Chapter 1 The Situation

A week later.

The situation in Panama City had completely stabilized. The political faction led by Bruna announced the failure of the military invasion by the Old Mexico rebel army and the War Hammer mercenary group. The war officially ended, and the curfew was lifted.

In the coup report released to the public by the Panama City government, there was no mention of the First District, nor of the mysterious Eastern power. It only stated that Booker assassinated President Nick and, in collaboration with the rebel army and the War Hammer forces, organized a large-scale power grab.

Evidently, the local Panamanian government did not want to escalate the entire incident to the level of a district invasion. They only wanted to take over the power discreetly and restore everything to stability.

Of course, this statement was met with various criticisms. Many people claimed that the political faction led by Bruna was now a puppet regime, and that in order to seize supreme power, they had betrayed the interests of their homeland by bringing in external military and political forces. In fact, the independent sovereignty of Panama City had been stolen.

This accusation pointed directly at the Huagong Association and Lao Li's team. After the curfew was lifted, several civilian groups even violently attacked the two organizations' garrison bases.

At the same time, various protest activities were staged in Panama City.

However, this situation was brought under control within twenty-four hours. A large number of Blackwater Legion soldiers quickly dispersed the rioting civilian groups, arresting some, imprisoning some, and executing the rest. The voices of opposition instantly disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, the official media of Panama City began to speak with one voice, reporting almost around the clock on how Bruna led the new leadership team to comfort the people affected by the war, and how she used decisive measures to restore order and the economy in Panama City...

Public opinion gradually turned around, and life returned to normal. People were too busy struggling to make a living. Except for those who were bored or those whose interests were at stake, who would continue to pay attention to which newcomer became the emperor?

...

Monday, 10:00 AM.

The Third Division, originally stationed in Sri Lanka, sent a full three regiments to "help" the Blackwater Legion and the city's police system maintain stability.

At the same time, Su Tianyu spearheaded a roundtable meeting at the Panama City Legislative Assembly, inviting Jiang Zhou, Wu Han, and the leaders of the Huagong Association to discuss the division of the spoils.

The roundtable meeting did not include any representatives from the local Panamanian forces, but was a three-party meeting to discuss the general outlines before communicating with the local government.

In fact, Su Tianyu had returned to The Dragon City during the week and had several discussions with Li Mingsheng, obtaining significant discretionary power. In short, he had the authority to make decisions on anything that wasn't a matter of principle.

In the conference room, Su Tianyu, dressed in a well-tailored suit, turned to look at the crowd and said with a light smile, "Hehe, we're all family here. Let's say what we have to say today, fully exchange opinions, and then decide on a common goal."

To the left of the round table were Jiang Zhou and Wu Han, and to the right were the representatives of the Huagong Association: Su Tiannan, military commander Wang Xiao, and a newly appointed vice president of the Huagong Association – Huang Peishan.

After exchanging pleasantries, Su Tianyu took a sip of tea and took the lead, saying, "Then let me start by sharing my thoughts."

Everyone nodded in response.

"Personally, I think our bottom line is to control the Panama City Legislative Assembly, the People's Assembly, the decision-making personnel in the highest administrative body, and the military garrisoning power." Su Tianyu glanced at everyone, "These four levels of requirements are non-negotiable. Besides that, we can establish an organization similar to The Dragon City Supervisory Committee here to intervene in Panama City's political decisions. Of course, the position of leader should still be given to the locals, giving them face while we take the substance."

After some thought, Jiang Zhou nodded, "No problem, the thinking is very clear."

"My side agrees," Huang Peishan added.

Wu Han thought for a moment, "How should the commercial interests be divided?"

"Shared equally among the three," Su Tianyu immediately responded. "We'll come in the form of foreign investment, and the administrative body will give us the green light. To avoid disagreements, we can jointly establish a chamber of commerce, with the decision-making personnel list split evenly, and we can discuss everything together."

Wu Han nodded slowly. "The commercial pie has to be categorized. Everyone should try not to take the same types of projects. For example, the canal port project and the trade port investment are best kept separate to avoid friction."

"I think that's fine," Su Tianyu immediately responded. "My side agrees that you can choose first."

Huang Peishan thought for a moment, "I also agree that the Huagong Association capital can choose projects first."

"Then there's no problem." Wu Han grinned and even winked at Su Tianyu.

Huang Peishan paused and turned to Su Tianyu, "Let's not talk about the others for now. I just want to ask, how will this military garrisoning power be allocated? How many slots will the Huagong Association have, and how many will you have?"

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, then replied with a light smile, "This is what I'm thinking. The Third Division and the Chi Army are closer to this side and have stronger execution capabilities. So, on the issue of stationing troops, it's best if we don't divide the power and directly hand it over to my side to handle."

Jiang Zhou and Wu Han were only slightly startled when they heard this, but they did not respond. Wang Xiao and Huang Peishan of the Huagong Association frowned.

"You mean, besides the Third Division and the Chi Army, we have no power to station troops here?" Huang Peishan asked.

"I think it's easier to operate this way." Su Tianyu nodded with a smile.

"That's not right?!" Huang Peishan immediately retorted, "The city was taken together, and the garrisoning power should be shared equally, not completely controlled by one party. That's not reasonable!"

"Yes," Wang Xiao added. "If your Dragon City side has 100% of the garrisoning power, then the allocation of personnel in the Legislative Assembly, the People's Assembly, and the administrative bodies becomes completely meaningless! If the military power is in your hands, then the administrative system will lose its balance. What are we even discussing? Let's just end the meeting!"

Su Tianyu paused. "Commander Wang, President Huang, since we are in a cooperative relationship, then we must have a clear division of labor. Geographically, Sri Lanka and Panama City can form a military linkage, and we also have the support of the Old Mexico government army. Letting the Third Division or the Chi Army garrison here can best guarantee the military security of Panama City. And from the perspective of distribution according to work, the contribution of the Chi Army and the Third Division in this layout is also obvious to all. Therefore, I don't think there's any need to discuss this garrisoning power...."

Jiang Zhou glanced at Su Tianyu, picked up his teacup, and did not interrupt.

"That won't do. We don't agree to this proposal," Huang Peishan said firmly. "If we're cooperating, then we must share the garrisoning power equally!"

Su Tianyu glanced at his older brother and saw that the latter was looking down and writing in his notebook, not interrupting at all.

"Yes, we must occupy at least half of the garrisoning power," Wang Xiao added.

As soon as the words fell, the room was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping, and the atmosphere was a bit oppressive.