King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

What was P·B's image in Africa?

Haftar of the National Army gave a standard answer…

"Help me take down Tubruq, and I'll give you all the contracts for the refinery's defense, 20 million US dollars a year!!

If you can help me restore production there, guarantee to provide no less than 5,000 jobs, I'll transfer 50% of the shares and management rights of the refinery to P·B."

Joe Ga knew where Tubruq was. Just three hours ago, Mr. Joe had passed by there with a group of workers.

Tubruq, located in the northeastern corner of Liberia, houses the country's largest refinery, with an oil pipeline directly connecting the central oil fields to it.

Tubruq is Libya's most important crude oil and refined oil export city, although it has been under the control of Al-Qaeda for the past few years.

The National Army has been trying to recapture Tubruq, but they have not yet reached it.

Haftar of the National Army really does understand P·B…

In fact, he only took on the 20 million US dollars' worth of defense costs, everything else would have to be obtained by Mr. Joe on his own, and he was asked to help resume operations and stabilize the local area.

The image of Mr. Joe as kind, wealthy, capable, well-connected, and organizationally strong was deeply embedded in the minds of Africa's bigwigs.

Although Haftar's terms were favorable, Mr. Joe's actions this time were intended for Nis.

The first time Mr. Joe saw Nis wanting to escape from some things, this normally tough girl showed rare fragility, which deeply moved Joe Ga.

Do something!

Even if it could make Nis a bit happier, more humane…

Under these circumstances, Haftar's conditions became unsuitable because he was treating P·B as a ready-to-fight mercenary, a type willing to fight on credit as a charitable mercenary.

Under similar conditions in Iraq, Joe Ga would agree immediately without hesitation, but not in Liberia.

He said he would help the refugees, and he had to help them!

But the little bit of money Mr. Joe had was just a drop in the bucket; he needed someone to provide financial backing otherwise, merely relying on Mr. Joe's promises wouldn't attract sufficient funds. He needed more bargaining chips.

"I want all of Tubruq's revenue for the next three years, after which I only want 50% of the shares, then reducing by 5% each year until it reaches 20%.

I demand that all crude oil from the southern oil fields sold to the refinery for the first three years be capped at 50 US dollars per barrel, and from the fourth to the eighth year, the price of crude should be 20% below the market rate.

In exchange, I will provide no fewer than 15,000 jobs, and every year for the first three years I will supply the National Army's government with materials worth 50 million US dollars."

The terms proposed by Mr. Joe were not severe because there were no oil fields around Tubruq, so he was still footing the bill for those inbound crude oils, just at a slightly cheaper rate.

The reality was that the National Army was temporarily unable to capture Tubruq, and a factory that could not operate was worthless.

Once Mr. Joe took down Tubruq and secured it, the National Army would have an additional oil export point and thereby an additional source of funds—all just money sprouting from the ground; a bit cheaper here was not much of an issue.

Haftar was genuinely interested in reuniting Liberia, and what struck him most about Mr. Joe's conditions were the 15,000 jobs.

Then the good reputation of P·B played its role, and Haftar almost immediately agreed to Mr. Joe's terms…

"Hu Lang, I agree to your terms, but I want to add one condition, one that must be clearly specified in the contract…

P·B needs to ensure the safety of the people around Tubruq and Byrdi, I don't want to see scenes where Al-Qaeda drives in and easily hauls away hordes of fervent soldiers."

Joe Ga responded with a slight laugh, "Buddy, I have a big-money business in Congo, a more profitable business than this lousy place!

But my girlfriend wants to help the people here, so that's why I called you.

The conditions you've suggested aren't demanding for me, but you can't label the things I prepare to do diligently as mandatory targets.

I'm trying to do good here, are you fucking planning to assess me with KPIs?"

As he spoke, Joe Ga looked towards the distant P·B convoy, grinning as he said, "If you've got the guts, I'll clear a stretch of freeway, and you come by plane, and we'll sign the contract under the witness of the American ambassador and the press."

Haftar responded in disbelief, "Ambassador Steven is in your hands?"

Joe Ga sneered, "To be precise, he sought my help because he hasn't received protection from the National Army!

Buddy, you owe me a favor because I protected Ambassador Steven, saving you from being blacklisted by America in foreign relations."

After a long silence, Haftar said, "Hu Lang, I don't know how to explain the situation with the ambassador, everything happened so suddenly!"

Of course, Joe Ga knew what had happened. In the matter of the ambassador, Haftar was also a victim.

This incident involved push from the French and internal forces in America; people like Haftar shouldn't get tangled in this affair, otherwise, he would be in trouble. Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Considering Haftar would probably not dare to visit an area controlled by terrorists at such a critical time, Mr. Joe chuckled and said, "I believe the ambassador will understand your difficulties, but a contract must be signed otherwise I can't mobilize such a large force.

Let's do this, you take care of the security at Benghazi Airport, I'll send a fearless lawyer and a team of journalists to meet you, then they'll bring the signed contract to me.

How does that sound?"

The more one demands rationality and legality, the easier it is to gain the trust of people like Haftar because Mr. Joe cares, and he won't easily break his promises.

It's a win-win deal, P·B carves out a stable source of income and a secure zone for Liberia amidst the war.

In 4 to 8 years, P·B will return most of the shares of the refinery, retaining only 20%.

Most importantly, Mr. Joe could help stabilize the situations in Tubruq and Byrdi, sparing hundreds of thousands of Liberians from the chaos of war.

He was accomplishing what the National Army government wanted to do, but couldn't manage on their own.

And only P·B could do such things!!

Major powers certainly possessed greater strength than P·B, yet France was betting on both the Unity Government and the National Army, wanting to maintain a politically unstable balance in Liberia.

The Chinese were willing to help and gain some benefits, but they could not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, especially not by deploying troops.

If national agencies couldn't manage, then what about major corporations?

The reality was that even the powerful corporations couldn't do it either, as the cost of integrating resources across nations was too high, and the profits from the contract did not meet the demands of major corporations.

In summary, major corporations found it unprofitable since the returns were too low!

The entire decade's revenues from Tubruq might sway some major players, but the National Army would not agree.

This kind of job was either led by major powers for aid or spearheaded by the National Army government for distributing the spoils.

The reality was, there was no aid without reason, and the creditworthiness of the National Army government was somewhat lacking.

In all of Africa, only P·B was willing and able to take this on.

If Haftar had still been concerned about minor issues, he wouldn't have been able to maintain his current position.

"We have a deal, Hu Lang!

Thank you for your contribution to Liberia!!"

Joe Ga smiled as he hung up the phone, having completed this not-so-difficult negotiation...

The reputation of P·B was one aspect, but the simplicity of the matter stemmed from Joe Ga inducing Haftar to trade things in the hands of terrorists with him.

The National Army was recognized by several major countries, they possessed legitimacy, which also entitled them to the inheritance rights of the former Liberian government.

Once the contract was established, Boss Qiao could widely invite heroes to come and share the spoils.

P·B really had no manpower to open a new battlefield in Liberia, hence Boss Qiao wanted to use Liberia as a testing ground, verifying the feasibility of the Iraq operation and exploring a new path simultaneously.

The first one Boss Qiao grabbed was Old Chen from the Oil and Natural Gas Company...

When he told Old Chen about his deal with Haftar, the latter's eyes nearly popped out.

People struggled around the world for a few barrels of oil just to secure the domestic supply of crude oil.

But Boss Qiao, with just one phone call, secured one of the top three refineries in Liberia, and a Mediterranean crude oil export port as well.

Even if Boss Qiao did not resume operations at the refinery, merely ensuring the operation of the port with a low oil price of 55 US dollars per barrel would allow him to make a fortune.

Now, Boss Qiao wanted more, even considering outsourcing the refinery, which to Old Chen was like gold dropping from the sky.

Of course, this was just an intention for now, and the shares of crude oil and produced oil exports still needed to be shared with Europe, otherwise those guys could create enough problems.

But as long as Boss Qiao showed he could take over Tubruq, what was financing in comparison?

Didn't Boss Qiao just need some tents and provisions at the initial phase?

The Foreign Ministry personnel were right here, they could organize supplies in Egypt on the spot and send them over, tagging the aid as humanitarian support; isn't it wonderful to gain both benefits and reputation?

With financial backing and good relationships, how efficient could the Chinese be?

Merely four hours later, the first batch of emergency food and tents organized from the Egyptian border town of Salum arrived.

Trucks bearing the banner "Chinese People Care for Liberia" crossed the border and delivered the goods into the hands of Boss Qiao.

Eventually, the drivers left the trucks behind, happily taking a 500 buck tip and heading back to Egypt, ready for the next trip.

And this was just the beginning; at 4 PM that same day, two Russian transport planes landed on a highway cleared by P·B, releasing a large group of soldiers, six self-propelled grenade launchers, and a significant number of light and heavy weapons.

Egyptian border official Ramzi, standing on the watchtower with a binoculars, felt his eyes nearly bulging out.

Russian transport planes were carrying Sevillians invading Liberia?

Some of these Sevillian artillerymen and paratroopers hadn't even removed their insignias, and the first thing after disembarking was to report to the boss of P·B, then set up defensive lines around the Liberian border guard posts.

If these were still explainable, when four of Egypt's light Gazelles and two Mi-8 full of supplies crossed the border and landed in the field, border official Ramzi felt his heart ailment flaring up.

Although these helicopters were a bit old, "Damn it, couldn't the smuggled arms at least have thicker paint to fully cover the air force's markings?"

"You think that sticking tape on the chest and arms of the flight suits, I can't recognize that you guys are air force pilots?"

When border official Ramzi called his superiors for confirmation, he received a curse and a warning not to meddle, then he witnessed an even more unbelievable scene.

An Italian holding the border stamp of Liberia was continuously distributing small cards to the Egyptian border guards while coaxing the Egyptian soldiers...

"Fellas, when do you get off work?

We need people here, not for fighting, just to help maintain order and establish observation posts.

100 US dollars a day, paid daily.

If interested, come over with your passport, and I'll stamp it for entry."

As the border official watched his own soldiers gather around, incessantly inquiring about shifts, he incredulously covered his mouth and exclaimed, "Oh my god, what's going on?"