Gotham’s Longzhong Plan (Part 2)

The staff reviewing election candidates nearly threw the documents in their hands away when they saw the name on the first page of Gotham’s submission.

The Old Godfather of Gotham was planning to enter politics????

Of course, once they calmed down, it was not impossible. Falcone might have been a little old for a Mafia boss, but that was only because Mafia leadership changed hands quickly. Few bosses could hold their position for so many years, which was why Falcone seemed so exceptional.

But when it came to politics, there were plenty of people Falcone’s age. The average age in Congress was already over fifty, and there was no shortage of politicians in their seventies or eighties. If Falcone intended to enter politics now, it was not really too late, because his starting point was already far higher than anyone else’s. He would not be starting from scratch.

At the very least, if he wanted to become Mayor of Gotham City and then a State Senator in New Jersey, no one would be able to stop him.

After becoming a State Senator, if Wayne Enterprises were willing to continue supporting his campaigns, entering Congress—or even going a step further—would not be impossible.

But this mayoral election had originally been meant to clean up after Roy’s Mafia-mayor-style speech. Now, if Falcone ran and won, becoming Mayor of Gotham City, it would be like letting go of a loach only to haul up a Great White Shark.

The State Government legislators all believed Falcone would not make the same arrogant remarks as his godson, but that was the problem—it would be worse than making arrogant remarks!

A loudmouth was annoying at most, but the number one player on the national server was deadly!

If Falcone really became mayor, both Gotham City’s underworld and its legitimate world would be in his hands.

Countless people had already tested just how difficult the Old Godfather was to deal with, with their lives.

The State Government legislators hurriedly called Falcone’s estate. What made them feel as though they had narrowly escaped disaster was that the Old Godfather seemed to be doing this only to support his godson, not because he truly intended to run.

Little Falcone, the Godfather’s biological son, told them that his father was old and had already begun preparing for retirement. He had no plans to enter politics.

This news undoubtedly made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Roy becoming mayor might have been a minor nuisance, but Falcone entering politics could lead down a road no one had ever imagined.

After that scare, the State Senators had no choice but to strengthen their review of Gotham’s mayoral candidates.

Then they discovered that finding someone among those candidates who could actually serve as mayor was about as difficult as panning for gold in shit.

Anyone with a functioning brain knew they would not live long as Gotham’s mayor, so there was no need to ask what sort of people would sign up.

Of the twenty-three candidate applications submitted, nineteen came from well-known Mafia bosses in Gotham. Of the remaining four, three applicants were underage, the youngest only six years old, while the last was a cat kept by Gotham’s Golden Goblet Bar.

Even more absurdly, the cat was the only one whose paperwork had been fully completed. As for most of the others, well, they could not write a thing without at least two bottles of vodka in them.

Trying to find a candidate who could truly be mayor from those documents gave the State Senators a massive headache.

First, even if they picked someone, whether that person could understand the voting rules was another question.

Second, if they really elected one, whether he would curse even more viciously than Roy was an even bigger question.

Most importantly, if they picked one of them, and the other Mafia families that had grudges against him decided the election had been rigged, the State Senators would definitely end up committing suicide by shooting themselves in the back eight times.

The facts proved that Gotham was nothing but a cesspit. Anyone connected to that city in even the slightest way came to no good end. The State Senators were now completely stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The people they could elect did not want to come, while the people willing to come could not be elected. What else could they do?

After thinking it over and over, the State Senators realized they might as well let Roy keep the job.

Think about it: Roy had not used more than ten swear words in his entire speech, yet those candidates had used over a hundred curse words even in the more restrained versions of their three-hundred-word application statements. If any of them became mayor, every member of Congress would probably have their mothers dragged into it.

Left with no other choice, the election became a mere formality again. From Roy’s review being halted to him becoming a candidate again, the voting results being announced, and his reelection as mayor, the entire process took less than a week.

This had a far-reaching impact.

The bosses of those Mafia cities had been holding it in for far too long. They had long been sick of those journalists and commentators who talked big without knowing hardship. When it came to insulting people, these Mafia bosses who had grown up on the streets feared no one.

Yet the first to start firing back was not one of the coastal cities near Gotham, but Detroit.

When it came to the most tragic cities in modern industrial development history, Detroit had to be mentioned.

Around 1960 to 1970, the oil crisis dealt the auto industry a devastating blow. Detroit, the Motor City, seemed to transform overnight from a prosperous industrial metropolis into a mess where people were displaced and Mafia gangs ran rampant.

Detroit’s economy declined so quickly that it took less than a generation. The people still alive today had watched with their own eyes as that prosperous city marched toward destruction. They were living proof of Roy’s theory.

When Detroit fell, there was no savior. Ordinary people who lost order overnight almost instantly fell into Hell. Racial conflicts, riots, shootings—the muzzle flashes erupting on countless Detroit nights shone as brightly as the lights of its once-prosperous factories, burning without pause until dawn.

In short, officials, Mafia bosses, and civilian representatives all came forward to condemn one another, then joined forces to curse out those commentators who spoke without knowing hardship, directing their anger straight at Congress.

Even Schiller was somewhat surprised by the intensity of the response. In the draft he had given Roy, he had removed as much radical rhetoric as possible and avoided certain sensitive subjects.

The speech’s purpose had only been to pave the way for future city alliances and industrial transformation and upgrading. Put simply, before going to war, one had to raise a banner.

It was meant to give those crime capitals in similar circumstances a reasonable excuse to unite.

Since none of our decay was our fault, what was wrong with joining forces to make money?

But Schiller had not expected that it would strike directly at the greatest dilemma facing economic development in the eastern United States during this era.

The cycle of Economic Crisis caused by the fundamental contradictions of the system would bring wave after wave of unemployment. When the unemployed could not be effectively controlled or dealt with, they would spontaneously form associations and eventually become organizations like Mafia gangs.

The existence of Mafia gangs severely threatened local security, making it impossible for investors to develop in a safe environment. Investment would then be withdrawn, while new investors would refuse to come because of the city’s terrible reputation. The economy would decline further, unemployment would grow, and Mafia gangs would become even more rampant.

The prosperous maritime trade of the East Coast naturally provided fertile ground for illegal industries. Once Mafia gangs flourished, all kinds of illegal businesses flourished alongside them.

And the rise of illegal industries instinctively pushed out legitimate ones, preventing normal industries from developing further and trapping the city in an endless cycle of darkness.

Most cities did not have a formidable figure like Falcone descending from the heavens, capable of finding a path through an increasingly vicious cycle: using extreme violence to establish an evil order, then using that order to generate profits and feed them back into the social structure itself.

Therefore, most cities of this kind could not be like Gotham—evil, yet rich. Most of them were both chaotic and poor, constantly testing the edge of bankruptcy.

The resentment of people in those cities was far greater than Gotham’s. After all, in terms of infrastructure, population density, and living conditions, Gotham actually ranked among the best in the United States. Aside from its somewhat bizarre weather and ecosystem, it was a thoroughly modern and prosperous metropolis.

But post-industrial cities like Detroit were different. The explosive growth of the automobile industry had brought industrial imbalance, as well as the backwardness of the city’s other infrastructure and cultural environment.

People found that when they had money before, none of this had mattered. But now that they did not, that backwardness created all kinds of troubles and made their lives worse.

As the saying went, not enough compared to those above, but more than those below. The speech Schiller wrote from the perspective of Gotham and Chicago still carried a faint air of humblebragging.

Chicago and Gotham were already among the best of this type of city. Even Detroit could be considered fairly decent—at least it had once been glorious, and most people still had some savings. The smaller cities had it even harder.

Almost overnight, the situation in major East Coast cities became somewhat restless. They felt that this Mafia mayor made a great deal of sense. If no one was coming to save them, then they would find a way to save themselves.

What Schiller had not expected was that the initial cooperation between Gotham and Chicago—the first step in the tri-city system he had planned for Gotham, Chicago, and Miami—had proved quite effective. But before they could begin the next step, reaching out to Miami, the Mafia of another city came knocking first: Imperial City.

Imperial City was also a city unique to DC Comics. It was the hometown of the superhero Hunter Paul and one of the East Coast’s largest cities.

Of course, Imperial City was in far better shape than Gotham. Basic order still existed there. Mafia gangs were part of the city, but not all of it.

Yet just like every other East Coast city, illegal industries accounted for a major share of its income. What it was most famous for, however, was tourism and casinos.

Imperial City was a scenic city with a pleasant climate. Gambling had a long history there, and casinos large and small had become part of its tourism industry. Its economy had performed quite well in recent years, and even while most cities were heading downhill, it continued to advance steadily.

The Mayor of Imperial City had an unclear relationship with the largest Mafia family there. After all, it was nearly impossible for something like casinos to have no connection to Mafia gangs.

On the second day after Roy resumed office, he received a call from Imperial City’s mayor.

Over the phone, they exchanged views on the friendly exchanges between Gotham and Chicago. Both sides put forward their own thoughts regarding the future development of their cities and reached a preliminary consensus.

While the two mayors, both deeply concerned for their citizens, reflected together on the painful history of East Coast port cities, they also looked ahead to a future of prosperity. Both sides expressed their wishes for the bright prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Roy would also travel to Imperial City next month for an inspection and visit, to see whether there was anything Gotham could learn from.

After hearing the news, the Twelve Families all stated that everyone bore responsibility for Gotham’s development, and they were willing to contribute their modest strength to this inspection.

The gambling industry’s potential was limitless, and it also provided a foundation for developing tourism. Once purely illegal industries became unworkable, gambling and tourism would be the best direction for the city’s transformation.