Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 137 Engagement Ceremony (Part 1)

"It seems that the Sudri faction, led by His Majesty the King, is really going to take action against us."

Several important figures from Shuangzhi gathered in a VIP suite decorated with traditional Persian tapestries and burning sandalwood.

The air was filled with the rich scent of ebony and a lingering aroma of coffee. From the suite's window, one could see a racetrack right outside.

However, none of the people inside were in the mood to enjoy the horse race; a persistent gloom hung over them.

The recent large-scale mobilization of the military and National Guard has given them a different feeling. This is no longer a normal power struggle, but rather the Sudari faction preparing to overturn the table.

Lieutenant General Talal was the first to speak, stubbing out his cigarette angrily: "Damn it, they're just pulling the best from my own troops, no acting involved! They're taking away my best-trained, battle-hardened veterans, all of them, and transferring them to that Amir! This is clearly a case of ripping me off and sabotaging me!"

He was Amir's former superior, a high-ranking official in the Tabuk region, who commanded the western front troops to support Hashim during the Fourth Middle East War. He was a tough, powerful figure.

Next to speak was Prince Mursed, whose tone was slightly agitated: "It's the same here. Several key positions under my command have been transferred in parallel. This is an attempt to gradually move our people away in order to weaken my control over the guards."

Prince Mursed was the seventh son of the founding emperor. He was the commander of the Shuangzhi National Guard and represented the interests of the Shamar tribe.

The National Guard, one of the three major violent organizations of the Shuangzhi, was largely established based on the tribal soldiers of Shamar in its early years, which directly led to Prince Mursed having a very high degree of control over this guard.

If we were to rank the princes of Shuangzhi, Prince Mursed would be a "monster" prince on par with Muhammad.

They are all figures put forward by powerful interest groups behind the scenes.

"Isn't their purpose clear?"

A tribal elder from the Nej Chiefs Alliance picked up the conversation, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction: "The Sudri faction is growing stronger by the day, and the 'brother-to-brother succession' system is about to prevent them from holding power indefinitely! They want to kick us all out and take everything for themselves!"
Don't forget, if it weren't for the united support of our various tribes back then, where would Shuangzhi be today? Now that oil has surfaced, all the money is flowing into the pockets of their Al-Saud family, and they've almost forgotten everything we gave!

Finally, the Sheikh Prince, leader of the Medina school of thought and a powerful figure in religious foundations and monastic colleges, spoke. His tone was serious: “The problem with the Sudri is not just their greed for wealth and power; they are embracing the United States without restraint, allowing Western ideology (capitalism) to erode our nation like a sandstorm, from weapons to culture.”

Their pursuit of modernization is trampling on our traditions and the foundations of our beliefs. If this continues, Shuangzhi will cease to be Shuangzhi.

Although the conflict has been brought to light, the question is, can they now stop the Sudri faction from taking back military power?

This inevitably reminded them of Amir. At first, they thought he was just a lucky idiot, but now they realized they had misjudged him.

"That kid isn't a small fish, he's a real shark!" Talal spat. "If only we had taken him down back in Nukoshir!"

The Sheikh prince said, "But suppressing him is useless. He is just a military representative put forward by Muhammad. Even if we get rid of him, they can put forward a new prince at any time. The real problem is the entire Sudri faction!"

"We must fight back, but not now."

Prince Mursad analyzed, "The establishment of the 'United Front' and the support from the United States have given them great prestige. Now we can only try to delay their pace and not be led by the nose..."

After a heated and tense discussion, they devised a strategy to retaliate, but now they were missing an opportunity, a trigger that could ignite all the conflicts and give them a legitimate reason to launch their attack.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At Kasher Estate, a typical dinner party at the Muhammad family's home.

It's unclear when exactly, but Prince Muhammad's visits here have gradually become more frequent, from once every few months to once every few weeks, and now he comes to stay for several days almost every week. The change is obvious to everyone.

Not only did Mistress Musta smile more often, but the servants were also beaming with joy.

The old butler, Ibrahim, even secretly wiped away tears, thinking that it was all thanks to the second young master.

At the dining table, Lu Lin was fighting with Sheila over a sweet shrimp.

"This is mine!" In fact, with the wealth of the Muhammad family, there was no need to fight over it, but the brother and sister loved to play this little game.

In the end, Lu Lin managed to snatch the sweet shrimp. Looking at the disgruntled Sheila, he said smugly, "Who says I have to give way to you? It would be stupid to be modest when there's something good to share."

Then he realized that something was off about the atmosphere. Neither Muhammad nor Musta had scolded him; instead, they were looking at him with smiles on their faces.

Lu Lin felt uneasy at that smile until Prince Muhammad spoke first: "You're not young anymore, are you?"

Lu Lin immediately realized what awaited him.

As expected, Prince Muhammad got straight to the point: "It's time for you to get married. I've already found you a suitable in-law. They are also a prominent family with deep roots, which will greatly help consolidate our power."

Lu Lin immediately felt a headache coming on and interrupted, "Uh, I don't have time to think about that right now. I have to think about reorganizing the troops..."

"Are you really not going to consider it?" Prince Muhammad asked, somewhat surprised.

Lu Lin refused again, and the prince said with some regret, "Then it seems I have to decline the Rashid family's kind offer."

Wait a minute?
Lu Lin's mouth dropped open: "You mean... Yehena?"

Sheila, who was forking sweet shrimp from Lu Lin's plate, also opened her mouth wide.

“Otherwise?” Prince Muhammad leaned back.

“She has saved you more than once; perhaps Allah sent her to you,” Musta said with a smile. “Since it is God’s arrangement, how can you refuse?”

"And I remember, it was you who ruined their engagement," Prince Mohammed said with a hint of sarcasm. "Do you want to be an irresponsible man?"

Lu Lin was about to agree when he felt the words get stuck in his throat.

On the battlefield, he can be a decisive and efficient commander, but in matters of the heart, he becomes indecisive at crucial moments.

At that moment, countless reasons for rejection popped into his head, such as "still a minor," "date first, then get married," and "prioritize your career," and so on.
Damn it, how did I become such an idiot at this moment?

Prince Muhammad looked at his son and saw a reflection of himself in him.

He stared at Lu Lin's somewhat disheveled eyes and asked two questions: "Do you like her?"

A beautiful girl! And the frontal armor is thicker than the upper glacis armor of the M60A1.
Based on his own preferences and intuition, Lu Lin gave his answer: "I like it."

Does she like you?

Lu Lin was somewhat at a loss for words when it came to this question.

You probably like her a little, right?
It seems they've hinted at it more than once!

After a brief hesitation, Lu Lin nodded: "I think I like it."

"That's it."

Prince Muhammad looked at him and said calmly, "You should know that royal marriages usually don't offer much choice. If you can meet these two conditions, you are already happier than more than 99% of your cousins."

Lu Lin was stunned. Was this all done just like that?

(End of this chapter)