Rise of the Argentine Empire

Saint Hérse was a little speechless. How did the urban guerrillas appear ahead of schedule? Wasn't this thing supposed to appear ten years later?

Urban guerrillas generally refer to guerrilla organizations that appeared in Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile in the 1960s and 1970s. To be honest, these were okay in the early stage, but later they became like gangsters and terrorists.

Saint Hérse was no stranger to guerrillas. The Thunder Cross of the Potassium Triangle had contacted the Bolivian guerrillas. The Bolivian guerrillas were supported by the Chilean Soviet Embassy, and the leader was called Paz Estenssoro, who seemed to be the former Minister of Finance of Bolivia.

The real god of guerrilla warfare is in New China. He remembers the sixteen-character policy clearly and will never forget it.

[The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we strike; the enemy retreats, we pursue.]

The Latin American region fought jungle guerrilla warfare and became small warlords. Their level was not very good. Later, they were besieged by the military government. Saint Hérse did not like guerrilla warfare or mobile warfare. He preferred the firepower thinking, and the Argentine army's level was indeed not good. Only the air force was barely passable.

Saint Hérse felt that when fighting a war, it should be a modern three-dimensional warfare.

Fighting counter-insurgency warfare and street fighting are last resorts and are complete failures.

The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting. But if you really want to fight, he is not afraid. War is just a means to achieve goals, but if you are controlled by the military, that is military government thinking. A gun that cannot be commanded is not a good gun.

"Guerrero, do you still have records of that guerrilla team in Bolivia? The one whose leader is Paz."

Saint Hérse asked suddenly. Guerrero was standing behind him. The two were discussing the further development of the Falcon Bureau. Intelligence work really burns money, and it is also necessary to design some special agent weapons, such as eavesdropping devices, miniature pistols, and small explosives.

The latter two are okay. The simplest eavesdropping device is a small gadget like a voice recorder, but Argentina can't do it yet. Argentina's electronics industry is not very good. There is a radio factory, but it can only produce some small gadgets.

The post-World War II period is a stage of rapid development of electronic appliances. It seems that when the steel plant, motorcycle plant, and tractor plant are initially completed, it is time to invest in this area. This is the advanced industry of the future.

"Okay, boss, I'll go to Bill from the Potassium Triangle to get some information. I'll let Andrei report to you personally about the urban guerrillas."

Bill Bird is now the deputy director of the Falcon Bureau, an all-rounder, responsible for the construction of the intelligence system in Morado Town, Oran City, and other key cities in the entire north of the Potassium Triangle, and also supervises the Thunder Mining headquarters, cement plant, tobacco factory, plantation, etc.

"Okay, you go first. Just bring it to me later."

Recently, he has been busy with customs public opinion and the steel plant. He has not contacted the Potassium Triangle for almost a month. Looking at the weather, the tobacco should also be harvested. Selling tobacco can bring in a lot of money.

After a while, Andrei knocked on the door and came in.

"Andrei, do you know anything about the urban guerrillas in Buenos Aires?"

Saint Hérse looked up and asked directly.

"Boss, I know a little about this, but it's just a more formal gang. Of course, they are indeed more novel gangsters. They got a few guns, and unlike ordinary gangs, they don't bully ordinary people, and they like to get involved with some unions."

It seems to be quite different. Maybe it is the ancestor of the urban guerrillas. Perón has a lot of opposition.

"Is guerrilla warfare attractive?"

To be honest, he doesn't think much of these people, but he has to be affected. If it really doesn't work, kill them and send them to see God, even if there are classmates inside.

Prevention is better than cure. These people are bandits and gangsters in order to make money. Argentina is not suitable for them. It is better to send them to Uruguay and Paraguay. The people of Brazil also need them. Argentina does not need these scum.

"It's just like that. It is estimated that a new leader has been replaced. The tactics are still very good. They killed several people from the police department, which made them famous, and they are very good at escaping and hiding."

Running away after doing it once is probably still very active.

"Let them collect more intelligence about guerrillas and gangs, and if it really doesn't work, kill them in a legal way."

Saint Hérse added that Argentina cannot be too chaotic now. He wants to set up some industries in Buenos Aires, and there are too many who stand out.

"Okay."

"By the way, how is the security near the Paladi district in Buenos Aires now? Is it suitable for building a factory?"

"The security in the Paladi district is okay, and there are many workers, but the unemployment rate is very high."

"Well, then arrange for someone to see if there is a suitable place, prepare to buy a few factory buildings, prepare equipment, and set up textile factories, clothing factories, and shoe factories. Arrange the addresses of the textile factories and shoe factories downstream, and keep them away from the beverage factory."

The Paladi district is the location of Prarie's third beverage factory and Saint Hérse's first production factory in Buenos Aires. This is mainly a food factory after all.

Now, many new businesses have been produced.

Now the export business has been changed, and it is a good time to show off. Building a bunch of new factories in Buenos Aires is also a good way to expand the scale of operations and open more factories to make money.

"Okay, boss, but it may be more troublesome to get raw materials for clothing and textiles in Buenos Aires. There is a large company here that almost monopolizes more than half of the market. It is not the same as in Maria Town. There is a large company called Byrne. This company is also the owner of most of the cotton fields in the country, and controls large garment factories. The prices of cotton and ready-made clothes are determined by this company. They also monopolize many industries in Buenos Aires."

"It seems that this company is not very famous? They did not participate in the import and export association. If we intervene, there may be a lot of conflicts."

To be honest, the only thing that Saint Hérse in Buenos Aires may have a big conflict with other local companies is the beverage factory, but it is basically smooth sailing.

Because Argentina's domestic beverage industry isn't very strong, and Prall International is involved in foreign trade, or rather, since Saint-Hesse mainly focused on overseas markets after developing the domestic market, its current effort to establish itself domestically will inevitably conflict with other domestic companies.

These former caudillos aren't so simple either.

"Have Rod, the boss of Andes Peace Clothing Factory, come see me. I didn't expect that the clothing industry would need a local snake to succeed."

Saint-Hesse instructed.

"Yes, boss."

… …

"Boss, Bill has transmitted a secret telegram, classified as 'Secret Level.'"

Guerrero handed the intelligence to Saint-Hesse, who took it and began to read through the documents.

The more he read, the more he realized that Paz was quite capable. The number of guerrillas he organized was even more than the Thunder Cross, and he was really preparing to return to Sucre to start a rebellion next month.

Bill was also invited, but he didn't agree. However, he sent some local specialties and secured an order for a used Chicago typewriter, with the final payment to be a few mines in Thunder Mining to choose from after the successful uprising.

"This guy is interesting. I think he might succeed."

Bolivia's economy is much worse than Argentina's, even worse than northern Argentina. Coupled with the war with Paraguay, it's a purely agricultural country with a small population, a mountain of foreign debt, and a tribal political system with a large number of landowners and nobles.

But Paz is a well-educated military man who understands economics. He's developed foreign trade to support a guerrilla force and established the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement party, planning to launch an armed uprising next month to overthrow the Balivion dictatorship.

"Send a telegram to Bill. I, Saint-Hesse, am investing in this venture. Also, sponsor some supplies, such as canned food. Send more bullets and some guns, maybe half-sell, half-donate. Anyway, in the future, replace them all with Rhein products. By the way, have Rhein Armaments send three mortars and 300 shells."

Since it's a venture capital investment, he's definitely going to play it big. Bill has a good impression of Paz and thinks he's capable.

Rhein Armaments can already produce mortars. It's just a matter of stamping and manufacturing. Sending two or three isn't a problem. Maria Town has plenty of raw materials for the shells.

"Yes, boss."

Taking leave just after the start of the semester is embarrassing for the teachers, but with Professor Pukins covering for him, it's not a big deal.

Saint-Hesse still got first place in the final exam last semester, so he has privileges.

During the summer vacation, the New Youth League wasn't idle either, continuing to expand off-campus. Recently, the Radical Civic Union's youth group also plans to cooperate, which is a win-win.

… …

Most of the members of the Import and Export Association are small and medium-sized companies. Saint-Hesse only cooperates with Rod. As for military industries, he can handle those himself.

"Mr. Saint-Hesse, how can I help?"

"How much do you know about Byrne Corporation?"

"Byrne Corporation is the largest textile group in the country, with eight large garment factories. They control 80% of the country's cotton. It's backed by two families, the Byrne family and the Benge family, both from Buenos Aires Province. Their history can be traced back to the colonial period."

Argentina has such a large factory? I, Saint-Hesse, am ignorant. In the end, the information wasn't up to par. However, the Falcon Bureau has fewer people assigned to commercial information, and they are mainly serving Maria Town. Rhein Armaments and Prall International don't need the Falcon Bureau's help.

"I plan to set up a few factories. How should I go about it? If suitable, I'll set up more."

In comparison, light industry is currently the fastest way to make money. The equipment is simple, and you just need enough workers. While the foreign trade policy is changing, I need to quickly prepare to start working and make money.

"Mr. Saint-Hesse, I am willing to help with all my strength, just to cooperate with Blue Cloud Clothing."

Saint-Hesse hadn't revealed that he was the owner of Blue Cloud.

"Okay, please gather more information for me on this matter, as quickly as possible."

This is the time to grab money, but it's not a rash entry. As the location of the customs office, Buenos Aires provides convenient export and good supporting facilities.

"Okay, Mr. Saint-Hesse."

A few days later, Saint-Hesse bought many factory buildings in Buenos Aires, brought some garment factory managers and some old employees from Maria Town, and quickly set up the framework. With Ron's help, it's basically going smoothly.

First, get the garment factory up and running, then comes the more troublesome shoe factory, which requires more complex equipment, but it's not a big problem.

As for Byrne Corporation, their strength is just so-so, but they do have a lot of wealth behind them, with 250,000 hectares of land, equivalent to 2,500 square kilometers of cotton fields. They really have a large-scale operation.

It's not like there aren't opponents. Argentina doesn't lack cotton. If it really doesn't work, I'll work harder, get rid of a few caudillos and send them in, and then I'll have everything.

While Saint-Hesse was enthusiastically preparing for the factory, two good pieces of news arrived.

Horst from Rhein Armaments returned fully loaded, having recruited some light and heavy weapons design talents.

The top German design talents were basically snatched up by the Americans and Soviets.

Horst brought some good news, recruiting several weapons design experts, especially experts in assault rifles and artillery, which greatly excited Saint-Hesse.

The assault rifle has a lead. The Sturmgewehr 45, improved version. The AK-47 is very precious now, and there's no possibility of importing a production line.

But the Germans have assault rifles, and they are not allowed to have a national defense military industry.

The Sturmgewehr 45 was an experimental assault rifle developed and produced by Mauser in 1945 during the late stages of World War II. The literal translation is "Storm Rifle 45" or "Assault Rifle 45".

The Germans fell, and the Soviets and Americans ate their fill.

For light and heavy weapons, the Soviet and American products are good, with a full range of submachine guns and assault rifles.

The steel mill team will also leave the port of Holland and head south across the Atlantic, preparing to return home. They haven't been back to Argentina for more than half a year and are homesick.

"Boss, Philippe has arrived."

"Philippe, thank you for your hard work. Was this trip to Japan smooth?"

It takes about three months to travel from Argentina to Japan by ship. While the aviation industry is developing rapidly, Argentina, apart from the presidential plane, doesn't have much else. All overseas travel is by ship.

"It was quite smooth. I brought back a lot of old equipment this time. Do you have a suitable place ready for the factory?"

"Especially the German equipment, which was secretly acquired a lot."

"I've had people arrange it, it's not a big problem, pay more attention."

"Okay, boss, we've hired many Japanese experts to help us with construction."

"Okay, this is a very important matter. The future of Argentine agriculture depends on us."

This is no exaggeration. As long as we get the tractors sorted out, this place will be on a large scale.