I was a prince in the Middle East

Chapter 23 Learning may be far away in China, but it should still be sought!

Walid felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me? I still have to study!"

He deliberately used a self-righteous tone, as if he were a student.

Muhammad and Turki were both stunned, their expressions showing surprise.

They then simultaneously gave each other a wry smile.

The way this kid manipulated things in the VIP room today was so shrewd, like a seasoned politician, that they completely forgot he was still a "school dropout"!

Muhammad pondered for a moment, "That's easy. It's just a matter of identity and education; as long as it looks presentable, that's fine."

I will arrange for the Ministry of Education to make an exception and issue you a high school diploma certification.

"You can study in Riyadh for university, that way you can be near me and help me with some things."

However, Walid firmly shook his head, "No, I want to go to China."

"China?"

Muhammad and Turki frowned simultaneously and asked the same question in unison.

This answer was completely unexpected.

China? What would we do in that faraway Eastern country?
Walid did not explain immediately. He turned his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at Mohammed, and posed a question that would send shivers down the spine of any Saudi prince:
"Brother Muhammad, how many more years can we lie on this oil and live off it?"

These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in their ears!

Oil is the lifeblood of Saudi Arabia and the foundation of the kingdom's luxury and power!

Walid continued, "Don't forget, decades ago, Saudi Arabia, without oil, was so impoverished that even the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire were too lazy to colonize us!"

Then he changed the subject, "And right now, in China, a revolution about the future is in full swing!"
Photovoltaic power generation! They are turning vast deserts and Gobi into huge clean energy power plants!

Desert rice! They used technology to grow food that feeds hundreds of millions of people in what was once barren land!
There's also the Three-North Shelterbelt Project!

Through the efforts of several generations, they have built a green Great Wall in the north to resist wind and sand and transform the environment!
Did you know? China's desert area has been shrinking for eight consecutive years!

Walid's eyes became fervent and filled with longing, and his voice unconsciously rose.

"These are the keys to the future! These are the things that Saudi Arabia truly needs to learn and adopt!"
Lying on oil reserves and living off them will eventually lead to their demise!

Mastering the technologies to transform the environment and create new energy sources and food is the true path to long-term stability and security!

He stared intently at Muhammad: "Hadith! Even though knowledge is far away in China, it should still be sought!"

At this point, Walid took a deep breath and pointed at Muhammad, "Besides, brother, let's be realistic."

His Majesty King Abdullah, though old, will not pass away anytime soon.

The tradition of succession by brother was politically correct until your father actually sat on that throne; it was a rule hanging over the Salman family's head!
It is a banner that you must hold high!

What you need to do now is lie low!

He emphasized, "While lying in wait, secretly cultivate your own team!"

Train a team that is absolutely loyal, absolutely capable, and will not let you down in critical moments!

These two points…

He paused, then pointed in the direction of Riyadh, "It's safer for my father to handle things behind the scenes than for me to do it!"

"And I went to China..."

A confident smile appeared on Walid's face.

"It will make it easier for me to do another important thing for you!"
Win over the officers and technical personnel who are sent to China for further training every year!
In China, they stayed away from the country's intricate factional networks and from the interference and attempts to win them over by other forces.

There, we can gather them into your core strength more quickly and discreetly!
This faces far less resistance and has a much higher success rate than operating domestically!

Walid's clear and logical analysis, with its distinct advantages and disadvantages, unfolded before Muhammad's eyes like a precise strategic map.

He remained silent, a sharp glint in his deep eyes, clearly weighing his options intensely.

Prince Khalid was indeed the best choice. Secretly training an elite force that could be used in critical moments would be too easy for this arms dealer.

Walid's "united front" strategy regarding Chinese officers was particularly ingenious and hit the nail on the head!
Moving the crucial battleground of future factional struggles abroad, thus avoiding domestic scrutiny and resistance, is indeed a brilliant move!
After much deliberation, Mohammed had to admit that Walid's proposal was extremely strategic and maximized benefits.

He gave Walid a deep look.

No need to say anything more.

In the VIP room, the two had already forged the strongest alliance through actions and shared interests.

"it is good."

Muhammad nodded slowly. "When do you plan to set off?"

Walid thought for a moment: "July or August, I guess. You help me get my high school diploma certified and the relevant identity documents, and then I'll apply to universities in China."

"Then let's go in August."

Muhammad made the decision almost without thinking.

However, as he looked at Walid, a mischievous and ambiguous smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Before you go, you should go to Dubai first."

"Dubai?"

Walid was stunned, completely bewildered. "What are we going there for? To see the Burj Al Arab or to go skydiving?"

He couldn't figure out what strategic significance going to Dubai at this juncture would have.

Muhammad's smile deepened. "Go back and ask your mother."

He sold it out.

Walid was completely confused and wanted to ask more questions.

Turki, standing beside him, seemed to understand something instantly. He looked sharply at his older brother, his eyes filled with shock and understanding.

Then, when he looked at Walid, his eyes were full of sympathy and a strong sense of... schadenfreude.

Turki mustered all his strength to suppress his laughter, and subtly gave his older brother a thumbs up.

Awesome!
In response, Muhammad turned his head with a wicked grin and dancing eyebrows.

Walid caught them red-handed.

He felt uneasy under the unspoken smirks and eerie gazes of the two men.

An ominous premonition arose spontaneously.

He couldn't help but ask, "Hey! What are you two talking about?"
What exactly is going on in Dubai?

Brother Muhammad, why do you want me to go back and ask my mother?
Turki, what kind of look is that? Pity? Schadenfreude?

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed wrong.

It's definitely nothing good!
Turki managed to suppress his laughter, cleared his throat, and waved his hand.

"Oh dear, brother, what's the rush?"
It's... well, a surprise! A truly huge surprise!

He deliberately emphasized the word "surprise," his eyes practically brimming with schadenfreude.
"But this is really not something we should tell you."

Besides, can you still call it a surprise if you know it in advance?
That's so boring! Right, bro?

He winked at Muhammad.

Muhammad nodded in deep agreement, a wicked smile never fading from his lips.

Walid: "..." Surprise?

Judging from your expressions, you're probably more surprised than happy!

It might even be a shock!
But he knew the two brothers were determined to keep him in suspense, and asking further would be pointless.

Seeing Walid's suspicious and displeased expression, Turki quickly changed the subject.

This is what he is best at and what he most wants to do right now.

The best way to have fun is to wait for the right moment!
"Um... Walid, to be honest, there's something I just can't figure out! I've been holding it in all night!"

At this point, he sat up straight, his expression becoming serious, and pointed in the direction of the airport runway.

What's going on with that US F-15?

Why did it make such a 'coincidental' emergency landing here?

And so precisely, at the very moment we needed it most, it stopped the takeoff decision, forcing the Mirage 2000 to a stop?

Turki's pilot's mindset made him extremely attentive to detail.

"I checked the serial number of that F-15E; it came from Al-Davra Air Base!"
That base is the second largest air operations and support center for the U.S. military in the Middle East, located within the United Arab Emirates.

Logically speaking, the relationship between the US military and the UAE is much closer than that between Saudi Arabia and the UAE!

He stared into Walid's eyes, full of doubt, "Why would the U.S. military be so 'cooperative' with us, or rather, cooperate with our plan?"

What are they after? This doesn't align with their logic of self-interest at all!

Seeing Turki's confused yet inquisitive expression, Walid felt a little better, as the frustration he had felt earlier from the "Dubai surprise" had lifted his spirits.

He smiled, a hint of smugness in his expression: "It's very simple, bro."

He held up two fingers: "First, the aircraft participating in the competition are Mirage 2000s from the UAE, not F-15s. Second, we only 'kindly' and 'timely' informed the U.S. military command of a highly probable 'security risk'."

Turki: "Security risks? What risks?"

“We told the U.S. military,” Walid said, his voice lowered, with a calm, factual tone.

"A specially modified Mirage 2000 with powerful synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities appeared in Saudi airspace and had an unintentional flight path."

We strongly suspect that its objective for this trip is not merely to spy on our Saudi defense facilities, but more likely... to test its ability to monitor sensitive US military bases within Saudi territory.

Turki's eyes widened instantly: "You mean... we hinted to the US military that the UAE might be eyeing their bases?!"

"Bingo!" Walid snapped his fingers.
"We are merely providing a reasonable speculation based on the existing evidence."

Whether the US military believes it or how much they believe it is their own judgment.

But given the Pentagon's tendency towards paranoia, especially in a place like the Middle East, what do you think they'll think?

Turki frowned, thinking hard: "They'll definitely be on guard!"
The fact that the UAE is developing these modified reconnaissance aircraft right under their noses and even flying them over to Saudi Arabia, even if their target isn't a US military base, is enough to put them on high alert...

But that doesn't seem like enough to make them risk offending the UAE and directly help us, does it?
Their reaction was too quick and too decisive.

"So, there's a third key point,"

Walid winked mysteriously at Turki and asked in a low voice, "Brother Turki, do you know who the UAE's closest partner is in the Gulf region?"

Turki instinctively replied, "America?"

Walid shook his head and said meaningfully, "No, it's China."

The UAE is China's most important strategic partner in the Gulf region, bar none.

Moreover, Dubai, especially Dubai, is Russia's true 'financial lifeline,' through which a large amount of Russian capital and trade circulates.

He looked at Turki and smiled.

"So, you guess what happened when the US military command received our emergency notification about the UAE modifying a reconnaissance aircraft with unclear intentions, potentially threatening the security of US bases..."

Considering the UAE's close relationship with China and Russia, which even involves core strategic interests...

What will they think?

Turki gasped, finally understanding.

The US military is not "helping" Saudi Arabia at all!
They are eliminating a potential, huge, and uncontrollable source of threat.

A high-performance reconnaissance aircraft controlled by the UAE, a US "ally," could be used to spy on US military bases, and the intelligence obtained could potentially flow through the UAE's channels to US strategic rivals China and Russia...

This is practically dancing on the nerves of the U.S. military's intelligence and security services!
The immediate thought of the US military command was probably: we must not allow this plane to safely fly back to the UAE with any data it may have acquired, especially data about US military bases!
We must take it under control immediately and get to the bottom of this!

The so-called "emergency landing" and "assistance in investigation" are nothing more than swift and decisive measures taken by the US military for its own absolute security interests!

The "intelligence" and on-site conditions provided by Saudi Arabia merely gave them a perfect and "justifiable" excuse to intervene.

Turki stood there, stunned, for several seconds before shaking his head with a wry smile and letting out a long sigh.
"I understand... I completely understand."

Good heavens! Your use of a borrowed knife to kill someone... no, it's more like using one tiger to devour another... no, that's not quite right either... your trick of shifting the blame is truly brilliant!

He had to admit, this guy's heart is fucking dirty!
Muhammad took a large gulp of non-alcoholic beer and remarked,

"The UAE's practice of 'multipolar diplomacy' means it's on good terms with everyone, doing business with everyone, and engaging in strategic cooperation with everyone..."

On the surface, he seems to be successful in all aspects of life, enjoying great success.

As a result, when it really matters, no one can truly trust it.

The US is worried, and so are we... Tsk, really..."

Walid nodded in deep agreement, “Yes, there are no allies who can be trusted absolutely, only eternal interests.”

The UAE aspires to be a diplomatic intermediary, but on truly core security issues, this stance ironically becomes its biggest weakness and source of risk.

Turki nodded. "From now on, when you're at the table while we're playing cards, don't call me!"

Walid suddenly hooked his arm around Turki's neck, grinning and lowering his voice.

"Okay, but we need to settle the accounts, bro! How do we split the $2000 million bet I placed for you?"

A draw, naturally, means they dominated both sides.

However, in reality, the funds available on the betting platform are not enough to pay out the winnings to all those who bet on a tie at a ratio of 1:50.

The difference needs to be made up from Prince Bandar's assets.

The $1.8 million wagered by Walid and his two companions alone, with a payout of 50 times, would have been enough to bankrupt the Bandar family.

Of course, under such circumstances, the older generation of princes of the Seven Kingdoms of Sudri and the nine major tribes would naturally be embarrassed to join in the fun with a junior like Walid.

It was specifically stated that the principal would be returned, and the returns would be determined based on the situation.

Muhammad said that 30% would be enough as a fee for the use of funds; giving more would make the older generation lose face.

Walid particularly likes this older generation!
In other words, Bandar's fortune will be divided among the three of them.

Turki was naturally outraged and retorted, "How can Walid be so shameless? A real man shouldn't go back on his word!"

The two of them started laughing and joking.

Muhammad held the bottle of liquor, looking at his two noisy brothers in front of him, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

A brief silence fell over the dunes once again, broken only by the soft rustling of the night wind through the sand and the low rumble of a desert off-road vehicle engine in the distance.

……

(End of this chapter)