African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1377 Bribery
The opportunity that Malenkov and others had been waiting for soon appeared. On July 1921, 7, the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, eager to show its loyalty to its financial backers in order to gain more support, and based on the natural hostility between its own regime and the Russian Labor Party, attempted to launch a military test against Russia within this year.

Whether from the institutional level, the historical grievances between Ukraine and Russia, or the differences between independence and unification, the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic cannot remain indifferent to Russia.

Even though Russia is far stronger than Ukraine, the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic cannot choose to sit idly by. Moreover, the supportive attitude of imperialist powers such as Germany, Austria, Britain and France towards Ukraine has also made the Ukrainian government more determined to oppose Russia.

The city of Sicheslav.

In the mayor's office, Filatov was lecturing, or rather scolding, the anti-work group in Sicheslav.

"Leonid, you idiot! I asked you to arrest the Labor Party, but what were you doing in the military camp? Did you know that General Malele called my office directly?"

Facing Filatov's questioning, Leonid said aggrievedly: "Mr. Mayor, I don't want to go to the military camp, but we received intelligence that the Labor Party in this city and some officers and soldiers of the 37th Division may have colluded with each other. Therefore, for the safety of Sicheslav, our anti-labor team had no choice but to enter the military camp to investigate this matter."

Mayor Filatov put his finger on Leonid's shoulder and asked through gritted teeth: "Did you catch that man?"

"No...no..." Leonid said with some stammering, "We had just entered the camp of the 163rd Regiment of the 37th Division when we were beaten out by a group of soldiers. As a result, several brothers were injured."

Filatov: "Bah, you deserve it. I have repeatedly stressed that if we are to investigate, we should investigate those without background. You don't think that soldiers are easy to bully, do you?"

"The military is a place full of banditry. They always value loyalty and stick together. Do you think their superior officers are just for show? Maybe they have clear internal ranks, but once they face outsiders, they will definitely unite to face the outsiders."

The Ukrainian government army, which the Labor Party calls the puppet army, is actually in a situation similar to what Mayor Filatov said. Perhaps some individual troops have strict discipline and good work style, but such a rare team is probably not found in the entire Ukraine.

Today, many of the Ukrainian government troops are recruited ruffians. After all, due to the political turmoil caused by the First World War, the forces of the third-rate and ninth-class sects were most likely to emerge.

As for these forces, the Ukrainian government has adopted a strategy mainly of appeasement.

Of course, if we look deeper into the armies of Ukraine's neighboring countries, including the Russian Labor Party's army, the real situation is certainly not satisfactory.

If one really wants to screen carefully, I'm afraid the discipline of the East African Defense Force would rank first. After all, Ernst has higher requirements for the army because he has a certain soldier from his previous life as a reference.

But even so, the discipline of the East African Defense Force still had big problems, especially some colonial garrisons.

For example, there are many crimes committed by the East African garrisons in Togoland, New Guinea, and the Isthmus of Kra. However, if you are not ruthless when engaging in colonialism, it is indeed untenable.

Filatov said: "It's too late to say anything now. This matter ends here. We must not touch the military. After all, they are not in the same system as us. Even if there are problems, the military will have to deal with them themselves. If you have time, go to the factories and railways. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that there are big problems in these places."

Leonid explained: "Those factory owners or railway officials are not necessarily better than the military. At the beginning of this year, our actions at the steel plant were reported by Mr. Lavr, who said that we interfered with the operation of his factory, but in the end, nothing was done..."

In Ukraine, a country where bureaucracy is prevalent, the owners of factories and businesses are obviously not easy to control. They are intertwined with the officials of the city of Sicheslav, forming a tight and complex network.

Moreover, since Ukraine's independence, its political system is, after all, a republic, that is, a typical capitalist country. The voice of capitalists has been greatly enhanced. Currently, many of the top Ukrainian government officials are big capitalists.

Filatov chose to ignore Leonid's complaints. He said: "Now, the government is obviously planning to cause trouble for Russia. The possibility of direct military conflict or even war between the two countries cannot be ruled out."

"Our city of Sicheslav is an important transportation hub and military fortress close to the border. No matter what method you use, you must ensure that there are no large-scale Labor Party activities in Sicheslav in the next few months."

"Otherwise, if military and national affairs are delayed, no one will be well. Of course, I also know the difficulty of your work now."

"How about this! I will personally talk to the top management of factories, railways and other enterprises and systems to make them understand our work. After all, if the Labor Party really makes a big move in Sicheslav, they will not be able to escape."

"At the same time, I will grant your group more authority and funds. Without further ado, in the next three months, keep a close eye on important places and areas in Sicheslav. Once you identify a Labor Party organization, eliminate it in the bud immediately."

The struggle of the Sicheslav Municipal Government and the Labor Party organization can be said to complement each other. In the past, the Sicheslav Municipal Government actually achieved outstanding results in anti-Labor work.

After all, the labor party organization in Sicheslav did not have sufficient experience at the beginning, so it was prone to making various mistakes, which led to the exposure of its members.

However, after several rounds of attacks by the Siceslav City Government, the Labor Party organization in Siceslav City was tempered and grew. Its activities turned completely underground, and its structure became increasingly rigorous.

It can be said that under the "training" of the anti-labor group in Sicheslav, the labor party organization in Sicheslav matured rapidly.

This is also the reason why Leonid, a devil, executioner, and Yekaterinoslav war criminal in the eyes of the Labor Party personnel... is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out his work.

After all, Leonid himself was not a professional intelligence officer. He was able to become the leader of the anti-intelligence group in Sicheslav because of the "appreciation" of Mayor Filatov.

The two are actually distant relatives. Of course, Filatov was able to help Leonid take the position, and it is obvious that Leonid also has personal abilities, such as being meticulous, loyal, and having a flexible mind.

After Filatov became the mayor of Sicheslav, he naturally tried hard to instigate his own confidants, among whom relatives were naturally the best choice.

However, nepotism also requires ability. Among Filatov's relatives, those who have ability and connections are actually no worse than Filatov. For example, Filatov's elder brother is a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, and his younger brother is in charge of the family business. Excluding these people, most of the others are misfits or not good at political work.

Therefore, Leonid could become Filatov's confidant, which was like picking a general among dwarfs. Those who were more capable than him were not as loyal as him, and those who were more loyal than him were less capable than him. In the next few days, the city of Sicheslav opened a city-wide curfew. With the endorsement of the mayor, Leonid thought that since it was difficult to search for the Labor Party organization, it might be possible to directly ban some public gatherings, which might have unexpected results.

Especially those who discuss politics in public and have suspicious identities. What are considered "suspicious persons"? According to Leonid's instructions to his subordinates, they are poor people. If a group of poor people gather together, it can never be a good thing.

In short, Leonid's idea is "you can judge a person by his appearance". He knows very well that most Labour Party members live a very simple life. He does not know the situation of the Labour Party in Russia, but the Labour Party organizations in other parts of Europe have not yet made a comeback!

Of course, if they turned over, what would Leonid do? As for Leonid's own situation, he knew very well that if there was a problem in Sicheslav, he would be the first one to be hung up and paraded through the streets by the Labor Party.

Opishnya Tavern is located in the southeast of Sicheslav, next to the Dnieper River pier.

Two arrogant policemen walked into this low-end pub that catered mainly to dock workers.

"Where is your boss?" Jayka, who was dressed in police uniform, asked the bartender at the bar.

The bartender looked at the two men who came with bad intentions and said quickly, "Two officers, our boss is in the lounge. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Jeika pointed to the white armband on his shoulder and said, "We are members of the anti-work team. According to the order from our superiors, we are checking suspicious persons throughout the city. I want to ask you, have there been any suspicious persons in the Opishnia Tavern recently?"

The bartender hurriedly said, "Officer, there have never been any suspicious people in our Opishnia Tavern. This tavern was inherited by our boss from his father. It is also an old restaurant on Klozefo Street. Generally, the customers who come here are dock workers, and they are all regular customers..."

Jayka didn't listen to the bartender's explanation at all. Instead, he said fiercely, "You said there is no such thing, right? And who says that regular customers can't join the Labor Party later? I see that there are quite a lot of people in your store. It might be a base for Labor Party activities."

His words scared the bartender half to death. After all, if this accusation was confirmed, the Opishnia Tavern would be finished. There were only two people in this tavern, including his uncle and the owner of the tavern, Opishnia, and they were relatives. If he was really accused by this corrupt policeman, he would definitely be in trouble.

Just as the young bartender was breaking out in a cold sweat, Opishnia heard the noise at the front desk and came out from the back room.

He said to Jie Ka and the others with a smile on his face, "Two officers, it is an honor for our store to have you visit us. This is my nephew Ilya, who is only sixteen years old. Please don't take it to heart if I haven't treated you well enough."

Jeika looked at Opishnia and said, "I don't care if you are relatives or not. Who said that the Labor Party can't be relatives? You..."

Before he finished speaking, Opishnia interrupted him and said, "Officer, this kind of talk is not allowed. Whoever is the Labour Party, we cannot be the Labour Party. Our pub and the Labour Party are irreconcilable."

"After all, according to the Labour Party, small shop owners like me are also obviously the targets of their crackdown. It should be that small... I just heard it from others and can't remember it. Anyway, small vendors like us are not very popular with the Labour Party."

As he spoke, Opishnya inconspicuously took out a stack of rubles from his pocket, and with a painful look on his face, he quietly put it into Deyka's hand.

"So, officer, you must absolutely believe that we are good citizens who are loyal to the government!"

Jieka used his fingers to feel the thickness and said calmly, "Well, I'm not an unreasonable person. Judging from your appearance, you are an honest and loyal person. You should not have anything to do with the so-called Labor Party members."

Opishnia patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, officer, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. I wish the Labour Party would disappear from this world."

Jeika was already satisfied and had no interest in Opishnia's words. He said perfunctorily, "You are very energetic. Keep it up. I hope you can still maintain this attitude next time I come."

Then Jeika left the tavern with his subordinates and walked towards the next shop.

Opishnia looked at the two people who left, and cursed in his heart: "You are like turtles, come back next time, you are no good just like the Labor Party."

Just as Opishnia thought in his heart, he really didn't like the Labour Party. He even disliked and feared the Labour Party as an organization. After all, he was also the owner of a pub, and the Labour Party was not very friendly to people of his status.

However, he is even more disdainful of the current Ukrainian government. Since Ukraine's independence, the quality of life of the Ukrainian people is worse than that of the Tsarist Russia era. On the contrary, the newly established Ukrainian government has brought together all kinds of monsters and demons, including various capitalists, warlords, evil forces, and gangsters...

A government composed of this bunch of idiots can't even govern the country. It's a miracle that the Ukrainian government has not collapsed.

Every now and then, they levy exorbitant taxes under various names, especially recently, the Ukrainian government raised taxes again, claiming that it was raising military funds.

In addition to these exploitations, there are also various grassroots officials who take bribes and extort money. This has become the norm in the city of Siceslav, especially for shops like Opishnia that make a little money but have no background, which are most likely to be harassed by personnel from various government departments in the city of Siceslav.

Otherwise, Opishnia would not have been able to bribe the two policemen so skillfully.

What kind of anti-work group? If they take the money, they are good citizens. If they don't pay, they will be arrested and locked up for a few days. The more unscrupulous ones may even confiscate their property. In short, compared to being harassed and paying money to buy safety, Opishhnya can't afford the risk of confronting these Ukrainian government law enforcement officers.

"Uncle, these dogs are smashing things and coming here every few days to take advantage of others. How can we continue to run our business?" the nephew who worked as a bartender asked Opishnia in a low voice.

Opishnia looked at his nephew and said with a bitter face, "What else can we do? Just bear it. Are you really going to defect to the Labor Party? I'm afraid the outcome won't be any better. This tavern is the hard work left by your grandfather. If the Russian Labor Party really attacks, it might be confiscated directly."

"As for these white dogs, they will definitely die a miserable death. It would be best if they and the Russian Labor Party were both defeated and destroyed together."

(End of this chapter)