NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 549: 530
After being persuaded, Ngonga was very cooperative...
The only people who could make trouble for Boss Qiao were a few die-hard subordinates of Samuel, who controlled the military and police system of 'Butembo'.
Ngonga made several calls and asked Samuel's hardcore followers to come to the rescue right away.
Then, when those people blocked the entrance of the military base with armed pickups and police cars, they encountered a premeditated counter-encirclement.
More than 500 soldiers and police officers came, only to be indiscriminately shelled by twenty 120mm mortars and blasted by antitank missiles from the Milos Armored Vehicles.
The previously smooth road was blasted into a pitted mess; there weren't bodies everywhere, but of those 500 loyal soldiers, only about a hundred survived.
It wasn't that Joe Ga was heartless; his limited forces meant he had to take the most vigorous measures to take over 'Butembo,' as any dissent could affect his strategy.
The indiscriminate bombardment lasted nearly half an hour, with large plumes of gunsmoke covering a vast stretch of sky; even drifting with the breeze into the 'Butembo' city area.
No one knew what had happened, nor dared they come close to see.
The thoroughly shocked Ngonga fled back to the city with dozens of soldiers.
He took over the city hall first, then used the broadcast to tell everyone that to the south, the warlord Nwankwo had clashed with the government forces, and both sides had engaged around the military camp outside the city...
The respected Mayor Samuel was hit by a stray bullet and sacrificed his precious life defending 'Butembo'.
Now, the Prime Minister of Congo, Minam, and the Deputy Minister of Defense Ngira are fighting with the assistance of P·B company, and they have already repelled an enemy offensive.
Tomorrow, P·B's troops will join the Congo Special Forces to strike back at Nwankwo.
And now, he, the most trusted assistant of Mayor Samuel, would temporarily take over the city's management and become the acting mayor.
He would first secure Samuel's family, and after the war is over, 'Butembo' would have a democratic election to elect a new mayor.
That's how abrupt the coups in Africa can be!
After Joe Ga ordered his soldiers to clean the battlefield, and commanded the ground forces to march towards the lithium mines 50 kilometers to the south, surprisingly, no one questioned the plausibility of Ngonga's explanation.
The remaining non-Samuel military and police personnel first thought about who would pay their salaries if Samuel was dead.
A few ambitious folks took some men and went to the city hall to demand an explanation, only to be killed for their arrogance; those who were reasonable and polite were naturally integrated.
North Kivu Province is a classic case of a weak government; the locals didn't find anything wrong with Boss Qiao's meddling.
In the past, with the strong support of the Congo Government and mining companies, Samuel could manage the situation in Butembo. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire
Now that Ngonga has the upper hand, the native residents not involved in the mining industry surprisingly did not react much.
The foreign mining companies, sensing change, began to organize and mobilize a large number of mining workers and clerks to take to the streets, trying to collectively pressure Ngonga.
To them, the death of Samuel was actually insignificant; what mattered was whether Ngonga could continue Samuel's governance policies.
The brothers' protests usually start with passion, stay true to violence, and end in chaos.
For now, the mining company personnel haven't received accurate information, so the protests are just protests, but if it drags on, the situation could become uncontrollable...
As for Joe Ga, he couldn't care less. Let them make a fuss; a bit of chaos could give Ngonga a reason to seek assistance from P·B, which would then naturally lead to P·B's troops entering the city.
While Ngonga was striving to sort out the internal affairs of 'Butembo,' Boss Qiao, Prime Minister Minam, and Deputy Minister Ngira settled in a small building on the base.
The attack on the military's southern front, Nwankwo, would begin at dawn; they would have to stay up all night and then march into the city with the news of victory tomorrow.
P·B's operation was too fast!
When Boss Qiao executed the brainless Samuel with a single shot, the whole process accelerated.
This acceleration made Ngira very nervous because their original plan discussed with Joe Ga was to stabilize Samuel and crush Nwankwo, then pressure Samuel into compromising and cooperating with Boss Qiao's strategy with a show of force.
After all, Samuel's army of 2000 was no joke!
Until his death, Samuel had fully interpreted what 'brainless' meant...
He never understood the gap between himself and P·B, thinking that with the support of the army and mining companies, no one could do anything to him, only to be taken out before he could finish his tough talk.
Prime Minister Minam, having been through great storms, did not show too much concern about Joe Ga's method, but Ngira was somewhat anxious, as he had never fought this kind of war.
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P·B had only arranged for 50 soldiers, in coordination with the artillery and 200 Congo special operations forces to set out.
Having fought a battle during the day, the troops were now to travel more than 50 kilometers and launch an attack at dawn.
Such warfare was unimaginable to Ngira's eyes, for Congo's military power could not support such large-scale nocturnal operations.
Dammit, firing guns and waging war in the dead of night could easily lead to friendly fire—in the chaos, anything could happen.
Joe Ga noticed that Ngira tried to speak several times, but at the moment, Boss Qiao had no interest in wasting words with him.
The man didn't even understand why P·B insisted on a night attack? Seeing is believing, and that would be the best "explanation."
Thompson, the intelligence officer, had arrived here with Tony and others, bringing a batch of portable equipment.
During the daytime battle, they were assembling the equipment, and by now, at 8 p.m., the assembly was finally complete.
With the diesel generators outside the small building whirring into action, the independently powered portable command system finally booted up.
Several large screens suddenly lit up, surprising Ngira. Then, looking at a top-down view on one of the screens, he pointed at the flashing lights and asked, "What's this?"
Joe Ga glanced over and said, "This thing is an IR flasher, used for night-time friend-or-foe identification.
Now you should feel relieved. I don't need those special operations forces to fight; I just need them to get to the position and then enter after the battle is over to wrap things up."
Upon hearing this, Ngira shook his head and said, "But excluding those artillerymen, there are only 250 men from P·B and the special operations forces combined, while Nwankwo has a force of 1,200 men.
If the attack begins at night and we don't take out Nwankwo right away, we're doomed once the chaos starts."
Joe Ga shook his head and said, "According to you, even if we take out Nwankwo, the situation will still devolve into a mess once the chaos starts at night."
As he spoke, Joe Ga patted Ngira on the shoulder, gesturing him to sit down, then looked at the calmly seated Minam and said with a smile, "Look at him, no wonder Mr. Minam is the Prime Minister, while you're only a deputy defense minister.
Don't speak. Just watch in the time to come. I'll show you how P·B's people really fight."
While Joe Ga was speaking, the phone in the temporary command center rang. Thompson answered the call and listened for a moment, then looked at Joe Ga and said, "Boss, 'Nora' self-propelled artillery is now in position, deployed and awaiting target coordinates..."
Joe Ga nodded and responded, "Ask Team B and Team D when they'll be ready?
The base's Super Albatross has started loading and warming up; I need a rough estimate, so I can notify the Big Beak Bird to take off."
Ngira, who was nearby, heard this and excitedly said, "You're going to use air strikes?"
Joe Ga, irritated, replied, "It's all because I encountered an idiot today. The Super Albatross was supposed to go to Liberia, but now I have to make my girlfriend wait.
I've prepared 30 250-kilogram class air-dropped bombs, and now you can rest assured. Contact those special operations forces on the perimeter and tell them to slowly consider Nwankwo's territory."
Speaking of which, Joe Ga added discontentedly, "This airstrike will be recorded. I can't always front the costs of warfare."
Ngira, surprised, asked, "How much?"
Joe Ga was amused by his anxious look. The stockpile of bombs from Seville wasn't worth much, and even with the 'Professor's' Pathfinder System, they were very cheap—so cheap that Boss Qiao was reluctant to use cheats to make those things.
The money wasn't a lot, but one couldn't just say that...
After pondering for a moment, Boss Qiao said with a smile, "Every air raid by my girlfriend Devil Bird in Liberia costs five million US dollars."
As he spoke, he saw even Minam sit up tensely, so he quickly changed his tone, "However, I'm generally frugal. I use guided air-dropped bombs, which are a bit cheaper.
Two million US dollars!
You guys don't have to pay; just give me the lithium ore Nwankwo has stockpiled."
Neither Ngira nor Minam had any idea how much ore Nwankwo had in stock.
In their eyes, the stuff dug from the ground was plentiful, and for Boss Qiao's considerable efforts, a little bit of ore was simply too good a deal.
"No problem! All yours!
Hu Lang, make it a big show. I like a lot of noise!"
After saying this, Ngira stood up, rubbing his hands with excitement, and said, "We're going to win for sure. Should I personally go to the front to command?"
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