Rise of the Argentine Empire

After Bishop Wegmann arrived, no one else came to the banquet.

Groups of two or three were chatting idly. Most of these people were friends of Commander Thompson and those who supported him. Saint Hesser roughly divided them into several categories.

One category was the traditional families represented by the Brian family. They used and helped each other.

Another category was the political party and labor union forces, representing the central government's control over the local area.

There were also military supporters, which was his base and the most steadfast in their support.

The emerging industry forces were the new forces drawn in by Thompson, with deep vested interests. Thompson had a lot of personal charm.

And then there were the civil servant forces from the provincial and municipal departments, which represented the military government's interference in local government and the suppression of the civil government by the military government. Although Bilong was an elected president, his actions and background were indeed those of a military officer. He came to power relying on his personal charm and the great influence of Mrs. Bilong, and he also had a lot of military support.

There were also forces from the Argentine Church, which was the interference and output of non-secular forces on secular forces. In Saint Hesser's view, this was intolerable.

These people almost covered all the forces in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the entire Science City and Science Province. And Science City, as the provincial capital, was not strong, because more than half of the essence of Cordoba Province was concentrated in Science City.

Saint Hesser was also a little curious as to why Commander Thompson wanted him to attend this banquet. Saint Hesser didn't think he was at that level to attend such a high-end banquet, a truly high-end affair.

Another rather strange thing was that these people almost all came alone without female companions, unlike ordinary banquets.

There were a lot of guests at this banquet, already more than 30 people. Commander Thompson didn't introduce some of the less important minor characters.

Saint Hesser also looked a little restrained, which he was faking. Otherwise, being too calm wouldn't fit with his age. Playing dumb was just right and wouldn't attract too much attention. One should be low-key so as not to be messed with.

To be honest, except for when he first arrived in Argentina, when he was foolishly coaxed by Klein and invested a lot of money in holding a large banquet in Santa Clara, which attracted mostly small-time hangers-on.

This was the second time he had attended a formal banquet.

The most distinguished guest at that banquet was Commander Thompson, which was why Saint Hesser didn't feel that it was too much of a loss.

After everyone gathered, they went to the reception hall on the second floor under the guidance of the servants. It was more than 500 square meters, with gorgeous crystal chandeliers, some valuable works of art, and a giant glass fish tank.

There were also some collections of European, French, and British masters, a bar with top-quality wine, brandy, whiskey, tequila, and a cigar bar with exquisite Cuban cigars. Someone was specially responsible for helping you cut the cigars, which was outrageous.

Outside, there was also a 300-square-meter super-large terrace with a panoramic view of Cordoba.

This place was similar to Franklin's luxurious villa in the game GTA in his previous life, but on a scale ten times larger.

He couldn't help but feel that his imagination was limited by his poverty, and wondered if he should also build such a manor villa, but immediately stopped this terrible thought.

Saint Hesser looked at his watch, the time pointed to 5:20 in the afternoon, the sun had not completely set.

The dinner was in the form of a buffet, and the chefs had already prepared the food. Saint Hesser had already smelled the aroma of the food.

Thompson told Saint Hesser to walk around first. Saint Hesser planned to go to the restroom first. After asking the maid, he went to the restroom, washed his face, and solved some physiological problems.

Back in the hall, the banquet hall already had a band playing songs. The melody was good, but he didn't know what the songs were.

Most of the attendees were middle-aged and elderly people, and Saint Hesser was not very interested in chatting and interacting with them, so he simply looked at the buffet, took a plate.

Unlike ordinary buffets, these foods were made by chef-level cooks, and the taste was quite good, even better than the chef at Mayor Cavour's house.

"Hey, isn't this Warrant Officer Saint Hesser?" A voice rang in Saint Hesser's ear as he was about to take a piece of foie gras. It seemed a little familiar, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.

"Oh, you are Hahn Krudich," Saint Hesser recalled after a little thought.

"Ha, I didn't expect you to remember me. Let me reintroduce myself, Krudich, Second Lieutenant, Second Company Commander, Third Regiment, Eighth Brigade of the National Defense Forces."

This guy pretended to inadvertently reveal the badge on his shoulder. What a load of crap, people with connections get promoted quickly. This guy was obviously here to show off.

"Oh, hello, hello," Saint Hesser shook his hand expressionlessly.

"Saint Hesser, you're getting worse and worse. It's been more than half a year and you're still a warrant officer. Tsk tsk tsk," it seemed that this guy didn't see his relationship with Commander Thompson.

Argentine officials are not good at doing business, but they can be corrupt. Doing business without using the power in their hands is not too outrageous, but unfortunately, most of them go through the back door.

"Oh, can you earn 10,000 pesos a month?" Krudich said jokingly. He also knew that many soldiers in the City Defense Army would earn some extra money, and it would be great to have 10,000 pesos a month.

"It's still a little more, only a few million pesos a month," Saint Hesser said one zero less, which was still quite amazing.

"Hahaha, are you out of your mind?" Krudich shook his head, feeling bored, and left this fool to chat with others.

"Hey, some people always like to be self-righteous," Saint Hesser also shook his head and said.

He quietly became a ruthless eating machine. It would be a waste not to eat such delicious food. He asked the chef to fry a piece of marbled steak.

He ordered it medium-well. A large bite revealed very little juice in the mouth, a little dry, a pure meaty sensation, requiring a little effort to bite through, but it was a very reassuring feeling.

He also took a big gulp of juice, so refreshing. Eating meat and drinking juice is the style of a real man. Saint Hesser rarely drinks alcohol now, either beer or juice and soda.

Saint Hesser doesn't like rare steak with blood, that's the way barbarians eat.

"Clap clap clap," Commander Thompson clapped his hands gently, and everyone's attention focused on him.

"Thank you all for coming to this banquet today. This is also the last banquet I will organize in Cordoba."

"After more than ten years in Cordoba, from a squad leader after graduating from military school to the current colonel in the National Defense Forces, I will report to the Ministry of National Defense next month."

“Without your support, I can't imagine where I'd be. I especially want to thank a few people, Bishop Weigman, Mr. Old Klein… Without your support, Ke City wouldn't be developing so well now. …”

“…Oh, right, I want to introduce someone to everyone. This is Saint Hesser. Little Hesser, come over here for a moment.” Saint Hesser was somewhat interested in what he was hearing, but when Commander Thompson suddenly introduced him, he was caught off guard while enjoying his fruit juice.

He quickly reacted, put down his glass, and hurried forward to Commander Thompson's side.

“Little Hesser is the most promising young man I've met in Ke City. In less than a year, he has already created his own business.” Thompson praised him without reservation, leaving Saint Hesser unsure how to respond.

“I am very honored to attend this banquet today. In the past, it was under the guidance of Commander Thompson that I was able to achieve some small successes. I will definitely work harder in the future.” Saint Hesser said a few words with a forced smile.

“Yes, the young man has a good demeanor, but don't be too modest.”

“The people that Old Thompson introduces are all top-notch talents. You can pay more attention and help them in the future.”

“Indeed, he has an outstanding appearance. Little Hesser, are you married? I have a niece who just graduated from university, I can introduce you.” Looking at this old man, who didn't look too good, he guessed that his niece was probably average, definitely not as good-looking as Elena.

“If you need any loans, you can come to our Ke City Commercial Bank, I'll give you the lowest discount, hahaha,” Saint Hesser was quite interested in getting a loan, but he was afraid of being taken advantage of.

“You can come to me if you want to buy a house, I'll give you a 20% discount.”

A huge discount could be considered. Saint Hesser really wanted to ask him if the Zijinghua Apartments were under his control, but he didn't ask. He didn't want to owe favors if he could afford to buy it himself, otherwise, he might get stabbed in the back.

“If you ever want to start a farm or ranch, you can come to me.”

“Young man, very promising. You can come to our church for baptism when you have time, I'll give you a holy light.”

Holy light my ass, this damn old man still wants to give me a blessing? Saint Hesser really wanted to send him a few bullets. Does your church even have the concept of blessing?

Saint Hesser could only imitate them, tapping his chest twice, pretending to look pious.

Saint Hesser responded to the congratulations and small talk from the others one by one. Commander Thompson introduced him to a dozen or so real big shots in Ke City.

They were the true rulers behind Ke City, managing every aspect of the city, turning their hands to create clouds and rain, possessing enormous energy, completely different from those lowlifes.

Some people even wanted Saint Hesser to donate hundreds of thousands of pesos as a token of appreciation. Saint Hesser responded to him with a smile on his face, but cursed in his heart. Have some decency, okay? I don't even know you that well, trying to scam money is out of the question, you bunch of idiots.

Saint Hesser hung a faint smile, chatted with them simply for a few words. They were indeed quite kind on the surface. Saint Hesser didn't take their words to heart, and of course, there weren't too many conflicts of interest. Saint Hesser liked to open up new markets.

He was very self-aware of his own strength. Although he had done some small business, he was still a little short of being taken seriously. It was enough to get acquainted. These old foxes were also giving Commander Thompson face by chatting with him for a few words.

Cooperation with them was impossible, unless he could suppress them, otherwise, he might be devoured completely. If it weren't for someone protecting his business in Ke City, it would probably have been destroyed long ago. He wouldn't have to worry too much about Ke City in the future.

Even so, the "Byrd Brotherhood" still had some people within the city behind them, and there were other small actions, most of which were taken care of by Aragon and his people.

Compared to these illusory external supports, Saint Hesser preferred to cultivate his own people, at least they were more reliable.

Even later, the military government presidents were just pawns in their hands. Some were unwilling to be treated as pawns, and either stepped down or fought back, but most stepped down, and some were directly physically eliminated.

Many of Argentina's later military government presidents did not have their own foundation and base, and could only rely on external forces such as the US government to come to power, and could only sell out national interests. If they were no good or displeasing, they would just replace them with another one, like puppets.

Those who relied on domestic support were not much better off, this was the backlash of power.

It was obvious that Saint Hesser was now Commander Thompson's man, completely labeled. No one with any sense would dare to touch these industries, giving them a little more to think about.

This time, it was also Saint Hesser's first time entering these circles.

As for Maria Town, with Mayor Corvo's help, it was not easy to mess with. The militia company, the Thunder Cross, were also not to be trifled with.

Saint Hesser also specifically met a few regiment commanders, talked earnestly for a while, and the relationship with the chief of staff was further improved. He still had feelings for the military, and most of them were still pretty good.

He clearly remembered that the fall of the Peron government was due to the machinations of the forces in Ke City, and the military government that came to power was also from Ke City, but it was overthrown by another military government after only a few months, just a few months as an unlucky military government president.

As for investing in the future military government president, forget it, he didn't have the energy. There were still more than four years, he still had to increase his strength, not pinning his hopes on these illusory histories.

Who knew if it would be changed, if he encountered them, he would still get to know them and then decide whether to place his bet.

As for Commander Thompson, he had the grace of recognition and the grace of promotion and protection, he would still repay him if he had the opportunity, and he was also going to Bu City, so there were still many opportunities.

Saint Hesser considered himself to be a grateful person. Seeing Krudic with a stinky face but still smiling and coming over to congratulate him, Saint Hesser wanted to laugh, but touching his chin, he still held back.

“Really congratulations to you, for being able to know a big shot like Commander Thompson.” Krudic congratulated him with feigned relief.

“It's just so-so, Captain,” Saint Hesser casually patted the dandruff on his shoulder, and straightened his collar. His hair was a little greasy, probably because he didn't wash his hair last night.

Most people still showed a lot of goodwill towards Saint Hesser, and also remembered this young man, intending to make friends and invest in him. Saint Hesser would also reciprocate.

Anyway, making money is not shameful. If he could really rise a few steps in the future, he would still need to deal with many such dignitaries, even the kind of mutual attack, life-and-death "dealing".

When the banquet ended, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Saint Hesser chatted with Commander Thompson for another hour, deepened their friendship, and agreed to pay him a private visit in Bu City.

Saint Hesser left this huge villa manor and sighed. To be honest, dealing with these people still required a lot of brainpower. Some words couldn't be said, and he could only vaguely say um um um.

Driving his car back to the Zijinghua Apartments, he drove very slowly because there were no street lights.