188: Chapter 188 The Balancing Techniques of East University and West University!

In an office in Beijing, He Jun slapped several documents on the desk, his excitement impossible to hide.

"Old Qin, look at this! The new proposal from Dongda is practically tailor-made for us!"

He didn't notice Qin Yue, who had a look of worry on her face the moment she heard the price. He Jun's finger poked heavily at the parameters in the proposal, spittle flying as he spoke:

"An H2S command mothership, responsible for the command and target designation of the entire fleet, costs thirty-five million. But this is the key!" He slapped another document onto the table. "It can coordinate and command four unmanned missile boats, each carrying two C-705 anti-ship missiles! The cost per boat is only nine million!"

He Jun calculated rapidly on the whiteboard: "Mothership plus four daughter boats, the total system cost is seventy-one million RMB. The total firepower is a full eight anti-ship missiles! With this distribution of risk, isn't the survivability and penetration capability a hundred times better than that empty iron shell the Americans are selling? The cost-performance ratio is improved by at least thirty-seven percent!"

He rubbed his hands together until they grew warm: "Even though the total cost for this whole set, including spare ammunition, will head towards one hundred million RMB, this money is well spent!"

Qin Yue frowned: "It sounds good. But I heard that Old Lu is still negotiating with the Americans... and the quote isn't low. You'd better ask about the situation; this is a bundled plan, you can't just look at Dongda's side."

The heat on He Jun's face faded a bit, and he began to mutter to himself: "Yeah, that's the strange part. Old Lu keeps pushing that Arleigh Burke, saying it has a solid foundation and potential for retrofitting. But in the eyes of us soldiers, a missile that can actually be fired is what really matters!"

At the same time, in a hotel suite in Hainan, Lin Zhou watched He Jun's face on the screen—transitioning from excitement to confusion—via encrypted video, his own expression blank.

"Old He," Lin Zhou held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his voice devoid of fluctuation, "Dongda's proposal is very good, I know that. But for the procurement from the Americans, you should hold off for now. Don't reject it, but don't agree to it either."

He Jun's movements stopped: "Lord, why is that? It's obvious that Dongda's proposal is superior."

"I said, hold off." Lin Zhou's tone didn't change, but the weight of his words made He Jun unable to ask further, "Negotiations require give and take."

After hanging up the video, Lin Zhou looked toward Jack, who was standing by on the other side of the computer.

"Play the recording for me."

"As you command, Lord." Jack's unique synthetic voice sounded from the speaker, and a processed audio file began to play.

[Recording starts]

A voice full of obsequiousness rang out; it was Old Lu: "Mr. Mark Smith, please rest assured. The appraised value of that ship is twenty-three million USD. I know that with your authority, pressing it down to eighteen million is no problem."

Another male voice said arrogantly: "Old Lu, that's a price difference of twelve million; the risk is very high."

Old Lu's voice became even more sycophantic: "Risk and reward go hand in hand! I will report a procurement of thirty million USD on my end. As for the extra money, we split it fifty-fifty—you get six million, and I get six million."

"As for our internal side, our Grand Marshal, He Jun, is my old comrade-in-arms. He's a stubborn soldier, the easiest to fool. When the time comes, I'll tell him the extra money is for buying mothballed spare parts and greasing palms. I'll give him three million from my share, and he will definitely loosen his grip on the procurement proposal. As long as the Lord doesn't investigate closely, this will be done!"

[Recording ends]

Jack's voice sounded again: "Lord, according to the surveillance, Old Lu hasn't mentioned this three million to He Jun yet. This is just his own one-sided plan."

Lin Zhou let out a long breath, his tightly clenched fists slowly loosening, leaving deep red marks on his palms.

Although He Jun was reckless, and even blindly trusted his old comrade, he had ultimately held the line and hadn't been dragged into the mud.

This actually gave Lin Zhou an opportunity to clean up the internal organization.

The scope of this new force was expanding, and the structure from the ragtag days—with Chen Yuan managing the money and He Jun managing the guns—was no longer viable; it would only breed countless small factions. Especially He Jun, the Grand Marshal, who held all the armed power in his hands. If it weren't divided, something big would happen sooner or later.

"Jack, initiate the second phase."

"Have your people keep a close watch on Old Lu and prepare to close the net."

"Note that we don't have an extradition treaty with the United States, so don't alert the enemy. Once the funds fail to go through, he will naturally have to return to lobby, and we can strike then."

Lin Zhou spread a piece of paper on the desk and picked up a pen to write down a few names. He wanted to take advantage of this naval establishment to reorganize the chaotic official positions and powers into a system.

First, He Jun's police management authority had to be handed over. The Grand Marshal should only be responsible for national defense and borders; internal law enforcement authority must be returned to the police system.

Secondly, there couldn't be only one voice in the military. In addition to He Jun as the Chief Instructor, he also needed to establish the position of Deputy Marshal, responsible for the Navy, Air Force, and that as-of-yet non-existent Armored Division, respectively. This check and balance was not for internal friction, but for security.

Just as Lin Zhou was planning all of this, Zhang Zhe sent a thirty-page draft law from Beijing—the "Code of Integrity for Core National Management Positions" and the "Negative List for Power Operation."

This veteran lawyer had a keen sense of smell; he had clearly handed the Lord a ready-made blade.

Lin Zhou looked at the darkening night outside the window, his eyes deepening as well.

"Since everyone is so motivated, I'll make this play even bigger."

He dialed Chen Yuan's number.

"Old Chen, freeze the Navy budget for now. Don't release a single cent for Old Lu's order."

Chen Yuan on the other end of the phone wasn't surprised at all, just chuckled: "Don't worry, Lord. My Iron Abacus is clicking away loud and clear. Without your signature, Old Lu won't be able to squeeze a single coin out of me."

Although this machine had developed a few borers internally, under the powerful drive of its core, Lin Zhou, it was still operating at high speed.

Two days later, Lin Zhou secretly returned to Beijing.

He didn't go to the grand office building, but instead turned directly into the dilapidated temporary office of the Immigration Bureau. There, Old Wu was shouting at a group of subordinates to verify files, sweating profusely.

"Lord, you're finally back!" As soon as Old Wu saw Lin Zhou, he set the enamel mug in his hand heavily on the table.

Lin Zhou's gaze swept over the piled-up materials: "How is it on Old Lu's side? Have you managed to plant your people?"

Old Wu patted his chest: "Of course. Everyone we sent is an old hand at the negotiating table. Under Officer Jack's arrangement, his original staff have all been replaced for various reasons. Now everyone surrounding him is our own."

"That Old Lu still hasn't noticed anything unusual."

Lin Zhou's lips curled downward, his gaze fixed on the last ray of sunset outside the window.

"Let the good show begin."