Empire of Shadows

Chapter 632: It's All Business [666+2]

Emperor, a title for the highest ruler during feudal times, is now used for a gang leader. Even Lance found it difficult to immediately determine whether this was Admiral Myers' mockery or his sincere evaluation.

Lance almost instinctively smiled slightly, "Thank you for your praise, Admiral."

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Whether it's a Major General or an Admiral, they are all generals, so calling him that is not a problem.

Admiral Myers seemed to be waiting for his answer. Before he came here, someone had greeted him.

During his stay in this city, he could turn to Lance for any problems outside the military camp.

Lance could help him solve all the problems here, whether they were from the civilians, the city hall, or even the state government.

At first, Admiral Myers regarded Lance as the kind of broker who had connections to Congress. These people are not uncommon; they are very common. Every region has them.

They may come from political families or be frontmen for certain politicians. They know senators and congressmen in Congress and use this as an opportunity to intervene in more political events.

With connections to the top, they are more active locally and have fewer taboos.

They can help him communicate with governments at all levels and various departments, solving many problems without the two sides meeting.

Myers doesn't like dealing with brokers because these people only see profit. This is not to say that Admiral Myers is a pure person with no interest in profit.

It's just that compared to those who blatantly manipulate politics and interests, he is a little purer—he only likes power.

But when he really investigated Lance, he found that it wasn't the case.

The easiest way to understand a person is to talk to him.

He looked at Lance, and Lance was not intimidated, "I don't know where you heard about me, or maybe it was someone else's introduction or recommendation."

"To put it modestly, I have some reputation in King's Port City. People are willing to sit down and listen to me, and then consider my suggestions."

"If I'm not so modest…"

Lance leaned back and placed his hands naturally on the armrests of the sofa, "…I think your evaluation is very accurate."

Admiral Myers was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "That's not 'unmodest,' that's 'exaggerated'!"

Lance shook his head, "I don't think so."

"The word 'emperor' refers to the 'highest ruler.' If we set a range for it, this city, King's Port City."

"Without considering external forces, such as the President and the Senators, I control every corner of this city."

"You use the word 'emperor' to describe me in this city. I don't think that's an exaggeration or unreasonable."

Admiral Myers sized up Lance. There was no trace of guilt or unease on Lance's face. He was calm, composed, and indifferent, as if he were stating a fact.

Admiral Myers nodded noncommittally, "Since you are very capable, and Bruny says you are an interesting person, then I plan to give you some things to do."

Lance nodded slightly, "Within my ability, the only thing I can do is guarantee that it won't go wrong."

Admiral Myers then made some requests, "Since they all recommend you, then I am willing to try once, give you a chance, and give myself and my soldiers a chance."

He then mentioned a few things that Lance needed to do or coordinate.

The first is the issue of daily supplies for the army, such as food, drink, and waste disposal.

This part has always been self-funded by the army. For example, food can only be purchased locally, unlike other things that can be transported from other places.

With the current transportation capacity, it is basically impossible to use anything transported from other places.

The army's food supply is related to the morale of the soldiers. An army that eats garbage all day long is definitely different in morale from an army with very good food.

In addition to this problem, there is also a more棘手problem. So many young and strong lads always need to relieve their boredom.

This matter is different from other matters. It is not easy to publicize, and it is not even possible to put it on the table, but it must exist.

The military camps are full of young, strong lads, and the daily high-intensity training will make their sexual desires strong. If they are not given some ways to solve them, it may eventually cause trouble.

In previous years, the army still retained internal reception departments, but with the progress of society, these departments were disbanded.

But this does not mean that physiological problems have also disappeared with the progress of civilization. Not only have they not disappeared, but they have become even stronger.

Alcoholism, prostitution, and fighting are the characteristics of the Federal Army. If there are no these characteristics, then this army must not be a pure-blooded Federal Army.

The public doesn't know much about these things, purely because the federal government helps them cover up and prevent scandals from spreading.

Federal people also have a tradition in this regard, but the federal government knows better how to fool the public. They spend a lot of money every year on propaganda mouthpieces, weaving lies and constantly promoting them, so that people think that lies are the truth.

The most famous lie is that many federal media claim that the land under their feet was bought from the natives with money.

There was no war, no massacre, everyone happily completed the transaction, and even now many people still think so, and even argue with those who talk about the massacre, defending their views!

They also believe that establishing reservations for indigenous peoples, allowing them to live by hunting, is to ensure the inheritance of culture.

Next, about 100,000 or even more naval soldiers will be stationed here and need to vent their energy. If no one coordinates the work, there will definitely be problems.

This kind of thing cannot be done by unreliable people, so people who know some inside information recommended Lance to Myers.

"He can solve all your troubles!"

These were the original words of those people.

The two had a preliminary discussion on these issues. Lance said they were all minor matters, and Myers decided to see what he could accomplish first.

After the two separated, Bruny and Lance walked together.

"You may need to make appropriate concessions on the issue of military procurement."

He was afraid that Lance would not understand, so he moved closer and lowered his voice, "Lower the price, but the quality cannot be too bad."

"In addition, the same is true for the women's issue. Some things are not convenient for Myers to say, so I can only say them."

Bruny's expression was not very good-looking. After all, the things he was about to say made him look like a disgraceful person. Of course, he himself had nothing that could be called glorious.

Lance looked at him, slightly surprised, "It sounds like he's very short of money."

Bruny is a civilian Major General. His job is to sit in the Pentagon's office to handle coordination between Congress and the military. When necessary, he takes documents and orders from the Pentagon to various military bases, asking them to do this or that.

The military does not like these politicians in military uniforms from the Pentagon, but they cannot leave them either.

Just like now.

"They don't make money as easily as those politicians, but there are many places to spend money, so this matter…"

He coughed twice, feeling a little embarrassed.

Lance's focused gaze made him feel a little ashamed, just a little.

But even just a little can cause some changes in his emotions.

"In short, we will make the budget high, but you can't really follow the budget, just like when building the base, you know what I mean."

"It's just that there were many people sharing the money last time, but this time, you only need to share it with Myers."

Lance nodded. Kickbacks exist in any world, in any civilization, among the privileged class and the ruling class.

Not to mention a highly commercialized and capitalized society like the Federation, where power has become a toy manipulated by capitalists and capitalized politicians to seek profit, this phenomenon will be even more obvious.

However, Lance also had some curiosity, "Wouldn't the military-industrial complex give him some benefits?"

Bruny nodded, "Yes, the public relations expenses are not small, but the bulk is not here."

"You know, the 'Procurement Law' makes the military's power here not too great."

"They (the military-industrial complex) mainly focus on the Department of Defense and the Department of Defense Logistics. The troops can only provide feedback and suggestions on the use of products."

"The specific replacement of military equipment has little to do with them."

"Then there is the Budget Committee. Only when they agree to the procurement plan will funds be allocated. If they don't agree, then no funds will be allocated."

"From Myers' perspective, he can't put that much in his own pocket."

To ensure the rationality of procurement, the federal government has introduced about twenty procurement-related bills in the past 100 years.

Not only the army's equipment procurement issues, but also government procurement, are subject to layers of supervision.

Military generals cannot directly decide what to purchase or how much to purchase. They can only tell the specific working group responsible for procurement in the Department of Defense what weapons the soldiers think are good and what weapons are not good.

Generals also have their own ways to make money, but these methods are much slower and less than those of politicians.

For example, they can declare a live ammunition training plan to the Department of Defense, but in fact, they did not use so much live ammunition, but reported that they used so much.

This difference is where the manipulatable projects lie. But right now, the Federation's bullets are too damn cheap, and artillery shells aren't that expensive either.

A bullet currently costs five cents. Even if you used up a hundred million rounds, that's only five million dollars. But the problem is, what kind of live-fire training could possibly use up a hundred million bullets?

Even if each person fired two hundred bullets, it would still take five hundred thousand people to use up a hundred million bullets.

The Department of Defense and Congress both have review bodies. Not firing a single bullet is unacceptable, but even if a third were used, leaving a surplus of sixty million bullets, the final difference would only be three million.

But in reality, it's difficult to get approval for a live-fire military exercise involving half a million people. It could very well affect social stability.

It's better to just take kickbacks; they're faster, better, and safer!