If you cheat, money will follow

Austin frowned, showing deep concern.

He knew very well that the views of the two previous men were reasonable, rational and prudent.

But as a soldier, especially a soldier of the world's most powerful country, he cannot accept choosing to do nothing in the face of provocation. This is tantamount to showing weakness and retreating.

He retorted in a deep voice: "How can we silently endure such insults? If we don't take decisive action and give the other party a profound counterattack, wouldn't it be declaring our weakness to the world and inviting others to do it?"

The person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, that 'respectable' lady, stood up calmly.

She stated in a gentle tone: "Mr. President, Secretary Austin, our strategy is not to let it go, but to seek a more sensible and stable response."

She suggested: "Perhaps we can consider imposing economic sanctions, which can not only form effective pressure on northern Bagan but also avoid a larger military crisis."

However, this view did not gain widespread resonance in the conference room.

The person in charge of the Ministry of Energy pointed out with concern: "It is still unknown how effective the economic sanctions will be and how much impact they will have. After all, our economic situation is already quite embarrassing."

"Moreover," he continued, "the attitude of the Red Sea oil exporting countries toward us has wavered recently. In the game with us, they seem to be more inclined to the other side and have signed multiple cooperation agreements with us."

"If our response is not strong enough, as Secretary Austin fears, it will be seen as weakness and could trigger additional actions that are detrimental to our global interests."

There was a brief silence in the conference room, and everyone's face was full of hesitation and uneasiness.

Austin took a deep breath and reiterated his position in a firm voice: "Mr. President, my view remains unchanged. We cannot turn a blind eye to the impact this incident has on our credibility. We must show the world our determination and strength."

At this time, an economic adviser spoke up: "We really need to pay attention to the potential impact of this incident on our prestige."

"But more importantly," he added, "is the debt problem we are currently facing. With our current economic situation, it may be unbearable to have a large-scale military conflict."

The implication of his words is obvious - funds are tight and it is difficult to support large-scale military operations.

A young think tank member proposed a compromise plan: "Perhaps, we can take appropriate actions based on enhanced communication with allies and jointly implement comprehensive economic sanctions to avoid triggering a larger-scale, difficult-to-reach crisis." The crisis of control.”

The plan immediately won some approval.

However, doubts also arise: "If we only adopt limited economic sanctions, can we really achieve the results we expect?" Another think tank member said:

"From a purely economic perspective, we may not be in an advantage."

The problem is back to square one.

The economic adviser spoke again: "But if we intervene directly in the conflict, some countries, I don't think it will be in the minority, will definitely rejoice."

"There is no doubt that they will do whatever it takes to turn our limited operations into an endless battle."

"At that point, we're going to be in a quagmire that's hard to get out of."

These words are indeed conclusive and thought-provoking.

Therefore, silence fell into the conference room again.

Various opinions and opinions are intertwined. Whether for or against, each has its own reasons. This is indeed a difficult choice.

Sleeping King was beginning to feel confused again.

He had always been easily confused.

But even so, he also knew clearly that as long as he had a choice, he would never give up easily.

This is based on thoughtful consideration of global interests.

However, who is the most suitable candidate?

After thinking about it over and over, he realized that the only two right-hand men in that area had been offended.

It's mid-October.

After thorough research, extensive discussion, and weighing the pros and cons.

Yingjiang finally decided to abandon military operations with unpredictable risks and choose relatively safe economic sanctions.

A White House spokesperson officially announced the decision to the public.

"In response to the Bagan Autonomous Region's armed provocations, we have decided to adopt comprehensive and severe economic sanctions aimed at curbing its actions that further undermine regional peace and stability."

"We will freeze all the other party's assets within my country and under its control, including but not limited to bank accounts, various investments, and real estate."

"At the same time, we will strictly prohibit any financial transactions related to the Bagan Northern Autonomous Region to prevent them from obtaining funds through illegal means."

“Second, to strengthen sanctions, we will impose a trade embargo that explicitly prohibits any North American company or individual from trading with the Bagan Autonomous Region.”

“In addition, we will limit its access to international technology and resources and impose severe sanctions on any provision of technical support or resource funding to the Bagan Autonomous Region.”

"Finally, we will impose individual sanctions on the leaders of the Bagan Autonomous Region and their core members, including freezing their personal assets and making them wanted on a global scale."

At the end of the press conference, the spokesperson also emphasized that "our allies will soon follow up and implement their own sanctions."

"We urge the Bagan Autonomous Region to recognize the current situation, abandon the use of force, and choose to resolve disputes peacefully. Any attempt to change the status quo through force will be futile."

"We will continue to monitor its dynamics and take further escalation measures as the situation develops."

After the press conference, in the office of the autonomous region, Peng Deren turned off the TV, picked up the teapot and poured tea for Marilin.

Marilin showed a relaxed and cheerful smile, took a sip of tea and said happily:

"Haha, it seems I overestimated them. I didn't expect them to be so cautious."

Peng Deren nodded and laughed: "Mr. Ma, I still want to thank you for your advice and support."

"Although the situation once seemed a bit dangerous, looking back now, it is obviously their bottom line and inevitable choice to avoid multi-line deployments that involve military power." Marilin analyzed, "Based on the current situation, for them, global interests are obviously It’s the most important thing, and the issue of face seems less important... Haha.”

Peng Deren smiled slightly: "However, I think their weakness on this issue may have a profound impact on the future pattern."

"As for economic sanctions, they actually have a very limited impact on us. We have no dealings with them and don't have any assets with them."

Marilin got to the point: "The so-called economic sanctions are just a way for them to find a way out."

It wasn't long before the aftereffects of 'weakness' began to show.

10 month 20 day.

It is reported that the central bank of Saudi Arabia and the domestic central bank have signed a bilateral local currency swap agreement with a swap scale of up to 2500 billion yuan (approximately 1300 billion riyals). The agreement is valid for five years and can be used as agreed by both parties. In this case, the extension will continue.

In addition, Saudi Arabia is also considering settling crude oil trade in the local currency of the counterparty in some major specific markets.

As an international financial agreement, the greatest function of a currency swap agreement is to conduct equivalent exchanges in respective local currencies, thereby reducing dependence on external factors.

In critical situations, it can also provide short-term liquidity support to both parties.

Then on October 10, a report released by the Central Bank of Iraq showed that they had incorporated RMB into the new foreign exchange settlement system and allowed companies and merchants with import business to use RMB for paired settlement payments.

At the same time, the U.S. dollar will be stopped from being used in commodity transactions with some countries.

The Iraqi authorities also announced that they would officially replace the US dollar's foreign exchange status with the RMB, and listed the RMB, along with the euro and the dirham, as the country's three major foreign exchange currencies.

It is reported that the share of RMB in Iraq’s foreign exchange reserves already accounts for 23%.