Darkstone Code-Chapter 1021 - 1019: My Thoughts

The relationship between the Minister of the Navy and the Minister of the Army has always been quite good. Over the past years, they have been very close friends.

They often enjoy afternoon tea together, but as the Prime Minister’s rise, it seems a noticeable rift has appeared in their relationship.

This is normal.

When the Imperial Family is strong, the great nobles must unite to resist the Imperial Family’s power. If they don’t unite, then the Emperor’s power would no longer be controlled, which would be a disaster for everyone.

However, as the Prime Minister gained financial power and the Emperor’s rights were weakened, the ministers are no longer as united and cooperative as before.

They are competing, vying for power and for interests.

Aircraft now represents tremendous interests; whoever can bring aircraft into their military department can obtain more resources and have more development opportunities in the future.

This is no joke!

Gafura doesn’t have the kind of mechanisms like the Federation Congress, no one will jump out to sing a different tune, no one will cut budgets, they only fully allocate them.

With money, everything is no longer a problem, including changing the appearance of Gafura’s army, this is not a problem.

People like money, as long as those willing to fight for money are attracted to the army, with a combination of punishment and reward rules, they won’t be disobedient.

If aircraft can be brought into the Ministry of the Army, when discussing national matters, the opinions of the Minister of the Army will be taken seriously.

In short, there are many benefits to this, but he knows he can’t compete against the Minister of the Navy, as soon as the Minister of the Navy presented the "Sea Fortress" design, he realized this.

The value of aircraft doesn’t need to be overly elaborated, this design turns the impossible into possible, so the Minister of the Army immediately called out the "Ministry of the Air Force".

He can’t get it, nor can he let the Navy get it. Although independent armed forces will split Army resources, it doesn’t benefit the Navy either.

As long as it doesn’t benefit the Navy, the Minister of the Army is satisfied.

Just after leaving the Imperial Palace, the Minister of Construction proactively came over.

They exchanged a glance and then got into the Minister of Construction’s car.

"I know a good new restaurant recently, their cook has some outstanding dishes, you should try it."

After instructing the driver where to go, a tea-colored glass rose between the back seat and front seat.

It would isolate sound and partially block sight; it’s a privacy glass.

"The Minister of the Navy is too excessive, this is clearly a hastily designed battleship, whether it has practical value is still unknown," said the Minister of Fitness after the glass rose, saying very opportunistic things.

The Minister of the Army nodded, "We all know, a few days ago he was still shouting to establish the Air Force, not letting aerial forces fall into the Army, now suddenly changing his tune, just for this!"

He gritted his teeth and cut hard, as if tearing the flesh of the Minister of the Navy, "This shameless, despicable person, for the sake of personal interests, makes falsehoods on these issues."

"If his designs cannot be realized, he will become a sinner of Gafura."

"We’ve been left behind by the Federation for a long time, and he still has the energy to fight for power, without a bit of a broader view."

The Minister of Construction nodded repeatedly, "Fortunately, the Prime Minister has not been influenced by him, at least for now, his plan will not succeed."

This might be the only good news today, the Prime Minister’s agreement to establish the Ministry of the Air Force means their competition will proceed in another manner.

"What are your thoughts on this candidate?" the Minister of Construction carefully probed the Minister of the Army’s opinion.

The relationship between the two is slightly better than others because of their work, allowing more interaction.

Where there is construction, there is the Army, the reason is complicated, sometimes Gafura’s Army also plays the role of workers, after all, compared to the expensive cost of hiring workers anew.

Directly allowing those idle troops to work could save some costs, at least they don’t need additional wage expenditure and can still save a lot of expenses.

The saved portion can be split, everyone can gain a considerable amount.

Of course, this is definitely not dereliction of duty or job-related crimes because the Minister of Construction excellently completes all construction tasks, withstands meticulous inspection, and the results are qualified.

As for the remaining money, everyone tacitly acknowledges its distribution—many people are eligible for sharing, even the former Minister of Finance would get a portion.

With financial exchanges and such special cooperative relationships, their friendship becomes much deeper than others, making some words easier to say.

The Minister of the Army pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "I don’t have a suitable candidate yet, you know, the one I want to select might not have the strength to compete with the Minister of the Navy."

"If I want to promote someone who can compete against the Minister of the Navy, then this person definitely wouldn’t fit my personal thoughts."

The logic is simple, a large figure can indeed confront the Navy but is uncontrollable.

Controllable ones can’t compete, it’s a contradiction.

The Minister of the Army mentioned a few candidates he favored, but who weren’t qualified enough, and then the car stopped outside a building with no signage.

The Minister of the Army looked up at the dark exterior wall, a bit surprised, "I remember this used to be a mega mall..."

The Minister of Construction nodded, "Later, the mega mall went bankrupt, and it was sold to its current owner, who turned it into a high-end consumption place. Trust me, you will absolutely be satisfied with everything here!"

The two entered the lobby on the first floor, which was simply decorated, understated luxury, and it was empty, not a soul in sight.

The Minister of Construction approached the elevator, pulled out a key, inserted it into the keyhole on the panel next to the elevator, and turned it forcefully.

With a clunk, the key broke inside, but the elevator also opened.

The Minister of Construction casually tossed the key into a nearby trash can, then entered the elevator cabin with the Minister of the Army.

"One-time-use keys ensure that if we’re not today’s booked guests, we can’t enter any room on any floor here."

The Minister of Construction’s explanation made the Minister of the Army very satisfied; he liked this kind of arrangement, discreet, a good place to discuss matters.

Without needing to touch any buttons, the elevator stopped directly on the fourth floor. After they exited the elevator, the Minister of the Army was visibly stunned.

The Minister of Construction smiled at him, "I told you, this place is quite interesting."

The Minister of the Army’s gaze was a bit erratic. In this room, there were about a dozen female attendants, all wearing false collars, false sleeves, and black high heels.

Each of them was wearing black stockings, items the Minister of the Army knew came from the Federation and had become hot commodities among the social elite in Gafura.

Many girls even declared that just a pair of stockings would be enough to spend a night together, showing how much they desired these items.

But here, everyone was wearing them.

Besides that, they wore very short skirts and bare shirts.

They were bustling about, looking very busy, and their trays carried either various dishes or some mood-setting toys.

The Minister of the Army nodded slightly, "This place... is interesting."

The Minister of Construction chuckled and continued to lead him into a room, and then under the service of the girls, they began to enjoy lunch.

Since there were matters to discuss, the Minister of Construction dismissed all the attendants.

They returned to the previous topic.

"What do you think of me?" This time, the Minister of Construction directly expressed his thoughts.

While savoring the delicious mushroom soup, the Minister of the Army didn’t respond immediately. He looked at the Minister of Construction for about ten seconds before realizing what the other was talking about.

"Are you crazy?" he said. "You have no experience commanding wars; the Prime Minister’s side won’t approve of this!"

The Minister of Construction had no personal ambitions. National construction indeed brought immense wealth and power, but that was in the past.

Now the construction on Gafura’s main island had already reached perfection and saturation, long gone were the massive construction projects at every turn, now it was busy with trivial matters every day.

Since Amelia was designated as a Special Zone and developed a free economy, local projects were generated through bidding and had nothing to do with him.

At a glance, the Minister of Construction seemed to be in a lucrative position, but only he knew how irrelevant this role had become.

Compared to the soon-to-rule Ministry of the Air Force, he could completely relinquish his current position.

The Minister of Construction licked his lips, "You didn’t have any experience commanding wars before you took office either. Come on, we’re just sitting in the Ruler’s Hall discussing work, not really going to the battlefield."

"Did you participate in any war on the front line, or command a complete campaign?"

"No!"

"Why can you, but I can’t?"

The question from the Minister of Construction left the Minister of the Army without any immediate rebuke. He instinctively rejected this idea, but now, because he couldn’t rebut it, he began to seriously consider the possibility of this issue and suddenly felt it might not be impossible.

At least, the Minister of Construction was also a great noble with a deep network of connections, equipped to challenge the Minister of the Navy.

Moreover, he had a good relationship with himself; the two had collaborated extensively before, even splitting money privately, making their relationship much stronger than ordinary ones.

If the Minister of Construction were to take over the Ministry of the Air Force, wouldn’t that be...

He began to seriously consider the possibility of this matter, and it seemed... not impossible.

Meanwhile, a piece of news was quickly spreading on Gafura’s main island, saying that the Navy had developed a terrifying warship that could dominate future seas!

And this news also attracted the attention of Federation spies.