"Finally. It's time to catch your breath. ”

In the office of the May Meeting, Houston let out a long sigh of relief, his expression was gloomy, but he said with some relaxation.

These two months were as difficult as hell for him.

The economy collapsed, unemployment skyrocketed, violent cases were frequent, and on several occasions large-scale mass events broke out in the streets, and even the operational departments under the May Meeting were forced to take to the streets to suppress them.

It can be said that it is only a little bit, and this society is about to completely stop and collapse.

But fortunately, the accumulated heritage over the decades saved his own life and extended the time of the collapse to more than a month.

Subsequently, the operation in Iraq was also a great success, and the rise in oil prices and the overwhelming media propaganda finally stabilized social expectations and stopped the trend of continuing to slide into the abyss.

Of course, the situation is still not optimistic.

Countless factories have been shut down and bankrupt, socio-economic activities have slowed down significantly, serious prices of daily necessities have risen, and in some states, there has even been an extreme shortage of supermarket supplies.

For the May, for the country, the bleeding of the major arteries has indeed stopped.

However, how to promote wound healing and how to restore to a healthy state is the biggest challenge.

Looking at Houston's expression, the assistant on the side also sighed, and then said:

"We've got a respite, but it's only temporary."

"Our opponents, taking advantage of this opportunity, have already begun to rush all the way to plunder what originally belonged to us, and if we don't take countermeasures as soon as possible, it is very likely that we will fall directly into the dilemma of 'slow suffocation'."

"But we don't have the ability."

Houston said in a deep voice.

"We can't fight them right now."

"You look at their strategies, from finance, to infrastructure, to basic livelihoods, and even arms exports."

"I even suspect that they have been waiting for this day for decades, just waiting to seize the opportunity of our laxity and play all the cards in their hands."

"Everything went so smoothly, it was impeccably smooth."

"That's true."

The assistant nodded approvingly, then said:

"But maybe we don't have a chance?"

"What they can do, we can do."

"Infrastructure can drive their economic development, and it can also drive our economic development."

"How is that possible!"

Houston interrupted the assistant mercilessly, and then frowned and criticized:

"Are you stupid? Their situation is completely different from ours, whether it is in the national geographical environment, resource environment or population environment, there are significant differences. ”

"If they can build railroads, can we also build railroads? They have a road transport network, should we also have a road transport network? They build bridges, but we also want to build bridges, where to build them? Grand Canyon? ”

"This is not the same thing at all, our population is too small, and the gains and losses of large-scale infrastructure construction are simply outweighed by the losses, not only can not drive economic development, but also further narrow our survival channels."

After a pause, Houston continued:

"Besides, we don't have that much money."

"The state governments below, they are unlikely to agree to such a plan."

Hearing this, the assistant shook his head and replied:

"No, they'll agree."

"What do you mean?"

Houston asked, puzzled.

For a while, he couldn't guess what his assistant was thinking.

Although he is reliable most of the time, he always comes up with some jaw-dropping strategies in special situations.

Those strategies can't be said to be completely useless, only to say. Most of them are roads that were never conceived.

To go that way in this country is to really play with your own life.

Looking at Houston's suspicious eyes, the assistant did not flinch at all, but calmly looked at him, and said at the same time:

"The infrastructure I am talking about is not an infrastructure that completely copied China's strategy."

"Of course, we can also build bridges and roads, but like you said, it doesn't make sense."

"What we need is just a key point to stimulate the economy, and this key point is not us, it is them."

"Or to put it more bluntly, we should export a value: what they can do, we can do it, and we can do it better."

"Only in this way can we fundamentally boost national confidence and restore the vitality of the financial market."

"You know that finance is the pillar of our country, and if finance collapses, then we will really collapse."

"Understood."

Houston's eyes lit up.

"So, you mean, infrastructure is just a façade, and in essence, it's still a propaganda operation?"

"It can be understood that way."

Houston leaned back in his chair, and after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked:

"Will Congress support this strategy?"

"We're already strapped for money right now, and I'm skeptical that if we do this, um. Billboard-style projects, it's hard to get their support. ”

"No, they will definitely support it."

The assistant said firmly.

"Because, it has to be part of the strategy."

"In previous speeches, the president has already mentioned that we will boycott Chinese products and build our own basic industry."

"That means we have to start this strategy from the very basics."

"You can turn in this proposal, and I'm sure it will be adopted soon."

"Understood."

Houston nodded slightly, and then he took a cigarette from the drawer and brought it to his lips.

The flames flickered and the smoke slowly rose.

His brow furrowed, deducing more details in his head.

It's a good strategy, but where and in which industry?

It must be practical and topical enough to arouse sufficient discussion in the country and even in the whole world.

Building an airport?

No, the current airports across the United States can no longer be said to be sufficient, but even a little redundant, and the economic value is too poor.

Building bridges? You can't blow up the Golden Gate Bridge and rebuild it, right?

Road?

Highway projects obviously don't make much sense, unless it's a railway

Speed railway?

Houston was in good spirits.

He looked at the map hanging on the wall, and a bold idea came to his mind.

The high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco, perhaps, is time to be repaired

A few days later, by the Hudson River in New York.

Houston stood nervously in the crowd, his eyes fixed on the president in the distance, who was making preparations, and his hand was already on the holster of the gun at his waist.

In fact, he also knew that the probability of an unexpected situation was very small, but there was no way, this speech was so important that even if he had participated in countless similar actions, he couldn't help but be a little nervous.

——

After all, not long ago, the president was attacked in a public speech, and although he was not seriously injured, and the person who hit him with a prosthetic leg was duly punished, this incident has become a stain that cannot be avoided.

Even the prosthetics of that brand have been enthusiastically sought after, and many ordinary people who have no physical disabilities at all have run to buy them, clamoring to smash the president on the head in his next public speech to show their support for the veteran.

And today, there are indeed quite a few people with prosthetic limbs at the scene, and the security personnel cleaned up several rounds before finally driving these people out.

The rest, if not all supporters, at least, will not be extremists.

Thinking of this, Houston breathed a sigh of relief, and at this moment, the president not far away suddenly beckoned to him.

He hurriedly stepped forward and stood aside with a humble expression, waiting for the other party to speak first.

"Houston, you're doing a good job this time."

"Whether it's the program itself, or the organization of this event, it's all about your abilities."

"If you can continue to maintain this level in the future, I believe it won't be long before you go further."

Hearing the president's words, Houston hurriedly raised his head and replied:

"Thank you, sir."

"It's not just me, but"

"Okay, don't talk about that."

The president interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and then continued:

"This time, we have received support from several investment institutions in advance, and we are fully prepared in terms of funds."

"At the same time, the governments of the various states involved in the project have also clearly expressed their support."

"It can be said that the difficulty of the project has been basically eliminated, and the rest is the specific project management work."

"So, I suggest that from now on, the May Conference will take over the project."

"You are responsible for the project, and at the same time, you will get the benefits of the completion of the project."

"If this project can be made a successful model. You know what I mean. ”

Houston's face was hard to conceal a look of excitement, and he nodded solemnly and replied:

"I understand, I'll take care of everything!"

"Then I'll be relieved."

The president sighed, then said:

"Actually, you're doing a much better job than Paine."

"Before you, he faced a much easier situation than you, but he messed everything up."

"And you, in such an environment, can help me recover my losses more than once, which is really rare"

"You're working hard, and you should know why it's so hard."

"Now, Paine is still in Texas, and there are some things that you should talk to about in person."

Houston looked stunned, he already understood what the president meant.

But before he could answer, the president on the side had already put on his tie and walked up to the podium.

In an instant, a noisy sound sounded at the scene.

There were cheers, boos, screams, loud questions, but more often than not, the hum of discussion.

Houston couldn't hear the popular discussions, but even without using his brain, he could guess what they were saying.

"Is the plan serious this time? Is it really going to be a high-speed rail? ”

"What's in it for us to build a railway? Why don't you send the money down and let's go buy bread? ”

"Will the state government support it? Let's hope they don't become slaves of the Federation. ”

"I don't want railroads, I just want jobs."

"If you build the railway, will you have a job?"

That's all there is to it.

Houston subconsciously shook his head, secretly disdainful in his heart.

In fact, he knew that all these people cared about was their bread for breakfast and steak for dinner.

The country is on the brink of crisis, but they have turned a blind eye to the lack of unity.

What would such stupid lambs develop into without a wise shepherd to lead them?

Perhaps, it will quickly degenerate and become a plate of loose sand

And just as he was deep in thought, the president's speech had already begun.

"Yes, the crisis has come to an end for the time being."

"Here, I can proudly tell my people that with our joint efforts, this financial storm that could destroy any country in the world has come to a halt before the Statue of Liberty."

"The economy is improving, financial markets are recovering, and while we still face short-term price increases and job shortages, I believe these problems will be resolved soon."

"-——, though, we have to ask a question before we get through it completely."

"What is the reason for this difficulty?"

"There are many answers to this question."

"Overheated real estate, overly aggressive financial industry, hollowing out industry, lack of factories, lack of workers, lack of infrastructure"

"Every answer does have a certain amount of reasonableness."

"But if we go deeper, we have to admit a helpless and infuriating truth."

"We're being kidnapped."

As soon as these words were spoken, the people under the podium immediately fell silent.

They never seem to have heard such a view.

Kidnapped?

Who have we been kidnapped?

The great United States of America will also be kidnapped?

The president watched with satisfaction the reaction of the population, and then he continued to look at the teleprompter and said:

"Perhaps, you already have doubts in your hearts."

"Perhaps, you will want to ask: Who kidnapped us?"

"Now, then, I'm going to give you the answer."

"People, my dear compatriots!"

"Let's take a look at the goods that are essential for life in the supermarket, where they come from!"

"Take a look at the steamers that are flowing down the river, where they go!"

"Let's see what faces are on those passenger planes that have flown halfway around the world!"

"Let's take a look at who the shareholders are in the company you work for!"

"There is only one answer."

"Huaxia."

"Yes, they have permeated every aspect of our lives."

"If you're a housewife, then every dinner plate and knife you buy has a profit of $10 or even more going to Huaxia."

"If you are an employee, then every output value you create must be distributed to the shareholders of Huaxia."

"It's not just you, your daughter, your wife, your husband."

"It's not just business, in fact, every coin you spend, they have to take a part of it!"

Hearing this, the crowd below instantly became excited.

They may have been vaguely aware of the relevance of China's economy to them in their previous lives, but no one has ever spoken so openly about it in public.

And now, the person who spoke out about this fact is the president.

Then the authenticity is beyond doubt.

For the first time, they realized that their connection with Huaxia had actually gone to such a point.

Obviously, this financial crisis must also be related to them.

In an instant, the sound of a tsunami sounded like a mountain roar.

A smile appeared on the president's face, and then, with his hand raised, he made a downward gesture and continued:

"Of course, we are tolerant."

"We are not only tolerant, we are also rational."

"We know that if the world wants to develop, then exchanges and cooperation between countries are inevitable."

"So, we allow them to do business here, and we're willing to provide them with the convenience of doing business."

"-——But, they shouldn't do everything."

"There are some things that should be up to us."

"So, starting today, we're going to get back what belongs to us!"

"We're going to make our own kitchen supplies, we're going to build our company, we're going to build our railroad ourselves!"

"We don't need their so-called 'help', even if we only rely on ourselves, we can definitely do it!"

"And the high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco will be our first war!"

"This war will be completely our own participation, it will not have any Chinese elements!"

"There's no smoke here, there's no fighting, but it's going to be just as intense."

"In the event of a failure, we will. Doom to come. ”

"Still. We're going to win! ”

Once again, a passionate frenzy erupted at the scene.

The initial chatter had been completely replaced by cheers, and even Houston's face showed a look of excitement.

It was indeed an inspiring speech.

Once broadcast, the effect of this project will be infinitely amplified.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.

At this time, on the Hudson River, a huge steamer sailed by.

The whistle sounded, as if to give the speech the strongest movement.

Everyone was drawn to the ship – it was part of the plan.

The people sighed at the strong sense of power displayed by the giant ship, and their confidence in the high-speed rail project was also raised to the extreme.

——

However, at this very moment.

On the Hudson River, a strong wind blew.

The gust of wind took away the mask that covered the giant wheel.

In the next second, Houston's expression changed drastically.

Because, after the mask falls off, four characters are revealed below the mask.

"Zhenhua Heavy Industry".

(End of chapter)