Chapter 1291: Chapter 1290: A Few Matters
Lynch met Mr. Truman about a week after returning to the Federation.
There were too many little secrets between them, and since Lynch had just returned from Gafura, a meeting was inevitable.
"I’m sorry, you know, their Emperor died, so there has been a lot of diplomatic work for me to handle lately."
Mr. Truman began by apologizing for the delay in their meeting; initially, they had agreed to meet on Lynch’s third day back.
But due to a sudden diplomatic delegation visiting the Federation, the meeting had to be postponed until now.
Lynch expressed understanding, raising his hand to invite Mr. Truman to sit down, "This is why I don’t like being a politician. This work takes up too much personal time, and not everyone can handle that."
Mr. Truman agreed with this statement, feeling a bit sentimental.
The more power and higher position a politician holds, the less personal time they have.
For instance, Federate Presidents would move into the President’s Mansion the moment they win the election.
Some might see this as an honor, and indeed it is, as not many people in the entire Federation have lived in the President’s Mansion for long.
But it also means that the President loses much of their personal time, except for the occasional lucky day with no schedule, when they might find time to rest; otherwise, they’re constantly working, even while sleeping.
No matter what time it is, if needed, the staff at the President’s Mansion would knock on the bedroom door, wake him, dress him, and send him where he needs to be.
Mr. Truman’s workload is certainly not as busy as the President’s, but it is definitely not easy.
After the assassination of the Emperor of Gafura, the international situation changed dramatically, with countries that were previously allied with Gafura actively engaging in diplomatic visits to the Federation.
The Emperor’s assassination was just one reason; it was more related to the reforms announced by the Prime Minister of Gafura.
Before Lynch left, the Prime Minister officially announced a significant reform of Gafura’s political system, with the abolition of the monarchy at its core.
This led some countries, which still believed Gafura could rise again, to be utterly despairing.
This might seem irrational; why would the reform of a country with a strong foundation cause despair?
There is a reason. The governance style of a monarchy is different from that of a constitutional monarchy or other systems.
Reform doesn’t mean success merely because of changes in the Central Government; the key lies in the more distant local areas.
Although Gafura seems to be not too large an island country, calling it small would be an exaggeration.
This means that a large number of people’s powers might be invalidated due to the announced reform by the Prime Minister.
When such reforms directly impact individuals far from the center of power, some may not readily relinquish their authority.
Many believe that Gafura might spend the next few years sorting out the country’s power structure, resolving entrenched "old forces" at the local level, before returning to a developmental path.
This process may miss the most crucial time period.
Mr. Truman and his aides share a similar viewpoint, and crucially, the murderer hasn’t been caught yet; the Prime Minister directly pointed fingers at the nobility, while the Governor of Amelia has remained ambiguous.
This series of issues indicates that Gafura will likely focus its attention elsewhere in the coming period.
This is beneficial for the Federation.
Every weakening of Gafura strengthens the Federation, and it’s not just a simple subtraction but a doubling of the difference.
Moreover, this gap will multiply with ongoing changes, soon placing both parties on entirely different levels.
In the quiet room, Mr. Truman placed the napkin on his lap. "Besides all this, it also relates to food."
He sighed a bit. "We all owe you thanks; the food imported from Nagariel has resolved many issues, especially putting us in a more proactive position diplomatically."
"Those legislators might not say it, but I know, this winter, thanks to the food you provided, we’ve all benefited somewhat."
When the world faced extreme weather, food became the most critical concern.
At such times, for those in power, it was crucial for maintaining their authority and even their safety.
The Federation’s food exportation indeed played an essential role, earning more recognition for this "big brother" from the World Development Committee.
This winter, Lynch also earned profitably, with food sales among other revenues contributing significantly.
He certainly sold food to the Federation at a fair price.
He knew when to do the right thing to gain people’s support; attempting to raise food prices during a harsh winter would lead to accusations like "Lynch deliberately raised prices so we can’t afford food."
All his goodwill accumulated over the years would be trampled overnight; you cannot expect much rationality or restraint from the lower classes.
If they were able to think rationally and act with restraint, they wouldn’t be the lower class anymore.
Therefore, selling food internally at fair prices meant that even those who disliked Lynch couldn’t find grounds to attack him; instead, those who were indifferent might have a moment of clarity and realize the significance of Lynch’s actions.
This is for internal affairs, concerning food prices for exports to other countries, that’s a different matter.
The price is what it is, and neither Mr. Truman nor the President had any objections to it.
After all, he is a merchant and needed to make profits; political sentiment and public opinion in the Federation have never been the way to constrain capitalists, and never will be.
Speaking of Nagariel, Mr. Truman jokingly mentioned something.
"Scientists say this winter is colder than last year, which has many wealthy people worried."
"And you know... whenever the wealthy become uneasy, people will find ways to tap into the money in their pockets."
Lynch nodded in recognition; it wasn’t something shameful. Making money, though a mundane topic, is part of life.
Mr. Truman laughed heartily, "Then there’s a group of con artists who somehow found some materials and made something interesting."
"They claim to have built a small city exclusively for the rich in Nagariel, where rich people from all over the world, fearing the cold, reside."
"Healthcare, shopping, tourism, and leisure; in their description, it has almost become the prime spot for wintering."
"Then they started selling the properties there..."
Lynch could imagine a group of clean-cut, sunny young people armed with materials selling such things door-to-door.
He had done similar things early on and it wasn’t unfamiliar.
The naive optimism of the Federate people provided fertile ground for such scams, and as long as the con artists were professional enough, those wealthy people might not even suspect anything.
Sure enough, afterward, Mr. Truman mentioned that hundreds of people across the Federation had been scammed, with the total amount exceeding thirty million, making it the largest fraud case in the history of the Federation by value.
Curiously, when people discussed this scam, there wasn’t a strong sense of hatred toward the con artists.
Especially in the lower society, they saw it as a comedy, possibly because the victims were all wealthy.
And resentment toward the rich is a widespread social sentiment.
The con artists were clever, knowing how to leverage the wealthy’s anxieties to conduct their scam, and the project had some feasibility.
But not much; building an independent city in a foreign country isn’t easy.
Political issues alone present tough challenges, not to mention the city’s various costs.
Whether in the Federation or elsewhere, more developed regions face tighter finances.
You often hear about financial struggles in Bupen, but rarely about financial issues in rural areas.
Having so many wealthy individuals together requires astronomical sums for maintaining facilities and paying staff salaries!
Lynch just pondered the idea and quickly dismissed it as a moneymaking venture, which he never concerned himself with.
The two enjoyed a sumptuous dinner. They didn’t discuss the topic of Lynch arranging the assassination of the Emperor of Gafura, as this matter was known only to the three involved.
Furthermore, neither Mr. Truman nor the Major knew the other was aware, ensuring safety for all.
This meeting with Mr. Truman wasn’t about any significant topics; having spent a lot of time in Gafura, Lynch needed to catch up and maintain their relationship.
Watching Lynch’s car depart, Mr. Truman contemplated other matters.
He initially wanted to discuss Chris with Lynch, the woman who won second place in the bowling tournament.
She was getting too close to the President, and the Security Committee privately informed Mr. Truman that the woman had spent nights at the President’s mansion more than once.
This wasn’t good news; while the President had many flaws, his strengths were also clear.
As a competent "subordinate," Mr. Truman didn’t want the President to stumble because of a woman.
Although, most times, the stumbles aren’t due to perceived reasons, he still hoped the President could maintain stability.
Ultimately, though, he didn’t bring it up; Lynch’s capability to assassinate an emperor implied he wasn’t constrained by such matters.
If Chris’s issue stirred negative emotions in Lynch, leading him to consider unconventional means over regular processes, it would be Mr. Truman’s fault.
He still hoped Lynch would stay well, as clear-minded individuals like him were becoming rare.
