined to form a monster, a dictatorship appears.

What Lance had to do was to open a gap in the dictatorial rule of Rapa, to artificially create conflicts and clashes.

A single spark can start a prairie fire. When the ruling group of Rapa finds that their rule is being shaken, they will begin to reconsider the relationship between them.

If they can tolerate this kind of a behavior from Lance that shakes their rule, then Lance will continue to increase his strength, to continue to shake the rule of the ruling group of Rapa more deeply.

But as long as they can’t tolerate this behavior and make a move on Lance and his men, whether it’s civilized or uncivilized, this will provide the necessary reason for the Federation to take further measures.

The Federation is a reasonable strong man. Before he hits you, he will definitely let you know why he is hitting you.

So it’s not okay for them to tolerate it, and it’s also not okay for them not to. This is forcing them, to have to force them to the opposite side, to give Lance a suitable reason to make a move.

After all, the Federation is a peace-loving, just warrior. How can it be an invader?

Senator Cleveland had already begun to treat Lance as a person of the same political level as him, and not as a simple gangster boss.

”The federal government cannot rashly, without reason, make a move on them. You understand this very well. We love peace, and we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. This is the bottom line.”

”You have to intensify the conflict. As long as they make the first move, the rest of the matter will be very easy to solve.”

”Rapa will be an attempt. There are still a few more such attempts. I’m not saying you have to be the first to complete our mission, and to do it well and quickly, but if you can, try to be a little faster than others.”

He did not go into too much detail. He believed that Lance could understand what he was trying to express.

This was actually also a competition, a contest, a race!

The one who runs the fastest may not necessarily have any benefits, but the one who is the last will definitely have no benefits at all.

”I understand. I will do my best to make them feel angry and uneasy about my existence. And we also have Cassia and Gomez. They can also help us from the side.”

”And when necessary, Mr. Gomez has always been emphasizing that he loves the Federation, and is willing to serve us, to serve the Federation. I’m sure that for the future of the Federation, he is also willing to make a small sacrifice.”

Of course Senator Cleveland knew what Lance was saying. He said with a laugh, ”I find that, Lance, sometimes you are really bad!”

”But, who can hate a bad boy?”

”Do it well, and let them see your value!”

The chat about this matter ended here. ”If there’s nothing else, I have to hang up first.”

Lance then said, ”I still have a question to ask.”

”Speak.”

Lance lit a cigarette. ”On Admiral Miles’s side, what is the consideration from above?”

”Are they going to protect him, or to handle it according to the rules?”

”The next naval general who will take over, will he be from their line, or from the army’s line?”

”Or is he a person from Congress?”

A series of questions made Senator Cleveland think for a while before he came back to his senses. ”This is not just one question!”

He emphasized, and then asked, ”If you have any ideas, you can tell me directly.”

Lance, whose thoughts had been seen through, said with a laugh, ”I see that the joint investigation team has been investigating for so many days, and it seems that there has not been any particularly great progress. If the congressional side wants to pull Admiral Miles down, I can provide some assistance.”

This topic had attracted Senator Cleveland’s interest. For this kind of factionalism in the military, Congress was very resentful, but there was no good solution.

Because the army is an absolutely dictatorial and closed environment. ”Obeying the orders of the superior” has determined that this group will inevitably have factionalism.

It is very difficult for the federal government to control it. At present, it can only, through the tightening of the budget by the Department of Defense, to relatively control them.

To completely solve the problem of factionalism is basically impossible.

Senator Cleveland was a little curious. ”I thought you two had a good relationship.”

After all, Lance had given Admiral Miles a lot of money, and there had been no rumors of any conflict between them.

Lance said with a laugh, ”We have some small conflicts. In the end, I will still listen to your advice on how to choose.”

He briefly recounted the matter. This matter, in fact, could not be said to be who was right and who was wrong, because everyone had their own stance.

Lance knew that he had to protect his own men. Admiral Miles certainly knew that he also had to protect his own soldiers. From their respective stances, there was no problem with either side. The problem was that in the situation where they were satisfying their own attitudes and stances, they had just happened to stand on the opposite side of each other.

Senator Cleveland thought for a moment and then asked, ”What assistance do you have?”

”Some evidence of corruption.”

The Federation had implemented the ”Anti-Corruption Act” since 981. The sentencing of this act was very heavy. It could be said that corruption in the Federation was a serious crime, which could reach up to fifteen to twenty years in prison, and also a fine of multiple times.

But why, with such a strict ”Anti-Corruption Act,” was corruption in the Federation still rampant?

Because the act stipulated that the act of corruption was to, by accepting money or valuable items, to use one’s own work to provide help to the briber in the content of the work, which was corruption.

Here it seemed to have been explained very clearly, but the lawyers of the Federation were not for show. They had very easily found a loophole in the legal interpretation of this act.

How do you prove that the money an official has received is a bribe?

It might sound incredible. Does this fucking still need to be proven?

But in the Federation, this is to be proven!

Because ”remuneration,” ”extra salary income,” ”investment return,” ”accidental income,” and the like are not in this judicial interpretation.

Sometimes the judiciary of the Federation is very flexible. As long as an ordinary person has broken the law, they will definitely not be able to escape the punishment of the law.

But sometimes it is also very rigid, because as long as there is no direct exchange of interests or direct placement of money in the hands of an official, it is not called accepting a bribe, nor is it called corruption.

This is also the reason why the transfer of interests in the Federation still has an industrial chain. The ”investment returns” that Senator Cleveland gets from various channels every year are astonishingly large!

So this is a legal income. No one is qualified to say that his income is illegal. No one can say that this is a bribe, and that his receiving of this part of the funds is accepting a bribe.

Basically, all officials know how to make these funds look reasonable and legally flow into their own accounts, but sometimes there are indeed some... not-so-convenient times.

Lance and Admiral Miles had a lot of cooperation, in all aspects, and no matter what aspect of the cooperation, he had fed Admiral Miles full.

This was also the reason why Lance was very annoyed with him. Admiral Miles had taken so much money from him, but still didn’t give him face. Then they might as well not have it.

Cleveland’s hospital considered for a moment and then said, ”I’ll give you a phone number and an address. I’ll give a heads-up in advance. At that time, you just have to have someone send the things over.”

”Is there anything else this time?”

”No.”

”Yes, contact me again if there’s anything.”

In fact, Lance knew very well that some evidence of corruption was definitely not enough to be the key to accusing Admiral Miles of corruption, but it might be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Under Lance’s arrangement, soon an anonymous letter was sent to the investigation team, and was discovered by the people of the investigation team.

The content described in the anonymous letter might not be able to directly send Admiral Miles to prison, but it did provide the investigation team with a very effective direction for solving the case.

Sometimes solving a case is not difficult. The difficult part is to find a direction.

Now that there was a direction for solving the case, everything would become much simpler.