As far as the politicians go, remember this: dollars can't elect someone to office. Votes are what elect politicians to office. Dollars count only insofar as they can buy votes. The trick is to put politicians in a corner where the money is seen as a liability, something that's costing them the votes they need to stay in office.

This is a general problem with mercenaries: they have no loyalty to you, only to their paycheck. Put them in a position where working for you will cost them more than you're paying them, and you may find they have absolutely no problem with wishing you well in your endeavors and decamping.

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