In the Federation, what kind of people can influence government decisions?

Ordinary federal citizens?

Well-known activists who are enthusiastic about social hotspots?

Some scholars and experts in professional fields?

No, none of them. The only ones who can truly influence government decisions are capitalists, and big capitalists at that.

A word from Lynch made people imagine a lot, especially since he is now living in the Provincial Governor's house. This is not just a simple "friendship" anymore!

Just when people hoped Lynch would say a few more words, a door in the conference room opened, and everyone naturally shut their mouths and returned to their seats.

The mayor stood at the door, a bit nervous. Not long ago, he was the Director of the Police Station, and now he has become the mayor. This change in status made him somewhat confused, but more so nervous.

He wasn't sure if he could satisfy those above him, Lynch and Drag. Being a mayor wasn't a job he was familiar with, and he couldn't use a baton to force people to do what he wanted, as he didn't even have a baton!

Before entering the conference room, he tugged hard at the hem of his clothes with both hands, which made his clothes look neat and without wrinkles. Unfortunately, he couldn't wear a gun belt now, and he felt a bit uncomfortable when his hand touched his empty waist.

Looking at the dense crowd outside, he took a deep breath and stepped into the conference room. This would be his first test as mayor.

As soon as he entered the conference room, he saw Lynch. For a moment, he seemed to want to greet him, but Lynch's previous words to him took effect—"I will be there that day as well, and you must act as if you didn't see me, then say according to this script I gave you, understand?"

Of course, he remembered. He quickly shifted his gaze away from Lynch and walked to the host podium on the steps of the conference room. Previously, he had always watched the mayor stand here from below, but today he stood here himself, which was a very special feeling.

The people who had made him feel some pressure earlier, after he stepped onto the steps, suddenly seemed not so oppressive, a very curious feeling.

"Friends from all over the world, dedicated to helping Nagariel escape poverty and develop its economy and industrial base, good morning everyone..."

"I am very happy to meet with you all here. This is also my first meeting with you since I became mayor."

"Some friends we have already met, some friends might still be unfamiliar with me. First, let me introduce myself. My name is 'Afleron.' You can call me by my full name or just Fler."

Only recently did Lynch figure out that in Asir, Afleron, and others' names, the 'A' is actually not a real name but a modal particle that reflects their class characteristics.

Ordinary commoners and those from low-caste backgrounds add the meaningless modal particle "A" to their names. Although the current mayor, the former police director, comes from a small clan, he was an insignificant, trivial member of it, not part of the ruling class. This was why he was sent as the lackey police director.

He can only be considered someone with a little background, existing between the ordinary and privileged classes, so his name has a modal particle "A," similar to "that one" in meaning.

Looking at Nagariel's culture, class is an unavoidable chasm. They even integrate class into people's lives, into their names.

Ordinary people and those from low castes are discriminated against from birth, as their names stigmatize them.

Conversely, those nobles, those rulers, those large clans.

They do nothing at all, even if they are not clothed or displaying their features of nobility. Simply saying their names commands awe from others.

It is a distorted country, yet they seem not to think so themselves.

What he went on to say, Lynch was very familiar with even without looking at the script. He had unparalleled ability to speak off the cuff and was very familiar with what he had written.

Once, an elder who specialized in writing told him that a writer's job was to arrange some fixed words in different but rule-based sequences depending on the environmental factors. This is the work of a writer.

Though it sounds simple, it is actually very difficult. It can be so difficult that sometimes even a single word in a document needs to be repeatedly studied for a long time, which gave Lynch a deeper understanding of writing work.

The whole script was essentially an apology from the mayor for the recent disturbances and deep regret for the victims and related families. These were all ostentatious words, but the new mayor dealt with it quite well and quickly adapted to his new role.

You could tell he was calming down; he was becoming natural, which was a good sign.

After some unimportant words, he began speaking about specific measures.

"...First, considering that you have come from all over the world to help Nagariel develop, our government should give you some encouragement and rewards. We plan to lower the commercial tax rate to 17%!"

The first beneficial policy instantly ignited the passion of the people in the conference room. Originally, Nagariel's commercial tax was as high as 45%, with many additional taxes, but the ruling class was not included.

The ruling class would be exempt from taxes for various reasons, and foreign businesses were "unprofitable." The actual commercial tax targeted business groups that had succeeded from the common class.

With only so much food in the pot, the rulers and third heirs will try every possible way to protect their rights, with taxation as their most powerful weapon.

Many grassroots merchants and budding market capital get sunk under the heavy tax burden.

Now, the commercial tax has dropped to 17%, lower by about 10% than the Federation's floating tax rate of around 30%, which is already delightful.

Seeing the expressions on people's faces, Alphang suddenly felt something indescribable. The foreign lords filling the room didn't seem that intimidating. With just a word from him, they would be happy—or possibly sad.

They weren't as scary as imagined, instead quite weak, their emotions shifting with his attitude.

Only when his gaze touched on Lynch did the unfavorable feelings that suddenly emerged instantly dissipate, and he revealed a humble look, like the fawning look of a barking hunting dog he had raised at home.

"Gentlemen, please quiet down. Additionally, investments and production in infrastructure within my jurisdiction will be granted full tax exemption standards!"

"This is also a form of gratitude for coming all the way here, enduring huge unknown risks to help us realize the vision of getting rich."

Lynch nodded slightly, leading the applause, and people warmly followed his lead.

Companies related to infrastructure are completely tax-free, and Federation merchants have countless ways to prove what they are producing is for infrastructure.

Even if they can't do it, they can set up an infrastructure company to "purchase" their products cheaply and then resell them at normal market prices; they have countless ways to do this.

The Federation's economic development history is, in fact, a struggle between labor and capital, between capital and government, between money and taxation!

Brutal yet interesting.

The new mayor waited for people's excitement to slightly die down before coughing lightly and continuing to announce "his" policies, "Second, we will establish a 'foreign and joint venture enterprises (including but not limited to) government office' to help foreign-funded enterprises settle locally faster, arrange various documents, and facilitate investment and production."

"In this process, any company that meets our standards will be able to receive some of our conveniences and even subsidies."

The new mayor's face showed some smiles, "Though not much, it is a token of our gratitude for everyone helping us."

People spontaneously applauded again, short but fervent.

"Third, considering the negative impact brought to society by this chaos, and especially to foreign investors, Mengwu Province will enforce a total gun ban and assign dedicated police to guard the areas where you invest locally, as well as selectively issue gun permits to some security nature companies to strengthen protection of investors' personal and property safety!"

"Please believe, we have always regarded you as our best partners, even as family, harboring no animosity. More than anyone, I want you to invest here, to make money here. Finally, I'll bring up a term, win-win!"

Win-win was the core theme Lynch set for this forum. Not just about making it easy for investors, or making the mayor completely betray Nagariel's interests; rather, this approach didn't align with Lynch's ideas.

Win-win is a great term. Investors want to make money; Nagariel wants development. The more money investors make, the quicker Nagariel's economic development and industrialization progress. People can tangibly feel Nagariel's daily progress.

Their lives rapidly improve; they become confused when what they perceive differs from what they are told, prompting them to verify and see the truth.

To let them see the world's truth sooner, speeding things up a bit artificially isn't too much, is it?

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