King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Qiao, the boss, didn't pull the carpet out from under them on a whim; it was the best solution decided upon based on the situation. In its early days, Tubruq was one of the most important cities in northern Liberia, with a population of nearly 80,000. After the theory of 'tenfold retaliation' proposed by Nis, Tubruq was bombarded relentlessly. With the special forces guiding on the ground, the air force treated advanced Blue Sword 7 missiles as though they were cheap rockets, continuously targeting every corner of the city. The bombing caused the city to shut down several times, and combined with the external propaganda, it led to a large number of civilians fleeing along the supply route to Byrdi or refugee camps for safety. With half of the 80,000 people gone, there are now just over 30,000 left in the city, effectively serving as human shields for the terrorists. Among these people, some sympathized with the terrorists, some were concerned about their own property, some were hopeful they wouldn't be affected, but most were isolated from information and too intimidated by the terrorists to leave. The exact proportions are difficult to quantify, but Qiao, the boss, believed the latter three types of people were in the majority. Now Qiao felt he might not have the capacity to support urban security operations and had no choice but to completely evacuate the city for a thorough cleansing. Only then could he get the docks and oil refineries up and running first, start doing business, and see some return on his investment; this way, his allies could continue their increased contributions with peace of mind. Not to mention, with crude oil at $85 a barrel, China, Italy, and Greece could be persuaded to haul away a few cargoes first. A large oil tanker could carry 2 million barrels of crude oil at once, worth over $170 million in total. All Joe Ga needed to do was 'open the gates' and settle accounts with the National Army at $50 per barrel, pocketing a profit of $35 per barrel. A single cargo of oil could net a profit of $70 million, and selling three to five cargoes could easily recoup all his previous investments. As long as he had a long-term hold on the docks and refineries, it wasn't impossible for Qiao, the boss, to support all those refugees. In total, it was just about a hundred thousand people; even if it cost $20 per person per day for food, drink, and other necessities, that was just $2 million a day. Selling just one tanker of oil per month could ensure the refugees ate well, and in reality, the docks at Tubruq could handle three oil tankers at once. Even if only six cargoes could be sold in a month, Joe Ga would be making a fortune! All the profits from Tubruq within three years belonged to Qiao, the boss. As long as the money was in place, he was ready to outlast the terrorists until the end of time, with his hundred thousand refugees in tow. Of course, this was an ideal state of affairs; the refugees wouldn't be satisfied with just food and drink forever. Yet, for the next three months, Joe Ga felt he could keep them stable. After all, Byrdi had already mostly returned to normalcy, and Joe Ga needed a large workforce for urban repairs. The Chinese were very familiar with this approach, and they had a special term for it called 'work-relief.' He planned to keep the majority of able-bodied individuals busy—regardless of whether it was profitable—just to keep them occupied. Even if it meant sweeping the streets or picking up trash, he was prepared to pay them. A significant part of Byrdi was now in ruins and needed a lot of manpower for cleaning up. As soon as the cleanup was complete, Joe Ga planned to initiate major infrastructure projects: road construction, housing repair, and city rebuilding. As long as the oil pipeline kept flowing, he would have enough funds to propel construction, absorb manpower, dump the products Qiao Liang sent from China into the market, exchange for the locals' income, and encourage them to continue striving. Having promised to help stabilize Byrdi and Tubruq for the National Army, Joe Ga was determined to deliver on his word. As long as the locals still had hope, within at most a year, Joe Ga could bring prosperity back to Tubruq and Byrdi. Jokingly, during Liberia's peak period, the oil production per day exceeded 3.3 to 4 million barrels, with nearly a fifth of it exported from Tubruq. Despite Liberia being ravaged, the warlords all knew to protect the oil fields. Even if the production was halved, as long as Qiao, the boss, could keep the ports open, exporting just 300,000 barrels a day from here would gather enough funding to revive both cities. Once the cities regained stability, a whole spectrum of service industries that relied on refineries, docks, and foreign trade could create numerous jobs. When the people had money, everything else was easy to discuss! What if terrorists barged in and destroyed their beautiful lives? Would the people still sympathize with them? However, all of this hinged on first evacuating Tubruq and eliminating the terrorists—only then could Qiao, the boss, have larger room to manoeuvre and take the work-relief approach to its utmost potential. P.B. isn't a regular army; it has great flexibility in its operations. When Joe Ga's plan was approved, the local representatives in Liberia took the lead in springing into action. They needed to organize a security force of about 800 people to assist P.B. in maintaining Byrdi's order and participate in the city evacuation operations. They also had to organize workers to clean Byrdi: six people per truck, and for a truckload of rubbish brought to a designated place outside the city, Qiao, the boss, would pay them. Those without trucks could sweep the streets, collect discarded trash and items and deliver them to designated locations to earn money. There were also projects like cleaning the city's sewers; basically, as long as you were willing to exert effort, Joe would pay you for your work. Messy business and cutting corners didn't matter at all; stability was what was most important. Plus, after they earned money, they would ultimately spend it buying things at Joe's. The local Libyan representatives were actually baffled; they couldn't comprehend how someone could afford to feed over a hundred thousand people. However, Joe had shown his sincerity, and aside from expressing their gratitude, the representatives of the refugees and Byrdi had nothing else to say. The English, subtly or otherwise, encouraged them to seek management rights over the city, but the representatives pretended not to hear. Damn, everyone's a refugee now. We've finally gotten hold of a generous benefactor, and you want me to go against Joe? Pfft~ When the meeting was over and the English Observer was descending the stairs with his cane, he was accidentally bumped by Ayu, tumbling from the second floor to the first and breaking an arm and two ribs in the process. The guy wailed in the school for half an hour before a belated 'ambulance' came— he was dragged away by a beat-up pickup truck to a border refugee camp to mooch off the refugees' medical resources. While Joe Ga stayed in the meeting room to coordinate resources over the phone, the English SAS 'amicably' communicated with Ayu. After two large SAS members were tossed down from the second floor by Ayu, the matter was considered settled. Having made the call, Joe Ga learned of the incident and went to visit the SAS with amusement, only to find that they still held a basic sense of honor and discernment of right and wrong. Their 'exchange' with Ayu was a matter of stance; they couldn't just stand idly by while their own were attacked. But once the 'exchange' was done, it was back to business as usual! After chatting with them, Joe Ga discovered that they were quite professional and felt reassured. The team leader of this squad, 'Knight,' was said to have some noble blood. He wasn't very talkative but was sincere in his speech, which easily endeared people to him. It was only after talking with him that Joe Ga realized England and France had committed substantial forces to Benghazi and Surt, yet years had passed with little progress. 'Knight's' squad had been transferred from Surt... According to him, the conflict between terrorists, the National Army, and the Government of National Accord in Surt never ceased, with Benghazi and Tripoli facing bomb attacks almost every month. The first thing the National Army and the Government of National Accord did was to issue condemnations and then, with the assistance of the members of the UN Security Council, dispatch operatives for retaliation. This lukewarm warfare had been ongoing for years, The issues they faced were similar to those encountered by P·B; Surt harbored too many civilians who mostly sympathized with the terrorists, making large-scale bombing impossible, thus even the renowned SAS was essentially just sent in to be sent in. Actually, not everything the English Observer said was nonsense because their mode of operation was for MI6 agents to develop informants to identify valuable targets, which would then be neutralized by the special forces who, after capturing prisoners, would follow the trail. They were still relying on the old counter-terrorism playbook, producing mere 'counter-terrorism' results. Joe Ga listened and wasn't sure whether to commend the Gauls and John Bull for playing by the rules or to scoff at their pettiness. Joe Ga certainly didn't think he was smarter than others, but careful reflection revealed a vast difference in the way problems were approached and solved. France and England both hoped to maintain Libya's oil exports while ensuring political imbalance. The only consensus among the various parties was the fight against terrorists. Their companies had secured some oil drilling rights in Libya, but they would definitely not invest as Joe Ga did, nor would they care for all the local people like he did. And these European powers were unlikely to invest heavily to change Libya's status; after all, the resources belonged to corporations, and too much investment was simply too costly. They wished to keep Libya in a controllable state of chaos, with any faction coming to power needing their support, making it easier for them to cultivate proxies and manage the local economic and political environment. This situation led to half-hearted cooperation, at best. The National Army and the Government of National Accord were anything but grateful to them, taking every chance to extort or trip them up. The deal Joe struck with Haftar of the National Army effectively replaced the National Army's governmental powers in Tubruq and Byrdi, a privilege neither France nor England enjoyed... Because they didn't have the foundation for negotiations with the National Army's government! First off, there was a lack of trust; secondly, if Haftar handed Tubruq over to France or England, he would be labeled a traitor. The intervention of P·B, a military contracting company, faced no such impediments. As long as the National Army's flag flew over Tubruq, Haftar could concentrate his efforts eastward, squeezing the terrorist base's survival space in central and northern Surt, while gaining the upper hand in the competition with the Government of National Accord. This was the first time Joe Ga appreciated the advantages of P·B's identity, and he was beginning to understand why the observers from Africa Daddy and England always seemed sour, begrudging yet unable to voice their anger.