As the presidential election approaches, General Letta becomes anxious for no reason. Having served as the Minister of Logistics for many years, he has experienced presidential transitions before.
But the situation this time is a little different. When the current President, Mr. Dutra, came to power, although it was through election, everyone knows that this so-called election was just a formality.
His ascension to power was legally justified, but in fact, it was a military coup. Although the unexpected Japanese riots made this coup look like nothing more than a coup, the senior officers knew the actual situation very well.
But no one knows what this president, who came to power through a military coup, was thinking, but he actually regarded himself as the president of a democratically elected government and implemented more democratic policies in Brazil than the previous president.
At the same time, he also gave up his capital for getting to the top, that is, the army, and began to immerse himself in politics and curry favor with the Americans. Later, he directly announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and firmly stood on the side of the United States.
But this behavior has obviously caused dissatisfaction among many people in Brazil. After all, no matter how powerful the Americans are, any citizen with a little self-esteem would not want to be a follower of the Americans.
(This situation is similar to what the author actually did with a certain President Yin in the South Peninsula.)
It was from this time that the President's approval rating began to decline sharply, but the President did not seem to realize this, or he realized it but did not think of a better solution.
What puzzled General Letta was that President Dutra had never thought about consolidating his position by using his influence on the military.
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Of course, this may also be related to the fact that the current army has been out of his control due to his alienation. But no matter what, President Dutra, who started out as the Minister of the Army, still has many old subordinates in the army.
It would be absolutely no problem to pull out an army from the army to control the situation in the capital, but the president has never thought of this method.
Instead, he wanted to consolidate his position through political means, but after a long period of effort, there was still no effect. In the last two months, the president seemed to have chosen to give up tanking.
This made the officers in the army who were originally close to the President panic and start looking for new ways out. For a time, the morale of the army was in turmoil.
The Army Department, which was originally the most powerful department in the military, seemed to be falling apart. Even he, the Minister of General Logistics Department, felt a little confused. How could this not make him anxious?
On this day, General Leta, who had just finished a day's work, returned home under the escort of his guards, dragging his tired body and anxious heart.
As soon as he entered the house, his young wife, Ms. Nessia, pulled him to the studio without saying anything.
"Honey, come here quickly, I have something important to tell you?"
General Leta, who was already exhausted physically and mentally, looked at his young and beautiful wife and couldn't bear to blame her. He thought that the other party had some new work and needed his comments.
This gave him a headache, to be honest, he still had a clear understanding of his young wife's painting level, even though her works were often sold at a high price.
But these paintings that were sold would soon be given to me as gifts. In order to keep these gifts, I had to rent another apartment. And I couldn't let my wife know about all this, so as not to undermine her self-confidence.
Although he thought so in his heart, he still forced a smile on his face and said:
"What's up, dear? Any new works coming out today?"
But what was strange was that Nesia, who was always very enthusiastic, had a strange expression today. She looked around the room mysteriously, and after confirming that no one else was there, she closed the door and slowly said:
“No, I didn’t paint today. Around 4pm, the owner of the gallery sent me a letter, saying it was from an old customer of mine.
I originally thought that the other party had something to say to me, but when I opened the envelope, there was an envelope with a wax seal inside. It said "Opened by you personally", so I didn't open it.
But why would my client send you a letter? What's going on?"
General Leta, who was originally a little mentally exhausted, was stunned when he heard this, and his eyes involuntarily looked at the letter sealed with wax in his wife's hand.
General Leta was unable to confirm for the moment who the old customer his wife had mentioned was, but the other party was using this method to send him a message, obviously hoping to keep it confidential.
He gently patted his wife's slightly nervous back, forced a smile on his tired face and said:
"Don't be nervous, dear. This guest must have known your identity and wants to convey something to me through you."
"Ah! Who could he be? He wouldn't have any bad intentions, would he?"
Hearing that someone might know his identity, Ms. Nessia couldn't help but exclaimed. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her lover's identity, but she was worried that these people would come to her house to find him after knowing her own identity.
Or say something bad about your husband in the letter.
But in General Leta's heart, he had a completely different feeling. He was not worried that someone was going to do something bad to him, but he was a little curious. Why did the other party not come to him through normal channels, but instead used this method?
"Don't worry! It's okay. Since someone has sent the letter over, can't we just take a look and find out what it is?"
After saying that, General Leta took out his military uniform and carefully checked the seal of the letter. Seeing that there was no problem, he opened the envelope directly.
It turned out that there was only a simple invitation letter, inviting General Leta to have lunch at noon tomorrow, and the inviter was Fang.
Others might not understand what this invitation letter meant, but as soon as General Leta saw it, he immediately knew who sent him the invitation.
Because there is only one person with the surname Fang who came through this channel. Although it is a bit strange why Fang Lang invited him in this way, he can still feel relieved.
Since it's Fang Lang, there will definitely be no problem and I can go to the appointment with peace of mind.
Nesia on the side also saw the contents of the invitation letter, but he didn't know who the other party was, so he was still a little worried and quickly said:
"Honey, who is this?"
General Leta, who was still thinking about Fang Lang's purpose, smiled when he heard this, patted his wife on the back and said:
"I've roughly guessed who it is. It's okay, don't worry. I just want to have dinner with you."
When she heard that her husband had guessed who it was, Nasia breathed a sigh of relief. After all, sending a letter to her through the gallery seemed too strange to him, and the letter was not to herself, but to her husband.
Fortunately, nothing strange has happened yet.
The next day at noon, General Leta rarely had lunch in the office of the General Logistics Department. Instead, his guards drove him to the door of a hotel in Rio de Janeiro.
Just after he sent his guards back, a Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of him. Inside was a young mixed-race driver who nodded to General Leta and said,
"Hello, Mr. Leta! Mr. Fang asked me to take you home for dinner."
General Leta glanced at the other person but didn't see anything. Since the other person was waiting for him here at this time, he didn't hesitate and directly opened the car door and walked in.
There was no conversation along the way, and soon the car arrived at Fang Lang's manor in Rio de Janeiro. After getting off the car and seeing Fang Lang waiting at the gate of the manor, General Leta breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s not that Fang Lang wants to be mysterious. In fact, the fact that this is Fang Lang’s home is not a secret. The reason why Fang Lang made it so complicated is that, firstly, he doesn’t want too many people to know that he is in Rio de Janeiro at this time.
Second, in accordance with General Crook's request, this meeting should be kept as secret as possible.
"Haha... General Leta, thank you for your hard work! I hope my presumptuous invitation has not caused any trouble to you and your family!"
General Leta, who had just got off the car, saw Fang Lang, who took the initiative to greet him with a warm face. His originally puzzled expression quickly subsided, and a smile appeared on his face. He shook hands and hugged Fang Lang enthusiastically.
"Haha... General Fang, you're joking. As soon as I saw your letter, I knew who was looking for me. I just didn't expect to have dinner at your house. If I had known, I should have brought a gift."
Fang Lang couldn't help laughing when he heard this. The reason why he sent the invitation to the other party through this channel, besides being more secretive, was that this was actually a chain for General Leta to receive benefits.
That is his important leverage. In this way, when I negotiate with him later, even if I don't point it out, the other party will understand that I have leverage in his hand.
Hearing General Leta's politeness, Fang Lang guided him inside and said with a smile:
"Haha... your coming to the banquet is the best gift. What other gift do you need to prepare?
We Chinese have an old saying, "Your arrival brings glory to my humble abode." This saying is very appropriate at this moment."
Although General Leta did not understand what Fang Lang said, he understood that Fang Lang was welcoming him. He no longer hesitated and followed him into this exquisite manor full of Chinese characteristics.
The two chatted and laughed as they walked through corridors one after another until they arrived at the banquet restaurant. Because the topic they were discussing this time was more private, they did not invite anyone else to join them.
Therefore, the restaurant was not big, just a small hall with an eight-person table. At this time, the eight-person table was already filled with a variety of dishes.
Although the portion was not large, there were many varieties, which opened the eyes of General Leta, who came for the first time.
"General Fang, there's no need for so many dishes for just two of us!"
Hearing this, Fang Lang laughed and said nonchalantly:
“General Leta, don’t be fooled by the fact that there are many types of dishes here, but the portions are not large. Besides, I’m a big-bellied man who practices martial arts, so I have a big appetite. There will be no waste on this table.
Come, come here, let's sit down and eat and talk. "
After saying that, he gave a look to Uncle Fu behind him. Uncle Fu nodded, left the room and closed the door gently.
Soon, Fang Lang and General Leta were the only ones left in the room. Seeing this, General Leta understood that Fang Lang had something private to say to him, but he didn't care and took a seat calmly under Fang Lang's guidance.
Most people in the West don't like to discuss work while eating, but Fang Lang is a soul from the future! The Chinese habit of chatting while eating has long been ingrained in their bones, and many people in the fleet are now accustomed to this style.
But General Leta was obviously not used to it, so at the beginning he just chatted with Fang Lang while carefully tasting the rich food. After three rounds of wine and five dishes.
Fang Lang felt that the time was almost up, so he took the initiative to start the topic. He did not hide anything, but went straight to the point:
"General Leta, have you heard that Marshal Morais is retiring?"
As soon as these words were spoken, General Leta, who was concentrating on tasting the food, froze in place, looking at Fang Lang in disbelief. As far as he knew, Marshal Moraes was not old enough to retire, and was in good health. He had not heard any news at all.
But Fang Lang's words were obviously not groundless. Although Fang Lang was only a rear admiral, General Leta would not look down on him at all, because as the Minister of General Logistics, he knew very well how the current Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier fleet was built up bit by bit.
If someone else had said something like this to him, he might have thought carefully about whether it was true or not, but he did not doubt the news that Fang Lang had told him at all.
At the same time, he had a glimmer of enlightenment in his heart. No wonder he had always felt that there was an undercurrent in the Ministry of National Defense recently, which made him uneasy. Now he finally found the reason.
"General Fang, are you serious?"
Seeing that General Leta had a serious face and didn't look fake, I realized that the other party was probably really unaware of it. It seemed that the confidentiality work of this change in the top leadership of the Ministry of Defense was done very well!
Fang Lang smiled, picked up a piece of chicken and chewed it for a while before slowly saying:
“I wonder if General Leta thinks that President Dutra has a chance of being re-elected this time?”
As soon as these words were spoken, General Leta immediately understood what Fang Lang meant. He thought he was so stupid that he didn't even think of such a simple truth. It is said that a new emperor appoints new ministers. Since the President has changed, an important official like the Minister of Defense will certainly not be spared.
As for Fang Lang's question, the answer is very obvious. Even an ordinary Brazilian citizen has a clear answer to this question without having to ask someone of his level!
Therefore, he also smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"I understand! I didn't see such a simple truth. It seems that I am really old!"
Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled slightly and continued slowly:
"Normally, Marshal Moraes would not retire so early. After all, as the first marshal of Brazil, he has made great contributions to Brazil.
No matter what the result of the presidential election is, the new president will not easily move him. So, his early retirement really caught everyone by surprise. "
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