"There will be a formal engagent ceremony tomorrow morning..."
In the hotel room, the delegation from the Federation was discussing the procedure for tomorrow’s ceremony.
When it cos to international affairs like diplomacy, all countries maintain a relatively serious and formal deanor. Gafura also has its own special ceremonies, from the reception at the beginning to the farewell at the end, the entire process follows a set protocol.
Since it was late today, everyone checked into the hotel first. Tomorrow morning, officials from the port city will co to represent Emperor Gafura to welco the delegation for the first ti, and then everyone will say sothing pleasant in front of the reporters, like "encouraging and promoting the success of this comrcial negotiation" and the like.
Then they will take the train to the Imperial Capital of Gafura to have an audience with the Emperor.
It is worth ntioning that they will et the Emperor, but the Emperor will not directly discuss all the matters related to this cooperation. As the symbol of the highest power of a country, to make him appear, at least the Vice President of the Federation must be sent, and it must be a diplomatic visit focused on political and military matters.
The eting is limited to an audience only, which is also a kind of respect for Emperor Gafura. After all, this is a "backward" monarchical state, and you have to adhere to their outdated traditions.
Federation people always carry an inexplicable sense of superiority when talking about monarchical states.
The schedule is very full and tight, as the delegation mbers gather to make final confirmations, and then it’s ti for high-intensity work.
At this ti, the door to the room was knocked.
They were staying on the highest floor of the hotel, the entire floor was booked for the Federation delegation, besides their civil personnel, there were also so military officers accompanying them to protect the delegation mbers.
The knock on the door did not make anyone inside think the person outside was unrelated, as unrelated people couldn’t enter, let alone knock on this door.
An individual with the lowest status walked to the door and opened it, Lynch stepped inside in one stride.
"Good evening, gentlen!" His face always carried a confident, sunny, and clean smile, making it difficult for those without a dark mind to dislike him.
The people in the room took about more than two seconds to realize it was Lynch.
They couldn’t be blad; they did see Lynch on the final list, but Lynch didn’t depart with them, as Mr. Truman ntioned they would see Lynch over here.
They initially thought that Lynch had already gone to the Imperial Capital and they would et him there—after all, with such a serious diplomatic visit, if soone arrived in advance, it must be to better serve the visit, like going to the Imperial Capital first to gather so information.
They never thought they would encounter Lynch here; after a brief mont of surprise, the group leader imdiately stood up, "Mr. Lynch, I thought we would et in the Imperial Capital."
The original plan for the visit was to be led by Mr. Truman, but the President couldn’t do without him. The just-concluded state election did not settle the people, as the upcoming general election was looming.
This period is the most atmospheric in the Federation. Right after the state elections follows the general election. People haven’t fully disengaged from the confrontations of the state election before diving into the more fervent presidential election.
So experts claim that this approach has its benefits, as the results of the state elections often predict the results of the general election. The state election essentially paves the way for the year-end general election.
States already in hand can have their ideologies reinforced, thereby reducing the possibility of wavering.
Those states lost will beco the major focus for the two... no, three parties to tackle key challenges. They can concentrate more funds and energy on these states, making resource use more efficient.
In such a crucial mont already entering the early campaign stage, Mr. Truman, as the President’s most relied upon deputy, cannot be allowed to leave the Federation or leave his side.
Even if this diplomatic visit fails, it doesn’t matter to him. It’s just a small episode in the developnt process of a country, but the President is his all.
After several rounds of consideration and changes, the choice of team leader eventually fell on the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, who happened to know Lynch, having t during previous negotiations concerning Nagariel.
Upon eting Lynch here, he felt a kind of... inexplicable sense of stability.
He proactively stepped forward and shook hands with Lynch, making the others in the room realize the changing ranks among them.
Under the introduction of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lynch finally t the key mbers of the delegation.
Besides the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, there is also the chief officer of the Federation’s International Trade Office, the highest officer.
The International Trade Office was originally the International Trade Approval Office. After the forr president stepped down and the current president ca to power, to distinguish himself from his predecessor, he removed the word "approval."
It is said that the International Trade Office will soon be expanded into a new administrative departnt, not just a simple office, but until the actual expansion cos true, the chief officer of this office, the future first minister, doesn’t have a too high level, just fitting the visit’s specifications.
Then there is the third chief officer of the International Affairs/Policy Office, also Mr. Truman’s subordinate, as well as the second or third chief officer from dostic departnts like the Departnt of Industry, the Departnt of Education and Science Developnt, and other relevant departnts.
Overall, the specifications aren’t very high. In Lynch’s view, this looks more like an exploratory visit that might not have many substantive cooperation discussion projects.
That is actually quite normal; the Federation had just annihilated Gafura’s invincible fleet, and now they turn around to discuss cooperation, there would definitely be so dostic concerns, so speculations, not to ntion that Gafura is a "backward" monarchical state. What if the Emperor gets mad and beheads them?
These people’s minds are still trapped in the "face-saving issue," which intelligent beings care about, without realizing deeply that, internationally, between countries, interests are the eternal topic.
Not to ntion annihilating their First Fleet, even if all their fleets were wiped out, even if the President went to the Imperial Palace’s front gate to brazenly urinate, as long as the benefits given were sufficient, the Emperor would still smile brightly.
After getting acquainted with everyone, Lynch sat next to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. His role was that of a delegation mber and also a consultant.
"Mr. Lynch, I heard you would arrive earlier than us." At this mont, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs thought Lynch had just arrived as well.
Lynch nodded, "I arrived two days ago."
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs thought, "The way you speak leaves one in bafflent, you know?" However, his response was quick, after all, the Foreign Ministry wasn’t the Transportation Departnt, "Mr. Lynch had two more days to get familiar with this place than we did, as we just arrived. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Fearing Lynch might not understand his intention, he kindly added a few words, "Maybe sothing we should pay attention to, such as certain customs in Gafura?"
"The neighboring Hundred Flowers Street is quite fun, it has many good drinks, and so girls who need help are waiting for a helping hand." Lynch said this seriously at first as if people weren’t thinking in that direction.
This was a kind of preconceived stereotype; they didn’t expect the "billion-dollar man" to say sothing so plain and mundane until a young man couldn’t help but laugh.
Perhaps he found Lynch’s words amusing, or perhaps he found Lynch amusing, in any case, he laughed, causing everyone’s expression to beco sowhat odd.
As the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs wondered if Lynch had gone crazy, saying such frivolous words at such a solemn ti, Lynch spoke again.
"I know so of you think I’m not steady, to be going to...," he smirked a bit, "I just want to frankly tell you, don’t think too highly of Gafura."
"Before the naval battle outco, we might have been intimidated by the Gafura’s undefeated fleet and worry about our stance in bilateral relations."
"But, gentlen, the victor of the naval battle was us, and Gafura’s Eldest Princess Fleet was almost completely annihilated by us, we directly broke their courage!"
"Now, those guessing the stance of the opponent should be Gafura, not us, we are the victors."
"If you conduct yourselves so cautiously, solemnly, even timidly, it will create a lot of trouble for our upcoming negotiations."
"They will increntally test our bottom line, attempting to propose excessive demands because you act not like a delegation of a strong Federation but like those humbled delegations from defeated countries that were once beaten by Gafura."
"This will make them think our victory in the naval battle is unreliable, even considering that if fought again, we might lose to them, so gentlen, we must showcase a sense of confidence, not hiding in a hotel!"
"I believe inside, outside the hotel, countless eyes are watching us, analyzing what attitude and thod to adopt in the upcoming engagent with us. All this is determined by what they observe now."
"While showing the influence our naval victory brought us over Gafura, not caring, we will also secretly contemplate all forthcoming counterasures and thods!"
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs stroked his beard, "Sounds kind of reasonable, what’s your idea?"
Ten minutes later, Lynch, with so unimportant delegation mbers, headed for Hundred Flowers Street. They lavishly waved money around to assist those needing help and indulged in drinking and rrymaking.
The news quickly reached Emperor Gafura’s ears, he first roared a bit, and then all dissatisfaction transford into a helpless "outrageous."
Unable to beat others, he could only endure such grievances, now feeling what those small countries felt when facing Gafura, very unpleasant indeed.
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