King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

The stakes in Tubruq were too high, the focus too intense, and P·B's approach too charitable, so charitable that anyone accusing P·B would easily slap their own face. In the next three years, if England and France wanted to get a piece of the pie here, they'd need Boss Qiao's approval... Of course, it's not about simple transactions like selling a few barrels of oil; it's about where the money from that oil ends up going. I won't go into details, but a steady export trade volume of a couple hundred million US dollars a year can create how many jobs and how much in taxes—I won't even mention that. The industrial chains these things kick-start are the lifeblood of a country. Thinking about this, Boss Qiao wanted to laugh out loud to the sky. It turns out being a 'consumer hero' had its perks. No wonder the Middle Eastern tycoons were welcome everywhere they went; they were big spenders after all! Say it's politics, but damn, it's still business! Joe Ga always thought that France and England were lending him a hand because they cared about their reputation to some degree. Now he realized that what really drove them to send their elite forces over to work their asses off for him was business. Once everything clicked, Boss Qiao felt much warmer towards these 'volunteer special forces' who had come to help. You're helping me at a price, so might as well treat you like mercenaries, right? Who gives a damn about consulting you on anything! He cordially bid farewell to England's SAS personnel, reminding them to be on time for work tomorrow... Boss Qiao cheerfully headed to the office prepared for him by Zahovic and then dialed old Chen from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Group... "Got any spare tankers? Send them over, and I'll fill 'em up!" Upon hearing this, old Chen's curiosity piqued, and he asked, "What do you mean? Is the refinery starting up again?" Joe Ga said with a grin, "If you can arrange for the workers to come here, the restart of the refinery depends on your progress. Though the refinery will need some time, that doesn't stop me from selling crude oil. Plenty to go around, are you in or out? If you're not interested, I'll just ask the Greeks and Italians..." Old Chen, covering the mouthpiece, muttered something to someone beside him, then excitedly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, $85 a barrel, we can arrange two 100,000-ton tankers to head to Tubruq. Wait for me; you have to wait for me!" Then old Chen eagerly asked, "Has there been progress in the war?" Joe Ga laughed and said, "Not so fast; the city of Tubruq will need more time, but I've pretty much got the docks and refinery. If you've got the guts, you can start organizing people to come over and resume operations now. I can almost guarantee their safety." After mulling it over, old Chen said, "Then I have to report this upstairs. Hu Lang, give me a solid answer: how confident are you about the security?" Joe Ga chuckled and replied, "I'm about to pull out the majority of the troops from the city to take care of the docks and refinery. As long as the workers follow the plan, I'm 90% confident..." Upon hearing this, old Chen confirmed, "That's enough then. I'll find the people and get ready. We'll be there in at most half a month. On your end, also help look around. There must be many ex-refinery workers in Tubruq. We want them all as long as they follow management!" With that, old Chen went somewhere quiet, lowered his voice, and said, "Xiao Qiao, I've attended several meetings back in China, and one of the leaders asked me to inquire if you could help with a little situation in our Angola project?" Joe Ga paused for a moment before answering, "Are you asking me to send troops to fight for you?" Old Chen hastily replied, "Hey, no, no, it's not that dramatic. It's just that some opposition armed forces have appeared around where our company operates. Their government isn't capable enough, so they need a bit of security assistance." Joe Ga laughed and said, "Can't be serious, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Group walking all over Angola?" Old Chen sounded a bit disheartened as he explained, "That's where you're wrong. Angola has transferred 50% of the oil exploration rights to us. The loan-for-oil contract we signed doesn't include any political clauses. So, you know..." Joe Ga of course understood; the most important manifestation of non-interference in a country's internal matters is to not send troops into their home. Chinese enterprises in Angola enjoy the protection of the government's military forces. Now that Old Chen is asking for my help, it must be because they're faced with a tough nut that the government's army can't crack in the short term. Angola is quite wealthy at the moment. If an opposition faction has suddenly emerged, it must either seek public attention through sensationalism or have backing from behind the scenes. But Joe Ga is really stretched thin right now, so after thinking it over, he said, "What exactly are you guys planning? What do you want me to do?" After listening, Old Chen pondered for a dozen seconds, then said with a wry smile, "I really shouldn't say this, but actually my boss just mentioned this to me in private... The head office still prefers the route of diplomatic mediation, but you know how it is, if we drag this out too long, the losses will be enormous." Joe Ga thought about it and in the end shook his head, saying, "In that case, if it's just pure security services, I can take it on. If there are any other requests, I suggest you try to persuade the Angolan government to give a contract to P·B, and I can send a team to assist." Joe Ga should have offered to help with the situation, but it involved issues of stance. Not a national or interest-based stance, but an identity stance. Old Chen's idea was to have Joe Ga dispatch someone to take care of that opposition faction, essentially to make them disappear. That's something Joe Ga couldn't do. Doing so would turn him into a 'hitman' doing dirty work! It's only natural for a mercenary to be a 'hitman', but Old Chen and his kind didn't have the authority for that, nor could they sign an explicit contract. The moment Joe Ga did such a thing, his identity would instantly be devalued! Who would respect someone who does dirty work for money? If the Angolan government steps in, it's a different story. P·B being hired to fight there is considered legitimate wherever you talk about it. Old Chen, sharp as he was, instantly understood Joe Ga's implication and said with a laugh, "Then let's forget it. It was just a casual inquiry by our leader. Xiao Qiao, pretend I didn't ask. This matter doesn't concern you. Our group can handle it ourselves." With that, Old Chen let out a sigh of relief, then said with a smile, "One week, at most one week later, two oil tankers will pass through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, and after they're loaded, they'll head straight from the Suez Canal into the Aden Gulf of the Red Sea. Xiao Qiao, we must make a success of this first shot. Whether I, Old Chen, get a promotion and a raise depends on this one." Jokingly, Joe Ga laughed and nodded his head, "No problem. Even fighting can wait; making money is the most important!" After that, Joe Ga hung up the phone and called Qiao Liang to confirm the whereabouts of the cargo ships loaded with supplies. Having received an accurate response, Joe Ga informed Zahovic and Salenko, sending Wagner and Sevillian paratroopers to the port and the refinery respectively. Then he instructed all special forces units and 'Gunfire' along with the Tuareg people to stand by in the P·B occupied zone in Tubruq. Finally, after confirming with the 'Professor' that the goods he wanted were already on a freight plane en route to Liberia, Joe Ga nodded contentedly, leaning back in his luxurious executive chair for a moment's rest. Watching the people outside begin to move upon his command, Joe Ga remained silent for a long while before calling Thompson... "Help me check, what's been happening in Angola lately?" The Thompson on the other end of the phone was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Angola is currently holding elections, boss. Which part of the intelligence do you want?" Joe Ga suddenly realized where the problem lay; the opposition wasn't the anti-government armed forces, but the opposition's stance was generally opposite to that of the government. After thinking for a while, Joe Ga said, "Send the 'Engineer' to take a trip to Angola and wait for my command." Hearing this, Thompson decisively said, "Just give me a name, and it can be done within 15 days. The Engineer will make everything look like an accident." Joe Ga thought about it and said, "Okay, let the Engineer set off first. Find the biggest opposition leader and let him die in an accident. Don't tell anyone about this!" After giving the instructions, Joe Ga hung up the phone and then rubbed his temples... "I'll test the rapport with you. If it's even slightly off, then there won't be a next time!"