Juba, the capital of South Sudan, is also the largest city in South Sudan. It is located on the White Nile River and has a population of about 500,000.
The international airport is in the northeast corner of the city. Except for the runway terminal, the airport is not much larger than long-distance passenger terminals in domestic counties. It can only take off and land flights from several surrounding countries. Xu Chuan first arrived in Egypt before transferring here.
When passing through customs, these bastards deliberately refused to stamp him through customs. Damn it, if this had happened in Benghazi, Master Xu would have fallen out with him already.
He took out twenty dollars and handed it over. The customs stamped his passport with a smile on his face, and then said, "Welcome to South Sudan."
Damn it, just wait for me.
There is no asphalt road outside the airport, or there are only 60 kilometers of asphalt road in the entire South Sudan, and there is only one decent asphalt road outside the Presidential Palace in Juba.
It is not easy to tell which is the urban area and which is the suburbs in the whole city. There are few concrete buildings with more than three floors. There are thatched houses everywhere on the roadside. If you see the patches of thatched houses and the surrounding areas, it will look like a large shopping mall in China.
, that is the bustling area.
There is no running water system in the urban area. Water trucks transport the water from the White Nile River to various water collection points. Then each household goes to the water collection point to collect water. Of course, there is a fee. Women and children can often be seen on the streets wearing clothes on their heads.
Bucket full of water.
In April, the daytime temperature has exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, but the nighttime temperature is around 23 degrees Celsius, which is relatively comfortable.
The main people living in South Sudan are the "Nilotic people" among the black people, including the Dinka, Nuer, Bari and Azande people, who mainly believe in Christianity and traditional voodoo.
The Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups rank first and second in South Sudan, and the current commander-in-chief Kiir is a Dinka, and the deputy commander is a Nuer.
The Nuer people live in Jonglei State and parts of Upper Nile State in the north of South Sudan. This area is also the main distribution area of South Sudan oil. Upper Nile State's oil reserves account for more than 80% of the country's oil reserves.
After independence, Commander-in-Chief Kiir believed that oil resources should be controlled by the government, while local tribes believed that they should be controlled by them. Neither side would accept the other, so a serious civil war broke out less than two years after independence, which triggered
A serious humanitarian disaster.
Generally speaking, it is actually internal strife caused by uneven distribution of spoils, but the unlucky ones are always the civilians.
At present, the UN has intervened, and peacekeeping troops are stationed in the southwest corner of Juba city. Two refugee camps with over 10,000 people are nearby.
China also has a 700-man infantry battalion stationed there.
As soon as Xu Chuan came out of the airport, his face was covered in dust raised by a car speeding by.
"Ahem, what the hell." Xu Chuan almost cursed as he flicked the red sand on his hair with his hand.
There is a primitive African scene in front of us. In the distance, the hills covered with rainforest are shrouded in fog. Opposite the airport are a lot of thatched houses, which are the kind of circular walls made of mud, and then covered with unknown names on the top.
Grass.
Ah, this, is this waterproof?
And there are more houses converted from shipping containers.
"Boss, have you been robbed?" Before long, Curtis' familiar voice came.
This guy drove a pickup truck with mud all over its body. Xu Chuan thought he had driven into the river.
"It just started raining, and there isn't a good road in this damn place." Curtis complained, pointing to the muddy road not far away that had not yet dried.
The road conditions were so bad that Curtis did not dare to drive too fast. A group of skinny children with bare feet and tattered clothes ran after the car, reaching out and shouting to Xu Chuan who was sitting in the passenger seat, "FOOD"
,FOOD”
After these years of experience, Xu Chuan has long been used to strange things. After spreading his hands with the children to express that there was no food, he closed the car window.
The largest hotel in Juba is a Chinese-owned hotel called Capital Hotel. Even though the buildings and accommodation rooms here are all prefabricated rooms, it is also the largest and most luxurious hotel in Juba. The owner’s surname is Li. He arrived in Juba in 2006 and is in the hotel business.
It is doing well and is considered a leading local company.
Most of the waiters are locals and some Chinese. It is estimated that in order to train these locals, the boss surnamed Li lost a lot of his hair.
After checking in, the waiter enthusiastically helped him carry his luggage and a backpack to the most expensive room here.
It's very nice. It's a two-story container house, converted from four containers. It has an office downstairs, a bedroom upstairs, and a staircase that leads to a terrace.
The box on the side is completely cut out and equipped with floor-to-ceiling windows. Outside the window, you can see the scenery full of primitive African style.
"Boss, I have notified Williams and Sanborn. They will be here in two days." Curtis took out a Glock 19 in a holster from his bag and handed it over.
Xu Chuan checked it over and then put the holster on his waist. This place may be more chaotic than Libiya. What's more important is that they are now outside their own sphere of influence and have to be careful.
"You should take a rest first. The business department is sorting out the information. They have already taken the path of the Minister of Mines. They should have a lot of things to report to you." Curtis told him about the recent situation he learned, "Gogol.
Those we captured have all been released, and Ali sent people over to deliver the ransom."
Xu Chuan nodded. He already knew some of these things through the emails he received.
Although most of the oil-producing areas are in those tribal areas, the Nansudan Palace is a legal palace recognized by the international community. The nominal affairs still need to be done. Otherwise, even if the tribal relationship is opened up, if it is illegal, it is illegal.
.
Unless the rebels can overthrow Kiir, which seems impossible now.
When doing business, it's best not to offend anyone and make money by being friendly, but in a place like this, you'd better let them know that you have the ability to flip the table, otherwise you will be helping others make wedding dresses, and these people will never do it when they rob you.
polite.
Dinner was served at the hotel restaurant, which actually provided Chinese food. Xu Chuan hesitated and ordered fish-flavored shredded pork, and when the dish was served, he was very sure that it was made by a domestic chef.
This is the most authentic meal he has had abroad.
Halfway through the dinner, there was a burst of gunfire outside the hotel. Except for Xu Chuan, no one else in the restaurant reacted at all. They seemed to be used to it.
"This came from the refugee camp outside the city." A middle-aged man wearing a shirt and trousers stood in front of the window and explained to Xu Chuan with a smile, "It's still far from here, and the location of our hotel is relatively safe.
."
This was the owner of the hotel. He thought it was Xu Chuan's first time coming to Nansudan, so he enthusiastically explained to this compatriot.
Then he looked at Xu Chuan and found that this person looked familiar. As a person who has been in the service industry for decades, his vision must be good. He was just a little unsure. This person seemed not to be here.
That's right.
"What's your last name?" I asked hesitantly.
Xu Chuan smiled and said, "Your surname is Xu."
Boss Li's eyes widened, "Xuchuan?" Although he does business in Nansudan, he pays attention to domestic news every day.
As a fan, he watched the most popular basketball celebrity game in China over the past two days several times.
Xu Chuan blinked. This guy looked so excited. He wondered if he could get a free order for himself.
After that, Xu Chuan was invited into a private room by Boss Li and asked the chef to add a few more dishes.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't expect the great master to come to the store." Boss Li looked very happy, with a smile on his face like a chrysanthemum. This man actually knew Xu Chuan's nickname.
Xu Chuan also greeted the other party politely. Of course it was a joke to ask the other party to waive the order, and he would not take advantage of it.
Although Boss Li was excited, he did not disturb him too much. He just asked if he could take a photo with him after dinner and sign an autograph for his daughter who was studying in China.
Of course Xu Chuan agreed, but he did not let Boss Li leave. Instead, he asked him to sit down and prepare to ask about the situation in Juba, a local snake.
No matter how comprehensive Umbrella's intelligence collection is, sometimes it may miss something, and the locals may see more than they see.
"Don't call me Boss Li. My name is Li Guangfu. Just call me Lao Li." This Li Guangfu is from Beijing, and his accent sounds very friendly.
The two started chatting, and Xu Chuan said that he was here to discuss the oil business. Although Li Guangfu found it strange, he still advised him, "There is too much chaos in Nansu Dan now. In fact, many people know that a bigger civil war will start sooner or later.
You see, many foreign oil companies have fled early."
Xu Chuan was quite happy to hear the news, "Have they all run away?"
"The Huaxia Petroleum company has not left. Their oil field has just been built. If it takes more than a billion now, it will be gone." Li Guangfu has been here for so many years, and almost all the hundreds of Chinese people in Nansudan know each other.
The oil field invested by Huaxia Petroleum is in Jonglei Prefecture, where the Nuer people live, which is where the fighting is most lively.
Xu Chuan nodded. Deng Mei once told him about this matter. There is actually nothing that can be done about the current situation. Many people ask why they should invest in such a chaotic place. The problem is that all the good places have been taken over.
If you don't fight for these corner places, then go and drink the northwest wind.
Huaxia has invested a lot in Sudan and Nansudan, and it is impossible to just walk away. They will maintain the most basic production, even if they lose money, this is not only a matter of money, but also an issue of energy security.
And you can't give up all your assets as soon as someone messes you up, because then there will be no days of quiet.
Although Xu Chuan understands, he is very unhappy. How can he smooth things over like you do?
Li Guangfu was kind-hearted in persuading him, but he didn't know that the other party was actually planning on making the situation more chaotic.
"That guy Kiir is really nothing. I heard that they carried out massacres in the Nuer area before. Several villages were killed. If the UN peacekeeping troops hadn't come, the people in these two refugee camps would probably have been killed.
I can’t survive.” Li Guangfu said, pointing in the direction of the refugee camp outside the window.
Xu Chuan looked at the occasional tracer bullets streaking across the night sky outside the window, and did not take Li Guangfu's comments to heart. People here have no concept of a nation-state. If the Nuer people did the same thing in turn, they would do the same thing.
Not all African countries can have a strong man named Kagame.
"If you can't deal with Mining Chief Maga and Petroleum Minister Ruer, they hold meetings every day like cockfights. These people are illiterate and have some kind of parliamentary system. I think it would be better to let them fight directly to save trouble.
", Li Guangfu told Xu Chuan some local news as a joke.
Xu Chuan smiled, and it was true. Umbrella was supposed to contact the Nansudan Petroleum Department, but Lu Er seemed to be unwilling to take hard and soft advice, so the business side took the next best step and found Maga.
The other party has promised to contact the Commander-in-Chief because he is the cousin of Commander-in-Chief Kil. Of course, this is not because he is optimistic about Umbrella, but because of the five hundred thousand dollars in cash.
The gunfire in the distance continued, but it seemed to have subsided. Among the sounds of the 7.62x39 bullets, there was another clearer gunshot of small-caliber bullets. It should be that the exchange of fire between the two sides had spread to the refugee camp. The UN
The joint force took action.
The main ones responsible for combat tasks in this area are China's 700 infantrymen equipped with Type 92 infantry fighting vehicles. The sound of gunfire is 5.8 bullets. However, the joint force cannot actively attack any party in the crossfire. They can only fire first.
Warnings dispersed soldiers approaching the refugee camp.
This process is very dangerous. Under normal circumstances, as long as the exchange of fire between the two sides does not affect the refugee camp, the joint maintenance forces will ignore them. After all, they cannot take sides.
Moreover, the location of the exchange of fire between the two sides was very close to the refugee camp, making it very easy for the joint maintenance troops to become targets of both sides.
Until Xu Chuan took a photo with Boss Li after dinner, the firefight over there was not completely over. Tracer bullets streaked across the night sky like meteors. He quickly made a wish.
However, neither side used too many heavy weapons. The largest caliber was probably a 12.7 heavy machine gun. There were no mortars and RPGs. Maybe like the group in Benghazi, there were no gunners who could fire at night.
In his opinion, this kind of fighting was as meaningless as a village fight, so he went back to his room early to prepare for bed. There would be no hot water in this place later.
Juba is pitch black at night, and there is no power generation equipment at all. The power supply of the Capital Hotel is also powered by its own generator.
Xu Chuan looked through the window and could only see the shadows of mountains and forests outside. It felt like he had returned to primitive society.
The room was lit with mosquito coils. The mosquitoes here are very powerful. Xu Chuan had previously killed a mosquito that was about half the size of a palm. Fengyoujing mosquito repellent water was completely ineffective, which meant that the mosquito coils still had some effect.
Turn on your computer and prepare to handle some work. The business side has almost prepared the materials. More information is collected from the senior officials of Nansudan Palace, including their living habits, preferences, and possible bosses behind them.
etc.
These people actually have the support of their own behind-the-scenes bosses. They actually have only one, no, two purposes in their respective positions, to make money for themselves and to gain benefits for their bosses.