Gotham's Longzhong Plan (Part 1)

"... What I'm saying is, that's it, just as you can see, everyone knows what I used to do..."

On the counter of a bar, on the screen of an old television, Roy Brown pulls a violin case out from under the table and places it on the table, then clicks open the lid to reveal a gun.

"I'm from Chicago, yes, I used to be a mob boss there, a member of the Mafia, as you know them..."

"This is my weapon, see it? This pretty little thing, you call it a typewriter, but I like to call it Huff..."

"What do you think this place is? What do you think I'm doing right now? Do you think I should be sitting in the mayor's office drinking tea? Let me tell you, this is not a threat..."

"I was born and raised in Chicago, as were my father and grandfather. Back then, they said this place would become the next Gold Mountain. Many people came here, all with dreams of getting rich. There were many big companies and big machines running around the clock..."

"But when those people left, they left behind a fire and a mess. After Prohibition, what did my hometown leave behind? A complete mess!"

"Riot are rampant, everyone is in danger, what can we do? We must take up arms to defend ourselves..."

"So you say, oh, Chicago is rife with gangs, it's a Hell. I'm going to tell you now, it is Hell! Hell that can devour you bastards alive!"

"When those immigrants were killing people with guns here, the governor would just tell everyone to calm down. After gang problems became rampant, the Police Department? Ha! You still have the nerve to mention that?"

"I'd like to ask you, where does the Police Department's funding go? Why does Chicago have the largest police training school in the entire East Coast, yet not a single new police officer wants to stay here?"

"Can you believe it? A year ago, there was only one gun for every three police officers in Chicago, and some support staff could only protect themselves with batons!"

"This is what you call the Public Safety Act?"

"Why do those damn public housing streets exist? Because there are too many unemployed people!"

"Why are they unemployed? Who's to blame for the economic problems? What have those fat pigs sitting on Capitol Hill done? They've left Chicago to fend for themselves! That's all!"

"Now you're issuing telegrams and statements condemning Gotham for letting a mob boss be mayor. I'm telling you, I will be the best mayor here!"

"Because I'm a member of a gang, if you don't solve our financial problems, then we'll solve them ourselves. We'll do whatever we want!"

"I know some people say Gotham is worse than Chicago. Oh, and who else? Miami? Bludhaven? Imperial City?"

"Yes, in their eyes, we eastern cities are nothing but a pile of dog shit, but they just stand there and watch this pile of dog shit being placed in front of them. Have we received any help from them?"

Roy pulled the Chicago Typewriter out of its case and slammed it on the table, saying, "Don't expect me to listen to your nonsense, your talk about being a good boy. Go tell that to the people on the West Coast!"

"This is the state of the East. There's only one thing I need to do here: grab a gun, kill everyone who stands in my way, and then lead everyone to get rich. I don't care if they're gangsters or anyone else!"

After the speech ended, the TV screen on the bar flickered twice. The bartender patted the TV and said, "Well, looks like that old guy's broken again."

The guests grumbled a few times in dissatisfaction. A burly Black man, holding a wine glass, sat down at the bar and said, "Looks like the new mayor isn't so bad. He's a tough guy. He said what I was thinking..."

"I was born in Gotham, yes, just two blocks away. You know, our boss took me out once before, where was it again? Oh right, Metropolis. When people heard I was from Gotham, they acted like they'd seen something dirty..."

"To be honest, this mayor is quite special. The one who used to sit in the mayor's office would just cower like a turtle when faced with the rebukes of reporters."

Then he let out a cold laugh and said, "And then he died, in Car Accidents a little over a month ago..."

"Oh, it's him. I don't even remember his name, but I've heard he's the second longest-living mayor in Gotham."

"I think this one will definitely break the record. He's the Old Godfather's godson and much better than those spineless mayors."

The Black man also said, "He has a point. Whether it's Gotham or Chicago, this is what this godforsaken place was like before we were born. We live here and want to make more money, what's wrong with that? All they do is call us bastards..."

"If I could be like those people in the Metropolis, studying from a young age, going to university, graduating in a suit and tie, and sitting in an air-conditioned office, I'd have to be crazy to want to be a gangster and get shot!"

"He was just saying that," another Black man walked over, ordered a drink, and said, "Do you think he can actually become a mayor and lead all the gangs to make money? What kind of mayor would do that? Even if those reporters don't tear him apart with their insults, the State Government won't agree to it..."

"I don't ask him to make money for us, I just hope he won't be like those mayors of the past, constantly coming up with some kind of civilized city regulation or anti-gang law, and then nagging about it all the time..."

"What kind of anti-gang law is this? Are there any gangsters in Gotham? Why doesn't he just say he'll raze the city to the ground?"

The people in the tavern burst into laughter, and some even made a nuclear explosion gesture.

The next day, Roy's speech made headlines in major newspapers on the East Coast and even across the United States. Keep in mind that this was no longer the era of Prohibition; the Mafia was mostly scattered and fragmented, and gang culture had largely lost its former glory.

At this point, if a mayor were to jump out and say, "I am a gangster, I am the Mafia, I not only admit that I am a gangster, but I also say that I will make money with the gang," it would naturally attract condemnation from major media outlets.

The Metropolis Daily described it as a "horrifying regression," Global Times called Roy a "vulgar and barbaric villain." In any case, the name "gangster Mayor Roy Brown" became known throughout the United States almost overnight.

What's somewhat strange is that several cities have tacitly remained silent on the matter, and some of their leaders have even deliberately suppressed public opinion, displaying an ambiguous attitude. These include the East Coast cities that Roy mentioned.

In fact, every city whose pillar industry relies on illegal activities knows that Roy was telling the truth.

These cities all have similar histories, and the gangs arose from historical issues, either to fight against immigrants or as a legacy of the Prohibition era.

Most people in these cities felt relieved by Roy's outburst, because no matter who it was, all they did every day was give orders and urge things on, without taking any real action to improve the terrible situation in these cities, apart from verbal condemnation and warnings.

Most people will just say condescendingly and with a sense of superiority that people born in these places are born bad, and that it is their evil that created these crime capitals.

But in reality, the economic situation is the root cause of all this. Apart from Gotham being a slightly special case, most of the other gang cities have become what they are today because of the high unemployment rate brought about by economic recession.

People living in this environment are born gangsters. If you want to use Public Safety Act to eliminate gangs, you might as well just use a nuclear bomb to flatten these cities.

In these crime capitals, led by Gotham, many gang leaders are extremely dissatisfied. They say, "We're already risking our lives for money, and it's not easy for us. These people who don't understand the situation keep criticizing us, which makes it even harder to attract investment and further worsens the economy."

In the past, gangs also felt that they were in the wrong, after all, illegal businesses were indeed not respectable.

But now, Roy's speech reminded them of one thing: they are not the ones primarily responsible for how these cities have become what they are today.

Putting aside historical reasons, the inaction of the State Government and Congress is also the main reason why the current situation has not improved.

I was born here, and I have nowhere to go. If I join a gang, you'll call me a villain. I yearn for the light, but verbal condemnation and Public Safety Act won't give me bread. If I don't join a gang, will I just starve to death?

Why can't I rot? I will rot!

The most important effect of Roy's speech was that it gave these poorly educated gangsters a relatively focused guiding ideology: that their current state of being so bad was not their fault, but the fault of the world.

In fact, given the current situation in Gotham, this idea isn't wrong. People born in Gotham can't choose where they're born, and once you're born in Gotham, you can only choose this Hell lifestyle, otherwise you can't survive.

In this world, geniuses and Superman are a minority; the majority are ordinary people who are powerless to change their social class.

In fact, those who condemn this may not be unaware of this principle, but Roy brought this matter to the forefront and pointed out incisively that it was the inaction of various forces and the weakness and incompetence of violent Law enforcement agencies that created some of the cities with the highest crime rates in the United States. This was undoubtedly like tearing off the last fig leaf of those politicians.

This speech naturally caused a huge backlash in the orderly society. The State Government legislators who had been bought off by the Wayne Enterprises were also unable to withstand the pressure. The State Government ordered the mayor of Gotham City to be suspended from his duties for investigation and planned to restart the mayoral election process.

In the past, this process in Gotham was just a formality. Basically, whoever Wayne said was in charge, and the gangs didn't care because the mayor of Gotham City didn't actually have much power, and the gangs wouldn't listen to the mayor anyway, so it didn't matter who was in charge.

However, the State Government felt that Roy had gone too far this time, and even the Federal Government had issued a reprimand, saying that while they might be bad, they couldn't be so self-righteous and make them lose face.

So they plan to hold another mayoral election.

This is a tactic they often use to quell similar troubles. By restarting the election process and ensuring that the person who made the mistake suffers a crushing defeat in the new election, thus proving that their views are not in line with public opinion, they can naturally quell most of the public opinion and the anger from their superiors. In past experience, this tactic has proven to be consistently effective.

Until the State Government legislators saw that the first-ranked candidate among the new candidates was named Carmine Falcone.