Chapter 36

Thank you to "Yunlong Rutian" and "Nanren Bu Haozuo" for your generous donations!!!

The acquisition of Han Tai Bank has been completed. Spark's capabilities still left Ji Feng very satisfied. It was still the team he led, and they spent a total of 940 million to acquire this bank with a market value of over one billion. After Ji Feng reviewed and signed off, it meant that the entire Han Tai Bank had become his private property. After discussing the future of Han Tai Bank with Spark's team, including the relocation of the headquarters to Jeju Island, everything was finalized two days later.

Upon returning to Seoul, it was unfortunate that Xu Xian had already gone to Thailand with the entire group early in the morning. The two could only chat on the phone for a while, expressing their longing for each other.

Although Xu Xian was not around, Xu Qiang came directly to Ji Feng's door. After accepting Ji Feng's invitation, he discussed his defense plan. The plan detailed the conscription of all adult males on the island, requiring them to serve two years of military service after reaching the age of 18. The naval base under construction would serve as the main defense base, with the procurement of three frigates, multiple armed fast boats, to carry out anti-submarine, air defense, escort, and surface target strike missions.

An additional military airport would be added to the naval base, with the procurement of at least one squadron of fighter jets to protect the airspace. There would be no army, but the marine corps would be expanded. The total number of troops would be between 2,800 and 3,200.

Jeju Island is too small and has a small population, so having too many troops would be useless. Setting up an army and air force would have no meaning at all. In other words, the defense of the entire island would be handled by this naval base.

Ji Feng's island effectively controls South Korea's maritime lifeline. The main reason the South Korean government has been delaying is because of this. If Ji Feng were to prohibit South Korean transport ships from passing through, the entire country would collapse within a month.

Ji Feng had initially made a good promise, but the South Korean government still had concerns. Therefore, after Ji Feng invited Xu Qiang, he immediately reported to the Ministry of Defense. The South Korean Ministry of Defense believed this was a crucial guarantee for South Korea's maritime lifeline, so they immediately agreed to Xu Qiang's resignation from the military intelligence department and his appointment as the chief of defense on Jeju Island.

Having someone they trusted was better than letting Ji Feng appoint anyone. Who knew if the future chief of defense would cause trouble for South Korea. Initially, the Ministry of Defense considered replacing him, but when Xu Qiang proudly told the defense minister that Ji Feng was his future son-in-law, the Ministry of Defense knew they couldn't change the person. Ji Feng's choice of Xu Qiang seemed to be a gesture of goodwill, as they trusted Xu Qiang more than anyone else. The top brass of the Ministry of Defense all congratulated Xu Qiang, praising him for having a good daughter.

In fact, when Ji Feng proposed it, it was to reassure the South Korean government. So Ji Feng didn't care if Xu Qiang still had ties with South Korea behind his back, as long as no one bullied him. Of course, true power must be in his own hands. Even his father-in-law was not a guarantee, especially since his father-in-law was a former high-ranking officer of another country, making him even less reliable.

Ji Feng had also considered bringing someone from China, but the reality of Jeju Island was that most of the islanders had grown up accepting the fact that they were South Koreans. Now, if an outsider were to come and manage and lead them, there would definitely be resistance. Ji Feng didn't want to spend money on defense and not get results.

The next day, a small team consisting of Ji Feng, Xu Qiang, and Dennis boarded a plane to Washington, accompanied by the U.S. military attaché in South Korea, Myers.

The Washington side showed great enthusiasm for Ji Feng's arrival. Although Jeju Island is small, it is an important node in the U.S. global strategic deployment. Therefore, the U.S. side hoped to continue using the Jeju Island naval base.

However, Ji Feng would not comply with their wishes. After refusing, he broke into the White House again in the middle of the night, only to coincidentally see Little Obama and his wife in the act.

"It's okay, continue, don't mind me." His sudden appearance startled the couple, and Obama quickly grabbed a blanket to cover his wife, while also shielding his own important parts.

Looking at Ji Feng, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Obama was puzzled: "Oh, damn, how did you get in here?" Obama didn't think the White House's security was lax; on the contrary, it was the safest place in the world.

But someone suddenly appearing in his bedroom without the guards noticing was a serious problem.

Fortunately, seeing Ji Feng sit on the sofa without any ill intent, though still shocked, Obama was relieved.

Ji Feng looked at the panicked and angry Obama and chuckled, "Of course, I walked in. Since the President wouldn't see me, I had to come find you myself. President, you don't want to talk to me like this, do you? Oh, and your wife, I'm sure she would prefer we talk elsewhere."

Obama cursed the negligent guards under his breath, standing up with a still slightly aroused body, and dressed himself without any concern for Ji Feng sitting on the sofa next to him.

"Dear..." The wife, worried about Ji Feng's sudden appearance, looked at her husband.

Obama kissed her on the forehead after dressing, "Don't worry, dear. I trust that the island lord won't harm me."

Ji Feng smiled and stood up, walking out, "Of course, I never harm friends."

In the adjacent study, Obama and Ji Feng had no choice but to talk. Although Obama could understand Ji Feng's refusal to allow any country's military deployment on his territory, he also expressed the U.S.'s concerns.

Finally, Ji Feng said somewhat angrily, "Mr. President, that's my private island. I will not and absolutely cannot allow any country's military facilities to enter without permission. This will never change. As for your strategic deployment, I understand, but you don't lack bases in Japan and South Korea. You didn't need the Jeju Island base before, so why not keep things as they were? You can't really think I came here in the middle of the night to compromise, can you?"

Obama then remembered that Ji Feng had not been invited but had come uninvited and had not been detected by any guards. Frustrated, he tapped his fingers on the table. The two stared at each other for two minutes, and seeing that Ji Feng was not backing down, Obama said angrily, "Alright, damn it, you win. But all your equipment must be purchased from the U.S."

Ji Feng smiled, "Sure, but you must produce a missile frigate for me that doesn't need to be too high-performance. You know, my sea area isn't that big, so I don't need a frigate. The thing my chief of defense proposed is too large and would seriously encroach on my sea area. So I plan to use frigates. They're good, preferably with a high degree of automation, a few hundred tons of displacement, fast, and can be operated by a few dozen people. My islanders aren't many."

Obama, a bit annoyed by Ji Feng's request, rubbed his temples and asked, "What are you planning to do? Play with fish? Frigates don't have great survivability; one missile and they're gone. And we don't have that in the U.S."

Ji Feng shrugged, "To be honest, it's just for show. You don't really think I'm seriously doing defense, do you? As long as I have something, it's fine. The military can have a toy to play with. Anyway, if anyone attacks, I won't be able to resist. So there's no need to be so serious. Besides, I'll buy some fighter jets, at least something that can fly. Your F-15s are already exported to South Korea, so I want that model."

Obama felt a bit better upon hearing that Ji Feng would buy fighter jets, "Alright, we'll export them to you, but you must purchase at least 15. We don't have frigates in the U.S., but I recommend our latest littoral combat ships. They fully meet your requirements for high speed and a small crew. They are near-shore combat ships that can carry helicopters and manned or unmanned aircraft."

Ji Feng rubbed his chin in thought, "How much does one cost? I don't want to spend too much on the military. I promised a total of $1.5 billion, so just give me what you can with that budget."

Obama's eyes blazed with anger, looking at the stingy man in front of him, "How can $1.5 billion be enough? One littoral combat ship costs $600 million, and 15 fighter jets cost at least $1.5 billion. Add another $1 billion, and for $2.5 billion, we'll deploy all the equipment for you, including ammunition." Obama's intention was to sell Ji Feng some advanced equipment and bring him into the U.S. camp, but clearly, this idea would not work with the stingy Ji Feng.

Ji Feng shook his head with a bitter smile, "Just $1.5 billion, not a penny more. I said it's just for training. If I really need to use it, I'll mostly be dealing with pirates and civilian ships. Do you think I would dare to attack neighboring countries? That would just be asking for trouble."

Obama felt his brain was not enough to handle this. You can't fight others, and you don't want others to help you defend. You're just a piece of meat in front of neighboring countries, waiting to be eaten. And it wouldn't even take much effort; a fleet could destroy you in half a day.

Ji Feng knew this, so he never intended to develop military power. It wasn't necessary. The island is too small, and although its strategic position is important, if a country were to attack him, other countries nearby would not just stand by. So Ji Feng chose this good location. If it were another island, he would have to be more cautious, but Jeju Island was not a problem.

He really just wanted to live a life as a rancher, occasionally fishing and hugging his children, and never intended to cause trouble for various countries. Why is it so hard to achieve this?

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