Chapter 383: Britain Burning in Jealousy

"Incompetence! Rubbish! It's all a bunch of waste!! ”

In the Prime Minister's office in Whitehall, has successfully replaced Lloyd's? Andrew, George became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? Boeauna? Law was roaring loudly.

Although for the Englishman who does not like to show his gentlemanly demeanor all the time, Andrew? Boeauna? Law's roar was very harsh, but the cabinet members in the office who were also pale were no longer in time to care about this.

Because what is happening in the Middle East is constantly stimulating them.

On February 13, 1922, just a week after the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, news shocked the world from China's newly acquired territory in Iraq and Kuwait in the Middle East.

China, in Iraq and Kuwait, has discovered three oil fields with large quantities of oil.

And on the day of exploitation alone, these three oil fields spewed out at least more than 100,000 tons, more than a million barrels of crude oil. Although the discovery of a large amount of oil caused a sharp drop in international oil prices, which shattered the dream of the Communist government to earn $2 million a day, even so, the more than 10 oil wells on these three oil fields could still bring great benefits to the Nationalist government.

The discovery of the new oil field not only greatly eased the financial pressure on the national government, but also made the whole country celebrate, because on the very day the oil field was discovered, Yan Guang announced a new governing policy, including a 12-year compulsory free education system and a new tax reduction policy.

In the past, although the government was also implementing the free education system, due to financial pressure, this system could only be popularized in some larger cities, and it could not be popularized in smaller urban and rural areas.

This is not the case with the free education system, let alone free medical care.

As for the new tax reduction policy, it is to stimulate the development of the domestic economy.

After all, after the free ride of the European war was gone, the domestic economic growth rate has slowed down to some extent, and some companies that originally made money from exports have begun to lay off employees after the war.

Therefore, in order to stimulate economic growth, it is very necessary to implement a tax reduction policy at home.

Naturally, there was a chorus of cheers at home for the government's new policies, but when this cheer reached Britain, it was like a slap in the face to the British government.

"Pa!!pa

This series of slaps kept slapping the British cheeks, making the British face look like the buttocks of some kind of primate.

Because...

In the past, this land for oil production was not only controlled by the British, but also given to the Chinese by the British themselves...

When this situation became known to the public, public opinion in the whole of Britain was also the same as Andrew ? Boeauna? Law had just behaved, and they all roared.

It is well known that the economic situation in Britain was not very good after the end of the First World War, and after the end of the war, there was no economic boom in Britain, but production fell and unemployment rose, reaching 2.58 million by June 1921. Class contradictions in the country are acute, and the strike movement is on the rise.

In Lloyd's. During George's tenure as Prime Minister, Britain supported Greece in waging the Greco-Turkish War against Turkey in order to seize all Turkish territory in Europe, but Greece suffered a crushing defeat in the confrontation with the Turkish army led by Kemal, and although the war is not over yet, it will not take a few months.

In addition, for the nascent Soviet power, after the defeat of the war of intervention against the Soviet Union by Britain and the United States and other countries, Lloyd? In order to get rid of the economic crisis of 1920 and expand foreign trade, George began Anglo-Soviet trade negotiations at the end of November 1920 and signed a trade agreement on March 16, 1921. Lloyd's? George claimed. "We cannot restore the Russian Empire by force, and I believe that we can achieve this with the help of commerce and save Russia." …,

But we all know how it turned out...

At the same time, Britain also had a big debt crisis, before the First World War, the United States still owed Britain more than 400 million pounds in debt, but after the war, Britain owed the United States more than 800 million pounds.

It can be said that the situation in Britain is very difficult now, otherwise the British would not have agreed to be on a par with the United States at the Washington Conference.

According to the Treasury Department's calculations, China's oil fields in the Middle East can make at least 100 million pounds a year.

China's current fiscal revenue is more than 200 million pounds, or more than 2 billion silver dollars in silver dollars, so the benefits brought by the eruption of China's oil fields in one year alone are equivalent to half of China's fiscal revenue for the whole year.

More than 100 million pounds is not a small income for Britain, and the oil fields in the Middle East have just been exploited and have spewed out so much oil, if the exploitation is expanded, I am afraid that oil production will increase further, and by that time, not to mention 100 million pounds, even 230 million will not be able to stop.

It's just that such a treasure land, or Britain gave it to China like chicken ribs, how can this not make the British roar?

"These wastes, who have been in Kuwait for so long, have not found oil, they should all be hanged, they should all be hanged!!"

Roaring for a while, maybe it's almost time to vent his anger, but Andrew? Boeauna? Law was still muttering there.

News of the Chinese looking for oil in Kuwait and Iraq, Andrew? Boeauna? Law actually knows it, and of course he also knows about his predecessor Lloyd. George, just Andrew at the time? Boeauna? Lao and others did not believe that the Chinese could find oil in the two places, and they were also busy dealing with post-war problems, making some trouble for China in the Caucasus and other places, supporting some rebels, so they did not care too much.

And the Chinese's lack of gain in the first few years seems to confirm the British view that there is no oil in Kuwait and Iraq.

But now the Chinese have discovered so much oil at once, how can the British, who have been slapped in the face, not be angry?!

Just Andrew? Boeauna? Law was still gasping behind his desk when Andrew? Boeauna? Rau invited to come, in Andrew? Boeauna? Winston, who served as Minister of Colonial Affairs in the Cabinet of Law. Churchill noticed Andrew? Boeauna? After Law's anger had subsided a lot, he frowned and asked.

"Do you have any more detailed information about the oil fields of the Chinese in the Middle East?"

Andrew? Boeauna? Law still valued Churchill, the former Secretary of the Admiralty, otherwise he would not have invited Churchill to serve as Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs in his cabinet after the defeat of the Battle of Dardanelles, so after hearing Churchill's words, Andrew ? Boeauna? Law looked at a middle-aged man who had been sitting in the corner.

Notice Andrew? Boeauna? After Law's gaze, the middle-aged man got up and spoke.

"After the Chinese announced the discovery of the oil field, I have mobilized people in the Middle East to collect intelligence there, although it is still a short time, but I have already obtained some information."

"Oh?"

Churchill also noticed this middle-aged man, and when he saw this middle-aged man, Churchill's eyes, which were not very big, were completely narrowed.

Churchill didn't care about the status of this middle-aged man, he cared about the department that this middle-aged man was in charge of.

MI6

Since its establishment in 1909, the MI6 has been engaged in the collection of political, economic, and military intelligence at home and abroad, as well as the intelligence department engaged in espionage intelligence and foreign counter-espionage activities. ..., at this time, MI6 was still just a department without much destructive power, and the real destructive power of MI6 was in 1930 when it was established to specialize in subversive and sabotage operations.

MI6 has been Britain's most secretive department since its inception, and even now, Churchill knew little about MI6, although he had been Secretary of the Navy and was now in the position of Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs.

So after noticing this man, Churchill kept watching carefully.

Churchill's eyes were not unnoticed, but MI6 was not under Churchill's jurisdiction, so he didn't need to consider Churchill's opinion, just after getting Andrew? Boeauna? Law's consent was evident before he spoke.

"There are three oil fields produced by the Chinese in Iraq and Kuwait, namely the Kirkuk oil field in northern Iraq, 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, the Rumaila oil field located 50 kilometers west of Basra, and the Great Burgan oil field on the coast of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait and 20 kilometers east of the coast of the Arabian Gulf..."

"Almost all of the more than ten oil wells currently producing oil are concentrated in these three locations, although these more than ten oil wells have just been exploited and are still only in a blowout state, but according to the information released by the Chinese, the oil production of these three oil fields is likely to reach more than 50 million tons..."

Hearing the data released by the middle-aged man, the cabinet officials present were silent, and only after half a sound did one of the officials say dryly.

"50 million tons......... How much oil is Mexico producing this year? ”

"27 million tons, about half of the oil fields discovered by the Chinese..."

Although he was talking about hundreds of millions of pounds worth of wealth, the middle-aged man still replied very calmly.

"What about the Americans?"

"100 million tons, twice as many as the Chinese, and the world's largest producer of crude oil, but it is probably not after the Chinese expand their production..."

This is not nonsense from middle-aged people, because in 1911, the year after Yan Guang discovered Tampico in Mexico, Mexico produced 12.5 million tons of oil, and by the end of 1921 that figure had risen to 27 million tons.

While there is no prospect of a treaty increase in this figure in the short term, the oil fields in Iraq and Kuwait are different, unlike Mexico, which have been developed for decades or even decades. At present, there are only more than a dozen oil wells erected on top of the three oil fields. What the Chinese found in Iraq and Kuwait was only three oil fields.

If the Chinese really increase their exploitation of Iraq and Saudi Arabia, then counting the Daqing oil field, Liaohe oil field and the Caucasus oil production area that China has already developed, it will not be impossible to surpass the United States in 10 years.

Hearing the middle-aged man say this, Churchill sighed and said.

"It seems that the Chinese already knew in advance that there was oil in these two places..."

It was only at this time that the middle-aged man glanced at Churchill in surprise, and then nodded in agreement.

"That's right, according to our analysis, the Chinese probably knew in advance that they had oil in Kuwait and Iraq, so they claimed both Iraq and Kuwait during World War I."

"Is there any basis for this?"

Andrew? Boeauna? The Chancellor of the Exchequer in Law's cabinet asked.

"Yes."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took out a document from his briefcase.

"This is the information I've collected in the past."

As he spoke, he spread all the materials inside on a table. As one of the most important intelligence agencies in the UK, collecting intelligence is the most important task of MI6, and the subversive and sabotage operations are after the establishment of Division D in 1930, so it is not a strange thing for middle-aged people to have Yan Guang's information in their hands now.

In fact, information about Yan Guang had already been collected as early as the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, but at that time Yan Guang was just a local warlord with a little money, so there was not much information about Yan Guang.

It was only after the Second Revolution that the Northern Expedition of the Nationalist Army began to pay attention to Yan Guang.

It was not until the National Social Army defeated the Beiyang Army led by Yuan Shikai that Yan Guang really came into the eyes of the British government.

However, due to the limited times, the British have not much valuable information, even MI6, so most of the information in the hands of MI6 is relatively public, and there is not much that is really secret.

Otherwise, the British would not have been frightened by the armored division commanded by Feng Nan during the Battle of Erzurum.

But even if it's the kind of information that is public, you can still find some useful things, such as...

"Look here..."

After reading the information extensively, the middle-aged man pointed to one of them and faced the crowd.

"This is the scene in 1910, when Yan Guang was exploring oil in Tampico..."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took out a photo, and in this black-and-white photo, Yan Guangzheng and Wang Yaowu, who was still called Wang Er at the time, as well as the thirty bodyguards who went to Mexico with him at that time, and several oil exploration experts hired by him who had always had a faint sense of superiority in front of him, took a group photo in front of a drilling rig that had just been built, and Yan Guang's right hand was holding Wang Yaowu while also making a V-shaped gesture symbolizing victory that would belong to Churchill in later generations.

"This ......... Does this have any relevance? ”

An official asked.

"Yes."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man pointed to Yan Guang on the photo again.

"Today, Tampico in Mexico is indeed the most oil-producing region in Mexico, but in 10 years Tampico was notoriously oil-poor. At that time, the Mexican Eagle oil company, which owned the Tampico oil field, was almost on the verge of bankruptcy, and Pearson, the owner of the company, even tried a suicide before selling the land in Tampico to Yan Guang, which was not very successful..."

"It was at that time that Yan Guang appeared in front of Pearson with his men, bought the land in Tampico and the equipment that Pearson used for exploration for three and a half million dollars, and discovered a large amount of oil in Tampico a few months later..."

"At that time, Tampico was a well-known oil-poor area, and Yan Guang just bought it, so we have a lot of reason to believe that this Yan Guang has a lot of knowledge about oil exploration..."

"Therefore, it is very likely that Yan Guang knew about the fact that Iraq and Kuwait had oil in advance, but he had been waiting for an opportunity..."

After listening to the middle-aged man's words, almost everyone's faces, including Churchill, turned much bluer.

At this time, a cabinet member suddenly spoke.

"Is it possible to recapture both places if force is used?!"

Hearing this, many of the people present were brightened.

Even Andrew? Boeauna? Law's eyes lit up a little, but only for a moment, and soon the light went out.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the Minister of the Navy and the Secretary of War to shake their heads.

"I'm afraid it's unlikely, although Iraq is far from China's homeland, but China has just signed the Washington Naval Treaty, and sending troops at this time will undoubtedly destroy the treaty that has been signed, and although China's ocean fleet is inferior to Germany's high seas fleet, our country does not have too much power in Asia, so the Chinese fleet is not so easy to deal with." "That's right, and our country has just experienced a great war, and the war-weariness of the people is high. Moreover, the Chinese have more than 100,000 troops in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of troops in the Caucasus and Central Asia behind them, and there is no need to worry about the risk of cutting off the maritime logistics line with the presence of the Central Asian railway. ”

At this time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also spoke.

"And now the financial problems of the empire, I believe everyone here is also very clear, at this time let the Ministry of Finance come up with a large amount of money for military spending..."

It should be said that this is the most important thing...

Truth be told, it was a blessing that the British economy was able to hold out until the end of the war. You must know that the British government is now in arrears with more than 800 million pounds of debt to the United States, and it is really a difficult thing for a strong man to get the British to come up with another sum of money to wage war at this time.

Sure enough, after hearing the Chancellor of the Exchequer say this, almost everyone present fell silent.

"In that case..."

After a moment of silence, Churchill spoke.

"Let's try to see if we can get the Chinese to give up some of their interests through diplomatic pressure..."

Andrew? Boeauna? Law and the others all nodded, but on this matter Andrew? Boeauna? There was not much hope for Law and the others, after all, Britain was no longer the Britain it was before the war.

If it was before the war, maybe the British threat would have made Yan Guang worry a lot, but now Britain...

If Yan Guang gritted his teeth and didn't let go, the British could only burn out in jealousy.

Like the British, the Japanese are also jealous, but unlike the British, Japan has no say in the Middle East at all, and the navy and army have been completely surpassed by China. Therefore, the Japanese can only be jealous and hateful, while waiting for the British to come out, and then Japan will be able to wave the flag and shout on the sidelines.

Unlike the British, Japan has not thought of getting a piece of the pie at all, because Japan knows very well that this is not realistic, and for Japan, as long as it can prevent China from succeeding, the distance between the two countries will become wider and wider.

——————————

Just when Britain, Japan, the United States, France and other countries were jealous of the oil in the Middle East, Yan Guang had just returned from a celebratory banquet.

The discovery of the three major oil fields in the Middle East has made China surpass Mexico and become the world's second largest oil producer (the first United States, the second Mexico, the original Russia is the second, but then the Russian cup ... It's not a shame to sell resources in this era, so the government's military and political leaders are celebrating the discovery of oil fields.

Even Yan Guang, who usually doesn't drink a drop of alcohol, was poured a few glasses of liquor at the banquet.

Fortunately, Yan Guang just didn't like the taste of wine, and his own amount of wine was not bad, so he was almost sober on the way back, and when he returned to the mansion and cleaned himself under the service of the secretary No. 1, 2, 3, and 4, he was already completely sober.

"Let's go down..."

After waving his hand and signaling the four secretaries to go down, Yan Guang sat on the sofa and crossed Erlang's legs.

"Now the financial problem is solved..."

"That's right." Song Dinghan, who came back with him, nodded. "At present, although China's fiscal expenditure is very large, it can barely balance with the income, and now there is more income from the oil fields, and soon the government will be able to relax financially..."

At present, China's annual fiscal revenue is more than 2 billion pounds, which is equivalent to more than 200 million pounds, and if we include the income from oil fields, it is about 300 million pounds, and if we work hard for two years, it will almost reach the huge figure of 400 million pounds. At the same time, Japan's fiscal revenue at this time in history should have been more than 2 billion yen, but after many setbacks, coupled with the rise of China to rob Japan of many opportunities, Japan's fiscal revenue is now just close to 2 billion yen...

Therefore, at this time, China has completely formed an overwhelming advantage over Japan.

How? Do you think China has too much fiscal revenue?

"The gap is still huge..."

After looking at the information in his hand, Yan Guang rubbed his temples.

"yes." Xu Shichang on the side also nodded. "Although the country has made great progress now, if it wants to catch up with Britain and the United States, I am afraid it will take at least ten years..."

"Ten years? If Britain and the United States had stayed still, it might have been possible, I estimate, at least twenty years..."

On one side, Song Dinghan and Xu Shichang and others argued.

Yan Guang, on the other hand, got up and walked to the window, drinking the juice in his cup while blowing the night breeze in the moonlight.

At this time, the night wind suddenly became stronger, and it also blew over the materials that Yan Guang had placed on the windowsill.

On the overturned information, you can vaguely see...

"British Revenue Report 1919: British Government Revenue for That Year Was 889 Million Pounds, Equivalent to 9,334,500,000 Silver Dollars..."

"Report on the Fiscal Revenue of the United States in 1921: The Fiscal Revenue of the United States Government for that Year Was 5,571 Million US Dollars, Equivalent to About 1,150 Million Pounds Sterling, or 12.06 Million Silver Dollars..."

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