Darkstone Code

Chapter 675 - 0672 No fools, or everyone is a fool

On television, the host asked a legislator this question, "Why has our navy defeated the Gafurans, yet still faces provocations from pirates?"

This is also the question all Federation citizens most want to ask. Not long ago, Federation citizens were celebrating the naval victory, firmly believing the Federation had risen.

But immediately after, they were embarrassed by some pirates, which is not a good sign, and it made some people start to doubt if the Federation Navy is really as invincible as imagined.

As the front-page headline of a newspaper put it, "What’s Wrong with Us?", It seems we can defeat Gafura but are helpless against some pirates.

The guest sitting on the sofa looked very solemn. He lowered his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and then gave his answer, "Our navy is strong but small in number..."

"In recent years, while we were immersed in the escapism-created environment, to appear harmless, we did not expand our military during the war."

"After that, when the war affecting the world began to end, it was known that there were no real winners in this war, and our government at the time pushed a large-scale disarmament plan to meet international demands on us."

"At that time, people’s thoughts were indeed different from now. Looking at past situations through today’s lens seems ludicrous. To prove we were not ’aggressors’ and war initiators, we crippled ourselves."

"The navy has always had only one complete fleet, and there’s been no change until now."

"As far as I understand, almost all naval warships currently have their own tasks. Aside from pursuing the two warships of the Pretton Pirate Group still escaping, other light warships are escorting substantial long-distance trade."

"In other words, in this pirate hostage incident, we indeed did not perform well, but the reason is not that we couldn’t defeat these pirates, rather that we don’t have enough warships."

The host is a very intellectual woman, in her early thirties, with a now-rare short hairstyle, giving her a very competent look.

She wore a light pink blouse, a blue collar, and a pair of light-colored wide-leg pants that have become fashionable since the start of summer this year.

These clothes, along with some small accessories and her expression, give her an air of... intellectual beauty.

"We don’t have enough warships?" she repeated this sentence, "Why don’t we build more warships?"

The interviewed legislator laughed, "This goes back to historical reasons; to reassure neighboring and some powerful countries around us, we couldn’t have more fleets, nor more warships."

The female host seemed to understand, "So now that has become our problem, we can’t cover all areas?"

She continued to ask another question, "So now, as you said, these are historical issues. After this incident, will we consider dealing with it?"

"Or will the Federation Government maintain this harmless external image and keep the current situation? I remember the army has been downsizing in recent years. Can losing the ability to protect ourselves really put everyone’s mind at ease?"

The legislator shook his head, "Honestly, I’m not sure. It depends on what our country and society need us to become."

"If the people still fear war and military actions like in the past, Congress will not pass any proposals to strengthen our military capabilities."

"And this also depends on whether other legislators in Congress have ideas similar to yours and ours."

"Respect is not because we know manners, but we possess an ability that demands respect."

The female host keenly captured some keywords, "You mean to say, there are still oppositions to expanding the military?"

"Why are there such foolish people, do they think others would refrain from attacking us because we lack military strength?"

"I remember in this world war, invaders never changed their mind because the invaded lacked military strength..."

The legislator spread his hands, "People are complex..."

The television program was very effective, and unbeknownst to whether this television program has aired similar interviews, in any case, the entire Federation Society understood one thing.

It’s not that the Federation Navy can do nothing about those pirates, but rather that the Federation’s Navy is incapable of addressing all aspects.

In these interviews, whether the host or the invited guests, they hung the Conservative Party’s past actions to continue criticizing, using this method to incite people’s resentment to shift.

They would channel their resentment towards their own cowardice through various statements on the television program, redirecting it to the Conservative Party, fostering a thought of "it’s not that I’m cowardly, but the political party and social environment at that time forced me to be cowardly."

Once this idea is adopted, people will begin to hate the Conservative Party President and his escapism, and to prove they are not escapism’s lackeys, they will consistently stand on the side of the Progressive Party and radicals in major issues—how can I be escapism’s lackey if I’m this radical?

This retaliatory social behavior caused public opinion to peak within just two days, with spontaneous protests emerging in some places, demanding the Federation Government expand the navy and army to contribute to world peace.

If not considering the surrounding countries were terrified for a few days and Emperor Gafura started smashing things again, the scale and momentum of the demonstrations might have been even greater.

Despite saying it’s spontaneous, there are actually back-end interest drivers fiercely pushing, such as some shipbuilding companies capable of manufacturing warships, and certain Military Industrial Groups involved in naval gun production and sales. They spent a lot of money to incite public opinion and organize protests.

And so, time came to the third day.

"We have preliminarily located the other party’s sea area, and the navy is ready to attack at any time. But there is still one problem: how should we treat the hostages..."

In the President’s office, the head of the special task force, a colonel and a civilian officer of the Ministry of Defense, was reporting the progress of the matter, "If we want to ensure the safety of those hostages, the process of exchanging them for ransom is indispensable. Only after ensuring hostage safety can we launch an attack."

"But doing so might mean we can’t recover that money, as that money might be lost during the battle."

"If we don’t consider the safety of the hostages and employ saturation fire when we lure the opponents out..."

The President suddenly raised his hand to stop him, "The lives of Federation citizens are superior to money. Please stop discussing scenarios of abandoning hostage lives; exchange money for them, ensure hostage safety, and then deal with them."

The colonel nodded, refraining from further speech, as the President has the authority to use his privilege to launch a short-term military operation without Congress’s consent, thus the President has the highest level of authorization for this military operation.

"Do a good job, Colonel, we will hold a press conference first, waiting for good news from you from the front line. Do not disappoint me, nor everyone in the Federation..."

After hinting the colonel could leave, the President stood up and paced back and forth on the world map carpet in front of the desk. Then he looked at Truman standing on one side, "Thanks to your reminder, otherwise it would have cost me a lot of points."

"I have already communicated with others, after this matter is resolved, you can return to work."

This news slightly surprised Mr. Truman, as he expected to have more vacation, yet he didn’t anticipate returning so soon.

Actually, there was no way around it. Now it had entered summer, which means only a few months remain until the election.

And not long ago, Mr. Truman once again proved his value by preventing the President from choosing the worst option, hence the President increasingly feels the need to have Mr. Truman at his side now more than ever.

The Federation’s President is not an omniscient and omnipotent Saint. Without discussing whether anyone can usurp the Divine Authority to become omniscient and omnipotent, in fact, many Presidents are not as capable as most of those under them.

Whether a politician can become the Federation’s President actually has no direct relation to their personal abilities, what needs reference are their supporters and whether they can act.

To stay long in this position, capable people are needed to help him, and they must also be trusted confidants.

The President values Truman highly; the latter not only possesses superlative intellect but also represents the military and generally speaks the best except for occasional temperaments.

He could avoid restoring Truman to work, as the latter could still be beside him. However, he still chose to do so because their partnership isn’t just for these years but for the next eight years.

At this moment, the President displayed his ambition unmasked, with his goal being to be a ten-year President, wielding great power, so he needs people outside the consortium to assist.

"I thought I still had to wait some time; you know, those people aren’t easy to deal with," Mr. Truman smiled and responded, referring to those whom he had offended before.

At this time, the President expressed a somewhat different attitude than before, with a rare hint of disdain in his smile, "Actually, you are much more capable than I am; it’s just that you are unwilling to do things you don’t want to do."

"Communicating with those people requires some skills. Once you learn those skills, you’ll find they aren’t much smarter than fools!"