King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Acquiring a bank was a feat Joe Ga certainly couldn’t achieve on his own.

But Gami Kopurko could!

Since last night, Joe had been pondering what exactly he should do?

In a moment of hastiness, he had eliminated Samuel, forcing him to adjust his direction.

In fact, taking over North Kivu Province was very challenging!

How could he expand the market while allowing the majority to benefit and at the same time earn sufficient wealth?

After much thought, Joe finally considered the banks!

Only by ensuring the Butembo Government had ample funds could they operate smoothly, maintain stability in North Kivu Province, and avoid trapping P·B in the quagmire of warlord conflicts.

By assigning 49% of the profits from the company Lu Jun was planning to establish to the Butembo Government, and channeling all mineral transaction payments through the banks, substantial funds could be generated.

Then using that money to invest in the mining industry of North Kivu Province, lending money to the minor warlords with minerals as collateral was essentially risk-free.

The financial sector is, in fact, the most profitable in the world. Joe didn’t know much about it, but he was well aware that controlling North Kivu Province, the profits from a bank could be immense.

A powerful bank to the extreme could force a government into bankruptcy—and it wouldn’t even make the news.

In America, local governments, driven to bankruptcy by banks, not only lost government buildings but eventually had to dig into residents’ pensions to repay loans.

Joe was a simple man; he didn’t understand the complexities of the financial sector, but he knew what role a bank could play.

He wasn’t sure if the term "leverage effect" could be used here,

but he knew that if he succeeded in acquiring a bank, then in North Kivu Province, he could leverage customer deposits to influence a vast industry.

And by controlling finance, he essentially controlled the lifeline of North Kivu Province. With careful management, Joe’s authority could be sustained for a long time.

Every location was different. Joe chose to develop industrial chains in Sangha Town, take control of labor unions in the small diamond city, and in North Kivu Province, acquiring a bank was the best strategy he could think of.

And it had to be the French Bank!

France, the de facto suzerain of the Fifteen Africa Countries, issued the Central African Franc and the West African Franc on behalf of the fifteen countries of Central and West Africa.

Although these countries were nominally independent, they had to submit 50% of their foreign exchange income to Africa Daddy each year, along with opening up to free trade, completely handing over financial and trade leadership to France.

Several African presidents tried to resist, and then they died.

It’s said that the US Dollar dominates the world financial order, but in Africa, the Franc is the major currency.

Colonel Ka, for instance, despised France to the bone for trying to create a unified African currency using oil resources, aiming to manage Africado money transactions through the African Union, akin to the European Union.

This was a core interest within a core interest that no one should touch!

The French could work only about twenty hours a week, enjoy free healthcare, and various benefits, and still occasionally strike because they were continuously bleeding Africa.

Nothing in this world is without reason; France has deeply exploited Africa for many years, leading to countless scandals.

Free trade has crushed the industries and agriculture of the Fifteen Africa Countries, and financial control has left the Fifteen Africa Countries with no room to struggle, forcing them to live on selling mineral resources and special products.

Pushing Lu Jun’s Chinese-owned company to that position was threatening his life.

Using the US Dollar or Chinese Yuan to settle mineral resources was undermining Africa Daddy’s base.

But if it were a French Bank, using Euros or Central African Francs for settlements would be fine!

Corporate belonging, in fact, determined the stance—it was unlikely that France could fight its own tax-paying bank.

In the past, the mining companies and warlords in North Kivu Province primarily settled through foreign banks or in US Dollars.

Once Joe successfully acquired the French bank, not only could he prevent capital outflow, but he would also effectively challenge the US Dollar settlement.

America didn’t care about this minor profit, but for France, it represented a significant favor.

If the plan truly succeeded, Joe could completely let go of his worries about Africa Daddy.

Perhaps there would still be individuals or organizations blind enough to cause trouble, but the situation would be greatly different compared to facing an entire system.

Facing Minam’s incredulous questioning, Joe did not immediately give a definite answer.

He came to North Kivu Province because he wanted money, and running a bank would certainly make a lot of money, but the share distribution required careful consideration.

The effort that the Kinshasa Government could put in determined the share they could receive.

Joe throwing out the concept of a bank was like dangling a carrot in front of the president and his people.

If they wanted it, they had to work hard!

When Minam was internally tormented, Joe crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his seat, saying no more.

The car soon entered the urban area of Butembo, the outskirts of the city were relatively quiet, but the closer they got to the city center, the more restless the overall atmosphere became.

The wandering black guys were already getting impatient, they actually had no idea about the deeper meaning of this protest, it was simply to oppose for the sake of opposing, trying to pressure the acting mayor Ngonga to cough up some benefits for them.

These black guys within the mining company system completely misunderstood, their disturbance ultimately benefited those mining companies.

They had forced their own government to cede benefits for the paltry sum given out by the mining companies.

This couldn’t even be called "comprador behavior", it was just pure selfishness and stupidity.

Ngonga had already called Joe Ga several times for instructions, and after Joe’s boss had completely reached an agreement with "big shot" Komi, a clear solution was given.

The troublemaking black guys just wanted some benefits, so I’ll give you benefits...

When Joe Ga entered the city center, Ngonga gave a speech in front of the city hall.

His message was essentially that life was too hard for the locals, and as the acting mayor, he empathized with their hardships, so he decided to negotiate with the mining companies to ask for a raise for the workers, hoping everyone would support him!

When the protesting black guys heard this, huh? That’s good news!

When the people from the mining company heard this, my god, you want to open my wallet to curry favor? Did you discuss it with me?

When Ngonga announced in front of thousands that he would provide a final answer within a week and that the negotiation process would be made public, hoping that they would choose trusted representatives to attend and listen to the negotiations...

The pressure was instantly transferred to the side of the mining companies, and as the crowd dispersed with a strange mood, the city hall entered a state of high alert.

Ngonga’s speech had clearly shown his intent to use public sentiment to force the mining companies to compromise, involving them in a dispute over interests, and those barbaric companies used to violence could employ any means possible.

As Joe Ga made his way to the Butembo Government building, he saw several suspicious groups.

This was also a form of pressure, a tentative attack to put pressure on Ngonga.

If they were lucky enough to prevail, it was great, but even if they didn’t succeed, it was fine as long as they clearly positioned themselves to push you towards them during negotiations.

According to Karman’s logic, the white man needs to see the coffin before they can regain their senses and decorum.

But now Joe Ga was in a hurry, killing them wasn’t appropriate, however, seeing the coffin was letting them off too cheaply; letting them come into closer contact with a corpse might be better.

Yesterday’s battle happened too quickly, Africa’s information dissemination hadn’t kept up with Joe’s speed of action.

Those from the mining companies still thought Butembo was the same old Butembo, changing a mayor didn’t matter, a replacement would still lean towards them.

But when a team of Milos Armored Vehicles entered the city, everyone started to feel something was off.

The police and militias usually in charge of Butembo’s security were gone, replaced by a well-armed force.

A 500-person Congo special operations force had entered Butembo overnight from the south, and although they hadn’t slept for 36 hours, these soldiers were still full of energy, and under the command of a P·B officer, they arrested those suspicious groups.

Directed by unmanned aerial vehicles in the sky, the 500-person team split into many squads.

They first shouted warnings, and if the other side resisted, they decisively greeted them with machine guns.

After the enemies surrendered and captives were taken, they were interrogated on the spot, and their backers were identified, then the prisoners were tagged and paraded through the streets shouting.

The adaptability of humans is truly incredible, once the initial chaos passed, and those locals realized that the soldiers were targeting a group of mercenaries hired to cause trouble, they were no longer frightened, instead following the troops and enjoying the spectacle.

Then the content of the loudspeaker announcements began to change...

The mining companies plotted to subvert the Butembo Government, they didn’t want to negotiate with the government or raise the workers’ wages, now we need to unite.

People in poor areas are really not afraid of death, sometimes bloodshed can even make them more fervent.

Those black guys who could get excited around a fire started to get stirred up quickly.

When a crowd gathered and surrounded the mining company, the situation began to reverse.

The black guys had been stirred up by the mining companies to besiege the government building for benefits, now they were again stirred up to besiege the mining company also for benefits.

In less than 48 hours, fortunes had turned, leaving Joe Ga inside city hall almost in awe at the unfolding events.

Things had gone smoother than he expected, he had only intended to use violent arrests to intimidate the streets and incidentally hold some evidence against some of the mining companies; he hadn’t anticipated this kind of effect.

Claiming a raise naturally generated empathy among the workers, when night fell again, much of Butembo was mobilized, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.

Then the people from the mining companies started to get scared, because the special operations forces had blocked the main passages of Butembo, and they had no chance even to escape.

As these mining company employees cowered inside their buildings, Ngonga received a call from a representative of the mining companies. Find your next adventure on NovelBin.Côm

Then the acting mayor excitedly looked at Joe Ga and said, "Boss, they want to negotiate!"

Joe Ga glanced at Ngonga, smiled, and shook his head saying, "It’s not that easy,

the matter of hiring mercenaries to attack the government building isn’t over yet!

Attempted crime is still a crime, tell them we now have conclusive evidence, ask the involved mining companies to confess and compensate, then we can safely expel them from the country.

Otherwise, let them face the wrath of the people!

Our manpower is limited, we can’t guarantee safety everywhere, that’s rational anywhere, right?"