Chapter 372: Congressional Speech

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Containers were not as big as later generations at the moment. After all, loading and unloading required a container crane. However, this kind of thing had not been made yet, and they could only design smaller ones. However, Wesley had already stipulated the future model of the container. This was his patent. If he wanted to use it, he would need to use his standards.

Wesley did not have to wait long. After taking care of some company business, he was informed that he would be speaking three days later on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Wesley left the military school directly and headed for Washington. However, the traffic was really unbearable now. It took him three days to get to the capital of Washington in New York State.

After a night’s rest, he was picked up early the next morning. “Young man, don’t be nervous and talk properly. You don’t know this, but after I came back, Mr. President and I worked hard together, and that’s how we got this speech.”

“Don’t worry, I know these guys better. What they need is just benefits.”

“You can give them benefits?”

“Of course,” Wesley said confidently.

Wesley would be speaking in the Congress Hall, and Pershing would take Wesley directly to familiarize himself with the venue. There was a podium in the center facing a semicircle of seats arranged in a trapezoid. There was also a second-floor platform around it, which could hold many people.

After waiting for an hour, Wesley straightened his military uniform, tucked his general’s hat under his arm, and walked directly into the hall. The hall, which had been buzzing with discussion, fell silent.

Wesley walked up to the podium and placed his general’s hat on the table. Then he looked around and said, “You should all know me, and many of you know me better. After all, I have encountered hundreds of assassinations in a year. I think my reputation in the United States should be very high.”

Wesley’s words silenced the crowd. This kind of thing was brought directly to the table. This guy was really bold. The senators were all spokespeople for the consortiums, although the American consortiums were not very strong yet.

Wesley looked at them and laughed. “Do you know why I succeeded? Do you know how to make money? It seems to me that you don’t know how to make money at all. A group of stupid guys who only know how to exploit the workers all the time. More than ten hours of labor. How can I say it? I can only say that it’s stupid. You pay the workers, but they can’t spend it because they don’t have time or energy.”

Pan Xing was extremely nervous, but he could not interrupt Wesley. This was Capitol Hill! This young man was too arrogant. The senator had already exploded and was actually scolding them here.

However, Wesley did not care about their clamor and would not respond to them. Instead, he continued, “Do you know why I implement the eight-hour work system? Because these eight hours are the time when people experience the most. There is also an hour of rest in between, so the workers only need to stay in the factory for nine hours a day. This way, when they return home, they will have the energy to go out and spend, even if it is just a glass of beer. This way, the farmers, wine merchants, and taverns will make money. Is that right?”

Wesley asked, and the senators below fell silent. Wesley continued, “Money is money when it flows. It’s a number when it’s placed there. So how does it flow?” Wesley looked down again. “Look, you don’t know anymore, so you can’t. You have to use shady means. It’s easy to deal with you. Do you want to try?”

The president couldn’t stand it anymore. “Ahem…” He sat down and coughed. Wesley smiled happily. He wasn’t afraid of anyone. There wasn’t even a nuclear bomb now. Who was he going to climb?

“Now let me talk about our country’s military problem. There are two states of soldiers. One is war loading, and the other is war preparation. But now look at our army. How many full infantry divisions are there?”

Wesley’s two states caused the eyes of the generals listening in below to light up. They began to look forward to it.

“You won’t understand even if I tell you all this. Then I’ll talk about the problem of money. How can we make money? The army needs equipment, and equipment is not just weapons. There are also clothes, shoes, summer clothes, winter clothes, food, cigarettes, and of course the soldiers’ pockets. After they take the military salary, they hold it in in the barracks. Don’t they spend? There are so many unemployed people, why not put them in the barracks? And warships, you feel the danger and build them, but how many enterprises can a warship support?”

“The development of military equipment has also driven the technology of the people. Can’t you see this? Technology can increase productivity and save production costs. Do you see that? What makes Britain so rich? It’s the colonies, but you always hold on to the things in front of you. We don’t need the colonies. We need free trade, but how can we get free trade? Strength, gentlemen, you are here to study the problem, but how can the problem be solved? Strength, or strength.”

“Without strength, we can’t guarantee anything. Without strength, your demands are a pile of shit. Without strength, we can’t even sell goods. We need strength.” Wesley finally roared.

Then, he quickly calmed down and continued, “The flames of war in Europe will soon burn. I think many people know this, but how long will the battlefield war last? Many people say that it will be over in a few months, but I say no. A new war model has appeared. This war will sweep across the world, involving dozens of countries and hundreds of millions of people. It will take a few years to end. You may not believe it.”

“But it doesn’t matter. This is not your specialty. You just need to know how to make money. Strengthening the army and perfecting the standing army and reserve force are the top priorities.”

“Officer, are you trying to sell your arms?” A congressman suddenly shouted from below.

“Hehe, if the United States doesn’t buy it, I won’t sell it abroad, right? There will be people who want it. Even if I just sell patents and designs, I won’t have to worry about it. Can’t you understand what I just said? It seems that you haven’t learned how to make money, but it doesn’t matter. I think someone will learn it. If you want to make money, you have to let the money flow and give the workers time to spend. It’s that simple.”

Wesley paused again. The guys below had begun to think. Cursing them was a small matter. Making money for them was the big thing. Wesley had studied these guys very clearly. In this era, you had to be rich to become a congressman, or you had to have someone supporting you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been chosen at all.