Empire of Shadows

In mid-March, Slad’s diplomatic mission once again came to the Federation to continue negotiations on the issue of ”establishing world peace centered around the Slad military alliance.”

The shipping lanes had been ”choked off” for more than half a year. If the scarcity of supplies, which had caused the balance of war to be lost again, was still acceptable to the Slad people, then the Federation’s beginning to contact, consult, and negotiate with the Dantra Republic was unacceptable.

Their ruling group was under immense pressure, not only from the military, but also from within the country.

Because everyone knew what the federal people wanted—to be the boss.

Alright, saying it like that is indeed a bit crude. To put it more civilly, the federal people had played a key role in the war, and they were trying to get more.

Whether it was the right to lead, or the power to rule the world, it was what they wanted.

The federal people want these, so just give it to them?

Some of the interest groups within Slad had also begun to operate. The capital groups, the civil interest groups, they had all begun to put pressure on the current ruling group.

Once the federal people and the Dantra people had agreed on their unilateral ceasefire agreement, and had even agreed on a pact to carve up Slad, then the subsequent war situation would be beyond consideration.

Now there were also many voices within the Slad alliance. Everyone’s purpose in aligning with the Slad alliance was actually very simple: to defeat Dantra, and then to use the war dividends to satisfy the appetites of the ruling groups and interest groups, and to release the pressure in the process of internal social development.With so many resources entering society, all conflicts and classes would disappear under the huge war dividends!

The rule would become more stable, and the people would also become happier!

But all of this had a prerequisite—the war could be won!

If the war could not be won, then everything was false, and they might even lose many things.

With things having reached this point, the Slad people could no longer hold on. This was their fourth time sending an envoy to visit the Federation to negotiate on this issue. This time, their president had already given them a very low bottom line.

What they had to do was to, as much as possible, above the bottom line, to fight for more benefits for Slad.

The arrival of the envoy was very grand. Whether it was themselves, or the federal people, they actually all realized that this might be the last negotiation.

If they still couldn’t reach an agreement this time, then they would go from being allies, to being enemies, so both sides had shown their greatest sincerity!

The docks in New Golden City had been cleared early in the morning. In order to prevent the enemy’s agents, assassins from creating chaos and destruction, there were not even any ordinary people on the docks.

A large group of children, in their teens, were holding bouquets, shivering in the cold sea breeze.

The moment the Slad’s warship had arrived at the dock, the children who were shivering in the cold wind had looked at the increasing number of commanders who had walked onto the command platform in the distance. They had fiercely raised their arms, and had immediately begun to wave the bouquets in their hands.

The band was playing in the cold wind, solemn and dignified, yet with a trace of liveliness. A large, red carpet had been laid directly on the dock. The Secretary of State had led numerous officials out of the warm house on the side.

They were actually not very comfortable either. In order to show their ”decency,” and not to be bloated, they had not worn particularly thick clothes.

This era did not have any particularly warm technology. These officials, who could only be said to be wearing spring and autumn clothes, were also trembling slightly.

This damn, terrible, stinking weather!

Someone had complained, ”Don’t they know to come after the weather is warmer?”

The colleague by this gentleman’s side couldn’t help but say with a laugh, ”After the weather is warmer, it will be us who will be meeting them in the capital of Slad.”

The others all smiled knowingly.

In fact, in their contact with Dantra, they had already talked about how to carve up Slad—of course, this was not brought up by the Federation, but was taken the initiative to be proposed by the Dantra people.

They could divide the interests of the Slad military alliance into three parts. The Federation would take a part, Dantra would take a part, and the small countries that followed behind him would also take a part.

It might seem very reasonable. The Federation had taken a large share, but the congressional side was not very interested in this proposal.

Because those small countries were actually also Dantra’s vassal states. After these resources were allocated to them, they would be handed over to the Dantra people again.

Once the Dantra Republic continued to encroach on the other countries of the South Continent, it was very likely that they would achieve the most terrible, great cause in human history—to unify a continent!

In this situation, including the federal people, it was possible that they would become the next victims. And the Dantra people had also attacked Golden Port City, and had also caused a large number of federal soldiers to die on the battlefield.

If they really formed an alliance with them, or had reached some consensus, it would definitely make the domestic situation directly explode on the spot!

So it was simply impossible for them to reach an agreement on these issues, and it was impossible to form an alliance. The contact between the two sides now was, in the end, still to put pressure on the Slad people.

But if they really couldn’t reach an agreement, then there was a high probability that the Federation would withdraw its troops, and then would set its sights on the Yalan region and the north of the Federation.

”I hope they won’t be so stupid this time.”

The two officials smiled at each other, shrank their necks, and walked towards the dock.

The warship, which was slowly approaching the shore, had lowered its gangway. The leader of the Slad’s envoy was the vice president of Slad, and then their foreign minister, the minister of defense, the chairman of the Slad military committee, and also some representatives of the capital financial groups. Many people had come. The visiting list was several pages long, with about four or five hundred names.

However, the part that was docking now was just some of them. The other part would dock later. They did not have the specifications and treatment of this welcome.

The Slad’s government structure had given the vice president a great deal of power, and he had also been fully granted diplomatic power.

The moment he had stood on the gangway, he had looked at the people on the dock, and had already felt a huge pressure.

He had squeezed out a smile and had walked down the gangway, and had embraced the Secretary of State, and had performed the cheek-kissing ceremony.

This was a way of expressing cordiality and intimacy. Then they had shaken hands, and then had moved back a little.

In fact, no one was paying attention to the children who were waving their bouquets, but they were still waving the bouquets in their hands, and were shouting slogans like ”Long live the friendship between the Federation and Slad”!

The entire reception process had lasted for more than twenty minutes. Then the group of people had gotten into the arranged cars and had left the scene.

Not long after, the lively dock had become quiet again.

But with the lifting of the restrictions, ordinary pedestrians had begun to enter, and it had gradually returned to its liveliness.

Today was clearly not suitable for direct negotiations. The negotiations were held on the second day.

Senator Cleveland had arrived at the meeting site early in the morning. The location of this negotiation was at the ”Kaelen Manor.” Some important political events had happened here, including the drafting of the Federation’s Declaration of Independence, the drafting of the Federal Charter, and the completion of the first constitutional amendment.

This place might not have much of a status in the minds of the vast majority of the federal people. The main reason was that their academic performance was not good, and it was very likely that nine out of ten federal people did not know what this place was.

But in the political world, this place had its own very special position.

The entire Kaelen Manor occupied a very large area, and was composed of dozens of buildings, just like a small town.

The Slad’s envoy was also living here. The federal people were trying, through this way, to express their high regard for the Slad people.

At this time, there was still half an hour before the first consultation at ten o’clock. Senator Cleveland and a few of the meeting representatives were smoking on the side.

The work of these few days was to determine what everyone was going to talk about. After they had discussed what to talk about first, and what to talk about later, only then had they officially entered the negotiation stage.

Although the atmosphere was also very serious, there was no smell of gunpowder.

”I’ve heard something!”

Senator Cleveland looked at the Speaker of the House, who was speaking. ”What?”

The others all looked at him. The Speaker of the House shrugged. ”Those few in the north, they are also planning to form an alliance organization.”

The ”north” he was talking about referred to the three countries to the north of the Federation. These three countries had been a little abnormal since last year. They had closed their borders, and had been slowly accumulating soldiers on the border.

On the surface, they had said that these were all normal decisions, but anyone could see that they were on their guard against the Federation.

And there was a high probability that this was related to the Dantra people.

Senator Cleveland was stunned for a moment, and then his brows knitted together. ”For such a thing to happen at a time like this, it’s not a good thing for us.”

”Tell me about it,” the Speaker of the House also sighed. ”Yesterday the president had called them, and had chatted with them, and had also revealed that the Federation could also join this alliance organization, but was refused.”

The expressions of the few of them all became serious. Now the Federation’s biggest advantage was that it was not fighting on its own soil, so the public did not have so many intuitive feelings about the destruction caused by the war, and naturally, there was not much trauma.

If these three countries were to form an alliance, and the border issue were to escalate and to produce friction, it was very likely to trigger some dangerous, unpredictable consequences.

Senator Cleveland took a puff of his cigarette. ”It seems that even if we have handled Slad, there are still many things to deal with next.”

”What is the president’s side’s idea?”

The Speaker of the House pursed his lips, and at the same time, he lowered his voice a little. ”You know, he is a person who cherishes his own reputation and face.”

”The fact that they had so flatly refused had made Mr. President feel that his face had been thrown on the ground by them, and had even been stepped on a few times.”

”He had said in his office that he wanted to send troops to attack them...”

This was his angry talk. They could imagine Mr. President’s red-faced, ashamed, and thoughtless anger, but this was indeed also a problem.

But it wasn’t that there was no good news. The good news was that if they had decided to make a move, there was no need to persuade Mr. President. He could directly sign the war documents.

The few of them had chatted for a while more about the new things that had happened during this period, and had exchanged some of the secret texts in the political world. Soon the envoy had arrived at the scene, and Senator Cleveland and his group had also returned to their own seats.

Next was for the two sides to exchange the matters to be discussed. Perhaps this time the ruling group of Slad had indeed recognized the ”danger,” so they had already changed some of their strategies.

Some things, since there was no way to fight, then they might as well just enjoy it. It’s not necessarily that you have to be at the bottom. You can also be on top!

Senator Cleveland, as one of the negotiation members, had also received the list of consultation contents submitted by the Slad people. After just a few glances, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Some of the things mentioned in it were very ridiculous!

For example, the Slad people were demanding to get some of the key technologies that only the Federation had, and also including some of the supporting things, they needed them all.

Senator Cleveland could see that they were trying to, by giving up the ”lead,” to exchange for more advanced technology.

And this technology, in the future, was very likely to be used on the Federation. It was not to sell the finished products to the Federation, but to dump, for commercial competition, and even at a certain point, to directly tear up the alliance.

These were certainly all things that could not be agreed to. He directly took out a pen and scribbled on some of the clauses. Those that he thought were inappropriate were all crossed out.

Some that could be considered or modified a part of the content and then be negotiated, he had put forward his own suggestions.

These all had to be confirmed by a meeting. Everyone would definitely have their own different ideas. In order to ensure that they would not forget some of their own ideas, everyone would first record them.

The process of ”exchanging” the contents was very fast. The two sides could also ask each other about some of the issues that they did not understand, which was also the reason why the envoy had a representative of a capital financial group.

Because a considerable part of the content was related to capital. On the Federation’s side, the military industry, the energy, and some of the heavy industry groups that had the core technology would also participate in the overall discussion.

This simple meeting had lasted until twelve o’clock at noon. Next was naturally the lunch session, a relatively relaxed lunch.

In the afternoon, they would each start their own closed-door meetings, to talk about the things on the documents that the other party had exchanged.

Lunch was also held in the main building of the manor, in a huge dining room. The Secretary of State had also, very friendly, introduced to them that the first meal of the first federal president and the gentlemen in that oil painting, after the founding of the Federation, was held here.

The weight and solemnity of different times had overlapped at this moment. Although the music was melodious and light, and the faces of the people were all amiable smiles, it always made people feel as if something was pressing on their chests.

For a whole afternoon, Senator Cleveland had been participating in various discussions. Before they had officially entered the negotiations, neither side had actually had much confidence.

The other party had sent over a hundred items. Before they had even started to talk, they had directly rejected seventy or eighty. This, no matter how you looked at it, was unlikely to succeed.

The dinner was very sumptuous. Perhaps after an afternoon of precipitation, the mentality of both sides had become much more stable, and when they were eating, they also seemed a little more relaxed.

The dinner menu was said to have been formulated according to the menu of the ”first dinner.” Of course, there had also been some deletions and additions. The Secretary of State had also told some small stories related to the first president. The atmosphere at the scene was very good.

After the dinner was over, Senator Cleveland was already planning to go back and rest. His work for the whole day had been very full, and if he had to work overtime, he would be a little unable to take it.

He had just finished taking a shower when the phone by his bed rang. He walked over and picked it up. ”This is Jeffrey.”

”Senator, Lance is back.”

The call was from Tom. He was a little stunned after he had heard this, and then he had glanced at the time. It was already a little after eight.

Tomorrow at ten in the morning, there would be a more formal consultation. The two sides had already discussed the documents they had submitted to each other today, and tomorrow they would be exchanging opinions for the first time.

For example, the Slad people wanted the Federation’s steelmaking technology. The Federation’s side had unilaterally refused. Tomorrow, when they exchanged opinions, they might say ”this is a non-negotiable content.”

If the attitude was not very strong, then this item would be directly abolished.

If their attitude was very strong, and if there was no this item, then there was no need to talk about the others, then it would be retained, and then they would find a way to solve it in a roundabout way.

In terms of time... it should still be okay.

Kaelen Manor was less than fifty kilometers from New Golden City. It would take two hours to go back and forth.

He and Lance might not be able to talk for a long time, at most four hours.

If he came back before one o’clock, and got up at eight tomorrow morning, he could still sleep for seven hours.

”Is he in New Golden City now?” He had made a decision, and then he had asked.

”Yes, he is in New Golden City. I have already had him stay in a hotel.”

Hearing this, the senator had understood. Lance should have something he wanted to say to him.

He did not hesitate anymore. ”I’ll be back in the city in an hour. You bring him to the manor.”

”I see.”

The phone was quickly hung up. Senator Cleveland put on his clothes again, and after checking, he had left his room.

His chief of staff, his driver, and his bodyguard were all on the first floor.

When he had come down from upstairs, these people had immediately stood up.

In front of the people outside, these people were actually all very impressive. To a certain extent, they represented the senator.

But here, they didn’t even have a bed. They could only sleep on the sofa, and at any time, they might need to do something.

”We’re going back to the manor.”

He did not explain why, nor did he need to.

Soon, the two cars had, one after the other, left Kaelen Manor.

About fifty minutes later, in his own manor, he had seen Lance.

The moment the main door was pushed open, Lance and Tom, who had been chatting, had both immediately stood up.

Senator Cleveland, neatly dressed, had appeared here. He had shaken hands with Lance, who had come up to him, and then had walked with him to the side of the sofa and had sat down separately.

”Let’s not waste time on pleasantries. I’ve been very busy recently, so let’s save some time.”

”I’ve heard that the situation on the Rapa side has been getting more and more chaotic,” he took out a cigarette case from his pocket, a very simple-looking one.

It was made of wood, and on the lower right corner, the name ”Jeffrey Cleveland” was embossed with gold thread. Besides this, there was only a ruby button. On the outside, there was nothing else.

But when he opened it, the inside was made of two liners that had been carved out of a single piece of ivory and then had used platinum as some of the metal parts, and also some gems as embellishments.

This cigarette case was not cheap, including the wood, which looked very ordinary, but was actually a very precious and rare variety.

He took out a cigarette and lit it, and took a deep drag. ”Let’s talk about what you’ve done.”