Rise of the Argentine Empire

Saint Hesser's approach is actually what most automobile companies do in later generations: breaking down automobile parts instead of producing them entirely themselves, cultivating and forming automobile parts manufacturers one by one. This is also the fastest development he can think of, a way to expand Layton Motors' production capacity.

In the future, Layton Motors will primarily be responsible for the production of the three major components of automobiles, and then distribute the parts one by one, forming an automobile parts supply chain, which is conducive to faster expansion of automobile production and seizing the market.

Moreover, this is also a consideration to reduce production costs and improve the competitiveness of Layton Motors.

There is a saying in later generations: technology is based on changing the shell. The Fiat 600 can also be given some Argentine localized modifications, after all, this is a production line that Saint Hesser purchased at a high price.

Although it is impossible to completely design an Argentine-made car now, some appearance optimization and modification can still be done. Moreover, with the current production line, the three major components can be produced, and the other parts can be modified and optimized to create a new car.

Lengthen the chassis, enlarge the wheels, and make it a bit more angular like the MINI. The Fiat 600's current lack of space is due to the rear-mounted engine.

Saint Hesser hopes to do something different, such as a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, which would greatly increase space utilization and can be modified into a sedan.

A 0.77L naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine, matched with a 4-speed manual transmission, and 32 horsepower, would be the level of an agricultural tricycle in later generations, but it is enough in this era.

Many current Japanese cars have only 20+ horsepower.

It's just that in this way, Saint Hesser wants a brand new, more powerful, more stable, and better quality engine.

Looking at the history of automobile development in the world, each automobile industry period will give birth to extremely representative models, and behind each classic model is a classic engine.

And the automobile engine is the most complex component on the entire vehicle, with the highest requirements for parts coordination and craftsmanship.

It is easy to do well in appearance and interior, but it is difficult to do well in engine, transmission, and chassis.

In addition to this, price is also a constraint. Imitating an engine does not require bypassing professional barriers, it is just a simple replication, which is to copy the parts one-to-one, but that would make the cost sky-high.

As the most complete industrial enterprise in Argentina, Fiat has a large number of departments cooperating, which can reduce prices. Although Argentina's wages are low due to the freeze, labor costs are low, these costs must be considered.

As long as it is an industrial product, as long as the price is high enough, you can achieve any requirements you can think of, whether it is processing accuracy, mechanical performance, durability, etc., all problems are cost problems.

Simply put, the problem is not that the requirements cannot be met, but rather to achieve a product quality similar to the long-term stable operation of foreign products at a cost equal to or lower than that of foreign products.

Saint Hesser used the power of Blanca City to promote the development of the automobile industry in Blanca City, and also promoted the selection of automobile parts manufacturers nationwide.

The three major means of stimulating the economy: consumption, investment, and export. Consumption cannot be relied upon for the time being, so Saint Hesser is focusing on investment and export.

In early September, Blanca City's export scale in August exceeded 6 million US dollars, an increase of 2 times compared to July, surpassing Rosario and ranking third in the country, second only to Buenos Aires and La Plata.

However, apart from a few cities in Argentina that can ensure stable employment and economic growth, most provinces in Argentina are experiencing unemployment, layoffs, and economic crises as commonplace.

The domestic situation is becoming increasingly tense due to the spread of the economic crisis, and Peron's authoritarian style has further exacerbated the situation, causing the military to completely split.

Of these 6 million US dollars in exports, more than half are new light industry exports, with Blue Cloud Textile, Prari Foods, and Martinez Trading Company occupying the top three positions.

Martinez Trading Company mainly exports wheat and beef. Under the stimulation of various preferential policies in Blanca City, it has also opened clothing factories and food deep-processing factories, and its development has been extremely rapid.

Among other factories established in less than a year, those that have developed rapidly include Bono Electronics, Cafiya Clothing, Cadia Clothing, and Zamora Textile. Disai Textile Industries are all large factories employing more than 500 people.

There are also some new factories that have attracted Saint Hesser's attention, such as Morad Fan Factory, Coser Building Materials, Didia Te Furniture, Seravi Metal Products, Enderly Socks Factory, etc. More than 50 factories have also received his preferential treatment, such as water and electricity fee reductions, rent reductions, and tax reductions.

Most of the owners of these factories are under 40 years old. They obtained their first pot of gold at a very fast speed, and then quickly expanded production. Several of them started from scratch.

For example, Disai Kommer, the owner of Disai Textile Industries, was originally a veteran who had worked at Blue Cloud Textile for 3 years, using 100,000 pesos in savings.

He opened one of the earliest textile factories in Blanca City, undertaking outsourcing work for Blue Cloud Textile. In just one year, he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of US dollars in wealth, becoming Blanca City's most dazzling nouveau riche. This speed is comparable to Saint Hesser's accumulation.

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On the evening of September 15th, Buenos Aires, the Pink House, more and more intelligence and signs indicate that another group of troops is about to launch a new round of coup.

President Peron, who is already 59 years old, sat quietly in his chair. His birthday is in just over a month, but the intelligence on the table made him a little irritable.

Andemar Jov, Director of the Argentine National Intelligence Agency, reported the movements of the Cordoba Army. Three generals from the Moron Air Force Base and the Garrison Army stood next to him.

The National Intelligence Agency is directly under the jurisdiction of President Peron himself. The National Intelligence School under it is responsible for recruiting and training intelligence personnel, and the Monitoring Bureau of the Ministry of Justice is responsible for communications monitoring.

It can be said that in the past two or three years, the National Intelligence Agency has been infiltrated by domestic and foreign forces in a very terrifying way, and the military forces in Cordoba Province have also developed under Peron's own eyes, but it is still the largest intelligence agency in Argentina. The intelligence agency is Peron's eyes and ears, and no one else can be relied upon.

"Mr. President, Cordoba has detained several aircraft, and the Navy's movements are also very problematic. We suspect they are about to take action. Three Meteor aircraft under repair at the Argentine Military Aircraft Factory have fallen into the hands of those who control the aircraft factory and the military aviation school."

Andemar said cautiously.

A few days ago, he had the Argentine Congress sign a new constitutional amendment, entering the most intense confrontation with the Church.

Most of the provincial leaders in Argentina sent telegrams expressing strong protests, which was completely different from the situation last year when the Justicialist Party controlled the overall situation.

Andermatt raised his head and saw that Perón's hair, visibly dyed black, already had white strands, and there were even some wrinkles on his face. He no longer had the energy he had when he was young. It was said that Mr. President would doze off while sitting during work.

Yes, even though he was once the most radical officer in Argentina, launching a coup at a young age, he had aged under the erosion of time. In recent years, Perón's physical fitness had declined rapidly, and one major event after another had occurred.

Since Argentina entered the 1950s, international grain and meat prices plummeted, coupled with two consecutive years of drought, making the implemented policies unsustainable and causing a serious economic recession. The most shining project in the Second Five-Year Plan was the La Plata Steel Plant, but it had little connection with the Presidential Palace.

Then, in '52, Evita passed away. In '53, the General Confederation of Labor was dissolved, and a development contract was signed with Standard Oil of California, USA. The Foreign Investment Law was also promulgated, allowing foreign companies, primarily American companies, to obtain a series of concessions.

Now, there was almost a feeling of being at odds with the entire country, with a large number of enemies even within the Church and the military.

The dissatisfaction of the Argentine people gradually plunged the Perón government into crisis.

It had been exactly three months since the last unsuccessful coup, the Buenos Aires aerial battle.

Although Perón didn't take it too seriously, he still considered it relatively important.

Perón made deployments and didn't leave until 11 p.m. He believed that this time was similar to the last coup, with the advantage on his side.

The Meteor fighters of the Córdoba coup faction had been painted with crude red markings. The cross and V symbol, meaning "CE"—Christ Conquers—showed their support for the anti-Perón Church and was also their way of preventing friendly fire.

And at the Morón Air Force Base, which had received instructions from Perón, the Argentine government forces' planes had learned from the previous lesson and unanimously added the letter P above the V on the planes—Perón Conquers—also to prevent friendly fire.

Córdoba, 6:30 AM,

Three Meteor fighters from the coup faction flew over the Army Artillery School to display their strength and dropped a few bombs on the open space in the artillery training ground.

At 7 o'clock, the Argentine government forces' Córdoba Infantry School launched an attack on the Army Artillery School.

The Artillery School had no anti-aircraft weapons, and a large number of checkpoints were set up outside the campus. These continuously flew low over the heads of the infantry to deter them. This was Perón's last nail in Córdoba, and Córdoba had to be removed first.

At 8 o'clock, the 3rd Infantry Regiment of Córdoba attacked and controlled the Artillery School. The students and teachers of the school were disarmed and imprisoned, and Córdoba calmed down.

In the morning, General Lonardi delivered a speech in Córdoba Square. This speech was disseminated throughout the country in the form of an open letter.

He severely condemned Perón's traitorous behavior and announced the march on Buenos Aires.

General Eduardo Lonardi's Declaration of Liberation

To the People of Argentina and the Soldiers of the Fatherland:

"As the commander of this liberation of the people, I appeal to the Argentine people, especially to my comrades in all the armed forces, to assist in this operation.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force of the Fatherland will once again leave their bases and barracks to intervene in the civic life of the nation.

Our action stems from a love of freedom, a love of the honor of an oppressed people who wish to live according to their traditions and who will not indefinitely submit to the whims of a dictator who abuses the power of government to humiliate his compatriots.

He uses the guarantee of presumed social justice as a pretext, because at present this is the common desire of all Argentine people, unopposed, abolishing the civil rights and guarantees stipulated in the Constitution, replacing the judicial order with the despotic will of an individual.

All the terrible symbols, the burning of churches and the sacred archives of the Fatherland, the enslavement of judges, the reduction of universities to dishonest bureaucratic agencies, the miserable penalty of endangering the future of the Federal Republic by handing over the sources of the nation's wealth, this vile oppression will only exacerbate corruption and the destruction of culture and the economy.

… After careful consideration, we simply say this.

The sword drawn to defend the principles of the nation cannot fulfill its mission without honor.

We are not interested in a life without honor; we guarantee to act for the future of our children and the dignity of our families."

The citizens of Córdoba greeted the general with resounding enthusiasm.

Eduardo was complacent, waving to the crowd.

The entire city of Córdoba was filled with cheers.

"Yes, General!"

"Yes, General!"

"Yes, General!"

The city of San Martín also followed in the footsteps of General Eduardo, announcing its support for Eduardo's just actions.

The news spread,

Córdoba Province was in an uproar!

Santa Fe Province was in an uproar!

Buenos Aires Province was shaken!

The whole country was in an uproar!

Buenos Aires,

Perón, who had been called up, heard the bad news. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the Argentine Navy destroyers "Cervantes" and "La Rioja" had blockaded the Río de la Plata.

The destroyer "La Rioja" was the second ship of the "Mendoza" class purchased by the Argentine Navy from the United Kingdom and was already quite old.

Perón ordered Navy Lieutenant Commander Hugo Crexell to cooperate with the Air Force to attack the two coup ships.

The lieutenant commander came to the 7th Air Brigade in Morón, took off for reconnaissance, and deployed a combat plan.

And Eduardo's declaration, like pieces of paper, was also widely spread among the citizens of Buenos Aires.

The Plaza de Mayo was filled with hundreds of thousands of cheering people, just like eight years ago, but it was no longer the same group of people, and they were now opposing Perón.

All indications were that Argentina was about to erupt in civil war, and the scales had begun to tip.

Seeing the sensational Bahía Blanca, San José felt complicated. He had no intention of working. A large number of citizens gathered in the Bahía Blanca Square, petitioning the mayor to support the coup.

He had no choice but to issue a statement condemning Perón's autocracy and endorsing General Eduardo's declaration.

San José called on the citizens to rationally support the coup, but this could not stop some crazy citizens. Fortunately, nothing violent happened, only demonstrations, otherwise he would not have been polite.

He could also understand that Argentina's unemployment rate had exploded, and a large number of employees in Bahía Blanca actually came from Buenos Aires, so there was still a lot of resentment.

"Public opinion is too terrible, even if Perón didn't do that much wrong, alas."

This is the backlash of populism, San José warned himself inwardly.

And General José of the Belgrano Naval Base also issued a statement supporting General Eduardo's declaration.

Argentina, is really going to change!