Rise of the Argentine Empire

"Boss, I think I know why there are Soviets in Oran."

"What's the reason?"

Saint-Hesse, who was about to put his legs on the table, quickly put them down and sat up straight. After all, the Soviet Union was tens of thousands of kilometers away, farther than the horizon.

The Soviets at this time should be busy with Eastern Europe, Germany, Korea, and New China. It's a bit strange for them to be running around in Argentina. Comrade Stalin is very busy.

"People from the intelligence group said they all secretly came from Chile. In 1944, Chile established diplomatic relations with the Soviets. These people are probably from the embassy in Santiago, from the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The specific purpose is unclear," Guerrero explained patiently.

"So they are from the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then there's no problem."

If they are from the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that's perfectly normal. What does the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs do? Isn't it just a 'peripheral organization' of the KGB? Of course, the KGB is now called the State Security Department.

It turns out that the Soviets already have the beginnings of playing the embassy game to the fullest.

Argentina's current government's foreign policy is a complete failure. A South American country with limited strength is trying to pursue a "Third Position" and walk the "Third Path," opposing both the United States and the Soviet Union.

The narcissistic Perón definitely has a problem. His brain isn't working well from engaging in military struggles. Maybe he got inflated from doing well in the economy for the first few years before taking office.

Does he think Argentina is the third largest military power in the world, the strongest country in Asia?

It is quite awesome, having been basically invincible since its independence in '47. Pakistan's days are probably not going so well either. It's now cleaning up those princely states and has reportedly taken down the uncooperative Hyderabad and Junagadh, and is preparing to get rid of Kashmir and Portuguese Goa, reclaiming colonial strongholds within the country.

Great Britain's plan for a fragmented India has failed for the most part. The Indians are possessed by the god of war and have almost integrated the princely states within the country. They are greatly inflated. Even so, the Indians have a good relationship with the Soviets and dare not offend the Americans too much.

"Boss, should we send some manpower to Chile?" Guerrero said somewhat gloomily. This was because his intelligence work was not in place, and he had to solve the problem.

"Don't rush for the time being. First, handle the affairs of the Lithium Triangle. Chile is just a small matter. Contacting the Soviets still requires some caution."

This kind of thing can't be rushed. Relations with Chile are so-so. On the contrary, Bolivia needs more manpower.

There is also a fundamental reason: with his current strength, he can't train any powerful intelligence and espionage talents for the time being, and it won't be so easy to engage in subversion in Chile.

"Gattuso, do you have any understanding of the situation in the Soviet Union and Asia?"

"Boss, I don't know much about the situation in the Soviet Union and Asia. I even learned about those Soviets from you. I only asked the intelligence team to collect information after you mentioned it. If necessary, I will study it."

Guerrero also frankly admitted his shortcomings. He has indeed been troubled by so many things recently.

"Our relationship with the Chileans is very general, right?"

"That's right. The channels for dealing with the Chileans are all smuggling channels. At least, the country is firmly opposed to it on the surface."

Opposing it on the surface means not preventing it in secret.

"By the way, boss, do you have any guidance on our development of the cigarette workshop? The cigarette workshop is still a bit small, and the profits generated are not much. It can only earn a profit of about one hundred to two hundred thousand pesos a month."

Specific problems require specific analysis.

"Gattuso, you have built the village well,"

Compared with the villages at the foot of the mountain, the houses in the Silver River Valley have obviously been renovated and rebuilt, with many sentry posts and hidden posts, and the soldiers are well-trained and strong.

Several brick and stone single-story buildings have also been specially built, which obviously took a lot of thought. It's just that it's a bit cool on the mountain. Saint-Hesse put on a thin coat.

"All of this has been achieved under your guidance, boss, and with the support of abundant supplies. The contribution I have made is very small," Guerrero said gently and modestly.

"You are as modest as ever. It's still too unfair to you to work in this mountainous area."

The conditions here are indeed a bit difficult. Guerrero's hair has become a lot thinner in the half year he has been here.

"One thousand acres is too little. It would be better to increase it tenfold. The profits from large-scale operations are much greater."

Saint-Hesse has always believed that the more land for farming, the better. If conditions did not allow it, tens or two hundred thousand acres would still be few.

"We will register a tobacco factory at that time, specializing in the production of cigarettes."

The affairs of the Lithium Triangle must be resolved as soon as possible. The motorcycle gang in the distance has become a thorn in his side.

"You go and get busy first. We'll take a look again tomorrow morning."

"Yes, boss!"

Saint-Hesse found that it was quite cold on this mountain. The Lithium Triangle has a small reservoir power station for power supply, which is not bad, and there is also electricity.

Walking to the top of the first floor, looking at the high altitude, the cold wind was blowing coolly. There were many stars in the night sky. This valley is composed of several villages.

The view is not very wide. At this time, most of the lights have been turned off and people are sleeping. Looking at the time with a flashlight, it is not even eight o'clock in the evening.

Occasionally, there are houses with lights on, which are the people stationed on guard, and there is a patrol team responsible for patrolling the entire valley.

"It seems good to raise a few patrol dogs, exciting," Saint-Hesse muttered to himself.

"Everything is good on this mountain, but it's a bit too cold. I guess you'll wake up from the cold if you don't cover yourself with a quilt at night."

Estimating the time, Saint-Hesse returned to the room again, preparing to go to bed early and get up early. There is no TV or anything on this mountain, and there is a lack of entertainment activities.

"Send thousands of books over at that time, so that everyone can read and study, get more small farms, raise pigs and chickens, and a batch of people can be withdrawn back to Oran after the motorcycle gang is defeated."

"It's still quite difficult here. If a small town can be established at that time, it would be good."

"The conditions on the motorcycle gang's side are better and more suitable for establishing a small town. At that time, the mining company will be expanded, and a cigarette factory can also be set up here. Highland tobacco leaves are also a good choice, to get rid of poverty and become well-off."

"It's still quite close to La Quiaca here, but it's too close to the border there, and it's not easy to occupy a part of the territory there."

"Honestly mine here, and then get a few mines in Bolivia. If the profits from the cigarette factory are good."

Hot water was boiled with a coal stove, feet were soaked, and the quilt was covered, before falling into a deep sleep.

The freshwater resources used here in the Lithium Triangle are all groundwater, and the taste is not bad.

The reason why Saint-Hesse values this place is not only to seek raw materials for the fertilizer plant, but also a longer-term goal, that is, the lithium metal resources here are very rich,

Lithium is widely used in batteries, ceramics, glass, lubricants, coolants, the nuclear industry, and optoelectronics.

Moreover, this place is close to Bolivia, which may have abundant uranium mineral resources, which must also be paid attention to. Mastering the Lithium Triangle will be able to grasp many future opportunities.

The current mining company is also somewhat weak, and although Argentina has already had an Atomic Energy Agency in history, it has no raw materials and can only secretly import them from Canada, and later it couldn't.

Argentina is one of the strongest countries in the Third World in developing civilian nuclear energy.

… …

Early the next morning, I saw the people of Thunder Cross training. The oppressiveness of the motorcycle gang is still very strong. Although it is now a state of cooperation, we cannot relax our vigilance.

To be honest, the Lithium Triangle is really big. Among them, the towns that have names alone include Calama, Villazón, Yaguacra, El Tolar, Socompa, and many other cities and gathering points.

Thunder Mining only occupies a few hundredths of it. The closest is the motorcycle gang "Wheel of Souls Front." They occupy many salt lakes and are one of the largest forces here. The "Barrosa Family" is more than ten kilometers away.

"Boss, it is not easy to take down the motorcycle gang. They are also strong and well-trained. They are said to be a gang, but they are actually a small warlord, and their power is quite large. They occupy a small town. We have found out that they have nearly three hundred formal members, and the firepower allocation is also quite good."

"A tough battle is inevitable. I have transported all the weapons in stock, as well as the latest berets, bulletproof vests, and a mortar, to Oran. At most one month, we will take down this motorcycle gang."

"It's best to outsmart them. If we clash head-on, the casualties will be great."

"Boss, with a cannon, we'll have a significant advantage. We can wipe them out in one fell swoop. It's just this cannonball..."

"We have enough cannonballs. They're all products from the Rheinmetall explosives factory. After we had our own mold factory, we could imitate the mortar shells. The only relatively troublesome thing is the gunpowder ratio, which takes a lot of time to experiment with."

The Americans initially provided only a few 81mm medium mortar shells. Sean Todd was indeed skilled in gunpowder ratios. Later, when they could produce shell casings and the like, they simply produced quite a few in one go, amounting to several hundred mortar shells.

Producing mortar shells is actually simpler than producing firearms. As long as the strength is about the same and the parameters are identical, they can be fired.

"The tests are all done by the people from the explosives factory. Find a few smart guys, train them somewhere, and then find an opportunity to wipe out their people."

"Now, let's go take a look at your cigarette workshop."

The group arrived at the back of the valley, where a large single-story building came into view.

Saint-Hesse saw some workers cutting tobacco leaves into shreds. Most of the workers were wearing masks.

"Boss, right now we're all doing manual production, using manual machines for shredding, rolling, and finally packaging. One worker can produce about 120 cigarettes per hour, all by hand."

"A production of two hundred cigarettes is indeed a bit low. There are only two ways to expand production: one is to increase the number of workers, and the second is to buy better mechanical cigarette-making equipment."

"Yes, all of this is actually manual production. I heard that in foreign places, they can produce over 1000 cigarettes per hour." Clearly, Guerrero also had some understanding.

"The quality of the tobacco leaves is still average, as they are all grown on a small scale. If we can grow good tobacco this year, we can produce higher-end cigarettes."

"Okay, I'll solve the problem of tobacco equipment, but more effort is needed in tobacco cultivation. We need to build our own brand. We can't just do small-scale production. Although there's profit, it's not presentable."

"Setting up a cigarette factory, the funding, equipment, and technology will be taken care of. We also need management talent. Do you have any recommendations?"

"I haven't really thought about that too much. I'll leave the appointment to you, Boss. Since we're setting up a cigarette factory, it definitely needs a name."

"I've already thought about it. Let's call it the Andean Condor Cigarette Factory. If possible, we should cooperate with the farmers here. Tobacco can also be grown in the highlands, and we also have fertilizer. As long as mass production is in place, these highland-branded cigarettes will definitely sell well."

"Argentina doesn't have any big cigarette brands. If we do some national advertising, it will be easy to sell the cigarettes, and there are also many international markets."

"Andean Condor Cigarette Factory, that's a good name. Argentina is known as the Pampa Eagle, and this factory has a great relationship with the Falcon Group. Boss, your naming is really good."

"If we can take down the Motorcycle Gang, the population of the villages we control can reach at least several thousand people. Sweep around the area again, and we can bring in tens of thousands of people nearby."

"Yes, the entire Lithium Triangle region only has over two hundred thousand people, and it's truly sparsely populated. It's just that there are too many and too scattered forces. If we successfully annex the Motorcycle Gang, we can take over quite a few salt lakes, which will at least solve the development problem for the next few years."

"The Motorcycle Gang has a complete industrial structure, and their military firepower is relatively strong. The salt they produce each month starts at least at one million US dollars. Our trade volume accounts for one-fifth of it. They also grow cocoa powder, but their management level is just so-so."

"Who do they mainly sell their salt to? Americans?"

"They mainly sell to Sikal Chemical. This company also has a base here, mainly for cooperation, refining some metals, components, purification, and other work. The demand is quite large."

"Understood. I guess they also produce chemical products such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, and maybe even edible salt."

"Gather more intelligence, and then take them down."

"Boss, we're quite well-prepared, but we still need to continue working hard to strive for the best results at the lowest cost and connect our territories into one piece."

"For the cigarette factory, it's best to have two branches, one directly in the highlands, incorporating the people of the village into our development system, and another one should also be built at the foot of the mountain, which is the focus. We can have two brands, one Highland brand and one Condor brand. The Highland brand focuses on high-end, and the Condor brand focuses on cost-effectiveness."

"Boss, would you like one?" Guerrero pulled out two finished products from the production line, intending to give one to Saint-Hesse.

"Then I'll try it." Saint-Hesse put the cigarette in his mouth, and Guerrero magically produced a lighter and lit it for Saint-Hesse, then lit one for himself.

"The taste is alright," Saint-Hesse took a hard puff, and walked and smoked with Guerrero, puffing out clouds of smoke.

"I remember you didn't smoke much before, when you were in the City Guard."

"Boss, that's in the past. I don't really want to mention it again. When the pressure is high, I'll have one to relieve it. It's also after burning those cocoa powders. Most of the people here have lost their livelihoods, and growing vegetables isn't very good either.

They simply grow some tobacco. I didn't expect it to actually make some money. The Lithium Triangle market is still quite large. The quality of the cigarettes transported from other places is about the same as ours, but they are twice as expensive."

"Sorry, a big man isn't afraid of not having a wife. Haven't you taken a fancy to anyone recently? I'll be your matchmaker when the time comes."

"It's actually alright. I think it's not a bad thing to get married later, and if I really look for someone, I have to find someone supportive, preferably someone who fights alongside me. I don't want to experience that kind of thing again."

"I can only wish you good luck, Gattuso. Believe that this time won't be too far away."

"That's getting the boss's blessing. Boss, I know you're a person who does big things. I hope I can also go crazy."

"There are plenty of opportunities. Not to mention domestically, we have quite a few opponents abroad... Some countries want us Argentinians to be dogs... And looking at the current situation, Perón is almost unable to hold on," Saint-Hesse sighed.

"Boss, our Falcon Group absolutely supports you, and I myself also absolutely support you."

"If the Perón government is really controlled and sells out Argentina's interests, I believe it will soon be overthrown. Gattuso, are you ready to face the challenges of the future? I alone am not enough to face this challenge. I need your support. As long as we gather together, we can change something, change the future destiny of our Argentina."

Saint-Hesse fiercely stomped out the cigarette butt, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the distant snow-capped mountains, uttering a sentence.

"Boss, we will resolutely obey your arrangements," Guerrero saluted firmly, his eyes resolute.

"I believe that the future of Argentina will become more glorious and great. This requires everyone's support, and we will point our swords at Buenos Aires."

Saint-Hesse also returned the salute, said sonorously. This was the first time he had revealed his dream.

"Gattuso, do you believe that the future Argentina will be such a country? The military government persecutes the Argentine people for power, the economy is backward and corrupt, the country is bankrupt, the country is indebted countless times, often reneges on debts, and becomes the most untrustworthy country in the world,

The national economy is controlled by foreign capital, today's ten thousand pesos will become 1000 pesos tomorrow, forty percent of the people live in slums, Chileans and Brazilians look down on us, even Uruguayans look down on us, only a little better than Bolivians and Paraguayans,

Even in one day, three presidents can be changed…," Saint-Hesse described the future Argentina in his heart.

Guerrero was somewhat shocked by Saint-Hesse's description. Is this the future of Argentina?

Saint-Hesse did not answer, just quietly saying.

"I have a dream."

"There will be such a group of people, fighting for the rise of a great Argentina, fighting for a lifetime, even if the road ahead is full of thorns, full of pain, even sacrifice,

I am also fearless."

"I hope that today's Falcon Group will be the real Andean Condor of the future... to safeguard Argentina's national security,

Be comparable to the American CIA and the Soviet KGB. Gattuso, do you have such confidence? Are you willing?"

"Yes, Captain, I will work hard to fight for it until the last moment of my life," Guerrero said firmly, just like in the City Guard.