âOh, themâŠâ The student looked at Jiang Chen with a weird expression. He only thought that the person in front of him looked familiar, but he couldnât tell where he had seen him before. âThey are probably just pulling for a political party for the upcoming election. There have been more and more of these activities recently.â
Jiang Chen nodded.
Almost four years had passed since he overthrew President Edwardâs regime. In the past four years, the changes in Coro Island could be described as ground-breaking. There were almost no traces of the small fishing village.
Xin implemented a presidential system with four years between each election, and the election campaign was set to begin at the end of March next year.
If everything goes smoothly, Zhang Yaping was expected to continue his presidency, and Celestial Trade would continue to be the behind-the-scene ruler of the country. The parties would symbolically compete for the position of president, and then focus their efforts on the parliamentary seats.
As a revolution that saved the people, it was almost impossible for Zhang Yaping to lose the election with the backing of Celestial Trade unless Zhang Yaping decided to voluntarily withdraw from the election.
At this moment, Jiang Chen suddenly remembered something.
The UA election, which always attracted worldwide attention, seemed to be next year too.
After what happened in the latter half of this year, it was difficult for Hill to be re-elected. It was difficult for her to seek agreement in her own party, let alone gain the support of the people.
When he thought of this, Jiang Chen couldnât help but smile.
God bless Xin, I hope they will choose a more foolish opponent for me next year.
âŠ
Jiang Chen guessed right, it was indeed a difficult time for Hill.
The aircraft carrier battle group had never turned around because of the threat of any country. Whatâs more, it was only a small country with a navy of six frigates and thirty fighters.
Except for those who stood in the Pentagonâs combat command room that day, everyone blamed this incident on Hillâs weak diplomatic strategy. Even Hillâs public relations team released some inside information and said that the madam president was against a lunatic who was not afraid to launch a nuclear war, but obviously not many people bought the story.
Nuclear deterrence.
Deterrence.
How did you know that he was not bluffing? How are you sure that he dared to press the button?
Hillary really didnât know, but she couldnât bet the countryâs future on whether the ten seconds after would be heaven or hell.
Although many people put themselves in her shoes and thought they couldnât do any better, it didnât stop them from attacking her.
This was politics.
On Saturday, Hill was in the presidentâs office, listening to the FBA directorâs report.
At this moment, the office door was pushed open, and the FBA director immediately stopped and took two steps back.
When she saw the person standing at the door, Hill frowned.
âYou forgot to knock on the door, Mr. Bolden.â
âI will apologize for my rudeness, but please wait until I have finished speakingâŠThe second group of colonists from Celestial Trade has reached Mars. We have lost to them on the Moon and are now the gaps are growing wider and wider on Mars,â he walked in the door anxiously as he placed a document on Hillâs desk. He looked at her seriously and said, âNASA needs a bigger budget! If you still want us to build a space elevator before 2050.â
Hill rubbed the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes.
âYou should discuss this with the Congress, not come to me.â
With a bitter smile, Bolden shook his head.
âThose short-sighted people are losing faith in Silicon Valley and Seattle. I have written two plans, but they are all stuck with the Budget Committee. Youâre my last resort⊠I apologize for being rude.â
After Bolden carefully finished his speech, he left from the office
âWhat are the people in Congress thinking?â Hill frowned. She buried her face between her palms and took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and looked at the FBA director standing next to her, âHelp me find out who it isââ
Hillâs words shocked the FBA Director as he quickly waved his hands.
âThis is not in compliance. I wonât help you investigate members of Congress.â
âI think someone is behind the scenes,â Hill said expressionlessly, âSomeone was lobbying the Budget Committee to stop government funding. The Minister of Defense asked me to talk about similar issues in the morning.â
This situation was very common. In order to achieve political goals, certain groups or companies often pressured the Capitol through Congress, and the Budget Committee was only one of the means. For example, the famous K Street between Capitol Hill and the Capitol was a reflection of this phenomenon, it could be regarded as the gray area of ??the democratic system.
Hillâs words made the FBA Director hesitate for a moment, then he reluctantly nodded.
âAt best, I can help you keep an eye on who those hearing committee members have been with these daysââ
Just then, the door was pushed open again.
Hill suddenly became angry.
âThatâs enough, donât you guys know how to knock on the door?â
âSorry, Iâm really in a hurry.â While Kerry apologized, he quickly walked in and took out the documents under his arm. Then he placed it on her desk with an anxious expression. âNippon announced that it has joined the Earth Defense Alliance. Our people have just confirmed this news.â
Hill raised an eyebrow, âJust confirmed? What is the CIB doing!â
âThey were very careful. Their Congress has not even discussed this matter publicly.â
âItâs not within the rules!â
âItâs not the first time they didnât follow the rules. Asian countries are all like this!â Kerry couldnât refrain himself from cussing out.
The cabinet bypassed Congress and made a decision. It was indeed not the first time Nippon has done such a thing. It was just that the last time this happened was for the benefit of the UA, and this time it was to prevent the UA from knowingâŠ
After a pause, Kerry continued with an awkward expression, âThe thing that worries us the most still has happened. They are now re-discussing the security treaty with us.â
âHow dare theyâŠâ Hill suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
The legal basis for the UA troops stationed in Nippon was the â Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the UA and Nipponâ signed on January 9, 1960, which renewed every ten-year period, after which it can be abolished by either party with a one-year notice. After the expiry of the term in 1970, the two countries did not announce the abolition but automatically extended it to this day.
Today, the UA military forces stationed in East Asia were no longer supervising the defeated countries in World War II but were there to achieve the UA Asia-Pacific strategy. Nipponâs willingness to be the pawn of the UA was also an attempt to use its influence as protection for outward expansion.
It was also the fundamental reason why neither party has mentioned the termination of the treaty for more than 40 years.
In order to retain the UA troops, the Nippon government paid 5.2 billion dollars each year despite the anger that brewed in the people.
However, since the T virus incident and since Prime Minister Abe was forced to step down, the right-wing forces were in a slump. Now the rise of Xin and the development of outer space resources completely eliminated Nipponâs goal of outward expansion and so, they completely embraced the Earth Defense Alliance.
In this way, keeping the garrison in Nippon went from a mutually beneficial relationship to UAâs wishful thinking.
While Nippon mentioned that it would re-discuss the treaty, it was likely just a ploy to remove the UA military from its soil.
If the weak performance of the joint fleet in the Western Pacific only slightly weakened Hillâs approval rate, then the loss of the Nippon military base would become an unerasable stain in her political career.
This time, Hillary really started to panic.