Chapter 964: After-sales

Seeing Fernandez seem to fall into a very anxious mood, Diego also became more curious.

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

After Fernandez took a few puffs of his cigarette, he finally decided to tell Diego about this, after all, this had already been confirmed by the federal government.

When he discovered for himself that the ammunition was insufficient and then was rejected when trying to purchase, he would find out anyway.

It's just a matter of sooner or later, and saying it now can gain Diego's trust.

"Just now they told me that a very terrible thing happened."

"The federal government has stopped transporting standard-specification ammunition, bullets, artillery shells, everything; they won't sell them anymore."

"Now they only sell non-standard-specification bullets."

After Diego finished listening, it took seven or eight seconds before he asked in a probing tone, "What does this have to do with us?"

Fernandez was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. "Mr. President, the weapons we use all use the Federation's standard-specification ammunition."

"Whether it's Jiede or Lapa, the weapons in the soldiers' hands basically come from the Federation."

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

"Without bullets, they aren't even as useful as a knife!"

Diego understood, his face full of disbelief, just like Fernandez's expression just now!

"Then what do we do now?"

"Can't we build them ourselves?"

The "we" he spoke of did not refer to Lapa, but to Jiede.

He wanted to ask if the Republic of Jiede had the ability to manufacture them.

Fernandez's expression was very ugly; he pursed his lips tightly, his lips turning white and losing color under the pressure. "Sorry, Mr. President, we can't manufacture them either."

Although the Republic of Jiede had tried to produce its own bullets, they really couldn't make them.

Metallurgy formulas, gunpowder formulas, primer technology—all of these were things they couldn't solve.

They could purchase some accessories for producing bullets, such as casings, warheads, gunpowder, and primers, buy them back from the Federation separately, and assemble them themselves.

There are special manual machines that can do this; after simple training, a person can make a bullet in about a minute.

The eleven countries of Xiang Yalan have a large population. It looks like one bullet per minute, and working twelve hours a day is only a few hundred bullets, which is very little, but the population here is large.

This is actually a way.

10,000 people can produce 10,000 bullets in a minute. This output is actually okay; it's comparable to the output of a Federation assembly line in an hour.

But this is also unlikely, because they can't produce those parts themselves and all need to be imported.

He didn't know yet if these accessories were also prohibited from export, but he had a feeling that these things were also very likely prohibited from export.

They couldn't even handle a primer, let alone other things.

If this is the case, they must consider how to deal with this terrible situation next.

Diego couldn't help but take a deep breath when he heard this. "Wang Defa?"

"Then what about this war?"

"What about those anti-government armed forces?"

"Will the Federation people also stop transporting ammunition to them?" A hint of hope appeared on his face.

But in return, there was only Fernandez's shaking head. "I don't think they will stop transporting ammunition to these anti-government armed forces."

"Mr. President, everyone can see this now; we are obviously more advantageous."

"Perhaps this is some kind of method they thought of, a method used to restrict us."

200,000 regular troops plus Jiede's officers, to deal with a group of ordinary people who hadn't even touched a gun a few months ago, let alone fought with government troops—whether it was Fernandez or the President of Jiede, they didn't think this was a difficult thing.

Some things that happened in the history of Jiede told them that in the era of thermal weapon warfare, even if those farmers had the opportunity to get weapons, they couldn't become soldiers.

This is different from the past cold weapon era, where a farmer could become a qualified soldier after picking up a weapon, and could be called an elite after killing a few enemies.

But the thermal weapon era is not like this; there are some systematic combat plans here that those farmers can't handle.

A war system that requires a specialized school to learn is not so easy to master.

But now, their advantage is gone.

Diego patted the armrest and stood up. "I'm going to contact the Federation Ambassador."

Fernandez looked at him. "What are you going to do contacting the Federation Ambassador?"

"Protest!" Diego's face was full of anger. He was just about to fiercely clean up these people, but the Federation gave him a punch, making him very uncomfortable.

He now wanted to see the Federation Ambassador and then spray his saliva onto the other party's face!

Fernandez shook his head. "Meaningless, Mr. President."

"The Federation isn't saying they won't export anymore; they will still export, but what they export won't be standard-specification bullets."

"All bullets and shells will be a circle smaller, just not suitable for the weapons we use now."

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

He looked at Fernandez, his annoyance mixed with some caused by the person in front of him.

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

He sat back in the chair, his face clearly showing dissatisfaction with Fernandez. "You should have made it clear to me!"

Fernandez shook his head. "Mr. President, don't pin too much hope on us being able to obtain these things from the Federation in batches and systems."

"They might artificially create some trouble for us."

"For example!" He increased his tone a little; he found that Diego was really emotional and stupid enough.

He decided to look at the intelligence data when he had time to see how Diego was chosen; his brain was simply not suitable for him to be a ruler.

Patiently, after Diego's attention was attracted by him, he continued, "If they sold us 100 rifles, but only sold us ammunition for 20 rifles, do you think this is a good thing?"

"Or, they will require you to purchase some weapons while also purchasing some things that are overpriced and not helpful to the war."

"For example, asking you to buy a bunch of expensive marching tents; would you buy them?"

This situation is still possible; Fernandez now has no reservations about the bottom line of the federal government.

These people simply have no bottom line!

Mr. President heard this, and a difficult expression appeared on his face. If this were really the case, he didn't know if he would buy them.

Do soldiers need tents?

They don't need them at all!

They just need a place to lie down.

Lapa's temperature is quite good even in winter, around ten degrees, and it goes without saying in summer.

As for mosquitoes, there's no need to worry; the locals know how to deal with these mosquitoes.

So he doesn't need tents at all!

No, it's that he doesn't need other bundled sales.

But now, he seems to have no more choices. He looked at Fernandez, and the latter also looked at him; both saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

They had done such unreasonable things themselves, and at the time they didn't feel anything uncomfortable, but now when others start to bully them, they start to feel uncomfortable.

"Now let's consider solving the anti-government armed forces in the country first. In addition, you can contact the Federation Ambassador, or contact the Federation Secretary of State; perhaps there are other clauses in these contents, or conditions we don't know about."

Diego could only nod and agree.

After he returned to his office, he slumped in his chair and was in a daze for a while, then dialed the Federation Ambassador's phone.

This president, the more he serves, the less interesting it becomes.

The call was quickly connected, and the Federation Ambassador's voice came from the receiver. "This is the Federation Embassy Ambassador's office." "Hello, Ambassador, I am Diego."

The guy on the other side of the receiver seemed not to have expected him to call, and 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 softly. "I heard that the Federation now prohibits the sale of standard-specification ammunition to the outside world?"

"Lapa and the Federation are friendly diplomatic countries, and our relationship is stable and reliable. Perhaps we are not on that list of prohibited transactions that might exist?"

The Federation Ambassador didn't expect the news to spread so fast; he thought it would take at least two or three days, or three to five days, for these people to know about this newly promoted policy.

He didn't deny it. "Yes, there is indeed such a policy."

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

Diego immediately complained, "The weapons in our hands are almost all Federation standard weapons, from the 1010 bolt-action rifle to the small number of new semi-automatic rifles now."

"We have just expanded our army to 200,000 people, and everyone is equipped with these weapons. If you don't sell their bullets, won't these weapons of ours become useless?"

"This makes me have to suspect that the policy you formulated is aimed at our Lapa."

"I don't know what caused such a big misunderstanding between us. We are diplomatic countries; we should be friends, not enemies."

He suppressed his emotions and communicated with what he felt was a relatively gentle and stable mood.

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

The Federation Ambassador's hearty laughter came from the receiver, which made him even more annoyed.

He doesn't like these people.

He had never been so submissive before; now he was being submissive. He was clearly very angry and wanted to explode, but he still had to pretend that everything was fine.

The head of a small country, when facing a big country, is even more desperate than an ordinary person facing an official!

After the ambassador laughed for a while, he calmed down and explained to him, "President Diego, you misunderstood."

"We don't mean to target anyone, because there have always been anti-war voices in the Federation. You know that no matter what you do, there will always be people standing up to accuse you of not doing it."

"If it were just simple anti-war, we wouldn't take them to heart, but when they said that the weapons and bullets produced by the Federation eventually became accomplices in shooting Federation soldiers, society became focused."

"They need a topic to discuss, and this topic happened to appear, and some of them even started spontaneous parades and demonstrations."

"So in order to calm this problem as soon as possible, the federal government and Congress discussed and made such a decision."

"Small-caliber weapons are relatively less lethal, so even if Federation weapons and bullets fall into the hands of enemies, it can give more people a chance to be rescued when they fight the Federation people."

"So this is not an act aimed at you or Lapa, President Diego, you can rest assured!"

"We are friendly diplomatic countries; we will not take such means or measures against our allies to restrict your development."

"As for the problem of insufficient ammunition you are worried about, it is actually easy to solve."

"You can directly purchase new export weapons and matching ammunition; this is unlimited, just like in the past!"

Hearing that the Federation Ambassador really gave him an excuse, and after listening to it, he actually felt that there was really such a possibility.

After all, the Federation's people are crazy; no matter what they do, it won't make people feel strange.

This made him want to get angry or complain, but he had no target.

"Mr. President, if you or your army needs these new weapons and ammunition, I can help you contact some sales personnel, and they will provide you with the best matching plan."

"From the helmets they wear to their shoes, along with 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 like there was no problem at all, but Diego always felt that this Federation Ambassador was mocking himself, mocking his army for not being professional or modern at all!

He was silent for a while. "That is to say, I can't buy the rifle bullets we use now, right?"

"No matter what!"

The Federation Ambassador affirmed with some regret, "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 couldn't be controlled. "Do you know how much I will lose by doing this?"

"I just armed 200,000 people with your weapons, and now you tell me that these weapons can't be used anymore, fuck!"

Taking advantage of his gap in swearing, the Federation Ambassador took the initiative to interrupt him. "Mr. Diego, if the weapons used by your 200,000 soldiers were sold to you by us, the federal government, or the Federation military-industrial group."

"You can ask the person who sold it to you to submit a written document to Congress, and Congress will definitely make some policy adjustments for you alone."

"However, I haven't heard of any military-industrial group having a large-scale arms sales plan in Lapa, or having completed an arms sales plan."

"Equipment for 200,000 soldiers, this is not a small business!"

"But if these weapons were not purchased by you from the Federation, then whose did you buy, shouldn't you find the person responsible?"

"Instead of calling me and asking us to be responsible for arms sales that have nothing to do with us?"

These words left all the dirty words and complaints in Diego's stomach, because he indeed did not purchase from the federal government; these were exchanged by him using Lapa's state-owned resources from Jiede.

State-owned resources are not his own anyway, so giving them away is fine, but these weapons and ammunition are the real deal.

And if he can win this civil war, he might be able to grasp some resources previously held by other ruling group families.

Giving a part to Jiede that has nothing to do with himself is fine; he doesn't feel distressed at all.

If he can't handle this civil war and is eventually overthrown, then fuck whoever!

But now, he is a bit speechless.

Hearing Diego have no sound, the Federation Ambassador chuckled twice. "So, Mr. President, buying weapons or something, it's still more reliable to find us."

"At least we have after-sales. If what you bought is our weapons, even if the ammunition is embargoed, it won't include you!"

"So do you have any other questions?"

"If not, I have a meeting later."

He had clearly told President Diego that he was going to hang up the phone.

This made President Diego have a belly full of fire that couldn't be released, so uncomfortable!

The flame of anger is not like a belly full of tadpoles, which can be vented through masturbation or other ways, many ways.

The flame of anger only has one path of destruction—

Either destroy yourself, or destroy the enemy!

Listening to the busy tone from the receiver, President Diego slammed the receiver onto the phone base!

He called the Minister of Logistics who was in charge of logistics. "How many days can our ammunition support us to fight?"

"According to the current scale and intensity."

The Minister of Logistics is not an independent department; this Ministry of Logistics is in the military system and also takes into account some aspects of the Lapa government.

People who can hold this kind of position all have the same surname as Diego.

"At most, we can persist for more than a month, and we will need some supplies."

Both sides are actually new recruits; new recruits will be inaccurate when nervous, just like novices.

They wasted too many bullets in blind, aimless shooting.

Sometimes they just heard gunfire, and subconsciously raised the weapons in their hands and fired at places where they suspected people were.

In every battle, each person fired dozens of shots, and some fired hundreds.

Every soldier carried two hundred bullets with him, and many people even ran out of bullets before a battle was over—

It is said that some people are secretly selling bullets to the public; this thing is stronger than the constantly plummeting currency!

Hearing this one-month deadline, Diego had already... lost the ability to speak.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 965 =====