Chapter 362: City No. 9
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It took just over a year.
Lanfelord had closed down tens of thousands of gun shops and seized nearly 300 million guns.
Civilian held guns in Merica had been reduced by more than 95%. Violent crimes related to guns had been reduced by 80%, and many cities with disorderly public security had recorded zero gunshot sounds for ten days, then thirty days, and then eighty days. The records were constantly refreshed and new records were made.
“Gun control is a success!”
This was the media’s inspiring conclusion.
Many people were so happy they cried tears of joy and partied all night.
Considering that there were three years left in Lanfelord’s term of office, the high-pressure strike against guns would probably be maintained during this period; the strike would not be relaxed. A “gun-free country” may indeed become a reality in the next three years.
In addition, in order to completely eliminate special interest groups, Lanfelord had ordered the closure of several domestic firearms and weapons production plants. He had also nationalized several well-known military-industrial groups. Weapons production was fully controlled by the state and only a small number of orders were given. These orders were just a sufficient amount so that the industry would not go bankrupt.
The country had even made an unprecedented purchase request from Z country in order to save on equipment procurement costs. Hence, Merica had bought a batch of cheap but not backward weapon systems from Z country.
There were also plans to reduce the number of nuclear weapons to less than 500.
These had led to a lot of criticism and opposition, but Lanfelord was still doing his own thing.
It could be said that Lanfelord was never going to stop fighting against the special interest groups until he had killed off all of them!
Why did Chen Jin have such meticulous plans regarding this issue? He could have let Merica rot and sink into greater depths with each pa.s.sing day. Why was he bothering to do so much for that country?
Actually, Chen Jin was also trying to remove a detonator and thus get rid of an unpredictable bomb.
“Merica is an unpredictable bomb that jeopardizes the safety of the planet at all times.”
“When physical industries become hollow and the compet.i.tiveness of high-tech industries weakens, the military industry will gradually become the pillar of industry. Those special interest groups will collude with the media and politicians, constantly exporting turmoil around the world and increasing their arms sales.”
“If they can’t stir things up on a small scale and if the money earned can’t satisfy their expectations, it is totally within their plans to tie the whole of Merica to the war tank and export a full-scale war.”
“They are private arms dealers. Unrest is their business opportunity. War is their busy season. Their position and nature have determined that they will never bring peace and harmony to the world. Peace is their nightmare.”
“If these interest groups are not eliminated, it is unlikely that human civilization will go beyond earth as it will be destroyed by them.”
“Earth will become the second Haierfa even without the aliens’ intervention.”
Chen Jin never wanted to witness that scene. So he had to kill the threat while it was still in the cradle.
However, the drawback of democratic countries was that the people could not resist the insincere rhetoric of politicians. Today, they might support this character to come to power and approve his administrative program. Tomorrow, they might support another character to come to power, and like his policy program instead… This happened repeatedly and changes were frequent.
Continuity of policies was very poor.
When Lanfelord stepped down after 3 years, the newly-elected president could publish the benefits of holding guns again and push for the ban on guns to be lifted. Most citizens would suddenly feel that it was safer to have a gun in their hands, and countless gun shops would open again. Gunshots would again resound all over the country every day. All of Lanfelord’s efforts would be in vain. In that case, what should be done?
After all, one could not overestimate the judgment and intelligence of the people. The eyes of the ma.s.ses were sharp, but once their own interests were involved, once they were deceived by the wonderful promises of politicians, it would be too late to regret things after two years.
It was difficult to determine if Lanfelord’s reforms would last for five years or ten years. It might even be possible that his reform measures would be overthrown once he stepped down. Things would quickly return to square one or even regress into a worse situation.
If faced with such a situation, how should one deal with it?
Chen Jin had prepared a plan for this. He had no hope that the reforms could be maintained for that length of time.
“Ten years; it will suffice to just maintain it for ten years. After ten years, no matter what kind of madman comes to power, no matter how crazy and arrogant he is, haha, there would be a way to teach him how to act like a decent human being.”
“Merica still have certain value in some major events. After the completion of these major events, it would be fine even if we didn’t have any a.s.sistance from Merica. Xing Hai Technologies would be unstoppable by then.”
Merica was just a stepping-stone and a tool.
…
The reforms by Lanfelord in Merica were basically successful.
Elsewhere in the world, in the Sahara Desert in Africa, Xing Hai Technology’s “Domed Base” Plan had entered the stage where it was going full steam ahead. During the past two years, from 20X8 to 20X0, the company had invested more than 10 million robots of different varieties into this project. More than a million engineers and volunteers from all over the world were partic.i.p.ating in this project. Work had started on more than 50 domed bases. There were more than 100 desalination plants by the seaside. Two nuclear fusion power stations that could generate large amounts of power were built. Both were put into the full use of power generation. Numerous funds and resources had been invested.
In May of 20X0, the first batch of 10 “domed bases” was successfully completed and could be put into use.
Moreover, a group of “immigrants” could be arranged to live in the dome and adapt to life in the base in advance. A large amount of manpower was needed for the environmental transformation work around the bases, and this provided numerous jobs.
The recruitment announcement made by Xing Hai Technologies attracted a great deal of attention.
“The preliminary completed dome base can accommodate up to 500,000 ‘immigrant workers’. The first batch of immigrants can enter the future ‘desert free city’ as ‘workers.’ As long as you are willing to come and work hard, you will get a considerable salary that is enough to support your family. The place that you personally build will become your home. The harder you work, the faster the transformation will be. You may need ten years, but you could create a beautiful new world in seven or eight years.”
“As the first batch of pioneers, you will have benefits that future immigrants will not get. You have priority to rent a piece of land that you like. You can buy your own house at a lower price in the most prosperous city center. If you have a unique vision and a sharp sense for business, you can apply to get involved in some promising industries.”
“It is true that it’s just a wide land of yellow sand right now, but in the future, it will be a place full of opportunity and hope!”
“We sincerely invite you to come. We welcome every brave, diligent, open-hearted and hopeful person to come here and contribute your value and sweat. We guarantee that each contribution will have a ten-fold return. If you are eager to change your destiny, then this is definitely the best place.”
Xing Hai Technologies translated the announcement into hundreds of languages and distributed it on a global scale. It was like a virus. The announcement was distributed by means of video, radio, TV commercials, and paper flyers, among others.
There were more distributions among the refugee groups in developed countries. It was also aimed at some international refugee groups and so on.
The company even organized a large number amount of volunteers to trumpet this information in an attempt to brainwash their targets and get them to go to the domed bases.
However, not that many people responded. Only 500,000 plus strong men and women were recruited in a month. They were the only ones willing to work in the “Desert Free City”.
No matter how brainwas.h.i.+ng was done, the rest of the refugees remained indifferent. Even though the “Desert Free City” was portrayed as a paradise, few were tempted. After all, they were already living in “heaven”. They did not believe that there was a better place than developed countries.
Helpless, the developed countries in the west could only resort to tactics that were equal parts cajoling with lies and strong-arming. The governments organized more than 4 million strong men and women from the refugees as pioneers of the immigrants. Their entire families would pack up and move after the transformation of the desert free city had been completed.
In the end, there another 500,000 plus “workers” who were not refugees. Some were not even poor, but they accept the arrangement of “settling after work” and actively partic.i.p.ated in the “domed base” plan.
Moreover, nearly 70% of these 500,000 plus people were Chinese. Some were from the undeveloped provinces in the central and west of Z country, while others were Chinese migrants in Southeast Asia. They were very interested in the “dome base” plan and smelled the opportunities within, so they took the initiative to apply to join. Many of them had bright lights flas.h.i.+ng in their eyes and desire written across their faces.
Chen Jin gave instructions to approve their applications to join, and all of these applicants were placed to live in the No. 9 free city.
Xing Hai Technologies had priority to 14 cities. Chen Jin placed City no. 9 under his name, and it was owned by him.
“500,000 immigrants who took the initiative to apply; nearly 70% of them are Chinese, and they are all resettled to the No. 9 city. Obviously, I believe that the future development of this city will be ahead of others.”
After all, there seemed to be only one race in this world who was known for its endurance of hard work, intelligence and diligence.
“The existence of City No. 9 is similar to that of a winning hand in poker.”