Hardy went to the casino construction site again.

The Venetian and Caesar's Palace were transformed into a huge construction site with countless construction workers busy at work. When the person in charge of the Mei Tong Real Estate Development Company heard that Hardy was coming, he hurried out to greet him and accompany him on the inspection.

While inspecting the construction site, he explained the construction progress.

The headquarters building of the Hadi Group is still in the foundation laying stage. It will probably take more than a year for the building to rise from the ground.

Hardy then turned to the construction of the horse racing track and the greyhound racing track. These two tracks are much smaller in scale and were built earlier. According to the person in charge, at the current construction speed, they will be completed and put into use next summer.

Hardy nodded with satisfaction. He planned to hold a grand horse racing event in Las Vegas and try to make it a regular horse racing event so as to attract more tourists.

Live horse and dog racing is also available on TV.

After inspecting Las Vegas, Hardy returned to Los Angeles. In the manor, Hardy was taking a shower. The bathroom door was gently pushed open and Ava walked in wearing a silk robe. Hardy turned his head and Ava looked at her with a smile.

The silk robe slipped down, revealing her perfect figure.

He walked up to Hardy barefoot, picked up a towel and applied bath gel to Hardy's upper body, then slowly squatted down.

Hardy loves playing with Ava's hair.

......

After taking a shower, the two of them lay on the bed, watching TV and chatting. Ava said, "MGM sent me a movie outline, saying there is a story that suits me and invited me to shoot it next year. Do you think I should go?"

"What's the movie about?" Hardy asked.

"The name of the movie is 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro', and it's adapted from Hemingway's novel." Ava then told Hardy the story.

After hearing this, Hardy's first reaction was that this was an art film. It is difficult for art films like this to make money, but many directors like it.

"Do you like this story?" Hardy asked.

"I've read this film by Hemingway before and I really liked the story," said Ava.

Hardy smiled.

"If you like it, then go for it. There's nothing to worry about. This year's 'Super Idol' talent show finals will be held on Christmas Eve. You'll have half a year of free time in the first half of next year, which is perfect for filming a movie. In the second half of the year, you can continue to be a mentor for the second season of 'Super Idol' talent show." Hardy said.

Ava nodded happily when she heard Hardy agreed and asked her to be the mentor next year.

You know, this 'Super Idol' program not only made her a lot of money, but also greatly increased her popularity. She was reluctant to give it up.

......

The election is over.

Hardy is in no hurry to return to the delegation. The delegation is now in Belgium, and will next visit countries such as Norway and Switzerland.

For these countries,

Hardy has little interest in investing.

He only has his eyes on three industries: shipping, banking and luxury goods. He should act within his means and not bite off more than he can chew. As long as he can handle these three areas well, he will earn as much as those people's investments in the future.

As for luxury goods,

Italy and France are the places with the most, followed by the United Kingdom.

So Hardy handed over the inspection of other countries to Andy. If there was anything important, he would communicate with Hardy by telegram. Hardy planned to wait until he went to the UK before going with Andy.

The next day Hardy came to the security company.

After two years of development, HD Security has become the largest security company in the United States, with more than 5,000 employees, providing a variety of services, including bank security, airport security, security for important departments of large enterprises, bodyguards for celebrities and politicians, city security patrols cooperating with the police, and so on.

The intelligence department established an independent company called HD Intelligence, which is an independent subsidiary of HD Security and is managed by Henry.

There are about 500 people in the intelligence company now.

The security company is now able to make money. Last year, after deducting all costs, it still had more than 5 million left. This year's performance is even better than last year.

However, Hadi did not take a penny of the money. He gave out bonuses as bonuses and invested in construction as needed. Hadi never expected HD Security to make money for him. He had many places to make money. What he wanted was a strong force.

When Hardy saw Lanster, he said, "The plan we made earlier can now be implemented. Are you ready?"

Lanster nodded happily, "It's ready."

Hadi is preparing to upgrade the level of HD security, which simply means letting HD security cooperate with the Ministry of Defense.

He was no longer satisfied with cooperating with the police department.

What can HD Security do for the Ministry of Defense?

That's too much to do. Hadi plans to set up a separate 'HD mercenary army' to help the government solve some difficult problems.

Let me give you a simple example.

For example, if an American citizen is politically kidnapped abroad, the dispatch of regular troops requires approval from Congress, and there are many procedures and issues to consider. After all, using troops in other countries involves too many political factors.

There are not so many restrictions when it comes to hiring security personnel. The government spends money to hire them to go to other countries, do what they should do, kill whoever they should kill, and take back the hostages. Other countries cannot use this as an excuse. Can they say they were just bodyguards sent there?

Moreover, hiring mercenaries does not require so many complicated procedures and does not require too much consideration. The response speed is much more convenient than mobilizing the army.

This is just one example. In fact, there are many more businesses that can be done. In short, I will take care of the things that the East Factory can manage, and I will also take care of the things that the East Factory cannot manage!

Kill first and report later, special permission granted by the emperor!

This is hd hired mercenary company.

Not only that, HD Security is also preparing to establish a real military base and ask the government for permission to own high-powered weapons, such as tanks, fighter jets, etc. Of course, they will be mainly used for training in the country.

Hadi's idea was to purchase a piece of land suitable for military training in a remote place, train a real future special forces unit, and then import special forces training to the government and help the military training.

Training can make money.

Moreover, after these people are discharged from the army, they can return to HD Security to strengthen their own strength, and of course, they can also help the police with training.

If all the people in the United States were sent out under HD security, you can imagine how big this network would be and how much information resources they would have.

That’s not all.

Hadi also wants to establish overseas military bases, ostensibly to carry out security operations, but the underlying objectives are many.

For example, establishing a base in Africa.

In the next few decades, there will be constant conflicts in Africa, where there are countless minerals, including gems, copper, iron, gold, and oil.

Do large companies need security when entering conflict areas?

Some small countries want to seize political power, so they carry several tons of gold to your door as gifts on August 15th. If you accept the gift from others, what's wrong with helping them?

For example, establishing a base in Asia.

Places like Malaysia and Indonesia are pretty good.

It is not too much to help overseas Chinese train a few troops and establish a free and democratic government in a reasonable and legal manner.

No need to help in the fight.

But they can provide some weapons and equipment, rifles, machine guns, tanks, cannons, airplanes, missiles, etc. Hadi has the task of selling post-war supplies to the US military, and these people are all good buyers.

Intelligence companies can also provide military intelligence information and dispatch military commanders as advisors. There are many types of services that can be developed.

Hadi also plans to build a naval force.

Among the supplies he currently sells abroad are warships. If he gets two "Iowa-class battleships" to escort merchant ships and fight pirates at sea, it would be great to see the 406mm caliber cannons firing.

Can directly rob the pirates' lair.

However, the United States will definitely not sell the Iowa-class ships, but they can buy smaller ones, such as two frigates and a supply ship. These ships can be used to fight pirates as easily as playing.

The military's post-war supplies list included a batch of frigates, and Hardy chose the Radlo-class escort destroyer, which had a full load displacement of 1,780 tons, a crew of 186, and a speed of 24 knots.

The original plan was to build 50 ships, but the war ended before only a few were built. Many half-built warships were dismantled directly. Only three ships were built and delivered to the navy, but within a few days their navy was disbanded, and these three ships became disposed of materials.

In fact, there are more than just these few ships. The military has to deal with hundreds of warships. Some cannot be sold and need to be kept secret. Some countries cannot sell them. Some people who can buy them don’t need them or have them themselves, and some they cannot afford. The navy is a money-eating beast. It requires huge investments in the early stages, and continuous logistics support in the later stages. Ordinary people really can’t afford it.

This is also the reason why the U.S. military quickly cut its weight after World War II, with 150 aircraft carriers and more than 1,000 battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and submarines.

Even a powerful country like the United States cannot afford it!

Except for those left by the navy, these eliminated warships have no use. Many of them have been dismantled or used as target ships. What a pity.

Hardy did not aim too high. He only planned to build three "Radlo-class" escort destroyers, mainly because they were very new, having been produced only in 1945.

Quack new.

Then there are a few 600-ton patrol escort boats. Hardy has seen the sales report. 68 such escort boats have been retired, and dozens of them have been sold to some small ship service companies. After removing the weapons, they were converted into strait passenger ferries and offshore ocean fishing boats.

You know,

Later in the 21st century, a 500-ton small ship was launched from a certain province and shamelessly named xx ship.

Another thing is to get dozens of Type 80 patrol torpedo boats, which are 24.3 meters long, have a displacement of 50 tons, a maximum speed of 43 knots, and a cruising range of 500 kilometers.

Don't underestimate it.

It is quite powerful, equipped with two 50-caliber machine guns, a 20mm Oerlikon machine gun, four torpedoes and a 40mm anti-aircraft gun.

This type of ship is extremely useful for fighting pirates near the coast.

He plans to build a naval base in Southeast Asia, station two warships there to escort merchant ships, and passing ships must pay protection fees.

Not handing over?

If you encounter pirates, don't blame me for not telling you in advance.

What, no pirates?

hehe.

With Hardy around, there are no pirates to worry about.

As for the location of the base,

Hardy thought about it.

Singapore is good.

Hadi immediately contacted President Johnson and told him about the situation. He then expressed his wish to arrange a time to meet. President Johnson said directly, "I will be in the White House these days. You can come anytime."

He boarded a private plane with Lanster and several advisers and flew directly to Washington to meet with President Johnson.

Also present was Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.

Hardy took out two plans and handed them to the two of them. Johnson and Forrestal looked at them while Hardy explained them.

The word mercenary army is not new. Mercenary army has existed in Europe for a long time. For example, when the United States was founded, it was only after the French mercenary army defeated the British that the Americans were able to establish their country.

Mercenaries also exist in other countries today.

In this plan, cooperation between HD Security and the Ministry of National Defense is one of the key points. Another key point is to hope that the country will agree to HD Security possessing heavy weapons.

The United States does not prohibit light weapons, but it does prohibit heavy weapons. In particular, Hadi wants to establish overseas security bases and own warships with large-caliber artillery, torpedoes and other weapons. This must be approved by the country.

"HD hiring mercenaries can help the Ministry of National Defense deal with some difficult problems, such as difficulties in sending troops or disputes involving sensitive political issues. Our actions will simplify the problem and do not need to be approved by Congress. It is a business activity."

"I own several shipping companies now, and there will be more in the future. The purpose of establishing overseas military bases is to protect the safety of shipping routes. You know that pirates are rampant in some areas now. If they are robbed, the losses will be heavy. Having a certain amount of armed forces to fight pirates is to protect US assets."

"I have a lot of business in Asia, such as Hong Kong and Japan. The Strait of Malacca is a vital choke point, but it is also the place where pirates are most rampant in the world. Here is a document showing that there are hundreds of pirate incidents there every year, and the insurance premiums for cargo ships going there have increased significantly."

"Not long ago, a retired cargo ship that we sold to Hong Kong was robbed by pirates. Fortunately, we fought them off, but I still think it is necessary to establish a more effective security force."

Two days later.

HD Security has reached a cooperation agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense, and agreed that HD Security will have military forces below the level of frigates to protect commercial security.

Subsequently, HD Security's second subsidiary, 'HD Mercenary Corps', was established.

After Hardy returned.

Immediately put three "Radlo-class" escort destroyers under his name, and the selling price of these three frigates was US$1.2 million each.

3.6 million for three ships.

Six 600-ton patrol escort boats were purchased, all of which were the latest models on the list, with a price of 650,000 each, for a total price of 3.9 million.

As for the 50-ton patrol torpedo boat, the price was only US$80,000 each. Hardy bought all 30 Type 80 boats on the list in one go, with a total price of 2.4 million.

Hardy then bought another batch of fighter planes.

He planned to set up a flying club to train his own air force. There were many types of aircraft and they were not expensive. A fighter plane only cost one or two thousand dollars, and a transport plane was only a few thousand dollars.

Hardy waved his hand and sent 10 of each type.

P-38 "Lightning", P-47 "Thunderbolt", P-51 "Mustang", B-17 "Flying Fortress", F4U "Buccaneer", F6F "Hellcat", B-25 "Mitchell", P-39 "Flying Snake", F4F "Wildcat", A-20 "Havoc", B-26 "Marauder", ...

Why do you want it so much? One is for fun, the other is for collection.

Hardy called Colonel Adam Beach, who was from the military logistics department. Hardy had agreed to the sales rights, but the product was in Beach's hands.

"These frigates and patrol boats must be carefully inspected to ensure they have no defects, and they must also be fully stocked with ammunition."

"I need the military to provide 10 batches of ammunition and a large number of spare parts."

"As for these aircraft, select the best ones for me, and they must be well repaired and fully equipped with spare parts. Each aircraft must be equipped with two engines of the same model, and twin-engine aircraft must be equipped with four engines. At the same time, they must come with three maintenance services every 10 years."

After hearing what Hardy said, Colonel Beach swallowed hard.

He had never heard of sending engines as free accessories, and sending two engines to each plane, which was also...

"No problem, Mr. Hardy, I will take care of it." Colonel Beach replied with a smile on his face.

He had received a lot of money from Hardy before. If he couldn't even do such a small thing, then he should forget about doing this job.

As for the engine provided,

The report states that it has been scrapped and smelted into scrap iron.

Hadi nodded in satisfaction.

When employing people, sometimes you have to employ these smart little people.

This transaction,

As there were too many things, the amount of funds reached more than 13 million, so Hardy waved his hand and decided to keep the money as debt and deduct it from the profits later.

Hardy made 30% profit from selling post-war supplies, so there will be no problem with the future accounting.

......