A late-night phone call is rarely a good thing.

Especially considering the Prime Minister is a person with considerable social influence. The more prominent a person is, the less likely anyone would disturb him at such an hour, especially since he is also elderly.

At this moment, he listens to the voice on the phone; the content is brief. After hanging up, he calls the butler.

Even though the butler also lives in the same house, they are not on the same floor, and he doesn’t want to walk to the butler’s door to knock and ask him to pick up something at the door.

The phone rings only once before being answered, and the butler’s voice sounds fatigued. "Apologies for bothering you so late. Could you please bring the document from the door to my study?"

"It is my honor to serve you, sir."

The Prime Minister hangs up and sits for about ten more seconds, then leans over to kiss his wife’s forehead before draping a coat over himself and leaving the bedroom.

Five minutes later, the neatly dressed butler appears in the study carrying a briefcase.

"Place it here..." The Prime Minister puts on his reading glasses and gestures to the desk in front of him.

After setting it down, the butler goes on to prepare coffee and pastries; if the Prime Minister isn’t sleeping, the butler can’t sleep either. He must be constantly at the Prime Minister’s side to handle any emergencies.

The Prime Minister looks at the brown leather briefcase and pushes the brass clasp, which clicks open, revealing a pile of documents inside.

He takes them out to examine closely.

These have just been transmitted via telegram from the Federation. At the sight of the title, his brows furrow.

When the Silver Alliance was established, they sided with the Federation. Besides needing to utilize Charlie and his siblings’ malicious speculation on silver to cleanse some capitalists, more importantly, they discovered issues within the Silver Alliance and Silver Currency.

Once a currency alliance forms and consolidates, its inherent cooperative advantages bridge the gap between small and large countries.

They can share collaboration in areas like technological innovation and import-export trade; at this point, they should be seen not as individual entities, but as a whole.

If these small countries unite into a single entity, it results in a very poor outcome for Gafura.

Therefore, they stand by the Federation to undermine the Silver Alliance.

But now, it seems the Federation is also starting an alliance. This document indicates they plan to establish a currency and trade organization, with already mature clauses in place.

This is not a decision made hastily; they have been plotting for a long time, at least over half a year.

"Sir..."

The butler stands in the doorway holding a tray. He just kicked the cook’s ass to make the lazy fellow get up and heat some pastries, and also brought a pot of coffee and a pot of tea.

"Come in, you don’t need to be so reserved. I’ve spent more time with you than with my wife!" The Prime Minister jokes, but it isn’t entirely jest.

He and his butler grew up together. For quite some time, about four or five years, he treated the butler as his brother.

It wasn’t until he began elite family education that he realized the butler wasn’t his brother; he was his most reliable confidant.

He has never treated the butler as a servant and the butler perfectly fulfills his mission; they cooperate well.

Sometimes the butler feels very doctrinal and rigid to the Prime Minister; he often says—

"You don’t have to be so courteous!"

"You don’t have to be so cautious!"

"You don’t need to..."

But he remains courteous, cautious, and...

Actually, the Prime Minister understands that emotions often occur in fleeting moments, just like now, in the late night, amidst fatigue and various conflicts, he occasionally becomes emotional.

But the butler wouldn’t take it seriously. If he truly didn’t knock or announce himself upon entering the study, then it inevitably means it’s time for him to leave.

"Tea and coffee, along with some pastries. I asked the cook to minimize the honey."

The butler places the items on the right-hand side of the Prime Minister, then returns to stand against the wall.

"Thank you!" The Prime Minister expresses gratitude and even attempts an invitation, "Would you like a cup?"

The butler smiles with his head bowed slightly, "I’ve already had some in the kitchen, sir."

The Prime Minister nods and continues to pore over the documents in front of him. The Federation really chose an excellent timing...

He thinks while reading.

Currently, the conflict between the Noble Group and the Imperial Family has become public; many people know the Prime Minister and the Secretariat aim to seize power, even some citizens and capitalists are aware.

Using the silver case as an excuse to cleanse a batch of capitalists was intended to preemptively clean out some major capitalists attached to the Imperial Family.

The Imperial Family has stood firm over the years for a reason; it surpasses crises no matter what. Neither the Prime Minister nor the nobles in the Secretariat underestimate the Imperial Family.

They won’t act quickly, but will gradually, little by little, strip away the Imperial Family’s strongest defenses layer by layer, exposing its most vulnerable insides, and then deliver a fatal blow.

It sounds simple, but in reality, this process is lengthy, and the struggle between the Noble Group and the Imperial Family will continue for the next two to three years.

If they have to divert energy to resist the currency trade alliance initiated by the Federation, it will undoubtedly delay the outcome of the conflict between the Noble Group and the Imperial Family.

This sort of thing cannot be dragged out. If it drags on too long, the Imperial Family might gain the upper hand, and no one knows when the next war will erupt.

If the Prime Minister wants to have a stable and solid regime when war breaks out, it is best to fully resolve this "conflict" several years before the war’s onset.

Neither the energy nor the capability to oppose the Federation...

After setting down the document, the Prime Minister’s face was expressionless; perhaps this is a choice every politician must face. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

You always have to make a choice, gaining some things while losing others. There’s no "having it all"—the best result is not to end up empty-handed on both sides.

He rubbed his eyes, glanced at the clock, and realized that more than an hour had passed since he picked up the document. Time flies!

He picked up the lukewarm coffee and took a sip.

During this time, the butler had repeatedly reheated the coffee for him, ensuring that the coffee before him remained at a suitable temperature and did not cool down.

He took a bite of the cloyingly sweet pastry, which was quickly overtaken by a roasted aroma.

He set the document down, sighed, and stood up, holding onto the armrest of the chair.

The next day, after a discussion within the Cabinet, the Gafura diplomat stationed at Bail Federal received a message from Gafura’s Main Island.

The content is not much and can be divided into two parts.

The first part is "don’t engage in minor actions," and the second part is "join in." The Main Island’s message is clear; they will neither interfere nor abandon.

Regardless, join in first—maybe there’s still an opportunity to maneuver later, but for now, do nothing.

The Diplomat is somewhat aware of everything happening on the Main Island and finds it hard to believe that the situation on the Main Island has deteriorated to such an extent—

The Federation has already started marking territory on the international stage, and the Main Island not only does not stop it but has no thought of opposing it. This is hard for the Diplomat to accept.

Sometimes, certain things come down to a moment’s decision; if no action is taken against this alliance now, there won’t be another chance to counter it in the future.

Living in the Federation, the Diplomat is acutely aware that the Federation’s developments in trade and technology have surpassed most countries in the world; international commodity society’s reliance on them will only grow.

Once these countries become accustomed to using Federation Sol for international trade, how will Gafura intervene?

The Diplomat is pessimistic about the outcome of such a scenario. Clearly, they can do nothing, absolutely nothing!

This feeling is completely different from the past few years; he had served as an ambassador or diplomatic liaison in many countries.

He witnessed firsthand an Empire’s rule over the world, where everyone, including those nations’ Emperors, and Presidents, had to maintain a respectful attitude toward him.

Because at any time, with a telegram, a phone call, or a handwritten letter, he could decide the future of a country.

At that time, he was glorious, basking in the radiance of Gafura.

But then, everything changed.

He keenly felt Gafura’s decline day by day until now, when even resistance became difficult.

This feeling is heart-wrenching; everything he loves is withering.

This is unlike winter, where the withering of winter can lead to the bloom of spring and summer!

The decline of a country will be eternal!

The Gafura people did not raise any objections; their attitude as if they were invisible made the initial members of this small alliance keenly sense that an era has truly ended.

In the past, Gafura’s diplomat would have pounded the table, threatening them that anyone daring to cooperate with the Federation would find Gafura’s fleet blocking their coasts, cutting off their external trade.

Now, that diplomat merely expressed silent non-opposition, and the shackles or restraints in people’s hearts slowly fractured.

The issues with the new alliance are beginning to progress slowly but orderly. Compared to this matter, which many people are still unaware of, more eyes are focused on the silver case!

After several days of plummeting, the price of silver has now stabilized at around three dollars and forty cents, which is actually much higher than its initial price.

Perhaps it is due to the public’s expectations or perceptions of this price. After the country’s intervention pierced the bubble of silver price inflation, it finally returned to the essence of the market.

For a very long time into the future, the price of silver will not fluctuate significantly—three to five years, or even longer.

Only after the market has completely absorbed its current price might it undergo new changes.

Nevertheless, in any case, it has made history.

History is already past, but some things have not yet gone by!