Empire of Shadows

Chapter 377: Rapid Advancement [666+2]

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"Councilman Cleveland!"

The Deputy Governor enthusiastically and quickly went to greet him, extending his hand from afar.

The Congressman, Jeffrey Cleveland, whom he addressed as "Councilman Jeffrey," stood his ground and extended his right hand. As the Deputy Governor rapidly approached and reached out, the two men's hands clasped firmly together.

"I didn't expect so many of you to come. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

Councilman Cleveland appeared to be about fifty-five years old. The reason for the precise age estimate was that he looked slightly older than fifty, but not quite sixty, making him appear to be around fifty-five.

His hair had undergone some steaming and curling, giving the hair on his forehead a slightly wavy appearance.

This type of curl was becoming a popular trend, continuously spreading throughout society.

He wore a very well-fitting, custom-made suit that was always perfectly tailored, leaving even the most critical eye unable to find any fault.

He didn't wear the loose-fitting style favored by the Federals, but instead chose a very slim fit, which made him look very, very energetic.

In terms of his mental outlook, he didn't seem as old as his real age would suggest.

The Deputy Governor introduced the people who had come to greet him, then shook hands and exchanged greetings with the accompanying members of Congress, completing the entire process.

Although there were no children holding flowers or flower presentation ceremonies, overall, it met the welcoming standards for a Congressman.

Federals are always like this. They never admit that they have formalism, but when needed, formalism will also jump out.

Sitting in the car, Councilman Cleveland looked at the calm streets outside the window, as well as the state troopers standing on the side of the road. He turned to the Deputy Governor and said, "It's not as chaotic here as rumored!"

The Deputy Governor smiled and said, "Because the wicked and petty thieves heard that you were coming, they all hid in the sewers!"

This made Councilman Cleveland couldn't help but laugh heartily, "You must be joking with me!" He accepted the flattery, but accepted it very reservedly, not so bluntly.

After a pause, he then asked, "How is the situation at the docks?"

"There's some bad news that you may not be aware of. The General Representative of the Labor Federation is on his way, and the Dockworkers' Union, as well as some other unions, have also sent representatives."

"If we're not careful, something big will happen."

The Deputy Governor looked blank, "Why are there so many people?"

Councilman Cleveland curled his lips, "There are rumors that we are going to use the militia to suppress the strike…"

The Deputy Governor gasped. He immediately understood.

Don't underestimate the way factories exploit and oppress workers to death. Once the workers unite, this force can destroy the world!

Even the President must make concessions when facing the slogan of "Worker Solidarity," and some politicians even shout the slogan "I am the child of a worker," which shows how powerful the united workers are!

Such a powerful group is actually going to be suppressed by the militia?

How could this not greatly alarm the entire Federal union?

The Labor Federation immediately began to operate, and then the Dockworkers' Union also moved. Not to mention that the representatives of the two organizations are already on their way.

Other union representatives are also rushing over one after another, and the situation will become more and more unstable.

Councilman Cleveland sighed, "What the Speaker is most worried about is a nationwide general strike. Tanfite has already started the war, and the Slade's cavalry has already captured Manla. It's only a matter of time before the Tanfite continental war fully breaks out."

"If we have a nationwide super general strike here at this time…"

He didn't finish his words, but it was enough for the Deputy Governor to think about it.

In fact, the Deputy Governor, including the Governor, has several misunderstandings when thinking about these issues. First of all, they subconsciously believe that this is an internal problem of the state, or even just an internal problem of Goldport City, and it can be solved.

Secondly, they ignore the ambitions of the Federal ruling group in the international context. The economy is quietly declining, and now the world leader is self-destructing. This is a good opportunity for the Federation to catch up with the world!

Although they don't know how to catch up with the world leader, at least they can't mess themselves up first.

The Deputy Governor patted his forehead, "Too much work has left me with no time to pay attention to the world. It seems I have to catch up on my lessons."

Councilman Cleveland smiled, "As long as we solve these problems, there will be no problems."

In fact, he hasn't completely told the truth. The reason he came here to solve the strike problem as soon as possible is not just the militia problem.

Congress plans to set up a naval base near Goldport City. If this strike problem cannot be properly resolved, the local workers will definitely gather again to oppose the establishment of a military base nearby, which will be a big trouble again.

However, this matter is only known to a very few people, and has not been announced to the public. Even in the Ministry of Defense, only a very few generals know some inside information, but they don't know the more specific details.

"What are the demands of the dockworkers now?"

The Deputy Governor handed over a document. The contents were not complicated, just three requirements. After reading it, he didn't feel anything too great, "They are all very reasonable demands. Why doesn't the dock management company agree to them?"

The Deputy Governor smiled a little embarrassedly. He only knew a vague idea, but it was obvious that Councilman Cleveland wanted a precise answer. His brain was running at high speed, like a rapidly rotating fan, slamming his brains against the skull with a crackling sound, and then slowly falling down.

"Because the dock management company believes these are unreasonable, they refuse to give so many benefits at once."

He glanced at the three demands, "These added together actually increase the wages by more than two dollars!"

Councilman Cleveland nodded. He flipped through a few more pages. He noticed that the content of a clipping was very interesting, "The Goldport City workers' union has already started to make them wear uniforms?"

The Governor's head immediately grew bigger. He knew about this, but hadn't understood it in more detail. He could only bite the bullet and say, "That's true."

Councilman Cleveland curled his lips, "They are very united. This kind of group is the most difficult to deal with!"

He closed the file, "Contact some people who can determine the development of the situation. When the Labor Federation asks for public negotiations, we need to understand these people."

He didn't think that the dock management company would not agree to this matter, because in the Federation, there is no problem that Congress cannot solve.

If the dock management company dares to say no to this, then tomorrow there will be a law specifically targeting them proposed and quickly passed, and then they can openly use legal means to make the dock management company compromise.

If they still don't compromise, then everything will come together until they agree.

The car sped through the streets and soon arrived at the bay area.

"Local celebrities have prepared a grand welcome party for you and the congressmen…"

Many people looked over here. Councilman Cleveland did not refuse and agreed.

In fact, most of the people here are not qualified to chat with Councilman Cleveland alone for a few sentences. At most, they will just say hello and say something like "Welcome to Goldport City," and then they will be asked to "leave gracefully."

After arriving at the hotel, he immediately organized a small meeting, contacting relevant people, including some people in Goldport City who might be related to the strike or the docks.

What Councilman Cleveland found interesting was that he discovered that there was also a fourth party here that did not belong to the worker group, nor did it belong to the dock management company, and had nothing to do with the union.

A gangster group called the "Lance Family."

"Add the name of this Lance to the list of negotiators," he ordered directly, and the Deputy Governor's staff immediately complied.

Some people must have been a little confused. Perhaps in order to promote the progress of the work as soon as possible, Councilman Cleveland also patiently explained it.

"In our past statistics and analysis of Federal strike events, we found that strike demonstrations with gang participation are larger in scale and more destructive!"

"But similarly, if a gang stands on our side on this issue, the strike can also be calmed down as soon as possible."

"This Lance is no ordinary person. His Vientiane Firm is very interesting. He also specially provides these people with uniform clothing. Adding his name may be the special medicine for this strike!"

The news quickly reached Lance's ears. Vaughn not only brought the news, but also asked about the idea of whether to stop first.

Lance considered it for a moment, "You can stop. Tell them."

The vicious strike that had lasted for several days finally stopped temporarily, which also relieved Councilman Cleveland. He felt better about these dockworkers.

At least these people were willing to give him face!

During the waiting time, the people of Goldport felt an unprecedented tranquility again. There were no sudden gunshots, and no two people leaned out of speeding cars and swept with guns.

The whole city became quiet, so quiet that it felt a little unbelievable!

After the General Representative of the Labor Federation arrived in Goldport, the first negotiation, which had been prepared for a long time, finally began.

Almost all the newspapers in the Federal country came, and many international media also came.

If the Federation cannot resolve the Jin Port Wharf strike as soon as possible, then in order to avoid losses, they will have no choice but to remove the Federal Jin Port Wharf from the entire shipping process.

Those ports ranked further down the list may develop rapidly because of this incident, and even their countries may obtain huge dividends due to the surge in transport business!

Congress is unwilling to see this happen.

Lance was arranged in a slightly lower position, even behind the worker representatives, but he had no objections to this arrangement.

It is worth mentioning that this is the third day that Congressman Cleveland has been in Jin Port City, and in those three days, he has not met with the mayor.

Now, at such an important negotiating table, there is someone like Lance who is ostensibly unrelated to the strike, but the mayor is absent.

This is enough to arouse some unfriendly speculation!

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