Drinking tea and chatting casually.
James smiled and said, "I heard that General Lu was hired as a special advisor to the East China Sea Legal Affairs Committee?" He paused, "It seems that General Lu is still a member of the East China Sea District Council?"
Lu Ming smiled: "Yes."
Indeed, when the contract of Special Advisor to the Donghae Supreme Prosecutor's Office expired, it was not renewed. However, the identity of Donghae councilor was never revoked, although he did not go to meetings at all. He just faxed a note for long-term leave to the Speaker's office.
This time, during his trip to the East China Sea, in addition to signing contracts on behalf of the Montenegro Special Region and the member states of the Eastern Economic Union, he also passed the review of the Legal Committee and was hired as a special adviser to the Legal Committee.
It was Christine's recommendation that by the middle of last year, he had been promoted to the fourth level of lawyer, and was a true "senior lawyer".
But last year he was just relying on the momentum from the year before. After being promoted to the fourth dan last year, he basically left the legal circle.
But Christine understands herself. She recommended herself to become a special advisor to the East China Sea Legal Affairs Committee because she knew she could not bear to leave this circle. Moreover, the legal guidance opinions she put forward in the committee, including the legal ideas represented by some of her articles and some legal principles she was researching, could all be considered as factors in the mid-year assessment score weighting.
Most of the special advisers of the East China Sea Legal Affairs Committee are highly respected legal authorities who have retired from the front line. They are all white-haired legends in the legal world. It is really a beautiful picture that I am now associating with them.
But Christine has never been a person who shows favoritism. She recommended herself because she believed that she was indeed qualified.
What she regretted most was the civil strife in the empire, which forced her to give up her beloved legal career. Many new legal principles in the East China Sea were more or less related to her. She really wanted to see the moment when she became the most legendary figure in the history of the legal community in the East China Sea and even in the empire.
But unfortunately, this wish seems to be becoming increasingly slim.
In fact, it's not just me, she has changed a lot as well.
Christine, now she seems more majestic and more like a queen.
The civil unrest in the empire has caused many changes in the East China Sea, including the establishment of the Eastern Economic Union in the name of the Duke and the transformation of the militia into a standing army. All these self-protection measures require the Duke's authorization.
Otherwise, without the official document from the imperial capital, it would not be legitimate, but the Duke came forward and based on the special powers he had during the period of suppressing the rebellion, everything went smoothly.
As a result, Donghai has now become more like a constitutional monarchy, and the Duke of Donghai is the king of the eastern region.
Christine, the Crown Prince, as Chief Justice of the Donghai High Court, overcame all difficulties and persuaded the other justices to rule with an absolute advantage of 8:3 in the Donghai High Court that the "Donghai Human Rights Act 953" was not unconstitutional.
This bill is said to be a human rights bill, but in fact it is more like a declaration of independence.
At least, according to this law, neither the eldest prince nor the second prince has the power to interfere in the affairs of the East China Sea and the eastern part of the empire.
The bill was originally passed by a small minority in the parliament and was extremely controversial. Some members jointly appealed to the Tokai High Court, arguing that the bill violated the Imperial Constitution.
Judging from the original political stance of the eleven Supreme Court justices, it was very likely that the bill would be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but unexpectedly, Christine turned the tide.
The High Court's ruling temporarily calmed all disputes and ensured the Eastern Economic Union's right to self-defense.
The redundant political struggle surrounding this bill, which could have lasted for months or even forever, was ended with a decisive blow. It also allowed the East China Sea and the eastern region to operate efficiently and form their own standing army to protect their citizens' human rights from being violated.
Christine's prestige has also reached an unprecedented high, and her position as the crown prince has become unbreakable.
When I met her, we just chatted for a dozen minutes because she was too busy, even busier than me.
In the past, I felt that Christine was like a housekeeper, but now, she feels a bit like a subject meeting the almighty queen.
I don’t know when we can chat freely about everything under the sun like before.
Thinking of this, Lu Ming picked up the teacup and sighed softly.
"The ladies are here!" said Hovers, smiling from the other side of the tea table.
Yes, several women came out from the VIP corridor.
However, Lu Ming rubbed his nose.
Several fat women wearing tennis skirts walking together with the sweet and lovely Erika in snow-white sportswear. The picture is really a bit excessive. There is no harm without contrast.
The agreement today was that everyone would bring their wives, but when Hovers called, he said that his wife did not like socializing very much, and it was likely that he would go alone. Hovers then took the initiative to inform Becky.
Seeing several ladies approaching, Lu Ming also stood up.
Li Neng's wife, Ren Keling, was his second wife and seemed to be quite sociable, but she was already a widow when Li Neng married her. She came from a prominent family with great wealth, the Ren family from the provincial capital, so one can imagine how powerful they were. But she was short, thick and fat, with nostrils that were higher than the sky, and it seemed that Li Neng was very afraid of her.
Hovers' wife Kate was very thin, but she was an old lady in her fifties. She seemed to like sports very much and was playful and cute. When Lu Ming stood up and shook hands with her, she smiled and said, "I allow you to kiss my hand!" Then she giggled, "Forget it, I don't want to take advantage of you." For a moment, Lu Ming thought of Li Guan.
James' wife Kamala is in her thirties and a little plump, but when you get closer you can see that she has a very good temperament.
Huh? Lu Ming was suddenly startled. It turned out that Erika had pulled over a sexy blonde in a snow-white tennis skirt. It was Becky.
It seemed that Becky had been walking at the end, and was blocked by several ladies just now, so she was not seen.
Becky is indeed sexy and beautiful, especially her pair of snow-white long legs which are very eye-catching. Paired with white socks and tennis shoes, she has a unique charm.
She has a cold face and should be an Oenian among Westerners. They live in the ice and snow in the high latitudes of the south. Their skin is whiter, but most of them live in poverty.
At this time, Erika was holding her hand and walking towards Lu Ming, feeling a little uneasy.
Hovers was also a little dumbfounded when he saw this scene. What? Was he caught? Don't make a scene, or he will be in trouble...
Unexpectedly, Erika pulled Becky to sit next to Lu Ming, and Erika whispered to Lu Ming: "I heard Becky talking to someone in the locker room. Did you drive her away because of me? I, I'm not such a bad person..."
Lu Ming was helpless. Ever since he rescued Erika's parents, he was like the sky in her eyes. She had gone through so many days of fear and only found peace and joy after meeting him. So, she would not think too much about what was a woman and what was not. Moreover, since she came to him, he was afraid that she would like more and more female companions. She was even accustomed to sleeping on the tatami or the big kang with a few little girls, and they were very happy and lively. She almost treated him as a background board. When he closed his eyes, the little girls would chatter about bra sizes and so on.
It's infuriating and funny, but also very heartwarming. However, their thinking, in this environment, is naturally completely different from that of outsiders.
Lu Ming turned his head and saw Becky looking at him uneasily. She was probably afraid that he would be angry because his wife heard her careless words.
"Sit there!" Lu Ming nodded to Becky.
Becky finally breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Yes..." Then she whispered to Erika, "Thank you, ma'am..."
Erika smiled sweetly and took her hand, "No need..."
Erika leaned on Lu Ming's shoulder with a happy face, her chin resting on Lu Ming's arm, curiously watching what the people were saying. With her other hand, she held Becky's hand from behind, because Becky was arranged to sit on the other side of Lu Ming.
Becky felt helpless, but didn't dare to break free.
The three couples were already stunned.
Even Li Neng had admiration in his eyes, and Hovers secretly gave Lu Ming a thumbs up while avoiding his wife's gaze.
James coughed, "Commissioner Zhang, let's continue our topic. After we finish talking, let's play some ball to relax." He paused and said, "Now the Black Mountain Concession has its own court. What the Municipal Council is concerned about is the cases decided by the Concession Court. If there is an appeal, and the Central Court overturns the original judgment, will the Concession Court quickly recognize the decision of the Appeal Court? Or does it require some other complicated procedures?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "The concession is the concession of the Montenegro Special District. The concession implements the laws of the Special District. The court of appeal is naturally the Montenegro Special District Court. There is no need to appeal to our Shengjing Central Court."
James used a bandit-logic negotiation method, directly stating that the Central Court would accept appeals from the Montenegro Concession. Then, he also assumed that the Concession Court would recognize the decision of the Court of Appeal. He only asked whether additional legal procedures were necessary.
Lu Ming’s answer couldn’t be more straightforward.
Hovers and Li Neng looked at each other, and they started to clash with each other.
James' face darkened. "All affairs of Shengjing are managed by the Municipal Council. The judicial system in Shengjing is governed by the Central District Court, which is the highest court. This is tacitly agreed by the governors of the four provinces! The Black Mountain people leased some land in Longbei District, so they don't want to abide by our traditions?" He looked at Li Dan, "Commissioner Li, Governor Ren will not agree, right?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with Governor Ren and the other three provinces. My Heishan Special District leases the land and manages it according to the agreement with the Longbei Administrative Office. Speaking of the Municipal Council, it didn't pay any attention to us! The Japanese Concession has representatives in the Municipal Council, but we don't need to have any in Heishan, because the Municipal Council has also acquiesced. My Heishan Concession is managed by ourselves, right?"
James paused, and said coldly: "In this case, we will use barbed wire to isolate your concession from the Shengjing area managed by our Municipal Council. I think the Commissioner will not object."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "That won't work, because the sovereignty of our concession is still in Longbei District. If we want to isolate it, the Municipal Council will violate many agreements. I can fight you in the Central Court. In Donghai, there is a strong team of lawyers representing our Heishan Special District. I think it will be a wonderful experience for them to come to Shengjing to sue."
James' eyelids twitched. As for the Westerners in Shengjing, in fact, they were all from the southern part of the empire who were originally poor and had no choice but to come here to develop. Even if they were wealthy now, they would feel guilty when thinking about dealing with the real upper class in the East China Sea.
Moreover, the local Westerners are actually a little nervous about the civil unrest in the empire. They can also clamp down on the Western backgrounds of the four great governors. If they are ridiculed and smashed by the East China Sea lawyer team, it will be a real loss.
Lu Ming coughed and said, "Let's talk about it. We are developing together in Shengjing. Our goals should be the same. Everything can be coordinated. From a legal point of view, we can do this. Our Heishan Special District will send a circuit judge to the concession area to set up a simplified appeal court in the central district. Our circuit judges will rotate every month. This will be more efficient. The judges in the central district can communicate more with our circuit judges. If there are cases that need it, they can also form an appeal court together and adjudicate the appeal cases together with our circuit judges."
After a pause, Lu Ming said, "This is the biggest concession we can make."
Hovers smiled bitterly. Those people in the Municipal Council had been living in comfort for too long, just doing nothing. Unlike himself, he was keeping an eye on every opportunity, so he made a good study of the Montenegrin system.
If they don’t even give a single representative seat on the Municipal Council, how can the thriving Black Mountain clique let this go
Now, Commissioner Zhang has finally come to an end.
Either you don't enter the field. If you have entered the field, with the backing of East China Sea laws and the support of the Black Mountain Legion, the power field of Shengjing is destined to be filled with a new player, Commissioner Zhang, who represents the Black Mountain faction, and who will bring a refreshing new way of playing.
Hovers' eyes flickered, and he felt a little hopeful in his heart. This place had been stagnant for too long, and it was time for some new changes.
Then, I will have a chance too.
On the other side, James listened to Lu Ming's words in silence. He didn't understand much about it, so he couldn't say whether to agree or not. Besides, he couldn't make the decision himself.
Lu Ming had already stood up and said with a smile: "Okay, let's stretch our muscles!"
Erika immediately pulled Becky to her feet and said happily, "Becky and I will join you. The three of us will fight them!"
Lu Ming found it funny. He didn't know that Erika really liked playing tennis. It was her favorite sport when her grandfather was in power. However, three people against two? Well, this is a good idea. It's clearly bullying.
However, this little girl certainly didn't think about bullying others or anything like that, but she thought that people in the same group should stay in the same group, right
Over there, Becky looked at Lu Ming's back. Although she knew that the person Mr. Hovers wanted to bribe must be someone important, she didn't expect that he was so powerful. It seemed that the entire municipal board would have to negotiate terms with this man.
What does the Municipal Council represent in Shengjing? I have known since childhood that the high and mighty, the power and wealth, in Shengjing, is heaven.
There have been rumors for twenty years that a big shot like Mr. Hovers would join the Municipal Council. He has been trying for more than twenty years, but in the end he was unable to get in.
And this man, vaguely, seemed to look down on the entire Municipal Council and was a person who could compete with the Municipal Council.