Empire Conquest

Chapter 628 - 624: Driven by Interest

The third significant issue mentioned in the telegram was related to Wallace.

A few hours ago, on the morning of the 19th local time, Wallace was sworn in as the Federation President at Gold Bay, witnessed by several judges of the federal circuit court.

Apparently, this action was completely in accordance with the laws of the Newland Federation.

However, the problem also lies here!

Before Wallace announced his presidency, all news about Rofuss’s death was merely rumored, and no related news had been released from Huacheng.

That is to say, Rofuss’s death had not been officially acknowledged.

Legally, Rofuss was still the President of the Newland Federation!

The vice president being sworn in while the president was still alive certainly had no legal validity.

This is where Hale’s brilliance comes in.

Regardless, Hale, having been mixed with Rofuss for ten years, possessed political skills that were absolutely incomparable to those of conservative politicians like Wallace.

However, Wallace was not unaware of the tricky situation; he had no other choice.

Why did Hale keep Rofuss’s death a secret?

Clearly, once the situation in Huacheng stabilized, Hale would, as the Secretary of State, use the special circumstances of wartime as a reason to have Wallace return to Huacheng and be sworn in at either the Grey Palace or Congress, thereby ensuring the stability of the federal situation.

The key here was that it was an irrefutable reason.

Furthermore, it wouldn’t take too long, perhaps by the 19th or 20th, a letter from the State Department would be sent to Wallace through local government.

Here lay the problem.

After receiving the message from Hale, should Wallace return or not?

Without a doubt, whether he returned or not, the outcome would be the same.

If he returned, he would certainly die en route. If he didn’t return, it would mean voluntarily giving up the presidency.

Precisely for this reason, Wallace had to be sworn in before receiving Hale’s telegram and then set off back to Huacheng as the legitimate president.

Obviously, there was a significant difference between the president and the vice president.

The president was the supreme commander of the Newland Army; all Newland military personnel had to obey the president’s orders.

The vice president, on the other hand, was like nothing.

That is to say, after being officially sworn in as president, Wallace could mobilize the army, at least getting the West Coast troops to follow his command.

Another critical point was that unless Hale could revoke his presidential office, under the premise of maintaining federal stability, the established fact had to be accepted.

It was clear that Wallace’s hastiness in being sworn in as the Federation President was primarily for self-preservation.

As for whether to take up the presidential seat or what to do after becoming president, this vice president, who had always been excluded from the decision-making circle, had obviously not thought it through.

However, this was also key.

Additionally, this reflected the underlying issues within Newland’s decision-making body, or rather, the inevitable result of Rofuss keeping Wallace outside the decision-making circle.

Given the circumstances at the time, Hale’s worries were somewhat superfluous.

What would change by having Wallace return to Huacheng and reside in the Grey Palace?

The great war had already been ongoing for the fourth year, and the Newland Federation had been involved for over two years. Devotees to Rofuss from the war faction controlled all substantive positions. A mild president could hardly change anything, let alone withstand the federal government and Congress’s opposition to disarmament and surrender.

If it were Rofuss, then the president would indeed be the commander with absolute authority.

If it were someone else, the president was merely like a statue or some other kind of totem, more akin to a flag bearer marching at the front of the procession.

A president without real power was not even a totem!

To put it bluntly,

if Wallace does not want to be a puppet president, the Grey Palace will become his prison!

Unfortunately, Hale did not do so but instead pushed Wallace towards another extreme, to be exact, was about to push Wallace towards another extreme.

According to the information sent by the Sixth Bureau, Hale had already garnered the support of both the Senate and the House of Congress and would soon submit a proposal to impeach Wallace.

Of course, precisely speaking, it identified Wallace’s inauguration as the Federation President in Gold Bay as unconstitutional and used this as a basis to strip him of his vice-presidential status.

If everything goes smoothly, an order will be issued to the local law enforcement agencies to arrest Wallace immediately.

As a result, the next in line as designated by law, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, would serve as president.

The key lies here.

The death of Rofuss is an undeniable fact, and there are sufficient witnesses and evidence to prove that Wallace was sworn in as president only after Rofuss’s death.

Legally, Wallace is the president!

Furthermore, the most crucial witness, Rofuss’s personal secretary, Missy, has already left Huacheng and is on her way to Gold Bay.

According to the information provided by the Sixth Bureau, she could arrive in Gold Bay as early as the 20th!

The Sixth Bureau also provided another piece of information.

Rofuss’s death was likely related to Chur.

Even if Chur was not the murderer, he bore significant responsibility for not informing the staff at the Grey Palace immediately after Rofuss’s stroke, thereby delaying critically valuable rescue time. If the staff had been notified and emergency measures taken, Rofuss might not have died.

Here, Hale is also implicated.

Before going to see Rofuss at the Grey Palace, Chur first had a lengthy secret meeting with Hale, and it was Hale who drove him to the Grey Palace. Afterwards, claiming he had other matters to handle, Hale left the Grey Palace early without waiting for Chur to finish the talk with Rofuss.

This implicates Hale as well!

As for the intricacies involved, they may likely relate to Maple Country.

At least according to the Sixth Bureau’s speculation, Hale might have felt it necessary to sacrifice Maple Country, which originally was a colony of the Bulan Kingdom and nominally still an overseas territory of the Bulan Royal Family. Therefore, on this crucial issue, he stood opposed to Rofuss.

This is not a mere trivial disagreement that can be brushed off with a laugh.

The policy towards Maple Country directly involves the Newland Federation’s core strategic interests, namely the "Monroe Doctrine" introduced by the former president.

In the nearly a century since defeating their longstanding enemy to the south, the Newland Federation had steadfastly pursued this policy.

It is clear, ceding Maple Country and allowing it to revert temporarily to being a colony of the Bulan Kingdom, even if just on loan, is politically unimaginable.

This was also the key reason Rofuss vehemently refused to agree.

Unfortunately, Hale is a politician, not a statesman.

Perhaps in his view, as long as he could achieve victory in the great war, any sacrifice was justifiable.

If there was a serious disagreement between the two on this issue, one could not rule out the possibility of Hale using Chur’s hand, or conspiring with Chur.

Clearly, once Rofuss’s most trusted personal secretary, Missy, arrives in Gold Bay, the situation will become even more complicated.

As initially analyzed, Missy’s hasty departure from Huacheng and desperate rush to Gold Bay must be connected to the cause of Rofuss’s death.

Moreover, she certainly possesses significantly important evidence.

In fact, she herself is the key witness!

If Hale or the soon-to-be president, the Speaker of the House, act contrary to this and treat Maple Country as a sacrificial pawn, the situation could spiral out of control.

Fundamentally, this is the outcome driven by interests, turning a simple matter into something highly complex.

However, this also significantly shortens the duration of the entire war.