novelnext Chapter 45 Pre-Battle Preparations
Chapter 45 Pre-Battle Preparations
After setting the tone for the campaign, Frank and Sarah both assumed that Leo would immediately call a meeting to discuss how to hold a grand press conference to formally announce to the whole of Pittsburgh that he would be running for the next mayor.
But Leo unexpectedly pressed the pause button.
He told everyone to continue focusing on the work they were doing.
Frank continued to be in charge of ground mobilization and construction supervision at the site.
Sarah continues to run the "Heart of Pittsburgh" channel, posting daily videos about the progress of the project.
Everything seemed the same as usual, as if yesterday's earth-shattering decision had never happened.
In Leo's mind, Roosevelt was giving him his last lesson before the start of his campaign.
"My son, never fire the first shot before preparations for a war are complete," Roosevelt said in an extremely serious voice.
"Once you officially announce your candidacy to the media, it's tantamount to declaring war on Mayor Cartwright and the entire establishment interest group behind him."
"From that moment on, you will lose all the advantages you have gained by secretly accumulating power. Your every move will be scrutinized under a microscope by your enemies, who will use all their resources to attack you, smear you, and try to nip you in the bud."
"Therefore, before formally declaring war, you must complete three of the most important things in advance."
"First, you must build your base into an impregnable fortress."
"Secondly, you must prepare sufficient food and ammunition for the long war that is about to begin."
"Third, you must weaken your enemies as much as possible and win over all external allies you can."
Over the next few days, Leo began issuing a series of specific instructions to his team, following the pre-war preparation framework established by Roosevelt.
He first called Frank and Sarah to his prefab office.
"Before we officially announce our candidacy, we must ensure that the 'Pittsburgh Revitalization One' plan achieves a tangible and visible milestone for all Pittsburgh residents."
He pointed to the project schedule and said, "Our first specific goal is to complete all the renovation work in the community where our No. 3 construction site is located within the next three months."
"I want to not only renovate all the roads in the community, but also reopen all the parks to children and stop all the apartment buildings from leaking."
"Then, we're going to hold a grand community reopening ceremony there. We're going to invite all the citizens and media in Pittsburgh to come and see for themselves what kind of changes we've brought to this city."
Roosevelt explained to him in his mind the strategic intent behind the instruction.
"Leo, you must understand that this community is not just an engineering project; it will become the most important model of governance for your future mayoral campaign."
"When Cartwright and his allies attack you in the media, questioning whether you are just a young upstart who can only shout slogans and has no actual governing experience, you don't need to debate with them."
"All you need to do is take all the reporters to that community, point to the brand-new roads, the children's smiling faces, and tell everyone: 'This is my answer.'"
"A tangible and visible achievement is more convincing than ten thousand eloquent campaign slogans."
Then, Leo gave Sara a second instruction.
"Sarah, I need you to immediately and secretly start the preparations for our campaign fundraising committee."
"We cannot start fundraising publicly right now, as that would prematurely reveal our intentions."
"We need to quietly build our own database of core supporters."
"I need you to lead a reliable small team to conduct a comprehensive review and analysis of all user data in the 'Heart of Pittsburgh' channel backend."
"Everyone who has ever donated to us, everyone who has left comments under our videos to show their support, everyone who has participated in our community center security activities..."
"Compile all this information into a detailed database. Their names, their contact information, their occupations, the communities they live in..."
"Then, we need to sift through this database to identify our most valuable core supporters. For example, opinion leaders in the community, small business owners who have donated large sums of money to us, influential figures in the labor union..."
"You and Frank need to personally go out and have a private, one-on-one meeting with these people, tell them about our plan, and try to get them to be our first seed donors when our campaign kicks off."
"We want to make sure that on the day we officially announce our candidacy, we have enough seed money in our donation account to surprise everyone."
Frank and Sarah accepted the order and left.
The entire team began tense and meticulous pre-battle preparations.
Leo himself, on the other hand, was preparing to accomplish the most crucial third task.
Weaken the enemy and win over external allies.
He picked up the phone and dialed Congressman John Murphy's number.
On the other end of the phone, Congressman Murphy sounded to be in a good mood.
"Leo, my hero!" Murphy greeted him warmly. "I was just about to call you. I'm going back to Pittsburgh next week, and we have to have a good drink to celebrate our victory."
Without exchanging pleasantries, Leo went straight to Murphy and revealed his plans to run for the next mayor of Pittsburgh.
Senator Murphy was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone.
"I knew it all along, Leo," Murphy said. "When you were manipulating Cartwright, I knew that a small urban regeneration committee wouldn't satisfy your appetite."
He immediately made his stance clear.
"I fully support you."
"Leo, you need me, and I need you just as much." Murphy's tone turned serious. "A Pittsburgh city government led by you will be my most solid and important political ally in the area."
"To show my sincerity, I can offer you two things you need most right now."
"First, there's the channel for funding."
"I will immediately recommend your profile and everything you've done in Pittsburgh to several progressive political action committees in Washington, such as 'Democratic Future' and 'Our Revolution'."
"These organizations have tens of millions of dollars at their disposal, and their purpose is to discover and support political newcomers like you who dare to challenge the establishment."
"As long as you can get their support, your campaign start-up funding problem can be solved immediately."
"Secondly, professional talent."
"I know your team is very passionate and capable, but a mayoral election is completely different from the community protests you've been involved in. You lack professional election experience."
"My campaign manager, Karen Miller, while I know you may not like her very much, is truly one of the best polling data analysts and election law experts in all of Pennsylvania."
"I will temporarily second her from my team to your campaign team as a senior advisor. She will help you build a professional campaign team and prevent you from making mistakes on some of the most basic rules."
Roosevelt's voice echoed in Leo's mind.
"A very typical political deal."
"He gives you money and people. So after you're elected, you have to prioritize repaying his kindness in municipal projects and important personnel appointments in Pittsburgh."
"As for that woman named Karen, she's both a professional sent to help you and a spy Murphy planted by your side. Use her expertise, but never completely trust her."
These two proposals from Senator Murphy were already a huge boost for Leo.
But he knew that this was not enough to win the war.
"Mr. Senator, your support is crucial," Leo said. "Funding and expertise will allow us to build a regular army, but I also need a flag, a flag that can rally all progressive forces."
Leo paused, then said, "I need Senator Daniel Sanders' formal endorsement."
Senator Murphy hesitated for a moment when he heard the name.
"Leo, you're asking for a lot," he said. "Senator Sanders' endorsement is more than just a word of support; it's a signal that tells all progressive organizations and media across the country that this election in Pittsburgh is a battle they must pay attention to and support."
"This will bring you tremendous attention and more resources, but at the same time, it will also make you a target of attacks from Republican forces across the country. It's a double-edged sword."
Murphy pondered for a moment before finally making a decision.
"Okay, I'll contact him, but I can't guarantee the outcome. Daniel only supports warriors he approves of."
After hanging up the phone, Leo asked Roosevelt in his mind.
"Mr. President, we obtained Senator Sanders' contact information at the dinner in Philadelphia. Why don't we seek his support ourselves? Why must we go through Murphy?"
"Two reasons, son," Roosevelt explained. "First, never go beyond your immediate ally and establish contact with the powerful figures behind him if you don't want to fall out with him."
"The foundation of political alliances is trust, and bypassing Murphy is a public insult to his competence and credibility."
"Secondly, and more importantly, you need to learn to get your allies to work for you."
"When you ask him to do something difficult for you, it makes him invest more political capital in the alliance. It's a reverse favor, which actually binds you together more closely."