Looking at Abdullah's cunning eyes, Zhou Tiecheng thought to himself: It seems that the Saudi royal family headed by Abdullah is very determined to get rid of British rule, otherwise they would not have made such a big concession just after contacting him.

Originally, I just wanted to get the exploration and exploitation rights of the Ghawar oil field, but I didn't expect the Saudis to be so generous, and they also made a buy-one-get-one-free match, and also added an add-on. Although the Manifa oil field is not as large as the reserves of the Ghawar oil field, it will also produce a million barrels of oil per day in the future, and it is clear that the Saudis seem to be really in a hurry. Although they don't know whether there is oil in these two places now, they can understand their urgency from the fact that they are in such a hurry to open a hundred years of mining rights.

Although Zhou Tiecheng's face was silent, his brain spun rapidly. Compared with the price offered by the Saudis now, the equipment of those army divisions is simply not a hair, and now he hesitates whether it will cause a chain reaction between the British and the Americans after swallowing it in one bite. Don't look at the current British and Americans have a tacit state of acquiescence to the entry of Chinese forces into the Middle East, but once the news of the discovery of super-large oil fields in these two regions comes out, will they regret it or simply insert their hands to get a piece of the pie, this is the problem that Zhou Tiecheng is most worried about.

China's influence in the Middle East is so weak that it cannot be compared with the British, who have been operating here for hundreds of years, and even the Americans who have been operating here for decades. Everyone likes a huge amount of wealth, but if you don't have the strength to protect this wealth, you can only make wedding clothes for others. This is also an issue related to the development plan of China for decades or even a hundred years in the future, so Zhou Tiecheng must not be cautious.

Thinking of this, Zhou Tiecheng thought of the words that Su Tong instructed when he came: "Minister Zhou, this is not only to establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and obtain the right to exploit the Ghawar oil field, but also to extend our country's influence to the Middle East." Although it is still a barren land, with the oil buried under their feet, I believe that in the near future, it will become a place for various major powers to compete for. Although we have occupied a vast land in Siberia, due to the harsh climate and scarce population there, we cannot turn the resources there into productive forces at once, so the oil of the Middle East is extremely important for the development of our country. As a result of this world war, Britain and the United States' influence in the Middle East has fallen to an all-time low, and this is the best time for us to infiltrate, not only to obtain the right to exploit the oil fields from Saudi Arabia, but also to need a stick that can protect ourselves, otherwise this huge wealth will only become a cake on someone else's plate. ”

After thinking about it, Zhou Tiecheng said slowly: "Your Majesty, Abdullah, we can understand that your country wants to establish an armed force to defend its territory, but for your plan to establish an army and an air force at the same time... I think it's better to be cautious, don't you think it's a bit wrong to take such a big step all at once? Moreover, we do not have any troops in the Middle East, and even if we want to help your country train personnel, there is no way to do so. It would be too far to send all your country's personnel to China for training, and I can tell you the truth, the cost of helping your country train so many people at once would require a very large amount of money. ”

After listening to Zhou Tiecheng's words, Abdullah and Khalid fell silent at the same time, and now Saudi Arabia is not the rich country whose average national income is higher than that of Americans. The cost of training the junior officers of two infantry divisions and one armored division at once is an astronomical amount. This is a huge expense for Saudi Arabia, which has only been established for ten years, although with the rent of 200 million gold yuan coupons issued by the Chinese government, they don't know whether this money is enough or not, and who knows how much money will be needed for follow-up expenses.

Zhou Tiecheng continued: "Your Majesty, Abdullah, I am not afraid to tell you the truth. If you really want to build an air force, the cost is much more expensive than that of an army. If you want to build a symbolic air force, then it is fine, if you want to build an air force that can really defend Saudi airspace, then the number of planes needed must not be less than 100 fighters, taking the oral fighter produced by our country as an example, its price is 50,000 gold yuan, and the money spent on training a pilot will never be less than buying a brand new fighter, and the usual maintenance of the aircraft, the wear and tear of parts, that is also a large expense. If you want to build an air force of 100 fighters, you will have to spend at least 30 to 40 million gold yuan in five years, and if you send all the pilots to China for training, the cost may be further increased, ............ Have you really thought it through? ”

Abdullah and his son Khalid glanced at each other, and both of them smiled bitterly, Since the Saudi royal family wants to establish an air force, they naturally did a certain amount of homework when they came, and of course they understood that Zhou Tiecheng was telling the truth.

Abdullah thought for a moment and asked, "Minister Zhou, do you have a way to save money?" For example, in terms of training personnel, can it be carried out in our Saudi Arabia? ”

A trace of joy flashed in Zhou Tiecheng's heart, and he felt that his opportunity had come. He pretended to be embarrassed and thought for a while: "This is not impossible, our country can send special instructors to train army and air force officers for your country in an all-round way, because the number of personnel to be trained is too large, the number of instructors we want to send is bound to be indispensable, I have made a preliminary estimate that if you train three army divisions and aviation units for your country at once, the number of instructors required cannot be less than 3,000. But in this case, the problem arises, we do not have a single export, and it is difficult to send so many people into your country. ”

"That'...... Do you have any good ideas? Khalid next to him asked a little apprehensively.

Zhou Tiecheng endured the joy and pretended to have a cautious look on his face, and said: "I see if it can be like this, since your government has promised to give us the concessions in the Ghawar and Manifa areas, can we build an air base there in the name of protecting the oil wells, so that we can station officers and soldiers at the base in the name of the garrison, and in fact, those officers and soldiers can train your country's troops." In this way, we can protect the safety of our oil wells.

What do you think about the fact that you can train officers for your country? ”

"Creation of an air base in our country?" Abdullah, who is not low in political sensitivity, immediately realized that China was trying to plant its own armed forces in Saudi Arabia.

"Do you mean to send troops to our country?" Khalid on the side was relatively young, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but interject and ask, with a vigilant look on his face. Any country will be wary of foreign troops entering its territory.

"No, no, no......" Zhou Tiecheng hurriedly shook his head: "We don't want to station troops in your country, this air base is only established to protect our oil fields from being invaded by Western forces."

As you know, our power here is very weak, and how can we guarantee our security without the presence of a deterrent force? ”

"We don't want to get involved in anything in your country, we just want to protect our wealth!" At this point, Zhou Tiecheng's eyes showed a sincere look.

Abdullu looked embarrassed and smiled bitterly: "Minister Zhou, I have to admit that you are an excellent foreign minister. But you should know that allowing your military to be stationed in our country for a long time is in conflict with our national defense policy, and it is also contrary to the policy set by our founding state, you know? This makes it difficult for me! ”

"But it's just about strengthening Saudi Arabia's defense, isn't it?" Zhou Tiecheng chuckled.

Abdullah groaned, on the one hand, to let a foreign country build an air base on his own territory, and on the other hand, to rely on the other side to train and build a real national defense force of his own, which is a very difficult choice for Abdullah.

"Can you guarantee that your country's air bases are only for the safety of oil wells and will comply with the laws and regulations of our country?" After a long time, Abdullah asked in a heavy tone.

"Of course, we will not interfere in any decision-making in your country, and we will not offend your country's laws and regulations or religious beliefs in any way, and we can include this in our treaty." Zhou Tiecheng, who knew that there was a play, endured joy and replied seriously.

"Well, hopefully my decision won't make me regret it in my lifetime." Abdullah sighed and nodded helplessly, "I also hope that your country will keep its promises, and I hope Allah will forgive me for my actions today." ”

While Zhou Tiecheng was engaged in difficult negotiations with Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, the battlefield of Soviet Russia, thousands of miles away, also underwent major changes. As of April this year, Soviet Russia had conscripted more than 8 million reserves throughout the country, and with the continuous investment of reserves in the Moscow theater, Hitler's desire to capture Moscow as soon as possible has come to naught.

At the beginning of May 1942, Stalin mobilized another army group to Kazan to increase Kazan's defense forces, and tentatively launched a large-scale probing attack on the Chinese side, which immediately aroused the alarm ............ the Chinese side!