"Vroom-"
The engine started, and Adrian left.
Inside his briefcase lay a new treaty Sankara had just signed.
He was thoroughly satisfied!
But Sankara, who remained at the villa entrance, watching him leave... might not have been quite so happy!
He felt humiliated! Furious!
And helpless, too.
At that moment, Sankara finally understood what it meant to say, "Dignity rests only on the edge of a sword, and truth lies only within the range of cannons"!
"Whew-"
Sankara kept taking deep breaths, trying hard to suppress his anger.
"Are you all right?"
Standing nearby, Meyev saw Sankara turn pale and hurried forward to support him, asking with a worried expression.
"Don't worry. I'm not that fragile!"
Sankara waved a hand, signaling for Meyev to let go of him, and shook his head as he replied. Then, as though speaking to Meyev, or perhaps to himself, he continued:
"I've heard a saying that goes-"
"Any paper we haven't signed is just shit in a toilet."
"Now, I'll make those French bastards understand that even paper we've signed amounts to nothing more than toilet paper!"
"Just wait!"
"That day will come!"
Before his words had faded, Sankara turned and left without looking back.
"..."
Meyev raised his head slightly, looked at the French ambassador's receding figure, then turned to look at Sankara as he walked away.
He did not know what treaty Sankara had signed.
But he believed Sankara would never betray the country's interests. Even if he had temporarily done so, it was a compromise forced upon him!
"That's right. One day, we'll make you French bastards pay back a hundredfold!"
Recalling Sankara's final words, Meyev repeated them and added a sentence of his own.
With that, Meyev also turned without looking back and jogged after Sankara.
"Hey! Mr. President, wait for me! Don't walk so fast!"
In this day and age, how should a small country survive?
It was simple!
Know your place, then... sway between both sides!
Only then could you possibly secure enough benefits for yourself without becoming a pawn sacrificed in the great powers' games!
Of course, you needed bargaining chips if you wanted to play both sides!
So what were Sankara's bargaining chips?
"My biggest bargaining chip right now is my cheat, the National GDP Development System!"
Sitting at his desk, Sankara carefully sorted through the bargaining chips he held, muttering to himself:
"With the system's help, I can see the loyalty toward me personally of every citizen of the Republic of Burkina!"
"Then I can kick the disloyal ones out of the government, or even throw them straight into prison, leaving only those with a basic level of loyalty."
"That way, I can ensure political stability!"
"We won't be like the Republic of Burkina used to be, with thirteen military coups, large and small, in less than twenty years!"
As everyone knew, in the magical land of North Africa, military coups were as routine as daily meals. If one did not happen at noon, it was bound to happen in the morning or evening!
The absence of political stability was one of the most important reasons why the hundred-plus countries of North Africa and even Africa as a whole struggled to develop!
Of course, the political chaos was certainly not solely those countries' own fault. The Fourth French Republic, the hidden hand pushing things along behind the scenes, bore the greatest responsibility!
So Sankara's ability to see other people's loyalty toward him truly was his greatest bargaining chip at present!
Not merely one of them!
"Then there's the uranium ore!"
"After the White Giant Eagle ended the Second World War with four atomic bombs, two million direct deaths, and ten million indirect deaths."
"Uranium ore became a vital resource second only to oil."
"The White Giant Eagle's sphere of influence spans the globe. They have no shortage of uranium ore, but the Red Giant Bear isn't so lucky!"
"I think these 1.05 million tons of uranium ore will definitely be an enormous temptation for the Red Giant Bear!"
"At the same time, getting a foothold in North Africa will be a temptation of some significance to them, too!"
"Put those two together, and I think..."
"I'll definitely be able to milk plenty of good stuff out of the Red Giant Bear!"
"Right, getting a foothold in resource-rich North Africa and dismantling the Fourth French Republic's sphere of influence will be quite a temptation for the White Giant Eagle, too!"
"If there's an opportunity, perhaps I can approach them as well!"
After the Second World War ended.
Although the United Nations' current five permanent members were all victorious powers, the Red Giant Bear, the White-Headed Giant Eagle, and the Eastern Giant Dragon were all sparing no effort to dismantle the colonial system jointly established by the Third British Empire and the Fourth French Republic after the Second World War.
By now, the Third British Empire existed in name only.
By contrast, the Fourth French Republic, which had raised the white flag in surrender during the war, had retained sufficiently deep influence in Africa, particularly North Africa, thanks to its different approach to colonialism.
Even now, these North African countries, including the Republic of Burkina, were independent in name but remained colonies of the Fourth French Republic in practice!
So, if Sankara could prove that he truly had the ability to maintain the stability of his rule over the long term.
Then the White Giant Eagle and the Red Giant Bear, and even the Eastern Giant Dragon.
Would certainly all be very willing to lend a hand, making an incidental move that, to those three superpowers, amounted to "it's the holidays, and we're here anyway," and watching the Fourth French Republic make a fool of itself.
Sankara believed that as long as he did not go too far, such as cutting off all the French bastards' interests in the Republic of Burkina in one fell swoop.
They would surely have no choice but to watch him dance on their graves, and would be unlikely to send troops to intervene personally.
"At most, they'll support anti-government forces and try to corrupt the officials under me, using that to strip me of power or even overthrow me!"
Sankara had already made some mental preparations for what might happen in the future.
"Knock, knock, knock-"
The knocking echoed for a long time through Sankara's spacious office.
"Come in!"
Busy handling official business, Sankara spoke without raising his head.
"Mr. President, the Soviet ambassador has arrived!"
Meyev, nominally the commander of the Guard Battalion but effectively already the president's personal secretary, pushed open the door, entered, and spoke.
"So soon?"
Sankara looked up at Meyev, somewhat surprised. Then he put down his fountain pen, rose, walked toward Meyev, and said:
"Quick, take me to see the Soviet ambassador!"