BAE's sales representative John Weston rushed back to London to spend Christmas with his family and also reported to the head office and the Ministry of Defense. In his view, the British government's series of diplomatic pressures have already

It has produced good results. At least the rather annoying Chinese salesman Zhao Jinsong seems to be very honest these days and no longer frequently interacts with members of the Saudi royal family.

Weston went to visit the Minister of Defense Heseltine with great satisfaction and reported the good news to him.

"Mr. Baron, I am very excited to tell you that the Chinese have retreated like cowards. They will not have much impact on us. This business will definitely belong to the United Kingdom." Weston chuckled.

Said to Heseltine.

Heseltine's expression was still hesitant: "China's top leader, Ping, was arrogant and rude before refusing to make concessions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's wife were very angry, but you said that their sales staff had no other actions.

, which makes people feel incredible.”

"Perhaps these Easterners are arrogant but respectful. Compared with Britain, which has a strong family background, they are nothing." Weston still has a strong attachment to the British Empire. In fact, John was still obsessed with the past decades later.

There are a lot of bulls, but they don't admit that they have become second-rate, and they still pull their eyeballs to the top of their heads.

Heseltine nodded and said worriedly: "I heard that the French have had some interactions with the Chinese recently. This may be something that BAE needs to pay attention to."

Weston waved his hand and said nonchalantly: "The French were already defeated by us a year ago. They are nothing to worry about. Of course, we will further follow up on the situation. I think the French intend to follow

It is impossible for China to cooperate to obtain orders from Saudi Arabia, because the Chinese have absolutely no need to do so."

His guess was actually quite correct. Dassault's main focus in seeking cooperation with China was not the first phase of Saudi Arabia's Al Yamaha order, but the order it wanted to capture from its own National Defense Commission regarding the replacement of nuclear vehicles.

, if it is possible to enter the second phase of the Al Yamaha Agreement with Saudi Arabia, or to sell the aircraft to countries in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and other countries, it is also a good option.

At this moment, Heseltine's secretary suddenly broke in. He didn't knock on the door and was very rude. Heseltine and Weston both frowned and wanted to scold the young intern, but the intern

The student immediately placed a newspaper in front of them and said nervously: "Gentlemen, something serious is going to happen!"

This is a copy of the Guardian, with a few big words clearly written on the front page: "Scandal: Secrets behind British-Saudi arms trade talks."

Weston was so shocked that he did not bother to let the higher-status Minister of Defense read it first. He grabbed the newspaper and read ten lines at a time. It took him about half a minute to finish reading the news, and after reading it, he felt all over his body.

It's like all the effort has been taken away.

Heseltine also hurriedly read it. The newspaper clearly stated: "...In order to obtain this huge order, BAE used "flexible and effective" means to recruit many people, including the Saudi Embassy in the UK.

Many important people including military attachés, the heads and heads in charge of weapons procurement in Saudi Arabia, and the royal family and nobles paid bribes. The benefits they received were also numerous, including free accommodation in London mansions, shopping and vacations and other luxury consumption projects, as well as large amounts of cash.

Enter the account. BAE spared no expense to the Saudi prince who was in charge of the transaction. It ordered a peacock blue Rolls-Royce sedan for the prince’s wife and had it flown to Saudi Arabia; it also purchased the world’s most expensive car for the prince, a Dai.

The Maybach limousine produced by Muller Company worth 250,000 pounds, and even BAE generously paid for the prince's vacation expenses, including the expenses for his personal bodyguards and entourage of up to 35 people..."

The more Heseltine read, the more alarmed he became: "Reliable sources pointed out that BAE has sent large amounts of bribes to Saudi stakeholders through an offshore company called Poseidon. Many middlemen also

Among them were a wealthy Kuwaiti businessman, a Lebanese politician, etc. What is even more shocking is that these are just the price paid to obtain the contract. BAE Company and Saudi Arabia agreed that if BAE successfully obtains this possibility

It is the most expensive arms sales case in history, so BAE will continue to provide Saudi Arabia with high commissions, which may be an astronomical figure in the billions of pounds..."

The newspaper fell on the desk. Heseltine stared at Weston, who was already in a trance, dumbfounded, and said: "What on earth is going on? Is what the newspaper said true?"

Weston subconsciously said: "How did they know?..."

But soon he realized that he had made a mistake and immediately changed his words: "No, these are not true, someone must be setting us up!"

Then his eyes lit up and he shouted loudly: "Yes, it must be a trick played by the Chinese. They are holding us back."

Heseltine looked disgusted and said, "Without fire, there is no smoke (English proverb, similar to the Chinese 'fly does not bite a seamless egg'). If it is really the Chinese who are spreading rumors and slander, that will not be a problem, but if you

It was really done, and the company name and the time when it happened were recorded so clearly, you’d better think about how to deal with the officials of the SFO (Serious-Fraud-Office, Serious-Fraud-Office) now.”

Weston immediately panicked, because he had planned and participated in a lot of bribes and shady negotiations. In other words, if something really happened, he would be used as a scapegoat by the company, and then he would be used as a scapegoat.

The company warded off disasters, claiming it was a personal act rather than the company's original intention.

"Mr. Baron, please support us. You must know that this project can bring hundreds of thousands of jobs to the United Kingdom and bring tens of millions of financial revenue. It is also a positive development for our British defense products."

If the advertising effect of the Chinese falls into the trap of the Chinese, it will be a terrible blow to BAE and the United Kingdom!" Weston is still insisting that as long as this matter can get the support of the government, then SFO

It is not necessarily possible to impose excessively severe sanctions on them, and it is possible to even turn a blind eye.

Heseltine said angrily: "Sir, please pay attention to your statement. The United Kingdom is a democratic country. How can our government interfere with the fairness of justice?"

But Heseltine soon wanted to take it back.

The secretary who just came to deliver newspapers once again delivered a newspaper, this time from "The Sun", with an even more sensational title - "Monitoring the Saudi Royal Family: Direct Authorization from the Prime Minister's Wife".

This time the dirty water was poured on the British government itself. For some reason, Weston looked at the panicked Heseltine and gloated for a while, as if this time we were all brothers in trouble and no one could escape. Or was it?

It’s good to face it together.

Not long ago, Prince Sultan had sent someone to return the monitoring device to the British. Perhaps considering that the previous bribe had some effect, His Royal Highness did not pursue it too much, but regarded this as a bargaining chip.

, the British government also plans to apologize privately.

But now that the situation has been made public, even if the Saudi royal family can forgive it in their hearts, they will never let Britain go in words and diplomatic rhetoric. And the British citizens will definitely criticize the government's despicable behavior, especially

Mrs. Thatcher was a controversial political figure. When she passed away, many British people even took to the streets to celebrate her death. Many actions of this government, such as the war against Argentina, the war against Northern Ireland, etc.

The independent forces' ruthlessness and attacks on the welfare system have all been criticized.

But the impact was not over yet. The secretary sent a third newspaper. This time it was still on the front page, but the status was not as good as the first two newspapers. It was just a local tabloid in London, but the headline was equally horrifying -

—"Prime Minister's Son Takes $15 Million Commission on Yingsha Deal".

Heseltine and Weston looked at it and immediately knew that this matter had been completely corrupted. Their opponents had a large amount of intelligence, and every piece of this intelligence was fatal to Britain. Mrs. Thatcher's

His son, Mark Thatcher, was not a good person himself. He was nicknamed "Boy Mark" by the British media. He failed in his studies but was very ambitious. He applied for the accountant exam three times but failed. He was a racing driver and even disappeared in the Dakar Rally.

He made his mother cry in front of everyone. In 1981, he also used his mother's political influence to sign a US$600 million contract with Oman on behalf of the British Cement Company, making a lot of money.

This restless guy did indeed pull the strings in Al Yamaha's contract and received a lot of money. Neither Heseltine nor Weston knew the exact amount, but it was definitely not less, and it probably wasn't as much as 15 million.

In fact, this Mark kid never settled down and was arrested in 2004 for financing a coup in Equatorial Guinea.

There is no doubt that if BAE engages in bribery, ordinary British people may think it is not a big deal, or if someone is spying on Saudi Arabia, they will think it does not matter if they have no bottom line of conscience. But if this matter involves the Prime Minister's family, then it must be

It's another matter. The previous incident of Mr. Mark using his mother's reputation to obtain huge contracts was very controversial. This time, he actually acted as a middleman in the arms sales case to obtain improper income. Not only some people will think of this absolutely illegal behavior.

The political opponents of Mrs. Thatcher would also take advantage of the opportunity to put pressure on the government, and even launch a large-scale rebellion movement.
Chapter completed!