After staying in Dubai for a day, conducting short business activities and project signing ceremonies, and achieving fruitful cooperation results, Wang Yaocheng and his party embarked on a long journey to South Africa.
March 5, 2006 at about 8 pm
Under the cover of night, a Boeing 747 special plane from Hong Kong landed smoothly at Johannesburg International Airport after a flight of more than 30 hours.
Johannesburg is located in a plateau area with an altitude of 1,700 meters. The climate is warm, humid and pleasant, and it is like spring all year round. It is a world-famous golden city and the capital and largest city of South Africa.
Under the escort of a motorcade, Wang Yaocheng and his party quickly went to the five-star Peninsula Hotel where they were staying to rest to relieve the fatigue and jet lag from the long-distance flight across continents.
Early next morning
A ray of golden sunshine from southern Africa shone through the lace screen window. Wang Yaocheng woke up from his deep sleep. The faint fragrance lingered in his nose. He turned his head and looked at the beautiful face of Richards Theron, who was still sleeping soundly. He couldn't help but smile.
…
The first day's itinerary was tedious and intensive. The consortium held a series of signing ceremonies with the South African government on the projects that had been reached, with an investment amount of US$1.9 billion.
These include investment in two thermal power plants, 3G network base stations and deep-water terminals, as well as the construction of a large-scale transit warehouse, mainly to store department stores and home appliances from China, to radiate throughout southern Africa.
the next day
Accompanied by local government officials, Wang Yaocheng visited some schools and hospitals and donated US$1.2 million to charity.
The third day
After visiting a representative gold mine and a South African weapons and equipment company, Wang Yaocheng even took a ride in the sky on a "Kestrel helicopter gunship" to personally experience the superior performance of this gunship and was full of praise for it.
Then, there is no more content.
This South African self-developed "Kestrel armed helicopter" is a light armed helicopter worth US$38 million. It is expensive and has a single purpose.
It is not as easy to use as the Soviet Mi-28 transport helicopter. It is not only cheap, durable, and extremely versatile.
It can be used for patrols, personnel and material transportation, VIP inspections, special operations support and other tasks. It can also be transformed into an armed helicopter by attaching a rocket nest. The hatches on both sides are opened and six-barreled Vulcan machine guns are mounted. Its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated.
When necessary, it can be converted into a medical rescue helicopter. The efficiency of armed inspections along the railway line is also very high, and the scope of use is very wide.
What aroused Wang Yaocheng's high interest was the RG-31 anti-mine and ambush-resistant armored vehicle produced in South Africa. A large order of 60 units was placed on the spot, with the total order amount reaching US$39.5 million, which made the South African manufacturer overjoyed.
This heavy-duty mine-resistant and ambush-resistant armored vehicle is far more trustworthy than the American-made Humvee light armored vehicle.
The vehicle weighs 6.8 tons, has a 4×4 drive chassis, adopts an armored full monocoque body, and uses a V-shaped armored chassis to withstand the power of mines exploding under the vehicle, and uses compartmentalized storage boxes to enhance protection capabilities.
Withstand the simultaneous explosion of two anti-tank mines and the explosion of 15 kilograms of TNT.
Moreover, the RG-31 anti-mine and ambush-resistant armored vehicle uses large bulletproof glass windows and can be installed with various remote-controlled weapon stations on the cabin roof. The tank has strong urban combat capabilities.
Take a short break for two days
On March 11, Wang Yaocheng and his party drove to the base of Owl Company in South Africa. The base is located in an abandoned gold mine 37 kilometers away from Johannesburg. The terrain here is quiet and has complete defense facilities.
As the world's largest gold mining area, there are more than 60 gold mines within a 240km radius of Johannesburg. This abandoned gold mine in the northern Mille region has a mining history of more than 140 years.
After driving along the spacious asphalt road for more than 20 kilometers, we entered the mountainous area. After driving for more than ten kilometers in the mountainous area, there were two forked roads.
One continues to extend deep into the mountainous area, with an eye-catching red sign saying: "Go to the Owl Mercenary Company's exclusive road. Do not enter unless required, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences."
Not far from the fork in the road
There are several armored command vehicles and two large armored personnel carriers parked in the open space in front of the solid stone sentry tower. This stone sentry tower looks like it has gone through many vicissitudes of time and has been there for a long time. It should be the original defense facility of the gold mine. .
The motorcade stopped in front of the fork checkpoint, and Iron Hammer, who had been waiting there for a long time, wearing camouflage combat uniforms and leading more than 20 officers and instructors, hurriedly came up to greet them.
"The commander of the gold mine training base, Tie Zhui, together with the headquarters staff, accepted the inspection and asked the chairman to review it."
Wang Yaocheng opened the car door and got out first, shook hands with the approaching Hammer, and said with a smile, "I feel relieved to see that you are in high spirits here and your morale is quite high."
"Reporting to the chairman, all personnel of the Owl Mercenary Company are ready to perform tasks at any time."
"Okay, the boys are very energetic. Let's talk about it inside."
"Yes, please follow our car."
Iron Hammer stood at attention and saluted a standard military salute, and got into the armored command vehicle with his men. Soon the roar of a high-power diesel engine was heard, accompanied by bursts of black smoke, and they drove forward on the asphalt road. .
Wang Yaocheng sat back on the car and followed the armored vehicle in front into the valley. The peaks on both sides were towering, and an asphalt road in the valley continued to penetrate deeper.
Along the side of the road, there is a clear stream rushing, and as far as the eye can see, there are green mountain vegetation.
If you hadn't known that this is a military base, it is indeed a good place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, perfect for picnics or hiking.
Driving forward for about 4 kilometers, the originally narrow valley suddenly opened up, revealing a large and wide basin.
At the mountain pass entering the basin, there is a high-walled stone building that looks like a solid castle. The tower-style spire on top reveals the characteristics of British architecture.
These are the original buildings of the abandoned gold mine. Even the sturdy machine gun tower facilities have not been changed and have been inherited authentically.
The convoy filed through the middle entrance and entered the interior of the base.
The base is under full military management. The soldiers are conducting various military trainings under the leadership of instructors. Accompanied by the officers, Wang Yaocheng went to the rooftop on the third floor of the headquarters. This is the highest point in the basin and also serves as a guest review stand. .
Sunshades and seats have been set up on the rooftop. Wang Yaocheng and his party took their seats one after another, and Tie Hammer also sat close to his side, so that he could explain the situation in the base to everyone.
"Reporting to the chairman, Mr. Chief of Staff has taken over the command of Owl Company. He is currently leading the advance team to Guinea and has taken away one-third of our current manpower, about 300 people.
There are currently 622 people in the abandoned gold mine base. In addition to more than 40 logistics personnel, the others are direct combatants and combat auxiliary personnel.
The entire Owl Company has recruited about 500 retired special forces with professional standards from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and other countries, of which China and Russia are the main ones, with about 400, and the remaining United States and Britain have dozens each.
There are also nearly 500 South African Zulu Bantu warriors. The Bantu have always been famous for their bravery and fighting. They are very famous in southern Africa and have enough intimidation power.
The most important thing is that it is cheap enough and only requires one-fifth of the salary of a professional mercenary.
After rigorous training, they can be used for dangerous combat duties, patrols, and garrison tasks. The combat skills of this group of black soldiers are slightly inferior, but they are considered top-notch among the black uncles."
After some introductions, Wang Yaocheng nodded frequently, and Iron Hammer carried out his planned plan, which was to fight the enemy with the enemy.
After these Bantu warriors are sent to Guinea, they will never collude with the local tribes. Instead, they will naturally get close to the Owl Company and form a strong cohesion.
The reason is simple;
Due to the white man's management in South Africa for more than two hundred years, the Zulu people have very good obedience and are excellent supplementary soldiers.
In the chain of contempt for black Africa, the Zulu people of South Africa are in a superior position. They have a natural sense of superiority towards their poor relatives in West Africa and are absolutely unwilling to mix with them.
There are more than 3,000 named tribal forces on the African continent, and no one obeys the other. If you look at the racial incidents that are reported from time to time in African countries, you will know that even in just one country, the relationship between them is very tight.
This is very suitable for the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians, and professional mercenaries who are well-equipped and powerful in combat can be used on the edge.
Sitting under the awning, Wang Yaocheng used a telescope to watch the soldiers fighting training in the distance. The training ground in the bushes was full of excitement.
He nodded with satisfaction and said;
"Iron Hammer, we need to recruit more Bantu soldiers. The number is tentatively set at 1,000. Once the Guinea iron ore project is implemented, the large-scale infrastructure teams rushing from China to West Africa will have a huge demand for security work.
The construction of more than 600 kilometers of railway lines and deep docks requires a huge amount of work.
First of all, we need to build an engineering access road with a length of more than 600 kilometers. There are many bridges, culverts, concrete mixing stations and other construction facilities along the way. There are thousands of sets of engineering machinery. Twenty concrete mixing stations alone are needed. There are more than 100 construction points along the way.
Hundreds of plans.
All hope is to push all the way inland. This railway will not be built in ten years.
It must be constructed along the entire line at the same time. There are more than 100 large railway bridges, tunnels, thousands of culverts and railway facilities along the way, which means heavy security work.
Therefore, the Guinea iron ore project will be fully launched in three to four months at the earliest and in half a year at the earliest, and strict deployment and sufficient support must be made.
According to the project construction plan, Global Communications will simultaneously build communication base stations and lay optical cable trunks along the simple highways that will be built first to provide smooth wireless communication services.
The ordered 6-31 anti-mine and ambush-resistant armored vehicles will all arrive within three months.
The consortium will be fully equipped with all the necessary logistical support facilities. All you need to do is cut off any coveting black hands so that they don't have to worry about this very large investment project.
The task is very difficult!
By then, most of the personnel at this iron ore base will move to Guinea, leaving only simple logistics and training personnel, so you must be fully prepared."
A hint of excitement flashed in Tie Hammer's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "Chairman, Owl Company promises to complete the mission. By the way, has the arms ship from Eastern Europe arrived this time?"
"Well, the arms ship arrives directly at the port of Guinea, so there is no need to send it all the way to South Africa. The tanks and armored troops recruited from the country can be sent there in advance to familiarize themselves with the equipment. After all, these tanks and armored vehicles are also used in the country, so they should be available soon.
Get started."
Tie Zhui smiled when he heard this, touched his head and said, "We have found a treasure this time. We are looking for retired officers and professional armored soldiers from the old armored forces in China. There is no problem in piecing together an armored battalion with strong combat effectiveness. Moreover, they
The main battle tank used is the same as the T64, it is easy to get started, and it can quickly form combat effectiveness after grouping."
"Hahaha... If Owl Company wants to compete with the strong and ensure the safe and stable completion and operation of the iron ore project, it is the best assessment. I hope you can hand in a satisfactory answer."
"Reporting to the chairman, we are fully confident that we can complete the task."
"Hahaha... all I need is your confidence."
Wang Yaocheng laughed happily. This large-scale iron ore project in West Asia is of great importance. As long as the safety and security work is implemented, half of the success will be achieved.
The mission of Owl Company is not to participate in tribal infighting, subvert the political power, etc., but to ensure the smooth completion and commissioning of the iron ore project, the personal safety and property safety of the Chinese construction team, and conscientiously complete the security work.
As long as you don't mess with me, I won't have the leisure to talk to you.
As for the huge amount of funds required for large-scale infrastructure construction, is it still a problem for the Wang Consortium?