A bombing changed everything.
Almost immediately after the bombing ended, the phone kept ringing in Brest's hotel room. They were calls from oil companies. People who had originally been dismissive of him now agreed to his offer.
There is no way this bombing clearly tells those people what will happen if they don't sell.
"If you don't sell it now, it will just be a pile of scrap metal later!"
In Stanford's office, with a glass of wine in his hand, Brest said without reservation.
"As long as the Imperial Air Force wants, they can bomb those oil fields at will and turn all the oil fields into a pile of scrap metal, but..."
"But for the Empire, bombing the oil fields is not worth the cost, right?"
Stanford directly pointed out the reason why they acquired the oil field.
"On the surface, you may have spent millions of dollars to acquire those oil companies, but building a new oil well requires at least tens of thousands of dollars. Money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is time..."
After taking a sip of whiskey, Stanford said without disguising himself.
"For the empire, time is of the utmost importance. You would rather spend money to acquire those oil wells than destroy them in the war and then spend a lot of time and money to rebuild the oil wells. Just like my railway company, what you need is a railway that can be put into use immediately, rather than a railway that takes a lot of time to rebuild. Time..."
After a pause, Stanford said in a light tone.
"In war, time is of the essence. You may have spent millions of dollars, but you have obtained an oil field that produces millions of tons of oil annually. You no longer need to transport oil from the country. Your tanks and planes need the fuel here, so you will spend a lot of money to buy these. But the biggest problem at the moment is... How can you avoid all of this being destroyed in the war?"
Stanford stared at Brest, and that look showed that he wanted an answer.
"Mr. Stanford, this is very simple..."
Brest said, feeling the coolness brought by the ice in the glass.
"As long as we win the battle of San Francisco, then Los Angeles... I think it will choose to surrender. What do you think?"
Stanford and the man sitting in front of him, both knew what the other wanted to say, and when he heard this, he realized that this was the other party asking for his opinion, or telling him that you need to make a choice. He smiled, stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the crowded street below.
"So after you gain victory, who will be the leader of this land?"
He said calmly.
“The collaborators, at least for a while, the collaborators will continue to hold power.”
"And what comes after this?"
"After this, the collaborators will be integrated into the empire and become part of the imperial power hierarchy."
Even an empire as fair as this has its special classes, of which the power class is only a part.
Bryant said, sitting in his chair, his glass empty.
"The Empire has always been extremely kind to its partners. You should know that they have not only been rewarded with wealth, but also gained political status. The Empire is a very fair country, which is also well known. Perhaps the Empire is somewhat different from you, but so what? The Empire is fair, and for the vast majority of people, fairness is the most important. You can enjoy equal and fair treatment with the citizens of the Empire under the rule of the Empire."
Without too much promise or lobbying, Brest knew what the other party would choose. After all, Stanford had already made its choice.
"Well, can little Leland and his wife and children go to Empire?"
Stanford asked. Before making that choice, he had to send the children to the Empire, where their safety could only be truly guaranteed.
"As long as he wants to."
Brest laughed.
"We welcome him at any time. You know, the Empire not only has the most advanced science in the world, but also the best luxury goods in the world. I think the luxury stores in Nanhua must be looking forward to his arrival."
"perhaps."
Stanford was lost in thought, his eyes still fixed on the street below.
"Sometimes I feel that I made a mistake by doing this. However, if I don't do this, maybe I will make a bigger mistake. Who knows? I hope... I didn't make the wrong choice!"
"Mr. Stanford, you have to trust your instincts."
"In my opinion, it is better to trust money than to trust your intuition."
Stanford joked.
Bryant grinned and laughed.
"The direction in which money flows is in line with the rules of world development,"
He said,
"Usually."
"But when money is flowing, how many people can see where it is going? Brest, how about another glass of whiskey?"
As Brest answered, the American railroad magnate poured two more glasses of whiskey.
"Thank you. Money is now flowing to the empire because capital will determine who the final winner is. In fact, in addition to intuitive experience, we all know that this war is destined to end with the failure of the United States. The West will undergo earth-shaking changes..."
Stanford had no doubt about Brest's judgment. He also had this intuition, which was the result of many years of business experience. He had been to the Empire and knew how powerful the Empire was. Of course, he also knew the West very well. Compared with the Empire, the Western United States was vast, but it had a small population and underdeveloped industry. Therefore, if a war broke out, it would definitely be occupied by the Empire.
If it weren't for this judgment, he would not have chosen to cooperate with the empire just because of the railway. Of course, even if he chose to cooperate with the empire, it did not mean that he would directly lead California to surrender.
As the former governor of California, Stanford will use his influence when necessary to hand over Los Angeles and other parts of California to the Empire intact, of course in the name of the people - for the safety of the people.
He will also negotiate directly with the Imperial Army to ensure the rights of the people of California. Of course, all of this is just superficial work, but this process must always take place.
However, before that, the imperial army had to capture San Francisco.
"San Francisco, after your army has occupied San Francisco, I think..."
Stanford, standing by the window, looked out at Los Angeles and said.
"Based on the safety of the people and their interests, I would agree to surrender."
"Mr. Stanford, this is definitely the right choice."
Brest stayed with him for another 10 minutes, and they discussed some things about the oil fields. It was not until the evening that Stanford politely led Brest out, just as he had welcomed him in.
After leaving Stanford's office and walking into the elevator, a smile appeared on Brest's face.
"What a cunning fellow."
He talked to himself in the elevator.
"It seems that the imperial army needs to step up its efforts..."
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