America's Road to Wealth

The meeting with Joan Irvine Smith and John Smith was not an accident at all.

According to Abel's plan, he would see the couple again in a few days.

But his plan was ruined by one person.

Looking at it from little Laura’s side.

This man is his elder, the 43rd commander-in-chief of the United States, who lives in the white house, dear Mr. George Bush.

This "blessing in disguise" leader quickly gained control of most of the power in the United States due to the September 11th incident last year. He has been in office for a full year.

In the first half of the year, it can be said that he did nothing. I'm just getting familiar with the work of the White House, while doing some inconsequential things that the commander-in-chief can do.

For example, visiting middle schools and primary schools in certain states to create a personal image that is close to the people...

At that time, many media outlets in the United States had already selected George as the most ineffective commander in history, or the least powerful commander in history.

It wasn't until that major event happened that, with the support of public opinion, he quickly became one of the most powerful leaders in American history.

He even launched a war last year.

This can be regarded as a traditional performance of the Shrub family when they were in charge of the leadership.

When Herbert was in office, he launched a war without hesitation when the time came.

Father and son are quite similar in this respect.

In recent days, George left the White House and visited California for the first time in the name of commander-in-chief.

This is also one of the jobs of the American general.

Although the states in the United States enjoy great autonomy.

In most cases, the Grand Commander has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of states.

However, after the Civil War, the federal government significantly tightened local powers to a certain extent and strengthened the federal government's control over the states.

After more than two hundred years of development, the United States currently draws two red lines on state power.

First, state sovereignty cannot override the federal government and the U.S. Constitution.

Second, the legal authority of each state cannot exceed the overall sovereignty of the country.

As long as states do not touch the above two red lines, the federal government has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of states.

This is such a special situation that the laws of each state in the United States today are different.

For example, some states have the death penalty, while some states do not.

In some states, gambling and seqing services are legal, while in most states they are prohibited.

Even taxes are different from state to state. For example, the amount of real estate tax collected by each state is different.

As the commander-in-chief of the United States, the only things George can manage in name are the dozen ministries under the federal government.

There is also the most powerful force in the world currently.

But in fact, as the commander-in-chief, George still has some influence on the states.

This is mainly because the federal government has money.

A large part of its annual budget can be used for construction in various states and providing support to them.

Like the future of California in parallel time and space, it is said that a high-speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles will be built.

According to the budget in the plan, the state government only needs to provide 30%, and the remaining 70% is provided by the federal government.

At first, the federal government agreed, but later there were various obstacles.

The expenses here are covered by part of the federal government's annual budget.

The righteousness adds a big stick, and there is still money to be distributed.

Therefore, when the vital interests of the state are not involved, the states still listen to the federal government.

This is also the reason why the fifty states, each of which seems to be its own master, can appear in front of the world in a relatively united manner.

In other words, wait for the day when the federal government runs out of money to distribute, or the money distributed is useless.

Or maybe the stick has lost its power to hurt.

The federal government only has words of justice.

The only way left for the United States of America is to break up.

Now George is flourishing in the White House. He can decide which part of the federal government budget should be given to the states, which state should be given more, or which state should be given less.

Unfortunately, his reputation is growing now, and no one dares to criticize his bad decisions for the time being.

Unlike before, you could still scold someone if you were given less money.

So faced with George's arrival and inspection.

California, this place, also showed a great welcome attitude this time.

Davis, the current governor of California, is a professional official with a certain reputation in the Donkey Party. He was elected governor of California in November 1998 and is seeking re-election this year.

Logically speaking, as the governor of the Donkey Party, Davis should not be too enthusiastic about George's arrival.

But this time, Davis showed an enthusiastic attitude toward George's arrival that a donkey Party leader should not have.

This move is said to have caused Davis a lot of criticism within the Donkey Party.

But many people also know that Davis's warm welcome to George was out of necessity.

Because Davis is in a bad situation right now.

He took office when California's economy was at its best, when the dot-com bubble was at its worst, but also when it looked most beautiful on the outside.

At that time, California’s GDP looked frighteningly strong.

Likewise, the Internet bubble burst on his watch.

As the seat of Silicon Valley, the area most affected by Internet fragmentation is undoubtedly California.

California’s economic GDP even regressed last year.

As governor, Davis cannot absolve himself of the blame.

In the past four years, Davis has made no achievements in California's economy except to take advantage of the Internet bubble.

Now that he is facing this kind of crisis, he has no way to deal with it.

Many people in the state are already seriously dissatisfied with this.

It actually has nothing to do with Davis. Because this is the general trend of the economy, even the U.S. government cannot rescue the market.

What can the Californian government of Davis do? ,

But the people didn't care about this. They knew that this kind of thing happened during Davis's tenure.

This has left Davis, now suffering a crisis of confidence.

If it is not resolved, Davis' re-election this year will definitely be in vain.

At this time, Davis could only seek medical treatment in a hurry, and chose to show his favor to George, the leader of the Elephant Party.

It is hoped that by doing so, California can receive more financial assistance from the federal government.

This also led to a situation where he, a donkey party governor, showed extreme enthusiasm when the general leader of the target party arrived.

So much so that George was pestered by Davis for several days.

to the day before the Grammys.

When George was about to leave California, he finally stopped being pestered by Davis.

George knew that Abel was also in California, even though the two had just met in the days after Christmas.

But maybe George wanted to see him, or maybe he wanted to do something.

General Abel, the leader of the Grand Alliance, summoned to San Francisco, which is also the city of San Francisco.

As the core of Northern California, San Francisco is also the state capital of California.

January 19, 2002.

It was a sunny day in San Francisco and the weather was quite good.

However, the temperature is a little low today, about 18℃.

This is the coldest possible day in San Francisco's mild winter this year.

Around 10 a.m., Abel looked out the car window at the bright weather.

Along the way, he saw parked military Humvees and military police on duty at various intersections on his way to his destination.

"It's really like the sun is shining..."

Abel lazily lay back on the car seat and complained with emotion.

After September 11, in order to prevent KB attacks.

As the commander-in-chief who has shown the toughest attitude towards KBFZ, George's security level has been raised several levels.

It can even be said that he is one of the commanders who takes security the most seriously in history.

Moreover, he is not afraid of being known by the people, but takes the initiative to let the people know that their commander-in-chief is "as if he is facing a formidable enemy" against KBFZ.

Abel could understand why the White House did this.

This is George's white house, exaggerating KBFZ's threat to the country to the people.

Look, even the commander-in-chief is so wary. So how scary should KBFZ be?

September 11th was not long ago!

Should we unite under George and launch an attack on KBZY around the world?

The extra security funds are not so much security funds.

It might as well be said that the White House spent more money on publicity...

It can not only improve your personal security, but also play a role in this aspect.

Of course George and White House would not be polite.

After all, it's taxpayers' money spent.

David, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned back to Abel and said with a smile:

"There's nothing we can do about it. A student from T\u0026T announced that he would start touring California on January 15th. On the Internet and internationally, some KBFZ said they would attack him."

"The leading student from T\u0026T showed a fearless attitude and came to California despite the risk of attack. Naturally, the local area in California, FBL and the Secret Service were very nervous, and they have been in a state of emergency. The location of the leading student from T\u0026T and the nearby All commanding heights are occupied by agents and agents, two in each group, monitoring the surrounding area."

Abel curled his lips slightly.

One's own family knows one's own affairs.

He knew that George's White House did this mainly to exaggerate the degree of danger and continue to gather American public opinion.

Seriously, America in its current state.

If those so-called KBFZ really still have the ability to launch attacks.

Either that or this country has reached the edge of doom.

Or we have to consider whether these attacking guys are really KBFZ!

David looked through the rearview mirror and looked at the disdain on his boss' handsome young face.

As one of Abel's most trusted people, David also knew some of the practices of the White House.

But the boss can make such an expression, but he can't.

It’s just that as the first person to be with Abel, he is also the person who understands Abel best.

Looking in the rearview mirror, the boss looked indifferent.

David still had admiration and worship in his eyes.

David felt that perhaps no young man in the world could be as awesome as his boss.

beep beep beep——

With a blast of sirens, Abel's motorcade stopped. Two special service members came quickly with a team of military police and police dogs to check the vehicle.

Dangdang——

brush……

Hearing the knock on the car window, Abel lowered the car window and looked calmly at the Secret Service officers outside the car window.

When the other party saw it was Abel Smith, he immediately smiled and said, "Sorry, Mr. Smith, routine inspection."

Abel just nodded indifferently, ignored it, and raised the car window.

The inspection ended easily.

Whether it's the Secret Service or FBL, who doesn't know the relationship between the Smith family and the Bush family?

Who doesn’t know the relationship between Abel and Commander George?

Photos of these two people on various occasions and from different angles can be seen everywhere on the Internet.

Anyone could attack someone from the Bush family.

But definitely not Smith.

This time George was in San Francisco and stayed at a hotel.

The name of the hotel is the Pansy Hotel. It was originally a luxury residence. It was bought by Herbert Shrub in 1966, and he invested in and built it into a bed and breakfast hotel.

Simply put, it is the shrub family, one of the few industries in California.

This is just like what Ikana's father did after he became the commander-in-chief in parallel time and space.

Every time the commander-in-chief travels or travels, he will definitely stay in his own hotel or golf course.

Anyway, as the commander-in-chief, all travel expenses can be paid directly by the White House.

Since the money has to be earned by others, why not just earn it for your own family...

Ordinary people stay at 100 US dollars a night, but the commander-in-chief has a noble status. 130 US dollars a night is not expensive, right?

At least the cost of the Pansy Hotel where George stayed was much cheaper than that of Ikana's father.

Hotel entrance.

Click——

The car door opened and Abel got out of the car. The cool morning breeze made him feel refreshed physically and mentally.

He stretched out his hand and gently tightened the red tie on his body, wearing a black suit. He looked around at the special service personnel and military police around him, and said to Edward and David beside him: "You don't have to follow me."

David smiled and Edward looked grim, but both nodded.

However, they still followed Abel into the hotel lobby with a group of bodyguards.

Watching Abel walk into the elevator until the golden elevator door closed.

Edward took the people and followed a special agent to the rest area to wait.

Ding--

When the elevator door opened, Abel saw George's current chief of staff, Freddie Ford, already waiting in front of the door with a smile.

The White House Chief of Staff, also known as the White House Chief of Staff, is the highest-ranking official in the United States General Office.

This is a position of great power, known as "the second most powerful person in Washington", and is often referred to as the "gatekeeper" and "the true deputy commander".

This is also a position of commander-in-chief that can be easily replaced at will.

Only true confidants will hold this position.

Freddie Ford's predecessor, Andy Card, was no longer trusted by George and was fired two months ago.

Freddie Ford had just taken office not long ago, and he had been a close confidant of the Bush family.

As a close confidant of George, he certainly knew Abel's status in George's heart and in the Bush family.

For this reason, he rushed to the elevator entrance to greet Abel before everyone else could.

Abel smiled and shook hands with Freddy Ford, who was also smiling. "Good morning, Mr. Ford. You look much better than at Christmas."

"Good morning, Mr. Smith. Haha, please come this way. The head teacher at T\u0026T has already heard of your arrival."

Abel smiled and nodded, and followed him through the very busy hotel corridor with people coming and going. Everyone smiled at Abel.

Dong Dong——

"T\u0026T student, Mr. Smith is here."

"Invite him in"

Abel stood tall and tall at the door with a faint smile on his face. Hearing the sounds coming from the room, the corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly.

"Mr. Smith, the commander-in-chief invites you."

"Thanks."

Abel smiled and nodded at Freddy Ford.

Then he stepped into the room and saw George, who was already standing in front of the desk with high spirits, a smile on his face and big white teeth.

Having said that, in the United States, if you want to know a person's class, sometimes you don't have to look at appearance and clothing at all.

Just look at the teeth he shows when he laughs.

The better the teeth, the richer the person is in the United States.

In the United States, the cost of good dentists and dental hospitals is sometimes beyond the reach of even the middle class!

Abel's eyes passed over George.

He saw Secretary of State Powell standing next to George, as well as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, several other younger-looking staffers, and an older "staffer."

"Haha... Good morning, Abel." George said in a cheerful voice.

"Good morning, Mr. T\u0026T. And Mr. Powell, Mr. Rumsfeld, and the rest of you."

Abel responded with a smile, but only responded to the gentleman, not the lady.

Because there are no ladies, there is still no place for ladies among the top elites of the Xiang Party in this period.

Abel stepped forward and hugged the proactive George very calmly.

Then he smiled and shook hands with everyone else.

After everyone exchanged greetings, they sat down on the sofa.

George has no boundaries and does not have the image of a commander-in-chief at all.

The owner of the white house sat on his desk and said with a smile:

"Sorry, Abel, I have to catch a plane in the afternoon and go to Wisconsin. I have to let you come here by yourself. Originally, I wanted to go to your mansion in Beverly to see the prosperity of Hollywood!"

"It's nothing. You are the commander, you are the biggest." Abel teased seriously with a slight smile on his face.

Everyone in the office burst into laughter. George's eyes were shining brightly, the smile on his face became brighter and brighter, his laughter was hearty, and he shook his head with an expression of helplessness.

There was such an easy-going family-like attitude between the two of them.

The surrounding staff and senior American officials were all envious.

Although George is very easy-going. But to others, he is at best as easy-going as a friend.

I met Abel, but he was no different from his family... Well, Abel Smith, who had already announced his marriage to high-level officials, was indeed one of George's real close family members.

After everyone finished laughing, George looked at Abel who took the coffee cup from his secretary. He casually pointed to the oldest person among his staff and introduced:

"I haven't introduced you yet. John Snow, my new Treasury Secretary!"

"Oh?" Abel raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "You finally fired that old bastard? That's really gratifying!"

Everyone in the office, including John Snow, laughed again.

Because everyone knows who the old bastard in Abel's mouth is.

It was Paul Henry O'Neill.

This excellent technocrat once served as Herbert's Minister of Defense.

After George took office, it was most likely due to his father.

Recruit Paul Henry O'Neill and make him his finance minister.

But I don’t know if it’s because George can’t control Paul Henry O’Neill.

Or is it Paul Henry O'Neill himself.

The most important thing that George's finance minister has done since taking office is to often find fault with George and the White House in front of the media!

In parallel time and space, Paul Henry O'Neill has always been against George and the White House.

George endured it for two years before replacing him.

In this time and space, with Abel, the situation is different.

After September 11th.

Paul Henry O'Neill, on behalf of the White House, convened a group of Wall Street giants and American financiers.

During that meeting, Abel felt that he was clearly targeted by Paul Henry O'Neill.

Who is Abel? He is a man who takes revenge.

He didn't show much at the time, but in front of George afterwards, Abel kept applying eye drops to Paul Henry O'Neill.

George has always been dissatisfied with this old guy.

But the old guy is an old subordinate of George's father. Without his father's permission, this "daddy boy" would not dare to fire Paul Henry O'Neal directly.

It was very simple. Abel went to Herbert to give Paul eye drops.

Maybe to be closer to my grandson-in-law.

Or maybe he saw Paul Henry O'Neill's dissatisfaction with George and the White House.

George was able to fire Paul Henry O'Neal a year earlier than in parallel time and space.

Let John Snow take over a year early.

From this perspective, John Snow has Abel to thank.

If not for Abel's displeasure with Paul Henry O'Neill.

John Snow will have to wait at least a year, and he may not even be accepted.

After all, it’s the butterfly effect.

"Okay." George said in a relaxed tone: "The remaining ones are all real people. At Christmas, you can tell me and my staff if you have anything to say. Dear Abel."

George spread his hands: "I am much busier now than last year. So are my friends. So there are really not many opportunities for everyone to gather together like this. Dear Abel, just say something here. Say it!"

Hearing what George said, everyone looked at Abel and George in surprise.

They didn't expect that George would call them, who are currently among the best in the world, together.

Actually just to listen to Abel and say something to George.

This made everyone realize again the status of Abel in the hearts of George and the Bush family.

It also made them curious about what Abel might say next.

Call together the commander-in-chief of the United States and his most trusted and powerful group of people.

What does this famous man, the richest man in the world, want to say or do?

Suddenly, everyone in the office focused their attention on Abel.