In the reception room of the sanatorium.
Ouyang Zhen stretched out his hand to push the teacup away, and said to Lao Li in a helpless tone: "There are no outsiders here, let's close the door and talk it out at once. If you think it's okay, then do as I say; if not, I'm sorry, you don't have to resign, I'll just resign first."
Lao Li looked at him and said, "Okay, okay, then you tell me, I'll listen."
Ouyang Zhen pondered for a while, frowning as he looked at Lao Li: "Let's talk about the general direction first. The Chi Army and the Third Division can have military and political independence, but for any major military actions and policy decisions, you must report to your superiors immediately and cannot hide anything. This is the bottom line. The team is big, and the upper level cannot fail to control it, especially since it is an armed force mainly composed of Chinese."
Li Mingsheng was silent.
"You don't have to consider this. There is no room for negotiation." Ouyang Zhen intervened and looked at him and said, "That's right. Dragon City can't survive without you at the moment. The upper echelons can compromise. But the premise of all this must be based on the upper echelons feeling that Dragon City is controllable and you are also controllable! If your political stance has problems and you don't listen to orders, then is there any point in compromising?"
Li Mingsheng nodded slowly: "I understand what you mean."
"Secondly, the Chi Army and the Third Division can have absolute power over personnel appointments, but they must give up a few key positions and have our people supervise them. They won't say much, they'll just watch." Ouyang Zhen continued, "As long as there are no problems with the Chi Army and the Third Division's positions, their presence won't affect anything. This is also the bottom line. Again, the upper echelons have to see something before they can feel at ease."
"well."
Li Mingsheng sighed, and after careful consideration for a while, he replied: "This tight hoop is really heavy."
"There's nothing we can do. You're a provincial governor now. You can't refuse supervision." Ouyang Zhen intervened and said, "Compared to Tan Hengqiang, your situation is much better."
"Okay, I accept these two conditions. I will let Liuzi communicate with Chijun later. It won't be a big problem." Li Mingsheng knew that he could no longer throw a tantrum, because Ouyang Zhen's arrival represented the absolute bottom line of the upper echelons, and everything he said could not be refused.
Lao Li does not have the capital to challenge the upper echelons now, the most he can do is bargain.
After all the trouble and the trouble, only appropriate compromise can help you live longer. Moreover, the conditions proposed by the upper level are already very mild, which does not affect the fundamental interests of Lao Li's team.
Ouyang Zhen put his hands together and said, "There's one more thing."
"you say."
"Now that things have come to this, the higher-ups can no longer turn a blind eye to your arms business with the Chi Army." Ouyang Zhen said softly, "This must be stopped immediately. Don't wait until someone catches you and submits a complaint to the regional council. By then it will be too late."
When Li Mingsheng heard this, he immediately became like a cat whose tail was stepped on. He stretched his neck and shouted, "This is impossible! This is ridiculous. If the arms business stops, then what is so special about the Chi Army to the old Mexican government troops? How can they survive? This is like strangling their necks."
"Listen to me...!"
"I'm telling you, I definitely can't agree to this condition." Li Mingsheng interrupted directly, "Unless the higher-ups agree, our Erdang faction's armament factory will secretly supply the Chi Army with goods and switch to a new channel. Otherwise, it will be absolutely impossible to stop. This is related to the layout issue."
"What are you in such a hurry for?"
"You're pinching me, can't I just not be anxious?" Li Mingsheng is rarely "calm" in front of Ouyang Zhen. He often acts like he's about to quarrel, and doesn't care about his own identity at all.
But in fact, this is also a way of communication, which always gives Ouyang Zhen a sense of pressure that before you talk to me, you'd better think about it for three seconds, otherwise there will be quarrels and arguments.
"What are you thinking about?! The region's current military decision is to curb the unification of the Mexican government. How could the upper echelons still build armaments to support the Mexican government army?" Ouyang Zhen said in a hoarse voice: "Don't even think about this path."
"Then there's nothing we can do! If you don't support them, and don't let them buy from outside, then the Chi Army will starve to death!" Li Mingsheng said with his eyes wide open: "Isn't this a bear man?!"
"It's stopped on the surface, but it can be done behind the scenes! Do you really have to make me explain it clearly?" Ouyang Zhen replied irritably: "If the goods don't go through Longcheng, it's over! You can find a new transportation channel, transfer the goods from outside the district, and make the process more covert so that no one can catch you. Isn't that enough?"
Li Mingsheng frowned, "How can a new transportation channel be so easy to open? There is always a war going on in Mexico, and the safety of goods shipped through there is not guaranteed."
"Damn it, the higher-ups' acquiescing in your smuggling is already an outrageous decision. You can't ask them to send you a troop to escort your goods 24 hours a day, can you?" Ouyang Zhen angrily scolded, "Find a way yourself! Otherwise, what's the point of having you?"
"Don't be anxious, drink tea, drink tea." Li Mingsheng replied, pushing the teacup.
Ouyang Zhen tried his best to adjust his mentality, picked up the teacup and said: "I really don't want to see you now! Every time I talk to you, I lose at least one year of my life."
Next to them, Gou Liuzi was listening to their conversation and immediately interrupted: "What you mean is that the arms business can be done, but it must be done privately. As long as we are not caught by the enemy party, then it is not a problem for us to sell 30 billion worth of arms a year, right?"
Ouyang Zhen squinted at him: "You... Is this how you understand it?"
"Isn't that what you meant just now?" Gou Liuzi looked at Li Mingsheng cunningly: "Leader, did I understand you wrongly?"
"No," Li Mingsheng immediately understood what Gou Liuzi meant: "You understood it very correctly! The higher-ups mean that we can't do it openly, but we can increase the volume secretly. As long as we can find new transportation channels, no one will care even if you sell arms to the moon."
“The upper echelons are so wise! They seem to have put a tight rein on us, but they are secretly sending a signal that you should just go ahead and do it…” Su Tianyu sighed.
"Fuck you!"
Ouyang Zhen, who had just calmed down, immediately stood up and shouted, "When did I tell you to increase the quantity?!"
"Look at you, you curse whenever you encounter something." Li Mingsheng stood up and helped him up, then immediately changed the subject: "These are the three principles, right? Is there anything else? If not, let's go eat... It's not easy for you either, I'll treat you well!"
"You two are really taught by the same master. You are so shameless!" Ouyang Zhen was angrily pulled by Li Mingsheng and walked outside.
Su Tianyu looked at the backs of the two men and knew in his heart that the negotiations with the upper level were over. Lao Li was forced to agree to the three conditions, but the rights and interests that should be fought for were also fought for.
After finishing his business, Su Tianyu felt a lot more relaxed. He immediately took out his phone and wanted to call An Qiqi back, but all he saw were more than a dozen missed calls and a text message.
The missed calls were all from An Qiqi, and the time intervals between them were not short, but Gou Liuzi was in a meeting with his leader just now and his phone was muted, so he didn't answer the call at all.
Su Tianyu frowned and opened the text message, and saw a line of small words sent by An Qiqi.
"May everything go well for you in the rest of your life. From now on, I wish you peace!"