Chapter 392: Chapter 392

In terms of diplomatic relationships, in contrast with its allies that were keen on flexing their muscles on the international stage, Australia’s performance had been mediocre at best. It was partially because of its unfavorable geographic location, but also because its citizens never paid too much attention to international affairs.

As a joke, while the Australia government was attempting to win a seat on the UN security council, the opposition party laughed at the president for spending too much time on international politics, thus neglecting the crisis surrounding climate change.

Compared to Britain, France and UA that liked to play international political games during election years, Australia was calmer. But behind the calmness was a strong naval presence.

The Royal Australian Navy currently possessed six “Collins” class submarines, three “Adelaide” class warships, eight “Anzac” class warships, six mine hunters and other vessels; they could be considered the strongest naval force in the Pacific region.

Not only that, but currently the Royal Australian Navy was pushing the “SEA1400” and “SEA1000” projects with projected costs of 7.5 billion and 37 billion USD respectively. The projects would construct three “Hobart” class Aegis destroyers and 12 “Collins” class submarines, with the goal of replacing the existing fleet by 2020 and ultimately changing the existing naval force by 2030 to push for navy modernization…

But all this required money.

Considering its rather calm diplomatic policies and tight budget, its determination to modernize its navy was incredibly ambitious.

Because of this, the disposal of old navy vessels had been a problem that troubled Canberra for the past while. If country F was willing to purchase some old ships, the Australian government had no reason to object.

As for the extra condition requiring them to change their stance in the west Pacific, the Australians didn’t mind since Xin was only a small country with a population of twenty thousand.

Jiang Chen would target this sale to ruin country F’s plan.

…

In Australia’s capital, Canberra.

Outside of a Burger King, a taxi stopped.

The door opened and a middle-aged man with a grey trenchcoat walked out. After he examined the interior of the restaurant, he cautiously looked behind him.

After he confirmed that there were no reporters following him, he opened the door and walked in. He didn’t order anything as he sat down at a seat in the innermost part of the restaurant and looked at the black man that sat across him.

Barkary, a manager at Celestial Trade Company.

“Barkary?” The middle-aged man scanned his phone before he looked at Barkary and asked in a low voice.

“That’s right, and you must be Brody.” Barkary extended his right hand.

Brody, a member of the liberal party, had a reputation within the party second only to the party head, Malcolm.

Hesitating for a second, Brody shook his hand and spoke while staring into his eyes.

“The manager of Celestial Trade Company? Australia doesn’t need a security company; I probably can’t help you.”

Barkary laughed and put his arms on the table.

“But we can definitely help you out.”

Brody raised his eyebrows and signaled him to continue.

Barkary smiled and exposed his white teeth. “I heard you have an inactive MEKO-200 warship-”

“Impossible. We already decided to sell that to country F, so there’s no way we can sell it to you. If you’re here for that, you’re out of luck.” Brody immediately knew what he was going to say as he rejected him outright.

“200 employment positions in your riding,” Barkary said.

Brody wanted to get up, but his interest was piqued, so he sat down again.

For a parliament member, there was nothing he cared about more than his riding. Although he was scornful at Barkary’s suggestion, he still sat down and waited for him to continue.

“You haven’t figured out the situation, Mr. Barkary. I can’t convince the parliament to sell a navy vessel to a country we’re unfamiliar with, even if it’s just an inactive navy vessel,” Brody said.

“I never said it would be sold to a country.” Barkary shook his head.

“Not possible for private individuals either.”

Brody wanted to get up, but Barkary pulled him back down and signaled Brody to give him ten minutes.

The parliament member sat down again as Barkary spoke with a smile.

“Our boss is planning to purchase a bankrupted amusement park located in New South Wales for five million USD. The vessel will be purchased under the name of the amusement park and converted into a military museum. This is not against the arms sales regulation because it’s an Australian corporation that will purchase the vessel, and it’s for non-military purposes.”

And this point, Barkary stopped talking and watched Brody’s eyes gradually lighting up. He knew that this parliament member was tempted by the proposal.

After a moment of deliberation, Brody said in an undertone:

“How much are you planning to pay?”

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“11 million USD.”

Brody shook his head. “I can only tell you that country F’s offer is not below 15 million USD – I can’t convince the president with this offer.”

“Is this as simple as 11 million USD?” Barkary asked with a smile.

“What do you mean?” Brody raised his eyebrows.

“This year is the election year. Do you think voters are more inclined to see a president who is keen to sell a navy vessel to a country that disrupts regional security, or a president who is working hard to improve employment and maintain regional stability? Think about it – the president isn’t a businessman; the voters won’t care how much you sell the vessel for as long as the number isn’t too absurd.”

Because of its amount of time in service, the second-hand navy vessel wasn’t worth a lot of money to begin with. The “Hamilton” class patrol ship purchased by country F from the UA was 10 million. While this Australian vessel had served for comparatively less time, it was definitely not worth 15 million USD. The reason why country F was willing to pay a premium was because Australia agreed to sell the weapons and radar along with the vessel.

Australia also took a diplomatic risk when selling this vessel, because the sale could be viewed as an act of aggression. Therefore, this proposal had a divergent opinion in the president’s office.

As a politician, Brody obviously considered that aspect. The reason he didn’t reveal the controversy about the deal with country F was because he wanted to gain more out of the negotiations. Due to the price drop in iron and aluminum ores, Australia’s economy had a lackluster performance in 2015. In this type of economic environment, the deal that would gain the support of voters was a no-brainer.

Seeing that Barkary put all the facts on the table, Brody’s gaze drifted away and his fingers knocked on the table continuously while he debated the pros and cons.

“The arms sale is led by the UA – we can’t completely disregard the position of our ally.” Brody lowered his voice.

Barkary laughed and shifted his chair back.

“Mr. Brody, do you think the UA is more important or the upcoming election in 2016? If you don’t win, your efforts in diplomatic relations are only going to help pave the road for the Labor party. If you think my proposal isn’t attractive enough, we can also go talk to the Labor party. I trust they will definitely take this opportunity.”

Barkary then stood up.

But this time, Brody grabbed him.

Looking at the expression on the parliament member’s face, a victorious smile appeared on Barkary’s face.

He knew he had successfully convinced him.

…

The rain outside the window was still pouring. In the distance, a few strikes of lightning occasionally appeared.

Jiang Chen was already naked on the soft bed. A sheet covered his stomach while he had a phone in his hand. He looked relaxed.

“It’s done. A member of parliament, Brody, agreed to discuss our deal with the party leader.”

“Excellent, 16 million USD has been transferred to your account. You can now go purchase the bankrupted amusement park and the inactive navy vessel.” Lying on the bed, Jiang Chen sent these instructions to Barkary in Australia.

Once country F found out their navy vessel would be turned into an amusement park, what would they think? It wasn’t important for the amusement park to make a profit, but it was meant to solve the awkward diplomatic situation Xin was currently in. He had to drag wavering Australia off of country F’s boat.

Only 16 million? Jiang Chen could afford that.

“Also, what do you think of Brody as a person?” Jiang Chen asked.

“Devious.” Barkary used one word to describe him.

“Influence within the party?”

“Only second to the party leader, Malcolm. He helped Malcolm win the election in 2013.”

“Maintain a good relationship with Brody; we could use him in the future. Also, you can hint at him to see if he’s interested in becoming the party leader. We can provide some election funds.” Jiang Chen had a dubious smile on his face.

“Okay,” Barkary answered concisely.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Chen let out a long breath.

Without Australia’s involvement, the economic sanctions would only be words on paper.

Then the sheets covering his lower half moved and slowly lifted.

A gorgeous face appeared under it. A pair of crystal blue eyes stared at him followed by a rhythmic up and down motion.

Jiang Chen smiled and caressed Ayesha’s dark brown hair.

“I still need to make a phone call-”

But just as his fingertips brushed her hair, a tingling sensation began to diffuse in his body as Jiang Chen tightened his back muscles like he was electrocuted.

Violent vibrations and a few gulping sounds.

Tempted by the pair of eyes mixing frost and passion, Jiang Chen took a deep breath and tossed his phone to the side.

What happened next could not be spoken.