As Isabel and Valcke met, Jiang Ye began preparations to contact other forces on Wheeler.
The most important were two factions: the Gambler Gaunt and the Arctic King Rao Cheng Zhou.
Although spies had been planted within both factions, Jiang Ye did not want to convey his meeting intentions through them due to the significant side effects and unknown consequences.
Therefore, Jiang Ye decided on a more circuitous approach, finding an intermediary to relay the message.
After careful consideration, Jiang Ye set his sights on an organization: the Latitude Summit.
The Latitude Summit was the sole global organization on Wheeler, having existed for ten years with over sixty member factions. Both the Gambler Gaunt and the Arctic King Rao Cheng Zhou had representatives attending the summit.
The primary objective of this summit was to resolve differences between factions from different latitudes and to mediate wars as much as possible.
Of course, that was the stated purpose.
In reality, it served no purpose in mediating wars. Essentially, it was an organization for major powers to manage minor ones. Major powers held absolute sway at the summit, possessing veto power, while the voices of minor factions were akin to farts. Anyone who defied a major power would be beaten, and severe beatings could lead to outright expulsion.
The Arctic King Rao Cheng Zhou and the Gambler Gaunt were both major powers at the summit, each with a retinue of subordinate factions. They would argue during meetings, propose offensive proposals against each other, and remain in a state of equal strength, disliking each other but unable to do anything about it.
The Secretary-General of the Latitude Summit was named Weng Zimo. While the name sounded like that of an old-fashioned man, she was actually a beautiful woman.
The intermediary Jiang Ye sought was Weng Zimo.
She was not a native of Wheeler but an interstellar merchant. Over the past few years, she had supplied forty percent of Wheeler's pharmaceuticals, earning her the title of "Medicine King." Most major factions had placed orders with her, and their relationships were generally good. Consequently, Weng Zimo was elected Secretary-General of the Latitude Summit, responsible for maintaining order during meetings, and all representatives showed her respect.
Jiang Ye found her to be a perfect fit. Firstly, she was well-acquainted with all the major factions. Secondly, she was extremely neutral on Wheeler, not favoring any side. Most importantly, no major faction would kill her.
If Jiang Ye had sent spies to deliver the message directly, the spies would likely have been killed.
Once the candidate was decided, Jiang Ye's subordinates found a way to contact Weng Zimo.
Weng Zimo was a businesswoman, so contacting her under the guise of business dealings was quite easy.
Within two days, the spies on Wheeler met with Weng Zimo and stated their purpose.
Weng Zimo informed the spies in person that she wished to meet with Jiang Ye directly, otherwise she refused to act as an intermediary.
Upon receiving the spies' report, Jiang Ye readily agreed, stating his willingness to meet with Weng Zimo.
After several rounds of communication through the spies, the meeting time was set for a week later. The meeting location was Jiang Ye's General's Mansion on Jiang Ye Star.
A week passed quickly.
Weng Zimo boarded her commercial spaceship, departing Wheeler under the pretense of discussing business, and headed directly for Jiang Ye Star.
To welcome her arrival, a small local star station on Jiang Ye Star underwent a three-hour "equipment update lockdown," with police cordons in place.
Upon Weng Zimo's spaceship arriving at the Jiang Ye Star station, she immediately boarded a police escort vehicle and proceeded to Jiang Ye's General's Mansion.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Ye stood at his doorstep, watching a police car slowly pull onto the lawn in front of his residence.
As the car door opened, a pair of long legs emerged, with a graceful curve to her calves.
Weng Zimo was tall, but her face was slender, giving her a somewhat delicate appearance. She wore a hip-hugging skirt and a brown sweater, with her long hair flowing smoothly. She hadn't made an effort to dress up, but she still appeared very beautiful.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang," Weng Zimo said, her expressionless face scanning Jiang Ye from head to toe.
"Hello, Ms. Weng. You've had a long journey, thank you for coming," Jiang Ye nodded and gestured for her to enter. "Please come in!"
"Thank you," Weng Zimo nodded.
The two entered the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"You are not the first planetary leader I have met. When I supply goods to Wheeler, it's nominally smuggling, but in reality, I'm a courier for leaders of various planets, selling their planets' medicines to Wheeler, and most of the profits are returned to those planets," Weng Zimo said. "Other planetary leaders want to economically colonize Wheeler; you are the first to want to directly annex this planet."
"You misunderstand," Jiang Ye said with a smile. "I have no intention of annexing Wheeler."
"Not annexing?" Weng Zimo tilted her head. "Then why do you want to negotiate with Rao Cheng Zhou and Gaunt?"
"I hope to bring about the unification of Wheeler and stop the civil war," Jiang Ye said.
"Mr. Jiang, I am absolutely honest with you, but you are not honest with me," Weng Zimo's expression was disappointed. "If you want me to help you, you should at least let me understand what I'm doing, rather than being kept in the dark."
"I am also honest with you. Currently, the poor and war-torn Wheeler has no value in my eyes. Only a prosperous and strong Wheeler has value," Jiang Ye said. "After Wheeler is unified and develops its economy, becoming wealthy, the market at that time will be profitable, and my planet's businesses can enter. You mentioned earlier that some planetary leaders entrusted you to sell goods; I'm not interested in such small businesses."
Weng Zimo nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer.
"Since you have long-term plans for Wheeler, I hope you will use my services long-term, not just this once," Weng Zimo changed the subject.
"What kind of work can you do?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Many things. For example, I control nearly half of Wheeler's pharmaceuticals, a significant portion of which are medical supplies for the military. If I cut off supply, it will severely reduce the combat effectiveness of many warlord factions," Weng Zimo said with confidence. "I have lived on Wheeler for many years and have visited the territories of various warlord factions. I can say that I understand this planet better than anyone else on Wheeler. I am familiar with the leaders of all major warlord factions, and I know their situations very well."
"You want me to use your services long-term; what is the duration of this term?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The longer, the better."
Jiang Ye chuckled. "You don't even know the terms I'm offering you, and you're already willing to sign a lifetime contract?"
"The people you sent to find me were smoking Snowman cigarettes, so I know you are willing to spend money on your subordinates," Weng Zimo said. "My livelihood depends on the warlord conflicts on Wheeler; they rely on foreign merchants like me to obtain supplies. If you unify Wheeler, I will lose my job. Therefore, I naturally hope to have a new, long-term job."
"Snowman cigarettes?" Jiang Ye looked bewildered.
"It's a very expensive and rare cigarette, costing over a thousand yuan per stick, containing components of alien tobacco. It's very harmless to the body and can even enhance mental acuity," Weng Zimo explained. "Most interstellar merchants use these cigarettes to entertain guests or carry them for show, rarely smoking them continuously themselves. But the people you sent, while waiting for me in the corridor, were smoking them one after another, discarding them without finishing and lighting new ones, without any hesitation."
Jiang Ye cursed inwardly, wondering if the activity expenses for the spies were too high.