In the luxurious reception room on the top floor of the Santoro Hotel, the visiting hook-nosed man is Schmidt, the representative director of Sonya's "Punk Trade".
While chatting with Lu Ming, Schmidt tentatively asked Phraya Lee whether he still intended to sell Emerald Island.
Governor Chatchai seemed to have completely fallen, but unexpectedly, "Phaya Lee" became friends with Mayor Prasong, was invited to a dance party by Mayor Prasong, and personally inquired about the dispute between the State Taxation Bureau and Emerald Island.
"Phrya Lee" was introduced to the celebrities participating in the dance by Mayor Prasong. Compared with the "Lee Phrya" that people used to call casually, it seemed to have a very different meaning.
The State Taxation Bureau has now withdrawn its application to the High Court to rule that the Emerald Island "free trade license" issued by Governor Chachai is invalid.
Schmidt took a sip of coffee and said seriously, "Dear Li, you should know that Mayor Basong is just trying to win over everyone he can. Once he gets through this difficult time and becomes the one who has the final say in this land, he and his family have never been friendly to the people of Zhongzhou!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Now, if you are willing to invest 200 million yuan, Mr. Schmidt, I am willing to transfer the ownership of Emerald Island to you. You can still pay in installments. Pay 100 million yuan first, and the rest in 100 installments, 1 million yuan each."
Schmidt laughed. "Lee, you don't want to trade it, right? Well, let's change the subject. I can talk to you anytime you want to trade it later."
Lu Ming smiled: "As far as I know, under the pressure from the Imperial Capital, Mayor Basong will expel all citizens of your kingdom who have not invested in Antigua. This is the greatest goodwill he has shown to your country by withstanding the pressure from the Imperial Capital. Moreover, the Imperial Capital specifically mentioned Punk Trade, believing that your company has an official background and is a tool for your kingdom to expand its influence abroad and collect rare strategic resources for your kingdom. Therefore, Mayor Basong hopes that you can complete a larger investment as soon as possible. In this way, Mayor Basong is willing to take the risk for you."
After a pause, Lu Ming said, "Punk Trade will definitely not leave here, and they don't want to invest rashly, so it seems that buying my Emerald Island is a good choice." He smiled slightly, "In fact, do you know why the State Taxation Bureau withdrew the charges against Emerald Island's trade license? Why did Mayor Basong give you the condition to complete a large investment as soon as possible?"
Schmidt was stunned and stared at Lu Ming. "You mean, you and Mayor Basong signed a secret agreement on the ownership of Emerald Island? Mayor Basong has a share of the ownership?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I didn't say that." He picked up the teacup and sipped the tea.
Schmidt couldn't sit still any longer and stood up. "Dear Li, I'll take my leave now!"
Lu Ming smiled and stood up, "I'll take you there!"
…
On September 6, a fierce battle broke out between the Northern Ferman armed forces and the armed forces supporting the Basong family in the Jiawang area of the Ferman Peninsula.
The Guards Brigade was also among the troops supporting the Basong family, but was used to guard logistics, etc.
After all, Mayor Basong would naturally be worried if he stayed in Feldman.
After several days of fighting, both sides were in a stalemate, but a tribal armed force of the Northern Fermans suddenly turned against them.
The battle situation soon turned in favor of the Basong armed forces.
On September 15, the day when the Basong armed forces won a great victory in Amiwan, Lu Ming and Schmidt officially signed the contract in the business center on the top floor of the Feldman Plaza Hotel.
The two men each made a concession, and Emerald Island was sold to Schmidt for 100 million yuan, but there would be no more installments. At the same time as the agreement was signed, 100 million imperial coins were transferred into Phraya Lee's account at the Treasury Bank.
Schmidt inquired and found out that he didn't know whether Mayor Basong actually owned shares in Emerald Island, but it was certain that Baron Smith from the imperial capital had obtained 10% of the shares.
After an emergency meeting, Punk's top management informed Mr. Duke and decided to complete the deal.
Mr. Duke is the Privy Councilor of His Majesty the King of Sonia, the Second Prince of the Empire.
When he considers issues, he naturally stands high and sees far.
…
On September 21, the Basong armed forces that invaded the northern Ferman area were ambushed.
The Basong armed forces, thinking that the Northern Feldman tribe had completely lost their morale and combat effectiveness, suffered a great loss.
It turned out that the armed forces of Apaiwang and Ongsawa families in the eastern region joined the battle.
Although the lips and teeth are interdependent, the Northern Feldmans did not expect that their mortal enemy, the Onshava family, would come to support them.
On the 22nd, there was a sudden burst of gunfire in the city of Ferman.
The First Brigade, which was blocked in the military camp, somehow got weapons and launched a rebellion.
A fierce battle then broke out with the armed forces of the Bassong family left behind in Ferman.
The First Brigade controlled by the Chachai family was known for its rampant corruption. The military atmosphere was extremely bad and its combat effectiveness was weak.
It wouldn't have been difficult for the remaining forces of the Basong family to defeat the First Brigade, even if the other side had obtained a large number of weapons.
Who knew that countless speedboats would arrive on Ferman Beach and thousands of inland sea pirates would rush into the city.
These pirates are fearless and tough guys who have experienced countless life-and-death battles in the inland sea.
No one expected that these pirates were actually reinforcements for the First Brigade.
The battle in the city was immediately reversed.
The sound of gunfire from various places gradually subsided late at night the next day.
The arrested Speaker of the Parliament, Pramawinai, made a radio speech announcing that the military coup launched by the Prasong family had been crushed and that the mayor of Prasong had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Baron Smith then made a few brief remarks in the emergency broadcast, expressing regret for the state of Antigua's repeated intervention in politics through military action, but believed that this was an internal affair of the citizens of Antigua and could be resolved through consultation.
The pirates who suddenly landed and played a key role in the war in the city were actually a "free army" organization. It seemed that hundreds of free merchants in the inland sea had armed forces gathered together and participated in this dazzling political change.
…
The meeting hall in the official residence of Speaker Pamapuina was filled with people from all walks of life.
There were Baron Smith from the Imperial Capital, Chief Justice Chatisa from the Basong family, Khunpa and Sujino, representatives of the East Ferman council from Apaiwan and the Wongsawa family, Longla, a representative of the West Ferman council from the Suriya family, and Zaren, a representative of the Inland Sea Free Traders Alliance.
There is also the heavyweight congressman Bakun, who represents the interests of the major drug lords in the inland sea.
Deputy Governor Emile is a Yassia with a high nose, deep eyes and fair skin. In Antigua, there are millions of Yassia people scattered on the most remote islands in the sea. However, the governor will definitely appoint a Yassia person as deputy governor, but it will be just a decoration.
Even though the election in question has always been a matter of the Ferman Peninsula, inland islanders are not eligible. Even the Ferman Peninsula residents have their qualifications as voters strictly examined. In fact, there are only more than 30,000 legal voters in the entire state.
The rest of the peninsula residents who want to exercise their voting rights need to pay a citizen election fund of 100 imperial coins.
No one would spend 100 yuan to cast an election vote that would have no effect at all.
As for the Yasia people, since they are all inland islanders, they are not even eligible to vote with 100 yuan.
Next to the Yassian Deputy Governor Emile was the State Police Director General Willo.
Willow represents an old family in the central part of Fairman, and the police force has largely been on the sidelines during this series of changes.
The commander of the First Brigade, Ticha, represents the Chachai family.
George, the Imperial Bank's Antigua representative.
John Glenn, chairman of the "North Bay Group", represents a small but distinguished group of Western businessmen.
In addition, there is Phraya Lee and Chen Huanxing, president of the Central China Chamber of Commerce.
Chief Justice Chatisa, who comes from the Prasong family, is a white-haired old man, but he has been glaring at Speaker Pamapinai.
Because the latest news came out that after Mayor Basong was controlled by the Free Army, it was Speaker Pamapunay who took out a pistol and executed Mayor Basong when he went to see him.
Speaker Pamapinai announced that Basong committed suicide in order to cover up his own atrocities.
Nowadays, the northern region is in a state of armistice. The armed forces of the Bassong family are still very combat-effective, and their power in the southern region of Ferman is even more deeply rooted. If the Bassong family and its staunch allies must be uprooted, the Northern Alliance will also pay a heavy price.
Usually, conflicts between tribes in the Ferman Peninsula are limited to a certain extent, but this time, it was the most brutal battle in a hundred years.
The main reason is that Mayor Basong is too ambitious. If he had won a great victory in Amiwang and overwhelmed the Northern Feldmans to end the war, instead of continuing to march northward, the outcome might have been very different.
"Speaker Pamawinai, there are rumors outside that you killed my nephew. I hope you can give a reasonable explanation." Chief Justice Chatisa stared at Pamawinai with grief and indignation. The old man was old, but his temper was even more explosive.
In the Fehman Peninsula, the struggles between the major families and tribes have never been so decisive.
Pamapinai was a little embarrassed. He didn't know why his brain short-circuited that day. He was filled with anger, as if a voice kept telling him to kill Basong! Kill Basong!
"Judge Chatisa, can you believe that I would do such a cruel thing? Mayor Basong committed suicide!" Pamawinai sighed.
Lu Ming also sighed in his heart. Basong was a very capable man. In a sense, for the Mitai people of Antigua, he might be an outstanding leader that only appears once in a century. He also had the ambition to unify the Ferman Peninsula and completely destroy the tribal armed separatist model.
But what a pity.
"I will investigate it thoroughly. No one can hide the truth forever!" Judge Chatisha snorted coldly.
"Let's listen to what Governor Chatchai is saying?" said Congressman Khunpa.
On the radio was the voice of Governor Chachai, who was expressing his views on the current situation in Antigua and was extremely sorry for Basong's death.
In fact, what he said is no longer important to those sitting in the meeting room today.
Listening to his words on the radio, even the commander of the First Brigade, Ticha, had a look of indifference on his face.
Governor Chatchai was rambling on and on, and everyone was thinking about their own things, and no one was listening to what he was saying seriously.
"I support Mayor Prasong's initiative to restore Antigua's traditional culture, for example, to restore the status of our Antigua Phaya family as the guardians of the state. Mayor Prasong hopes to take it step by step, with Phaya serving as deputy speaker, but I think we can go further."
After a pause, Governor Chatchai sighed deeply and said, "Now, I hereby announce that I, Chatchai Zongravimon, will officially resign from the post of Governor of Antigua State. At the same time, I hope that the Phraya family can organize an election supervision committee as a supervisor to supervise the upcoming state elections and ensure the fairness of the elections. I also hope that this system can continue, which will have a positive impact on eliminating too many political differences among us Antiguans and on our backward tribal politics."
Councillor Bakun, who was very close to the radio, stood up and turned off the radio, saying: "Why are we still listening to what he said? If he hadn't been a coward and decided to run away, the bloody conflict between our tribes could have been avoided."
The commander of the First Brigade, Tichai, raised his head and said, "Congressman Bakun, I think Governor Chachai's proposal is very good."
Bakun didn't bother to pay attention to him. If the Chachai family didn't have a representative figure, this simple-minded and reckless guy wouldn't be able to sit here.
"I don't think it's good enough!" Councillor Sujino from the Wongsawa family in the eastern part of Ferman pondered, and then said: "The Phraya family was originally the duke family of our Antigua Autonomous Region. When the Phraya family was in power, there has never been such a sharp confrontation between our tribes. Our chaos and division are largely due to the lack of a spiritual leader that everyone respects..."
Before he could finish, Councillor Bakun sneered, "You are not proposing that Phaya Lee be the spiritual leader of all the Mi Thai people in Antigua, are you? That would be a huge joke. Phaya Lee does not have a single trace of Mi Thai blood. The title of Phaya, so-called marriage, is not just bought with money?"
Councillor Sujino laughed and said, "But Phraya Lee's sons and daughters will have Phraya family blood. Besides, you misunderstood me. I wanted to propose that while the Phraya family should organize a supervisory committee for this election, the Phraya family should also be restored to its transcendent status in law. We have become a civilized desert, without a proud historical heritage, and are full of barbarism and violence. Everything is because we abolished the Phraya system and tore our tribe apart. Of course, we are not saying that we should go back now, but after the election, the new parliament can discuss this issue."
Councillor Bakun frowned and wanted to say something, then sneered: "I think I don't need to refute such a ridiculous proposal."