The journey starts from the Titanic

"Our opinion is that only half of the crude oil supply can be met, and the price will be increased by 50%!" Situ Nan frowned, a glint flashed in his eyes, and looked at Marceau provocatively.

"This is unreasonable, and such a condition is absolutely unacceptable." Marceau shook his head repeatedly.

However, Situ Nan did not back down, with a firm expression on his face.Sinclair sat aside and didn't speak. He sneered, knowing that Situ Nan was irritated by the Frenchman.

The two sides refused to yield to each other, staring at each other angrily like a red cock.Marceau felt that France's dignity was underestimated, and Situ Nan felt it necessary to teach the arrogant and ignorant French.

"If you don't sell it, we can find another company to buy it. France has abundant oil resources in Romania and a 25% share in Turkish Petroleum. We have a good relationship with other oil companies. I hope you will seriously consider my terms as compensation. , I am willing to increase the price to 90%, but the supply must be above 1 million tons."

Marceau took a long breath, pressing down the anger in his heart.

"The Romanian output has long been not enough for Europe. The British will not hand it over to you easily. You can only get a poor quarter, which is far from enough. As for other oil companies, I welcome them. So, if they sell the output to you, we can just fill the gap left by them.

Please do not doubt our abilities. Apart from us, there is no more generous oil merchant like us in the world.Maybe the Soviets compare the reasons, if you can forgive them for what they did in Baku."

Situ Nan shrugged and looked at the old man Marceau somewhat ironically.It is basically certain that the other party is either an ignorantly cute or a savage old fox, deliberately trying to test his own bottom line.

The realistic result is that if you don't sell crude oil to the French, Occidental Petroleum will be tighter in funding. In order to digest the excess production, it is likely to increase investment in refining projects in Europe or resell it to other oil companies.

However, this will offend the French and increase the difficulty of investing and operating in France.However, Situ Nan would not let Marceau easily succeed.

Marceau licked his lips, wiped his face with a delicate handkerchief, and quarreled with a young man Situ Nan, which consumed a lot of his mental and physical energy.

"It seems that our differences are quite big and we can't reach a consensus for now. Let's make an appointment next time!"

The first meeting broke up unhappy.

"What do you think?" Situ Nan asked Sinclair as he looked at Marceau's departure.

"This old guy is probably not that simple. He may have taken a fancy to the crude oil in our hands, like signing a long-term and large-scale contract to ensure the steady development of the French national oil company in the next few years."

Sinclair calmly analyzed.The differences between the two parties in terms of price are actually easier to resolve. It is not as fierce as the quarrel between Marceau and Situ Nan. The other party may be just bluffing.

Situ Nan nodded, he thought so too.The French are also aware of the prospects of the oil industry. In order to ensure energy security, they definitely want to obtain long-term stable crude oil from Chevron Oil. For Marceau who has just taken charge of the French national oil company, he wants to lay a foundation for the newly established oil company. A solid foundation.

Situ Nan and their guesses were roughly correct. After Marceau left William Castle, there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, not at all like the blushing of Situ Nan just now.

"Interesting! Those Americans are really lucky, they really have the ability to provide one million tons of crude oil!" Marceau said to himself.I sighed in my heart: Why don't the French have so much crude oil?As the overlord of Europe, we have a vast colony, second only to the British on the other side of the Strait.

Thinking of the British, Marceau felt a fire in his heart. Just as Situ Nan said, the British have successively produced high-yield oil fields in the Far East, South America, and the colonies of the Middle East. Shell and BP are world-class giants and live a lot. Nourish, in contrast, the French National Petroleum Corporation is aggrieved, like a sluggish slack, who has to bargain with Americans in order to find crude oil.

It's a pity that you can't dig a drop of oil from the British colony. The British are too stingy, damn it!

Marceau clenched his fist in his heart and thumped it heavily on his thigh.

What makes him a little uncomfortable is that even the poor Germans can get a lot of oil and rubber from South China. Why don't they sell all these things to France? We also need them.

The Yankees and the British pulled sideways and wanted to support the Germans. They sent troops to the Ruhr, and they did not destroy the German industry. What a pain!

And the Dawes plan in that place!

Thinking of this, Marceau loved and hated.

What I love is that France can get compensation from Germany, and I hate that the German did not fall, and the cunning Yankee took the money from the French after turning the money around.

Marceau kept thinking about Russia. If it weren’t for Russia’s control by the Soviet Union, the French industry could get a lot of resources such as steel and oil from Russia, and French products could continue to be sold to Russia. The reality is just the opposite. Tsarist Russia’s investment can be more than two million gold francs!

What a pity!

A few days later, Marceau visited again.

This time there was no courtesy on both sides, Marceau opened the door and said: "I am willing to accept your terms. But there is a request."

"Please speak!" Situ Nan said politely.

"I know that Chevron's main production area is in South China. At least most of the crude oil exported to Europe comes from South China. Since you don't intend to provide us with satisfactory output, why not let us enter South China and mine it ourselves?"

Marceau tested Situ Nan in a deliberate tone. Situ Nan was noncommittal, with a sneer at the corner of his mouth, looking at the still naive Frenchman.

What he meant, Marceau naturally understood, that is—no way!

However, Marceau explained brazenly: "Of course, this condition is a bit awkward, but I am also clear about the relationship between you. As compensation, we are willing to cooperate with you in the form of a joint venture or our loan. What do you think? ?"

"Mr. Marceau is very savvy, but we are slowly mining, don't worry, we can solve the funds ourselves. Americans, British, Dutch, they are all willing to do this, why must we cooperate with you?"

Situ Nan looked at Marceau interestingly, secretly wary that this matter is not that simple, this old French man actually has a lot of mind.

"Of course! What if I say you will get the friendship of the French business community?" Marceau said with a smile, this is his killer.

"Don't tell me, you don't need to spend money on the equipment and technology you imported from Germany and the United States? The William Consortium alone should not be able to support South China's industrial construction, right? As far as I know, your stalls are very large. , The loss is not one or two points!"

Windy?

Situ Nan heard that this was a threat from the French, and sneered: "If you haven't seen the lesson of the Dutch, just try it. Besides, I don't think you have any ability to persuade the French guy to run thousands of miles away in the South China War. I heard that tractors in France are selling very well now, are you running out of manpower?

But is France the European hegemon after all?It is completely capable of bringing out one hundred and eighty thousand troops to the east, but please don't forget, I started selling arms, and it is not difficult to arm one million troops.Of course, you can also talk to Japanese friends, they can help."

Looking for Japanese help?

Marceau also thought about it, but this idea is very unreliable.The French can bully and intimidate Nanhua, but they really can't do it, nor can they do it.

"You're a bastard! I was actually threatened by you?" Marceau suddenly smiled, "It's just a joke, don't take it seriously."

"Really? But I'm not kidding." Situ Nan shrugged and thought to himself: I really don't want to be afraid of being a Frenchman?It's hard to say if it's a Japanese with a string, but the Japanese was shaken last year and the egg is hurting, so you have time to pay attention to other things.Besides, this is 1924, not 1936 or 1941!

"Okay! What conditions do you need to allow us to enter South China?" Marceau said helplessly.Facing Situ Nan, who was unable to get in with oil and salt, he had a headache.

Want to extract oil from South China?Are French really romantic?Why not work in your own French Algeria and other African and West Asian colonies?

Situ Nan sneered inwardly. Recently, he was planning to go to the Frenchman's back garden.

"We are very sincere! In addition to the oil trade, our French business community also hopes to expand investment in South China. An open door can never make the Americans and Germans cheaper?"

Marceau looked at Situ Nan sincerely, with a hint of pleading in his eyes.

Are those vampires in French loan sharks interested in South China?

Situ Nan reacted immediately.After thinking for a while, he reluctantly said: "I do have an influence in South China, but such a big thing is not my personal decision. But if they respect each other and make friends sincerely, I think they would be happy to cooperate with French friends. ."

"For example?" Marceau breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a play.

Situ Nan weighed it up and said: "For example, South China companies can invest freely in French territory, and South Chinese can enter French territory to engage in commerce, agriculture, etc. This is fair. Obedient Chinese are the best workers and farmers, aren't they?"

"Annan?" Marceau asked casually....

Marceau complained all the way. After returning, he immediately convened a meeting with French financial giants such as BNP Paribas, Industrial Bank, and AXA.

Although the French National Petroleum Corporation is the government-funded majority, it also has a lot of private capital. The French industrial and commercial giants have all invested in it. In addition, it also includes the Belgian, the younger brother of the French. Belgian capital and French capital are closely integrated.