Chapter 1977 - 1437: Military Camp Meeting (Part 3)

"However," Song Heping changed his tone, looking into Safar's eyes, "I need to make a trip to the United States next week. If everything goes smoothly, I'll bring you some... gifts when I return."

"Gifts?" Safar raised an eyebrow.

"Legitimate, fully documented equipment that can be transferred through official channels," Song Heping said, "It may not be a Stinger, but it will be cutting-edge individual weapons of the same caliber. And, they are free."

"Free?" Safar repeated incredulously.

"As a gesture of our long-term cooperation." Song Heping said, "But you must guarantee that these pieces of equipment are used solely for the 'Desert Eagle' and under no circumstances can they be transferred, duplicated, or reverse-engineered. I need your written promise and Minister Rashed's endorsement."

Safar pondered for a full minute, his gaze moving between the scenery fleeting past the car window and Song Heping's calm face.

Eventually, he extended his hand, "Deal. But you must also ensure that the 'gifts' you bring back from the United States are worth my wait."

"I never break a promise."

Song Heping shook hands with him.

The car began to decelerate as the first checkpoint on the south suburb of Mosul appeared ahead.

The security here was much tighter, with heavy machine guns mounted behind sandbag fortifications, and snipers keeping watch from vantage points.

A large sign stood by the roadside, with bilingual Arabic and Kurdish writings: "Welcome to Mosul—the Hero City in Battling Terrorism."

But Song Heping knew that beneath the ruins of this city, the embers of war were still smoldering, ready to blaze again at any moment.

And his batch of sensitive equipment worth over three hundred million US dollars was the best kindling.

Half an hour later, at the Tenth Division headquarters.

Major General Samir had been waiting there for quite some time.

"Boss!"

Seeing Song Heping return, he enthusiastically approached him.

"Did everything go smoothly?"

"Everything went smoothly," Song Heping looked around and asked, "What about Abu You? Did you notify him?"

"I notified him right after your call; he's coming over from Kirkuk," Samir answered while glancing at his watch, "he should be arriving soon."

Sure enough, within less than ten minutes, Abu You arrived.

"Boss!" He said loudly in accented English, "I heard you just accomplished a fifteen billion dollar deal in Baghdad. It's a pity I also wanted some of those arms. Chairman Masoud heard I am coming here to meet you and asked me to see if we could get some. Money is not an issue; we have money!"

Of course, the Kurd Armed forces in the Erbil Region within Iraq have money.

Many oil-rich areas are under their control.

Song Heping smiled and patted his back, "Don't worry, I already prepared a share for you; we can sit down and discuss it later."

Once everyone was seated, Song Heping took out the duplicate of the contract from his briefcase and placed it in the center of the table.

A document thick with thirty pages, each page stamped with the Ministry of Defense's steel seal and Minister Rashed's handwritten signature.

"Fifteen billion dollars," Song Heping started directly, "the equipment left by the US Army in Iraq and Kuwait warehouses, including various types of armored vehicles, tactical vehicles, tens of thousands of light weapons, and supporting ammunition, parts, and training equipment. The Ministry of Defense has already paid twenty percent of the deposit, and the remaining payments will be made in six installments after the goods are delivered to the government army warehouse in Baghdad."

Major General Samir picked up the contract and quickly flipped through the technical appendix.

"In such a rush?" His brows furrowed, "What is the condition of these pieces of equipment? Don't they need inspection?"

"Eighty-five percent are in good condition and can be put into use directly," Song Heping said, "the remaining fifteen percent need minor repairs. I have arranged a technical team to assist the government army in handling the repairs, and this time all the equipment left by the Americans comes with complete maintenance records. Some vehicles have a mileage of less than five thousand kilometers."

Abu You whistled, "Almost brand-new equipment! The bigwigs in Baghdad are getting a real windfall this time."

"Deals have their costs," Jiang Feng suddenly spoke, "Transporting from various US Military Base warehouses to Baghdad, the longest route stretches 320 kilometers, crossing three provinces, twelve tribal control areas, and at least three known 1515 operational areas. According to intelligence, at least five armed forces have already shown 'interest' in this batch of goods."

Song Heping nodded and switched the projector, and a detailed transport route map appeared on the wall.

Red arrows pointed from northern Kuwait toward Baghdad, marked with various symbols and notes along the way.

"This is the focus of today's meeting," he said, "Equipment worth twenty-five billion, with fifteen billion sold to the Ministry of Defense. Out of the remaining ten billion..."

He paused, observing everyone's expressions.

"I decided to allocate one hundred million dollars of equipment to Samir's Tenth Division and one hundred million dollars of arms to Colonel Abu You's Ninth Brigade. And these are gifts, not requiring any payment."

The room suddenly became quiet enough to hear the hum from the air vent.

Samir and Abu You exchanged a glance and saw shock and doubt in each other's eyes.

"These are... gifts?"

Abu You asked cautiously.

"Of course, there are conditions," Song Heping stated directly, "These two hundred million dollars of equipment will be equipped to the most elite units in your two troops. And what you need to do is to mobilize at least four thousand people to work with my company's two mercenary camps to completely protect this arms transport."