1006 Persuasion
That answer gave Li Du the shock of his life!
He could not help but ask, "What did you say? Say it again."
Remonin's helplessness could be heard over the satellite phone. "I can't do it, Mr. Li, my army is not that strong. Furthermore, I'm afraid of crossing into his territory. That would be equivalent to starting a transnational war, launching an invasion."
Li Di had not expected Remonin to be so timid. Good waged a war by sending his troops to attack Remonin and had openly declared that he wanted to kill Remonin. This guy has already been bullied to this extent and is not even thinking about plotting a counterattack?
Remonin read his thoughts and said bitterly, "It's not that I do not want to fight back, but I do not have the capability. My soldiers are too low in numbers. In fact, I've been selling the diamonds to raise money to invest in a more powerful armory and to improve my standing in politics so that I can teach that son of a b*tch Good a good lesson!
"I have an extreme amount of hatred for him–I can't wait to kill him! However, the strength of my troops is not even half of his, and I do not have strong weapons. Defense is already a challenge for us, need I say more about launching an attack?"
Remonin had started to nag and whine about his problems like a desolate housewife.
Li Du did not want to listen—all he wanted to do was to leave this place. With anger rising in his voice, he said, "It's fine if you do not want to attack, but I have to leave this place. You better give me an idea."
Remonin was no longer the admirable hero he had been. He mumbled some inaudible sentences. In any case, it seemed like he had no solution.
This infuriated Li Du. "I was kidnapped on your territory. I was your guest. Your guest has been kidnapped and there's nothing you can do?"
"Not unless I have a strong army," Remonin said dryly. "Otherwise, I have no way of rescuing you."
Li Du raged, "Why don't you report it to your defense ministry? God d*mnit, this son of a b*tch trespassed on your territory—arrest him!"
Remonin sighed again. "That's useless. The reason is complex. To put it simply, all the surrounding countries, including the government in my country, do not have the finances to start a war. To avoid conflicts, countries have urged its people not to wander near the borders and that they are not responsible for any troubles there.
"So essentially, I'm free to send my troops to attack that son of a b*tch Good as long as I'm the one paying for the resources. Our government and the government of Swaziland would not interfere. But, I do not have the resources."
Li Du was bewildered. "So if two people vanish at the border, the government doesn't care?"
"That's right. Unless you have a great family background and can put pressure on the government," Remonin said lifelessly.
"Then you should f*cking inform them that we are VIPs of a company, let them think of a solution. D*mnit, now let me ask you: since I was kidnapped, have you made any efforts to rescue me?"
Remonin kept quiet. The silence spoke for itself.
Li Du wanted to scream, but he stopped himself after recalling that the room had been bugged by Good. He had no choice but to contain his anger and spoke in a low voice. "Godd*mnit! The VIP you invited has been kidnapped by another army and you cannot do anything about it?"
Remonin stayed silent. He was guilty.
Li Du laughed coolly. "Wait for it then. In the future, nobody will want to do business with you anymore! If you cannot even guarantee the safety of your business partners, who the f*ck will do business with you?!"
That hit Remonin and he quipped, "You're mistaken, we are trying our best to come up with a solution. Mr. Lion Hunter is connecting with the rental fighters in France to see if we can employ them. We are—"
"By the time those fighters arrive, my corpse will have fully decomposed." Li Du no longer cared about Remonin's pride and feelings.
Remonin had a good temper and was a reasonable person. Knowing that it was his fault that Li Du had been kidnapped, he did not stop Li Du from venting his anger at him.
Li Du did not have time to criticize him further and was desperate to persuade Remonin to mobilize his troops. "Listen, your troops are not powerful enough, right? I will cooperate with you and help your troops. You have to mobilize your troops to kill Good. Otherwise, you will die!"
"How are you going to help me?" he asked reluctantly. "Mr. Li, I have to tell you, if I attack him, we will all die. If I don't—"
"Good has already learned all the confidential information on your mine. He has embedded a spy among your people and intends to assassinate your entire tribe to take over your mine."
At last, Remonin lost his temper. "YOU TOLD HIM ALL THAT INFORMATION?"
"Sh*t, there's a mine in Good's territory!" Li Du said impatiently. "Your river is upstream of the river in his territory. The river used to wash down the diamonds to his crater. Now that you have started mining in your land, there are hardly any diamonds left at his mining site. He guessed the cause!"
Remonin was dumbfounded. "What? There's also a mine in his territory?"
Li Du was even more astounded. "You don't even know this? He has been mining diamonds for at least five or six years!"
"I just arrived here less than one year ago. Besides, I have limited power and have no knowledge of Good's territory."
Li Du felt that Remonin was utterly useless and embarrassing. However, if he had to choose between business partners, Li Du would rather pick Remonin. At least the bast*rd was mentally sound.
Good was a lunatic. He had to kill him since Good would kill him sooner or later seeing how they had fallen out earlier that day. With this thought, Li Du softened his tone and said, "Listen, there's a spy on your side sent by Good—"
"That's impossible," Remonin quipped. "I trust my people wholeheartedly."
Li Du was beyond frustrated. "Are you stupid? Good's best troops arrived just as we reached the market. Are they fortunetellers? Of course someone filled them in!"
Remonin was stunned. "I thought that it was a coincidence . . . "
Li Du was speechless. He was so angry all he could think was that these lowly-educated soldiers were dumb.
"Good has planted a spy by your side. Previously at the market, they wanted to kill you. Because they didn't succeed, they will be attacking again. Good will definitely kill you and your tribe. He wants your mine!"
His words had finally worked. Remonin said hatefully, "He dares to do that?"
"For the next couple of days, you think of a plan to sieve out the spy. Then, we can regroup quickly. I will detail his army to you. We can come up with a plan to attack Good from the outside and from within his territory. I will help you get rid of the majority of his soldiers!"
Remonin was finally starting to have a change of heart. He had refused to attack Good as he had not dared to anger Good. But if the man wanted to steal his mine from him and murder his tribe—well, that was unacceptable, and a counterattack was necessary!
His key motivator was the diamond mine. Remonin and his tribe had been poor for several decades. Now that they finally had an opportunity to turn rich, he would not lose it at any cost!
Death was scary. But to these tribal leaders, poverty was scarier than death!