Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1219 Negotiation Failed
"This is impossible!"

Simon could no longer maintain his composure and cried out:

"You are challenging our bottom line! You are trampling on the dignity of the United States of America! The government is officially endorsing and whitewashing you personally? This will make the US government a laughing stock in the world! It will become one of the biggest scandals in diplomatic history! And a billion-dollar contract, plus those sensitive active-duty equipment... This is too demanding! This is outrageous! This is not negotiation! Song, this is extortion!"

"Harsh? Outrageous? Extortionate?"

Song Heping looked as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Director Simon, please ask yourself honestly, compared to your betrayal that led to the deaths of me and my brothers, compared to the imminent collapse of the front lines in Ozam and Agra, and compared to the visible strategic failures and loss of credibility you are facing in Iligo and the entire Middle East, are the conditions I'm offering really that harsh? Are they really that outrageous?"

He paused, then spread his hands and said, "It's more worthwhile than you sending troops back to Iligo, isn't it?"

After saying that, he threw Simon aside and went to the window, turning his back to the CIA director. His gaze swept over the scene outside shrouded in sand and dust, and he said in an even more oppressive tone, "Simon, please understand one basic fact—right now, you are begging me, not me, Song Heping, begging you. I have plenty of time to wait here, to wait for you to come up with a result from your internal disputes, and to wait for you to come up with other 'brilliant ideas'."

"I just don't know how long the Kold brothers and the Iligo government forces on the front lines can hold out against '1515's' crazy offensive. One day? Two days? Without me holding back those lunatics' main force at Hurmatu, your entire counter-terrorism plan will fail, and you might even lose Ozam. In that case, it won't be me, Song Heping, who will lose face."

Simon's face looked like a rotten tomato that had been sun-dried in a garbage dump for a week.

He clenched his fists tightly.

But he knew that every word Song Heping said was a cold and cruel truth, a naked conspiracy.

The United States is now in a difficult position and desperately needs Song Heping, a poisonous but only lifeline, to stabilize the collapsing situation in northwestern Iligo.

"Song".

Simon's voice became extremely dry: "The conditions you've proposed... are of great importance and far exceed my personal authority. I... I need to consult with Washington immediately, and report to the President and the National Security Council."

"Please."

Song Heping didn't even turn his head; he simply waved casually toward the door, making a "do as you please" gesture.

"While the communication facilities here are rudimentary and not as good as your White House Situation Room, contacting Washington should still be no problem. The signal is better in the courtyard; you can make your encrypted calls from there. However, Simon, my patience and the situation on the front lines are both limited. Please make sure to act quickly."

Simon didn't say another word. He turned around abruptly and, with the two bodyguards who also looked grim, quickly walked out of the suffocating command center and into a relatively quiet corner of the courtyard.

Then he pulled out his specially encrypted satellite phone and pressed hard on White House Chief of Staff Brennan's private line number.

The call was answered almost instantly.

Clearly, Brennan and the powerful figure behind him were anxiously awaiting news from Dagula.

"What conditions did he offer?"

Brennan's voice was urgent; he didn't even call Simon by name.

Simon swallowed hard, then repeated Song Heping's three bombshell conditions verbatim, one by one, in the most concise language possible.

There was an instant, deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

After a full ten seconds of silence, Simon almost thought the signal had been lost.

Then, Brennan's completely out-of-control roar suddenly exploded, almost piercing Simon's eardrums and shattering them:

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! Who does he think he is?! God?! A billion dollars?! And all that equipment?! He wants us to whitewash him?! This damn terrorist who deserves to go to hell! Bastard! He's extorting money! It's blatant, undisguised nuclear blackmail!!"

Brennan's voice was distorted by extreme anger, filled with hysteria.

"Tell him! Dream on! Let him dream on! We'd rather send a B-2 Spirit strategic bomber to wipe his damn command post and him off the map completely! We will never bow down to him! Never!"

Simon had long anticipated that Brennan, or rather the entire Washington leadership, would react with such extreme anger and rejection.

He patiently listened to the frantic cursing coming from the other end of the phone until Brennan's anger seemed to subside slightly, and his breathing became less labored. Only then did he speak in an unusually calm tone:

"Sir, calm down. Should we bomb him with a B-2?"

He paused, letting the other person process the consequences behind this seemingly appealing option.

"Let's not even talk about whether we can accurately locate and eliminate Song Heping, who is well-prepared, in a short time—don't forget, he also has a way out in Persia. If things fall out and he runs to Persia, are we going to declare war on Persia?"

"Even if we're lucky and manage to blow him into the sky, then what? 'Musician' Defense Company will instantly be leaderless, descending into internal strife or even collapse. The 1515 armed threat will still exist, and may even become more rampant due to the lack of restraint. Ozam and Agra will be completely wiped out within days... no, possibly within tens of hours!"

"At that time, our counter-terrorism strategy, which we have cultivated in Iligo for so many years and at the cost of countless amounts of money and blood, will crumble instantly like a sandcastle, completely bankrupt! At that time, those fanatical militants from 1515 will advance unimpeded and occupy large swathes of territory in northwestern Iligo, even threatening Erbil! Should we redeploy troops to Iligo? Or should we rely on continuous air bombing to stop them? How much will it cost to redeploy troops to Iligo? Don't forget, those members of Congress will definitely use this to attack us... Who will bear the responsibility for this catastrophic disaster? You? Me? Or will the President himself bear the responsibility?" He ruthlessly tore open the bloody reality, each word striking like a hammer blow: "Sir, wake up! We need him now! We desperately need him! Without Song Heping and his gang of capable, desperate fighters, we simply cannot find another force on the ground to effectively contain the 1515 armed group in the short term! The Kold'd people are already crippled and their morale is low! The Iligo government forces are a bunch of useless wretch, utterly incapable of any use! This is the cruelest reality we have to face!"

"But...but that's not right either..."

Brennan still wanted to argue, trying to grasp at that pitiful "political correctness" and "national dignity," but his tone was noticeably less forceful and resolute than before, revealing his inner struggle and weakness.

"Nothing is impossible!"

Simon interrupted him bluntly: "It's time to make a decision. We only have two paths before us now, one or the other, there's no middle ground! Either we compromise, put aside that ridiculous pride and so-called bottom line, agree to his conditions, even if only partially, use him to get through this fatal crisis, and concentrate our efforts on eliminating '1515,' this major threat. We can deal with the rest later, even if it's like drinking poison to quench thirst!"

"Either we tough it out and prepare to bear the risk of the situation in Iligo spiraling out of control, which could lead to extremely unfavorable consequences for the entire Middle East! Tell me, which of these two options would be more detrimental to national interests? Which one would make it easier for the president and you and I to explain to Congress?!"

Brennan fell silent again on the other end of the phone.

All that could be heard was his heavy breathing and the low murmurs of his other staff members in the background.

Clearly, Brennan wasn't the only one on the other end of the phone.

Agreeing to Song Heping's conditions would be like drinking poison to quench thirst, with endless consequences and could trigger a political tsunami in the country.

However, if one disagrees, the current mess will become unmanageable, and the resulting chain reaction could be even more disastrous.

Time passed second by second, each second feeling like an eternity.

After what felt like an eternity, Brennan finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth, his voice filled with extreme reluctance:

“No… I still can’t agree… This crosses our bottom line, and it exceeds the limit the president can accept… Simon, let’s break the negotiations and come back immediately. We… we’ll think of another way, perhaps we can get in from within the Kold’s people…”

Simon's heart turned cold.

He knew he couldn't persuade Brennan.

Hypocritical political correctness and so-called "dignity" still outweighed the cold and cruel strategic realities.

The gentlemen in Washington would rather watch the situation rot than make such a "humiliating" concession to save face.

"I understand."

Simon sighed and said, "I'll leave now."

He hung up the phone and stood frozen in place for a long time.

Then, after spending some time trying to compose myself and regain my composure, I walked back to the command post.

Even without him saying a word, Song Heping already knew the final outcome from the undisguised dejection on his face and the helplessness in his eyes.

"It seems that the gentlemen of Washington still can't let go of their pathetic pride and arrogance."

Song Heping's tone was undisguisedly sarcastic; he didn't even bother to feign regret.

Simon felt his cheeks burning: "Song, I regret to inform you... After careful consideration, the White House... cannot accept your proposed conditions. The negotiations... end here."

"hehe."

Song Heping laughed.

He shook his head and looked at Simon:
"Go back and tell Mr. Brennan, and that president hiding in the Oval Office, that you... will definitely regret this foolish and short-sighted decision today. Without me, Song Heping, you wouldn't be able to get by in this quagmire of Iligo. Just wait and see, soon, maybe tomorrow, you'll understand how foolish it was to refuse me today."

His words were devoid of anger, carrying an air of confidence.

Simon was speechless; his lips moved, but no sound came out.

He knew this was no empty threat.

He knew Song Heping all too well.

This issue……

This is likely to become more complicated.

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(End of this chapter)