199: Chapter 199 Holding an Arms Procurement Meeting

The troops commanded by the Aqaba Front Command were reorganized into 40 Mechanized Infantry Brigades and 12 drone battalions; the troops commanded by the Golan Heights front were reorganized into 30 Mechanized Infantry Brigades and 15 drone battalions; the troops commanded by the Sinai Front Command were reorganized into 20 Mechanized Infantry Brigades and 8 drone battalions; and the troops commanded by Lebanon were reorganized into 6 Mechanized Infantry Brigades and 10 drone battalions.

After the reorganization, the Joint Force Command would possess 96 Mechanized Infantry Brigades and 45 drone battalions, which would basically give them a significant military advantage over Israel.

Even if Israel conducted a general mobilization, if they could cut off external aid from the USA, they would still be able to suppress Israel.

After Major General Faye and Major General Rahim finalized the procurement plan, they arranged to meet with Li Yi to discuss the procurement of weapons and equipment, and held negotiations in Beirut.

"Major General Faye, Major General Rahim, why are you appearing together?" Li Yi asked, feeling somewhat curious. After all, Saudi Arabia and Iran had previously been at odds with each other.

"We have formed the Anti-Judea Coalition and will join forces to attack Israel and expel the Israelis from the Persian Gulf region," Major General Faye said without concealment. He did not believe Li Yi would leak the information, and besides, once the troops began to assemble, it wouldn't be possible to keep it secret for long.

"So that's how it is," Li Yi realized. That explained it clearly; to remove the tumor that was Israel from the Persian Gulf region, they indeed needed to join forces.

"We are looking for you this time to procure weapons and equipment for the war against Israel," said Major General Rahim.

"Then how much weapons and equipment do you intend to procure this time?" Li Yi asked.

Major General Faye handed the previously drafted procurement plan to Li Yi. Li Yi looked it over; most of it consisted of anti-aircraft missiles, armored vehicles, and drones, but the quantities exceeded the procurement volume of any previous country.

After calculating the total price, Li Yi said, "The total price for the weapons and equipment you are procuring this time is 185.93 billion USD. How much oil and natural gas are you prepared to use for payment?"

"3 billion barrels of oil and 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas," said Major General Faye.

3 billion barrels of oil was the largest oil payment Li Yi had ever received. 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas was also a very large natural gas payment.

The current international oil price is 70.05 USD per barrel. Calculated at a 28% discount on the international oil price, the price is 50.436 USD per barrel, and the value of 3 billion barrels of oil is 151.308 billion USD.

The current natural gas price is 707 USD per thousand cubic meters. Calculated at a 30% discount on the international natural gas price, the price is 494.9 USD per thousand cubic meters, and the value of 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas is 34.643 billion USD.

Li Yi said, "The total value of 3 billion barrels of oil and 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas is 185.951 billion USD, which is 21 million USD over. What do you intend to procure with this 21 million USD?"

"Let's procure the supporting missiles for the Tianlei Type I Anti-Aircraft Missile." Major General Faye heard that it was only 21 million USD over, which wouldn't be enough to procure many missiles at all.

"21 million USD can procure over 260 supporting missiles for the Tianlei Type I Anti-Aircraft Missile; let's just increase it to 300 for you," said Li Yi. Anyway, it wouldn't increase the purchase funds by much, so giving some away didn't matter.

"Can all the weapons and equipment be delivered at once?" Major General Rahim asked.

"Is there such a rush? Don't you need to train? It should be delivered in at least two batches, right?" Li Yi said. Delivering it all at once was no problem for Li Yi, but if so much equipment were delivered at once, he wouldn't be able to find a place for delivery. It was best to deliver in two batches.

Major General Rahim considered it; indeed, the troops needed to be reorganized, and they wouldn't be able to use the weapons and equipment immediately even if they received them. He said, "Then let's deliver it in two batches within one month, is that okay?"

"Sure," Li Yi agreed.

"The first batch will deliver all the anti-aircraft missiles and half of the drones and armored vehicles, and the second batch will deliver the remaining weapons and equipment." Major General Faye made the request. They must have enough anti-aircraft missiles at the beginning to intercept Israel's fighter jets and drones, otherwise, it would be troublesome if they were hit by airstrikes.

"No problem," Li Yi said. "Then how will you pay for the oil and natural gas?"

"Since we are collecting and providing oil and natural gas from multiple countries, we will make payments from multiple countries. We will pay 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas within the first month, and for the following five months, we will pay 300 million barrels of oil and 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas each month," said Major General Faye.

Paying over six months was not too long. Li Yi considered it and said, "That's fine. When it comes time to pay, just let us know the locations of the oil and natural gas storage depots."

"When you deliver the weapons and equipment, can you deliver them to the air bases in these five locations: Nakhl in Egypt, Ma'an and Zarqa in Jordan, Daraa in Syria, and Saida in Lebanon?" Major General Rahim proposed.

These places would be the assembly points for the troops of the various front commands. They were some distance from Israel, but not too far. If the troops could be equipped with weapons and ammunition nearby, it would be very beneficial for the Anti-Judea Coalition.

Li Yi had no requirements regarding the delivery locations and said, "Sure. When the time comes for delivery, just make sure to evacuate the personnel from the air bases."

As for the issue of usage restrictions on the procured weapons and equipment, both Major General Faye and Major General Rahim already knew about it, and there wasn't much else that needed to be negotiated. Soon, Li Yi reached an arms trading contract with Major General Faye and Major General Rahim. The first 180 billion USD arms procurement order was born.

Before leaving, Major General Faye asked Li Yi, "Egypt and some other small countries intend to procure a batch of weapons and equipment. Will you sell weapons and equipment to them?"

Upon hearing that it was these countries in the Persian Gulf region, Li Yi naturally did not refuse to sell, saying, "We will sell. Are there many countries that need to procure weapons and equipment?"

"There should be six or seven countries." Major General Faye was uncertain; there were quite a few countries inquiring about procuring weapons and equipment from him, but he didn't know how many would actually be willing to procure them in the end.

Li Yi considered it and said, "We will hold an arms procurement meeting here in one week. If there are any countries in the Persian Gulf region interested in procurement, you can have them come here."

After all, they were all small countries, and the amount of weapons and equipment they could procure wouldn't be particularly large. It would be better to just hold an arms procurement meeting and resolve everything at once, saving time from negotiating one by one.

"Good. I will communicate with all the interested countries and have them come here to attend the arms procurement meeting," said Major General Faye.