Everyone in the office had their own thoughts. For the conservative politicians, although they had lost, they did not admit it. They did not lose in the political contest, but lost to the changes of the times.
A few years ago, when isolationism was popular, no one ever said that they were wrong, and it was even more impossible for anyone to come up with something as stupid as "escapism." Therefore, they lost to the changes of this era, which was something that no one could resist.
Although to some extent, they did lose, and the Progressive Party stepped onto the stage and began to rule, this did not mean that they could not do anything.
If they did not show some value to their existence, they were afraid that the people who still stood on the conservative side of politics would abandon them, and these people were very important to the conservative party now.
These were the seeds of their next victory, and the best way for them to keep these seeds was to continue to speak out.
The capitalists also had different views. They did not think as much as the politicians. They were just worried that once the Federation Navy and the Geffra Navy went to war, even if it was only a small scale conflict.
Once the Federation Navy lost, their cargo ships that were sailing on the sea, as well as their future ocean trade, would be threatened and exploited.
Outsiders would realize the weakness of the Federation Navy, and some ordinary small countries that the Federation looked down on in the past would interfere with the Bailey Federation's trade on the sea, which would harm their interests.
In fact, the current situation was very good. No one exploited them. Except for the occasional small-scale pirate, they had no opponents.
In this case, the people in the room unified their thoughts for different reasons. That was, for the time being, they could not go to war with the Geffra Navy, and they could not go to war with Preston's pirate group.
"… No one can be more sincere than us, and give better conditions!"
In another room, Mr. Trumann, some staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some staff from the Office of International Policy, and Lynch were sitting on one side of the negotiating table, negotiating with the Nagalil delegation.
Lynch was not qualified to participate in such an important diplomatic negotiation, and it was impossible for him to have the opportunity to sit at the negotiating table. This meant that he had the possibility to speak, but he was only twenty-one years old now. There were still more than four months before he turned twenty-two. He was still too young, even if he now had the title of "young leader".
But Mr. Trumann stood his ground and let him sit at the negotiating table. After this period of contact, he found that Lynch was really a very special bastard.
Some of his ideas were not as simple as radical, but also very dangerous. It seemed that as long as there was enough to attract him, starting a war was just a trivial matter for him. But it had to be said that his ideas and his attitude were very attractive.
"For the great revival of the Federation!"
This sentence still popped up in Mr. Truman's mind from time to time, and it always stirred up his tranquil heart.
Regardless of the purpose of Lynch saying these words and doing these things, and whether it was to satisfy his own interests, at least from the current point of view, his actions would not only not bring disaster to the Bailey Federation, but could also benefit more people.
He had the ability, the ideas, and there was no conflict of core interests, so why not use him?
Trumann, who had already won a point in the "competition", had completely replaced the position of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in this foreign affairs negotiation, and he was fully responsible for the following negotiations.
It was said that the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs had another appointment, and he may be needed for the development of the western region.
Mr. Trumann, who came back to his senses, looked at the Nagalil delegation across the negotiating table and frowned slightly. After the incident that night, the attitude of the Nagalil delegation had undergone some strange changes. Their attitude began to become ambiguous.
This change was easy to perceive. In fact, from the moment they were willing to send a delegation to the Bailey Federation to establish diplomatic relations, they had already agreed to establish diplomatic relations.
Even if there were some small unpleasantness, at most, it would only show that they would ask for more concessions than before, and not become indecisive.
In these two days, something must have happened that changed their minds.
Lynch, who was sitting at the end of the table, carefully observed the members of the delegation. He also felt the change in them. It was like helping the girls in need. Everyone had agreed on the amount of aid and was about to start the one-on-one assistance, but the girl in need suddenly said, "This is not good."
This was definitely not to create a heated atmosphere, or to strive for more benefits, but a real change in her attitude.
"We have been carefully considering these issues for the past two days …" One of the more important representatives in the Nagalil delegation coughed. He looked at the others and considered the wording (translated by the translator). "From what we have seen so far, I think this alone is not enough for us to reach a basis of friendly mutual assistance."
"In addition, what happened two days ago also made us realize that for the people of the Federation, perhaps establishing diplomatic relations with Nagalil is not a suitable choice. This will make the relationship between our two countries very unstable for a period of time in the future."
The speaker's sitting posture was not upright. He leaned on the chair, his elbows pressed on the armrests of the chair, and his fingers were crossed. "We all know that the Federation is a free country, and the final wishes of the people will affect the general trend of the environment. Now, it seems that we still lack some necessary ground …"
Lynch coughed softly and interrupted the speech of the representative of Nagalil. This was actually very rude in diplomatic negotiations. All eyes were focused on Lynch.
There were even staff members who looked at Mr. Trumann. Through their eyes, Mr. Trumann could read their thoughts. As long as he nodded, Lynch would be taken away.
But he did not do that. He wanted to see what Lynch had to say. Perhaps it would help to break the current situation.
This was the third day, and there was no progress. This matter could not be delayed for too long.
If even a small country had to use all kinds of excuses to establish diplomatic relations with the Federation, or if they could not establish diplomatic relations, this … would probably become a new joke in the diplomatic history of the Federation.
Since no one stopped him, Lynch's guts, which were bigger than the sky, were completely unleashed. His first sentence caused a drastic change in the atmosphere in the room. "Mr. Preston contacted you?"
Compared to the Nagalil diplomatic representative sitting in the main seat, who did not have much of an expression on his face, the two people sitting at the end of the table had a brief look of anger on their faces. Lynch caught the change in their expressions.
"Did he give you a condition that you can't refuse?"
Without waiting for the people of Nagalil to deny or say anything, Lynch continued.
"He may say that he wants to increase the proportion of your dividends in the profits of Nagalil's specialties. Perhaps he will also reduce the cost of imported goods. He may even promise to introduce some backward industrial assembly lines that you need very much."
"Maybe he will also promise to help you improve some of your industrial foundations year by year, and even provide some military assistance on the sea …"
Mr. Trumann stared at the face of the representative of Nagalil, and so did Lynch.
The representative's expression didn't change much, but this was actually the biggest change. Sometimes, it was important to be able to remain calm, but sometimes, being too calm would cause problems.
When Lynch put the country of Nagalil under the control of a merchant, they were still indifferent instead of expressing anger. This was enough to explain the problem.
If anyone dared to say that Gaffra needed to listen to a pirate in order to roam freely on the ocean, then the next day, that pirate and all the forces related to him would be uprooted by Gaffra to prove that this was all wrong.
The representative of Nagalil did not. He was very calm, no matter how he acted in his heart, but he was too calm.
Lynch glanced at Mr. Truman and curled his lips. He gradually relaxed his sitting posture and lit up a cigarette. "Did Mr. Preston tell you that the Gaffra Navy is behind him?" Mr. Truman's face turned pale as he asked.
This time, there was finally some change in the face of the representative of Nagalil, which made Lynch and Mr. Trumann more and more aware that Preston had contacted these people in private.
Mr. Trumann stood up after saying "sorry". He walked out of the room. If Mr. Preston had contacted the delegation in private, it meant that he was likely to be in the territory.
He wanted to instruct the people of the Safety Committee to organize a search for Preston as soon as possible. If possible, he must be controlled within the borders of the Federation. This would become a very important role, and his value was far beyond the negotiation with Nagalil.
There were no secrets in the political field. Now, the top brass of the Federation, important politicians, and those who could intervene in this matter almost all knew that Preston was backed by the Gaffra Royal Navy. He was a very important person. If they could pry open his mouth, they might be able to get some surprising secrets.
A dark battle officially unfolded outside the room. In the room, Lynch launched an even fiercer attack.
There was a smile on his face. This time, his smile was not as clean and pure as before. Instead, it made people feel like they were under the sun.
At this time, his smile made him look frivolous, a little disdainful, and a little arrogant. He raised his chin slightly and looked at the representative of Nagalil and the other members of the delegation with an arrogant attitude.
He blew out a puff of smoke and pursed his lips. "It seems that he has given you an offer that you can't refuse. But gentlemen, have you thought about it?"
"Could it be that it's so easy to reject our conditions?"