Rise of the Argentine Empire

On January 10th, at the port of Bu City,

The Plarreri fleet is setting sail this month, heading to Saigon in Nanyang, loaded with new cargo.

Saint Hesser has purchased many train containers to modify his fleet's ships.

Little Knicks took a team to Europe to help negotiate with the steel mills.

Sometimes Saint Hesser also goes to the Plarreri International office, especially in the past two months, the firearms and ammunition mass-produced by Raine Military Industries can also be used for international export.

It is now the height of summer in Bu City, with clear skies and not many clouds.

The port of Bu City looks a bit desolate, with large open spaces and few ships.

Some people are sunbathing on the ships, and many sailors have nothing to do and are playing cards on board.

It is almost harvest time for the grain, and the wheat is expected to have a bumper year.

Apart from the ships exporting beef that sail to Europe every week, there are very few other goods.

Bu City is located at the end of the world.

Since the Panama Canal opened in the Central American Isthmus in 1914, the Strait of Magellan is no longer one of the world's most important shipping routes.

The cargo throughput of Bu City has also grown very slowly.

The export volume is very small now, coupled with Argentina's industrialization failure in recent years,

And some special export policies of the Presidential Palace have led to the very slow development of Bu City Port.

In addition to transporting agricultural products such as beef and wheat, it rarely transports other goods, and occasionally imports electronic products from Western countries.

The goods exported by Plarreri International are an alternative here, from canned meat to Mirinda soda, beer, and white wine, and now also include canned coffee and some special packaged foods, such as luncheon meat.

There are also boxes of cigarettes, and then clothing and shoes.

The current export of weapons is very popular with the French, which has earned Saint Hesser a lot of money.

Except for the higher profits from the French in Nanyang, the profits from exports to Brazil and Europe are relatively low.

Although there are 500,000 French troops in Vietnam, 80% of them do not enjoy very good treatment, but they are also a good consumer group, so Saint Hesser will also specially produce some products for these customers.

For example, last month Saint Hesser had Plarreri Foods and the Keda Laboratory jointly develop fried instant noodles, which will soon be mass-produced.

The mold factory is already preparing to design and produce equipment, as well as ham sausages and other foods, and other factories.

This year Saint Hesser is also preparing to build larger factories in Bu City to meet the growing market scale.

Now is a good opportunity, especially since it is very troublesome for France to transport various materials through the Suez Canal.

And the United States does not bother with this small market.

After all, the Americans are supporting Japan in manufacturing military supplies during the Korean War, and selling these low-end goods across the Pacific does not meet the needs of the Americans.

Instead, the Japanese have taken a fancy to the business here and are competitors.

As for places like India and British Malaya, some have just become independent and some have not, and they are now very poor and causing trouble everywhere, and do not have the advantages of Saint Hesser's Argentine factories.

With a few low and long whistles, two fully loaded freighters slowly sailed out of the dock, flying the Argentine flag.

Dealing with the French army in Nanyang, and this time there are also 1,000 MP40s and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for another customer in Nanyang, as well as 500 P51s and 50,000 rounds of ammunition.

Saint Hesser watched the freighter sail into the distance, gradually disappearing, before taking people back to Bu City.

The headquarters of Plarreri International is located in Bu City, and the home port of the fleet has two, one is Bu City Port, and the other is Blanca Port, mainly responsible for trade with Brazil, as well as Nanyang, Australia, and Europe.

Container transportation of these goods, these containers, now the fleet has many Chinese crew members, mostly from Peru and Nanyang, which has a great relationship with the Chinatown of Ke City, because the fleet is expanding, and there are many suitable ones in Nanyang.

For safety, these crew members are armed crew members, who can prevent pirates and the like.

Since Plarreri International started doing international trade, Saint Hesser has arranged Thunder Cross security personnel on Little Knicks' side, while paying attention to various armed training.

The Plarreri International fleet will depart from Buenos Aires, selling various materials to the French.

There are three important node ports in Nanyang, one is Medan Port, one is Singapore Port, and the other is Saigon Port.

The freighter travels from Bu City on the Atlantic-Indian Ocean route, across the Atlantic Ocean, replenishes supplies in Cape Town, and then travels through the Indian Ocean to Sumatra Island, and finally through the Strait of Malacca to Saigon.

At first, it helped the French transport and sell military supplies, and later added firearms and ammunition produced by Raine Military Industries.

British Malaya has not yet become independent, and the Dutch East Indies has become independent, but Saint Hesser is actually not willing to see a unified Indonesia continue to exist, but he does not have the ability to support them in splitting Indonesia, so he can only secretly sell some military fire to maintain life.

Singapore Port is the territory of the British, Saigon is the territory of the French, and Medan Port has relatively good conditions.

The rule here is also relatively broad.

Indonesia is now large but not strong, the Dutch still have some remnants, and are working hard to unite, and there is Indonesia's largest independent movement organization - the Acehnese,

The Plarreri fleet has set up a branch here in Medan Port.

Saint Hesser intends to recruit Chinese crew members in Argentina, especially Chinatown in Cordoba and Chinatown in Bu City.

With the support of Chen Lao Bo and others, the fleet has expanded rapidly, and is also recruiting crew members and sailors locally in Nanyang.

Medan is the capital of North Sumatra Province, the largest city on Sumatra Island in Indonesia, located on the Deli River in northeastern Sumatra Island, with a current population of more than 800,000.

It is in a stage of rapid development and expansion.

Saint Hesser arranged for people to buy some land here for branch construction.

The city of Medan is composed of Batak, Javanese, Malay, Chinese and other ethnic groups, of which Chinese account for more than 25%, most of whom are engaged in industry and commerce, and are very good partners of Plarreri International in Nanyang.

Now independent movements have broken out everywhere in Nanyang, with some riots and wars.

"Going to Nanyang" is also a history of blood and tears, and today's Nanyang is full of war.

The Chinese here have migrated to Nanyang from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republic of China, from coolies to today's achievements, but they are still in a relatively low social status and do not have their own independent armed forces.

Saint Hesser is full of sympathy for the independence movement in Nanyang.

There are many Chinese in Nanyang who have become tycoons in business, but few arms dealers are willing to trade with them.

Siam, Burma, British Malaya, Cambodia, Annam, Indonesia, and the Philippines all have Chinese figures, but the people at the bottom are often oppressed, and it is very difficult to resist without weapons.

Today is the best of times and the worst of times.

The old colonial system is about to disintegrate, and various modern nation-states are rising, but Nanyang only has a place for the future Singapore.

Like British Malaya, it is occupied by Malays, Siam is also occupied by Thais, and Burma is only a local warlord, what a pity!

Raine Military Industries' military fire sold by Plarreri is one of the few Western companies willing to deal with them, especially in Malaya, where many Chinese who oppose the British have joined the Malayan Socialist Party.

Compared with the Indonesian Socialist Party, the MSP is more radical and has developed its own armed forces, but it is now in a very difficult period.

They have money but lack weapons, which is their biggest weakness.

They even use some weapons from World War I or even homemade explosives and bird guns, which are certainly no match for the British colonialists.

How can this work,

So Saint Hesser is also happy to open up new arms markets and plans to accelerate the research and mass production of various light and heavy weapons more suitable for jungle warfare, such as various types of mortars, rocket launchers, and assault rifles.

Taking advantage of the fact that the MSP is still relatively strong, he will provide them with logistics and sell them military fire.

Saint Hesser has also been waiting for news from the European steel negotiation team.

Seamless steel pipes and high-strength steel can only be imported sparingly now, which is particularly troublesome and expensive.

And Saint Hesser has never had much affection for the British colonialists.

It would be best to give them some eye drops and kill a few more.

Let the British bleed more, rather than safely evacuate British Malaya.

After all, unity does not make much sense, and only independence and autonomy can control the fate of one's own ethnic group.

Especially the Chen family in Ke City has undergone great changes.

Since there are more people in Chinatown, they have started opening restaurants and shops, and have maintained a good relationship with Saint Hesser.

It has brought him many surprises.

They have some connections with the MSP, and it was the Chen family who found Saint Hesser to secretly export military fire.

When Saint Hesser heard that there was such a good thing, he quickly sold, sold, sold, and specially brought a batch of military fire this time.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If there were more countries in Southeast Asia, or even if Indonesia and British Malaya were to disintegrate, that would naturally be even better. At the very least, Southeast Asia could be more equal.

The Pralari fleet has recently increased in number, now totaling seven ships, mostly medium-sized, with the largest having a deadweight of 50,000 tons.

Currently, two to three ships depart from Buenos Aires every month. Saint-Hesse has set a goal for the future of having a fleet depart every half month to seize the market and make as much money as possible while the opportunity is good.

…

University summer vacation is in a few days, which is a good time to hold a meeting. We can have a profitable year this year.

The annual summary meeting for 1951 is scheduled for January 25th, along with the distribution of year-end bonuses and the arrangement of next year's development plans.

January 25th, But City,

All factory and mining heads, except for the European steel mill team and the Australian team, have basically returned to the country.

The atmosphere at this annual meeting was very lively, after all, the boss was personally handing out money, and he was very generous.

The total number of employees in all of Saint-Hesse's companies has exceeded 13,000, of which just over 9,000 are front-line production personnel. Representatives of these factories, selected outstanding employees, and factory directors and deputy directors attended the meeting.

The entire venue was filled with a festive atmosphere. Before the meeting started, most of the factory directors came to Saint-Hesse to chat, which was a rare moment of relaxation. People like Philip from Rein Company, Sean from the explosives and fertilizer factory, Sain from Redwood Investment,

and Kross from Pralari Foods all came to the meeting. Except for Horst from Rein Military, who was still in Europe, and those from Pralari International, who were also in Europe, and the people from Rein Mining in Australia, most of them were present.

Saint-Hesse also chatted with Rosa for a while. Fortunately, he didn't see Rosa with a pregnant belly, and he was somewhat relieved, after all, he didn't want to be a father yet.

The two behaved very seriously in front of outsiders. Rosa looked much plumper.

Saint-Hesse secretly got intimate with her in a small conference room and agreed to spend a few days with her, which made Saint-Hesse feel very excited and guilty.

The total number of people at this meeting reached more than 100, and Delta security personnel were specially arranged to protect them so that they could safely attend the meeting in But City. Fortunately, the gangs have been silent recently, so the problem is not big.

The main purpose of this large meeting was to stabilize everyone's morale and make expansion plans. The large meeting only lasted for one hour, mainly to commend outstanding employees from various factories.

More importantly, separate small meetings were held for each factory. After one was finished, it was sent away, and they were not allowed to have too much contact, mainly for safety reasons. The scale of development has become so alarming that it will arouse jealousy.

This time, some good news finally came from Thunder Mining in Australia. Thunder Mining bought a coal mine in Western Australia, which finally allowed Pralari International to buy more coal carriers. Even the worst Australian coal mine is much better than domestic coal mines.

Unlike American, Western European, and Japanese companies, Australian companies do not have strict requirements for foreign-funded holdings, and Western Australia has a very high degree of autonomy, making it very suitable for investing in mining and the production of coal and iron ore.

Moreover, transportation from Australia to But City is also quite convenient. Saint-Hesse actually wanted to build a steel mill in Blanca Port, because it is closer and has railway transportation to the whole country, if both coal and iron ore need to be imported.

Saint-Hesse actually wanted to invest in and hold some American, European, and Japanese companies, but eventually gave up and turned them into some strategic investments. The highest holding investment in any company does not exceed 20%.

He still made a lot of money. The money Saint-Hesse earned from exports cannot be directly converted into US dollars. Currencies such as francs, reals, and pounds are mostly transferred to Redwood Investment Company in the United States.

Throughout 1951, Saint-Hesse had more money flowing into the United States than flowing out. Most of the money was transferred to Sequoia Investment Company and invested in the US stock market and index funds, sharing the fruits of the US economic recovery.

It was not until the end of last year when he needed to buy various foreign equipment that he withdrew a lot of funds, mainly for the investment in the heavy machinery factory and the investment in Japanese companies.

He spent a lot of US dollars, but most of the time he held onto them, after all, the US stock market is in a long bull market now, and selling more is a waste.

Most of the fertilizer plants, cement plants, and steel mills are gradually exchanged for various materials through export trade, which is also quite difficult.

Pralari Foods has developed rapidly and grown into a large food and beverage company with annual sales of 20 million US dollars, more than six times that of last year.

Of course, because of Saint-Hesse, it has become several large factories that are not subordinate to each other. Maria Factory is specifically responsible for exporting products, while Pralari Factory and But City Factory are responsible for the domestic market.

It's just that the overall profit of the company is a little low. The company's total sales profit for the whole year is less than 3 million US dollars. The categories involved have expanded from beer, soda, canned food, liquor, and coffee to food processing, but the actual profit is not high, mainly engaged in low-end brands.

Blue Cloud Shoe and Clothing Factory is an unexpected surprise. From scratch, especially with exports to Europe and Brazil, annual sales have rapidly expanded to a scale of 8 million US dollars, with relatively higher profits, estimated at 1.8 million US dollars, mainly due to brand endorsement and various new styles, and has also developed its own OEM factories.

The sales target for next year is 30 million US dollars, and several more large factories will be opened. At the same time, preparations are being made to accelerate investment in the textile industry, which is Argentina's advantage, especially the cotton textile industry.

Rein Military is currently a super cash cow, this is the real money maker. The total orders add up to 120,000 Rein MP40 submachine guns and 150,000 M51 pistols. According to the current production capacity, it will take until the end of this year to complete all orders at the earliest.

The total sales order amount is more than 70 million US dollars, and the profit for the next year will reach an astonishing 30 million US dollars, truly making a fortune.

The explosives factory had sales of 2 million US dollars last year, with a profit of 700,000 US dollars, part of which was transferred to Thunder Mining to mine various minerals. The goal for this year is to continue to expand, with the main export countries being Brazil and Australia, especially as Australia's mining industry is entering a stage of rapid development.

Andes Condor Cigarette Factory invested 500,000 US dollars to purchase cigarette production equipment and build a house for roasting tobacco leaves, with an output of 1.1 million US dollars. The current tobacco leaves are mainly purchased from others.

Maria Fertilizer Factory invested a total of more than 7 million US dollars, with the first batch of 2 million US dollars paid in installments to Fabe Company.

The first batch of fertilizers was mass-produced in December and internally transferred to the cigarette factory's plantation for tobacco leaf production, with no too much output for the time being. Now, wheat and other crops have been harvested, and some fruit farms have been sold.

Thunder Mining newly invested 2.4 million US dollars for the production of various minerals in the Potassium Triangle, with the latest monthly output profit exceeding 1.8 million US dollars.

Cement factory invested 600,000 US dollars, temporarily with no output, mainly for the supporting facilities of Morado Town.

Morado Town is also a money-losing business, and the development is not satisfactory, with excessively high construction costs.

The reason why Saint-Hesse was able to make money this year is also due to the increase in the peso interest rate and inflation, which actually reduced his costs a lot, which is why he was able to achieve this result. Moreover, Saint-Hesse's export of some high-value goods does not go through customs tariffs.

The factory directors separately reported on the production situation. Only Saint-Hesse and the factory directors know the specific sales data, also in order to prevent everyone's hearts from being too overwhelmed, especially since some data cannot be disclosed.

Each factory held a separate meeting and kept it strictly confidential. For the time being, the factory's situation cannot be leaked too much.

At the meeting, Saint-Hesse summarized this year's development, gave all outstanding employees a bonus of three months' salary, and also announced that all employees in the company would receive an extra month of basic salary to make them happy.

This is also Saint-Hesse's means of winning people's hearts. He does not allow union forces in his factories, or even divides them, but at the same time, he arranges high wages and decent benefits, making these employees feel a strong sense of belonging, and the competitiveness is also the highest in Argentina.

According to the development, Saint-Hesse gave each factory separate development plans, various expansion plans, and sales plans for the new year. This meeting ended successfully.

When the others were arranged to relax separately, Saint-Hesse secretly pulled Rosa to a luxury hotel.

This time he also wants to relax, he hasn't seen her for a long time, and he misses her quite a bit.