57: Premium arms purchases from the United States?

February 27th.

Afternoon.

Before Peng Lin could contact General Xu Liyou, he first received a congratulatory call from him.

It turned out that he already knew about Changhe Weapons Industry General Factory signing a 2 billion USD arms deal with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

"Comrade Peng Lin, congratulations!"

"Now your Changhe Factory is a wealthy tycoon; even banks might not be as rich as you are."

The old general's voice was clear and hearty as he joked with Peng Lin.

"You're too kind."

"How are the troop withdrawal matters on the front line progressing, and when will you return to Yanjing?"

Peng Lin asked.

Because according to the previous trilateral negotiation agreement between Dragon Country, Bear Country, and Beautiful Country,

Dragon Country would withdraw its troops from Monkey Country's territory after transporting all the aid previously provided to Monkey Country.

At the same time, the three countries would also simultaneously end their respective military exercises.

"Currently, the troops are withdrawing in an orderly manner as planned."

"But I probably won't be able to leave the border for a while; there are new developments here!"

General Xu Liyou suddenly said with a solemn voice.

"What happened?"

Peng Lin was a bit surprised.

Could there be new unforeseen changes on the front line?

In the previous life, when Dragon Country withdrew its troops from Monkey Country after completing its combat mission, it encountered Monkey Country's main forces, which had been redeployed from Cambodia.

Due to the hasty withdrawal, the last batch of retreating troops was pursued, causing considerable losses to the Dragon Country's army.

Moreover, after Dragon Country's withdrawal, Monkey Country's forces returned to the border, continuing to harass and invade Dragon Country's border regions.

When Dragon Country could no longer tolerate it, the decade-long Two Mountains Rotation War ensued.

And the real reasons for the Two Mountains Rotation War inevitably involved the instigation of Bear Country and Beautiful Country.

After all, without Bear Country's backing and a series of aid, Monkey Country would certainly not dare to counterattack Dragon Country after being defeated.

Additionally, Beautiful Country also hoped that the continuous war would tie down Monkey Country, preventing it from achieving its ambition of unifying the Indochinese Peninsula.

Naturally, it would reach an understanding with Bear Country, allowing Dragon Country and Monkey Country to engage in continuous attrition and warfare.

Although the Two Mountains Rotation War provided training for many of Dragon Country's troops, it also caused a certain number of casualties.

Furthermore, for this decade-long war, Lingxi Province also paid a heavy economic price, missing many development opportunities.

In this life, Dragon Country was already sitting at the chessboard, becoming half a player in the game with Bear Country and Beautiful Country.

Logically, such a situation should not be allowed to continue.

Therefore, Peng Lin asked his question with great confusion.

"Good news!"

"During the trilateral negotiations, Beautiful Country suddenly sided with us, and we continuously pressured the Bear Empire."

"Ultimately forcing Bear Country to make concessions, agreeing to let Monkey Country and us draw a clear boundary line."

"And according to our requirements, establish a ten-kilometer military buffer zone using Monkey Country's border territory."

"Within this ten-kilometer military buffer zone, ordinary Monkey Country citizens can farm and work, but Monkey Country's army is strictly prohibited from constructing military facilities and stationing troops..."

"Next, after the troops withdraw, I'm afraid I'll be busy with border demarcation issues here."

"Although the two sides may still confront each other after negotiations on the border military buffer zone, stability has become the main theme; Monkey Country dares not fight us again!"

Old General Xu Liyou explained with a smile.

A war that brought decades of peace to the southern border made him laugh heartily.

Dragon Country had four major issues on its eastern, western, southern, and northern borders.

And now, with the establishment of the military buffer zone, the southern issue would be completely resolved.

Furthermore, the signing of this agreement would also completely put an end to Bear Country's plans to use Monkey Country to stir up trouble regarding Dragon Country's border issues.

"Military buffer zone?"

"Could Beautiful Country be so kind?"

Peng Lin was somewhat suspicious.

The establishment of a military buffer zone was undoubtedly a great thing.

However, Beautiful Country's unsolicited kindness, helping Dragon Country so much, must have its reasons.

Later, during their conversation, General Xu Liyou also admitted that Beautiful Country's help to Dragon Country indeed came with conditions.

However, the specific negotiations were conducted by high-level officials from both sides, and since he was at the front-line combat command post, he was not aware of the details.

Subsequently, the old general asked Peng Lin when he would return, and if he had something to discuss with him.

Although there was a generational gap between the two, they were close friends despite the age difference.

Peng Lin naturally did not hide his intention to ask General Xu Liyou to be a witness.

"This is good news!"

"Such matters cannot be delayed."

"Although I can't leave the border, I guarantee I will entrust a highly respected person to help you propose!"

"It definitely won't delay you from having a big, chubby baby next year!"

General Xu Liyou, with a playful tone, hurriedly hung up the phone.

He was extremely attentive to this matter, clearly eager to entrust a friend to handle it... 28th.

Morning.

Peng Lin picked up the newspaper delivered early in the morning by Jingxi Hotel from his door.

In this era without mobile phones, newspapers and radio were pretty much one of the limited ways to get information.

According to newspaper reports, Dragon Country's combat troops operating deep within Monkey Country's territory were already withdrawing in an orderly fashion.

And after the army's withdrawal, both sides would clarify border disputes and establish a ten-kilometer military buffer zone within Monkey Country's territory.

Upon learning this news, a joyful atmosphere spread across the entire country.

Just as he was reading the newspaper for information, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Marshal Xu?"

Peng Lin opened the door and found it was none other than Marshal Xu Yong'an.

"Did I interrupt your reading?"

"I have two matters, one public and one private, to discuss with you."

Marshal Xu walked into the room, saw the newspaper on the table, and asked amiably.

"No, I was just checking the progress on the border."

"Then please speak about the public matter first."

Peng Lin folded the newspaper and said.

"To be frank with you, Beautiful Country helped us a lot in these trilateral negotiations."

"But they also had a condition, which is that they hope to purchase a batch of military equipment from your Changhe Weapons Industry General Factory."

"And a portion of this military equipment must be delivered within one month, for which they are willing to pay a 50% premium."

Marshal Xu looked at Peng Lin and said.

"Beautiful Country?"

"Buying arms from us?"

Peng Lin's mind suddenly went blank.

As one of the top arms exporters in the world, for Beautiful Country to buy arms from Dragon Country, it truly felt like the sun was rising from the west.

Even Peng Lin's mind couldn't quite wrap around it.

"Of course, Beautiful Country isn't buying it for its own army."

"Instead, they hope to deliver this batch of equipment to Afghanistan through our hands."

"Bear Country is Afghanistan's neighbor, and its regime was also propped up by Bear Country."

"But a few days ago, Beautiful Country, while Bear Country's attention was focused on Monkey Country, quietly pulled off a big one."

"They supported Afghanistan's second-in-command, who had studied in Beautiful Country, in staging a coup, and expelled the Bear Country ambassador."

"Now, Afghanistan has completely leaned towards the West, and Bear Country could send troops into that country at any time."

"To avoid an escalation of tensions between the two superpowers, Beautiful Country doesn't want to directly provide military aid to Afghanistan, so..."

Marshal Xu's expression was solemn as he explained the whole story to Peng Lin.

And after he mentioned Afghanistan, Peng Lin finally understood what was going on.

Because historically, Bear Country launched the Afghan War in 1979.

Afghanistan, located at the "crossroads" of Eurasia, could control Central Asian energy routes, influence South Asian stability, and constrain West Asian powers, making it a strategically vital area.

Bear Country's control over it, and subsequent influence on Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries, had always been a thorn in Beautiful Country's side.

This time, taking advantage of the escalating situation in Indochina, which diverted the Bear Empire's attention and strength, Beautiful Country finally succeeded in orchestrating a coup.

Now, to counter Bear Country's potential intervention in Afghanistan, Beautiful Country was using a quid pro quo to help Dragon Country in the Monkey Country border negotiations, in exchange for Dragon Country, as a neighboring country, selling weapons to Afghanistan.

Understanding the entire sequence of events, Peng Lin couldn't help but want to give a thumbs-up to Beautiful Country and the White House.

Brilliant!

The White House played this game of geopolitical maneuvering and exchange of interests incredibly well.

No wonder the Bear Empire in later generations was dismantled by Beautiful Country!

Militarily, the Bear Empire was currently at its zenith, even more dominant than Beautiful Country.

However, in terms of economics, politics, and geopolitical maneuvering, Bear Country was far behind Beautiful Country.

In the previous life, after Bear Country invaded Afghanistan, it fell into a decade-long quagmire of war.

For ten years, the superpower Bear Country couldn't conquer Afghanistan, which shows how much aid Beautiful Country secretly provided from behind the scenes.

Although in the previous life, it was unknown through what channels Beautiful Country aided Afghanistan.

But now, the idea had clearly fallen on Dragon Country.

Three-quarters of Afghanistan's landscape is mountainous and plateau, severely limiting Bear Country's tank and armored forces.

However, Dragon Country's light combined arms brigades were kings in this kind of complex terrain warfare!

"What equipment does Beautiful Country want to buy?"

Peng Lin asked.

"They wanted to purchase entire combined arms brigades for Afghanistan, but we refused."

"Because that would require sending military and technical personnel to Afghanistan to train their troops, which is not in our interest."

"Beautiful Country, as a fallback, hopes that we sell 30,000 individual thermobaric rocket launchers, 100,000 thermobaric rockets, 10,000 sniper grenade launchers, 2,000 Lynx vehicles, and 1,000 Mengshi vehicles to Afghanistan."

"For the first batch, no less than 10% of the total arms, they are willing to pay a 50% premium and want us to deliver within one month."

Marshal Xu said.

"30,000 individual thermobaric rocket launchers?"

Peng Lin nearly choked on his saliva.

Beautiful Country was truly ruthless in its dealings with the Bear Empire!

They didn't want the Z-8, understanding that Afghanistan couldn't possibly defeat the Bear Empire head-on.

This clearly meant they wanted Afghanistan to wage guerrilla warfare in the mountains and plateaus against the Bear Empire, armed with individual thermobaric rockets, sniper grenade launchers, and driving Lynx and Mengshi vehicles.

Peng Lin quickly calculated that the price of this batch of equipment alone would be 800 million USD.

If the premium sale and ammunition were added, the total order price would definitely not be less than 1 billion USD.

After all, Beautiful Country had already made it clear that for the first batch, no less than 10% of the arms would be purchased with a 50% premium.

The implied meaning was that no matter how many weapons and equipment exceeded 10%, they would be willing to buy them at a premium.

But it absolutely could not be less than a 10% share!

"Beautiful Country is truly rich!"

Peng Lin couldn't help but exclaim.

And this was a long-term business.

With Beautiful Country's aid from behind, this war was destined to last for years.

Later, who knew how many arms orders would flow into Dragon Country.

Thinking about how Bear Country had massively aided Monkey Country with entire formations a while ago, wanting to fight a proxy war with Dragon Country, Peng Lin couldn't help but want to laugh.

Let him be strong, let him be strong; the breeze sweeps the mountain!

Since that was the case, they would also use Beautiful Country and Afghanistan's hands to give the Bear Empire's steel torrent a good beating!

"Delivering 10% within a month is no problem."

"What about the private matter?"

Peng Lin asked again.

"The private matter is about you, Comrade Peng Lin."

"I heard from General Xu Liyou that you've taken a liking to a girl from Yanjing and want to propose, but you don't have a matchmaker or witnesses."

"So I, this old fellow, have volunteered myself, hoping to share in your good fortune. Do you agree?"

Marshal Xu said with a smile.