CHAPTER 333: 0331 FIRST SHIRK SOME RESPONSIBILITY

"Wait a moment before acting..."

Mr. Truman, standing in a corner of the hall, watched the assistant secretary’s flustered demeanor with a hint of a smile, raising his hand to stop the two investigators beside him from their original intention.

After Lynch discussed this matter with him, he contacted the people from the Security Committee, and within an afternoon had gathered a significant number of special agents from the committee who followed Truman’s instructions.

Mr. Truman is not a traditional politician; he has extensive military experience, and his family has a lineage of military service regardless of official rank, thus having deep connections in the military.

Most of the people in the Federation’s National Security Committee come from the military. This institution is composed of military elites who handle individuals, organizations, and events possibly threatening federal security both domestically and internationally.

Thanks to Mr. Truman’s rich experience, even if he’s not in the military, they still view him as one of their own, and the National Security Committee, closely tied to the military, naturally wouldn’t treat him as an outsider.

As a representative figure of the military’s radical faction, many in the military believe Mr. Truman will be the one to change the current status of the Federation Military, with the greatest hope.

As everyone knows, in previous years, the Conservative Party dominated, advocating for reducing military expenditure, budget, and active personnel as campaign slogans, gaining public favor.

During that era, the military seemed like a source of evil and fear; criticizing the military would surely gain people’s approval.

The military was suppressed by the Conservative Party for too long, so they would not miss this opportunity.

He stopped the special agents’ clearing operation, glanced at Lynch beside him; they had been discussing matters regarding Nagariel when the sudden event interrupted their conversation, but Mr. Truman was not anxious.

Lynch did not foolishly ask him what if not immediately stopping these people led to a significant impact.

Undoubtedly, regardless of the impact, the first assistant secretary of the Foreign Affairs Department, responsible for the reception, would bear all the responsibility.

And he happened to be at odds with Mr. Truman, so the latter found it unnecessary to clean up for the opponent promptly.

He would wait, only acting when the situation worsened to highlight his importance; through comparison, he could also make the assistant secretary seem exceptionally incompetent.

The demonstrators lying in pools of blood shouted some eye-darkening slogans; Lynch couldn’t help but shake his head as he watched them.

Mr. Truman caught this subtle gesture, "Softened your heart?" he said, chuckling, "But you don’t seem like someone with a soft heart."

"Only farmers worry about a newborn calf that will inevitably end up in people’s stomachs. People like us lost the qualification to have soft hearts long ago. My shake was just lamenting that their sacrifice now is meaningless."

He turned to Mr. Truman, "Sacrifice is the most direct and effective way to change reality; but plans should be made beforehand, not blind sacrifice."

"Blind sacrifice isn’t sacrifice, just stupidity."

His tone carried some mockery, standing at the edge of the crowd, with a smile on his face that seemed approachable yet appeared somewhat... peculiar at this moment, "Moreover, this isn’t even sacrifice, just a bunch of manipulated fools."

Bail Federal is very free; this has been the long-standing view, but in reality, it’s not entirely correct. Whether it’s the government or the consortium, they examine the ancestors of those entering the middle and high levels thoroughly.

The reason for doing so is straightforward: to avoid some opponent’s plots and ensure the person will be on their side in the future.

It sounds a bit unbelievable that a free federation would engage in these practices, but in reality, this is the most substantive truth, although many at the grassroots level don’t understand this.

For instance, in a historical presidential election of the Federation, a notable candidate gained widespread recognition, and almost everyone believed he would win by an overwhelming margin.

His opponent was an actor, specifically a comedian, known at the time as a vaudeville actor, someone who brought joy to people.

While this actor could bring joy, he wasn’t a very capable candidate. There were numerous presidents with actor backgrounds in history, but this guy clearly lacked such potential.

During the campaign, explosive revelations continually surfaced about the comedian, such as being a homosexual, suffering from severe depression requiring large doses of medication regularly...

No one believed this somewhat pitiable comedian would win, but surprisingly, he did.

His victory was seen by some as the Federation’s miracle, and the grassroots rejoiced because only they adored the performances of vaudeville and comedy actors.

However, in reality, his victory wasn’t due to gaining people’s support; it was his rival, the candidate who had the support of "everyone," that had background issues.

His father once served as a high-ranking official in the Federation, working with a President who only served one term before leaving office in disgrace. Together, they targeted some capitalists, attempting to curb the rampant spread of capitalism, but they obviously failed.

At that time, the President didn’t even have the chance to be re-elected before being forced out, along with the members of his Presidential Cabinet.

The background of this candidate was exposed, and major consortiums began targeting him, buying votes, bribing for elections. These shady deals were quickly resolved under the decoration of money, although some viewed them as ugly.

A politician who had a good chance of becoming President was abandoned by the social elite due to his father’s political stance right before winning.

Such events have actually happened many times. Capitalists know how to divert the public’s attention, shifting focus from "why failure happened" to "miraculous success."

People always yearn for beautiful things and naturally give up on questioning "why did it fail." As for those capable of seeking the truth, they are usually among those who create "miracles" and even less likely to expose these affairs.

The truth is always buried under the sands at the bottom of the long river of history. Just because people can’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

The troublemakers and protesters outside have already had a red stamp marked on their files at this moment. If the mainstream political structure of the Federation doesn’t change, and if the future world order remains the same, these people—including their descendants—will forever remain at the bottom of society.

In this instant, the middle and upper classes of society have actually abandoned them, although they don’t realize it. They won’t become "martyrs" or "warriors" as some might say.

Only occasionally do people mention the failures of this incident... Lynch glanced at the Second Secretary of Diplomacy as he started taking action. It’s only when people comment on his stupidity that they might mention some even more foolish individuals.

The Second Secretary of Diplomacy is trying to have them removed, but the police are obviously problematic. They aren’t there to maintain order; they seem more like... they’re there to ruin the atmosphere.

No matter how the Second Secretary requests, even revealing his prominent identity, these people still flog the protesters harshly in front of various guests and the Nagariel diplomatic delegation.

The protesters rolled in shards of glass, covered in injuries, looking terrifying. Some timid ladies screamed and fainted into the arms of gentlemen nearby.

The situation became increasingly out of control, even verging on disorder. The Interim Speaker suddenly turned to Mr. Truman, who naturally knew he had to step in.

Actually, Mr. Truman felt that he could wait a bit longer, let the Second Secretary embarrass himself a little more, but obviously, the Interim Speaker had a different view.

"What would you do?" Mr. Truman turned to avoid the gaze of the Interim Speaker, looking at Lynch, and asked.

Lynch held his wine glass and took a sip. The sweet taste of champagne is actually more suitable for ladies, but the Second Secretary demanded that the reception must use low-proof alcohol. The hotel couldn’t serve a few-dollar bottle of fruit wine at such an important banquet, so they provided champagne.

After feeling the explosion of bubbles and the mouthful of fragrance, he said with a faint smile, "The dignity of a great nation!"

Mr. Truman paused for a moment, turning to look at the two Special Agents beside him, "The dignity of a great nation? I like that term..."

He whispered to the two Special Agents, and Lynch stepped aside to avoid suspicion. The two Special Agents exchanged glances and nodded, one of them raised an arm and waved slightly, leading the ignored Special Agents in the hall to start intervening.

Mr. Truman himself then walked toward the Interim Speaker to explain the sudden upheaval.

Soon, the disturbance ended with a gunshot, the Second Secretary looking with a steel-blue face at Truman, "You actually let your people shoot, you must be responsible for what happened today!"

The occurrence of a shooting incident during diplomatic activities is a serious fault, even if it isn’t a formal meeting, just a banquet.

Mr. Truman, however, did not pay him any attention, and instead explained to others the reason, "Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic, everything is under our control..."

His speech was unhurried and soothing, calming people’s nerves, and gradually people settled down, watching him.

"Those people aren’t Federation citizens, nor Federation police, they’re members of an international crime organization hired by an international merchant called ’Preton.’ They’ve come to sabotage the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bail Federal and Nagariel United Kingdom to achieve their terrifying objectives..."

The people from Nagariel were initially very displeased and planned to temporarily halt this diplomatic activity because the Federation people clearly showed hostility toward them.

Since they’ve decided to take the first step to reach out to other countries, they wouldn’t just limit themselves to one country. If the Federation doesn’t welcome them, its people don’t welcome them, they’ll find a country that does; they won’t hang themselves on one tree.

But Mr. Truman’s words seemed to have magic power, altering their thoughts about leaving.

Everyone was watching him, watching what he intended to say.