Empire of Shadows

Mr. Porter Jr., looking at the man who had once shone with golden light like a god in his life, who could cover the sky, now exuding such a decadent air, had too many words in his heart, but now he closed his mouth.

The sun will rise, and it will set.

Just like a person, there is a peak, and there is a curtain call.

The current Senator Porter was clearly on a downward slope. Once he left the Senate, he would be a ”party free agent.”

To put it vulgarly, he had a party background, but no official post, neither in the party nor in government departments. He was just an unordinary ordinary person.

The possibility of him continuing to shine in politics was slim. Although many senators would work as brokers after retirement, those who could truly go far on this path were often the ones who had once led an era.

For example, a former president, or someone like Senator Cleveland. They hold a large number of government secrets, have a very complicated social network, and hold many personal favors that can be utilized.

They would not become ”weak” because they retired. On the contrary, some such politicians would become stronger because they retired!

Because they were no longer politicians, they could use more despicable and dirty means without having to worry about the impact on their political careers if exposed.

This is like the issue of marriage.If a president cheats, it can make him apologize to the nation and resign, but an ordinary person, let alone cheating, even if he strips his wife and mistress naked and puts them together, people will only say he is a ”debauched fellow.”

No one will feel that an ordinary person should apologize to the whole society because he has done something immoral. So these people, after they become brokers, become that kind of unofficial political force, they will become freer, and their influence will be greater.

But Senator Porter was clearly not such a person. Even at his peak, he was only a senator in another political group, not the head of that group.

So after he retired from the Senate, his retirement life would be rather dull, and he would no longer be able to access all kinds of benefits as he did now.

This thing, interest, is very strange.

Those who don’t have it want to have it, and those who have it want more. It is no longer just a simple interest; it is a manifestation of one’s own value.

This damned capitalist society has not only arranged many labels for everyone, but has also marked a price for everyone.

Seeing Mr. Porter Jr. not speaking, Senator Porter made his words even more direct. ”I did all this for you, you bastard!”

”Actually, their ’warning’ to me can, in a way, be said to be that my operation on this matter was very successful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so... agitated.”

”I used the word ’agitated,’ because I temporarily can’t find another word to express my feelings at this time.”

”They must be somewhat ashamed and annoyed, which is why they had people do this. I have had a tangible impact on them.”

When he had said this, a look of some pride seemed to appear on Senator Porter’s face. This was indeed his true feeling. He truly thought so.

If he were just a flea to Senator Cleveland and his group, they wouldn’t even pay attention to him.

Mr. Porter Jr. asked, ”Then what do you plan to do next?”

”Continue to push your anti-war stance?”

A look of some embarrassment appeared on Senator Porter’s face. The question Mr. Porter Jr. had asked happened to be the question he least wanted to answer.

After all, as a father, he hoped that what he could leave for his child was a positive image, but now, he had to personally shatter this image.

”I will consider stopping to push this matter. This time they attacked me, it was just a warning.”

”But next time, I’m afraid it won’t be.”

Mr. Porter Jr. breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that his old-fashioned, senator father would continue to insist on his ideas. This showed that his father’s mind was still functional.

”I’m glad you think so...” he said, then frowned and fell into deep thought.

”What are you thinking?” Senator Porter asked.

His son replied, ”I’m thinking if they will, because of your matter, prevent me from entering Congress.”

”After all...” These words were not easy to say. He couldn’t possibly say that his father had done a stupid thing, so he would be excluded by Congress. That would be too hurtful.

Senator Porter didn’t take it to heart. ”You can oppose me. This is also what I wanted to say. You can build yourself into a proactive person who is in favor of the war.”

”And I have already thought of a way out for you.”

Mr. Porter Jr. looked at his father, his face showing a look of inquiry.

Besides the fact that he thought the anti-war matter was a bit stupid, he still admired his father. Not everyone could work in the Senate until retirement.

At the same time, this also proved another point. Senator Porter’s pushing of anti-war related affairs was not because he really wanted to do these things, but because he was yielding to the arrangement of interests, or he had other political motives.

Senator Porter stood up and opened his safe. In front of his son, these things would all be inherited by his son in the future.

He took out a document from inside and handed it to his son, and signaled for him to open it and have a look.

Mr. Porter Jr., after opening this document, was quickly attracted by the contents inside. He read it very seriously.

This document was not long. It had only seven or eight pages, and also some photos.

He spent about twenty minutes, carefully reading these documents, and also looking at all the photos. In the end, he took a deep breath, and looked at his father with a gaze that was full of light and admiration.

A moment ago, he might have still felt that his father was really getting old, getting senile, but at this moment, he felt that he still had a long way to go before he could reach Senator Porter’s level!

He was still the omnipotent ”Mr. Senator Porter” in his youthful heart!

”Why don’t you submit this document to Congress?”

”It will make you quickly return to the public eye, and become the focus of attention!”

The content of this document was somewhat... shocking?

Mr. Porter Jr. didn’t know how to describe it. He was now not very good at describing his own situation. With his emotions constantly fluctuating, he felt that his vocabulary was getting poorer and poorer.

This document was about the three northern countries. It used some data to show that after the Federation had participated in the world war, their military expenditure had risen from less than 1.3% of their total output value, to 7%.

It listed in detail some of the changes in their domestic arms industry enterprises, and also the overall integration and mobilization of some of their resources.

This document believed that the three northern countries had already formed a secret military alliance, aimed at confronting the increasingly powerful Federation.

They had deployed troops on the border and had cut off traffic across the border. This was a very dangerous sign.

After meeting certain conditions, a new round of military conflict might break out on the federal mainland!

The content of this document couldn’t be said to be extensive, but it was definitely weighty. Once it was brought up in Congress, it was very likely to become the next target of those who were in favor of the war.

They planned to annex the Yalan region. Then why not continue to advance north and annex the northern countries?

This way, a larger federal entity would appear on the world map, increasing the Federation’s and these ambitious people’s bargaining chips for world domination?

Mr. Porter Jr. believed that it was highly possible to achieve these, and his father, Senator Porter, might also join Senator Cleveland’s political group and become a member.

But Senator Porter shook his head at this time. ”I’m already old. Even if they let me continue, I might not be able to do it for long.”

”And, even if I join their group, I will still be a fringe person, because of the things I have done before.”

”They will not really put me at the center of this political group, so whether I submit it or not, the difference is not that great.”

”On the contrary, I think this matter should be done by you.”

”You are very young, and you are my child. By blood, you possess the bloodline of the upper class. You are born with that ticket, that key!”

”When the point of view you raise aligns with the interests of the current mainstream group in Congress, they will amplify everything about you.”

”Your clearly and firmly standing on their side and criticizing some of my ideas can, from the side, prove to the entire society that they are correct, and that I am wrong.”

”And only in this way will you have more opportunities to smoothly enter Congress.”

He looked at Mr. Porter Jr. with a very kind gaze. ”I only have one son. Besides you, no one else can inherit everything I have.”

”If you can go farther by standing on my ’corpse,’ then my job now is to play the role of my corpse well.”

Mr. Porter Jr. was speechless for a long time. In the end, he could only take a deep breath. ”I will do it.”

Senator Porter felt that everything he had endured today was worth it.

He smiled. ”You study this material carefully. After a while, after the New Year, find an opportunity to break down some of the content, and then throw it out.”

”For example... the growth of the military expenditure of the three northern countries poses a hidden threat to the Federation. Use this kind of a topic to draw people’s attention to you, and then, bit by bit, take the contents inside out.”

”Maybe you won’t have to wait until the end of the war to have a chance to enter Congress.”

The rotation time for senators is relatively long, but for a representative in the House of Representatives, it is very short.

A representative cannot be said to be unimportant, only that they are ”not so important.”

Official data statistics show that all the federal presidents who have been born from Congress are from the Senate.

The only one who had a connection with the House of Representatives was promoted to senator, and only then was he nominated by the party and won the general election.

But it cannot be said that the House of Representatives is completely unimportant. They also have their own work. The House of Representatives also presides over some important committee work.

So not all representatives have to be completely replaced every two years. This would have a huge impact on the work of Congress.

If they were to be replaced every two years, the new committee members might have just gotten familiar with their work when they would be replaced, which would not be helpful at all for the work progression of the entire Congress.

The father and son talked about these issues for a long time. After all, it was related to the future of the family and Mr. Porter Jr.’s future development direction. They had to be cautious.

While the two were talking freely about some of their ideas for the future in the study, outside, the news of Senator Porter being attacked was continuously spreading.

Many people wanted to know what on earth had happened. Although this matter was a little over the line—they had attacked a top politician—it couldn’t be said that it had triggered the punishment system of the rules, because Senator Porter had not suffered any physical harm.

Red paint, a dead dog with its mouth sewn up. To say it was an attack, it was more like a warning. Moreover, not long ago, Senator Porter had just fired at the war hawks in Congress.

So people had almost subconsciously put their attention on Senator Cleveland.

”I’m just a little angry... Don’t worry. They are all our own people. Nothing will go wrong.”

”And...” Senator Cleveland’s expression was filled with arrogance. ”Even if something goes wrong, what can go wrong?”

This sentence had made the guy on the other end of the phone a little unsure of what to say. This was a bit like ”Who is it in the hall who is suing this official?”

Now, in the Senate seats, Senator Cleveland could control about one-third, which was already an invincible position.

He might not be able to get a proposal passed, but he could deny the initiation of a proposal, which was a bit like a veto power.

Having a veto power, even if someone wanted to find trouble with him because of this, he wouldn’t care at all.

The chairman of the Socialist Party Committee’s voice was a little dissatisfied. ”You should be cautious, Jeffrey (Senator Cleveland’s name). We are politicians, not gangs. We need to pay attention to our image.”

Hearing the other party say so, Senator Cleveland also tried to be a little less arrogant. ”I am just expressing an emotion, Mr. Chairman.”

”You know, our work is very busy now, and everyone knows that we are doing something that is beneficial to the Federation, to the people of the Federation, and to everyone here.”

”But some people, for the sake of a little insignificant personal interest, have to jump out and accuse us of doing something wrong.”

”They are disregarding the facts and insisting that we are harming this country, harming the people here, which has brought a serious negative impact on me, and has also affected my work. Do you think I can not be angry?”

”And look, I didn’t have anyone beat him up. I just scared him a little. If you want an explanation, I can have the person in charge of this matter turn himself in.”

This thing called an ”explanation” is effective at any time. Hearing Senator Cleveland say so, the chairman of the Socialist Party Committee also slightly softened his tone.

After all, the Socialist Party was, because of the current president, causing some people to have a rebellious psychology. They were not sure if this war could eliminate this rebellious psychology. If it couldn’t be eliminated, the Liberal Party would have a high probability of having a new president.

This also meant that there was a high probability that the seats in the Senate would have new changes. The Liberal Party’s seats might catch up with the Socialist Party’s, or even surpass them.

Once they lost the important position of the majority leader in Congress, the Socialist Party’s influence on Congress would decline. At this time, Senator Cleveland, who had a great influence in the Senate, had become a springboard for the Socialist Party to continue to control the Senate.

His importance was unquestionable. Even the chairman of the Socialist Party Committee had to show a certain amount of respect.

Hearing Senator Cleveland say so, it was impossible for him to really have the other party give everyone an ”explanation.” That would kill the conversation.

So he laughed heartily. ”Look at you. You are already fifty, and you are still so hot-tempered. I was just saying.”

”After all, no one wants terror politics to make a comeback.”

”Since you said that this matter will not have any follow-up, then I choose to believe you.”

”As for Porter, he must have also sensed something. You had better talk to him and calm him down.”

Sometimes, some things are almost transparent, but people just don’t have the evidence. This is why the Federation is a country that focuses on evidence and procedural justice. Only in this way can it be convenient for the gentlemen to operate from within.

Senator Cleveland agreed. Then the two chatted for a few more sentences and hung up.

After putting down the phone, Senator Cleveland shook his head. These people, the older they get, the more timid they become.

This incident had given him a taste of something sweet.

Senator Porter’s anti-war stance was not a one-time or two-time thing. Since the war broke out, he had become the spokesperson for some foreign forces in Congress, constantly opposing the mainstream group.

He constantly said that war brings destruction, and that peace is the eternal pursuit of human society, and he asked everyone to abandon their prejudices, to abandon the war, which was annoying to death.

He had not had a single good day for two or three years, but with this one move today, he had already heard Senator Porter’s compromise in the phone call just now. This had given him a sudden sense of enlightenment.

People were afraid of the previous period of terror politics, when many federal government officials would be assassinated.

Congressmen, the president, government officials, cabinet members, they had all been assassinated, and had also received all kinds of death threats.

That’s why later they were so hateful of those who controlled this country through terror politics, and why they were so opposed.

In the past, Senator Cleveland was also such a person. He disliked such crude methods. He preferred to use political means to make his political opponents bow their heads, not violence, fear, or anything else.

But this was the first time he had tried it, and he felt that this method did indeed have its brilliant side. At least it was effective, and very fast.

Senator Porter, who hadn’t shut up for two or three years, had shut up in just one hour...