Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2520 Evacuation of Overseas Chinese (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

The sharp crack of the stone breaking the air abruptly shattered the silence of the room, leaving a white mark on the wooden window that was covered by a layer of wood.

Although the glass window wasn't smashed, it still made everyone at the representative office feel uneasy.

The situation is getting increasingly tense!
Zhang Hongze glanced outside abruptly, and a few dappled rays of sunlight shone into the conference room through the gaps in the wooden planks of the closed windows.

"Damn it!"

Zhang Hongze abruptly turned his head, looked out the window, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"Major Dai! Immediately upgrade the security level, put the Marines on high alert, and notify the rooftop snipers to be on standby—but do not fire without my order!"

Security at all SEA representative offices is handled by the Marine Corps. Although a dozen or so Marines may not be able to do much, their presence always provides a sense of security.

Major Dai Guopeng, the military attaché in charge of security, nodded and then said:

"Understood, Mr. Ambassador! I will contact the embassy's Marine Corps detachment immediately to reinforce all entrances and exits and seal off the courtyard passageway with riot shields!"

"Ok!"

Zhang Hongze waved his hand, and after he left, he turned his gaze to Helmut, the head of the Investigation Department's Tehran intelligence station. Looking at him, he asked:

"Hel, just how chaotic is Tehran right now? Can the King still maintain order? And what about the opposition factions? Are they really united?"

Helmut's Adam's apple bobbed, and his tone was so heavy it was suffocating:
"According to our current intelligence, Khomeini's supporters have formed an alliance with the National Front and left-wing parties. They plan to issue a joint statement demanding the king's immediate abdication. Protesters throughout the city are now flocking to the royal palace and the foreign embassy district. At least tens of thousands of people have gathered around the US embassy, ​​and Washington does not seem to have any intention of intervening."

After thinking for a moment, he added:
"Washington believes that the United Voice represents the common choice of various factions in Iran, so they are very likely to abandon the Shah."

"Joint statement..."

Zhang Hongze repeated it softly, leaning heavily back in his chair, letting out a long sigh, his voice filled with helplessness:

"Alas, Pahlavi is truly finished this time."

His gaze swept over his colleagues in the conference room, but in the end he could only sigh. Having just taken office as the plenipotentiary representative to Iran, he originally thought he would stay here for several years, but who would have thought that he would encounter such a huge wave as soon as he arrived.

How should he cope with such a huge wave?

The shouts outside the window grew increasingly shrill, and the dull thuds of stones hitting the walls and windows echoed incessantly. The lawn in the representative office courtyard was littered with pebbles.

Several Marines crouched in a corner, holding riot shields and watching the surging crowd outside the wall warily. In the distance, Iranian M47 tanks and M113 armored vehicles formed an iron line on the street. The soldiers stood ready with G3 rifles at the ready, but their eyes also showed hesitation, clearly bewildered by the revolution sweeping the country.

In reality, they were just innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire; the real target of these Iranians was the United States.

"If it weren't for the Iranian army holding things up, I don't know how chaotic it would have become."

Dai Guopeng said in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of luck.

Marine Corps Captain Wang Yunhao, standing beside him, shook his head, his eyes hardening: "They're just putting on a show, demonstrating their resolve to us, just to prevent us from supporting Pahlavi!"

Wearing a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and carrying an AR-15 carbine, Wang Yunhao thought for a moment and asked:
"Sir, will we support the King?"

"This……"

Dai Guopeng pursed his lips and then said:
"Only God knows!"

Once upon a time, Pahlavi was one of SEA's closest friends in the Middle East. Iran placed numerous orders with SEA, while SEA sent a large number of advisors to help them with modernization.

But what happened next?
The two sides are drifting apart because the Pahlavi regime is moving closer to the United States.

In this situation, would Chang'an intervene in Iranian affairs for the sake of Pahlavi?

Dai Guopeng knew the answer, and so did Zhang Hongze, who was representing the group. After discussing it with Hull for a while, he turned to his secretary and said:

"Send a telegram to Chang'an immediately, the highest priority! Inquire with the Ministry whether they have approved activating the 'emergency plan' to evacuate all SEA nationals and diplomatic personnel in Iraq,"

Meanwhile, Hel said from the side:
“There are also some Iranian informants working for us, and they and their families need to be evacuated!”

Of course, it wasn't about withdrawing everyone. In fact, withdrawing those informants was a way of telling the undercover informants—we won't abandon you, you can work for us with peace of mind.

The investigation department's work in Iran was very successful, possessing an extremely sophisticated intelligence network. If Hydra is included, this network has penetrated almost every aspect of Iranian affairs; after all, Hydra's predecessor had already entered Iran before World War II.

To encourage them to focus more on working for the SEA, some informants and their families were evacuated during the withdrawal, which was also a way to win them over.

Then Zhang Hongze spoke very quickly:
"Notify all departments of the representative office to immediately use all channels to contact SEA citizens in Tehran and the surrounding areas, and ask them to prepare for evacuation, prepare necessary documents and daily necessities, especially living supplies!"
Now, our most important responsibility is to bring them home safely!

This is the most important.

Although Iran has increasingly leaned toward the United States over the past decade, tens of thousands of SEA personnel still work in various sectors in Iran, including building railways, airports, highways, and hydroelectric power stations, as well as in various factories.

If you include their families, there are as many as 150,000 to 160,000 SEA people in Iran!
For the representative office, ensuring the safety of these overseas Chinese is the most important thing.
Zhang Hongze walked to the window and peered through the gaps in the wooden planks at the angry protesters outside. They were holding signs that read "Down with the King" and had fanatical expressions on their faces. Some were even throwing stones toward the embassy.

He slowly shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and relief:

"As for Iran... Pahlavi can no longer control this place, and as for us..."

Do we have a future here?

No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain: no foreigner would willingly put themselves in the midst of such a massive wave.

His gaze swept over the Iranian troops outside the representative office and finally landed on the shouting crowd. Did they know what their actions would bring them?

Zhang Hongze didn't know, nor did the Iranians strolling on the same street; they were all just the most insignificant drop of water in a raging torrent.

Their fate was to drift with the tide; where this giant wave would take them, or the country, was beyond their control.

But when they look back on today in the future, will they regret it?

Looking at the people shouting in the street, and at the women in Western-style clothing and black burqas, no matter what the future holds, their stance is now the same.

The king has been abandoned by everyone!
After letting out a long sigh, Zhang Hongze said:
"All we can do is get our people out before this massive wave completely engulfs everything. The rest is up to the Iranians to decide."

Their fate is in their own hands!
No sooner had he finished speaking than another stone struck the wooden plank nailed to the outside of the window, the dull thud causing Zhang Hongze to frown.

The dull sound seemed like the tolling of a bell, as if foreshadowing the collapse of the dynasty and the arrival of a new era.

Zhang Hongze didn't look again. As he turned to leave, only one thought remained in his mind—time was running out for the Iranians.

Not Iranian,
It was Pahlavi!
Time is running out for Pahlavi!
Although the decision had already been made, it did not mean that Li Yi'an was indifferent to Iran's fate. After all, Iran's future was directly related to the overall Middle East strategy.

No, it should be said that it relates to future global strategic deployment!

Therefore, from last year until now, the situation in Iran has been included in the daily intelligence briefings and then sent to Li Yi'an. In addition, there are occasional special reports.

Just now, Song Deqing, the Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, came to the official residence's office to personally report the situation in Tehran to Li Yi'an.

Everything is developing in a worsening trend, just as expected.

"...Overall, the king is losing control of the country, and more fatally, some officers are making contact with the opposition. Once they side with the opposition, the king's rule will inevitably collapse, but..."

Song Deqing thought for a moment, then said:

"Most officers remain loyal to the monarchy, and we believe that if Pahlavi is determined, the army is capable of maintaining the situation. Of course, this is only a temporary stabilization, and the situation will inevitably descend into long-term turmoil in the future."

Given that the United States has clearly stated it will not interfere in Iranian affairs and believes that Iranian affairs should be decided by the Iranian people themselves, our initial assessment is that Pahlavi will not use force to maintain the situation.

Listening to Song Deqing's analysis, Li Yi'an nodded and said:
"Even if we take a tough stance to deal with the current situation, it's only a temporary solution. Given the current situation in Iran, even with US support, it will be difficult for them to maintain the status quo in the long run. After all, everyone is dissatisfied with the Shah's rule, and they are all on the same side, determined to overthrow him. Sigh..."

Thinking of another world, and the decisions Pahlavi would make in the coming days, Li Yi'an couldn't help but sigh.

"Faced with this situation, Pahlavi was very clear—he was powerless to control it, and he panicked!"

　I highly recommend Yi Xiu Qian Kun's new book, "Zhao Nan Ming"—In the early years of the thirteenth year of the Yongli reign, the Qing army pressed in, and Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang, fled to Tengchong with his family.

　　At this critical juncture, Crown Prince Zhu Cixuan, possessed by the soul of a time traveler from another era, resolutely went north to Sichuan to oversee the country and resist the Qing!
　　Because he firmly believed:
　　For more than a decade, the land of Kyushu has been in ruins, yet righteous men from the common people still call out to one another.

　　When the royal army marches north to conquer the Central Plains, I refuse to believe that the world will not belong to the Zhu family!
　　

(End of this chapter)