"General, this year's Frankfurt Weapons and Equipment Expo seems to be much larger than in previous years!"

"Yes!" Listening to the words of Adjutant Air Force Captain Riquelme, General Messi couldn't help but nodded: "In any case, the Middle East is not peaceful now, the inherent contradictions between Israel and Arab countries have not been eliminated, Iraq and Iran are fighting again, and the surrounding countries are all expanding their armaments, plus they are all rich oil-producing countries, which will naturally lead to the madness of various arms companies, large and small."

"Fortunately, we have never had any wars in South America, so we don't have to worry about so many troubles!"

"There is no war in South America?" General Messi repeated the words of his adjutant, his two thick and slightly black eyebrows couldn't help but squeeze twice towards the middle, and his thin lips were also slightly open, as if he wanted to say something, but when he looked at Riquelme's handsome, innocent and young face like an angel, Messi swallowed back the words that came to his lips

As an important member of Argentina's current military junta, Lieutenant General Messi, who is the director of the General Directorate of Equipment of the Argentine Joint Chiefs of Staff, naturally knows much more than the young adjutant next to him who has just been recruited by himself, so the Argentine general who is over half a hundred years old knows very well that South America is not peaceful today.

Not to mention the remnants of the leftist forces that have been crisscrossing South America for decades, the current economic crisis affecting countries is also exhausting the governments of several South American countries to deal with, and the rising strikes, protests, demonstrations and even street violence have made the governments of each country anxious.

Especially in Argentina, since Galtieri became the president of Argentina, Robit Ailman, an economist who studied in the United States, was used as the minister of economy. First, there were cuts to benefits and budgets.

Then they sold all the government-owned industries, instituted a strict monetary system, and finally announced a freeze on workers' wages when there was still no improvement, and the end result was 130% inflation and a 5% drop in GDP. Business investment fell by another 20 percent from its worst 1981 low, and public discontent across Argentina boiled over.

In order to keep his presidency and hard-won glory and wealth, Galtieri adopted iron-fisted measures to crack down on domestic opposition forces, suppress popular demonstrations and strikes, and on the other hand, deepen relations with the United States and introduce a large amount of American capital to support the scene.

If that's all, Messi, who is a key member of the junta, will not be worried. After all, the rest of South America is basically no different from Argentina now, and no matter how much you toss, it is just a fierce popular resistance, which has long been a common occurrence in Messi's decades-long military junta.

But what worries Messi is that in order to consolidate his power and position and the support of the people, President Galtieri not only follows the old routine of the previous military junta, but is also ready to borrow something new that has not been used by the previous heads of military junta - strong nationalism.

Not long ago, on the afternoon of 19 March, a group of Argentine soldiers under the banner of scrap buyers forcibly landed on the island of South Georgia, which is nearly 1,400 kilometers south of the Malvinas Islands. And despite the opposition of the local British, the Argentine flag was forcibly raised and sovereignty was sworn in.

After the flag-raising incident was successful. The Argentine 5,000-ton military transport ship "Joy Bay," which had been on standby in the nearby waters, quickly docked on South Georgia Island, unloading a large amount of supplies, and at the same time stationing more than 100 heavily armed soldiers to the island, thus achieving a complete occupation.

After the capture was reached in a fait accompli, the British also sent warships to the area, and the Thatcher government in London sent a diplomatic note to the Galtieri junta. It's just that whether it is the cruise of British warships or the diplomatic communication of the Thatcher government, it is not so much the thunderous anger of the old empire as the comfort of being kind to others, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it with the word "insignificant".

Upon learning about the reaction of the British. Galtieri was ecstatic, and the Argentine people were even more in a carnival, and the parade with a portrait of Galtieri could be seen everywhere on the streets of Buenos Aires, and the title of "Bolívar national hero" (Bolívar, the pioneer of democratic liberation in South America, has always been admired by the South American people!) was undoubtedly worn on Galtieri's head.

With the occupation of South Georgia, Galtieri's originally sluggish approval rating soared to the highest point since taking office, and the precarious presidency was consolidated.

In order to push his popularity to a higher level, Galtieri wanted to add fuel to the fire of nationalism that had been ignited, so that it would completely become a raging flame that swept through the whole of Argentina and even South America, and for this reason, he set his sights on the Malvinas Islands, which were also disputed with Britain but richer than South Georgia

However, Galtieri's series of actions are extremely dangerous in the eyes of General Messi, because it is very likely to lead Argentina into the abyss of no return, making the already devastated country even more irreversible, but his calm and objective voice is simply very small among the many important members of the military government who have been beaten and eager to make contributions.

There is no way, Lieutenant General Messi, who is the director of the Argentine General Equipment Bureau, can only use all the means at his disposal to enrich the Argentine army, which has not experienced war for hundreds of years, to become stronger, so he has purchased armaments in large quantities since the beginning of 1982.

Even if he quarreled with the Minister of Finance of the government because of the only budget, General Messi insisted on his idea unwaveringly, because General Messi, as a soldier, knows very well the combat effectiveness of the Argentine army, if there is no advanced equipment to support the façade, once the storm of war hits, it will not only blow up the thin "fig leaf", but the flesh and blood that penetrates deep into the body

"Hopefully we'll be able to weather this unpredictable storm"

General Messi sighed secretly in his heart, looking at the bustling crowd of visitors in the expo with deep eyes, and suddenly a breeze blew, General Messi couldn't help but shiver, and he woke up from his deep groan

"It's the end of March, I didn't expect the weather in Europe to be so cold!" The breeze just now also made the young Riquelme very uncomfortable, after all, the temperature in South America at this time is still warm, not as warm and cold as the northern hemisphere, so Riquelme rubbed his arm vigorously to make it warmer, and then smiled at Messi again and asked:

"General, you're not thinking about South Georgia again, are you?" Riquelme picked up the camera hanging on his chest, adjusted the focus on several weapons and equipment that he was interested in, pressed the shutter a few times, and then put the camera down again, and continued to say with a smile:

"Let me say, Your Excellency General, you really don't need to think so much, as for worrying, it's even more unnecessary to worry, today's Britain is no longer the British Empire a hundred years ago, haven't you heard of it, Britain is now because of the financial crisis, all the aircraft carriers in its hands have to be eliminated, it can be said that today's Britain is a weak and seriously ill patient, and it can't even support an empty shelf, how can it manage South Georgia, which is thousands of miles away?"

Riquelme didn't know that General Messi just now was not thinking about South Georgia at all, but the larger Malvinas Islands, after all, the Falklands operation was still in the stage of strict secrecy, just like an officer of Riquelme's level had no way of knowing.

But in any case, Riquelme's ideas represent the mainstream view in Argentina today, even at the top of the military junta, and even President Galtieri himself, which is what General Messi is most worried about, after all, when he was a military academy in the United States, he had studied an ancient Chinese military book, the name is very strange, what is "The Art of War".

But the truth in it has always been remembered by him, especially "Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival, must not be ignored!", "In order to win, first think about defeat!" "Know yourself and know your opponent, you can not be defeated in a hundred battles!" These sentences have always been the most admired constant sayings of General Messi.

But his constant words and aphorisms cannot become everyone's wise sayings, but looking at the young and energetic Riquelme, the weather-beaten General Messi hopes that these young juniors will live in a peaceful and tranquil environment, so when Riquelme's voice gradually fell, he stretched out his hand and patted Riquelme's thick and strong shoulder, and said meaningfully:

"Don't think too much about these things that are too far away from life, have time to study more, even if it is to watch football, study your hobby photography in depth, or how to eat well, solve the stubborn diseases of society, those things from country to country are all gimmicks of politicians, not something we can control!"

"This" Listening to General Messi's words, a trace of doubt flashed on Riquelme's slightly childish cheeks, he didn't know how this usually very decisive general could be so sentimental, but no matter how puzzled, when he saw Messi's deep eyes, Riquelme still nodded:

"I know, General!" After speaking, Riquelme quickly diverted such a heavy topic: "By the way, General, we have visited the equipment of several major military-industrial powers today, and in comparison, it is still the most cost-effective in France, you see, the French booth is in front, you see if we are"

"Wait a minute, let's take a look at this place!" Before Riquelme finished speaking, General Messi pointed to the exhibition hall of the Chinese military-industrial delegation in front of him, and then without waiting for Riquelme to answer, he strode over

"Why haven't you had enough!" Riquelme sighed helplessly, then grabbed his camera and quickly followed. )