Expedition to Europe

The misery of the colonial people cannot be described in a few words. Just think about the black slaves who were sold all over the world.

Since the 19th century, the slave trade has gradually decreased, but it has not been completely cut off.

In fact, the slave trade did not start with the global colonization of Western colonists, but started when the Arabs entered Africa.

At that time, the Arabs had no oil to buy and could not sell it, so the slave trade became a way for some unproductive nations to make money.

Algeria under French rule, like other African countries, was also plundered and exploited by the colonial powers. At this time, national consciousness had not yet awakened worldwide, so "revolution" was not popular in Africa. Although the Algerians opposed the French invasion before 1905, when the time came to the 1920s, the French had already occupied the entire Algeria, and the Algerians no longer resisted. They even organized an army to join the Allied Powers and participated in the World War.

The headquarters of the Foreign Legion in Algeria was built in Sidi Bel Abbas, about 100 kilometers south of Oran. It is the spiritual home of the Foreign Legion, and all the Foreign Legion members regard it as a holy place...

Definitely not including the Chinese. Although there are many Chinese, they have never even been to Sidi Bel Abbas.

It also does not include Qin Zhiyuan.

Algeria currently has a territory of about 2.38 million square kilometers and a population of about 5.6 million, of which about 800,000 are European immigrants and their descendants, about two people per square kilometer. More than 90% of the population of Algeria lives in the Mediterranean coastal area in the north, and the Sahara Desert in the central and southern parts is uninhabited.

When Qin Zhiyuan saw the current situation in Algeria, he was immediately moved.

You know, the Hassi Messaoud oil field, which ranks among the top in the world in terms of reserves, is located in the northeastern part of Algeria, with a reserve of about 6 billion barrels; the Woolwood oil field, 320 kilometers away from the Hassi Messaoud oil field, also has a reserve of more than 2.3 billion barrels. These places are still uninhabited and have not been discovered. If Qin Zhiyuan takes action to get these places now...

Tsk tsk, it's exciting to think about it.

The importance of oil resources has already begun to emerge at this time, but due to the fierce fighting in Europe, countries have no spare energy to find mineral veins, and they can only use existing oil fields to support the war.

In 1914, when the war began, the French army had only 110 trucks, 60 tractors and 132 aircraft. So far, this number has increased to 60,000 trucks and 10,000 aircraft. During the same period, the equipment invested in the war by Britain included more than 80,000 trucks and more than 4,000 aircraft. At present, the daily oil consumption of Britain and France has reached an unimaginable 10,000 barrels.

Throughout the war, oil opened the door to the amazing mobility of modern warfare.

Under the leadership of Marshal von Mackensen, Germany went to Romania last year. The main consideration was to reorganize the refining, production and pipeline enterprises that previously belonged to Britain, the Netherlands, France and Romania into a large joint enterprise.

During the war, Romania was the only country that could guarantee the oil supply for the German Air Force, tank forces and U-fleet.

The British, who had 40% of their naval warships powered by oil, once launched a campaign in the Dardanelles that led to Churchill's resignation as Minister of the Navy, just to ensure that the oil in Baku, Russia, could be supplied to Britain and France for the war.

French Senator Henri Berengue, then director of the Petroleum Committee, had a famous saying, "Oil is the blood of victory. Germany overstated her advantages in steel and coal, but did not pay enough attention to our advantages in oil."

This will lead to disastrous consequences, which will appear in the middle of 1918.

Since oil is important enough, and Algeria, which the French have in their hands, has huge oil fields but does not know it, there must be a loophole to be exploited.

So Qin Zhiyuan immediately asked Lyaute about the possibility of buying land.

"Buy desert? Are you crazy? What do you want those places for? Do you lack sand?" Lyaute was unbelievable.

As a soldier, Lyaute is qualified, but as a businessman...

Lyaute can't be a businessman. He can find fleeting opportunities on the battlefield, but in business, he can't even understand the simple "buy high and sell low".

"If I tell you that there is oil in the Sahara Desert, you will always understand it!" Qin Zhiyuan didn't plan to eat alone.

In this world, there is no such thing as eating alone. Only by attracting enough vested interests and protecting your own interests together can you enjoy fruitful results. If Qin Zhiyuan now swallows up the Hasi Messaud oil field, then Qin Zhiyuan's only ending is to be stuffed to death, and there will be no other possibilities.

Think about it, if Qin Zhiyuan privately owns the Hasi Messaud oil field, it is hard to guarantee that the French government will not be jealous. Although for Westerners, the saying that "private property is sacred and inviolable" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but that is when there is not enough private property. If it is more than a certain extent...

Think about the Renault factory after World War II.

"Oil? There really is oil..." Liotai was obviously surprised. He stood up from his chair, was stunned for a moment, and then collapsed again. "So what? The Sahara Desert is so big. Are we going to dig wells one by one? I'm afraid we won't find it until the day we die."

This is the truth. Everyone knows that there are treasures inside the earth, but it is not easy to find them accurately. In many cases, the money spent on detecting an oil field is astronomical, and it is even possible that the value of the oil field found cannot make up for the detection cost.

But more often than not, no oil field can be found at all!

"I will be responsible for the detection, and you will open up the connections. How about we set up a company and share the benefits together?" Qin Zhiyuan baited.

"If I am only responsible for opening up the connections, then of course there is no problem." Leotai is just not good at business, but he is not stupid. Qin Zhiyuan's conditions are equivalent to giving money to Leotai, and Leotai has no reason to refuse.

"From what you say, you are not going to pay a centime?" Qin Zhiyuan was dissatisfied, and he had to be more or less considerate.

"Hahaha... Do you think I look like a rich man? If you want to find someone to pay, you can go to Louis." Leotai helped Qin Zhiyuan open up a way to make money.

"Of course I will find it, I don't have money..." Qin Zhiyuan actually had this idea.

This friendship boat does not look reliable!

"It's better to bring your father-in-law along." Louis suggested.

"Then why should I look for you? I can just go to Ferdinand to get the connections, right?" Qin Zhiyuan looked down on this person who was planning to eat for free.

"Haha, my connections in France are indeed not as good as your father-in-law's, but when it comes to colonies, haha..." Lyaute looked proud.

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Lyaute has the right to be proud. He went to Algeria to serve in 1880 and returned to Algeria in 1903 as the commander of the Ain Sefora Military Region. So far, Lyaute has served in France's overseas colonies for 37 years. There is almost no one in the French army who is older than Lyaute.

"Hmm... okay, but this will affect your income. Those who don't work shall not eat!" Qin Zhiyuan gave in. He would not be tough on this matter.

"It doesn't matter, give as much as you want!" Lyaute was so happy that he could see his back teeth.

Of course he was happy. This is an oil field. Even if it is only one percent, it will far exceed Lyaute's salary income.

After finalizing the oil field, Qin Zhiyuan stopped talking nonsense and went out with Leotai to find their own people.

At the door, Akashi Motojiro was still waiting. When he saw Leotai and Qin Zhiyuan coming out, he immediately came to greet them.

"Mr. Minister..." Akashi Motojiro looked at Qin Zhiyuan and hesitated.

"General Akashi, please stop talking about that matter. If a soldier does not die on the battlefield, he will definitely not be recognized. Considering the relationship between our two countries, I have downplayed this matter, but this does not mean that the French Army Department supports this behavior." Leotai's expression turned cold, and he looked at Akashi Motojiro and others expressionlessly.

At the door of Leotai's office, there were actually quite a few people coming and going. Leotai himself had more than a dozen secretaries, and there were even more staff members in the Army Department.

When Leotai came out of the office, everyone would stop their work and show respect by watching Leotai leave. At this time, Leotai had just finished speaking, and almost everyone understood the intentions of Akashi Motojiro and his party.

Akashi Motojiro came for the honor of the soldiers who were shot by Qin Zhiyuan.

This is really shameless. He molested the nurse and started a rebellion. How can such a person have any honor?

When did the honor of France become so worthless?

Most of the staff in Lyotai's office are women. They hate violence against women even more. Therefore, when Lyotai finished speaking, almost everyone looked at Akashi Motojiro and his party with contempt. Several female officers even cursed in a low voice without any concealment.

"Mr. Minister, although they did something wrong, they were punished in a targeted manner, which is beyond the norm. And they came to help France. Isn't this enough to restore their reputation?" Akashi Motojiro asked Lyotai with a sad and angry face, as if he didn't notice the gazes of others.

"General Akashi, please pay attention to the fact that although they came to fight against the evil Germany, they extended their evil black hands to the nurses who took care of them. This is dishonorable in any case. Noble purposes cannot cover up their despicable nature. This cannot be changed." Leotai stopped and said to Akashi Motojiro seriously.

"Minister, you have double standards, because right next to you, someone also extended his evil black hands to French women, but you didn't say anything." The eager major next to Akashi Motojiro spoke without thinking.

This statement has other meanings, and the spearhead is directly pointed at Qin Zhiyuan, because Qin Zhiyuan is next to Leotai, and behind Qin Zhiyuan is Misha, who is ready to leave when he sees Qin Zhiyuan coming out.

Misha?

This is really intolerable.