Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1463 Temporary Meeting (Second Update)

"T'Challa has been domesticated to some extent. Wakanda is overly concerned about the impact of its international reputation because his study abroad experience at Oxford University exposed him to too much neoliberalism."

"Rejected. If T'Challa is tamed, he won't offer political asylum to the Avengers like the Yugoslav Federation did and refuse to sign the extradition treaty. The conservative forces in Wakanda, represented by Queen Mother Ramonda, are the political force that will offer asylum to the Avengers. Intelligence shows that Queen Mother Ramonda has consistently opposed the open policies of former King T'Chaka, as have many of the forces that supported En Jadaka. They will do anything that the United States and Europe don't want to see. The conservative faction's decision is still influencing T'Challa, and we need to win over Queen Mother Ramonda."

The close relationship between Wakanda and the New Yugoslav Federation meant that a private room was always reserved in the palace. After inspecting the room's facilities, Hammurabi immediately arranged a holographic teleconference. Many of the Emperor's advisors were already online, including several members of the Royal Guard such as Amun and Supilulius, Stephanie Malik in Washington, D.C., Diana Lister in the Royal Castle in Latvinia, and Victoria Hand in a secret base, among others. Hammurabi was authorized to show the advisors a recording of a previous conversation between the Emperor and King T'Challa of Wakanda. Viktor von Doom, who moderated the brief meeting, remained silent, simply watching T'Challa's performance in the conversation repeatedly.

The projections of all the attendees, like pale, ghostly figures, circled the projection device in the room. The sounds of printers spitting ink and blasting guns mingled together, indicating that not all attendees were in a peaceful environment. Except for Regent Viktor von Dum, no one could pinpoint the location or mission of all the attendees, who were also being observed through the holograms—Victoria Hand insisted that T'Challa's decisions were still influenced by Wakanda's conservatives, and she believed it necessary to use the industrial aristocracy seats of the Yugoslav Federation to support another faction, forcing the conservatives to make decisions favorable to the Yugoslav Federation; Amon vehemently opposed this proposal, arguing that Victoria Hand had developed a path dependency on supporting the opposition, and that there were precedents of such short-sighted decisions that would one day turn against the Emperor.

“The current Wakanda Anti-War Human Rights Coalition is not my doing; neither it nor the Department of Justice has approved such an action. Those Wakandas who oppose the Yugoslav Federation are terrified by the civil war; the genetic warfare shattered the dreams of the fledgling Wakanda middle class,” Victoria Hand argued. “I know these people; I’ve seen countless times when I was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and countless psychological support groups sprang up across the United States after the Battle of New York in 2012. Unless the Wakanda royal family compensates for the losses of the civil war, some people will forever oppose the Yugoslav Federation. The collateral damage from that civil war will become a kind of collective memory for Wakandas, a politically correct way for them to oppose the Yugoslav Federation. If I were to lead the infiltration work, the focus would be on the impact of the royal civil war on the people, not its stance on the Wakanda civil war.”

Before concluding her speech, Victoria Hand scanned the holographic projections of the other members, especially that of the Royal Guard member, Amon. "I will not support an organization destined to be affected. Queen Mother Ramonda will not be as lenient as T'Challa when it comes to eliminating opposition. We should stand with Queen Mother Ramonda now."

Diana Lister fulfilled her duties as secretary by only taking meeting minutes and nothing else. She knew that Victoria Hand had always opposed the Guards' involvement in politics or advising the Emperor, but it turned out that few in the world were as knowledgeable, loyal, and power-averse as the Guards, who always offered fair and impartial advice from the Emperor's perspective. Regardless of the opposition from other departments, in the core decision-making cabinet composed of the Regent and the Commander of the Guard, Commander Constantine of the Guard always held a seat, and other Guards could speak on Constantine's behalf when authorized.

"Where is He?" Regent Victor von Doom asked.

"He is in the palace, and King T'Challa is trying to arrange a reception." Hammurabi's reply was very brief: "Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and James Buchanan will be there, but I don't think they are capable of posing a threat to Him."

Amon nodded to the Regent, and Diana Lister immediately informed all attendees that the security code had been received. However, since the Guardians of the Order was an independent department, even the special operations agencies under the Ministry of Justice could not know the meaning and action plan represented by the security code—this was also the reason why Victoria Hand opposed the Guardians of the Order. The drawback of strongman politics is that when all politics and decision-making revolve around a certain person, that person's safety will become the basis for all political decisions and even the cooperation of multiple departments. Just like the Balkans once united by Tito, the entire system will collapse in a very short time after losing the person who holds everything together.

Victoria Hand believed that the emperor's safety could not be entrusted to just one department. Genetic modification did not mean that mistakes would not happen, especially since the emperor himself was a person who was keen on going to the battlefield. If any irreparable mistakes were made, the entire Balkan Peninsula would fall into civil war again.

"In any case, He wants everyone to be mentally prepared for a shift in Wakanda's policy direction. Although this possibility is not high, He does not want everyone to ignore the influence of Wakanda's civilian forces on T'Challa. After all, if T'Challa wants to regain power, the support of civilian forces is indispensable," Hammurabi said. "After Wakanda restarts industrialization, there will inevitably be two different winds in the cities and the countryside. He believes that T'Challa is very likely to lean towards the propertied citizens of the urban industrialization and abandon the voices of the countryside, because the neoliberal education at Oxford University will more or less prevent T'Challa from paying attention to agricultural production. He wants all departments to come up with a contingency plan to deal with Wakanda withdrawing researchers and industrial support, and at the same time to prepare for the consequences of Wakanda opening its vibranium reserves to the Western world."

Most of the department heads' holographic projections went out, and they began preparing contingency plans. The few holographic projections that remained active included those of the Regent, the Guardians, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Military Affairs. "War. If the situation in Wakanda deteriorates to this extent, we must intervene militarily," Victoria Hand stated without hesitation. "We've made predictions about a full-scale war with Wakanda. If we could launch an attack on the Wakanda royal family, we could win over other nobles with legal standing to succeed us and make them our representatives. But that would be the worst decision. Wakanda's cooperation with us is currently very deep; we should absolutely avoid this situation if possible."

"Agreed," Regent Victor von Doom said. "Diplomats will promise Queen Mother Ramonda benefits, and if T'Challa leans towards the industrialized propertied class, then Wakanda and the Yugoslav Federation will inevitably go to war. This will affect our subsequent campaigns in Attiland, Koboj, and even the Black Order. We cannot afford to waste time and resources in Wakanda before the Black Order arrives."

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(End of this chapter)