America 1982-Chapter 572 - 122: Sacrifice_2
However, both The Washington Post and Vox TV network replaced the term with "breakup fee," deliberately creating an illusion for the viewers and readers that Uno Sosuke, this man, had his way with a national treasure-level Japanese geisha for several months and then left without giving her a dime.
To the Western public, this was utterly inconceivable behavior. American people generally weren’t opposed to politicians having affairs with women—from Roosevelt and Eisenhower to Kennedy, what President didn’t have some scandalous news? But no matter how scandalous the news, there had never been a scenario where a man used a woman and then left her with nothing. Thus, Uno Sosuke’s despicable behavior shocked many in the Western countries, with people thinking how could a head of state be so shameless, and how could the Japanese elect such a shameless bastard to represent their national image?
Subsequently, other well-known American newspapers followed suit with their reports, which then led to a backlash in public opinion. This created a wave within Japan itself, causing more and more Japanese citizens to feel dissatisfied, believing that Uno Sosuke had tarnished the national international image, and ultimately, Uno had no choice but to resign taking responsibility for his actions. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The so-called victim, the geisha Nakasai Mitsuko, upon seeing the reports, tried repeatedly to contact The Washington Post and VOX network, arguing that there was something wrong with the wording of the news report, and that the editing had completely distorted her original intention. However, this time, neither the newspapers nor the TV stations paid her any attention, nor did they offer her another chance to speak up, for they were only interested in teaching Japan a lesson about listening to daddy.
In other words, from the moment the American media found her, she was already a sacrificial lamb.
How the hell would American newspapers and TV care about twisting a Japanese woman’s intentions, so the end result was, the Japanese Prime Minister who had made a fool of America stepped down, and that unlucky geisha was despised by the Japanese public, collectively boycotted by the geisha industry, accused of bringing shame to Japan internationally, and even some extremists suggested she should commit suicide as an apology. Her own children went so far as to announce a break with her in the newspapers.
"I heard your laughter from outside; to be honest, I’ve forgotten when was the last time I myself laughed so heartily," said a hearty voice coming from the direction of the door, as Tommy watched a Japanese news program on the conference room TV and chuckled occasionally.
Tommy turned his head to look and then immediately stood up, walking towards several people led in by Sophia and reaching out his hand to the tall, elderly man of German descent who entered first: "Mr. Schlaefer, what a surprise, because Mr. Binn didn’t mention you would be coming from New York."
"Maria is close to giving birth; she stayed with me and my wife in New York for a while. This time, flying back to Los Angeles on Mr. Binn’s private plane was perfect for her scheduled prenatal checkup. I heard our young man here was preparing to do something, so I thought, as a shareholder, it’s only proper for me to sit down and have a chat with the young folks from time to time, lest my brain lacks exercise and atrophies too soon," the old man referred to as Mr. Schlaefer by Tommy said with a smile.
Sargent Schlaifer is the real investor from California behind Tommy, or rather, he is the representative recognized by the group of wealthy Californian investors who back Tommy. Indeed, although Schlaifer primarily resides in New York, he is the spokesperson for a bunch of Californian tycoons. The timely financial support for KeyBank, VOX, and many internet projects are fundamentally due to Schlaifer’s decisions. Even the fact that KeyBank could conduct some shady little business in Africa, France’s backyard, without French interference, is thanks to Schlaifer’s influence in France.
At seventy-three years old, he is a former Ambassador of the United States to France, former director of the White House’s Economic Office, current board member of the French California Bank, current chairman of the board of the Western America Bank under the French California Bank, a lifetime partner of the New York white-shoe law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Schlaefer, and Jacobson, President Kennedy’s brother-in-law, and the founder of America’s largest international cultural infiltration and spy organization, the America Peace Corps.
Normally, he was supposed to be the political heir of the Kennedy brothers after their death because he had enough influence across both parties and was well-known internationally. He thought so too, which is why he ran for Vice President in ’72 and prepared to run for President in ’76. However, the Kennedy family matriarch, his mother-in-law Rose Kennedy, insisted that it be her youngest son, Edward Kennedy, who had become the Democratic Senate Majority Whip at thirty-seven, to inherit all this.
Even though many peripheral members of the Kennedy family in the political arena had expressed to Mrs. Rose that due to the scandal where a young woman died in a car crash because of Edward’s drunk driving, Edward Kennedy had all but forfeited the path to the presidency, Schlaefer was the best choice for the Kennedy family. If they continued to insist on Edward as the heir to the Kennedy family’s vast political legacy, many opportunistic politicians might waver and seek other trustworthy individuals to align with.
Unfortunately, the stubborn Irish matriarch did not take advice from her confidants. Edward Kennedy indeed ended up just like those loyalists had predicted, first losing the Senate Whip position and then, due to his refusal to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for Vice President in ’72, losing the hearts of the party. The Democrats turned to a better image substitute, Jimmy Carter. In the presidential primaries of ’76, the farce in which brother-in-law Sargent Schlaifer and brother-in-law Ted Kennedy became opponents was not so much Schlaifer wanting to run for President, as it was Sargent Schlaifer making a clear break from the Kennedy family he had served for over forty years.
