Chapter 358: Reparations
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rundi
No secret can’t be uncovered using a single truth-telling serum. If there was, then two truth-telling serums would suffice.
The F soldiers were also certainly not soft, especially Kluse who has lost one of his hand. He kept his mouth shut about this throughout, but with the truth-telling serum, mental fort.i.tude was useless.
Celebrate the glory of technology.
41 F soldiers were captured, and 59 soldiers died in the crossfire. Ivan treated the execution of this mission carefully. Not only did he leave radio communication records, but he also recorded the entire duration of the second warning. Then the subsequent resist to cooperate, and the firing of anti-air machine guns was recorded by the cameras on the helicopters.
Jiang Chen was extremely pleased with the way Ivan handled the situation. He needed a commander that would make the “correct judgment” in critical moments like this, rather than a follower that required his direction with any small problems. Sinking the boat that ignored their warnings was the command Jiang Chen had ordered when the Life Signal Radar was established.
All in all, all the evidence were there.
Xin had the complete upper hand in the public’s opinion.
There was media coverage on F soldiers pretending to be fishermen, but it was the first time they pretended to be mercenaries to conduct military action against other countries. What made it worse was that they were foolish enough to get caught.
The international community spurred drastic reactions, including Hua. Multiple governments all denounced country F for their unruly actions and the violation of international law. They stated that they would continue to follow the event closely.
In the beginning, President Aquino and the defense minister continued to state that they were being framed by Xin. But following the release of 41 pleading guilty videos, along with the protest of the families from the 41 soldiers who had survived, the F government completely went mute.
The evidence was all out there, it was futile to defend themselves.
Followed by the tradition of the country, they just would not admit to their actions. But Xin had said that if country F does not give a satisfactory response, Xin will sentence all soldiers who had trespa.s.sed or made unlawful entrances into the country to over thirty years in prison.
This forced Aquino into a corner.
Continuing to not admit to being guilty, their soldiers definitely would not be able to return home which meant that their families would be unhappy. But to apologize and plead to the Xin government to release the soldiers, Aquino didn’t want to lose his face.
The diplomatic relations.h.i.+p between the two countries entered a turmoil.
But regardless who looked at it, in this round of exchanges, Xin had the complete upper hand.
…
In the mansion on Coro Island, Zhang Yapin stood across from Jiang Chen on the sofa. Ayesha poured them water before leaving the living room.
Perhaps he was thirsty, Zhang Yapin took a sip of the water before he put the cup down.
“I have to thank you for making me so famous internationally.”
“No worries.” The oblivious Jiang Chen didn’t grasp his sarcasm.
“No, no, no, I should worry about it. You killed 59 people this time. If they were not on the wrong side this time, I would be summoned to international court already.”
“Haha, I realize you’ve become much more humorous.” Jiang Chen laughed.
“Making the best out of a worse situation.” Zhang Yapin revealed a helpless expression.
“Okay, don’t pretend to be so overdramatic. This event is great for you,” Jiang Chen said.
“In what way?” Zhang Yapin laughed.
“At least you don’t have to worry about elections anymore.” Jiang Chen crossed his legs as he sunk into the sofa. Then he yawned. “I don’t understand much about politics, but after reading so many news articles, I have learned one rule.”
“What’s the rule?” Zhang Yapin ridiculed.
“To increase support, strong foreign policy is much better than economic growth.”
“Isn’t that obvious.” Zhang Yapin grinned. He initially thought Jiang Chen had a differing perspective, but what he said was common sense.
‘Oh? Looks like I accidentally discovered a principle in international relations?” Jiang Chen laughed proudly.
It was a bit tough on him to learn about managing a country as a mechanical engineer. To be honest, Jiang Chen has thought about becoming the president. But after careful consideration, he gave up on the idea.
If he was really to become the president, he had a feeling he would turn the modern world into another apocalypse.
The hidden figure was more suitable for him.
“It’s still too early to say election, who knows what will happen in five years.”
“Don’t worry, even if you don’t have enough votes by that time, I will help you to become re-elected,” Jiang Chen took a sip of his tea and said nonchalantly.
Zhang Yapin raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Although he personally despised these unlawful actions, they were beneficial for him after all. After feeling conflicted, he remained silent.
Jiang Chen glanced at the clock in the living room. When he saw it was getting late, he said, “Are you here to complain to me about this?”
“Of course not,” Zhang Yapin took out a piece of folded paper from his pocket, “I am here to talk about compensation. A total of 976 families were effected totaling 2115 people. Among them, a fair number of people lost their only home. They are currently residing in their friends’ or relatives’ place.
Objectively speaking, president Zhang was unquestionably a great president. Even in a puppet regime, he still worked for the betterment of the citizens.
“10% of the people are affected? That’s a big problem. Let me think…” Jiang Chen scratched his chin.
Zhang Yapin quietly looked at Jiang Chen. He gulped and waited for his response.
“How about this. Provide me with detailed information about the people registered to receive compensation. To the people that lost their home, every family will be compensated with an apartment the size of 120 square meters and the land will be compensated at 50 USD per square meter. For the people who lost their farming land, they will be compensated at 10 USD per square meter and be prioritized in the hiring process. What do you think about this compensation?”
Zhang Yapin’s eyes widened, but he had to remind Jiang Chen.
“Every family will be compensated with an apartment 120 square meters? What if someone lived in a 90 square meters apartment?”
“Then they will thank me.” Jiang Chen smiled.
Zhang Yapin was amazed by Jiang Chen’s words.
He took a deep breath and expressed his grat.i.tude sincerely.
“…Okay, allow me on behalf of Xin’s citizens to thank you for your generosity.”
“No need.”
The reason why he was generous was not that he was a philanthropist, but he had other plans.
The distribution of the Pannu population was extremely uneven on the nine islands. Most of the people were concentrated in the relatively developed Coro and Ange City. The remaining seven islands had a large habitable area, but the population was extremely scarce. Ten square kilometers of land had less than one hundred people inhibiting it. A store couldn’t even thrive, let alone boosting the economy. This move was to reallocate the population density. These new apartments will not be built on Coro and Ange Island.
As to the cost, it was not high to begin with.
With an eight-floor high apartment building and eight units per floor, there would be 64 units in the entire building. Even with 1000 families, only16 buildings would need to be built. With the land price and tax being negligible, the average cost of each building would be one hundred thousand USD. It was nothing compared to Jiang Chen’s a.s.sets.
Also, he would gain a good reputation because of it, so why not?
“Speaking of prioritizing the hiring process, does your company have any positions available?” Zhang Yapin continued.
“After the tourism facility is complete, it is expected to bring eighty thousand jobs here. Let alone lack of positions, I don’t think the population here will be enough. Mhmm… Speaking of this, study the possibility of immigration and decide when to open the doors for that.”
“Xin is currently politically unstable. No one would want to come here,” Zhang Yapin said bitterly.
Jiang Chen only smiled.
“That might not be true. Trust me, in less than five years. This place will become a destination the world longs for. A new land directed by Xin.”
“I have to remind you, this place is only a series of islands.”
“Only for now.”
Jiang Chen emphasized the word “now”.