Chapter 1470: Crashed again?
Common sense suggests that the position of "Defense Minister" should be held by a man, but the defense ministers of France and Germany are both women. The UK also had a woman as its defense minister when it was still in the EU, but after Brexit, it switched back to a man.
The Ms. Florence Parly in front of Xiao Peng is the French Minister of Defense.
She also went to Xiao Peng's cocktail party, but just showed up and left: after all, she was a senior official of the Ministry of National Defense, and getting too close to a wealthy man like Xiao Peng would easily cause controversy.
So why did she go? Western politicians rely on the rich to rise to power. This is a classic example of "saying no, but being honest."
Florence Parly looked at Xiao Peng and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Xiao, I'm actually seeking your help."
"Seeking my help?" Xiao Peng was stunned. "What is it?"
Florence Parly said, "Mr. Xiao, can I trust you? What I am going to do next is top secret."
Xiao Peng waved his hands hastily upon hearing this: "Then don't tell me. I'm not trustworthy!"
Florence Parley was scowling. "Why don't you play by the rules?" she asked. "Shouldn't you have said you can be trusted?" "Don't you have any curiosity?"
Xiao Peng took out a cigarette and handed it to Parli. "Ms. Parli, I'm just an ordinary person, and you're the French Minister of Defense. Something as 'top secret' as you can reveal is not something an ordinary person like me should know. It's better if you don't tell me."
Why did Xiao Peng offer Parli a cigarette? Are there any French women who don't smoke?
Parli felt very uncomfortable after hearing this, and finally said to Xiao Peng, "Okay, Mr. Xiao... I just ask that this matter be kept confidential as much as possible."
Xiao Peng still shook his head. "I can't keep it a secret even if I try my best. I don't know what the top-secret incident is, but I know that anything that happens in France is not 'top-secret.' It won't take a few days for everyone on earth to know about it. And then you can put the blame on me for leaking the secrets? I can't afford that. Besides, it was a mistake for you to contact me. So many journalists in France are watching my every move. The fact that you contacted me itself carries the risk of leaking the secrets."
Parli sighed and said, "Well, you do have a point. But coming to you was the result of a meeting of the French Ministry of Defense."
Xiao Peng blinked. "You guys held a meeting to make a decision? And you're asking me to keep it secret? This is ridiculous!"
Parli said, "You don't have to worry about the secrets being leaked by the meeting participants. If there were any way, we wouldn't come to you. You are our last choice."
After hearing her say that, Xiao Peng became curious, but his face showed no expression: "If that's the case, then that's great. You don't want to look for me, and I don't want to know what it is."
After hearing this, Parli was silent for a while, and suddenly took out a document and placed it in front of Xiao Peng.
Xiao Peng waved his hands hurriedly: "No, no, no, I won't watch it. Curiosity kills the cat!"
Parli said, "Xiao, don't be nervous. This is not a top-secret document. It's a business document. It has something to do with you."
"What does it have to do with me?" Xiao Peng took the folder doubtfully. "I don't invest in business, so what does it have to do with me?"
Parli said, "You'll know when you see it."
Xiao Peng took out the document and looked at it before saying, "Is this true?"
"Of course," Parli said, "I wouldn't go so far as to produce fake documents to deceive you. I know you were very angry about the Le Monde incident back then, and you also punished the Korean Soo Jung-seok and his family, who were the masterminds behind the incident. Today's events show that you haven't let it go. You did ruin a lot of Korean ship orders back then, but these companies still gave the orders to Soo Jung-seok's family through their subsidiaries. After all, businessmen are profit-driven. Although the Soo family's profits have indeed decreased in the past two years, they haven't suffered a fatal blow. If you do us a favor, we can also do you a favor so that you can truly vent your anger."
"Oh?" Xiao Peng looked at Parli and said, "Ms. Parli, I wonder how you can help me vent my anger?"
Parli held up a finger and said, "One year! I can guarantee that the entire Goryeo won't get a single ship order from France within one year!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Peng was genuinely moved after hearing this, but he remained calm: "Can you do this?"
"It's not difficult to do this," Parli said. "Don't forget, we are the French Ministry of Defense. As long as you agree to help us, we will investigate the Korean shipbuilding industry and the ships they ordered for our country's enterprises on the grounds of 'stealing French maritime secrets.' And this investigation will not be a secret investigation but a public one. Of course, this matter cannot continue forever. After all, our two countries are allies. This investigation can only last for a year at most! We thought that simply asking for your help with money would not move you, but doing this should allow you to vent your anger, right? Perhaps venting your anger is more important to you."
Xiao Peng fell into deep thought.
If France really did this, it would be a fatal blow to the entire Goryeo shipbuilding industry!
Even though the time limit is only one year, during which time not even a single ship can be built, and Goryeo may not receive any orders from French companies at all during this year, if it is an open investigation, it will be a fatal blow to Goryeo's shipbuilding industry, especially with the current integration of the European Union. If France investigates, will other countries also investigate?
The top four shipbuilding countries in the world are Goryeo, Bactria, Japan and the European Union, and France's actions may directly remove Goryeo from the list!
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said calmly, "Ms. Parli is indeed generous, but it seems that this is not just for me, right? It is more like it is for the revival of your own French shipbuilding industry."
The shipbuilding industries in EU countries, such as France, the Netherlands, and Germany, are actually quite strong. However, their industries are fragmented and severely impacted by the three East Asian countries, leading to their current decline. However, thanks to Xiao Peng's boost to the marine salvage industry, shipyards in various countries are now receiving increasing orders for vessels, particularly for offshore vessels. This is a key reason why they value Xiao Peng. Parli's actions can both persuade Xiao Peng to help her and protect the local shipbuilding industry.
Parli smiled and said, "This is a win-win situation for both of us, isn't it? Now you can see our sincerity, right?"
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and asked, "What on earth could have made you willing to make such a big move?"
Seeing Xiao Peng asking, Parli was afraid that he would change his mind, so she hurriedly said, "We have a submarine missing!"
Xiao Peng's first reaction was: "Another collision? Another nuclear submarine?"
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