In the conference room of the Presidential Palace in Golden State, the President and several senators were seated together.
In truth, the President didn’t much like sitting with these people. Because of the last election, he felt he had been abandoned.
If he hadn’t come up with a last-minute trick to solve those problems, he might already be retired.
He disliked these senators who didn’t support him, but he had to sit with them because the matter of war, whether to participate or not, ultimately had to be decided by Congress.
The President of the Federation has war powers.
Many citizens believed that the President had the authority to declare war on a country or to enter a state of war in response to a country’s declaration of war.
But in fact, that wasn’t the case.
The President of the Federation only has the right to take military action, and only for a short period.
Three months, six months at the very most. If the military action lasted longer than six months, he had to request approval from Congress to implement it.
He couldn’t independently handle the threat of a declaration of war from the Dantra Republic’s military alliance. It had to be discussed by Congress, and then he, as the nominal supreme ruler of the country, would announce the result to the people.
And it was precisely because he was the one making the announcement that the vast majority of the public believed the President of the Federation held great power.
Senator Cleveland was also here. Everyone here represented a political interest group. The process of their discussion was not like “stirring a pot of mushroom cream soup,” but more like a second-hand market in a poor, backward neighborhood.
They would argue for a long time over the slightest bit of interest.
“Gentlemen!”
“Let’s hear your thoughts!”
“If we just sit here in silence, we won’t be able to solve this problem.”
“The Dantra envoy (his diplomatic rank had been lowered after the last incident) is protesting. If we insist on stationing troops in Golden Port, they will directly sever diplomatic relations with us.”
The Secretary of State sat next to the President, his face grim as his gaze swept over every gentleman at the table. “I trust you all understand what this means.”
Of course, everyone understood. The purpose of severing diplomatic relations was to declare war.
It was just that in diplomatic language, it couldn’t be said so bluntly. That would, due to some emotional issues, make a problem that could have been resolved peacefully become unsolvable.
It was like… someone took something from another person.
The person whose thing was taken said: If you don’t give it back to me, I’m going to make a move on you!
If the person who took the thing said at this time: How are you going to make a move?
Then they could probably continue to communicate. As long as a channel of communication existed, there would eventually be a solution to the problem.
But if this person said at this time: You fucking touch me and see what happens?
Then what would follow would definitely be an escalation and a white-hot situation!
They didn’t say “declaration of war,” but the meaning was already implicitly stated. They would not compromise. This was the bottom line.
Of course, this matter could not be entirely attributed to the Dantra Republic. Golden Port is located in the southern coastal region of the Federation and is not only the largest port in the northern hemisphere.
From here, heading directly south is the coastal region of the Dantra Republic. The Federation government has been getting very close with another military alliance recently, and the two sides have negotiated a lot of cooperation, which has made the Dantra Republic feel nervous.
Now they want to station troops in this location. If they collude in secret and formulate some kind of strategic plan, and suddenly advance by both sea and land, they would really be difficult to deal with.
From their own perspective, from the perspective of their country’s interests, no one was at fault.
It was just that now they had put forward their demands. To agree or not to agree would bring serious consequences. The President did not want to bear this part of the responsibility himself.
If a war broke out and they won, it would be fine. But what if they lost?
So he planned to let Congress decide by a vote to minimize his own responsibility.
Senator Cleveland’s gaze fell on the Speaker and the Majority Leader. The two big shots seemed to have no intention of setting the tone from the beginning.
His gaze swept around. At this moment, the executive committee member of the military committee spoke up, “We are not afraid of any challenge. Our navy and army are ready to deal with all kinds of threats.”
“I’m not saying I support us going to war. I’m just considering the problem from the perspective of ‘what if a war breaks out’.”
“Whether it’s offense or defense, we can assert our own interests!”
It seemed as if he had said something and yet said nothing, but Senator Cleveland managed to make sense of it after some thought.
What he was expressing was not “we are not afraid of them,” but “we can fight them.”
The Military Committee is a very important standing committee of the Senate. Its job is to coordinate the problems between the federal army and the government, and at the same time to take into account the development of the army and the like.
Anyway, anything related to the military, including military operations, they had the right to intervene.
For such an important executive committee member to say such a thing at this time, he would not believe that there was no remote control from the Speaker or the Majority Leader behind it.
If the tone of Congress had already been set, then the rest of them were just adding bricks and tiles.
But he was not in a hurry to take a stand. Politics is not about rushing headlong, but about taste!
The executive committee member of the Congressional Budget Committee also took off his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Our current reserve funds are still very sufficient, and the stock of materials is also sufficient. At any time, we can ensure that we have enough funds and materials to protect our national interests.”
Alright, understood. Everyone understood.
The fists are ready, the money bags are ready. You might as well just say, “Let’s fucking do it!”
Senator Cleveland, as well as the other senators and participants in the meeting around him, felt a heavy sense of mission, of history, in their hearts.
They realized that, just like their ancestors sitting together and reading a declaration, they were pushing new history forward!
A smile also appeared on the President’s face. During wartime, the president’s power would be infinitely amplified, but he quickly put the smile away.
The other senators also figured out the decision of the big shots and also expressed their support for the war.
Of course, there were also people who opposed it, but there were very few opponents, and it was more like expressing that the Federation is an open country that allows anyone to have any point of view.
After another senator had finished stating his point of view, Senator Cleveland nodded. “The Dantra Republic has repeatedly used threats and intimidation on the international stage to try to force us to make decisions that are not conducive to our current national development direction.”
“This has already caused us to lose points internationally.”
“We can give in once; that is modesty.”
“We can give in twice; that is love of peace.”
“But if we give in a third time, that can only be weakness!”
His voice grew louder. “The Federation is not a nation of cowards. We have the courage and spirit to sacrifice for our country. If they believe that our policy is conveying a certain message to them, and for that reason they want to declare war…”
He clenched his right hand into a fist and knocked on the table twice. “Then let them come!”
The Speaker and the Majority Leader nodded slightly. Although they had not notified Senator Cleveland in advance, the people sitting here were not fools.
When the two key figures had spoken one after the other, they knew which way the wind was blowing.
Just like now, the “little Congress” had already reached a consensus. The rest was for the Congress to formally vote and pass it, and then for the President to announce the results.
After a few others had added their opinions, the Speaker finally spoke, “War is not only a challenge, but also an opportunity.”
“The federal economy has been in a severe recession in recent years. We are at a critical juncture.”
“We have recruited some experts to discuss the problem of the recession with us. It occurs every once in a while, and each time it lasts longer.”
“This time, we are not sure how many years it will last, but if possible, it is best to interrupt this process.”
“War might be a direction.”
The Majority Leader nodded. “We need more territory, more resources, more population, more wealth.”
He paused for about two or three seconds and added, “For the people.”
The Secretary of State did not speak this time. The President knew it was his turn.
“I have always believed that making military arrangements on our own territory is our country’s internal affair.”
“They are trying to interfere in our country’s internal affairs with threats and intimidation. This is unforgivable.”
“Many people’s eyes are on us. If this time we show cowardice, then the international situation we face will become worse, more severe.”
“Since everyone believes we should not avoid it, then let Congress vote.”
“I will unconditionally support the decision of Congress!”
Only then did the Secretary of State continue, “I will follow up on the development of this matter. Any news will be forwarded to each of you individually.”
Next was a series of detailed issues, such as transporting a large number of naval forces south, and dealing with the possibility of a possible “attack.”
If the Dantra Republic really went crazy and suddenly launched a surprise attack on a federal port, that would also be a huge loss!
They needed to be prepared. The core reason why Congress and the higher-ups supported the war this time was still because the internal contradictions caused by the Great Depression were escalating. The people were on strike and protesting at the drop of a hat, and it was beginning to affect the middle class.
This was a very dangerous signal. Some experts believed that this Great Depression would be more severe than in previous years and would last longer!
War is a good opportunity to change the fate of a country. By plundering through war to obtain all the benefits to solve domestic contradictions, and at the same time exporting pressure.
If the Dantra Republic hadn’t done this, they really wouldn’t have known what to do.
Rashly and actively joining a war is not what the people of the Federation desire.
The last time the Emperor of the Empire said he was going to start a war, their fierce protests showed that they did not like war.
If they actively started a war, they would lose the support of the people.
But passively…
(End of a Chapter)