Too Powerful to Catch

Time slowly passed, and from the perspective of time, human history was pathetically small, yet like ants, it slowly created a magnificent epic.

The internal development of Dutch has entered the right track with the passage of time, whether it is the production and sale of arms, the excavation of internal resources, the cultivation of grain, or the improvement of politics, all are developing steadily with time.

Everything was progressing rapidly as he had expected.

Signor Bronte, far away in Washington, connected with officials in Washington, and arms smuggling began.

However, the firearms sold to the East were even more severely castrated; the semi-automatic rifles sold to them were still a modified and castrated version of the Marko semi-automatic rifle, which had several more issues compared to the official version of the Marko semi-automatic rifle.

First, its magazine easily pinched fingers, and it was even possible to pinch off a finger.

Second, its firing accuracy was a bit worse.

Third, with the change in overall appearance, its durability was much worse, with frequent problems like jamming and sand ingress.

But even so, this rifle was still deeply loved by Washington and even the Eastern Mafia.

This castrated version of the rifle had become their main force in gunfights; after all, its high power and fast firing rate made it one of the ultimate killing machines in a gunfight.

Driven by the profits from the arms trade, Signor Bronte successfully became the third largest gang in Washington. He loved to circulate among various gangs, instigating trouble and selling information, causing these Mafia members to fight each other on the streets, thereby increasing the sense of insecurity in Washington.

However, while the plan in Washington developed exceptionally smoothly, there were also some rough patches.

That was, the officials in this place were too greedy; almost one-tenth of the profits from the arms trade were embezzled by them!

This one-tenth was not simple; it was calculated from Dutch's production costs.

For example, if a Marko semi-automatic rifle sold for one hundred and fifty dollars in Washington, with a cost price of one dollar, then the money these people took from each rifle amounted to 14.9 dollars!

This was even more like robbery than robbery!

And it wasn't just Signor Bronte operating within Washington.

Mr. Milton was also operating simultaneously.

At this time, in Washington.

On one of the most bustling streets in Washington, a luxurious and grand storefront changed its signboard.

"Milton Detective Agency"

Milton Detective Agency mainly engaged in commercial espionage and intelligence selling services.

All of Mr. Milton's old subordinates were recruited and became probationary Pinkerton Detectives, changing from encircling and suppressing desperadoes to now accepting employment to steal commercial secrets from others.

But, this was just a facade.

People came and went at the entrance of the Milton Detective Agency, including Pinkerton Detectives in black suits and bosses who came to purchase services after hearing about them.

Occasionally, one or two people, disguised so well that their faces were unclear if not looked at carefully, would quickly enter.

Entering the detective agency's interior.

It was divided into several service sections.

Those who wanted to buy information went to the front to find business personnel to pay and inquire, while the area behind was for bosses who wanted to purchase commercial espionage services.

And those who were heavily disguised needed to go up to the second or third floor.

The reason they needed to go up to the second or third floor was that the functions of these two places were also different.

The second floor was where intelligence was acquired, mainly intelligence about the United States Government.

This was a hidden service of the detective agency.

Officials in Washington had received some information: when they lacked money, they could go to the Pinkerton Detective Agency or contact them privately to sell United States Government information to obtain money.

Lower-level officials, and even high-level officials, in the United States could sell the intelligence they held about the United States here in exchange for money or support for the next election.

This place was simply a veritable spy den, and it was a spy den without any concealment.

And on the third floor, it was even more impressive.

At this time, in a closed room on the third floor, a client was sitting and communicating with Mr. Milton.

"So, Mr. Jimmy Miller, are you sure you want to exchange future intelligence for our services?"

Mr. Milton asked softly from across the desk.

In front of him sat a middle-aged man, Jimmy Miller.

An American candidate, he had been running for senator for three consecutive terms. However, due to the disparity in identity and status, he still had no fame or prestige.

And what the third floor of the Milton Detective Agency operated was the sponsorship program.

That is, they would provide money and effort to support some people who wanted to run for election, and the price was intelligence.

Exchanging intelligence for the ability to successfully run for election, exchanging intelligence for election funds, and exchanging intelligence for a portion of Washington's support and help in building prestige. This operation instantly captivated the hearts of middle and lower-level candidates.

It was simply too difficult for those who had little family wealth and little prestige to run for election! It was simply a never-ending struggle.

And now, as long as they slightly betrayed their country, they could obtain crazy momentum and election funds. Why not?

Mr. Jimmy was one such seeker of help.

For all these years, he had almost gone mad because he had no status or money; he had run for three consecutive terms without success, which left him at his wit's end.

And now, this so-called Milton Detective Agency made him feel a glimmer of hope.

Selling American intelligence could be exchanged for his chances of election?

Was there such a good thing?

Did he even need to ask? He immediately came over, without any hesitation!

"Yes, Mr. Milton, I hope to exchange future intelligence for present help." Mr. Jimmy was still a bit cautious; he didn't dare to say too much.

Mr. Milton nodded and said, "Alright, Mr. Jimmy, according to our information, the information obtained from the position you are running for can at most get our third-class contract.

The content of the third-class contract includes: ten thousand dollars in financial support and three days of coverage in the Washington Post, as well as a week-long parade by a marching band. In return, you need to provide three pieces of intelligence deemed useful or a small favor after successfully being elected.

If you can accept this contract, I think we can start our cooperation."

"Of course, of course!" Jimmy was overjoyed! He nodded repeatedly and signed the paper contract that Mr. Milton handed over.

Afterward, Mr. Jimmy excitedly walked out of the room to collect the money he had received.

Mr. Milton looked at the contract in his hand, placed it in the safe nearby, and then pressed the electric bell on the desk.

"Next one."

The method of mass-producing American officials and senators through a workshop approach had already begun in this era.

And the documents signed by these officials would be the foundation for controlling their lifelines in the future; once war broke out, the usefulness of these documents would be even greater.

Before even fighting, the East's internal affairs would fall into chaos, with spies emerging frequently.

This was Mr. Milton's effort!

This was Mr. Van der Linde's intellect!

*****************

The development of the West continued.

As time slowly passed, the entire West fully entered the golden age known as the 'Great Western Expansion'.

Dutch Van der Linde controlled the four states, and with the power of these four states, he single-handedly initiated the Great Western Expansion.

In the summer of 1900, the Van Der Linde Government, the joint authority of the New Hanover, Lemoyne, West Elizabeth, and New Austin states in the American West, extensively recruited laborers, assembling a massive force of 500,000 people.

With the help of brand-new trucks, bulldozers, and even excavators, they undertook large-scale development of the plains and mining regions across the four states.

This development could also be called a migration.

The concentrated population of Saint Denis was dispersed throughout the territory, and various small towns were newly built within the four states to promote population growth and the development of the West.

In addition, the vacant land in Saint Denis, vacated by immigrants, was completely reformed; factories were built, and the process of industrial integration began.

The reform launched in the West was truly earth-shattering, and these developments were reported by an American East newspaper called the 'New York Small Newspaper'.

By this time, three months had passed since the 'New York Small Newspaper' first reported on the American West, and its coverage of the American West over these three months had already given it a certain level of recognition.

Even many major newspapers would buy it, copy the news from it, and broadcast it to plagiarize stories.

However, this report completely unveiled the American West.

The Great Western Expansion was truly sudden. The East had no news of it, and even the United States Federal Government had no proposal for a Great Western Expansion, yet the newspapers reported the news of the Great Western Expansion.

What does this mean?

Doesn't this mean that the West is undertaking its own great development and great struggle?

Therefore, this news quickly attracted the attention of the American East.

Immediately afterward, a large number of reporters traveled to the West for specialized investigations.

However, when the results of these investigations came out, they completely shocked the American East Federal Government.

Damn it, the West really started a Great Expansion!

And it was decided by a man named Dutch Van der Linde!

He is not even a Governor who truly came to power through election!

And he developed four large states all at once!

As soon as this news broke, the East completely erupted, and Eastern newspapers continuously reported on the Great Western Expansion for a month.

News of the Great Western Expansion spread like wildfire throughout the East, attracting countless people.

And this not only spread widely in the East, but also received various reports even in Europe, across the ocean.

The reports generally followed these templates.

"Shocking: Is America really that rich? Dutch Van der Linde of the American West has gathered four states, declared himself King, and is actually paying his workers exorbitant wages…"

"A paradise for swindlers? Or a hell for commoners? Dutch Van der Linde of the American West, a world-class con artist…"

"The greatest news for the poor: The American West is undergoing a Great Expansion, with extremely high wages. Perhaps this will be the most important opportunity in many people's lives…"

Most of the reports were essentially slandering Dutch Van der Linde, because capitalists in both Europe and the American East were shocked and angered by his actions.

Especially the excessively high wages he offered were completely disrupting the market!

Moreover, his internal model shocked the world!

Communism! That's right, there was no concept of state-owned capital yet; it would only be proposed in 1917. And Dutch's current model doesn't look like state-owned capital; it looks more like communism.

This damned model shocked and terrified all European capitalists, and drove the American East government to a frenzy of defamation.

Communism is the end of capital; every capitalist knows this. So, after Dutch's model was exposed, the entire world trembled.

They didn't even accept the Marxist critique of communism back then, and they collectively resisted it. When they saw a place with a similar model appear with their own eyes, how could they not go crazy?

Thus, Europe, accompanied by reports from the American West, entered another phase.

Europe began to frantically contact each other, hold meetings, and denounce, deciding on their stance regarding Dutch Van der Linde.

With capital feeling a deep crisis, votes on various outcomes concerning Dutch Van der Linde and the American West quickly passed in almost every country.

Except for Germany and Austria-Hungary, who were busy with something else and refused to discuss the issue, the other countries' opinions were largely in agreement.

And because of the sudden appearance of Dutch Van der Linde, the major empires of Europe temporarily halted their planned actions concerning the great Eastern nation.

Their attention was entirely focused on the problem in the American West.

Investigations into Dutch Van der Linde and various detailed pieces of information were continuously compiled and repeatedly scrutinized.

However, the more they looked, the more shocking it became, and the more the capitalists of various countries felt fear.

This Dutch Van der Linde, setting aside his past identity, just the various issues he created in the American West during this period have already touched the very bottom line of their bottom lines!

They have touched their red line!

Veteran Club, ruling four states, exorbitant wages, establishing schools, winning over the people's hearts, developing scientific research, establishing factories, excavating resources, developing the army...

All of this, everything, is undermining their foundations! It is proclaiming to the world that Dutch Van der Linde's ambitions are not small, and he has even won the hearts of the people in the West.

Although they could not investigate various details and specific information, they could still investigate the various measures and things Dutch was doing in the West.

And the more they investigated, the more alarmed they became; the more they knew, the more panicked they grew.

Europe's attention was completely drawn away; they were terrified, they were afraid that this man would truly create a third ideology.

They even feared that other people around the world, upon learning about the American West and the living standards of its people, would spark a world-overturning upheaval.

Therefore, Europe almost halted all its external aggressive steps, and all its attention was focused on the suddenly appearing Dutch Van der Linde.

Spring 1901.

After three months, the first phase of Dutch Van der Linde's Great Western Expansion was largely completed.

And at this time, various decisions regarding Europe had also been issued.

Twenty-eight countries, led by Britain, exerted pressure on the American East government, demanding that the American East make Dutch Van der Linde, this arrogant individual who deceived the world and undermined world peace, pay the price!

This action greatly angered the American East government.

Of course, this anger was not directed at Europe, but at Dutch Van der Linde in the West.

However, the American East and West could not initiate war at this time.

The world situation was changing, and there was still a huge pie in the East. America could not fight itself at this point, thereby severely weakening itself, losing its power to expand outwards, and possibly even becoming prey.

So they now had only two choices: either stall and drag Europe into it, or stand by and let Europe go in alone, thereby minimizing their own losses.

Therefore.

The United States Federal Government was enraged! Within just three days, the Eastern investigation team and even the Federal Law Enforcement Department obtained a warrant for the arrest of Dutch Van der Linde.

At the same time, they issued a stern warning and condemnation of Dutch Van der Linde.

It was all bark and no bite, as they say.

The American East also continuously reported in newspapers for a week, labeling Dutch as a thief, liar, rapist, outlaw, and various other derogatory terms, in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and incite panic and collective resistance among the Eastern populace.

This was to win over public support.

However, the effect was minimal.

Because the 'New York Small Newspaper' had continuously reported on the American West for three months, everyone had already seen the true West, and many people had gone there and personally witnessed its current state, so such slanders were extremely difficult to make an impact.

Furthermore, the existence of the Veteran Club meant that even the American East's army did not believe the newspapers issued by the United States Federal Government; they trusted their comrades more.

Time slowly passed.

A train from the East entered the snowy mountain railway section of Ambarino.

This train must have been an Eastern special train, not a typical passenger type. The entire train had twelve carriages and carried fifty members of the Federal Law Enforcement Department.

At this moment, in the most luxurious carriage, three men were sitting, smoking high-end cigars and conversing.

"So, Dosia, are you sure this arrest warrant of ours will be effective against this outlaw, Dutch Van der Linde?

Or rather, can we truly apprehend this Dutch Van der Linde?"

Among the three men in the carriage, one had a hooked nose, one wore a law enforcement uniform, and a younger one was asking the question.

None of these three men were simple.