After receiving the request for help from the expeditionary force from the front line, President Bullard closed the door of his office and lay at his desk writing and drawing. He didn't know what he was tinkering with.
When Brad walked out of the office, with a mysterious smile on his face, he told his staff to notify the House and Senate of the meeting. He had very important matters to discuss with the members of the Congress.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate arrived at the Great Hall on time.
More than a thousand members of the Semitic Republic gathered together.
Taking advantage of the gap before the meeting started, the congressmen were talking a lot and asking each other, what other whimsical ideas did President Bullard have?
What's the point of calling everyone here in such a hurry?
Now, isn't this old guy worried about General Mello's misbehavior?
As a result, after asking around, no one knew about it. No one heard about it beforehand, not even the subordinates in President Bullard's faction knew about it.
Although the congressmen are scratching their heads, they are certain that it must be a big deal for Brad to do such a good job of keeping secrets.
As the congressmen waited patiently, President Bullard walked into the General Assembly Hall half an hour later. He did not greet the congressmen in a casual manner, but walked directly to the podium in the middle of the front row.
When the congressmen saw his appearance, they stopped talking in unison.
The lobby suddenly became quiet, except for the occasional cough.
President Bullard glanced at the congressmen at the meeting, couldn't help but move his lips, and smiled. He said loudly: "You all know that we have encountered difficulties in the military operation in Leishan."
The members of the House of Representatives suddenly started talking. There was a low buzz in the whole hall - it was indeed this matter.
Having said that, among the current affairs of the republican government, there is nothing more important than the expedition against Thunder and Flash.
"Under the leadership of General Berendi and General Mero, we achieved a gratifying and huge victory. It can even be said to be a glorious victory that has never been seen in our two thousand years of history..."
The congressmen couldn't help but debate again.
This old guy Brad is too shameless. Although he praises the victory, the meaning behind it is self-evident, just not stated clearly. The current glorious victory is under his wise leadership.
, this was obtained.
Among the congressmen below, many people are very disdainful: If I had a beautiful daughter, I could also achieve this kind of victory.
However, now that President Bullard has secured his position and has two powerful weapons, the State Administration of Taxation and the newspaper, he is really powerful in the Semitic people, and no one dares to challenge him face to face.
"But..." Brad coughed slightly, changed his tone, and continued: "But our military strength is seriously insufficient, which restricts our progress.
The expeditionary force has fallen into the quagmire of the Thunderbolts. If it is not resolved as soon as possible, the expedition that we have spent huge military expenditures on will most likely fail."
President Bullard described the situation as so serious that many congressmen could not help but be moved. Thinking about it carefully, it is indeed very possible.
If the status quo is not changed, the expeditionary force may be forced to retreat and return without success, and the republican government will become a big joke.
The public opinion of Lingshan people just inspired by the victory will soon be lost, and Lingshan will once again become the object of ridicule by Leishan.
What's more important is that if a few more careerists come out to encourage and hold those congressmen who call for war accountable, maybe I will be elected as a congressman in the next election.
This situation must never happen under any circumstances~!
Seeing everyone fell silent again, President Bullard continued: "Therefore, this battle must continue until we win~!"
Upon hearing his decisive words, the congressmen all became excited and stood up to applaud vigorously.
Someone even shouted loudly: "Well said, well said."
“Long live President Brad~!”
"Long live Ling Shan~!"
"..."
Just now, what they were most worried about was that President Bullard would cancel the expedition if the war went unfavorably. President Bullard had every reason to do so. He was forced to launch this expedition in the first place.
As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, he also has this right. Fortunately, President Bullard's firm statement made everyone relieved.
This battle was already going to be a bad one, and it couldn't be better for him to jump out and wipe everyone's butt at this moment.
"The expeditionary force needs reinforcements, and I have ordered all localities to squeeze out as many troops as possible and rush to the battlefield." President Bullard loudly talked about his efforts just now, and then changed the subject and said: "But this is far from enough.
A conservative estimate is that we will need another 200,000 to 300,000 troops equipped with artillery, and the war plan will be extended to one year."
Parker and Hawks in the audience nodded slightly. The root cause of the expeditionary force's current predicament is still the lack of troops.
In fact, it is simply unrealistic and wishful thinking to defeat the Leishan people with a population of 30 million and a vast land with only tens of thousands of elites and hundreds of thousands of auxiliary troops.
Probably only the most optimistic...only the craziest generals would think this way.
For this reason, Parker and Hawkes were unwilling to lead an army. If Bullard gave them half a million men, and half of them were equipped with machine guns and cannons, they would be happy to do this job.
General Berendi must have noticed this, so he was passive and sabotaged all the way.
Even General Mero knew this, but in order to increase his reputation and meritorious service, he went ahead and went ahead.
President Bullard looked at the congressmen talking in the audience, suddenly showed a mysterious smile, and said loudly: "For the new military expansion plan, for the victory of this war, I ask the Congress to agree to pass a new financial bill.
, to raise military expenditures.”
The auditorium instantly buzzed with excitement.
The congressmen could no longer hold back and began to discuss loudly with the people around them: It turned out that this was Brad's purpose this time.
This old boy has hidden it deep enough~!
President Bullard ignored the noise of the congressmen and raised his voice: "In this new finance bill, the government will first issue bonds worth five million gold coins and raise at least two and a half million before the end of the year.
Military expenditures. Support the operations of the expeditionary force.
Then starting from January next year, the agricultural tax will be increased by 5%, the commercial tax will be increased by 8%, and the basic consumption tax will be increased by 3%.
It is expected that in the next three years, it can increase tax revenue by 10 million gold coins for the government."
The MPs were noisy even louder.
Many people stood up, waved their fists, and yelled at President Brad on the stage. If you look carefully, you can see the smear particles sprayed from their mouths.
"This is impossible~!"
"Our average tax burden has already reached 26 percent, and we cannot increase it any more."
"The tax burden pain index for ordinary people is the highest in the world. How can we live if we add this to the tax burden?"
"This is tyranny, and we are firmly opposed to it."
"..."
President Bullard sat firmly behind the podium, watching the congressmen barking and flexing their teeth like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and couldn't help but secretly laugh.
He shrugged and said loudly: "Raising taxes is a last resort to raise military expenditures for the war. After the war is won, the tax rate will be adjusted back to the original level."
However, his words were drowned in the angry opposition of lawmakers.
President Bullard shrugged and said, "I will raise this tax bill to both houses of Congress for a vote."
Then he stood up and walked out gracefully amidst the protests that filled the auditorium.
Until now, lawmakers from the Caribbean faction have not understood what happened and why the president suddenly asked for a tax increase.
Even if military spending is insufficient, you can still communicate with them beforehand and work together to ensure that the tax increase bill is passed smoothly.
How could this matter be handled by President Bullard alone from beginning to end? This is unreasonable~!
President Bullard left a tax increase bill in Congress, shook his sleeves, and returned to his presidential palace with a relaxed expression.
Put on a symphony disc, pour a glass of old red wine, pour it on the seat in the Oval Office, draw and clap in the air with one hand, close your eyes and enjoy the passionate and high-pitched music.
This puzzled the president's aides, who seemed not worried at all that the tax increase bill he had worked on behind closed doors would be vetoed.
Sure enough, two hours later, the House of Representatives rejected the tax increase bill submitted by President Bullard on the grounds that it was premature.
President Bullard was not surprised at all when he heard that the tax increase plan had been rejected. He just waved Doleni, who came to report the news, to go out.
After closing the door, President Bullard raised his glass in greeting and said with a smile: "Cheers."
Then he drank it all in one gulp, threw down the glass, and muttered: "These guys, they usually talk nice, but when they get serious, they all pissed themselves immediately. They are really not patriotic at all."
The members of the current republican government are no longer the impoverished fugitives who were just driven away by Madolins, nor are they the little people in the Caribbean city, the small nobles, small businessmen, and small intellectuals who are frustrated in the local area.
They are dignified members of the republican government, big shots who enjoy privileges.
In the new round of reshuffle, wealth will naturally flow into their hands.
Whether it is buying a house or land, opening a shop, restaurant, hotel, or taking a loan from a bank to set up a factory, setting up a construction team to undertake government projects, connecting businessmen, and receiving a 20% agency fee...
With power, money will naturally come to you.
In other words, the congressmen are all wealthy people now, with personal assets ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or even millions.
President Bullard's tax increase plan was tacked on to them first, stepping on their tail, and was naturally rejected by them cleanly.
Even some people who really care about the country and the people think that in order to win the war, it is okay to raise a little tax, but they are still drowned in the opposition votes.
Subsequently, the newspapers changed their usual tone of "victory, victory, victory again" and publicly reported on the expeditionary force's current difficulties and the government's current financial difficulties.
The sudden change surprised the people. Only then did they realize that the war situation was not as optimistic as they thought, and the republican government lacked money to continue the war.
President Bullard's new tax increase plan also failed to gain support from the people. Life was just a little better after being damaged by the war, and then taxes were suddenly increased. As a result, prices will continue to skyrocket.
So. Compared with wages, inflation, white rice in the rice bowl, new clothes for the wife, lollipops for the children... etc., it seems that it doesn't matter that Lei Shan was reunified two years later...
Some newspapers publicly called on all Lingshan citizens to donate to the war. The reporter optimistically calculated a figure. As long as the 60 million Lingshan people donated five silver coins each, there would be a full three million gold coins. This could completely support the battlefield.
Fight it down.
The first person to respond was the famous women's army in Lingshan, the Pink Panther.
Girls from noble backgrounds not only donated money themselves, but also actively set an example.
In this cold weather, they wore beautiful clothes that exposed their long thighs and large white chests, carried donation boxes, and took to the streets to collect donations from the people.
In this winter, it has become a beautiful scenery on the streets of Akadrin.
President Brad even planned to take to the streets himself to raise funds for publicity - this kind of reputation-building activity, Brad has been very enthusiastic about recently.
But Lord Lorraine asked Fiona to say something: That's almost enough. Be careful if you get too excited and others see it.
Only then did President Bullard's propaganda plan be abandoned.
As the plight of the expeditionary force was exposed, the war situation seemed to take a turn for the worse. According to newspaper propaganda, the expeditionary force could suffer failure at any time.
The topic of troop withdrawal or defeat became popular among the government and the people.
Just when the Lingshan people were feeling uneasy and hesitant, General Berendi from the front sent back news that shocked everyone, and the Leishan people requested peace talks.
After receiving the news, the Bullard government, which was suffering from internal and external troubles, was very hesitant. They held government affairs meetings for several days and had no choice but to accept the Leishan people's request for peace talks.
As a result, everyone was speechless.
After continuous reports in newspapers, everyone knew that President Bullard was opposed to sending troops in the first place. However, because of the strong demands of a small group of congressmen and soldiers with ulterior motives, he was forced to have no choice but to take the overall situation into consideration, so he announced the dispatch of troops.
Later, the development of the matter was exactly the same as the far-sighted president's initial judgment.
But despite this, the president did not gloat over the misfortune. Instead, he devoted himself to the soldiers of the expeditionary force.
Almost every day, the lights in the President's office stay on until late at night. Every day, he is thinking about the changes in the world's political landscape, guiding the frontline soldiers in their battle against thunder and lightning. He is concerned about whether they can have enough to eat and wear warm clothes.
…
Later, for the sake of the soldiers on the front line and the future of the Semitic people, he worked hard and spent all his efforts to propose a tax increase bill.
But the result was rejected by the group of congressmen.
The government has no money and no more troops to fill the hole in Leishan.
Although the president is wise and wise, has a bright vision, and has put forward many good suggestions, he has been repeatedly hampered by the congressmen. Faced with the current situation, he is powerless.
The expeditionary force is now stuck in a quagmire, unable to move forward in Leishan. Peace talks and a decent end to this war seem to be the best option at the moment.
Even the people in the black band who wanted to oppose it the most could not come up with any valid reason to stop the peace talks, unless they could get millions of military expenditures and hundreds of thousands of reinforcements to allow Mero to continue fighting.
At this time, some smart people finally woke up and realized that they had been fooled by Brad. The old boy had already made up his mind to negotiate peace.
All tax bills and fund-raising were all used to deceive them. Brad played a big game of mahjong and disguised himself as a victim.
But even if they knew, they couldn't say anything. They personally vetoed the tax bill. From that moment on, they had fallen into the pit dug by Brad.
Everyone couldn't help but sigh: This old guy was quite stupid before. When did he become smarter? Could it be said that being an official can really train people?
In mid-November, amid falling snowflakes, the negotiating team from Leishan traveled a long distance and finally arrived at Alkaderin.
This time a large group of thirty people came.
At the same time, the expeditionary force and the Thunderbolts temporarily ceased fire.
The expeditionary force stayed in place, waiting for orders. Because they were worried that General Mello would do something secretly and start the war again, he was also transferred back from the front line by President Bullard to participate in negotiations with the Thunder Flash people.
, serves as the deputy leader of the negotiation team.
The negotiations between the two sides started with a strong smell of gunpowder.
Seeing Mello appear at the negotiation table, the Thunderbolt people immediately gave up. Dozens of people glared at Mello at the same time, with a very powerful aura.
But Merlot didn't care, as if he didn't see it, and his attitude was arrogant.
The furious Leishan people first demanded that Mero be punished for his war crimes. They also did their homework before coming and knew what was popular in the republican government. They directly shouted the supreme slogan of protecting human rights.
However, he was unceremoniously rejected by the Lingshan people, and the first day of negotiations broke up after a big quarrel.
The two parties had been arguing for three days just over whether Melo was qualified to participate in the negotiations.
Mello finally understood. Brad pulled him back, not to scare the Thunder Flash people, but to draw hatred and make the Thunder Spirit people spray wildly.
Three days later, the Thunder Flash people acquiesced to Mero's participation, and then they argued for another two days over whether the negotiations should be based on the withdrawal of the Ling Shan people.
The negotiation process was quite intense and exciting. The negotiators from both sides were exhausted and had to take a break.
Bullard intended to involve as many people as possible in this negotiation. Ministers in the government and party leaders in the parliament took turns to experience the fun of bargaining with the Thunderbolts.
But it also caused the negotiation process to be delayed indefinitely. The two sides had just reached an agreement on a trivial issue yesterday, but when a big boss came in, the agreement was suddenly overturned when people were unhappy.
The result can only be a group of people who are exhausted and unable to laugh or cry.
Everyone began to doubt President Bullard's intentions. This old boy tried his best to bring everyone to the negotiating table with the Thunder Flash people, but then deliberately delayed the negotiation process. What was his intention? (To be continued)