50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 905 Too Quick to Back Down
Back in China, Cape Verde's plea for help was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then reported to higher authorities.

One of the bigwigs recognized the familiar name "Robert Group" and realized, "Isn't that the company behind 'Diting'?"

How come he just fought the monkeys in Asia and then went to fight Cape Verde in Africa? So he quickly notified Xu Yimin to ask what was going on.

Sun Zhiwei thought about it and realized that he didn't really want to fight Cape Verde. Since they were so cowardly, it would be a good idea to take advantage of this mediation opportunity to make things real.

So he sent his ideas to Xu Yimin and explained why he wanted to take over Bulawa Island.

The first reason is that his ownership of the island of Bulava is legitimate and legal, and the second reason is that the island of Bulava has a natural, secret submarine base.

This base was also used when the USS Memphis nuclear submarine was stolen.

Once he takes over Bulava Island, he will be able to build a secret submarine base, giving our submarines a fixed foothold in the Atlantic Ocean.

Therefore, the cooperation of the family is needed in this matter.

Moreover, if this matter can be successfully mediated, it will also boost the family's reputation in the African region, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

In the following days, the Cape Verdean parliament tried every means to delay, and the negotiators from the Robert Group became impatient.

Only Sun Zhiwei knew that a mediation team was being formed, so he temporarily suppressed the delegation's anger.

On the 10th day of negotiations between the two sides, the Guinea-Bissau mediation team arrived in Praia first.

On that day, representatives from Guinea-Bissau participated in the negotiations between the two sides.

As an ally of the Republic of Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau naturally stands with Cape Verde.

They immediately denied the legitimacy of the Robert Group's ownership of Bulava Island, which made the group's representatives laugh in anger.

If they had participated in the mediation from a fair standpoint, the group wouldn't have gone too far. But they actually tried to undermine the foundation of the negotiations from the very beginning, which means they weren't planning to talk anymore.

The delegation members coldly watched the representatives from the Cape Verdean Parliament and Guinea-Bissau, and then collectively began to pack up their documents.

Since they don't want to talk, then let's not talk.

After leaving the parliament building, the delegation immediately went to the hotel to pack their luggage, which was then moved back to the Sukarno frigate docked in the port that afternoon.

The delegation's actions not only stunned the Guinea-Bissau representatives but also frightened the Cape Verdean Parliament.

They didn't expect the Guinea-Bissau representative to be such a good friend, coming up with such a big move without even consulting them. If the talks don't go through, will war really break out?
When the Cape Verdean president received the news, the delegation had already boarded the frigate, which infuriated him so much that he gave the parliament a thorough dressing down.

He quickly dispatched his presidential envoy to the port, where he boarded a frigate and met with the delegation in hopes of easing tensions and continuing talks.

At Sun Zhiwei's behest, the delegation issued an ultimatum, demanding that the Republic of Cape Verde give a clear stance on the ownership of Bulawa Island within three days.

This is quite clear: whether to fight or make peace is up to you.

The Cape Verdean president doesn't want to fight, the Cape Verdean parliament doesn't want to fight, and the troops don't want to fight either.

How do we fight them? The enemy is on a warship.

Cape Verde had only 1200 soldiers, and no equipment whatsoever to deal with the less than 1000-ton frigate. The representative from Guinea-Bissau, however, was very defiant, stating that if things didn't go well, they would fight and send reinforcements.

Sun Zhiwei knew a little about Guinea-Bissau; it was a poor country with only 4500 active-duty soldiers and no navy. What kind of support could they possibly provide?

Therefore, the delegation ignored the harsh words uttered by the representatives of Guinea-Bissau.

However, Guinea-Bissau joined the West African Monetary Union a few years ago, an economic union of French-speaking West African countries.

These countries were all French colonies in the past and still use the "French African Franc," which is pegged to the French franc.

Therefore, if Guinea-Bissau only makes verbal threats, Sun Zhiwei won't bother to take action against them, lest France be dragged into the conflict.

These African countries change leaders more frequently than they change clothes. They are all incredibly arrogant, but as soon as they suffer a defeat, they are quickly overthrown by the opposition.

Getting involved with such countries is unwise, so ignoring them is the best course of action.

He is now just waiting for the Chinese mediation team to arrive. Xu Yimin called to say that the mediation delegation has already set off and should arrive in the next couple of days.

On the morning of the third day on the ship, the new presidential envoy boarded again and introduced the members of the Chinese mediation team.

At the invitation of China, the Robert Group's negotiating delegation returned to the Barceló Hotel and resumed negotiations.

It seems the representatives from Guinea-Bissau had already reached an agreement with Cape Verde, as they refrained from making any further outrageous remarks at this meeting.

On the first day of the meeting, the negotiations made substantial progress, with representatives from all parties acknowledging the Robert Group's full ownership of the island of Bulava.

Sun Zhiwei initially felt that this was the most difficult point to achieve, but it was also a prerequisite for the negotiations.

By acknowledging the Robert Group's ownership of Bulava Island, it is clear that Cape Verde will relinquish its ownership of the island.

This is a single-choice question with no middle ground; it's either left or right.

After all, if you don't even acknowledge the preconditions for negotiation, what's the point of talking? Just fight a battle first, determine the winner, and then talk.

To Sun Zhiwei's surprise, Cape Verde backed down so quickly.

This is actually a misunderstanding on his part regarding small countries like Cape Verde. Normally, Sun Zhiwei encounters either major world powers or regional strong countries.

(Both Java and the Monkey are regional powers; any group of soldiers they send to Africa could easily take on ten opponents.)
The reason why we beat the monkeys and Indians to a pulp is not because they are incompetent, but because it depends on who the enemy is.

What does a normal small country look like? It's like Cape Verde: lacking historical depth, with a disastrous economy, and typically only a few thousand soldiers equipped with outdated gear.

They only fight in two ways: either it's a one-shot victory, and if they win, they celebrate wildly, and if they lose, they disband.

They either exchange harsh words or fire shots at each other from a great distance. After a year of fighting, the casualties on both sides were less than three digits.

But if they really encounter a tough opponent, they basically back down before even fighting; this is the norm for these small African countries.

Thus, under this prerequisite, the Robert Group and the Cape Verdean Parliament began their real negotiations.

(End of this chapter)