Chapter 1797: Chapter 1796: Who Is the Federation?
Dawn City · Glorious Palace
"This is the data I gathered from my investigations and observations during my trip to various cities." Sett placed a thick stack of documents on the desk and looked up at Christos.
"How do you feel about it?" Christos asked, somewhat curious. "You know, I haven’t really been out of Dawn City much. I’ve spent most of my life circling around here, and even when I travel, it’s mostly for Dawn City’s diplomatic activities. My understanding of other cities is basically limited to brochures and documents."
"How should I put it, the Federation is more complex than I imagined," Sett paused, thinking slightly, "but also simpler than I imagined."
"How so?" Christos probed further curiously.
"From a complex point of view, each city within the Federation has its own issues," Sett thought for a moment, pulling a book from a pile of documents beside him, "for example, Rock City, a mining city, where the problems primarily stem from the mining sector, with related industries also linked to it. The main issue is the exploitation by the Mining Consortium."
He pulled out another book, "In Saint Joen City, an agricultural city, the problem also lies in agriculture, primarily due to oppression by the agricultural consortium."
He raised his hand and pulled out another book, "In Kaye City, an industrial city, although the original control by the Nolanka Group didn’t create sharp contradictions, they still face issues like unsellable products, employee unemployment, declining living conditions, and internal corruption and oppression within the group."
He picked up the topmost document from the stack, "Wint City, an energy city, is rather special. Although there’s also exploitation by the energy consortium, thanks to the scale of energy mining, the problem it faces lies in how the upper echelon takes a large share of the energy profits, living an extravagant lifestyle, while the lower-class citizens and employees live precariously."
He paused, taking out a thick file and placing it in front of Christos, continuing, "Yilan City’s situation is even more complex. It’s a composite city with mining, industrial, and some financial and service sectors. As one of the largest cities in the Federation, it faces a variety of contradictions."
He paused slightly, looking at Christos. "Of course, compared to Dawn City, the complexity of these cities is a grade lower. Dawn City is the Federation’s financial and eastern industrial hub, also gathering a tenth of the Federation’s population,
"Here, it’s like a mini-Federation, with gangs, consortia, and factories forming an intertwined whole."
His tone slightly halted here. He gazed at Christos, saying in a low voice, "However, I think all these cities, even the entire Federation, share the same underlying complexities."
"They’re all places our ’old friend’ has been to?" Christos half-jokingly said.
"In a way, our ’old friend’ didn’t choose these cities at random," Sett, instead, nodded somewhat seriously, thinking slightly as he spoke, "He’s actually clearly telling us that these seemingly different cities share something in common."
"What do they have in common?" Christos lowered his head, curiously picking up the file Sett placed in front of him and quickly flipping through it.
"Poverty, or rather," Sett thought for a moment and said, "in most of these cities, people live precarious lives. The essence of these livelihoods is that local consortia or powerful aristocrats take a large portion of profits and revenues, especially in factories and consortia, where they conduct relentless layoffs to cut costs."
"But business in the Federation is tough, with many goods unsold and idle on shelves," Christos said slowly. "Many factories and consortia have no income, so layoffs are normal."
"And here’s the problem," Sett looked at Christos, paused, and continued, "Why aren’t things selling?"
"Because no one spends money, no one buys things anymore, especially with the high medical costs and social insurance expenses that drain ordinary Federation citizens’ money, even putting them in debt, which further drains their wealth," Christos seemed to realize something and said calmly, "That’s why we encourage small factories to produce, expand hiring, and enact healthcare laws and employee protection acts."
"Yes, that’s the problem," Sett looked at Christos and said slowly, "but the total social wealth hasn’t disappeared, yet most people have become poorer and can’t purchase goods. Where has the vanished wealth gone?"
"To the consortia, the controllers of those consortia, and those ancient families?" Christos pondered slowly. "These people are ultimately few, and their consumption is ultimately limited, leading to stagnant wealth and a sluggish social market."
"In fact, they’re more willing to invest in the financial market, creating financial market prosperity, and thus enhancing their asset value,"
Sett sighed slightly, "We’ve discussed these matters before. In the past, I always felt these consortium controllers were malevolent,"
Sett looked at Christos, speaking hoarsely. He leaned against the desk, speaking slowly, "But now, I have some new thoughts; they also have their own constraints."
"How do you mean?" Christos asked, puzzled.
"If it were us, controlling a company, a consortium," Sett turned to look at Christos, "what should we do?"
"Expand the company, go public, continuously expand business, and become the largest consortium in the Federation?" Christos contemplated.
"Exactly," Sett nodded slightly, "nowadays, Federation consortia are all financial consortia. Banks and financial companies use complex cross-shareholding to bind companies from different industries together, binding companies from various industries,"
He pressed his hand on the desk, taking out another document and placing it on the desk, "Take the communications industry as an example. The Nord Financial Consortium is a top-ten company in the communications industry. Still, it’s also the second-largest shareholder of the Triton Group, the third-largest shareholder of Note Intelligence, the second-largest shareholder of United Communications, and at the same time, the Triton Group is also Nord Financial’s third-largest shareholder."
Christos reached out to take this document, flipping it slightly open, "Is it normal for major consortia to cross-hold shares, expanding into other industries using their original industries as a pillar?"
"Yes," Sett sighed with emotion, "we all take this for granted, and for the past few hundred years, it indeed has been taken for granted. It’s this natural structure that has built the present Federation."
Christos looked up at him.
"I just told you, these cities’ problems are complex, complex in their various distinctions," Sett said slowly, "but these cities’ problems are also simple, simple in that before our old friend emerged, they were all dominated by consortia,"
He paused before continuing, "And these consortia, through complex shareholding relationships, have practically built an invisible network that covers various industries, these cities, and the entire Federation."
He looked towards Christos, "So including Dawn City, every city’s issue boils down to one, and the adversary we face is essentially just one."
He placed his fingers on the desk, gazing at the gloomy sky outside the window, "Have you ever heard the old saying - ’The consortium is the Federation’?"
"I have," Christos nodded slightly, "In the time before the Federation, this was actually an indisputable fact."
"Of course," Sett nodded slightly, "The Federation doesn’t have as strong a governing structure as the Original Federation. In the first few hundred years after its collapse, the Federation was essentially a void framework, with each city governing itself, and even the presidential elections in Ains took a lot of time.
"Different cities have different companies and city governments, and even some large companies spanning the Federation didn’t have much power. During that time, the Federation was essentially a loose confederation."
He gazed out the window at the sky and continued, "When the founder of Nord Financial, the old Nord, used financial means to unite different companies and began large-scale exploration of trade routes, forming caravans and building new cities, the Federation gradually connected, forming the unified Federation we have now."
He tapped the tabletop, "The consortium’s caravans control the Federation’s transportation lines, linking the cities together for the convenience of exploring new trade routes, connecting new cities, and even prompting them to build new cities, which gave rise to the Consortium Mercenary Corps."
His voice lowered, "The Consortium Mercenary Corps takes on the responsibility of protecting the caravans and the Federation’s communication network, and with these networks, information can gather in Ains and orders can be transmitted to every city within the Federation."
"These mercenary groups safeguard the Federation’s communication network, forming the centralized mechanism of the Federation.
"Likewise, these centralized mechanisms transform the entire Federation into a single massive market, allowing goods produced by the consortium to be sold throughout the Federation, which in turn stimulates the consortium to open trade routes and build new cities, fulfilling the need to connect the Federation."
Sett looked at Christos, "Essentially, the current structure of the Federation is sustained by the consortium. The network they’ve built forms the veins of today’s Federation. They are the true power core, the real ’masters’ of the Federation."
He paused, then continued, "Every mayor elected by a city, every President in Ains, is essentially just a ’performer’ put on the stage by these true masters of the Federation. They appear to wield unlimited power,
"but in reality, every exercise of their power requires the consortium’s approval; otherwise, we would find ourselves struggling like this."
Upon hearing this, Christos hesitated slightly, then smiled, "Sounds like a prevailing conspiracy theory."
"But we all know," Sett said hoarsely after a pause, "this is the Federation, the consortium is the Federation."
Christos was silent for a moment upon hearing this; after a while, he said softly, "So, we are fighting against the entire Federation."
"That’s another question," Sett looked at Christos, "A question we’ve actually considered before, but not as deeply as now."
He paused and spoke hoarsely, "Ultimately, who is the Federation?"
He gazed out at the darkening sky outside the window and continued, "The consortium is indeed the controller of the Federation; they indeed have constructed the modern Federation and reaped immense profits within its current order, holding the most core power. If they are the Federation, then our resistance is naturally pointless."
"But those who are barely surviving under the consortium’s control are the true majority," Christos paused and spoke softly, "For a certain period, the consortium’s presence was beneficial to the entire Federation, to everyone; it was their soil, but now, they’ve drained the entire soil dry and are extracting nutrients far beyond their status."
Sett glanced at Christos, took out a small notebook, and placed it in front of Christos, speaking softly, "This is my draft document, written from insights gathered from previous investigations and this one, which might help with your choice."
Christos reached out and picked up the notebook. There wasn’t any text on it, even the cover was a bit crumpled. He opened it, and inside were densely written words on blank printing paper.
He looked up at Sett and smiled slightly, "How did you know I was hesitating?"
"We’ve been friends for decades; if I couldn’t tell this," Sett smiled, "then wouldn’t I have spent all those years with you in vain?"
He paused, spoke hoarsely, "In terms of academic research, you are not as skilled as I am, but in politics and judgment, you surpass me. No matter what decision you make, I will support you."
"Even if it leads us to death?" Christos asked with a smile.
"Physical death will inevitably come," Sett shook his head, "it’s only a matter of time, but spiritual death and dissolution only relate to the things we do."
"Alright," Christos looked down at the file in his hand, "Let me think a bit more."
"I’ll wait outside," Sett nodded lightly, "If you need me, just call."
He slowly walked out, but halfway he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and looked at Christos, "Those bodies have entered the city gates; they’ll be back soon."
"Hmm," Christos nodded, "I know."
With that, he lowered his head and continued to examine the document that Sett brought.
Outside the window, the sky was unusually quiet, with only a bit of dim darkness.
The entire empty office was left with only the ’ka-ka’ sound of pages turning.
Christos flipped through the pages quickly, finishing Sett’s manuscript in no time, and after a brief pause, he turned his attention to the adjacent documents.
Time passed second by second; not knowing how long had passed, accompanied by a light ’ka’ sound, the door to the office was opened.
Sett entered the room and looked at Christos, "They’ve arrived."
"Alright." Christos closed the final document he held, placing it on the desk, "I’ll come right away."
Sett nodded slightly, closing the door.
Christos glanced at the somewhat messy desk, then slowly pulled out a sheet of note paper from the pile of documents.
He glanced at the content of the paper, took a deep breath, folded it, put it in his pocket, and slowly stood up.
