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Chapter 667: Chapter 571: Power Transition (Please Subscribe!)_1
September 14th.
Mian Bei.
On the border of Su Yu’s territory.
Creek Cliff.
This place is where he and Ling agreed to meet today. As day broke, Su Yu arrived early, ordered his personal guards to check the surroundings over and over again, and instructed the reception process several times to ensure nothing would go wrong.
This is not the time to make mistakes.
Ling hasn’t arrived yet, Su Yu is sitting in an armored Hummer. Fully armed soldiers surround him, constantly on guard for anything suspicious.
Looking at the green scenery outside the car window, an hour from now, this place will no longer belong to Su Yu. A touch of sadness lingers in his heart, but he knows that he doesn’t have another choice. Ling hasn’t contacted him over the last few days, but Su Yu has been closely monitoring the movements on Ling’s side.
If it was in the past, any investigators he dispatched would have been intercepted by Ling. But now that they have reached an agreement, his people can move freely without hindrance. They just need to register upon entry and can leave at any time.
The information relayed back by the investigators had Su Yu quite unsettled.
Three days.
Just three days.
Once again, Su Yu witnessed what efficiency and speed are.
As far as he knew, Ling’s men had managed to complete firearms collection from the entire region within three days, civilians were not allowed to possess them. If he tried to implement such a policy, it would be impossible as the public wouldn’t accept it. But Ling had managed to do it.
It was simply incredible.
He indeed was the man who forcefully conquered the map within three hours.
His boldness took one’s breath away.
As for the means he used, it didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that Ling accomplished what he could not.
Thinking about implementing a similar system in his territory in the future, Su Yu wholeheartedly supported the idea. After all, no one would want to be shot while casually strolling on the street. Even now, he had to hide his face whenever he stepped out.
Through the car window.
Gazing at the distant newly replaced sentry camp, vague figures of soldiers could be seen.
He was aware that Ling’s soldiers were professional, rigorously trained, and well-equipped. They were not a rag-tag band. It was truly the case upon seeing them, one more elite-like than the other. At least their aura was stronger than his personal guards.
Or the surplus.
Was the confidence and poise. He hoped that Ling would keep his promise and abide by the conditions he agreed to, otherwise, he would have truly dug his own grave.
At that moment.
A subordinate suddenly tapped on the window to report.
"Leader Su Yu, there’s a convoy coming from their side."
"Oh."
Responding with acknowledgment, Su Yu quickly got out of the car, tidied his clothes. For the handover, he intentionally wore formal attire today, even though it felt a bit unsuitable. He wasn’t sure what Ling would wear, so he could only imitate the Western style.
As soon as he got out of the car.
Su Yu saw several military-green off-road vehicles driving over, stopping in the open space in front of him. Behind this small convoy was an endless line of vehicles, conservatively estimated to be no less than a hundred.
The majority were trucks and potassium transport vehicles, a small portion were off-road vehicles. The soldiers who were riding motorcycles didn’t even have to walk, the entire convoy was fully mechanized, a formidable sight to behold.
Uniform-colored vehicles gave a slight ’mismatched army’ feel compared to his own side. However, the fact that he still possessed helicopters and tanks amongst his ranks made Su Yu feel somewhat reassured.
Since the terrain here is mainly jungle, they painted their vehicle equipment in camouflage colors for the sake of concealment. It was unique in the whole world, as many countries use military green instead of camouflage for all equipment.
The convoy stopped.
A man stepped out from the backseat of a central off-road vehicle, it was Ling. He was in the military uniform specific to his territory, without epaulets, because he didn’t need them, but the other soldiers had them.
Su Yu quickly stepped forward, but after two steps, he suddenly realized that he didn’t know what Ling looked like, hastily going over would be embarrassing if he mistook someone else for Ling.
"Hello, Leader Su Yu," Ling called from a distance.
Upon hearing this, Su Yu quickened his pace, recognizing the voice as Ling’s.
"Hello, Leader Ling." Su Yu’s hand clasped Ling’s. This wasn’t the place for introductions, so his subordinates weren’t here, they were waiting at the main camp.
"Leader Su Yu, you can lead the way in your car," Ling said directly.
Su Yu quickly replied, "Okay, how about we share a car? The journey is a bit long, it will probably take half an hour. As you know, country roads are difficult to navigate."
The roads here were basically made of pebbles. It was an unavoidable choice, sometimes also a strategic consideration. If the roads were well built, wouldn’t it simply ease the way for an invader? Without absolute strength, fixing roads could sometimes be a hesitant decision.
"Alright, you can ride in my car," Ling said, nodding his head.
"Sure."
After saying that, Su Yu gave a command to his men to clear the way, then got into Ling’s car. Afterwards, led by a dozen vehicles, the convoy began its journey towards Su Yu’s home base.
The vast convoy became an object of awe for the bystanders along the way.
They all knew.
This place.
Was about to see significant changes.
Inside the car.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. As it turns out, Ling was not much of a talker, as others had said. Nevertheless, Su Yu couldn’t let the atmosphere remain this awkward. He boarded the car with a goal in his mind, which was to discuss the upcoming meeting in advance.
Su Yu was the first to speak.
"Uh, Leader Ling, I won’t beat around the bush. The terms you agreed to earlier were accomplished impressively by my men. We did a lot of work these past few days, and after some calculations, the total population of our territory..."
Su Yu shared all the data his men had collected over these last few days with Ling.
Information about population, land area, distribution of mineral resources, economic data, infrastructure conditions, industrial structure, internal relations, and so on was all covered. Su Yu truly didn’t hold anything back.
All the while, Ling kept nodding his head.
The command room was already aware of this information, but it was not something that he could bring up directly with Su Yu. This reporting session was also Su Yu’s opportunity to express his positions, and Ling’s nods endorsed those positions.
Seeing Ling nod, Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Attitude plays an essential part in this kind of partnership.
"...That’s all the information about our territory." Finishing, Su Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Leader Ling, I know you definitely want command over my soldiers. I just want to ask how you plan to arrange them."
He voiced out his biggest concern. If his underlings were not satisfied with Ling’s arrangement, the cooperation that followed could be impacted adversely. After all, these men were armed, and Su Yu could not be sure if their anger would make them act against Ling without considering the consequences.
Su Yu looked at Ling.
Ling pretended to think for a bit and responded, "Leader Su Yu, thank you for your trust. I appreciate your frankness. Yes, I am indeed interested in gaining command over your soldiers, and that is a right I must reclaim.
Once we take over command.
Firstly, anyone who wants to be a soldier has to undergo three months of new recruit training. This includes literacy and disciplinary training. Only after passing this assessment will they be allowed to join our regular combat sequence. Otherwise, a soldier who cannot adapt to modern warfare is nothing more than a disorderly mob.
Secondly, all your subordinates who want to take up commanding roles have to undergo training and classes again. After graduating, those who perform well will be promoted preferentially."
Hearing Ling’s plan, Su Yu reluctantly nodded his head. Ling was right; this was the era of information warfare. Illiterate soldiers were just steps away from death on the battlefield.
"So you mean, my subordinates also have to relearn everything," Su Yu confirmed.
"Yes, unless they can meet the graduation requirements, possess modern command skills, and demonstrate integrity. Otherwise, we do not accept amateur commanding officers here," Ling said.
"Are there any other arrangements?" Su Yu asked. Given this condition, he guessed none of his subordinates would choose this.
"Yes, if they do not wish to continue in command, we could arrange for them to join local public security management departments to maintain local security, or join administrative staff training classes to focus on administrative training," Ling offered another choice.
"So you’re saying that everyone needs to undergo training before they can work," Su Yu took a deep breath. He was aware of his subordinates’ abilities, and reading was like a death sentence to them. Apart from the few who were educated, most of them were illiterate and could at most write their names.
Ling definitively said, "Yes, we would rather pay and support them than allow an unsuitable person to maintain an unsuitable position. That would not only be irresponsible to me but also negligent towards the safety of your lives and property."
"...I understand," Su Yu nodded.
It seems.
The only option left for his subordinates was to engage in business. Fortunately, there were business projects promised by Ling and, despite the loss of authority, they could live comfortably. He only hoped they could understand this.
Next.
All along the way, Su Yu kept asking about another pressing matter, which was Ling’s future development plans for this area, the amount of investment, and where it would be directed. How to create jobs, develop the economy, transform industrial structures, and so forth were all things he cared about deeply.
Ling did not keep anything hidden either. These were all things that would be announced soon anyway.
After listening to Ling’s grand blueprint for the entire control area.
Su Yu’s mouth hung open in surprise.
His eyes gleamed with countless dollar signs.
How much would this cost? Without tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions in funds, it would be impossible to manage such a massive undertaking. The investment involved was so huge that, even if he staked all his wealth and life on it, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Looking at Ling, who didn’t seem to be joking.
At this moment.
Su Yu found the final and most critical reason to hand over command of his soldiers—it was to give this land a future.
