The meeting room of the sanatorium.

Ouyang Zhen pushed the teacup away and said to Lao Li with a helpless tone, "There are no outsiders here. Let's close the door and talk everything through at once. If you think it's okay, then do as I say; if not, then I'm sorry, you don't need to resign. I'll resign first."

Lao Li looked at him, "Okay, okay, tell me, I'm listening."

Ouyang Zhen pondered for a moment, frowning slightly as he looked at Lao Li, "Let's talk about the big picture first. The Chi Army and the Third Division can have military and political independence, but for any major military action or policy decision, you must report to the higher-ups as soon as possible, without any concealment. This is the bottom line. When the team grows larger, the higher-ups can't just ignore it, especially since it's an armed force dominated by Chinese."

Li Mingsheng was silent.

"You don't need to consider this point. There's no room for negotiation." Ouyang Zhen said, crossing his arms, "That's right, Dragon City can't function without you right now, and the higher-ups can compromise. But all of this must be based on making the higher-ups feel that Dragon City is controllable, and that you are also controllable! If your political stance becomes problematic and you no longer follow orders, then is there any point in compromising?"

Li Mingsheng nodded slowly, "I understand what you mean."

"Secondly, the Chi Army and the Third Division can have absolute personnel appointment power, but they must give up a few key positions for our people to supervise. They won't say much, they'll just watch." Ouyang Zhen continued, "As long as there are no problems with the Chi Army and the Third Division's stance, their existence won't affect anything. This is also the bottom line. Again, the higher-ups need to see something in order to feel at ease."

"Sigh."

Li Mingsheng sighed, carefully considering it for a long time before replying, "This tight-fitting curse is really heavy."

"There's no way around it. You're a regional official now, so you definitely can't avoid supervision." Ouyang Zhen said, crossing his arms, "Compared to Tan Hengqiang, your situation is already much better."

"Okay, I accept these two conditions. I'll also have Liu-zi communicate with the Chi Army later. It's not a big problem." Li Mingsheng knew that he couldn't act unreasonably anymore, because Ouyang Zhen's arrival represented the absolute bottom line of the higher-ups, and everything he said couldn't be refused.

Lao Li doesn't have the capital to challenge the higher-ups yet, he can only bargain at most.

He had already made a scene, and acted unreasonably, so appropriate compromises would allow him to live longer. Moreover, the conditions proposed by the higher-ups were already very mild and didn't touch the fundamental interests of Lao Li's team.

Ouyang Zhen crossed his arms, "There's one more thing."

"Tell me."

"Now that things have reached this point, the higher-ups can't pretend not to see your and the Chi Army's arms deals." Ouyang Zhen said softly, "This matter must be stopped immediately. Don't wait until someone catches you and submits a complaint to the Regional Council before stopping. By then, it will be too late."

Hearing this, Li Mingsheng immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and shouted, "That's impossible! That's too much. If the arms deals stop, what special significance will the Chi Army have for the Mexican government army? How will they survive?! That's like being strangled."

"Let me finish…!"

"Let me tell you, there's no way I can agree to this condition." Li Mingsheng interrupted directly, "Unless the higher-ups agree that our Second Faction's arms factories secretly supply the Chi Army, switching to a new channel, it's absolutely impossible to stop. This concerns the layout."

"Why are you so anxious?"

"If you're strangling me, how can I not be anxious?" Li Mingsheng rarely showed "composure" in front of Ouyang Zhen. He often acted like he was about to argue, completely disregarding his own status.

But in fact, this was also a way of communicating, constantly giving Ouyang Zhen the pressure that he should think for three seconds before speaking to him, otherwise there would be bickering and arguments.

"What are you thinking?! The current military policy of the region is to contain the unification of the Mexican government. How could the higher-ups still support the Mexican government army with arms?" Ouyang Zhen said in a hoarse voice, "Don't even think about this path."

"Then there's no way to do it! You yourselves don't provide support, and you don't allow people to buy from outside. Then the Chi Army will starve to death!" Li Mingsheng said, glaring, "Isn't this unreasonable?!"

"Stop it on the surface, but you can do it secretly! Do you have to make me spell it out?" Ouyang Zhen replied irritably, "Just don't let the goods go through Dragon City! Find a new transportation channel, transfer the goods from outside the region, and make the process more discreet, so that no one can catch you. Wouldn't that work?"

Li Mingsheng frowned, "New transportation channels aren't that easy to open up! There's been fighting in Mexico all the time, and there's no guarantee of safety if the goods go through there."

"Damn it, the higher-ups tacitly approving your smuggling is already an outrageous decision. You can't expect them to send you an army to guard your goods twenty-four hours a day, can you?" Ouyang Zhen cursed anxiously, "Figure it out yourself! Otherwise, what use are you?"

"Don't be anxious, have some tea, have some tea." Li Mingsheng pushed the teacup back.

Ouyang Zhen tried his best to adjust his mentality, picked up the teacup and said, "I really don't want to see you right now! Every time I talk to you, I lose at least a year of my life."

Next to him, Gou Liu-zi, listening to the conversation between the two, immediately interjected, "What you mean is, the arms business can be done, but it has to be done privately. As long as we're not caught by opposing parties, then selling 30 billion worth of arms a year is not a problem, right?"

Ouyang Zhen squinted at him, "You…is that how you understood it?"

"Isn't that what you meant just now?" Gou Liu-zi looked at Li Mingsheng very shrewdly, "Leader, did I misunderstand?"

"No," Li Mingsheng immediately understood what Gou Liu-zi meant, "You understood it very well! The higher-ups mean that we're not allowed to do it on the surface, but we can increase the volume of goods secretly. As long as you can find a new transportation channel, no one will care even if you sell the arms to the moon."

"The higher-ups are wise! They seem to have given us a tight-fitting curse, but secretly conveyed a signal that you should go ahead and do it…." Su Tianyu sighed.

"I'll fuck your mother!"

Ouyang Zhen, who had just calmed down, immediately stood up and roared, "When did I say to let you increase the volume of goods?!"

"Look at you, you start cursing when you encounter something." Li Mingsheng stood up and helped him, immediately changing the subject, "So, these are the three principles, right? Is there anything else? If not, let's go eat… You've had a hard time, I'll treat you well!"

"You two were really taught by the same master, you're too shameless!" Ouyang Zhen walked towards the outside, pulled by Li Mingsheng, still angry.

Su Tianyu, watching the backs of the two, knew in his heart that the negotiations with the higher-ups were over. Lao Li had been forced to agree to the three conditions, but he had also fought for the rights that should be fought for.

With the serious matter settled, Su Tianyu felt much more relaxed. He immediately took out his phone, wanting to return An Qiqi's call, but saw more than a dozen missed calls and a text message.

The missed calls were all from An Qiqi, and the time intervals were not short, but Gou Liu-zi was in a meeting with the leader just now, and the phone was on silent, so he didn't receive them at all.

Su Tianyu frowned and opened the text message, seeing a line of small characters sent by An Qiqi.

"May you have a smooth journey in the future. From now on, we part ways, and I wish you peace!"