King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer-Chapter 785 - 715 I Also Have a Big Ship
785: Chapter 715 I Also Have a Big Ship
785 -715 I Also Have a Big Ship
Upon hearing that it wasn’t an arms deal, Joe Ga lost much of his interest.
Given the military intelligence capabilities of the Gulf Coalition and their sieve-like security system due to extensive ties with terrorists, they couldn’t possibly support a powerful strike team.
Being the spearhead for the United Arab Emirates in striking the Houthi forces and Al-Qaeda was like stabbing at stone.
Initially, he thought the bigwigs of Abu Dhabi, impressed by P·B’s performance in Iraq, were keen to purchase some cost-effective weapons to beef up the coalition bases in Yemen.
After all, relying solely on drones for bombings was hardly effective.
Joe Ga even considered, if possible, dispatching an automatic Fire Cannon battalion to the area, along with a team of special forces to ensure their safety.
The combination of combat training, firing, and marketing was the true path to making money!
At the same time, Joe Ga could compete differently with the bone-crushing arms groups of America by taking the weapon orders they looked down upon.
Such as Fire Cannon orders, and various light arms and ammunition supply orders…
What he didn’t expect was that these Gulf magnates actually wanted to supply their own provisions and compete with America for business.
How was that possible?
The mercenary giants in Iraq were nothing compared to military industrial groups.
The Cubic Corporation, considered a big brother among mercenary groups, earned the lion’s share without having to be on the frontline – yet they were just little brothers in the arms industry.
When everyone else was shearing sheep, you couldn’t just jump in for a bite and then incite those bigwigs to abandon high-tech warfare for basic combat; it wasn’t as simple as offending people.
Yemen was already a quagmire; how could these Gulf magnates expect Joe Ga to walk into it without tripping?
Impossible.
P·B was in the business of making deals, not taking the fall for others!
Joe Ga did not immediately reject Hamandan…
Business is negotiated, if one can’t meet the client’s needs, then find some common ground for a limited collaboration, and after smoothing things out, look for other potential deals.
Joe Ga was desperately in need of clients like the Gulf Coalition bigwigs, after sinking money into Africa.
Hamandan, having little knowledge of politics and military affairs, rose to the position of crown prince after his brother’s death, taking over the investment business affairs.
In his heart, mercenaries were simply dirty work laborers.
With Dubai threatened by the Houthi Armed Forces, he and his father were very anxious.
Therefore, he wanted to recruit several powerful teams, not to protect Dubai, but to cross the border into Oman or Yemen to strike at the Houthi forces and establish deterrence.
Unfortunately, he approached the wrong guy.
It wasn’t that Joe Ga was scared; it was simply that the current fees for P·B mercenaries were unaffordable.
Despite Dubai’s wealth, they weren’t foolish enough to pay P·B five to eight times their normal price.
Having been in the industry for years, Joe Ga’s special standing allowed him to step out of the mercenary field and view it from a higher perspective.
It only took a word from Hamandan for him to understand – this guy’s concept of “mercenaries” was clear:
“I pay money, you risk your life.”
This was not only Hamandan’s but also the world’s most basic understanding of mercenaries, though not surprising due to the behavior cultivated by those war dogs.
However, if Hamandan thought of P·B this way, it’s likely that the Abu Dhabi folks didn’t think much differently.
This made Joe Ga feel a bit cornered.
He had to find a way to change these magnates’ impression, to get them to see P·B afresh, for business to continue.
Without clear mutual understanding and honest communication, Joe Ga would rather not do business at all…
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment until everyone walked to a small water bar, ordered a drink each, and became acquainted amid Sayyid’s witty banter.
These princes, as long as they weren’t talking business, were tops in revelry.
They discussed yachts, airplanes, racehorses, and supermodels…
Hamandan complained about the Boeing airplanes being a bit too noisy, while Tahnoon griped about the top-tier Italian yacht company Riva’s designer being unreliable, incapable of grasping his vision.
Their oblivious flaunting stung quite a bit.
Joe Ga had flown in numerous private planes, from his own Piper PA-42 to Gami’s Gulfstream executive jet, to Sayyid’s Boeing 747.
He had experienced all the mainstream models, but besides his own Piper, he never thought the noise on other planes was that great.
And until now, Joe Ga had never actually set foot on a top-tier yacht.
The best yacht he had seen was the Gulf drug trafficker Alejandro’s holiday yacht, which compared to Riva, was like Fiat versus Ferrari.
Tahnoon, upon finding a topic he liked, was genuinely happy to chat and share.
He pulled out his phone, scrolled through some concept designs, and passed them around for everyone to see…
Then he lamented, “Those Italians are so stubborn.
I’ve been revising the same plan for two years, and they still haven’t given me a satisfactory result.
All I wanted was to incorporate elements of the Nahyan Family and to add a prayer room in the yacht.
Why is that so hard?”
“Is my request too excessive?”
Joe Ga enlarged the design on Tahnoon’s phone, wanting to see which master dared to refute the rich man’s request…
He didn’t recognize the name, but he did spot the design of what Tahnoon referred to as the ‘prayer room.’
Clearly, this high-tech prayer room was personally commissioned by Tahnoon; it required not only a fully surround circular display, for constant ‘sunny and breezy’ conditions while the prince prayed, but also a revolving floor that automatically oriented toward Mecca…
This meant that whenever Tahnoon knelt down to pray, no matter where the yacht was, the prayer room would always face Mecca.
Joe Ga couldn’t imagine why these rich folks found even looking at a compass too cumbersome, let alone creating such a contraption.
Was this considered devout or not?
At this point, Joe Ga understood why the yacht designers felt it was a tough job; integrating this feature required redesigning the yacht’s interior structure.
Because it was not just a matter of removing one room, the location of the prayer room had its own specifications…
Sighing at the difficulty of serving Tahnoon, Joe Ga was more resolved to avoid deepening business discussions with them for the time being…
He handed the phone back to Tahnoon, ready to compliment the guy’s ‘good taste’ with a smile, when he heard Tahnoon say, “Hu Lang, are you interested in yachts?
Abu Dhabi is hosting a grand yacht show next month…”
Joe Ga knew this guy was subtly inviting him to check it out in Abu Dhabi.
Although he didn’t know what he wanted, the outpouring aura of wealth from Tahnoon made it hard for Boss Qiao to resist…
In the eyes of these wealthy folks, a yacht under 40 meters, only good for running along the coast, hardly counts as a yacht at all, but the prices of top-tier yachts over 45 meters are incredibly high…
What would Boss Qiao do with that thing?
With two to three hundred million US dollars, wouldn’t he be better off buying two type 056A export corvettes?
Watching Tahnoon’s eager expression, Joe Ga assumed a pleading posture and said helplessly, “I better not, thousands of employees in the company need to eat, it’s not right for the boss to be wasteful.”
Whether driven by some thought, Tahnoon seemed to really want Joe Ga to go to Abu Dhabi.
He didn’t care about Joe Ga’s claim of poverty but said with a smile, “It’s just to have a look.
Once you really see them, you’re going to fall in love with those big toys…
Every man should have a yacht that can conquer the seas!
You should ask Harman and Sayyid about it, they are both seasoned yacht enthusiasts…”
Harman was somewhat reserved, but Sayyid was evidently tickled by the topic and said with a smile, “Absolutely, I am a loyal customer of Beneteau France yachts.
I like their conservative style and even took part in designing six yachts, which are very popular among my elders…
Hu Lang, you should really consider it.
I heard that what’s docked at your Santorini mansion is a second-hand small boat; such a boat doesn’t suit your status.
I saw it when you were in the front for the group photo.
You need at least a 70-foot yacht to accommodate so many of your family members.
Really, I could help you look into it!
You could buy it under the name of your American branch company, and that could offset some taxes.”
Joe Ga was amused by Sayyid’s tone and shook his head, saying, “Actually, I personally don’t like yachts, but I do have ships that can conquer the sea.
I have a ‘Hamilton-class cutter’ with a displacement of 3,250 tons that is currently being refitted in an Italian shipyard.
Soon it will be armed with a 40mm Bofors gun, a 76mm naval gun by Italy’s Oto Melara, two China-made type 1130 close-in weapon systems, four sets of Hellfire missile launching systems…
I’m currently discussing with the designers whether or not to install an Avenger air defense system…
The Italians keep saying the ‘Sea Sparrow’ is better, but I just find the ‘Stinger’ missiles launched by the Avenger cheaper and more efficient.”
As he spoke, Joe Ga looked at the stunned expressions on Sayyid and Tahnoon’s faces and apologized, “Sorry, my taste is a bit poor.
I also have two French-made Sea Hawk-43s.
They’re not great in combat, but they’re really fast and they look pretty sci-fi.
How about this, Sayyid, you help me find a yacht company, and I might convert one of the Sea Hawk 43s into a yacht?”
Joe Ga’s slightly childish ‘bragging’ amused both Tahnoon and Harman…
At this point, they realized that Joe Ga really didn’t want a yacht…
Any private company owner in the world, after maintaining those few ships, would hardly have the capacity to keep a super yacht as well.
Tahnoon didn’t give up, though, and sincerely said to Joe Ga, “Hu Lang, I truly admire your commitment to your business, but I still sincerely invite you to have a look in Abu Dhabi.
There are many investment opportunities there…”
Joe Ga was baffled by this guy’s attitude; it seemed at first he wanted to speak directly, but later realized Harman disapproved, so now he changed his approach to invite Joe Ga to talk in Abu Dhabi…
Joe Ga didn’t know exactly what Tahnoon wanted, and after hesitating a moment, said, “Could you maybe give me a hint about the opportunity?”
