Chapter 1369: Chapter 471: Chaos Erupts
Night.
Inside the Presidential Office of Mexico.
Calles was handling the documents at hand, with less than three months left before his term ended.
Calles needed to ensure that, after he stepped down, the puppet he appointed could continue to be under his control.
"The army is of utmost importance!"
Calles looked up at the map of Mexico on the wall of the Presidential Office, which marked the locations of various military units.
No matter the country, leaders clearly understand that only by controlling the army can they stabilize their regime; some can manage this, while others cannot.
"Aguirre and Escovar have always had other thoughts. Now that Hill is taking over as the interim President of Mexico, surely they both feel imbalanced. We should give them some perks then, but not in military aspects!"
Calles saw the location of Veracruz State, which is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico—a very important geographic location and also an important port for trade between Mexico and the United States.
Just then, Edson Araujo hurried into Calles’ office.
"Mr. President, something has happened!"
Calles looked dissatisfied with Edson Araujo, chastising: "What is it that makes you so frantic? The sky is not falling, is it?"
Edson Araujo replied nervously: "Mr. President, didn’t you ask me to investigate the situation of the various Mexican armies? I have found something!"
Calles’ expression darkened: "Whose army is it?"
Edson Araujo went to the map-covered wall in Calles’ office and pointed to the location of Veracruz State, excitedly saying: "Aguirre, Escovar! My men found out that they have been secretly deploying their troops these past few days. I just went to the War Department, and they haven’t issued any orders to deploy troops to Aguirre and Escovar!"
"Damn it!" Calles cursed angrily, but there wasn’t much worry in his eyes, as he stated: "Though their forces have decent combat abilities, their numbers and weapons are no match for ours. Immediately notify all ministers and have them come to the Presidential Office for a meeting!"
Calles was not overly worried about the abnormalities from Aguirre and Escovar because he had control over the national forces, confident that he could defeat them.
However, Edson Araujo did not leave immediately and stated: "Mr. President, there’s one more thing my people just discovered."
"What is it?" Calles asked.
"Two weeks ago, during Donnie Block’s stay in Mexican waters, Escovar acquired a shipment of AK47s and over a million rounds of ammunition!"
Edson Araujo added carefully.
"What?" Calles could not sit still now; he had been confident that he could easily quell Aguirre’s and Escovar’s rebellion because he held powerful weapons.
Now Edson Araujo was telling him that the rebels had the same weapons as he did?
"Such important news, and it took you two weeks to discover it?"
Calles could not forgive Edson Araujo’s incompetence.
Edson Araujo replied with a stiff upper lip: "Aguirre and Escovar have excellent control over their armies... it’s my incompetence!"
When Edson Araujo saw Calles’ stern face, he already knew that over-explaining would only land him in more trouble!
"Go make the call, I want to see everyone within half an hour!"
Calles understood that it was not the time to hold Edson Araujo accountable but rather to actively respond to the potential outbreak of rebellion by Aguirre and Escovar!
Without any hesitation, Edson Araujo immediately went to call the ministers of Mexico!
Half an hour later!
In the meeting room of the Mexican Presidential Office, everyone was informed of the situation.
The Minister of War, Cardenas, asked: "Mr. President, do we have specific evidence of Aguirre’s and Escovar’s rebellion?"
Calles responded coldly: "The two of them have already accepted the weapon donation from Donnie Block, is that not evidence enough?"
The Foreign Minister asked: "Mr. President, is there irrefutable evidence of this?"
Calles replied angrily: "The AK47s in their hands are evidence!"
Foreign Minister Rudolf Kotta said helplessly: "Mr. President, in international meetings, in negotiations with the United States, this cannot be used as evidence. I need direct evidence of contact between Donnie Block and Aguirre, Escovar—like letters or something!"
Calles naturally did not have such things and said to Rudolf Kotta: "Immediately call Dwight Morrow, I want to question why businessmen from their country are supporting rebels in our country!"
Seeing Calles’ expression, Rudolf Kotta knew that he didn’t have direct evidence, but they were used to following Calles’ orders, so Rudolf Kotta promptly picked up the phone in the meeting room and dialed the American Embassy in Mexico.
Dwight Morrow answered the call.
Rudolf Kotta informed Dwight Morrow of the current situation, maintaining a very polite demeanor as he spoke.
"What?" Dwight Morrow’s surprised tone came through the phone, then he righteously stated: "Mr. Kotta, regarding your conjecture about Mr. Block, I want to know if you have concrete evidence!"