375. The last thing of this year (Part 1)
In fact, during the Speaker's election speech, faced with Orn Free Tower's betrayal, the ring faction members fell apart, and at that time Francis Underwood stood up and had a wonderful fight with Palpatine debate, and promptly signaled Representative Tim to withdraw from the election as soon as possible, preventing his corruption scandal from being exposed and causing a bigger scandal.
Together with Francis's wife, the Outer Rim Planet Mutual Aid Fund founded by Claire Underwood has been continuously operating and growing, helping many backward planets in the Outer Rim solve their most pressing problems.
This layout they had carried out from the beginning finally began to reap great rewards. Some councilors from the Outer Rim Star Region and the Original Rim Faction began to move closer to Francis and began to initially form a political group.
Among the congressmen who turned to Francis, Ainle-Tim was headed.
Although Tim was at a loss due to the defection of Orn Free Tower in the previous speaker election, and was also found guilty of corruption and bribery, in general he is still a veteran with a high reputation. A politician, his statement also won the support of many congressmen for Francis.
At a subsequent meeting, Francis Underwood publicly challenged Speaker Palpatine, asking him where the policies he promised before being elected were now. Why are the Outer Rim Sectors not benefiting from the current Republic policies? Since no benefits have been obtained, why continue to insist on the previous Speaker Finis Valoran’s policy of imposing taxes on the Outer Rim Free Trade Zone?
Francis Underwood determined a given plot trend from the beginning - Palpatine will gradually push the Outer Rim Sector away from the policy, thereby leaving enough space for the separatist movement to survive. .
With this premise, Francis used this to continuously attack Palpatine, and because he knew the results, every reason he attacked Palpatine was well-founded, and it seemed that he really wanted to attack Palpatine. Go in the direction of his judgment.
This makes Palpatine very embarrassed. Although he also wants to split the Galactic Republic, he must not do it by himself. But if he wants to stop Francis, he will indirectly block his own future course of action. .
Therefore, he hated Francis so much that he gritted his teeth, but Francis seemed to be willing to go all out. He appeared in public repeatedly and even publicly declared that he did not bring bodyguards. If you want to assassinate him, please hurry up!
For a politician, this is basically risking his life.
Francis is indeed fighting for his life, but he knows that only in this way can he get enough benefits, and he also understands that his behavior is only temporary, and the one that attracts fire will come soon.
…
"Stupid guy! You almost ruined everything!! I laid everything for you, but you were defeated by a mere planet Naboo!! Is this the answer you gave me? Useless thing!" Darth - Sidious yelled over the comm.
Newt Gunray huddled up, trembling and cowering, and after a long time he said cautiously: "Lord Sidious, this is also the first time we have used the robot army on such a large scale... Facts have proved that the way robots control ships It’s not good. I will immediately arrange to upgrade the program of my subordinate’s B-1 combat robot.”
"Is this a problem with the robot control ship? The real problem is that you don't have the guts at all! Every time you only need to take one step forward to solve the problem, you always take two steps back! You'd better tell me, What value will a coward like you have to me in the future?" Sidious growled.
Newt Gunray fell to his knees with a pop and begged: "Please give me another chance to prove myself, my lord. I, I will definitely prove my worth! And... the Trade Federation is already in trouble now. , please save me, sir, if this continues, I will no longer be able to serve as a governor..."
A twisted expression appeared on Sidious's face under his cloak, "Yes, save you, of course I will save you. Because the only advantage you have left is obedience..."
He paused and then said: "The situation now is indeed serious. It would be okay if you could end the Battle of Naboo as a winner, but you failed. The Speaker of the Republic Palpatine will naturally not let go of this opportunity. , he wants to prove that he is better than Finis Valorum, and your Trade Alliance is naturally on the receiving end of the gun. So... there is only one way to survive..."
"What...what can I do?" Newt Gunray asked quickly.
"Hehehehe...hehehehehe..." Darth Sidious cut off the communication with a ferocious smile, but did not answer anything.
Newt Gunray collapsed on the ground. After a long time, he picked up the communicator with trembling hands and searched for a long time on the list above before settling on a person.
Director of the Fourth Group, Gross Shelbia.
The communication was connected, and Gross quietly listened to Newt Gunray's worries and said calmly: "Do you think the Republic has the ability to threaten you?"
"Why not! The Republic Council is going to cancel our trade privileges! This will cause us heavy losses!" Newt Gunray said loudly.
Gross smiled coldly, "The Republic can't even take care of themselves. Does it make any difference whether or not your trade privileges are revoked? Think about the fate of the Republic in the dispute over the planet Malastar."
Newt Gunray shut up, sweat dripping down his face. Because he remembered that in the Battle of Marastal Fjord, the Republic's local defense fleet was hoisted and beaten by the joint fleet organized by the Enterprise Alliance. In the end, it was the direct action of the Jedi that reversed the situation.
But when Gross told him this, the meaning was already obvious.
"You mean..." Newt Gunray remembered that the Fourth Group also participated in that battle.
"Hmph! I won't pay the fine anyway, the defense fleet can't be disbanded, and I can still sell the warships. What can the Republic do to me? Anyway, I have never thought of going through official channels for my warships. The Republic's orders are all It is monopolized by Quat Dynamic Shipyard, Rendili Interstellar Power Company, and Corellian Engineering Company. I, a black marketer, still need to look at the face of the Republic?" Gross snorted coldly.
"But..." Newt Gunray wanted to say that our Trade Alliance is different from your new company, but after thinking about it, it seems that their situation is really no different, so he choked back the second half of the sentence. .
"If there is anything else, you can go to Councilor Francis Underwood of Dawn Planet. In addition, tomorrow the Apocalypse-class light cruiser of Higra Aerospace Group, a subsidiary of our group, will officially begin its first flight. Do you want to do the first flight ceremony? Are you going to participate?" Gross looked very relaxed, as if she did not pay attention to the punishment of the Republic at all, and she immediately turned the topic elsewhere.
"Apocalypse class? Is it that kind of light cruiser that is more than 300 meters long? Yes, yes... I will definitely go, I will definitely go. Please help us reserve the production capacity of 50 Apocalypse-class ships. I will place the order tomorrow. Thank you. "Newt Gunray is still a little confused, but he still understands many things. For example, after the Battle of Naboo, he also understood the importance of escorting battleships.
And he also understands better that at this stage, the fourth group, which has complete capabilities from design to construction of warships, even if it is smaller than their trade alliance by an unknown number of levels, it still masters the core technology. Powerful group!
In the face of punishment and suppression from the Republic, the Fourth Group unexpectedly transformed into the one that the Trade Alliance needs to embrace!
"Congressman Francis Underwood..." Newt Gunray repeated the name. He is aware of the recent trend in Parliament, and also understands the meaning behind the name Francis Underwood.
However, now that the matter has come to this, he has no way out.
