novelThe Battle over The Throne
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The news of the death of the King quickly spread all over the world.
Even if Jiang Chen did not learn the information from Ghost Agents, he saw the video of Riyadh placed under martial law on YouTube and learned the death of the King. The sudden change caught him somewhat off-guard as he passed away shortly after the crown prince was replaced. At this moment, he didn't know how to comment on this matter.
Nouveau York Empire State Building.
Jiang Chen sat in front of the desk. He was on a video call with Ayesha and listened to the intelligence from the Middle East.
"Yesterday at 12 o'clock noon, Old Salman died of a heart attack. Before he died, he only said two words, 'Make Yerif'."
"Is the news reliable?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Very reliable, " Ayesha nodded at the other end of the holographic screen, then continued, "At that time, our agents in the Middle East were monitoring the palace, and all of their conversations were recorded."
"Send me the recording, " Jiang Chen said.
"It has been sent to your mailbox."
He tapped on the holographic screen, opened his mail, took out a set of earphones from his drawer, then put them into his ears.
After listening to the entire recording, he was silent, and it was only after a while before he finally spoke again.
"Delete everything except the last words of the dialogue from the old Salman and what happened after."
"Last words?"
"That's right. Old Salman only said 'Make Yerif', but didn't say what he is going to make Yerif. Based on the context of the conversation, he perhaps wanted to send Yerif to prison, but if we delete the part before that, " After a pause, Jiang Chen looked at Ayesha and said softly, "We can also interpret his last words as making Yerif the true successor of his throne."
...
The last group of troops arrived in eastern Jordan. So far, all mercenaries controlled by Celestial Trade were withdrawn from Syria.
Celestial Trade Officer handed over control of the army to Yerif's confidant. Although this Madagascar-based mercenary force trained by Celestial Trade did not possess the same combat effectiveness as Celestial Trade's army, its training and weapon were no inferior to any special force in the world.
From the S1 kinetic skeleton, to the assault rifle in their hands, to the Scythe drone equipped, this undesignated force was fully equipped with the standard configuration of Future Military's export model.
After Yerif returned a Saudi-style military salute to the commander of Celestial Trade, he felt a mixture of emotions as he watched the commander get on the SUV and drive away.
It was never his intention to enter a military conflict with his brother and rely on force to become the ruler of his country. This army was originally prepared to implement his reform plan, and he never thought that there would be a day when he has to use this it.
However, at this point, it seemed that the decision was no longer in his control.
Celestial Trade did not only just send the promised army, but also gave him a perfect excuse. Regardless of what the true intention of the old king was, he did mention Yerif's name before he died. The prestige of young Salman in the country was inferior compared to him, even with old Salman's confidant, Itami's help. With his own prestige in the kingdom, his chance of winning was very high.
He did not need to face the entire kingdom; he just had to defeat the supporters of young Salman.
He took a deep breath, turned his head, then looked at his confidant next to him.
"How many people are still on our side."
"The commander of the 36th Mechanized Division is willing to help us, but at the same time, he also expressed his unwillingness to see this country slip into a civil war. Our allies in the kingdom are all on our side, and they promised that as long as we take back Riyadh from the hands of the young Salman, they will recognize you as the new king."
"Excellent."
Yerif nodded.
Old Salman died at the perfect time. He happened to be in the barracks of the Celestial Trade mercenary force. Now that the advantage was in his hand, the entire Saudi intelligence service combined together would not be able to stop the march of powerful force armed to the teeth.
Yerif looked to his confidant next to him and ordered.
"We'll leave immediately and head to Riyadh."
"Yes!"
Jiang Chen was not very worried about the war of succession that took place on the other side of the world.
As long as Yerif could summon the courage for this leap of faith, victory was within his grasp.
It was not because of Jiang Chen's overconfidence, but rather, the opponent was too weak.
The country's national defense budget accounted for more than 10% of GDP, and with the world's third-ranked military expenditure, the troops the country trained was inferior compared to some third-world countries. Before Saudi Arabia showcased its army to the world, everyone thought the country was seeking peace and unwilling to show its true strength. However, when Saudi sent its army to Yemen in 2015 and was a part of the 150, 000 strong force made up of ten nations, they thought they could easily crush the Houthi armed forces into the sea in minutes...
The result was a slap in the face.
In short, Saudi Arabia's military power could not be just described as weak.
Fully equipped with UA equipment, combined with the support of Hua long-range missiles, factored in complete air superiority, their prince and the highest commander were killed in succession. The result was that they not only lost a lot of equipment; the force was even forced to retreat and lost control of a few towns in the process; and those towns were still not recovered even till today.
The Houthi armed forces were also probably confused; did the Saudi force come to seek trouble or send aid.
Against such a force, with the mercenary force trained by Celestial Trade at his disposal, Yerif could use just one hand, and probably not use his eyes to beat the enemy.
But what was certain is that the ownership of the throne will undoubtedly change the future of the entire Middle East...
...
Moscow, Kremlin.
A document was placed on Putin's desk. A similar report was sent through the Russian embassy in Xin a long time ago. The Kremlin also held many meetings to discuss the plan to colonize Himalia by Celestial Trade.
There was actually only one point of contention, and that was what benefits Russia could gain from this plan.
"The prospects for the colonization of Himalia and the feasibility study report... Ostapenko, what do you think?" Putin looked at the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency who just entered the office, placed the document in his hands down, then leaned back into his chair.
Since Russia joined the Earth Defense Alliance, Ostapenko found that his visits to the Kremlin had become much more frequent. If he used to be excited about getting closer and closer to the power center, now it had turned into a burden for him.
The Russian executives realized the importance of the space industry, believed that a new era was dawning, and placed high expectations on him. However, with more and more budgets, he felt more and more powerless.
Fortunately, the gentleman in front of him was not impatient with his slow progress.
With the president's direct inquiry, he thought carefully for a moment, then spoke.
"If you are asking me about the need to colonize Himalia, I think this is of course necessary for Russia. According to the description of Himalia in the document, the methane reserves there are extremely rich, exceeding 100 times the methane reserves of the entire Siberia region, and the methane there even formed liquid river. However, ..."
"However?" Putin raised an eyebrow.
"It is precisely because Himalia is so valuable, I don't understand why Celestial Trade chose to bring it to the table, " Ostapenko sighed, "Envoy-class starship is already cruising in the Kuiper belt. Although it is cruising under the name of the Earth Defense Alliance, we know very well that only they can do it. In fact, with their strength, they can completely digest this moon by themselves. This will not be more difficult than colonizing Mars..."
Ostapenko paused for a moment and continued with hesitation.
"I'm not maliciously speculating about our allies, but I really want to know, why are they doing this?"
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