Chapter 474: One Link After Another
Amy was silent for a while, then sighed softly, "Of course the situation is not that simple."
“Although we have achieved dazzling military victories, we are mired in the quagmire of security warfare.”
"We now need to help the new regime quell the civil unrest, and we also have to deal with those terrorist organizations that are lurking here. From time to time, they will launch suicide attacks on US troops stationed there, or they will cause explosions in the city at will."
"Fortunately, Iraq still has a relatively complete social structure. Although the country is torn apart by sects and ethnicities, at least it can still form a national political structure in the modern sense," Amy shook her head, "otherwise, it wouldn't even be able to form a temporary government."
"But the top U.S. administrator in Iraq and the prime minister of the interim Iraqi government have become the top two targets of terrorist organizations."
"That's why we need to strengthen security," Amy explained the reason very clearly. "Unlike regular military forces like the US troops stationed in Iraq, small-scale security forces are subject to fewer constraints, have a larger range of activities, and have a faster response speed."
Amy was very frank, "I also heard that Chairman Li's American Golden Gate Company has an elite team?"
"They should be suitable to protect one of them."
"One of them?" Li You was a little surprised. "Are there other companies?"
Amy laughed, "It's impossible for President Li to take all these contracts. His appetite is too big."
"We have investigated the personnel of the American Golden Gate Company and found that there is only this small team suitable for carrying out the mission."
It is normal for the CIA to conduct an investigation first when implementing this level of security.
Li You also knew very well that the team she was talking about was the team led by Che Qicheng. In addition to some members of the North Korean special forces at that time, this team also included members from special forces of various countries who were recruited in the past two years.
Li You attaches great importance to the American Kinmen Company. He invests more money in it every year than 99% of the private military contractors on the market. These retired soldiers fight for money after retirement. The treatment in the American Kinmen Company is so good, they have no reason to go to places with lower treatment.
However, there are very few people coming from the US special forces, especially the Navy SEALs, because Blackwater can almost be said to be the savior of the Navy SEALs, and many of them were directly taken away after retiring.
"Another team." Li You asked, "Could it be the American Blackwater Company?"
"President Li knows?" Amy was a little surprised, but she didn't show any emotion. "Yes. Blackwater is also a private military contractor that shined in the Afghan war together with Kinmen."
"This company has a strong background and was born out of the U.S. military-industrial complex. Has President Li heard of it?"
"I've heard of it," Li You even felt a little yearning, he also wanted to do this.
The so-called military-industrial complex, also known as the US military-industrial complex, is a huge interest group composed of the US military, the Department of Defense, arms manufacturers, members of Congress, defense research institutions, think tanks, and the public opinion community.
It also includes Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which Li You and Chen Daojun had considered before.
Blackwater is also one of them.
In Lee You’s original vision, he also wanted to go this route, although the location was changed to the Korean Peninsula.
He wants to be the pinnacle of interest groups on the Korean Peninsula.
At present, although the Kinmen Group's business is already strong enough, he has contact with relatively few members of Congress, and only two generals in the military are involved with him, but the public opinion community has made good progress.
Li You paused for a few seconds, thinking about something in his mind but not saying it out loud, "Blackwater is cooperating with the U.S. State Department, right?"
"Yes," Amy said softly, "In the beginning, this company was founded by several high-ranking retired officers of the Navy SEALs, and it was also a way to reuse retired members of the Navy SEALs."
"In addition to the security mission for the top US administrator in Iraq, Bretton, they also cover all US diplomats in Iraq."
"." Li You sneered in his heart. It was obvious that he trusted his own people more.
But I still have to accept this task.
Even if this is what's left of Blackwater, it means that the United States has a position among private military contractors.
"Permissions?"
Li You's question was simple, but Amy's answer was a bit complicated.
In her explanation, all employees performing security duties can take excessive defensive measures.
This means that anyone who poses a threat can be shot to protect the employer.
They can shoot any potentially dangerous person approaching, are not subject to trial by military courts, and have complete immunity granted by the US military.
"." Li You coughed twice, "Higher authority than the US military?"
"They are tasked with protecting senior personnel, so their authority is naturally high."
It really is. Just do whatever you want.
Amy's explanation just now can be understood as doing whatever you want.
If this is the case, then when some US troops were performing missions together with employees of Blackwater or Kingate, and there were large numbers of protesting people who threatened them, the US military had no authority to open fire without authorization.
According to the U.S. military's rules of engagement, American soldiers must obtain orders from their superiors before opening fire.
But the people from Blackwater and Kinmen could shoot without restraint as long as they 'assumed' that there were threatening targets among this group of people. They could even authorize these American soldiers to shoot as well, even if the targets were unarmed.
"I will authorize Kinmen in the United States," Li You said.
Unlike ordinary employees of Kinmen, the special team led by Cha Ki-sung and the Marine team led by Jung Jae-joong can only accept missions under the order of Lee Woo. As an executive officer, Ahn Sang-gu does not have this authority.
As for the ordinary employees of Kinmen USA, they are all retired soldiers and police. Most of the soldiers are veterans from Suriname, US troops stationed in South Korea, and retired soldiers from the Korean Peninsula who go to the United States specifically. Volunteer "civilians" are also recruited.
Most of these people are in their thirties or forties, experienced and in good health.
After special training, they can also become armed security personnel.
This kind of job pays very well. As long as you go on a mission, even the simplest training mission, you can get several hundred dollars a day, and some even earn thousands of dollars. Some people can even earn in a month what they used to earn in a year. This temptation is irresistible to retired soldiers, so there are a lot of applicants.
However, it is still incomparable with Blackwater, which cooperates with the State Department. Blackwater can even directly recruit talents from active-duty troops, with an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars plus a share of the tasks, and recruit some special forces instructors and senior officers to join, and the military will directly approve it.
Li You had a brief conversation with Amy, then hung up the phone to inform An Shangjiu.
An Shangjiu was also a little excited when he heard the news, as it meant the possibility of further progress for Kinmen, the United States.
After Li You threw down his phone, he felt quite emotional.
His image is still well maintained now, but anti-war sentiment is on the rise in the country, and even parades are frequently organized. This can be regarded as a betrayal of the people of the Korean Peninsula.
He stood in front of the window and looked at the sunshine outside.
By June, Seoul starts to get hot.
It is also the most critical period for Lee Myung-hak's campaign for mayor of Seoul.
But in fact, this is already a done deal.
Last month, Zhu Mengzhun had already given up, or had started to make other plans.
In addition to Lee Yoo’s support in terms of public opinion and funds, there is also Lee Lianchang, a Jeonju Lee from the presidency, behind him.
On the election day, Li Mingxue appeared at Seoul City Hall in a suit and tie, with his head held high to welcome the new starting point in his life.
Success in the election was a matter of course.
After his successful election, Choi Chang-e, the former mayor of Seoul, hugged him and raised Li Lianchang's hand in front of the media to express his support for Li Lianchang.
《New mayor takes office! 》
"The mayor of Seoul who was once the secretary of Chairman Chen Yangzhe!"
"Mayor Choi, who is loved by the citizens, expressed his support for the new mayor!"
After Lee Myung-hak took office, he attended a celebratory banquet at the Seoul City Hall.
After going out, he took great pains to change his clothes in the car, and even found a place to wash up, trying hard to get rid of the smell of alcohol on his body, before rushing to Li You's house.
Li Mingxue was quickly invited in by Li You.
"President," Li Mingxue saluted respectfully, without any excitement about taking office as mayor.
"Okay," Li You waved his hand, "We are all relatives who know each other well. I come from a gangster background, and you are now the mayor of Seoul. There is no need to be too obscure or implicit when speaking to me in the future. Speak directly."
Li You twisted his neck and poured him a cup of coffee. "I'm not ordering you to do this, but I hope you do this."
"I hate playing tricks, so I always say what I want to say directly," Li You said calmly, taking a sip of his coffee, "just like when I asked you if you wanted to run for mayor of Seoul."
"This is completely different from your future official communications, but I hope you can do it."
Li Mingxue reacted immediately, "I understand, President Nim."
He always felt that Li You was taming him, but of course this thought only flashed through his mind. While Li Mingxue was holding out his hand to pick up the coffee, Li You said leisurely, "Now that you are the mayor of Seoul, what is the first project you want to do?"
Li You raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "It can't be the Cheonggyecheon restoration project you want to do. You just became mayor, and the citizens might think you are too radical."
Li Mingxue nodded, "I have considered this, President."
“So these days, I re-established my first project based on the situation at the beginning of the year.”
"And it will deal a certain blow to the chairman's competitors, namely Daying Automobile and Tianxia Automobile."
This is really straightforward.
Li You grinned, "The automotive industry in Daying and Tianxia?"
"That's right," Li Mingxue and Li You looked at each other and had an idea in their minds. They thought that Li You must have wanted to challenge these two companies for a long time.
"International oil prices are now stabilizing as the situation in Iraq stabilizes," Li Mingxue said. "But this stabilization price is far higher than the price before the war, and stability does not mean it will not rise, it is just a slow and steady rise."
"Iraq is the second largest oil producer in the world," Li You put down his coffee. "As oil prices rise, industries such as airplanes, ships, and automobiles will be impacted."
“And along with it, there are all kinds of trade activities.”
"The president is right," Li Mingxue nodded. "I have also been paying attention to future cars recently and found that the focus of future cars has begun to shift to South American countries."
"That's right," Li You was a little surprised by his focus, "because many countries over there have their own oil production. Although the bulk of it is taken by international oil companies, it is still more than enough to meet the needs of their own countries."
"Since the chairman's future automotive focus is not on the Korean Peninsula," Li Mingxue breathed a sigh of relief, "then I can start this project with confidence."
He told them the solution he had thought of.
He wants to take advantage of the fact that people are still afraid of the Daegu subway arson case to start implementing comprehensive public transportation reforms and encourage traffic restrictions.
Even in Li You's opinion, this is a drastic reform of public transportation, although it is only a reform of buses.
Taking this opportunity, he can also help Li You by improving public transportation and then using oil prices to suppress Daying Automobile and Tianxia Automobile.
Although it does not conform to the Korean Peninsula's support strategy for the automotive industry, it is in the interests of Li You and Li Mingxue.
Li You had no reason to refuse this proposal.
On the second day after Lee Myung-hak took office, he began to convene city hall staff and invited people from the Seoul Transportation Department to discuss the matter.
Two days later, the plan was successfully completed.
The plan even includes his Cheonggyecheon restoration project, part of which could be completed while improving public transportation.
When Li Mingxue made the announcement in front of the media, cameras kept flashing and making noises.
"I think," Lee Myung-hak looked at the media personnel, "Seoul's current public transportation system is suffering from road congestion, and the operation and management system is still backward."
"Even the network is complicated and chaotic," he said solemnly. "This has led to a very poor level of bus service and a decline in passenger numbers, which has been further reduced due to years of bus crime."
He was speaking the truth and was also trying to improve the current situation.
Because of the Daegu subway arson case, the whole of Seoul is now afraid of the subway.
You know, Seoul is the city with the most crazy people.
Even though the government has repeatedly assured the public that there are no problems with the subway, its profits are now only half of what they used to be.
"Mayor Li, nim," a reporter asked during the Q&A session, "Can you tell us roughly what the reform will contain?"
"Of course," Li Mingxue nodded. "The overall reform includes the transformation of the entire Seoul public transportation system. The existing operating system must also be updated. More importantly, management must be strengthened, especially safety management. I also know that everyone has many concerns, and equipment upgrades are a must."
"To put it simply, this is a complete system project. We have studied it with the Seoul Transportation Management Department. All routes will be replanned, and the operating companies will also have to re-tender in accordance with the government's re-determined operating specifications and requirements."
"Reform of Seoul public buses in the first week of taking office!"
《New official takes office! 》
When what Li Mingxue said in front of the media was reported, his action won wide support from the people, and was commented by the media under Li You as a new generation of mayor with "strong administrative promotion capabilities."
Some government requirements and assessment criteria for the winning companies were also released by Seoul City Hall afterwards.
The first is service, the second is safety.
In order to provide convenient services, Li Mingxue and the transportation department worked all night for the past few days, but they still had not finished studying all the routes that needed to be replanned and relocated.
It was not until the following week that the entire metropolitan area's bus network was divided into regions.
In the document that Li Mingxue gave to Li You, they cancelled the two-level bus system, urban and inter-district, and replaced it with four fixed routes.
Before the reform, bus routes that went through many blocks, were slow and time-consuming have been cancelled and have basically become straight routes.
Even all buses are painted in four different colors: red, yellow, green and blue according to the operating routes, which is both eye-catching and easy for citizens to identify.
In order to give priority to public transportation, they re-set up bus lanes and moved the bus lanes from the roadside to the middle of the road on a large scale. The bus stations were also set up in the middle of the road to avoid congestion caused by buses entering and leaving the stations and intersecting with other vehicles.
But the most important thing is not these, but the point that Li You attaches great importance to.
In this public transportation reform, Li Mingxue also incorporated part of the Cheonggyecheon restoration plan.
Because Cheonggyecheon Elevated Road is a major transportation artery connecting the east and west of Seoul.
Cheonggyecheon is a historic river that runs through Seoul, but in the middle of the last century it began to become full of sewage. So Lee Myung-hak, who was working in Soon-yang at the time, led a road construction project, covering and filling a section of the river and building a 50-meter-long and 80-meter-wide street on it.
More than a decade later, in order to improve the road capacity of the city center, Shunyang Group built a six-kilometer-long elevated road with four lanes in both directions on the covered Cheonggyecheon Stream, with more than 100,000 cars shuttling back and forth every day.
After entering the 21st century, with the increase in private cars, the Cheonggyecheon Elevated Road has not only become a major traffic congestion area in Seoul, but also caused serious pollution. The Cheonggyecheon Elevated Road has become the urban pain of Seoul.
Li Mingxue is trying to push for its demolition as part of the public transportation reform to pave the way for the Cheonggyecheon restoration project.
This means that after Cheonggyecheon is restored in a few years, the surrounding real estate and commercialization will usher in unprecedented development in Cheonggyecheon.
Li You attached great importance to this point because before Li Mingxue publicly ran for mayor, he discussed this project with Li You. From that time on, Li You began to direct the Kinmen Group to frantically acquire land around Cheonggyecheon.
Currently, 70% of the surrounding area of Cheonggyecheon is owned by the Kinmen Group or Li You.
He is a super landlord here. If someone wants to use public money to build on his land and even help increase the value of the surrounding land, Li You will of course welcome it with open arms.
During the implementation, some people took into account the important role of this elevated road in Seoul's road traffic system and worried that the demolition of the elevated road in the planning plan would make the already congested traffic situation in downtown Seoul even worse.
However, Li Mingxue overcame all objections and asked the city government to re-evaluate the area, but decided to proceed with the original plan. At the same time, he increased public transportation through the city center to provide convenient travel conditions for citizens.
This means that many private car owners who rely on the viaduct in the city center will have to take the new buses to save time.
This further impacted Daeyoung Motors and Cheoncheon Motors, and many Seoul residents who were originally hesitant about whether to buy a car began to temporarily put their car buying plans on hold.
(End of this chapter)
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