industrial overlord

Chapter 375 Fully Armed
Due to the hostage-taking incident, Zhu Tiejun, Lin Zhenhua and his party went abroad very quickly.In just three days, the entire working group dealing with the hostage situation had boarded a plane, transited through Karachi, Pakistan, and flew to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia adjacent to Sudan.From there they will travel by car to the Siya tribe in southern Sudan.

The media back then was not as developed as it is today, and bad news such as the kidnapping of overseas workers was generally not reported.Therefore, the hostage incident has occurred for several days, and the domestic public is not aware of it.In this way, of course, the pressure on Hanhua Heavy Industries is much less.

But the fact that the public doesn't know about it doesn't mean that the officials don't know about it either. Such a big matter must be reported step by step.Counting from the time Lin Zhenhua received the call from Africa, within two hours, the central leadership had learned of the incident and ordered the relevant departments to set up an emergency team to discuss countermeasures and resolve the crisis.

For a while, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Security, the military, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the State Planning Commission, the Economic Reform Commission, and the Machinery Commission were all very busy.Someone began to trace the ins and outs of this project, claiming that the department that approved the project was responsible for it.Others pointed the finger at Hanhua Heavy Industries, saying that they did not carry out the domestic modernization construction that was good enough, and insisted on going to Africa to show off. Now that something happened, the relevant leaders must be disciplined.

When Gao Zuxing of the Ministry of Foreign Trade heard these accusations, he immediately slapped the table, saying that this project was facilitated by himself, and whoever wants to hold the responsibility can find himself.Gao Zuxing is already at the age of six, and he has no hope in his official career. He belongs to the kind of person who dares to speak and act.He has some prestige in various central ministries and commissions, and his reputation is very good. It is not easy for others to punish him.With Gao Zuxing's outburst, many people couldn't say anything more.

Then, He Haifeng of the State Planning Commission also came out to speak, saying that Chinese enterprises going global is something that the central leadership has always supported, and various things are expected and not surprising.He also listed evidence that there have been casualties in my country's past foreign economic cooperation or other diplomatic activities.This time it was just an accident, and the hostages are still safe, so it is too early to pursue responsibility.

Later, the military and the Ministry of Security also spoke, arguing that companies like Hanhua Heavy Industries to expand overseas markets are beneficial to the establishment of China's security structure, and should continue to be encouraged in the future.

With so many people speaking out, those voices of accusation gradually weakened.In the end, the various units sat together and discussed a countermeasure, which was to accept the proposal proposed by Hanhua Heavy Industries, and Hanhua Heavy Industries would send people to Africa to negotiate with the hijackers, and then listen to the conditions offered by the other party.

In addition to Hanhua Heavy Industries, of course the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent people to participate.Before the domestic personnel left, the staff of the Chinese embassy in Sudan had already gone to the Siya tribe to understand the situation.According to the news they sent back from Africa, the hijackers insisted on negotiating with the builder of the Siya oil refinery project, and others couldn't intervene for a while.

"Manager Lin, how do you think about resolving the hostage crisis?" Jiang Yajing, an official sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked Lin Zhenhua on the plane.

Jiang Yajing and Lin Zhenhua are also acquaintances. When Lin Zhenhua first organized a delegation to sell warships in Thailand, Jiang Yajing was in the delegation. Since then, they have been friends for six or seven years.

Hearing Jiang Yajing's question, Lin Zhenhua said: "Our consideration is that people are the most important. No matter what demands the hijackers make, we will consider them under the premise of ensuring the personal safety of the hijacked workers."

"You mean, you will agree to any conditions?" Jiang Yajing asked.

Lin Zhenhua said: "Basically, that's what it means. Of course, we want to negotiate with the hijackers. If the negotiation fails, we can only agree to the other party's conditions if there is no other way. Saving people is the most important thing." important."

"What if the other party asks for a ransom?"

"Then of course we have to take care of it."

"What if the amount of ransom is high? I heard that in a kidnapping case abroad, the ransom is sometimes as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars." Jiang Yajing said worriedly.

"Hundreds of thousands? If there is no other way, we will definitely give it." Lin Zhenhua said without hesitation.

Jiang Yajing said in surprise: "But, this is the property of the country! Can you afford such a large amount?"

Lin Zhenhua said: "Assistant Jiang, are you right? Over there are the lives of our workers. The money is insignificant compared to lives."

Jiang Yajing was silent. In her impression, it seemed that she had always encouraged people to sacrifice their lives in order to protect national property.Some of the heroes she learned from when she was young were to save a group of sheep, some were to protect a few machine tools in the workshop, and some were to fish for a piece of wood that was washed into the flood. All these people paid life.Now at Lin Zhenhua's place, everything is reversed. Is it right or wrong to use state money to redeem the lives of several workers?
"Our ambassador to Sudan is negotiating with the Sudanese government and asking the Sudanese government to come forward to resolve this matter." Jiang Yajing reported to Lin Zhenhuatong.

"Don't count on the Sudanese government," said Lao Dao, who was sitting next to Lin Zhenhua.He also took the initiative to ask Ying to join the working group. Lin Zhenhua certainly wanted it. Anyway, Lao Dao is also a person on the secret front, and he has far more experience in handling such things than him.

"Why?" Jiang Yajing asked.

Lao Dao said: "The Sudanese government has long lost control over the south. The Woheni tribe has always been outside the jurisdiction of the Sudanese government. What the Sudanese government says has no effect on the Woheni tribe. In addition, the Sudanese government has no We have always complained about helping the Siya tribe build an oil refinery, and at this time they will definitely choose to read a joke instead of helping."

"What Lao Dao said is very true." Lin Zhenhua nodded and said, "Assistant Jiang, it may be more appropriate to resolve this matter through our non-government channels. Southern Sudan is in a state of anarchy, and the government can't play a role there."

Jiang Yajing knew that what the two of them said was true. In fact, this was also the situation that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already grasped, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still had to go through such a scene, otherwise it would appear to be negligent.

"Okay, then I'll cooperate with you. You can just discuss what I need to do." Jiang Yajing finally said.

The plane landed at Addis Ababa Airport, and three buses sent from the construction site were already waiting there.A group of people in the working group had no time to rest, so they got on the bus directly and rushed to the Siya tribe oil refinery site located 800 kilometers away.

"It's Manager Lin. My name is Song Qiyuan, and I'm also from Yan'an State, Myanmar. As soon as the accident happened this time, I rushed over from Myanmar, only one day earlier than you." On the bus, a strong man in charge of the support team Han said to Lin Zhenhua.

"Oh, so it's Chairman Song." Lin Zhenhua hurriedly got up and shook hands with Song Qiyuan.He had never met Song Qiyuan, but he heard Lan Wufeng talk about him, and knew that he was steady, generous, alert and brave. He was originally the deputy company commander of the educated youth company in northern Myanmar, and later served as the vice chairman of Yan'an State.In the past few years, Yan'an State has obtained an official status in Myanmar and started doing business. Song Qiyuan is the general manager of the shipping company under Yan'an State, and he is in charge of several ocean-going cargo ships.

Song Qiyuan said quickly: "Manager Lin, you're welcome, just call me Lao Song. Although Manager Lin and I have never met, I will always remember Manager Lin's help to us."

Lin Zhenhua knew that he was talking about the incident that he lent 5 U.S. dollars to Lan Wufeng. It was with this 5 U.S. dollars that the Educated Youth Company purchased a large amount of equipment from arms dealers, and thus entered into a battle with the Burmese government army. Turn defeat into victory in battle.Whether it was Qi Yue or Xiao Renwu, they all mentioned this matter when they met Lin Zhenhua.The entire educated youth company regarded Lin Zhenhua as their savior.

"What kind of help? It's just my respect for you seniors." Lin Zhenhua said, "Well, I won't be polite to you anymore, so I'll call you Lao Song boldly. But, don't call me that either. Manager Lin, just call me Xiao Lin."

"Haha, I heard from Fengzi earlier that you are a righteous person. Well, I will call you Xiaolin when I grow older." Song Qiyuan laughed and patted Lin Zhenhua on the shoulder.Except for Qi Yue and Lan Wufeng who went to Myanmar later in the educated youth company, the rest of them all left in the late 60s. These people are currently in their early 40s, and they all belong to the elder brother generation in front of Lin Zhenhua.

"Old Song, how is the situation at the construction site?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

Song Qiyuan said: "I'm not sure. I just arrived in Addis Ababa yesterday. Fengzi asked me to stay here and wait for you. However, we have already considered it. We will negotiate first. If the other party is ashamed, we will directly Do it with them. You see, I brought over 30 comrades from Myanmar, all of whom are soldiers from our educated youth company."

As he spoke, he pointed to a group of men in the car.Lin Zhenhua had already noticed these people when they first got into the car. They were all wearing American military uniforms, but they didn't wear helmets. Each of them had an AK47 in their hands, and their tactical rucksacks were bulging, which should be ammunition and other equipment.

"Old Song, where did these weapons come from?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

"I bought it on the local arms black market." Song Qiyuan said, "We have equipment in Myanmar, but we can't take it on the plane. Fengzi's arrangement has already purchased a batch here, and we will be fully equipped as soon as we arrive. .”

"Okay, is there any extra, my people also need to be equipped." Lin Zhenhua said.

Song Qiyuan said: "Of course, Fengzi has already explained that 50 sets of equipment have been prepared for you, and I will have them distributed to comrades immediately."

(End of this chapter)