What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 611 Operation Divine Retribution (July 1800 Monthly Tickets)

Out of concern that the Empire might renege on its promise, Tang Wen approached the negotiation team that evening and demanded that Boeing expedite the delivery, especially the 20 CH-47D aircraft for domestic use.

The domestic opinion is one of approval, since it's no secret that India is being pressured through arms sales; even India itself is aware of it.

However, the complexity of international relations lies in the fact that India is also unsure whether its actions will become real, so it dares not ignore its continued opposition.

The Army gritted its teeth and scraped together $1000 million to offer a bounty on Boeing.
As of April 20, CH47D received an extra $1 million for arriving one day early!
When the negotiating team presented new conditions on February 20th, Boeing naturally had no objections. After all, those 20 aircraft were readily available; they could simply be disassembled, reassembled, and packaged as needed.

The transportation time is at least 25 to 30 days, and this point is almost urging Boeing to work overtime immediately to deliver the goods.

However, Rams became very wary and forcibly halted the sale, citing the need for Congress to review it again. He stated that the sale of military aircraft required review by a special committee and approval from some organization, a process that would take at least 60 days.

The army immediately objected:

You have the goods in stock, yet you still require a 60-day inspection period. Is this how you do business?

The negotiation atmosphere quickly stalled after Rams interrupted. The Army was desperate to receive all the goods by April, while Rams tried every means to obstruct it. Boeing wanted to sell but was afraid of being purged by Congress and dared not speak.

Rams was asked to explain in detail the content and process of the review, and to clarify whether the review was targeted at us, while he tried to bluff his way out of it by spouting nonsense about professionalism and regional differences.

Tang Wen, who was also present, had been impressed by the magnanimity of a great nation in the past few days, but this afternoon he witnessed the skill of both sides in insulting and mocking each other. They could insult people without using any vulgar language.

The negotiations that day ended in discord. Domestically, people were furious at Rams's sudden obstruction, believing that Prism Building had no intention of facilitating the deal and decided not to play along with Rams's act.

Tang Wen knew this was one of the ways to exert pressure, so he calmly went to attend the banquet. Rams, of course, also knew this, but he still had to face the pressure from home.

Boeing remained silent on the spot, but the news quickly spread within the industry, enraging the military-industrial complex.

During Ramsey's tenure, he relentlessly cut various projects to prevent people from making money. This time, we put aside our past grievances and played along with his act, even trying to do some small business, only to be tricked. This is simply outrageous!
The relationship between the generals at Prism Building and the military-industrial complex goes without saying. A large group of congressmen called one after another. You should know that midnight in the capital is daytime in the empire. People have plenty of time to make phone calls!
Even at his age, Rams was still being harassed by phone calls. Although he could pretend not to know some of them, he couldn't play dead when the president's aides also sent inquiries.

An aide raised the question on behalf of the president:
"Sir, it was the Joint Chiefs of Staff that made up the reason that it would be a loss if CH47 wasn't sold, but now you're the one obstructing the sale. You have to give us an explanation."

Rams had no choice but to explain:
"It's not that we won't sell, but we must sell in a planned, orderly, and controlled manner. We can't sell without a goal or a plan, just for the sake of money."

You all know the rules of arms sales. How can it be called an arms sale if there aren't some delays, obstacles, and extortion along the way?

The staff were certainly aware of these unspoken rules, but his current role was only to relay the president's words:
"Mr. Rams, your plan has neither forced the Third Brother to bow down nor gained friendship with Dongda University, and has even caused our company to make a wasted trip and suffer huge losses."

After his aide hung up, Kazimirz called back. Fortunately, Rams knew Kazimirz knew what he was thinking, and immediately complained:

"Dongda will definitely not give up the Chinook. They are taking advantage of our vulnerability and deliberately extorting us. I bet if we can hold out for just one day, they will agree to it if we offer 5 or 10 Chinooks in stock. Why does everyone lack patience?"

"Because the Empire doesn't have enough energy, the Amazon is about to take action, and the crisis on the subcontinent has dragged on for too long. Many people can't wait any longer. We can't devote too much energy to this!"

"you……"

"If they want the CH47D, then give it to them. I've already had Boeing disassemble and pack it overnight. It's not anything important."

"That's...ok."

Rams could only accept it, saying that Tokyo University had just picked a good time.

Under normal circumstances, in addition to making money, some additional exchanges can definitely be achieved, just like when McDonnell Douglas 82 was used to stop developing Y10.

Forget it, let's just consider it an attempt to appease these vicious wolves in the military-industrial complex.

……

As Rams closed his eyes with worry, the negotiations between Zhenhai and Serginho were about to reach their climax.

Sergio keenly sensed that Lan Xi's assistant, who was negotiating with him this time, was very shrewd. Unlike Tang Wen, who only focused on the key points and didn't pay much attention to the details, Lan Xi asked about everything, making him feel ashamed that his trump cards had been seen through.

Just by focusing on the island of Miãos, this woman had given Tang Wen a lot more initiative, leaving Serginho with almost no choice but to back down.

However, this patience was not without purpose; after making a “huge concession,” Serginho made a request:
"Although it may be presumptuous, I would like to ask Gekin if there are any places like Miangas within the territory of Java? Could you help us develop them? I can offer you the most favorable terms."

Here it comes, here comes the important part!
During the negotiations, Tang Wen stayed hidden to the side, slowly drinking and pretending to let go, but in reality, he was communicating with the ship girls through the internal channel. When he heard Serginho's words, he seemed a little confused due to the alcohol.
"Oil, of course..."

But at this moment, "Lan Xi" suddenly poked his thigh hard, and Tang Wen immediately shut up and changed his words:

"This requires a thorough on-site investigation; words alone cannot provide a definitive conclusion. I'll go to the restroom first, and you can discuss it further."

However, Sergio didn't miss this detail and immediately realized that the half-drunk Tang Wen was easier to approach, so he offered:

“Miss Lan, I’ll go with Mr. Tang. He’s a little drunk.”

Lan Xi immediately frowned slightly. Sergio didn't dare to look at her and quickly helped Tang Wen away. When the two stood side by side, he hurriedly tried to get closer to her:
"President Tang, our family recently discovered a painting and calligraphy piece from the Ming Dynasty. We'll send it to you later, and we would be grateful if you could help us appraise it."

"From the Ming Dynasty?"

Tang Wen raised his voice slightly, and Sergio immediately replied:

"It's from the middle to late period, and it came into my hands by chance during a time of war. But we don't have the corresponding culture and can't understand it. It's best to hand it over to someone who does so so that the treasure won't be buried!"

"If that's how you put it, then I can only reluctantly offer my assessment."

Sergio was taken aback by Tang Wen's shameless reply, but immediately seized the opportunity to ask:
"Could you share some information about oil? It's extremely important to us."

"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but even if I did, I'm afraid you wouldn't want to hand it over to Gaijin Mining!"

"of course not!"

Serginho hastily denied it, almost swearing to God that the newly discovered oil field would definitely be handed over to Geigin.

Tang Wen dodged and weaved, managing to stall for a full minute before slowly opening his mouth:
"Did you know that the oil wells discovered at Lile Beach are part of the South China Sea oil-bearing belt? In the past, foreigners only explored surface oil fields, which were floating oil brought up from deeper layers by pressure pumps. The real deep oil fields are distributed in a narrow strip along the ocean, and they are located in your territory, near Natuna. The reserves there are no smaller than those in the Spratly Islands; five billion tons is just the minimum. It's just that current technology can only explore the surface waste oil and can't find anything else..."

Tang Wen's speech became increasingly slurred as he spoke. When Sergio came to his senses, he found that Tang Wen had closed his eyes and was only opening his mouth silently. He immediately realized that Tang Wen was truly drunk.

But he still overheard some incredible secret. Shocked, he helped the swaying Tang Wen back into the house. Lan Xi immediately took over from him and said that the boss was drunk and they would talk about it tomorrow.

Having obtained astonishing inside information, Sergio could only nod, still processing the information after the two left:

Deep oil fields, five billion tons!
No wonder Tang Wen was unwilling to talk about it. Such a large oil field is located on the sensitive Natuna Island, and it is on the same level as Lile Beach. If we drain Lile Beach, wouldn't there be less oil?

Sergio was in turmoil; the enormous wealth was too much for him to handle, and he spent the entire night making endless phone calls.

But what he didn't know was that Tang Wen, who was drunk, returned to normal as soon as he got into the car, staring blankly at the dark night sky of the capital.

The bait has been laid; now it's up to fate.

……

The next day, when Sergio came to the guesthouse under the pretext of delivering a painting, he immediately brought up what happened the night before. However, Tang Wen only shook his head and said that he was drunk and could not remember anything. He also deliberately said that he was prone to talking nonsense when he was drunk.

This made Serginho even more certain that what he had heard yesterday was classified, and he quickly confirmed the validity of the information with the Java authorities.

The authorities went almost mad when they learned that Natuna had more than 50 billion tons of oil reserves. Once such a super oil field is developed, they will have no worries about food and drink and can live off the oil field.

The authorities immediately considered extracting it, but then thought of Mionas Island, where no one but Geggen could extract oil, not even Shell and ExxonMobil.

If this large oil field were located elsewhere, they would probably immediately hire Gegjin to extract it, but Natuna Island is no ordinary small island.

To the east lies Malaysia, to the north are Siam and Annam, and to the west is Cawa. It also happens to be located in the middle of the only route from the Strait of Malacca to the South China Sea.

This island is practically invisible in Java's hands, but if it were controlled by a powerful naval force, it would practically control half of the world's shipping, second only to the Suez Canal!

Does Gekin have a powerful navy?

It’s really hard to say!
The major powers don't take Tang Wen's collection of "antique yachts" and "warship attractions" seriously, but for the people of Southeast Asia, the pressure he exerts is terrifying.

When Gaijin first ventured into the Spratly Islands, the Wenming rammed into more than a dozen ships in one night, resulting in mutual destruction. It earned the nickname "Mad Dog of the Spratly Islands" among fishermen.

Subsequently, the Dongjiang Maritime Joint Defense Team was established, with destroyers disguised as fishing boats joining the fray. Later, they stopped pretending and directly incorporated cruisers such as Yahagi and Algeria, which patrolled the Spratly Islands with "tourists" every day.

Luzon initially considered a last-ditch effort, but after Geytin built four more battleships, nothing more was done.
While the New York and New Moscow, two World War I battleships, were relatively slow compared to warships, their speed of 18 knots was comparable to that of ordinary fishing boats and patrol vessels. The Kongo and Fusang were even more like super-dreadnought battleships, fast and heavily armed.

For Southeast Asia, this is practically the return of the Combined Fleet. Fifty years ago, they could only watch helplessly, and now they can only watch helplessly again.

The reason why major powers don't take it seriously is because they have more methods, but as for the group of stars in Southeast Asia... to be honest, if they relied solely on themselves, they wouldn't even reach the level of World War I.

At most, they would swarm in and deplete the battleships' ammunition, and then they could try boarding maneuvers.

The Great White Fleet is still on its way back, stopping in Hawaii to sell tickets. The two battleships, Kongo and Fusang, have been stationed in the Spratly Islands. Due to a lack of manpower, they are only occasionally activated, but each patrol makes their companions around them tremble with fear.

These four battleships firmly suppressed the South China Sea. If they were moved to Natuna, they might not be able to block the shipping lanes, but their deterrent power alone would keep the surrounding insignificant forces up at night.

Of course, this can be restricted in the contract. Generally speaking, the mining party is in a weak position and can be driven away at will. But when faced with Gaijin, which has unique technology and a fleet, who dares to speak up?
The authorities in Zawaha are now in a dilemma.

……

Santaren

"Torres, you son of a bitch, how did you get so skinny? Did the samba girls melt you down?!"

Ryan jumped off the helicopter while making jokes, but was immediately grabbed by his limbs and thrown into the air by his teammates, who welcomed their captain back amidst laughter.

Because the entire Ryan team was the first to discover anti-aircraft tower number 2, they were all commended, and the other two team members who died also received substantial compensation.

After Ryan returned to the squad, he first learned about the current situation:

Last year, General Charles was tragically killed by a large-caliber artillery shell, which directly marked the complete failure of the Empire's first phase of operations in the rainforest.

While retreating to lick its wounds, Prism Tower abandoned its strategy of direct assault and instead launched small-scale, unpredictable attacks with F-111s or F-15s, occasionally dropping a few bombs to harass the enemy.

The turret that had been shelling Charles was rediscovered after a thorough search and was bombarded four or five times to avenge the general.

The original plan for Prism Building was to prepare for two scenarios:

Regroup and launch a second ground offensive, or flood Hans.

However, after the Christmas battle, the Empire could not spare much strength for the time being, leaving only the second option.

Forget about those damn air raid shelters and concrete bulldozers; as long as the Amazon floods, Prism Tower can just sit back and fish out the dead dogs.

On the surface, the number of troops sent to the Amazon has been increasing, with more than 1.5 ground combat troops alone. However, a closer look reveals that the main force is staying near the port, while the scattered advance teams are equipped with helicopters for easy evacuation.

It's worth mentioning that Hans in the rainforest also reduced his movements after the Christmas battle, but they were unaware that a natural disaster was about to strike.

Ryan returned to the team with a mission: to serve as weather observers, carrying equipment to record regional weather data for up to a week in the ever-changing rainforest.

If the calculation results match, the demon codenamed "Divine Retribution" will descend upon the world.

Under the guise of withdrawing bombers supporting Britain, the Prism Building secretly concentrated all the withdrawn bombers in Florida without leaving a trace, while simultaneously mobilizing a large number of transport planes, waiting for the moment to arrive.

(End of this chapter)