Forged in the fires of war: The Qi family's generals rewrite the fate of eastern Hebei.

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"Will this work?"

"Dad, we have to try it, whether it works or not. There's always more hope in an unknown path than a dead end."

"Yes! I agree in principle, but since your Spark Project execution team is headed by Comrade Kai Chen, we still need to ask for Comrade Kai Chen's opinion."

"I see."

"Alright, a special plane will escort you to Babylon in three days. To the outside world, you will be operating under the name of the Ministry of Machinery Industry. Just don't reveal the name of the Third Bureau of the General Staff."

Zhao Mengsheng, Fang Zhenhua, and Pei Yihong all nodded.

It does not involve the military, which represents our country's attitude; at least on the surface, we remain neutral.

"After you set off, the Southwest Military Region will send two special operations teams from the Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade to Babylon. You can't be useless there."

This must have been Liu Zhongming's doing; he thought it through very thoroughly.

For Fang Zhenhua, there was another grand plan in his mind, which was in the north.

If he can secure more benefits for the country before that giant bear falls, Fang Zhenhua will have more capital then.

Once the golden statue is complete, the future is bright.

Chapter 49 Arrival in Babylon

Three days later, at the Capital Airport.

A Boeing 747SP passenger plane is parked on the tarmac. This plane will soon be used as a special plane to transport Fang Zhenhua and his team to Babylon.

Fang Zhenhua went to the airport with Zhao Mengsheng and Pei Yihong, but not with Gong Kaichen and Zheng Bingyi.

When the three of them arrived at the airport, they found that Gong Kaichen and Zheng Bingyi were already on the tarmac, seemingly waiting for them.

As the director of the Third Bureau, Zhao Mengsheng, given his position and rank, was naturally the one who liaised with Gong Kaichen.

"Minister Gong, thank you for waiting. We hope you'll take good care of us along the way. We're all your soldiers now!"

"Haha, as expected of a political commissar! Director Zhao really knows how to talk. But we're all comrades, so there's no need for distinctions of soldiers and generals. You and Director Fang have both been on the battlefield, so we'll have to rely on you guys when the time comes."

"Minister Gong, you flatter me."

"Now that everyone's here, why don't we take this opportunity to have a short meeting on the plane?"

Everyone nodded, finding no problem with Gong Kaichen's suggestion.

This Boeing 747SP aircraft has been modified, and there is a conference table in the cabin specifically for discussing the Spark Program.

Everyone carried a briefcase containing all sorts of documents.

Gong Kaichen sat in the main seat, his hands crossed on the table, and looked at the other four people as he spoke.

"I won't waste time with pleasantries and will get straight to the point. The reason we're in such a hurry to go to Babylon is because we've got a batch of weapons and equipment stuck, including 43 Type 59 tanks, 76 artillery pieces of various types, and a batch of Type 56 submachine guns."

"What's the reason we're stuck? We've encountered competitors, competitors from the north, who are offering prices 10% lower than ours."

"Our superiors have instructed our Spark Program execution team to overcome this difficulty. These equipment were painstakingly manufactured by our workers."

“Babylon only paid one-third of the deposit, and two-thirds are still outstanding. This is absolutely unacceptable. We cannot let the workers’ labor go to waste.”

To put it bluntly, this mission is also a test for the Spark Project execution team. Since Babylon has purchased the weapons and equipment, they must not be allowed to return them.

If even this task cannot be solved, then the necessity of the Spark Project Execution Team's existence needs to be questioned.

"Director Zhao, your Third Bureau is known for its excellent communication skills. What are your thoughts on this?"

Gong Kaichen directly called out Zhao Mengsheng's name. Old Zhao calmly opened the documents and addressed everyone present.

"According to our message from the Babylonian embassy, ​​our old neighbor has also sent a delegation this time, led by Major General Alexev and Major General Dimitri.

Upon hearing Zhao Mengsheng's intelligence, Gong Kaichen smiled and said.

"It seems our old neighbor has sent some heavyweights this time! They've even sent two major generals. They're planning to take over the arms trade completely!"

Zheng Bingyi, who was sitting to the left of Gong Kaichen, smiled.

"They sent two major generals, and we also sent a vice-ministerial level official, didn't we? According to rank, Minister Gong, you are higher than those two major generals!"

"Hahaha."

Everyone present burst into laughter, but Fang Zhenhua remained silent.

Gong Kaichen noticed him at this moment and couldn't help but ask.

"Director Fang, has something come to mind?"

Fang Zhenhua did think of something else just now, and the key point lies with Major General Dimitri.

After reading this intelligence, he felt that the name of the major general was very familiar, but he couldn't figure it out.

Interrupted by Gong Kaichen, he suddenly remembered who this Major General Dimitri was.

This major general also has a nephew named Yuri Orlov, the infamous King of War.

Once he knew who this Major General Dimitri was, he had room to maneuver.

Faced with Gong Kaichen's question, Fang Zhenhua organized his thoughts for a moment before speaking.

"Minister Gong, I believe that we must take a two-pronged approach to resolve this mission."

How can we use a two-pronged approach?

Zheng Bingyi and Pei Yihong also cast curious glances their way.

"On the one hand, we need to win over the Babylonian government. This is the most crucial factor. After all, they are a sovereign state. If they want to buy our weapons and equipment, even if we exert strong pressure from the north, it may not be effective."

"On the other hand, we need to approach it from the other side. According to intelligence from the embassy, ​​the delegation from our old neighbor, Major General Demitch, is a good candidate."

Gong Kaichen asked with some doubt.

"Director Fang, what are you planning to do?"

"We need to drag Dimitri down with us because he has a greedy and cowardly side. If we can undermine our opponents from within, or obtain more intelligence about them, it will be extremely beneficial for us."

"How do you plan to drag Dimitri into this? Our campaign budget is limited; we probably don't have that much funding!"

“Minister Gong, I can come up with a solution, as long as you agree to win over Dimitri.”

Gong Kaichen tapped the table lightly with his finger, and after a long while, he finally nodded.

“Yes, I agree with your idea. Once we get to Babylon, I will entrust this matter to you.”

"Please rest assured, Minister, I will definitely handle it properly."

At this point, Demitch was probably not as greedy as he would be seven years later.

However, Fang Zhenhua also possessed a crucial weakness of Dimic.

Yuri Orlov's father is his brother. If Yuri Orlov can be brought under control, there is a chance to drag Dimitri down with him.

Dimic is extremely important to Fang Zhenhua's future plans, as it relates to a comprehensive set of subsequent plans.

Amidst their conversation, the plane took off from the capital airport and headed towards Babylon.

Fang Zhenhua sat in the cabin, looking at the sea of ​​clouds in the sky.

The Spark Program is of paramount importance to the country, and for him personally, it is also an important channel for accumulating political capital.

Therefore, he absolutely could not allow this plan to fail.

The day after the Boeing 747 departed, another Boeing aircraft took off from the same airport.

The Boeing aircraft was carrying 24 special forces soldiers and four special operations teams.

The leader was none other than Wild Wolf Gao Dazhuang, the leader of Lone Wolf Group A. Wang Jianjun was also among them; he was the leader of Lone Wolf Group E, codenamed Arctic Wolf.

Fang Zhenhua and his team's plane took a direct flight, which greatly reduced their travel time.

Nine and a half hours later, they arrived at Baha'ta, the capital of Babylon.

Chapter 50 Military Service Program

After the end of World War II, an iron curtain completely separated the East and the West, and the two major camps were irreconcilable enemies. This Cold War situation lasted for nearly half a century.

In the past half-century, the most unstable region in the world has been the Middle East.

From the first Middle East war until now, the entire Arab world has never been at peace.

However, it must be acknowledged that it is precisely because of this unstable situation that many powerful figures have emerged throughout the Middle East.

Saddam Hussein was one of them.

This man, known as the "Lion of the Middle East," also has another nickname: "The Tyrant of the Middle East."

It's difficult to discuss his merits and demerits, but he is very important to our country today.

Fang Zhenhua is clearly aware of this.

Babylon was very rich, and the tycoons behind him were just as rich; oil was equivalent to US dollars.

Fang Zhenhua felt he would be letting himself down on this trip abroad if he didn't make a killing off them.

After arriving in Bahata, the Spark Project team met with the ambassador and was then accommodated in a hotel next to the embassy.

As the ambassador intended, communication has been established with Saddam Hussein, and he will set aside twenty minutes tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock to meet with the delegation.

The Spark Program Execution Group is the internal name, while the external name is "Foreign Military Trade Representative Group".

In fact, Saddam Hussein was well aware that although Russia could sell equipment, their military trade would be strongly opposed by the United States.

Rabbits are Saddam Hussein's only stable source of income, so why would Saddam Hussein do something like this?

The reason is quite simple: he wanted to lower the price.

Why wouldn't Saddam Hussein be happy to pay less?

This is simply a difference in perspective between buyers and sellers. It's not a matter of who is right or wrong, but rather a matter of having different interests.

In the hotel room, besides a few members of the Spark Program executive team, there was also the ambassador.

They discussed what would happen after meeting Sadam, and whether things would improve.

Fang Zhenhua was the first to raise an objection, and he addressed everyone.

"The arms shortage was ultimately due to Saddam Hussein's tacit approval. In Babylon, anything that Saddam Hussein disagreed with could not be accomplished."

Everyone agreed with Fang Zhenhua's viewpoint, after all, this is an authoritarian country, and such an outcome was inevitable.

"Zhenhua, what do you think we should do to ensure this deal goes smoothly?"

"I do have a good idea."

When all eyes were on Fang Zhenhua, he began to explain his thoughts.

"What are Babylonians? They are our clients. Client satisfaction is our top priority. We cannot limit our focus to just arms; we should provide our clients with a comprehensive military service solution."

A comprehensive military service solution?

This viewpoint is quite novel; at least for these people, it's the first time they've heard it.

"Zhenhua, tell me about your comprehensive military service plan."

"Yes." Fang Zhenhua nodded, then continued.

"The comprehensive military service program generally includes the following three aspects: the first is the traditional arms trade, which goes without saying."

"The second aspect is that Babylon is currently embroiled in a war with Persia, and countless pieces of equipment are destroyed on the battlefield every day. We can develop and produce exclusive weapons for Babylon."

“As long as Saddam Hussein provides the funding, I believe we can help him develop even missiles, and we can use this money to protect our defense projects.”

"In short, we can use Saddam Hussein's money to develop our own equipment, and at the same time simplify the equipment and provide it to the Babylonian army so that we can purchase it at a lower price!"

Fang Zhenhua's words completely stunned Gong Kaichen and the others. You use other people's funds to develop equipment, and then sell them inferior weapons, and you still want to charge a purchase price?

That's really shameless.

Is this still a soldier? He looks more like a seasoned veteran of the political arena.

"Would they be willing?"

"This brings us to the third aspect of the comprehensive military service program. As long as Babylon is willing to provide some training fees, our domestic military academies can help the Babylonian army with comprehensive training. Our army has an excellent reputation, and I don't believe Saddam Hussein would be unmoved."

The comprehensive military service plan comprised of these three aspects truly broadened Gong Kaichen's horizons.

But he still had some worries.