Empire of Shadows

Looking at Fernandez, who seemed to be in a very anxious mood, Diego also became more curious.

”What on earth happened?” he asked.

Fernandez took a few puffs of his cigarette, and in the end, he decided to tell Diego about this. After all, this was something that the federal government had already confirmed.

When he himself found that the ammunition was not enough, and had gone to buy it and was refused, he would also find out.

It was just a matter of sooner or later. And to say it now, he could gain Diego’s trust.

”They told me just now that a very bad thing has happened.”

”The federal government has stopped exporting standard-specification ammunition, bullets, shells, everything, to the outside. They are not selling them.”

”Now they are only selling non-standard-specification bullets.”

Diego, after listening, had passed seven or eight seconds, before he had asked in a probing tone, ”What does this have to do with us?”

Fernandez was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh. ”Mr. President, the weapons we are using all use the federal standard-specification ammunition.””Whether it’s Jede, or Rapa, the weapons in the hands of the soldiers are basically all from the Federation.”

”In other words, when the bullets in our hands are used up, these weapons of ours will become worthless.”

”If we don’t have bullets, it’s not even as useful as a knife!”

Diego understood. His face was full of an incredulous expression, just like Fernandez’s expression just now!

”Then what do we do now?”

”Can’t we make it ourselves?”

The ”we” he was talking about was not referring to Rapa, but to Jede.

What he wanted to ask was, whether the Jede Republic had the ability to make it.

Fernandez’s expression was very ugly. He pursed his lips tightly, so much so that his lips were white from the pressure, and had lost their color. ”I’m sorry, Mr. President. We can’t make it either.”

Although the Jede Republic had tried to produce its own bullets, they really couldn’t.

The metallurgical formula, the gunpowder formula, the technology of the primer, all these were things they couldn’t solve.

They could, however, buy some of the accessories for producing bullets, for example, the shell casings, the warheads, the gunpowder, the primers, and buy them separately from the Federation, and assemble them themselves.

There were special, manual machines that could do this. After a simple training, a person could make about one bullet a minute.

The eleven countries of Yalan had a large population. It might seem that one bullet a minute, and working twelve hours a day, was only a few hundred bullets, which was very little, but there were many people here.

This was actually also a solution.

Ten thousand people can produce ten thousand bullets in a minute. This output is actually okay, and is equivalent to the output of a federal assembly line in an hour.

But this was also not very likely, because they couldn’t produce those parts themselves, and they all needed to be imported.

He was still not clear if these accessories were also banned from being exported, but he had a feeling that these things, with a high probability, were also banned from being exported.

They couldn’t even handle a single primer, let alone the other things.

If that was the case, then they had to consider how to deal with this terrible situation.

Diego, hearing this, couldn’t help but take a deep breath. ”What the fuck?”

”Then what about this war?”

”What about those anti-government armed forces?”

”Will the federal people also stop transporting ammunition to them?” His face was filled with a trace of hope.

But what he got in return was only Fernandez’s shaking of his head. ”I don’t think they will stop transporting ammunition to these anti-government armed forces.”

”Mr. President, now everyone can see this. We clearly have the advantage.”

”Perhaps this is some kind of a method they have thought of, a method to restrict us.”

200,000 regular troops, plus Jede’s military officers, to deal with a group of ordinary people who had not even touched a gun a few months ago, let alone had fought with the government army. Whether it was Fernandez or the president of Jede, they did not think that this was a difficult matter.

Some of the things that had happened in the history of Jede had told them that in the era of firearm warfare, even if the peasants had a chance to get a weapon, they could not become a warrior.

This was different from the past, in the era of cold weapons. A farmer, with a weapon, was a qualified warrior. After killing a few enemies, he could be called an elite.

But the era of hot weapons is not like this. There are some systematic combat plans here, which are not something that those farmers can play with.

A combat system that requires a special school to learn is not so easy to master.

But now, their advantage was gone.

Diego stood up, patting his armrests. ”I’ll go and contact the Federal Ambassador.”

Fernandez looked at him. ”What are you contacting the Federal Ambassador for?”

”To protest!” Diego’s face was full of an angry expression. He had just been about to deal with these people, and as a result, the Federation had given him a punch, which had made him very uncomfortable.

He now wanted to see the Federal Ambassador, and then to spray his saliva on the other party’s face!

Fernandez shook his head. ”It’s meaningless, Mr. President.”

”It’s not that the Federation is not exporting. They will still export, but what they are exporting is not the standard-specification bullets.”

”All the bullets, the shells, will be a circle smaller. They are just not suitable for our current weapons.”

Hearing this, Diego seemed to have reacted. ”Then... does it mean that as long as we buy new weapons and new ammunition, it will be fine?”

He looked at Fernandez, and in his annoyance, there was also some that had been generated by this person in front of him.

If he had said earlier that they could continue to buy weapons and ammunition, he would not have been controlled by him, like a fool.

He sat back down in his chair, his face clearly showing his dissatisfaction with Fernandez. ”You should have been clearer with me!”

Fernandez shook his head. ”Mr. President, you should not be overly hopeful that we can still, in large quantities, in a systematic way, to get these things from the Federation.”

”It is possible that they will artificially create some trouble for us.”

”For example!” he added a little emphasis to his tone. He had found that this person, Diego, was really emotional, and stupid enough.

He had decided to, when he had time, to go and look at those intelligence files, to see how on earth Diego had been chosen. His brain was simply not suitable for him to be a ruler.

With patience, and after he had attracted Diego’s attention, he continued, ”If they have sold us a hundred rifles, but have only sold us the ammunition for twenty, do you think this is a good thing?”

”Or, for example, they will require you, at the same time as you are buying certain weapons, to buy some things that are overpriced and of no help to the war.”

”For example, to have you buy a pile of expensive military tents, will you buy them?”

This situation was still possible. Fernandez now had no reservations about the bottom line of the federal government.

These people simply had no bottom line!

Mr. President, hearing this, had a look of some difficulty on his face. If it was really like this, he also didn’t know if he would buy.

Do the soldiers need tents?

Simply not needed!

They just need to have a place to lie down.

Even in the winter, the temperature in Rapa is still not bad, around ten degrees. Not to mention in the summer.

As for the mosquitoes, you don’t have to worry. The locals know how to deal with them.

So he simply doesn’t need tents!

No, he doesn’t need other, bundled sales.

But now, he seemed to have no more choices. He looked at Fernandez, and the latter was also looking at him. Both of them had seen the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

They had also done this kind of unreasonable thing, and at that time, they had not felt any discomfort. But now, when others had begun to bully them, they had begun to feel uncomfortable.

”For now, let’s first consider solving the anti-government armed forces in the country. In addition, you can contact the Federal Ambassador, or contact the Federal Secretary of State. Maybe there are other clauses in this, or conditions we don’t know about.”

Diego could only nod and agree.

He returned to his office and, in a daze, he sat slumped in his chair. Then he had dialed the Federal Ambassador’s number.

This president, the more he is, the more boring it is.

The call was quickly answered. The voice of the Federal Ambassador came from the receiver. ”This is the Federal Embassy, Ambassador’s Office.”

”Hello, Your Excellency Ambassador. I am Diego.”

The guy on the other end of the line seemed to have not expected him to call. There was a pause of three or four seconds. ”Mr. President, I didn’t expect you to call me.”

”So, is there anything I can help you with?”

Diego sighed lightly. ”I hear that the Federation is now prohibiting the sale of standard-specification ammunition to the outside?”

”Rapa and the Federation are friendly and diplomatic countries. Our relationship is stable and reliable. Maybe we are not on that, possibly existing, prohibited trade list?”

The Federal Ambassador had not expected the news to travel so fast. He had thought that it would be at least two or three, or three or five days, before these people would know about this newly pushed policy.

He did not deny it. ”Yes, there is indeed such a policy.”

”Mr. President, do you have any questions?”

Diego immediately began to complain, ”The weapons in our hands are almost all federal-standard-issue, from the 1010 bolt-action rifle to the small number of new semi-automatic rifles.”

”We have just expanded our army to 200,000, and everyone is equipped with these weapons. If you do not sell their bullets, won’t these weapons of ours become useless?”

”This makes me have to suspect that this policy you have formulated is aimed at our Rapa.”

”I don’t know what has caused such a big misunderstanding between us. We are diplomatic countries. We should be friends, not enemies.”

He had suppressed his emotions, and was, with an emotion that he felt was relatively gentle and stable, to communicate.

Although at this moment, in his heart, he was very disgusted, and hateful of these people.

The Federal Ambassador’s hearty laughter came from the receiver, which had made him even more annoyed.

He didn’t like these people.

He had never, in his life, been so obsequious. Now he was being obsequious. He was clearly very angry, and wanted to explode, but he still had to pretend that everything was fine.

The head of state of a small country, in the face of a large country, is even more desperate than an ordinary person in the face of an official!

The ambassador, after laughing for a while, had calmed down, and only then had he explained to him, ”President Diego, you have misunderstood.”

”We are not targeting anyone. Because in the Federation, there have always been anti-war voices. You know, no matter what you do, there will always be people who will stand up and accuse you of not doing it.”

”If it was just a simple anti-war, we actually wouldn’t take them to heart. But when they said that the weapons and bullets produced by the Federation have, in the end, become the accomplices in the killing of federal soldiers, society had a focus.”

”They needed a topic of discussion, and this topic had just happened to appear. And some of them had also begun to spontaneously parade and to demonstrate.”

”So in order to quell this problem as soon as possible, the federal government and Congress have, through discussion, made such a decision.”

”The lethality of a small-caliber weapon is relatively smaller. This way, even if some of the Federation’s weapons and ammunition fall into the hands of the enemy, when they are fighting against the federal people, it can also give more people a chance to be treated.”

”So this is not an act aimed at you or Rapa, President Diego. You can rest assured!”

”We are friendly and diplomatic countries. We will not use such means or measures against our allies to restrict your development.”

”As for your worry about not having enough ammunition, in fact, this is very easy to solve.”

”You can directly buy the new-style export weapons and the matching ammunition. This is not limited, just as in the past!”

Hearing that the Federal Ambassador had really given him an excuse, and that after he had heard it, he had actually felt that there was really this possibility.

After all, the people of the Federation were crazy. No matter what they did, it would not make people feel strange.

This had made him, who had wanted to get angry or to complain, to have no target.

”Mr. President, if you or your army need these new weapons and ammunition, I can help you to contact some of the sales staff. They will provide you with the best supporting plan.”

”From the helmets they wear, to their shoes, including the weapons, you can have more choices.”

”Believe me, Mr. President. Your troops will look more like a modern, professional army than they do now.”

These words sounded as if there was no problem, but Diego had always felt that this Federal Ambassador was laughing at him, laughing at his army for not being professional at all, and not at all modern!

He was silent for a moment. ”That is to say, I can’t buy the bullets for the rifles we are using now, right?”

”No matter what!”

The Federal Ambassador had, with some regret, affirmed, ”I’m afraid so, Mr. President.”

”But I need to remind you that we are not targeting you. The whole world is like this!”

Diego’s temper was a little out of control. ”Do you know how much this will cost me?”

”I have just armed 200,000 people with your weapons, and now you are telling me that these weapons are useless, fuck!”

Taking advantage of the gap while he was cursing, the Federal Ambassador had taken the initiative to interrupt him. ”Mr. Diego, if the weapons that your 200,000 soldiers are using were sold to you by us, the federal government, or a federal arms industry group,”

”You can have the person who sold them to you to submit a written document to Congress. The congressional side will definitely make some policy adjustments for you alone.”

”However, I haven’t heard of any arms industry group that has a large-scale arms sale plan in Rapa, or has already completed an arms sale plan.”

”The equipment for 200,000 soldiers, this is not a small business!”

”But if these weapons were not bought from the Federation, then whoever you bought them from, shouldn’t you be looking for them to be responsible?”

”Instead of calling me, and looking for us to be responsible for an arms sale that has nothing to do with us?”

These words had made the dirty words and complaints in Diego’s stomach all stay in his stomach, because he had indeed not bought them from the federal government. These were all what he had exchanged from the Jede side with Rapa’s state-owned resources.

State-owned resources are not his own anyway. If he gives them, he gives them. But these weapons and ammunition are real.

And if he can win this civil war, it is possible that he will have in his hands some of the resources that the other ruling group families had mastered.

To give Jede a part of what has nothing to do with him, he gives it. He doesn’t feel the pinch at all.

But now, he was a little speechless.

Hearing that Diego had no more voice, the Federal Ambassador had laughed lightly. ”So, Mr. President, to buy weapons, it’s still more reliable to find us.”

”At least we have after-sales service. If you had bought our weapons, even if the bullets were embargoed to the outside, it would not have included you!”

”So, do you have any other questions?”

”If not, I have a meeting later.”

He had already made it clear to President Diego that he was going to hang up.

This had made President Diego have a bellyful of anger that he couldn’t vent. It was so uncomfortable!

The flames of anger are not like a bellyful of tadpoles, which can be vented through jacking off or other ways, many ways.

The flames of anger only have one way—destruction!

Either destroy yourself, or destroy the enemy!

Listening to the busy tone from the receiver, President Diego had slammed the receiver on the phone’s base!

He had called the logistics minister, who was in charge of logistics, over. ”Our ammunition, how many more days of fighting can it support?”

”At the current scale and intensity.”

The Minister of Logistics was not considered an independent department. This logistics department was in the military system, and at the same time, it also took into account a part of the Rapa government’s affairs.

A person who could hold this kind of a position all had the same surname as Diego.

”At most, it can last for a little over a month. We will need some supplies.”

Both sides were actually new soldiers. A new soldier, when he is nervous, will not be able to aim properly, just like a novice.

They had wasted too many bullets in their blind, and aimless, shooting.

Sometimes, just by hearing a gunshot, they would subconsciously raise their weapons and shoot at a place where they suspected someone was.

In every battle, each person, at least, had fired a few dozen shots, and at most, possibly a few hundred.

Each soldier had carried 200 rounds of ammunition. Many, before a battle was even over, had already run out of bullets—

It was said that some were secretly selling bullets to the public. This thing was more stable than the constantly plummeting currency!

When he had heard the one-month deadline, Diego was already a little... had lost the ability to speak.