Chapter 379 A near miss

Chapter 379 A near miss

Chapter 379 A near miss
Because it is the only superpower in the world, the United States today has no rivals; because it has no rivals, it has no constraints; because it has no constraints, it is unbridled. As such a superpower, would its leadership care about the public opinion of a colonial country?
An Rushong, who has experienced two lives, sees all of this clearly, so he can also clearly understand his own position.

After hearing what An Rusong said, Jenny hesitated for a moment, then glanced in the direction of the door, and then whispered like a thief: "You know, actually I didn't like the colonel at first, mainly because his resume was not very good."

"Oh?" An Rushong was very interested in this topic. He raised his eyebrows and turned his gaze to the woman with whom he had a special relationship last night.

Perhaps it was because of the special relationship between the two that Jenny relaxed her vigilance in front of him. She continued in a low voice, "Colonel Leonard participated in the Gulf War. The two squadrons he commanded suffered heavy casualties. Some people say that when he was on a mission, he never cared about the lives of his men and only wanted to perform meritorious deeds."

She paused and lowered her voice even more. "Major Brandon must have served under him. He was a very lucky man. So, you should understand that the relationship between them can't be good."

An Rushong nodded in understanding. If that was the case, some things made sense.

“However, this is just a rumor. As for what the truth is, I guess not many people know it,” Jenny shrugged and added.

An Rusong smiled and did not comment on this "rumor". He changed the subject and said, "No matter what kind of person Colonel Leonard is, we have no other choice now. We can only follow him to the end."

"Going down the same path till the end? That's really unlucky," Jenny said with a pout.

An Rushong put his arm around her shoulders and was about to say something else when he heard a cell phone ringing from somewhere behind him.

He looked back and found the cell phone he had dropped near the armrest of the sofa.

Looking at the screen of his mobile phone, he saw that the call was from Bai Jinjun, and he pressed the answer button without hesitation.

To be honest, Bai Jinjun's call came a little late. An Rushong was attacked last night and almost lost his life. As a "family member", Bai Jinjun should have called as soon as he got the news, whether it was to express condolences or something else, anyway, it was an attitude.

But An Rusong did not answer the call, whether it was from Bai Jinjun or the Blue House, he did not answer the call. From last night to early this morning, the people who called him included the Zhao Jingsheng brothers, his old friend Mike, and some people in the company, in addition to a few women with whom he had a special relationship.

To be honest, this reality made An Rushong feel a little lost. You know, he had made a lot of friends in the past period of time, but it was obvious that these so-called "friends" were not reliable.

But then again, An Rushong could understand the fickleness of the world, because for his "friends", what he encountered last night was too scary.

Who wanted to kill him? It was the US troops stationed in South Korea. And they were not ordinary soldiers in the US troops stationed in South Korea, but drug trafficking interest groups including some mid-level commanders. Without the final statement from the US military headquarters in South Korea and Washington, who would dare to associate with An Rusong?

Take Lee Min-bo for example. He has just taken office in the Blue House and has not yet secured the position of president. How could he dare to make a public statement on this incident at this time?
Most importantly, the party that is currently actively pushing the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the drug trafficking scandal of the US troops stationed in South Korea is the Democratic Party, an opposition party that was formed not long ago through the merger of the "Central United Democratic Party" and the "Grand United Democratic New Party." The so-called "Central United Democratic Party" is actually the "New Millennium Democratic Party" where President Roh belonged back then.

To put it bluntly, in today's South Korean political arena, it is the progressives who are truly reacting to the drug trafficking scandal involving US troops stationed in South Korea. As a leading figure of the conservatives, Lee Min-bo's statement at this time is not in line with his political stance.

The so-called statement is not just a way of speaking publicly to the media. Li Minbo's words of condolences to An Rushong at this time are themselves a statement. If that were the case, he as the president would really be in trouble.

The reason why Bai Jinjun did not contact An Rusong is actually the same as that of Li Minbo. Of course, the key point is that the United States did not make any public response to this matter, so that these "minions" in South Korea were at a loss and did not know how to react.

Now, with the live news program on SBS TV just now being broadcast, people with a sensitive political sense have already smelled something unusual from this interview.

Although the person who spoke out was not an American, this is the first time that the US Forces Korea Command has responded to the incident after the scandal was exposed.

Most importantly, before making this response, it is impossible for the US Forces Korea Command to not communicate with the South Korean government at all. Therefore, compared with what was reported in the news, the Blue House should have known more information. Strangely, after the call was connected, there was no sound from the other end for a long time.

An Rusong put the phone to his ear and asked in surprise, "Is it Brother Jin Jun?"

A few seconds later, just when An Rusong thought there was something wrong with the signal, Bai Jinjun's voice came from the phone. He said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Rusong..."

After a simple greeting, the phone fell silent again.

"Brother Jin Jun?" An Rushong asked tentatively.

"You're making it very difficult for me now, Rusong," Bai Jinjun continued, "Not only me, but Mr. Qingxi is also in a difficult situation."

This time it was An Rushong's turn to remain silent, mainly because he didn't understand what the other party meant.

"In fact, in the past few days, or to be more precise, since your NGN reported the drug trafficking of US troops stationed in South Korea, Mr. Cheong-gye has been under great pressure within the party," Bai Jinjun continued. "Some people think that you were instructed by Mr. Cheong-gye to publish such news on NGN."

An Rusong did not speak. This kind of thing was inevitable. As mentioned before, conservatives are where pro-American elements gather, and of course, pro-Japanese elements gather. For these people, once a dispute related to the United States occurs, no matter what type or nature it is, the first response should be to make a big deal out of a small matter, rather than publicizing the dispute and triggering public opinion.

However, An Rushong's handling of the drug trafficking case involving US troops stationed in South Korea clearly violated this rule. Considering his almost open close relationship with Lee Min-bo, it was natural for those die-hard conservatives in the party to jump out to attack Lee Min-bo.

"Last night, after hearing about the attack on you, Mr. Qingxi did not sleep all night," Bai Jinjun continued, "Many people suggested to Mr. Qingxi that some measures should be taken against you overnight to prevent the situation from getting worse."

An Rushong pursed his lips. Although Bai Jinjun's words were simple, the amount of information contained in them was still very rich.

There is no doubt that just last night, after receiving the news that An Rusong was attacked, the Blue House had some considerations: to control An Rusong, to find a way to cover up the truth of the attack, or even to put a hat on An Rusong, so as to fundamentally cover up the drug trafficking of US troops stationed in South Korea.

Considering An Rusong's special status and the extent of the scandal, this approach is naturally very dangerous, but if the Blue House really uses the power of the country to cover it up, the possibility that it will eventually come to nothing is also very high.

One thing that must be taken into consideration is that the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is very delicate. Due to the unsuccessful six-party talks, North Korea's intention to develop nuclear weapons has become increasingly obvious. However, since peace has not been achieved between the two countries on the peninsula and they are only in a state of armistice, Koreans, who are facing the threat of nuclear weapons, have a strong sense of crisis.

The reason why the progressives suffered a crushing defeat in last year's general election was certainly due to unfavorable economic development, but the tension on the peninsula was also a key factor.

To put it bluntly, this is the time when South Korea needs security guarantees from the US troops stationed in South Korea. Therefore, it is also the time when Koreans have the highest favorability towards the United States. The reason why the issue of drug trafficking by US troops stationed in South Korea is still controversial on the Internet is the perfect reflection of this sentiment of Koreans.

Therefore, once the Blue House is really determined to take coercive action against An Rusong at all costs and quickly strengthen the guidance of public opinion, releasing news such as: NGN company is making groundless accusations and has no evidence at all, it should not be difficult to reverse public opinion.

Never hold too high hopes for public perception. In fact, the so-called public perception is the easiest to be guided or even misled. The key is that once An Rushong and his NGN are controlled, there will not even be a single person speaking for him in public opinion. What crime can't be pinned on a suspect who can't speak?
Fortunately, Li Minbo obviously did not take such extreme measures. It could be that he had some concerns, or it could be some other reason, but An Rushong could conclude one thing, that is, the reason why Li Minbo did not take coercive measures against him was definitely not because of the affection between them.

As for now, as the US military police stationed in South Korea responded to the scandal, Li Minbo will naturally not take extreme measures again. In other words, An Rushong has now survived the most dangerous stage.

(End of this chapter)