The train driver in the courtyard

To be honest, Old Sa was indeed a formidable figure.

Upon returning to Little Yi, he first took the initiative to apologize to Haq and then deliberately eased his relationship with Arif. In secret, however, he quickly gathered a large number of his confidants and had them ride camels from all over the country to provide assistance.

Arif was most wary of Old Sa, and instead of trusting him, he actively communicated with Xiao Mei's family, asking Langley to send people over to prepare for an attack.

However, at this moment, Xiao Mei's family was completely absorbed by the Sugarcane family's cannon firing range and did not pay any attention to Arif's plea for help.

This is a routine procedure for Xiaomei's family.

If there's no Arif, there will be another Arif. For them, Arif is just a tool that can be discarded at any time.

Without Langley's support, Arif's actions were hampered.

Soon it arrived that Old Sa's daughter's birthday was approaching.

Old Sa personally extended an invitation to Hack, who, without suspicion, arrived at Old Sa's villa in a car that evening.

The birthday party was very grand, and all the important figures in Hack's faction were invited.

The food was also very plentiful, with roasted lamb, roasted camel meat, wine, folk dances, and much more.

As the banquet reached its climax, Old Sa invited Hack to see the bulletproof off-road vehicle he had just purchased from the east.

"I've heard so much about this amazing off-road vehicle, but I've never had the chance to see it. Today I'm finally going to broaden my horizons." Hack, who had drunk quite a bit, followed Old Sa to the backyard of the villa with great interest.

But when he saw the gleaming gold SUV, the smile on his face instantly faded, and his expression darkened: "Little Sa, this car is too flashy."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Sarah opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and smiled at him, saying, "Uncle, this car was specially built for me by patriotic comrades from the East. It's a mobile golden palace. Do you think it matches my status?"

"Comrade Patriot is indeed a genius at building cars. This car is quite good, but it's not appropriate for you to drive one. The Golden Palace is the residence of a king."

Huck sensed something was wrong and turned around to find that his trusted followers had vanished, replaced by unfamiliar guards.

“I also think it’s inappropriate, after all, I’m not the king.” Old Sa took out a cigar and put it in his mouth, and the guard next to him immediately stepped forward to light it for him.

hiss.
call.
Thick smoke billowed out, and Old Sa's eyes sharpened like knives: "Uncle, Comrade Patriot built such a magnificent 'palace' for me, yet I don't have a worthy title. It's such a pity. Why don't you let me be the king?"

As soon as these words came out.

Hack was struck dumb, finally understanding, and angrily rebuked, "Little Sa, you're plotting a rebellion!"

He shouted outside several times, but there was no response. His hope sank little by little until it finally plummeted to the bottom.

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood, Uncle. I'm doing this for the sake of our Yi family. Arif is getting closer and closer to the Mei family. Sooner or later, he'll sell all our oil fields to the Mei family!"

"Haven't you noticed that in recent years we've built more and more oil fields, but our revenue has been decreasing?"

"why?"

"Because all those oil fields were divided up by Arif's gang!"

"Uncle, I received a red book from the East. There's a very insightful sentence in it: A family with dignity must take the path of independent development!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Sa, panting heavily, suddenly raised his pistol high: "Uncle, I want to be king!"

Hack stood there, stunned, when he suddenly remembered that he had talked to Li Aiguo about Xiao Yi's family situation during the Iron Group meeting.

Li Aiguo had warned him years ago that neither the Russians nor the Americans could be relied upon, and that constant compromise would never solve any real problems.

Hark wasn't unaware of these things.

However, he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless, couldn't harden his heart, and was unwilling to see a chaotic situation emerge.

Perhaps he was wrong.

Perhaps we should destroy the old to build the new.

After a long pause, Hack nodded slowly, his voice weary: "Uncle is getting old and his energy is waning. From now on, this place will belong to you young people."

Upon hearing this, Old Sa put away his pistol, stepped forward, and respectfully saluted Hack: "Uncle will always be my uncle, and I will never let you down."

If Li Aiguo were here, he would definitely find that compared to the original timeline, the relationship between Old Sa and Haq is much more relaxed, and it could even be said that Haq was not completely forced to hand over power.

In this situation, Haq also did his best to support old Sa.

When the Feast at Hongmen ended, Old Saddam had taken over all of Haq's power.

At this moment, his trusted followers, riding camels, also arrived.

While ordering martial law to be declared throughout the city, Old Sa ordered his cronies to attack Arif's residence.

Arif panicked completely when he learned that Old Sa had brought his men to attack.

He knew his own limitations all too well, so he could only ask Xiaomei's family for help again, his tone urgent to the point of pleading: "Even if you don't send troops, at least send a helicopter to pick me up! Whatever agreement you want me to sign, I'll sign it!"

After receiving the call, Xiao Mei frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

Xiao Mei's family perked up when they heard this. Old Sa was currently riding high, and they didn't want to go against him, but bringing Arif out could divert Old Sa's attention.

This is a common tactic used by Xiaomei's family.

So the helicopter took off from the nearest base and picked Arif up from his residence.

Under the cover of night, a UH-1 helicopter belonging to Xiao Mei's family took off from the official residence.

Looking at the guards of the small Saqqas below, Arif said with some worry, "Take off quickly, they might attack at any moment!"

"Heh, don't worry, Mr. Arif," the bearded pilot scoffed. "This is our Mei family's latest modified helicopter. Those useless guys down there can't hurt us with their firewood sticks. But you, you'd better prepare the promised gold."

"But you, Mr. Arif, had better prepare the gold you promised us."

“Of course, I’ve already moved all that gold to a safe deposit box in a foreign bank.” Arif’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled.

Although he lost power, with the savings he accumulated over the years, he could still easily become a big capitalist abroad.

"Old Sa, you just wait. One day, I'll be back. Also, it's time for the pieces I've set up to move." Arif raised his wrist to check the time.

"Report! Arif has escaped by helicopter!" his trusted aide hurriedly reported to Old Sa.

Old Sa got off the Golden SUV, glanced at the helicopter, and a sneer curled at the corner of his mouth: "As expected, Patriot Brother predicted it again."

He raised his hand and pointed at the helicopter: "RPG, shoot it down!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rocket roared out, streaking towards its target with a fiery red tail.

The bearded pilot's pupils constricted sharply; he tried to pull the aircraft up, but it was too late.

boom!
The helicopter turned into flames, illuminating most of the city.

The trusted guards cheered immediately. Old Sa nodded in satisfaction. Now that Arif was gone, the position of Grand Commander was within his grasp.

After ordering his trusted guards to search the official residence and arrest a number of people, Old Sa drove his golden SUV toward his villa.

Under the cover of night, the city was eerily quiet, and there wasn't a soul in sight on the streets. Old Sa lit a cigar and drove off leisurely, smoking as he did so.

Sudden.

Da da da.
Flames suddenly erupted from the dark alleyway by the roadside, and countless machine gun bullets poured out, heading straight for the convoy.

The machine gun bullets were incredibly powerful; the jeeps in the convoy were instantly pierced through, and screams of agony filled the air.

The trusted guards instinctively wanted to rush to the aid of the Golden Grand Crossroads, but it was too late.

The machine gunners had already locked onto their targets, and their guns were all turned around.

Old Sa was also taken aback by the sudden attack. In his long military career, he had never encountered such a dangerous situation before.

Knowing he couldn't escape, he took a deep drag on his cigar and cursed, "You son of a bitch!"

Da da da.
The machine gun muzzle flashed.

Old Sa slowly closed his eyes, awaiting death.

result.

I waited in vain.

He only felt the car shake slightly, but the expected pain did not come.

Old Sa suddenly remembered something and opened his eyes wide: "My patriotic brother was right, this car is bulletproof!"

The machine gunners were also stunned.

Bullets powerful enough to tear through steel plates struck the Golden SUV, yet only left marks.

This isn't an off-road vehicle, it's clearly an armored vehicle.

"Grenade!" A machine gunner in a black uniform realized what was happening and shouted.

Several machine gunners grabbed grenades and threw them at the Golden Off-Road.

Unfortunately, by then Old Sa had already realized what was happening.

He slammed on the gas pedal, and the V8 engine unleashed unprecedented power, smashing aside the jeep blocking his way and hurtling towards the machine gunners at high speed.

At that moment, Old Sa felt like he was driving a tank.

Invincible!
Invincible!

The machine gunners hadn't expected the Golden Off-Road to still be able to move, and by then it was too late to dodge.

The golden SUV roared over.

Steel vs. human body, steel wins.

More importantly, Saddam's trusted guards arrived at this time, and more than a dozen men in black uniforms were killed instantly.

After the gunfire subsided, Old Sa got off the Golden SUV, walked up to a man in a black uniform, and ripped off his mask.

"Old Russian?"

Old Sa's face was ashen, as if ink had dripped from it.

These Russians had machine guns, grenades, and a dozen or so men. It would have been absolutely impossible without their cooperation.

"Cheka." Old Sa's lips curled into a cruel smile.

At dawn, as the sunlight dispelled the last trace of darkness, the residents of the city discovered that their homes had a new head of household.

Old Saddam announced via radio that a grand inauguration ceremony would be held soon, and invited journalists from various countries to attend.

The wreckage of the American helicopter and the corpses of those Russians laid out in front of the palace were enough to illustrate the bloodshed of last night.

The reporters exchanged glances, all seeing shock in each other's eyes.

At that moment, a large gold SUV drove up from a distance and screeched to a halt in front of the reporters. The door opened, and Old Sa got out, stood on the footrest, patted the roof, and said in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, last night Arif colluded with the US and Russia to launch an attack on me."

Thanks to the protection of this large SUV, I narrowly escaped disaster.

I need an explanation for this!

The reporters from Xiaomei's family and Lao Maozi's family looked grim.

They also knew that their family was absolutely capable of doing such a thing.

But why did it fail?!
The other reporters' attention was entirely drawn to the golden SUV.

The numerous gunshot marks on the vehicle were clearly visible, enough to imagine the intensity of the battle at the time, yet these marks were all scratches, and the vehicle itself was completely undamaged.

A ruthless tycoon who has just survived a brush with death, and a truly indestructible bulletproof off-road vehicle—this scene is enough to warrant an award-winning photo.

Old Sa is indeed a man born for big occasions. Facing the reporters' cameras, he held onto the car door, struck a cool pose, and said slowly, "Red Star SUV, a real man's ride!"

Instantly, flashes went off one after another as reporters snapped photos, capturing this impactful moment.

****
The world changed overnight in the Yi family: Arif died, Haq voluntarily stepped down, and old Saddam became the president.

The news shocked the entire family.

Both Lao Maozi and Xiao Mei's families were dumbfounded. They were arm wrestling, fighting to the death, when suddenly their backyard caught fire.

The most crucial point is that neither of the two countries has the resources to deal with Old Sa, so they can only watch helplessly.

After Old Saddam became the head of the Iraqi family, the first thing he did was to take back the oil fields that had been sold to the United States, and the second thing he did was to take back the railway that had been sold to the Russians.

Then, an unremarkable family in the east unexpectedly obtained the rights to exploit the oil field and operate the railway.

That's not the main point. Old Sa also signed a lease agreement for the port of Basra with Red Star Shipping, which gave Red Star Shipping control of several terminals.

This may seem like a normal business transaction, but everyone knows who is behind Red Star Shipping.

At the same time, Basra Port is also the outlet to the Arabian Gulf, connecting the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It is an important passage to the Middle East and South Asia and has historically been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

Xiao Mei and Lao Maozi exchanged glances, both realizing they had been taken advantage of and that someone else had gotten the better deal.

However, the two sides are now locked in a life-or-death struggle, neither willing to back down, and the standoff can only continue.

All of this was within the expectations of the weather station and the farmers, and Li Aiguo was not surprised after receiving Chen Xingwang's report.

To Li Aiguo's surprise, Old Sa's photo and words quickly spread throughout the world.

One reason is that everyone is very interested in Old Sa.

Old Sa is still relatively unknown, but if TV stations want to analyze him, they will definitely have to look at this photo.

On the other hand, Old Sa is also consciously improving his reputation.

If there's any flaw in Old Sa, it's that he loves to show off too much.

If he hadn't been vying for the title of the top dog in the Middle East, he wouldn't have offended a whole circle of people and ended up being dealt with by Xiao Mei.

However, this is a good thing for the off-road vehicle.

As television stations and newspapers began to report on it incessantly.

Having been on the market for over a year, the large off-road vehicle has instantly become synonymous with hardcore off-road vehicles.

Just kidding, this is a large off-road vehicle personally endorsed by Old Sa.

Those big capitalists, in particular, are most worried about being attacked.

Now that people are seeing large off-road vehicles with bulletproof features, they are all asking their local dealerships for information.

“We need a bulletproof version of the Great Wall.”

"I also want the gold one, the same one as Saddam's."

"I can write you a check right now, whatever amount you need."

Under the guise of "real men" and "bulletproof," these big capitalists don't care about money at all.

Yang Jizong was somewhat bewildered after receiving the report from the 4S store.

"We received orders for more than two thousand vehicles in just one week!"

This number may not seem like much, but you have to know that the price of a customized off-road vehicle can easily exceed one million US dollars. This is a big business.

"Tsk tsk, Brother Aiguo really knows how to do business. He actually found Old Sa to be his spokesperson. It's making me tempted."

After figuring out the reason for the situation, Yang Jizong could only call Li Aiguo to inquire about the customized off-road vehicle.

“We’ll take it, no matter how many orders there are!” Li Aiguo readily agreed.

Now that the Second Automobile Works has started production and expanded its scale considerably, with an annual output of 100,000 vehicles, why wouldn't it be a profitable venture?

Of course, the price of a bulletproof off-road vehicle will be significantly higher.

The standard version of the bulletproof off-road vehicle costs $1.2 million and comes in red and black, white, dark brown, military green, and desert yellow.

The premium version of the golden off-road vehicle is labeled as the same model used by Saddam Hussein and is priced at three million US dollars.

Upon learning of the price, Yang Jizong gasped: "Even a gold-plated off-road vehicle wouldn't use two kilograms of gold, right?"

The current price of gold is not high, yet the price has increased by a full two million US dollars?

Patriotism? Would anyone buy that stuff?

"Don't worry, someone will definitely buy it."

Seeing that Li Aiguo insisted, Yang Jizong had no choice but to send the price list to 4S stores in various places and ask them to publish it.

As a result, after seeing the price list, customers eagerly held up checks to buy the gold-plated SUV, while orders for the regular version of the bulletproof SUV were few and far between.

Every man harbors a dream of becoming a hero.

Especially for men who like off-road vehicles, although they may not be able to drive a golden SUV for a complete transformation, having the same model is a stepping stone into the circle.

What? You're driving a regular version of a bulletproof SUV? No wonder you're stuck in traffic.

We all drive the same gold-plated bulletproof SUVs as Saddam Hussein.

As for the extra two million dollars, it's nothing to those big capitalists; they can earn it simply by increasing their workers' working hours by one hour.

"Brother Aiguo is truly a business genius." Yang Jizong couldn't help but click his tongue twice as he looked at the astronomical sums being wired from all over the world.

Li Aiguo was discussing the production of the Golden Off-Road vehicle with his colleagues at the Ministry and the Second Automobile Works when he received a call from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Experts from the Jiangnan Factory had arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Having finished discussing work, Li Aiguo didn't waste any time and drove his SUV back to the locomotive depot.

As soon as I got off the bus, I saw two experts walking towards us, accompanied by Section Chief Xing.

The person walking at the front looked somewhat familiar. He was wearing a blue-black Zhongshan suit, had thick hair, a pen pinned to his chest, and always had a smile on his face, but Li Aiguo couldn't quite place him.

"Patriotism, this is Professor Huang, and this is Professor Chen. These two are experts on black carp."

"This is Comrade Li Aiguo from our Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop."

Upon hearing Section Chief Xing's introduction, Li Aiguo's eyes widened in surprise.

Isn't this Professor Huang, the one who created the nuclear-powered blackfish?

Compared to the photo in the newspaper, Professor Huang in front of me looked much younger.

However, Professor Huang should be researching nuclear-powered blackfish at the base in Huludao. Why is he with the experts from Jiangnan Factory?

"Professor Huang, Professor Chen, welcome, welcome." Li Aiguo said as he invited the two professors into the studio.

In the studio, after exchanging pleasantries, Professor Huang took the initiative to say, "Comrade Aiguo, I'm here with an old friend. I hope you don't mind."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo suddenly woke up.

Starting this year, in order to implement the principles of "adjustment, consolidation, enrichment, and improvement," and to concentrate efforts on developing large-scale nuclear power plants and firecrackers, the nuclear-powered blackfish project has been designated as an adjustment project. Only a group of people have been left to continue the research and preliminary design work centered on nuclear power plants.

Many people may not understand this approach.

However, judging from the results in later years, the decision above was undoubtedly correct. With the deterrent effect of the giant mushroom, the development of the nuclear-powered blackfish was able to proceed smoothly.

If we miss this window of opportunity when the US and Russia are locked in a standoff, it will be very difficult to create a big mushroom.

"Professor Huang, you are an expert on black carp and a senior expert. We are very grateful to have you come to guide our work." Li Aiguo nodded to Professor Huang quickly.

Professor Chen was an impatient man and immediately proposed the idea of ​​the Jiangnan Factory.

"We are currently building the Blackfish, and the Blackfish's bulkhead requires a very high level of airtightness. I wonder if the flaw detector you developed can be used to inspect the Blackfish's bulkhead."

"Of course, it's fine, just a few minor modifications will suffice," Li Aiguo readily agreed.

The modification work was not complicated and could be handled by Yang Jizong. Li Aiguo also had the rare opportunity to meet two blackfish experts, so he chatted with them.

Li Aiguo was somewhat amazed by the two men's knowledge of snakehead fish. He knew that snakehead fish technology was one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world. Even with imported snakehead fish, it would be extremely difficult to manufacture them on one's own.

It is truly remarkable that these two experts were able to lead the team to find a way out.

Although Li Aiguo was not a blackfish expert, he had logged onto the blackfish before, and coupled with his fondness for browsing military forums, his understanding of blackfish far surpassed that of people of his time.

Some of his views impressed Professor Huang and Professor Chen.

"With the emergence of the giant mushroom, the blackfish has gradually evolved from a conventional strike force into the main vehicle for deploying giant mushrooms and achieving nuclear deterrence."

To achieve this goal, the snakehead fish must have an extremely long endurance, able to stay on the seabed for more than six months.

I believe our development should prioritize nuclear-powered blackfish, supplemented by conventional blackfish, with a strong focus on developing stealth technology, transforming the blackfish from a conventional strike weapon into a true deterrent weapon.

"I didn't expect that Comrade Aiguo, so young, would have such insightful views." Professor Huang nodded approvingly.

Many leaders and comrades are still unable to extricate themselves from the wolf pack tactics of San Dezi and Black Fish.

They failed to realize that with the emergence of anti-submarine equipment such as anti-submarine helicopters and anti-submarine patrol aircraft, ordinary submarines would become sitting ducks.

Not to mention that the US aircraft carriers are equipped with anti-submarine aircraft, forming a three-dimensional strike network with sonar and torpedoes. The carrier strike group can cover hundreds of kilometers of sea area.

The destroyer is also equipped with anti-submarine missiles and a helicopter deck, enabling it to respond quickly to submarine threats.

As they were chatting, Yan Jiecheng's voice came from outside: "Brother Aiguo, the comrades from Xiao Yi's family have brought gifts!"

(End of this chapter)