The smile on the warlord representative's face faded somewhat. Of course, he was unwilling. Those conditions would weaken his own power.
"The General values long-term cooperation," the representative vaguely remarked.
"That's good," Mendoza gestured for his assistant to pass over a document, "This is the draft of our next phase of cooperation. It includes setting up a local ore processing plant, reducing transportation costs, and increasing local employment. The profit-sharing ratio can be negotiated. But the premise is exclusivity. We do not want to see equipment from British or American companies appearing in adjacent mining areas."
"Exclusivity..." the representative pondered.
"Additionally," Mendoza lowered his voice, "We heard the General has had some... 'frictions' in the border area recently. We can provide some 'non-lethal' security equipment and technical support to help maintain the stability around the mining area. For free."
