Chapter 313 Choice
Chapter 313 Choice
Macro things seem far away from the lives of ordinary people. Most people don’t care about them and won’t pay special attention to them. But most of the time, macro things are actually closely related to the lives of ordinary people, because all aspects of people’s lives are directly guided by macro policies.
For people like An Rushong who have a certain social status and a lot of wealth in their hands, their lives will undoubtedly be more and more directly affected by the macro-level impact.
Just like the issue of the United States' strategic layout in Northeast Asia, on the surface, it seems to be very far away from the lives of ordinary Koreans and almost unrelated. But for An Rushong, because he has cooperation with the NSA and close ties with those bigwigs in the political arena, this issue is directly related to his life.
Now, the message revealed by Leonard is that the US Pentagon is adjusting its international military strategy, and its focus is shifting from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Northeast Asia. Therefore, Thurman, who advocates strengthening the US military presence in Northeast Asia, replaced Sharp and became the next commander of US troops in South Korea.
Extending from this point, if Thurman was able to replace Sharp, then the reason why Lee Min-bo, who represented the conservatives, was able to replace the presidential candidate nominated by the progressives was that there was also interference from Washington behind it? An Rusong was not sure whether there was such a factor, but he did not dare to deny it.
Let's look at Leonard sitting opposite. He was an officer at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base, but he was transferred to NSA at this time to serve as the main person in charge of East Asian affairs. Is this appointment also related to the Pentagon's military strategic shift?
"So, what's your position?" Too many thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. An Rushong looked at Leonard opposite him, sighed, and asked.
Leonard didn't say anything, he just spread his hands with a smile.
Well, An Rushong actually just asked this question subconsciously, and he didn't expect to get an answer from the other party. After all, he just needed to look at Leonard's previous performance to know the answer.
An Rushong opened his mouth and wanted to ask something, but at this moment, the waiter brought another tray over.
There was a very delicate fruit plate on the tray. The waiter placed the fruit plate on the table and whispered, "Sir, this is a gift from the lady at the bar."
He said this to An Rushong, and after he finished speaking, he pointed in the direction of the bar.
Looking in the direction of the other person's finger, he saw a fashionably dressed woman with long hair sitting at the bar. When she noticed An Rushong's gaze, she raised the wine glass in her hand towards him.
Because of the distance and the light, An Rushong couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly, but he felt that the woman should be very young, because she had a good figure and her exquisite outfit was obviously that of a young person.
It was the first time that An Rushong was approached by a woman in a bar by offering her a fruit plate. Under normal circumstances, he would have to see what the woman looked like no matter what, but at a moment like today, he was not in the mood at all.
"Oh!" Leonard also turned his head to look at the woman, then smiled and said, "Ann, it seems that there is a romantic encounter waiting for you there."
An Rushong smiled bitterly, then waved to the woman in front of the bar, and then said a few words to the waiter, mainly to order a glass of wine suitable for women for the woman as a return gift.
After the waiter left, he adjusted his facial expression and said to Leonard in a serious tone: "Leonard, now, let's assume that I have chosen the same position as you. So, what should I do next?"
"It's very simple. Just like I said, use the NGN news pop-up window to announce the information you have." Leonard glanced at the woman in front of the bar again, then turned back and said, "As for what happens next, you don't have to worry about it. You can choose to leave Korea for a while. Well, it doesn't have to be too long, at most two weeks. Believe me, those who cause trouble for you will be sent back to the United States soon."
An Rusong was silent for a while, then said, "I am willing to believe you, Leonard, but you should understand that mutual trust needs to be established through long-term cooperation, and we have not been cooperating for a long time. Now, please tell me, how can I trust you?"
"It's very simple," Leonard leaned forward again and said, "Admiral Thurman will arrive in Seoul the day after tomorrow at the latest. An, if you are willing to accept my suggestion, I can arrange a meeting between you and Admiral Thurman."
An Rusong was surprised. He actually had a question that he had not raised just now, which was that Thurman's appointment time should be in June, and it was not even March yet. In other words, according to the public information from the United States, Thurman should officially take over the post of commander of the US forces in Korea in three months. And Leonard asked him to announce the news of drug trafficking by the US troops in Korea, obviously within these two days. In this case, how could Leonard solve all the problems in just two weeks?
Now, Leonard said that Admiral Thurman will arrive in Seoul the day after tomorrow at the latest. So, does Thurman come to Seoul at this time for other purposes, or does he want to take office early?
Of course, despite having such doubts in his mind, An Rushong did not ask this question. He was 100% sure that even if he asked this question, Leonard would definitely not answer it, because this was not something he should ask at all.
After another period of silence, An Rusong said, "Well, even if I believe what you said and accept your advice, the information I have is without any evidence. Even if such information is made public, I'm afraid it won't have much effect, right?"
After a pause, he added: "On the contrary, it may only bring unnecessary trouble to me and NGN."
"Ann," Leonard smiled, "since we are collaborators on the same side, why are you still worried about not having solid evidence?"
After he finished speaking, he reached out his hand, tapped the folder on the table, and said, "I can provide you with any information or evidence you need. Of course, as for how to tell the story, that's up to you."
An Rusong stared at him for two seconds, shook his head and smiled, then extended his hand and said, "Then arrange a meeting between me and General Thurman as soon as possible."
"Haha," Leonard held his hand and said, "Believe me, An, the choice you made tonight was absolutely wise. Time will prove it."
An Rushong didn't say anything. He reached out and picked up the beer glass in front of him.
The United States of America is obviously not as united as it appears to be. Of course, there is no truly united country in the world, let alone a truly united political circle. Even the world's only superpower, America, is no exception.
In fact, since he was reborn into this world, especially after getting rid of his status as a member of the lower class, An Rusong has been choosing which side to stand on. Politically, he stood on the side of the conservatives, and within the conservatives, he chose to stand on the side of Li Minbo. Now, he has made another choice and chose to stand on the side of Leonard.
In fact, if there is really a choice, An Rushong absolutely hopes not to choose any side, because fence-sitters are the ones who can reap the greatest benefits, but he also knows that on many issues, he has no chance to sit on the fence at all. It can even be said that if he chose to sit on the fence, he would not be where he is today.
However, fortunately, as a reborn person, An Rushong can make the most correct decision when choosing sides based on his memories of his previous life, just like when facing Leonard, his choice was also made based on his memories of his previous life.
Today, senior US military officials like Admiral Thurman are pushing to shift the focus of military strategy to Northeast Asia. In the White House, President George W. Bush remains a staunch supporter of the "global counter-terrorism" strategy. In other words, in the core political leadership of the United States, those who truly dominate are still people like Admiral Sharp.
But according to the historical trajectory of the previous life, in less than a year, when Bush Jr. leaves office and Obama officially takes office as president, the White House's global strategy will take a sharp turn. The so-called return to the Asia-Pacific strategy is actually centered on Northeast Asia. At that time, people like Admiral Thurman will become the mainstream of the US military.
An Rushong's choice to take the lead at this time will definitely be beneficial to his future development.
Think about it, if Leonard wants to win him over now, he has to rely on the opportunity that he has provoked the drug-trafficking American soldiers, which is equivalent to using a semi-forced way to coerce and lure him to choose a position. But if Leonard waits until a year later, when the Americans have fully adjusted their strategic positioning, whether they can win him over or not, by that time, they may not necessarily win him over.
In addition, what Leonard asked him to do now actually gave An Rusong a chance to show his prowess in public. Exposing a scandal like drug trafficking by US troops in South Korea was not something that ordinary newspapers or TV stations dared to do. NGN's news pop-up window was the first to expose the scandal and criticize the US troops in South Korea. If nothing else, at least NGN software could take this opportunity to become famous.
Well, that's right, this opportunity must be used well. An Rushong feels that this news cannot be released so lightly. He must plan it carefully to maximize its impact.
(End of this chapter)