Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 42 Duel Invitation

The person giving the presentation was the sales manager of Fude Company. When he saw Lu Lin walk in, he stopped his presentation and looked at the intruder with curiosity.

Who is this general?

A burly old man in military uniform, smoking a pipe, looked at him. He was probably over 1.8 meters tall, with four stars on his shoulders edged in gold.

Because Lu Lin had spoken in Arabic, the officers of the United States in the room did not understand him.

The staff officer glanced at Lu Lin and then chose to remain silent.

"This is His Highness Prince Amir, who once commanded operations at the Nukhoshir outpost and is currently a Major General in the Army." Lieutenant General Youssef, who had a head of wavy hair, gave a brief introduction: "Amir, this is General Thomas of the United States."

"Oh? You're the lieutenant colonel who defeated the Zion forces?" General Thomas looked at Lu Lin with suspicion in his eyes. "So young? Did you perhaps study at some prestigious military academy before?"

“No,” Lu Lin replied calmly. “A peaceful academy cannot train a general skilled in battle.”

The general shook his pipe, seemingly looking at him more directly: "Your Highness seems somewhat dissatisfied with our new weapon. What are your thoughts?"

Lu Lin looked at the group of high-ranking officers of Shuangzhi, represented by Lieutenant General Youssef, and then looked at General Thomas: "I request that the weapons be tested in the field."

“No problem. If the prince wishes, he can visit our military research and development base at any time. Our weapons have undergone repeated calculations and data testing,” said the sales manager of Fude Company with great confidence.

Are you going to shoot targets on your calm, vast plains?
“No,” Lu Lin immediately saw through their trick: “You need to transport the weapons you’re selling to us for testing. All weapons must meet the requirements for desert warfare; firearms should not jam, and heavy weapons should not malfunction or get stuck in the ground.”

Shuangzhi has been scammed before, but nobody cared at all.

For example, the optics of the early M60A1 would completely fail in the high temperatures of the desert. And the M16A2 rifles that were later purchased to replace the old FN FAL rifles were touted by the Americans as "the same accurate and reliable rifles used by the Marine Corps," but in reality, the bolt had to be cleaned after every magazine, otherwise it would jam.

The high-ranking officers on Shuangzhi's side looked at each other in bewilderment. They had just been dazzled by the arms salesman and found it hard not to be tempted to buy. But after hearing what Major General Amir said, they realized that it made sense!
What's the use of something advanced if it's unusable?

"Firearms are fine, but heavy weapons have to be shipped by sea," the sales manager said with some difficulty. "The time and manpower costs of going back and forth are just too high."

“If this cannot be guaranteed, I think there’s no point in discussing business further,” Lu Lin said bluntly. “Besides ensuring that all weapons imported for Shuangzhi are environmentally specialized, there is another point: they cannot be provided to Zion.”

The previously harmonious atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. General Thomas's gaze shifted between Amir and Lieutenant General Yusuf, and he sneered, "What's going on now? Should the United States be negotiating cooperation with Shuangzhi's Department of Defense? Or is it some kid who's gotten cocky after winning a battle?"

Lieutenant General Yusuf was visibly wavering, but he subconsciously felt that Lu Lin was right: "Today is just a general overview, let's take a look first."

General Thomas gave a cold snort and tapped his pipe on the table: "Then let's give our heroic Major General a proper introduction to the weapons and equipment we can sell!"

福德公司的销售经理便继续开始介绍，什么M113装甲运兵车、M60A1主战坦克、MIM-23“霍克”防空导弹、TPQ-36炮兵雷达
He raved about these weapons, but Lu Lin saw it as nothing more than a "dumping of obsolete weapons."

"If you are looking for a main battle tank capable of directly confronting the Chieftain, believe me, the M60A1 will be your best choice." The sales manager claimed it was the culmination of the United States' military industry.
"The M60A1 is equipped with an optical rangefinder, which enables it to maintain accurate shooting while moving through the desert, and homogeneous steel is also more reliable than composite armor."

Perhaps the desert adaptability is, as the major general said, less than satisfactory. But in reality, the chief faces the same predicament as us, and a sand separator could solve most of the problems.

However, Lu Lin knew that this thing was no match for the Chieftain, so he put forward specific requirements: "We need a main gun that can penetrate 450 mm of equivalent homogeneous steel from the front, with a caliber of 120 mm or more, and a fire control system with two-way stabilization and laser rangefinding (these are all on the Chieftain).

The tank's frontal armor must be able to withstand the Chieftain's shells, and it must be equipped with composite armor kits. The engine must have at least 900 horsepower and a cooling system to allow it to withstand temperatures exceeding 50°C in the desert environment.

General Thomas frowned as he listened.

The data reported by the other party coincided with the "M1" that was being secretly developed. If this kid in front of him wasn't the prince of Shuangzhi, he would have suspected that the other party was a spy of Ant.

"The kind of monster you're talking about probably only exists on Mars," General Thomas shouted. "In my experience, if you want to defend against Zion's military forces, the weapons and equipment we're introducing today are more than enough!"

“Alright,” Lu Lin said without further ado, “Since the ground equipment you have can’t meet my needs, we need a second-generation fighter jet that can rival the Mirage III in performance, and it also needs to carry a complete radar and electronic system, as well as air-to-ground missiles.”

He thought to himself that since the United Kingdom could provide Zion with the most advanced weapons, there was no reason for the United States, as an ally, to keep them hidden.
Moreover, Shuangzhi has no shortage of money.

He discovered that, for some unknown reason, the military development of the world's major military powers seemed to be progressing faster than the original timeline.

“We can sell you F-4s, but not the radar and electronic countermeasures systems; those involve military secrets,” General Thomas shook his head. “Furthermore, the firing permits for the air-to-ground missiles must be in our hands.” The firing permit was like a combination lock for a nuclear weapon. Lu Lin frowned. What would we do with a lump of metal without a permit?
“Without these, it would be difficult for us to compete with Zion militarily.” Lu Lin knew how problematic these censored versions were, and he advised, “Sir Thomas, please don’t let more innocent Arab people bleed…”

But General Thomas's eyes widened:
"Enough! In my opinion, you're just making excuses for your incompetence!"

The equipment we can provide you is the most advanced in the world! If you can't win, that's your own problem!

Lu Lin was also getting angry at this point. He said coldly, "Do you think we have to buy weapons from the United States? Ant..."

"Stop talking!" Lieutenant General Yusuf was startled and quickly stopped Lu Lin from continuing. "Get out. You don't need to attend this meeting anymore!"

As the saying goes, "A higher rank can crush you," so Lu Lin had no choice but to leave the meeting room, seething with anger.

No sooner had he left than he overheard the United States general sneering behind his back: "If you ask me, the biggest reason for the failure of Arab countries is nepotism. Anyone can climb to the top!"

Lieutenant General Yusuf immediately apologized.

"Keep licking your boots. If you keep groveling before the United States, you'll be devoured until not even bones are left." Lu Lin's expression was very unpleasant.

When Fahd saw Lu Lin storm out, he quickly asked, "General, who has offended you?"

Lu Lin got into the car and slammed the door shut: "Let's go home!"

---

At the Kasher Manor, the old butler watched as His Highness, who had left excitedly, returned with a resentful look on his face. He hesitated for a moment and didn't dare to speak to him immediately.

Seeing that he seemed to have something to ask him, Lu Lin asked directly, "What's wrong?"

Ibrahim looked somewhat embarrassed: "Your Highness, just as you left, the Rawabi family sent you a letter."

A letter?

Lu Lin thought there was nothing inconvenient about saying this. He took the letter from the old butler, opened it, and found that it was a challenge letter.

A photograph fell out of the letter; it was a picture of him and Yehena, seemingly cut from a newspaper.

[Amir bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, you despicable man, you have stolen my wife, insulted my family, and ruined my reputation]

After reading it, Lu Lin had only four words in his mind.

Fuck you.

"General."

Fahd looked worried. He could tell that his major general was in a very bad mood. First, he went to see the family of the martyr, and then he was scolded for some unknown reason.

Now, by sheer coincidence, an unlucky fellow has appeared at this crucial moment, destined to be the general's punching bag.

Although Yehena is a prophet of the church, this girl's performance on the battlefield has earned everyone's recognition. Even the usually strict Bandar has praised her highly, and the soldiers privately call her "Ukht".

"Get rid of him, General!" Fahad was furious. "I'll get a few men to put a sack over his head and bury him somewhere!"

Lu Lin glanced at him. They're royalty, you've got some nerve.

However, a colder plan took shape in his mind, and he always felt that there was a shadow lurking behind this matter.

Lu Lin gripped the letter tightly and said:

"Just wait, let him hang around for a couple of days, and I'll make these bastards pay!"

(End of this chapter)