American Comic Dimensional Trading Device

After the right-wing forces came to power, they were not satisfied with the agreements previously signed with the Netherlands and Java.

Now that we've won, we want the whole of Java.

So they launched another attack on Java, which was the second guard operation.

In the original timeline, the Netherlands also won its second security operation, but due to opposition from some surrounding countries, led by India, and pressure from the United Nations, it had to cease hostilities and renegotiate the agreement.

Of course, all the talk about opposition from surrounding countries is just talk; ultimately, it's the US, the big boss, that's speaking up.

Initially, the United States supported the Dutch action in Java because the Netherlands had always been an important partner of the United States.

However, the Netherlands' subsequent actions interfered with the United States' interests in Southeast Asia, so the United States began to change its attitude and put pressure on the Netherlands in the name of the United Nations.

However, in this world, it is unclear whether Josie's actions against the British and French colonies triggered a chain reaction.

The Netherlands' second alert operation was not as successful as in the original timeline; instead, it plunged the country into a quagmire of war.

And the United States' attitude has begun to change.

If the situation continued to drag on, the Dutch interests in Java would certainly suffer greatly, so the Dutch authorities at this time were extremely anxious.

At this point, Franco approached them, which, to some extent, played right into the Dutch people's hands.

Why is the Netherlands now mired in war?

To put it bluntly, they were short of money, weapons, and supplies.

Before World War II, the Netherlands had a very strong economy and was considered a minor power in Western Europe.

However, after being heavily exploited by Hitler during World War II and now losing Java as an important source of income, the Netherlands appears relatively poor.

In an era before Europe has become a community, it is not easy to quickly restore economic strength.

As for postwar reparations—the amount given by Mustache, Red Skull, and Japan was barely enough to fill the gaps left by Britain and France, let alone the Netherlands.

Therefore, the longer the war in Java dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for the Netherlands.

And who is Josie?

From the start of the Western Front in World War II, they were a renowned major financial backer throughout Europe.

According to outside speculation, Josie's personal wealth may now have exceeded two billion US dollars.

The assets they directly or indirectly control may even exceed tens of billions.

In this era, this is absolutely a terrifying number.

Of course, this is only the surface assets that can be roughly counted by outsiders.

Not to mention the hundreds of years of accumulation that Josie just took over, the resources and wealth that Josie has accumulated in the past few years through the interdimensional exchange alone are definitely more than 10 billion.

The amount of gold alone in Josie's system space could be described as mountains.

If it were actually released, global gold prices would plummet.

Therefore, if the Netherlands could secure the support of this financial backer, continuing its war against Indonesia would not be a problem at all.

More importantly, there's Josie's influence in the United States.

It would be even better if Josie's influence could be used to persuade the United States to continue supporting the Netherlands' actions in Indonesia.

Anyway, didn't Josie want land in Asia? The Java Islands have tens of thousands of islands, and thousands of them are large and suitable for development. Give them to him!

Moreover, they don't even need to give it to the small islands; they can give it directly to the large islands.

Apart from the most important Sumatra and Java, we can offer all the other islands, even Sulawesi is worth considering.

"If I wanted Sulawesi, would you really agree?" Josie asked the Dutch ambassador with great surprise.

It has to be said that the conditions offered by the Netherlands were tempting for Josie.

The entire Sulawesi, that's the eleventh largest island in the world, with a land area of ​​170,000 square kilometers.

Although Sulawesi's geographical location is relatively less important compared to Sumatra and Java, which are located near the Strait of Malacca, the island is mountainous with few plains and prone to earthquakes and volcanoes, making its overall environment less than perfect.

But the place is big enough, and that's enough.

Moreover, Java, speaking of which, when Josie was a citizen of Xia in her previous life, she harbored deep resentment towards the many actions that this country had taken against the Xia people in its early years.

With enough benefits, plus a grudge from a past life, Josie had no reason not to be tempted.

“Yes, Your Excellency, if our country is able to regain its full interests in Java, Her Majesty the Queen will also grant you the title of Governor-General of Sulawesi and a hereditary count!” The Dutch ambassador added immediately upon seeing Josie’s interest.

“I understand. Actually, it’s quite easy!” Josie said, stroking her chin.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Upon hearing Josie's words, the Dutch ambassador immediately asked, while Franco, standing beside him, was clearly also very interested.

“Your current problems are nothing more than troop strength and arms shortages. In fact, there is a large number of powerful military forces in Europe that are being neglected and wasting food every day,” Josie said.

"You mean... a German?" Upon hearing Josie's words, the Dutch ambassador immediately realized, though his brow remained furrowed.

That's right. Although Josie obtained hundreds of thousands of German and Hydra prisoners of war from the US military through personal connections.

However, compared to the total number of millions at the Rhine camp, this number seems insignificant.

Over the past few years, these millions of prisoners have been gradually released.

However, due to various reasons, a considerable number of German prisoners of war remained in the hands of various Western European countries.

With just a little armament, they would be a formidable military force.

But mercenary armies... that's a bad reputation.

The Dutch ambassador was caught in a dilemma.

Chapter 193 Blackwater International's Big Business

"Why are you worried about this? As long as you first announce your recognition of my legitimate rule over Sulawesi, I can hire troops in my own name. Even if it doesn't sound good, it's still my reputation... What do you have to worry about?" Josie asked the Dutch ambassador with a surprised look.

The Dutch ambassador was immediately embarrassed by Josie's question.

"You wouldn't be thinking of using my money to hire an army that you can still control, would you?" Seeing the Dutch ambassador's expression, Josie was speechless.

It turns out that this person really thinks that way.

Spending my money to hire an army in your name and control military power? What kind of pipe dream are you having?

If you go back on your word afterward, who am I supposed to complain to?

And you know what? Given the Dutch way of doing things, they really are capable of doing something like that.

Despite its small size, this country, like France, has a long tradition of defaulting on debts and being untrustworthy.

Not to mention that the contract signed with the Republic of Java was torn up at any moment, the Netherlands, as the country where the financial industry started earliest in the world, also invented something called perpetual bonds.

What are perpetual bonds? They are bonds that do not have a fixed maturity date or have a very long term, meaning they are theoretically perpetual.

Theoretically, this type of bond never requires repayment of the principal; you only need to pay the interest.

Although it was adopted by many countries in later generations and sounded quite nice, it was actually a shameless way of defaulting on debts.

If Josie only provides the money and lets the Netherlands handle everything else, then he'll be a real traitor.

Faced with Josie's disdainful gaze, the Dutch ambassador was slightly embarrassed. In fact, the Dutch government had initially considered this idea: to use an empty name to trick Josie into contributing money and supplies.

However, considering Josie's identity and his influence within the US government, the proposal was quickly rejected.

Because the Marshall Plan that the United States is about to implement is now a completely open policy, the remaining issue is the distribution of benefits. If the Netherlands offends Josie at this juncture, and Josie uses his influence to provoke the dissatisfaction of the US authorities, then the Netherlands may really suffer a loss.

"Mr. Kahn is joking. We were just worried that you wouldn't be able to handle international public opinion..." the Dutch ambassador chuckled, having these thoughts but never admitting them.

"There's no need for the ambassador to worry about that. I can handle this amount of public opinion." Josie didn't pursue the matter further; international public opinion was something she couldn't avoid.

If Josie wants to take over the interests of Sulawesi in a formal capacity, she will inevitably have to accept a certain degree of criticism; she can't simply shift the blame to the mercenaries and get rid of it.

But—if he gets attacked by international public opinion, will Josh lose a few pieces of flesh?

While agreeing to help the Netherlands send troops, Josie also made a decision in his heart: he would teach the Dutch a lesson if he had the chance.

Hehe, Sulawesi?

Once Josie actually mobilizes his army, do you really expect him to spit it out after he's already got his hands on it? Dream on!

Franco and the Dutch ambassador were sent away.

Josie then took action.

A transoceanic satellite phone call was made to an office building at a military base in Virginia, USA—with Boeing Space officially ushering in the space age, transoceanic instant communication was now perfectly legitimate for Josh to use.

However, the military base that Josh called is not owned by the U.S. military, but is privately owned.

Its official name is Blackwater International Military Services.

It was the private military services company that Josie established after reorganizing the Blackwater gang.

In the original timeline, the emergence of numerous private military service companies (PMCs) occurred during the later stages of the Cold War.

PMCs are not simply mercenaries; there is a significant difference between the two.

Of course, this difference doesn't mean that PMCs don't do mercenary work; it just means that compared to mercenaries, PMCs are involved in a wider range of businesses and are more specialized.

And clearly, Blackwater, which Josie had established decades in advance, was, under his guidance, such an extremely professional military service company.

It was precisely because of this professionalism, coupled with Josh's long-standing good relationship with the military and his own position in the US government, that the Pentagon became very interested in this new concept of a private military service company, thanks to his connections.

In addition, Blackwater International deliberately hired many generals and officers who had retired during the large-scale military downsizing.