Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 134 The Sudri Party's Plan

Upon learning of the surrender of Zion's 210th Division, Lu Lin was not surprised, but rather felt a little regretful.

He thought that after he was released from confinement, he could go and join in the fun of the surrender ceremony.

Bandar was promoted to Major General in the Army, becoming the fastest-promoted general in Shuangzhi after him.

Meanwhile, international news about his confrontation with Prime Minister Hilbert at the United Nations and his beating of King Setis continues to circulate.

Many Western media outlets seized this opportunity to portray Shuangzhi as a backward country that had degenerated to the tribal stage, and to slander Arabs as "uncivilized" and "arrogant" barbarians.

Of course, this move also boosted Lu Lin's popularity. Putting aside his tough style, his performance on the Middle East battlefield alone is enough for many to consider him one of the most promising generals of modern times.

But soon two other major news items about the Middle East almost overshadowed him, causing a huge uproar worldwide.

First, Masr announced his withdrawal from the Arab League.

In the latest ceasefire agreement signed with Zion, Masr was forced to "lease" the Sinai Peninsula to Zion and sign a friendship agreement.

This agreement is the result of the influence of many major powers. Masr used it to obtain the withdrawal of troops from Zion and a chance to catch his breath.

Of course, this agreement, which resembled a betrayal, led to Masr being expelled from the Arab League.

In just a few years, Masr's status in Arab countries plummeted, from a leading figure to a marginalized figure in the Arab world.

"It seems that even if the original timeline had been followed, Masr would have withdrawn from the Arab League not long after, right? The reason seems to be that President Duleva exchanged the Sinai Peninsula for establishing diplomatic relations with Zion, and he personally won the Nobel Peace Prize for it."

Lu Lin pondered to himself.

In the long run, Dullwa's decision was actually beneficial to Masr, but at the cost of completely losing the trust of the Arab world.

The second thing was the power struggle that broke out in the Kingdom of Hashim.

In fact, the struggle was short-lived, and the new king was Prince Tarric, son of Setis.

The young king showed great ambition from the moment he took the throne. He overturned the moderate foreign policy that his grandfather and father had always upheld and chose to fight Zion head-on.

At the same time, it also proposed to countries such as Cyprus and Surya to rebuild diplomatic relations.

Considering that all of this happened within just three days, Lu Lin couldn't help but sigh, the Middle East is truly a huge makeshift operation.

As the situation has developed to this point, much of his previous experience is no longer applicable.

These changes have also greatly impacted the landscape of the Middle East.

Anyone with eyes to see can see that amid such tremendous turmoil, the biggest geopolitical shift in the history of the Middle East is brewing.

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Lu Lin was playing Space Race with a controller. The game was made by the United States, and its theme was a space arms race with Ant. It was similar to Thunder Fighter.

He was engrossed in the game when suddenly a commotion arose outside, growing louder and louder.

"Why shouldn't he be promoted to general? He was also involved in the encirclement and suppression of the 210th Division!"

“Your Majesty, he has just been promoted to lieutenant general. Too many promotions will cause gossip.” Before the words were finished, King Shams’s round figure burst through the door, followed by the princes of the Sudri faction.

Seeing Lu Lin playing a game, the king's eyes lit up and he tried to grab the controller.

“Brother,” Prince Muhammad tugged at Shams’s sleeve, “let’s talk business first.”

"Alright." His Majesty the King reluctantly withdrew his hand. "Anyway, it's you guys who are talking, I'll just listen from the side."

Looking at his aggrieved expression, one might think he had been sidelined by his brothers. Prince Muhammad rubbed his temples, looking completely helpless.

After everyone was seated, Prince Mohammed got straight to the point: "Two things, both concerning you. The first is to expand your army. The initial plan is to expand it into an army group—including two infantry divisions, two armored divisions, plus an artillery brigade, an air defense brigade, and logistics units."

Lu Lin sat up straight immediately. This was a regular army of at least forty or fifty thousand men!
Then he became somewhat doubtful: "Do we have that many soldiers?"

“Most are still in training, but we can recruit veterans from other units.” The youngest prince, Suleiman, winked at him.

Lu Lin had already realized that this was an opportunity to bring all the nation's elite forces under his command and completely crush other factions.

Then he thought to himself, "Good heavens, am I going to have to control all the armies in the world?"
"Right now, we can use the threat from Zion as an excuse to consolidate military power in the hands of our other brothers. They won't dare disobey, since the army is nominally still the state's."

Prince Abdul looked at Lu Lin, a slight smile appearing on his serious face: "This is all thanks to you. If it weren't for your outstanding achievements, it would have been difficult to directly expand your organization to the size of an army."

Lu Lin naturally had no objections.

He knew in his heart that he had long been caught in the vortex of power struggles. Whether he wanted to or not, he couldn't escape it.

From the day he transmigrated into Amir's body, he was branded with the label of the Sudri faction.

In addition, in order to further weaken the control of the "other brothers" faction over military power, his uncles also planned to target the National Guard, transferring key personnel in parallel and significantly reducing their power.

However, Lu Lin did not recognize any of the princes they mentioned.

The second thing related to him was the post-war reconstruction of the "Nur" district.

"The royal family plans to build a road between Hafbar and Ghanam, passing through several important towns."

Prince Muhammad said, "Once the road is completed, there will be no need for troops to be mobilized or supplies to be transported. At that time, Nur will truly be considered part of Shuangzhi."

Actually, there's another point, which everyone tacitly acknowledges.

Lu Lin is now not only the governor of Nur District, but also the commander of the Northern Border District. He is currently the only prince in Shuangzhi who holds real power in two districts.

If it weren't for the fact that one district is too remote and the other too far away, and that both are inseparable from him, people would have already started to protest.

“We have already found the United Nations to be the contractor. They will be responsible for the road and city reconstruction, and it will be initially completed in about eight months.” Prince Muhammad stared at his son and said, “By then, your troops should also have completed their reorganization.”

The meaning behind the words couldn't be clearer.

Whether it's the oath he swore in front of the United Nations, or the decades-long feud between the Arabs and Zion, the lands that haven't been reclaimed, the displaced refugees, and the trampled faith—all of these deserve an end.

He nodded: "I will keep my promise."

(End of this chapter)