The election was more important than anything else!
The way the President looked at others was different. It was more of a reflection of his own position and value.
Everyone knew what kind of president the people of the Federation needed, but some things were not so easy to do.
The people needed jobs, houses, education, medical care, this and that. They needed everything. They were like greedy chicks, forever opening their mouths to try to get something without sowing.
Some things could be given to them, like jobs, like simple pleasures used to numb and satisfy the various spiritual needs of the bottom of society.
A sofa, some junk food, some sh * tty entertainment programs, these things could be given.
But some things could not be given to them. For example, people often talked about real fairness and justice. It was not that these things could not be given to them at all, but that they did not have the ability to have these things.
How could a capitalist with a huge net worth and working hard every day talk about fairness and justice with a lazy man who lay on the sofa all day eating potato chips, scratching his stomach and yelling at the TV?
Things that could not be given to them must not be given to them, but things that could be given to them must be given to them in double. For example, the sense of honor as a citizen of the Federation, and the sense of participation in some of the major events of society that did not actually exist.
People needed a good president, not a cold one. The Federation's election system, in some ways, was a huge placebo for society as a whole.
But there were too many people at the bottom, and their choices sometimes affected the buildings of the upper class of society.
The President looked at everyone and coughed softly. "Gentlemen, we have 72 hours to deal with this matter. The cabinet or the security committee will form a team dedicated to this matter."
"Our position should be based on uncompromising, and at the same time, we must take into account the safety of the sailors who were hijacked. We must have the determination and courage to defend our power, and we must also have respect for life …"
The President stood up as he spoke. "I will continue to pay attention to this matter. If there are any new developments, let me know at any time."
He glanced at Mr. Trumann. "I have a meeting later. You can discuss it first."
After that, the President left the meeting room, leaving a group of people looking at each other.
If it were some ordinary task, the security committee would have jumped out to fight for the initiative. But this time, the representative of the security committee had been silent. This was actually a troublesome matter.
Didn't you see Mr. President leave just like that?
"Ahem … I have a suggestion …" Mr. Trumann said, "While we raise money, we can use some means to find out where these pirates live."
"In fact, they have exposed a lot of information. I believe that the Federation's excellent intelligence agents will be able to find something valuable in these messy clues."
"If we really can't find anything, then we can try to pay a ransom to lure them out, and then find a way to eliminate them."
"These are some of my humble opinions. I hope they can be of help to everyone."
In the end, after a period of wrangling, the Ministry of National Defense and the Committee of Safety formed a team to deal with this matter.
Considering the influence of politics and public opinion, the problem team finally decided to open up the investigation process to the public. On the one hand, they didn't want the public to think that they were indifferent, and at the same time, they could pass some information to the pirates.
The investigation experts in the team also believed that some of the pirates were in the Federation at this moment, paying attention to the progress of this matter.
If they showed an unwillingness to compromise at the beginning, it was likely to make things worse. However, if they could raise money to paralyze the pirates and convey some other information, it would be beneficial to the investigation.
The problem was … Who would raise the money?
More than an hour later, all the people involved in this matter were summoned to a conference room in the Ministry of National Defense to discuss who would pay 16 million.
But … For some people, this matter was a bit of a pain in the ass.
The manufacturer of the generator and the shipping company were actually subsidiaries of the Megan Financial Group. In other words, no matter who paid, the money would be reflected in the company's financial report.
This wasn't good news. Instead of discussing who would pay, it was better to say that the task force used this method to ask when they would take out the money.
"We suspect that some of the pirates are hiding in the Federation. They are inquiring about our progress. We have to release some disgust to make them think that we are willing to pay the ransom."
An expert in the task force was explaining the reason for taking out 16 million. "As long as they see the money, they will certainly pass on the information. We have a way to lock these people to the maximum extent."
Sitting in the room, the president of the communications company had an ugly expression on his face. He crossed his legs and played with a lighter in his hand. "The Federation is so big. They can spread the news from anywhere. What makes you think you can lock onto them?"
"Instead of taking out this sum of money, I think it's better for us to directly launch a large-scale manhunt. We should show the pirates that we won't compromise. Maybe they'll take the initiative to release our ship and crew."
The official staff in the room looked at the president like he was a fool. There was no doubt that once they refused to negotiate and cut off the possibility of paying the ransom, the pirates would certainly kill the hostages.
At that time, the pressure would shift from these companies to the government. If the hostages died, the pirates would run away. The government was really f * cking incompetent!
Don't think that the people didn't think so. For the people of the Federation, discrediting the Federation government was the so-called "political correctness."
On the contrary, if they didn't succeed in finding these people and rescuing the hostages, then they still had the last layer of insurance, which was to pay the ransom.
At least the people would get some psychological comfort from this. At least they would be able to confirm that people's lives were indeed precious. Didn't they see that these ordinary crew members were worth 16 million?
The expert in the task force explained a little. "We judge by the postmark of the Federation post office and the time of sending and receiving the money. There is a high probability that the other party is in Buen. So as long as we keep an eye on the communications and ports in Buen and the surrounding areas, we can more or less find some evidence."
With this explanation, the president of the shipping company pursed his lips and glanced at the thermal power unit manufacturer next to him. He then said to the expert in the task force, "We need to discuss this."
The expert in the task force agreed. They also needed to discuss some details.
After the task force left, the president of the shipping company picked up the phone and dialed into a conference call with the board of directors. "The government doesn't seem to intend to adopt our proposal. It seems that we have to pay the 16 million."
This result was within the expectations of the consortium's board of directors from the beginning. They asked someone to come over and express their unwillingness to pay. It was just an attempt.
In fact, they could really not pay, but this would inevitably damage the group's image. At that time, some shameless guys would jump out and look for trouble, smearing their image in public opinion. The stocks of the group's major companies were likely to fall to varying degrees.
This was also the last thing a listed company wanted to encounter. Every percentage point meant a change of hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of wealth for the group.
After a moment of silence, some voices came from the receiver. "If we have to pay, this money can't be all paid by us."
"The government is the main ruler of the country. They are also responsible for our ship being hijacked. They also need to take out a part of the money. Also, talk to Soran and ask him to pay. After all, this matter is related to him."
The board of directors did not think of a way not to fork out the money to continue the discussion. The company was about to issue bonds. If they offended the federal government at this time, they could make the consortium miss the best opportunity. So when the government expressed their attitude that they had no choice but to fork out the money, they immediately compromised.
"We can pay, but the scale can't exceed 50%, which is 8 million."
"Another bottom line is that if Soran is not willing to pay, tell him that this part of the money can be deducted from each payment. We will give him a discount …"
With the final decision of the board of directors, a new round of negotiations soon began.
Although Soran felt that it was very inexplicable for him to be involved, he understood the meaning of the Megan Financial Group. The money was actually paid by the Megan Financial Group. This money was not used to pay the ransom, but it was used to pay the future goods.
Thinking of this, he felt that …
16 million sounded like a lot, but in fact, it was only 16 hundred stacks of banknotes. The large security suitcase used by the bank as a transport currency could hold 2 million at a time. This money could be stored in 8 large suitcases.
This money looked insignificant, but it still made people's heart beat faster and their blood boil.
The whole process of raising money was broadcasted by the TV station. Many people held their breath when they saw so much money.
This was completely different from Lynch's 10 billion. Lynch's 10 billion was just Galil. Now, Galil was like waste paper. Anyone who was willing to pay would be able to get 10 billion Galil.
This was the Federation's Galil, and it was 16 million!
At the same time, this gave a lot of people a kind of enlightenment. Kidnapping was really a f * cking money.
At this time, there was a new trend in public opinion. This trend wasn't attacking the pirates or the capitalists, but the military.
"Why can our military defeat the Geffra Navy, but can't do anything to the pirates?"