Ashes of Empire: Last World Volume 2 by Shane Gries

Author:Shane Gries [Gries, Shane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cannon Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Tzinghuan, Jungia

National Capital

Rahman Siahaan stood in his office, staring at the photographs on the wall, a neatly arranged group with the pictures of all the senior government ministers. His picture hung there too, in one of the inferior positions toward the bottom, as Minister of Agriculture. Of course, up top was the photograph of his brother, President Farhan Siahaan, leader of their nation. He turned to look at the adjacent wall where much larger framed images hung. These were life-like paintings of a presidential dynasty, the likenesses of their nation’s leadership going back some eighty years.

On the left was the image of his grandfather Taufik, who had spent the early years of his life as a soldier, freedom fighter and ultimately leader of their people. His grandfather had been born in a hut with a thatched straw roof, next to a stinking rice paddy fertilized with night soil. Many generations of his family had worked land they didn’t own, impoverished serfs generating wealth for their colonial overlords. Taufik escaped the tedious, back-breaking life of a peasant farmer through study, went abroad and attended university in Donubia, where he became quite an outspoken advocate of the Collectivist cause. Years later he would return to Jungia, an educated man with powerful political connections in Donubia. Connections that helped him ignite a popular revolution that ultimately vanquished their colonial rulers and established an independent nation for their people.

The next picture on that wall was of his father Umar. Taufik had built a nation from nothing and turned it into a regional power that, if not overtly respected, was at least feared by its neighbors. When he died, his eldest son inherited the office of President and he picked up where his father had left off. The revolution was still very much alive and not only did it take work to keep it going at home but it also required their support to help spread it to their neighbors as well. Food, weapons and training were provided to all those who wished to continue the people’s revolution. Over the years, Umar made great strides in expanding the movement and helped many nations throw off the yoke of imperial rule.

It had been twenty years since his father died and the Supreme Revolutionary Diet passed the torch to his older brother Farhan. His brother had a different vision for their people and took them in another direction. He liberalized the economy and allowed free trade along with widespread deregulation and the privatization of industry. These changes drove an economic boom the likes of which no one could have possibly imagined that brought in untold wealth. But there was a dark side to this as well, as the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” grew at an alarming rate. The fantastic wealth seemed to pool among a very exclusive and powerful elite while those at the bottom saw little benefit from a system that worked ever harder to shut them out.

Along with the wealth gap came corruption.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.