Answering Questions from the Press

At the Federal Government's press conference, after Mr. Truman finished reading his prepared remarks, he announced that questions were open to all, and instantly all the reporters raised their hands.

"The lady second to my right in the first row..." Mr. Truman pointed to a Female Reporter who was not far from him.

The Female Reporter had blonde hair, a sweet face, and a very attractive figure. She was even a well-known socialite in Bu Peien's social circle.

Being a socialite is a fascinating profession. A writer once described socialites as having "keys that no one can refuse," as they can easily open most doors in the world.

Whether it's the door to the heart, the door to the room, or the zipper door, these women possess a special skill that only women can master.

With the addition of certain social status and background, people always prefer things that are not easy to obtain, so there will always be some people who are obsessed with them and pay for their behavior.

These women could easily have a very high quality of life simply by dressing up, but they insist on finding something to do to prove that their success is not just because they are good at crouching down.

This is also the mainstream thinking in Federal society today: a person's private life and his/her/her career development should be viewed independently. In other words, a woman sleeping with her boss has nothing to do with her chances of getting a promotion.

As more and more powerful women emerge in society, women with any social standing begin to be active in various settings, proving this point in a more profound way.

Mr. Truman knew her; she was a prominent female journalist with her own column in the 《Federal Times》, an independent news reporter, a winner of the Golden News Award, and in short, she had a large and complex network of connections in Bu Peien.

The reason she was chosen as the first reporter to ask a question was partly due to her status and connections. In the absence of any obvious conflict of interest, Mr. Truman was willing to do her a favor.

Secondly, her identity as a woman also makes her suitable to be the first questioner. Men in this era both look down on women and are very tolerant of them.

"Thank you..." The Female Reporter stood up, and someone in the back row immediately whistled. She acted as if she hadn't heard it and asked the question that concerned her, "Mr. Truman, if the government of the Nagaril United Kingdom changes or is overthrown by the people for some reason, will this affect the Federal's interests in the region?"

"We don't know if any new regions will declare independence. If too many regions declare independence, will war break out and affect our investment?"

She then tidied her words slightly, "What I mean is that we've invested so many resources and effort there, and if we're abandoned, our initial investment will be lost because we can't be sure what will happen there next!"

This question was more of a discussion than a "question." Mr. Truman glanced at her a couple of times, finding it hard to believe that a woman could ask such a profound question.

Actually, she didn't go into enough detail, but Mr. Truman could already understand what she was trying to say. There were three questions in total:

First, will the current royal family be replaced?

Second, whether the independent territories can maintain a friendly and cooperative relationship with the Federal.

Third, how to ensure the protection of Federal assets in the worst-case scenario.

"A good question!" Mr. Truman praised generously, and the Female Reporter smiled in response, then sat down, picked up her pen, and waited to take notes.

After a brief pause, Mr. Truman gave his answer, "No matter how the situation in Nagaril changes, what we need to do is not to 'change' it. As we have said before, the Federal respects the regime of any country, and at the same time, we will never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. This is the Federal's commitment to the world."

"If the current regime does not change, we will maintain and continue our previous friendly diplomatic relations. If the regime in the region changes, we will actively contact the new regime, make new efforts to establish diplomatic relations and continue previous cooperative projects."

"Secondly, we understand and respect the choice of regional leaders who have declared their independence from the authorities. When necessary, we will urge them to negotiate with the authorities and promote the peace cause to the greatest extent possible."

"At the same time, we will demonstrate our sincerity and determination in all previous projects to ensure that our interests are not infringed upon by anyone, and we also promise that we will not be the first to resort to force to resolve our demands!"

It was a very official answer, but he had already expressed what he wanted to say, and the reporters were very satisfied. This was much more effective than other press conferences, especially Mr. Truman's last sentence.

"We will not be the first to resolve our demands through force." In other words, resolving our demands through force is not out of the agenda. Force can only be used when other methods are not accepted or effective.

Since winning a naval battle with the Gefra, the people of the Federal have developed a mysterious confidence in the Federal's military strength, and sometimes they are eager to incite the Federal to fight this today and that tomorrow.

This is also a manifestation of the pressure left over from the escapist era now beginning to be released; in the past, everyone was suppressed too much.

After answering the question, the reporters raised their hands frantically again. Truman first randomly pointed to one person, "The one wearing a blue T-shirt, with the words 'fuck me' written on it..." He paused for a moment, "... the gentleman who has ' Cao Wo ' written on it."

The International Common Language is not entirely a literal expression. The same content can be expressed differently in different contexts. The phrase "Cao Wo" actually reflects more of an attitude of dissatisfaction with life and a contemptuous and provocative attitude towards all misfortunes. It's like beckoning all the bad things to make them do something.

But when someone reads it aloud, these contexts disappear.

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, a reporter stood up, somewhat embarrassed, explaining that he had been in such a rush when he left home that morning that he had worn the wrong clothes.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Mr. Truman, I've been reading articles from some international news outlets these past few days, and some of them suggest that the Federal played a disgraceful role in the whole affair. What are your thoughts on that?"

This view is actually very mainstream internationally. Before Nagaril established diplomatic relations with the Federal, nothing major had happened for decades or even centuries.

It's only been less than two years since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Federal, and there have been riots, demonstrations, and even independence movements. There are constant incidents every few days. If you say that the Federal hasn't been involved in these matters, even the people of the Federal probably don't believe it.

"This is baseless nonsense! When the Gefra were at their strongest, everything that happened anywhere in the world was a conspiracy by the Gefra. Now it's our turn!"

"From another perspective, this also reflects that the Federal's international standing is rising. People are beginning to fear that we will occupy a more important position in international affairs, and even fear that we will dominate the future trend of the International Community. So they have started to slander us, just like they did to Gefra in the past."

"I hope everyone can view this calmly and rationally. We have stated more than once that we will never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and we have indeed done so."

"All malicious speculation is the greatest slander against our goodwill. You can give those articles to my assistant after the meeting. We reserve the right to seek fair opinions!"

Powerful, more powerful than ever before!

Mr. Truman demonstrated a level of assertiveness that the Federal people had never seen before with just two questions. In the previous President Government, the News Spokesperson most often said "we refuse" and "it has nothing to do with us," unlike now, where he constantly reaffirmed his authority and warned the world in an aggressive tone!

This excited many domestic journalists, while some foreign journalists looked rather grim. A powerful Federal is not in the interest of the International Community, and what's even more troublesome is that the Federal has not only risen but is also continuing to grow stronger.

Many people speculate that the Federal might become the next Gefra, which would be a disaster for everyone.

They're even worse than Gefra; they don't accept some of the "speculation" from International Community news organizations. It's just speculation, and they insist on reserving their opinions and rights. These people are fucking idiots!

After a brief moment of calm, Mr. Truman pointed to a third reporter, this time randomly, "That gentleman in the baseball cap..."

"Thank you for your choice, Mr. Truman!" The one who stood up was also a Federal reporter. His question was more practical than the previous two "big" questions. "Mr. Truman, I remember that the Federal Government recently stockpiled a large amount of Galil, and Galil is currently experiencing a sharp drop in the foreign exchange market."

"If the government of the Nagaril United Kingdom cannot resolve the current problems, leading to a change of regime and system, does that mean that the Federal made a mistake in listing Galil as an effective foreign exchange reserve, and that we will also face huge losses? How can we explain this to the taxpayers?"

The nation's money comes from taxpayers' pockets. The Federal currently holds a large amount of Galil reserves. Once the Galil is withdrawn from the international currency market, the Federal's foreign exchange reserves will become piles of worthless paper.

This is precisely the issue that people are most concerned about. This is not just a few dollars or tens of dollars, but foreign exchange reserves in the hundreds of millions. How many people and how much tax would it take to exchange for this money? Is the Federal just going to sit idly by and watch this money evaporate?