Ben: "Mr. Mundy, how far is it from Baibunda now?"

In an off-road jeep covered with dust on the tarpaulin, Feng Fei asked Mundy, an employee of the Ministry of Industry of the Diego Country, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, for the 100th time.

On the third day after Feng Xiaochen entrusted Gai Zhan to help inquire about the weapons needs of other countries, Gai Zhan brought news to Feng Xiaochen, that is, the military of the Di Kingdom did have a request to purchase some weapons and equipment, including some artillery. As for whether it was a howitzer or something else, Gaijan couldn't tell. Not only could he not tell, but even Hesserth, the Minister of Industry of Dee who provided the news, could not say clearly.

The country of Die, a country bordering Avare, had a civil war that broke out a few years ago, with government forces fighting intermittently with the rebels for several years, and now controls about three-quarters of the country, while the rebels occupy the other quarter. Similar to the civil wars in many African countries, the two sides of the civil war in the country of Dee were also supported by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the government army receiving the support of the Soviet Union and the rebel army receiving the support of Europe and the United States.

In the past two years, the Soviet Union's national strength has gradually weakened, and the leaders have put forward new ideas, the original national strategy of global hegemony has been abandoned, and support for African countries such as the Dienation has naturally been interrupted. After losing the support of the Soviet Union, the government army of the Dee State was in a very troubled situation, the main one being that the source of weapons and equipment became a problem. Nowadays, although there is still some equipment purchased from the Soviet Union in the past, the attrition rate of weapons in the war is very alarming, and the front-line troops are already under-equipped. The military clamored every day to replenish equipment, and it was naturally impossible for Heseth, as the Minister of Industry, not to know about it.

"However, the military has the final say on the procurement of equipment, and I have no power. ”

In front of Feng Xiaochen and the others, Hess said this. In addition to Feng Xiaochen, there were also Feng Fei and Zhang Heping who participated in the talks. Although Wang Genji and Wu Shican also knew about this matter, they still did not participate in this matter in line with the principle of trying not to mix with military secrets.

"So, can Minister Hess help us ask the military what it means?" Feng Xiaochen said.

"I could have asked the chief of staff of the military, but what do you want to know?" asked Hesseth.

This gentleman and Gai Zhan have a good personal relationship, and before that, Gai Zhan had already told him that the Chinese had promised to give them some kickbacks on the purchase of weapons, and the proportion was still very considerable. Hesseth is not the kind of person who will betray the interests of the country with benefits, but if he can get benefits without harming the interests of the country, he will certainly not refuse. The military wanted to purchase weapons, which was originally a plan, and he helped the military find a seller, which can be regarded as worrying about the country. And if you can get some personal benefits from this, then why not do it.

It is precisely because of this idea that Hess attaches great importance to Feng Xiaochen's requirements.

"Feng Gong, can you talk about it?" Feng Xiaochen turned his head to Feng Fei and said. In front of many people, it was inconvenient for him to call Feng Fei his second uncle, and Feng Fei also understood this.

"China's weapons and equipment are basically developed by borrowing Soviet-made weapons, and if your government army is used to using Soviet-made weapons, then importing weapons from China is a very good choice. Minister Hesseth can you ask us if your military has such intentions? Feng Fei said sneeringly, he was really not good at communicating with people, but now he had no choice, he had to say if he didn't want to speak.

Hesses said: "As far as I know, the military does have the intention of purchasing weapons, but it depends on the specific model of the weapon, the price, and some other conditions. And I can only inquire from the side, and it is more taboo to intervene too deeply. ”

"I understand. Feng Xiaochen said, "So, can you ask Minister Hess to contact your military people and ask them to send someone here, and we can talk to them face to face?"

"Well...... Hesses hesitated, "I'm afraid I can only wait for me to talk to the military after I return to China to see what they mean." ”

"How long do you estimate it will take to get news?" Feng Xiaochen asked again.

Hesseth said: "It's hard to say, if it's faster, it is estimated that there will be news in a week or two, and if it is slow, it may be a month or two." At the moment, there is a fierce battle between government forces and rebels in the Baibunda area, and the top brass of the military has gone there, and there may not be time to think about anything else. ”

"It's too slow. Feng Fei said with a frown. Even if it's a week or two, that's a long time. At present, it is still a suspense whether the military of Diego has any intention of purchasing Chinese weapons, and he can't wait for a week or two in Alvaré because of Hesseth's words, right?

Hess said helplessly: "Mr. Feng, this is something that cannot be helped, after all, in our country, the military is very powerful, and we can't control their affairs." I have to deliver a message to the military, and I have to pass it on through some connections, and I can get a reply in a week or two, which is already a very optimistic thing. ”

"So, what if we go and talk to your military directly?" Feng Fei blurted out a sentence with a flash of inspiration in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Hess didn't understand for a moment.

After Feng Fei finished speaking, he knew that he was a little abrupt, he looked back at Feng Xiaochen, and then at Zhang Heping, hesitating whether to say the rest of the words. He said that he wanted to go directly to talk to the military of the country of Dee, which meant that he had to go to the country of Dee in person, which was not something that he could just say by himself. He looked at Feng Xiaochen and Zhang Heping, because he wanted to ask these two to take a closer look at it for him to see if this matter was suitable.

"Zhang, I want to ask, are we suitable to meddle in the affairs of the Di Ai Country?" Feng Xiaochen turned his head to Zhang Heping and asked in a low voice. He spoke in Chinese, so there was no need to worry about Hess understanding. In this era, there are really few Africans who know Chinese.

Zhang Heping said: "We must not meddle, we are a country that pursues peaceful coexistence, how can we meddle in other people's civil wars? However, if some weapons are provided to the government army of Di É through a third country, this cannot be regarded as meddling. Our country has diplomatic relations with the country of Di, and the country of Die has always supported us in many affairs, and it can be regarded as a friendly country of ours. ”

"If that's the case, then I'll accompany my second uncle to go to the country of De'e, what do you think?" Feng Xiaochen applied for Feng Fei.

"I need to ask the embassy for this. Zhang Heping said.

This kind of thing is not something that the embassy can call the shots. However, through the embassy, Zhang Heping got in touch with the so-called "relevant departments" in China, and after explaining the reason for the matter, the relevant departments replied, agreeing that Feng Fei, Feng Xiaochen and Zhang Heping would go to Di Ai country, of course, nominally only for industrial inspection, as for who to visit after going, it didn't matter. This matter is also said to have been approved by Dong Lao.

In this way, Feng Xiaochen and his entourage took the car sent by Gaijan to the border between Avaray and Die, and after crossing, there was a jeep sent by the Ministry of Industry of Diet to pick them up, and in addition to the driver, there was also a small clerk named Mandi. Hessigui was the Minister of Industry, so it was naturally impossible for him to personally accompany Feng Xiaochen and them.

Jeeps drove straight from the border towards Baibunda province, where government forces and rebels exchanged fire. According to Hesseth, Pragnell, the military's chief of staff, is currently in command of operations in Baibunda province, and it only makes sense to talk to him about arms procurement, and no one else can call the shots.

"What kind of sin is this!"

Sitting in the jeep, looking at the scene on both sides of the road, Feng Fei kept muttering. In fact, if he didn't want to pretend to be reserved, Feng Xiaochen couldn't help but express some emotion. The country is very poor, and most of the villages along the route are adobe houses, occasionally passing by a town and a few buildings. Many of these adobe houses and sparse buildings have been destroyed by the war. Some of the walls of the houses were half collapsed, and the thatch on the roofs showed obvious signs of burning.

Jeeps drive on the road, slowing down from time to time to get around the huge craters on the road, some sections of which have even been completely destroyed, and the vehicle has to pass through the fields next to it.

"This is war!"

Zhang Heping said to the Feng family's uncle and nephew. Compared with these two people who had never seen a war, Zhang Heping had been to some war-torn countries, and he knew that the situation in some countries was even worse than that of Dee.

"We always talk about defending peace, and it was only here that I truly understood how precious peace is. Feng Fei said.

Feng Xiaochen smiled and teased: "Second uncle, since this is the case, then let's just go back." ”

"Why?"

"Don't you think you're here to sell war?"

"This ...... You can't say that. Feng Fei was a little embarrassed, as a person from a military industrial enterprise, he said anything about peace and the like, it was really a bit of a disobedience. He came to sell howitzers, and if the world is peaceful, to whom will he sell his guns?

"It's called war to contain war. Feng Fei finally found a reason for himself, "Xiaochen, we are here to help the people of the Di Nation eliminate the war. Do you think that if the government forces of the country of Die's can defeat the rebels as soon as possible, won't the country of Die's be able to achieve peace?"

"Hehe, second uncle, you can remember what you said now, and when you meet Pragnell, you can tell him like this. Feng Xiaochen said.

"Xiaochen, you have to help me in a while, I'm ...... I can't really speak......"

Feng Fei looked at Feng Xiaochen with a pleading look. Feng Xiaochen was about to tease Feng Fei again, when he suddenly heard a howl from a distance, and his face couldn't help but change suddenly.

"Not good, there are shells!"

Feng Xiaochen shouted out of his voice.