King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

In the study of the presidential suite...

Joe Ga gave up on the champagne and grabbed a can of cola from the fridge instead. After taking a sip and letting out a satisfying belch, he looked at Aaron and said, "If I provide you with a fully-equipped town in Niger, what can you get from Boko Haram?"

Aaron was momentarily startled, then he clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them, pondering for quite a while before a smile suddenly crept across his lips. He said, "Do you have a cooperation with the Nigerien Defence Ministry?"

Upon hearing this, Joe Ga nodded slightly and said, "If you agree, I can have a cooperation with them."

Aaron replied, seemingly out of the blue, "Have you finally come around?"

Joe Ga was taken aback for a moment before he understood that Aaron was referring to him figuring out the correct way to be an arms dealer.

After all, fueling wars is the true calling of an arms dealer!

Facing Aaron's look of disappointment or perhaps relief, Joe Ga decisively shook his head and said, "If I were the person you think I am, I could do what you're guessing by myself.

But I've promised many people that P·B Company would never cooperate with terrorists, especially sons of bitches like Boko Haram—I would never sell them a single bullet."

Upon hearing this, Aaron asked curiously, "Then what do you want to do?

Convince Niger to vacate a fully-equipped town for Boko Haram to occupy, and then what?"

Joe Ga laughed and said, "Then you provide them with enough arms, preferably heavy weapons like tanks and armored vehicles, to make them feel like they can firmly establish themselves."

Aaron looked at Joe Ga, confused, and said, "I see only my own benefit in this. And what about you? What do you get out of it?"

Gazing at Aaron's curious expression, Joe Ga smiled and said, "I get the friendship of Niger, inner peace, and of course, enough money."

While rotating his finger around his temple, Joe Ga continued, "I've endured harsh 'Combat Diving Training,' thinking I could control my body and emotions.

I did manage it, but the whole time I was in that town, a voice in my head kept telling me, 'Kill all the terrorists of Boko Haram, wipe them out!'

To many people, they may just be pawns in a struggle for interests, and I guess even that Jean-Pierre might have thought so. I even suspect that the existence and growth of Boko Haram is no coincidence.

But to me, they're like a cancer, the perfect target for making a stand.

I know I can't wipe them out completely, but I can eliminate a significant part of their force.

If I say I'm doing this to ease my conscience, I would definitely be lying. However, I do have 100 howitzers and a massive stockpile of high-explosive shells that are about to expire."

Upon hearing this, Aaron whistled and laughed, "That's a huge deal!

Pal, how exactly did you convince Seville to toe the line?"

Joe Ga, all smiles, spread his hands and said, "That's trade secret. Just tell me if this plan has a chance of success."

After listening, Aaron wheeled himself over to the front of his desk, spread out a map of Niger, and after studying it carefully, pointed to a small town in the south near the Nigeria border and said, "Here, if they control this, they can control an oil field nearby.

Only such a place could attract Boko Haram to invest significant manpower and resources. Only by controlling this town can Boko Haram generate enough money from selling crude oil to buy arms from me."

Aaron looked at Joe Ga's scornful gaze and spread his hands with a smile, "Don't look at me like that. Boko Haram isn't as rich as you think. They can't afford tanks; even buying armored vehicles is a stretch.

Without the lure of an oil well, they wouldn't station troops there.

I'd still have to help them sell the oil, otherwise, they may not even have the money to pay.

You'll have to promise to let them occupy the place for at least three months before you bomb them with artillery. Otherwise, this deal won't be profitable for me!"

Joe Ga knew right away that the guy was talking nonsense!

He had just checked, and that small town called 'Madir' beside is near a major oil field controlled by an Australian company, with a daily output of 40,000 to 60,000 barrels.

With the current oil price at 55 US dollars per barrel, even if it is sold illicitly for just 30 dollars a barrel, at a daily output of 50,000 barrels, that's 1.5 million US dollars—45 million US dollars a month.

Boko Haram doesn't invest a penny in the oil fields—it's all profit!

Three months? The Australians would go insane in two!

Of course, that money would be Boko Haram's, but if they want to keep that place, they'd have to buy a lot of arms, and then all that money would go into Aaron's pocket.

Just how high Aaron's profits from the arms deal are, Joe Ga didn't want to guess.

But now that he was no rookie, he could tell by the location Aaron chose for Boko Haram, his aim wasn't just the profit from selling the oil.

The Australian Oil Company listed on the London Exchange—a huge profit could be made by shorting their stock if someone knew about the attack in advance.

So you see, those in this business are no innocents!

If it were Aaron himself, he definitely wouldn't have the capability to mobilize Niger's army, giving Boko Haram the opportunity.

But Joe Ga is different, he might not be rich enough, but he has credibility and influence, so the actions of P·B will cause a terrifying domino effect, simultaneously creating many money-making opportunities.

This time, Joe Ga's formal written cooperation with the Nigerien Defence Ministry is limited to the sale of howitzers.

This strategy of abandoning a town is advantageous for the current chaotic state of Niger, not only to calm down the Boko Haram troops moving within the country but also to alleviate the pressure on Defence Minister Leonel.

Joe Ga is just the one giving advice, command definitely lies in the hands of Leonel.

This is a major strategy of a sovereign state, that Australian company could cry their eyes out and still be helpless.

And what could Joe Ga gain?

One hundred 152mm howitzers, even of average quality, would have no issue selling for 80 million.

With 100 cannons, 10,000 shells are inevitably needed, 5,000 dollars each for high-explosive shells, bringing the total to 50 million.

The cost of these 130 million US Dollars of armaments would be even lower due to shipment by sea, and after deducting transportation costs, including the cost of leasing artillerymen for training to the Nigerien Defence Forces, Joe Ga could pocket at least 60 million in profit.

How long Boko Haram occupies a town actually doesn't depend on them, it's critical to when Joe Ga's artillery arrives and also to give financial players time to enter the scene.

Two months should be just right, if the time is longer, that Australian Oil Company might even lobby the African Union or even the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces to intervene, and then the show would be over.

Honestly, Joe Ga's contribution is minimal; he just reached a preliminary agreement with Nigerien Defence Minister Leonel and then pitched a proposal to attract other investors, nothing different from getting something for nothing.

It is up to their Defence Minister to mobilize the Nigerien Defence Forces to create a false sense of vulnerability and exhaustion.

Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Inciting Boko Haram to attack towns is Aaron's job and encouraging them to seize oil fields also needs Aaron's ingenuity.

And Joe Ga merely proposed a plan, subsequently selling off 100 cannons and ten thousand shells.

Joe Ga hadn't even carefully calculated how much he could earn because it didn't matter, his investment was minimal!

This is Joe Ga's realization about business over the past few months...

Find a fulcrum, and he could leverage his reputation to integrate resources and thus move tremendous energy, making profits for many while he himself benefits the most.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The only downside of this job is that many people will die, but since the dead are terrorists, Joe Ga has no psychological barriers.

Watching Aaron put on a pair of glasses and start tapping away with pen and computer, Joe Ga sat on the edge of the desk, smiling and saying, "What, are you calculating costs now? I thought the arms trade you guys are in was all about huge profits!"

Aaron looked up over his glasses at Joe Ga and said, "Arms trade is indeed hugely profitable, but these profits need to be shared with many, every link in the chain requires money to clear.

You are in the same line of work, why would you say something so naive?"

Joe Ga smiled and said, "Then tell me, what's the profit margin on the arms you sell to Boko Haram?"

Aaron didn't intend to keep it a secret, ever since Joe Ga made it clear he wouldn't cooperate with terrorists, Aaron knew he and Joe Ga were not on the same track.

So, he simply nodded and said, "The competition is fierce for light weapons, the cost profit margin is about 300%.

Armored vehicles can reach about 500%; for weapons like 'Javelin' anti-tank missiles, it can be between 600 to 800%."

Joe Ga smacked his lips, calculating, and realized this guy's profit was indeed higher than his own.

Looking at Aaron turned accountant, Joe Ga said somewhat displeased, "So how much profit ends up in your hands?"

Aaron took off his glasses, gave Joe Ga a ghostly look, and said, "The prices fluctuate a lot in our line of work, under normal circumstances, deducting all expenses, my net profit is around 30 to 40%."

After hearing that, Joe Ga 'tched', and said, "Earning from the black market trade and not making as much as me, how can you be so shameless?"

As he was speaking, Joe Ga seemed to suddenly remember something, clapping his hands, he said, "I almost forgot, Glorious Society asked you to deliver arms to 'God's Armament', have you done it?

If they have no special requirements, I'll give you a list, and you just deliver them according to the contents, no fuss.

I saw the United State Army's Humvees are great, and their armored personnel carriers are pretty advanced...

How about it? You still make your money, I help you open up the transport channel, and you just need to deliver the goods to them."

After listening, Aaron removed his glasses, and giving a look of disbelief at Joe Ga, said, "I'm not supposed to notify you to 'receive' the goods when I make the delivery, am I?

Well, Glorious Society provided abundant funds, is there any particular weapon you want?

'Hellfire' missiles, how about that? I heard you swiped several dozen from the United State. Military Base, and you handled them quite easily."

Hearing this, Joe Ga pointed at Aaron, laughed, and said, "Hey! You said it, get me 100 of them, just deliver them to the 'God's Armament' camp, I'll pick them up myself."