After watching the day's recital, Chen Shao was about to leave when Jiang Baili knocked on the door and walked in.

"Your Majesty, good news, the British have agreed." Before Chen Shao was born, Jiang Baili said excitedly.

"Oh! Why did Britain suddenly relent? Chen Shao was a little puzzled about how quickly Britain's attitude changed.

"I reduced the lease to thirty years, and promised them the blueprints of the Kunlunshan-class battleships." These conditions were originally granted by Chen Shao, and Jiang Baili did not make his own claims. "The contract has been signed, and for the next 30 years, we will have ownership of a large area of land in the Persian Gulf. However, in terms of garrison, the British never let go, and the final result was that the total number of garrisons could not exceed one regiment. ”

"It's good that this half-year-long negotiation is finally over. A regiment is a regiment, anyway, the place is still calm, and there will be no large-scale conflicts. But what about railways? Did the British agree on all matters? Chen Shao said.

"Britain promised yes, but there were many restrictions, the most important of which was that in thirty years, the railway would be owned by the British. In other words, the railroad that we have worked so hard to build will be as British as the land in the Persian Gulf thirty years from now. Jiang Baili said very calmly, over the years, the thoughts in his mind have become much clearer for the World War II that is getting closer and closer. He believed that in the near future, this war would definitely break out, but he was not sure whether this future would be a year or a decade. But one thing is clear, thirty years later, all this is different.

"Thirty years later, I don't know whose land it is. As long as it can become ours in a few years, it is enough. Chen Shao said indifferently.

Oil is the blood of war, and after the First World War, countries around the world recognized this, but did not pay attention to it, or did not pay enough attention to it. In the southwest, Chen Shao has been storing oil, and the development of the South China Sea oil field has allowed the southwest to have enough oil reserves in a short time. But after two major wars, the oil in the oil depot was consumed as if it were not money. So that the oil reserves, which were already quite abundant, were consumed by a quarter at once.

Whether it's trucks, tanks, armored vehicles, planes, ships, these things consume oil. Not to mention weapons and equipment on land, the navy is a big fuel guster. Every time I go to sea, the oil I carry is calculated in 100 tons and 1,000 tons, and I can empty an oil depot at once. And these are only the consumption for a period of time, and the next time you go to sea, you will need so many more quantities.

Over the years, although there was no war, the amount of fuel consumed remained high. The main thing is that the intensity of training in the army has always been very high, and oil is used everywhere. Nowadays, although Chen Shao has built a lot of oil fields, after deducting the daily consumption, there is not much oil that can be stored. And if World War II had broken out, the amount of oil needed would have been astronomical. In particular, the Chinese army, a highly mechanized army, needs an even more terrifying amount of fuel.

And if there is no fuel, then the army will not be supported by aircraft and ground armored forces, and there will be a lack of trucks for logistics materials, and it will not be able to meet the combat consumption of the army in the first place. Although the army will not lose its combat effectiveness because it has left these things, it has become accustomed to all kinds of coordinated combat, and when the time comes, it will turn into human charge and rifle shooting. The casualties of the soldiers will inevitably increase, and it is absolutely impossible for Chen Shao to exchange the lives of the soldiers for victory in the war.

Oil is not only the blood of war, but also the driving force for the vigorous development of economic development. It can be said that Chen Shao's economic development has never been separated from oil, and now China's economic development is also inseparable from oil. A large number of trucks have replaced biodynamic vehicles, and trucks have enough advantages not only in terms of efficiency, but also in terms of speed. Speed up the circulation of goods in the north and south, so that all commodities can be exchanged more quickly.

Although there are trains with larger volumes, the role of trucks is not something that trains can replace. And in today's big cities, where you can't see cars, even in towns and villages, you can see cars all the time. There are not only trucks, but also cars, buses, motorcycles, and countless other vehicles. The bus network covers the whole of China, with rural buses, urban buses, provincial and municipal buses, and inter-provincial buses. Road traffic is better, and there are more and more cars, in order to meet the refueling needs of more and more vehicles. Starting from the provincial road, a gas station can be seen at a distance of several tens of kilometers.

Some things are uncontrollable, the times are progressing, the economy is developing, and the material life of the people will become richer and richer. A man is accustomed to sitting in a comfortable and fast car, and one day he is asked to ride in a bumpy and slow carriage, who wants this? It's not just a question of comfort, it's also a question of being able to keep up with the pace of life.

In the past, when I went to visit relatives or go to the city, I sometimes had to walk for hours. But now with buses, it only takes half an hour or an hour to arrive, and such efficiency has become a common practice. Want to go back to the previous walk, again spend a couple of hours walking for half an hour to get to the road, which who can stand.

Although there are Yumen and Daqing, Chen Shao does not want to overexploit domestic oil and gas resources, and besides, relying on two large oil fields alone cannot meet the country's oil demand. So he turned his attention to the Middle East, which is now the traditional sphere of influence of Britain and France. From the borders of Xinjiang to the Persian Gulf, it was the British sphere of influence. And Chen Shao doesn't want to go to the country to stimulate Britain now, France is now about to carry Germany, and he doesn't want to see China. Chen Shao turned his attention to the United Kingdom and came up with lucrative conditions, which only needed a short period of ownership.

As the Middle East, which accounts for 60% of the world's reserves, after World War II, countries recognized the huge role of oil and turned their attention to the Middle East. In later generations, the focus of the game was the Middle East. It is also the site of the world's most frequent wars after the end of World War II. Whatever the pretext for the war, the only purpose is oil, and it is just to be a bitch and build a torii.

During this time period, oil in the Middle East has not been developed much, and if there is development, it is only small-scale development. This area has always been barren if you don't count oil. It is also far from the Suez Canal, and the Persian Gulf is not a shipping lane. Therefore, this is not the key goal of Britain and France, and even the garrison is only to prevent aboriginal riots.

No matter how much Britain doesn't value this place, it immediately became alert when it heard that China wanted to lease the bay area. However, in the face of high remuneration, and in some conditions, the interests are very inclined to the United Kingdom. The British were moved, but at the same time, they launched a large-scale investigation into the Gulf area, in case they made any mistakes and let China take advantage. After several months of investigation, nothing was found in the Gulf region, except that there was a lot of oil.

Chen Shao knew that there were some things that could not be hidden, and told Britain very directly that what I needed was oil. There are more and more cars in China, so that China's oil demand is too large. However, China's domestic oil fields are difficult to develop, and it takes a long time to meet the domestic oil demand. So in the coming decades, there needs to be a place to supply domestic oil demand.

Britain was already very wary of China, and oil was the driving force for many weapons and equipment, and although China now had only one battleship, the British side did not want to agree to China's concession request at first. In the face of lucrative interests, Britain and France must also think twice about whether this will cause trouble for raising tigers.

Originally, China demanded a lease of fifty years, and although they could get a rent every year, this was still too long for the British. And a railway will be built to the Persian Gulf. The ownership of the railway is still Chinese, and the British side will not agree to it.

However, Britain did not directly reject China's Lend-Lease request, and once the economic crisis passed, the country needed a large amount of money to restore the economy and restore industrial capacity. Britain does not want to give up China, a big country, and everything is based on interests, and the conditions can be discussed.

Originally, Britain wanted to open its mouth, but when it saw the rich benefits given by China, it did not say anything, but started a game with China on other conditions. The lease period of fifty years was reduced to thirty years, which was almost acceptable to the British. In terms of railways, the construction cost and labor are all paid by China itself, but in 30 years, this thing will be unconditionally given to Britain.

Whichever side is not satisfied with one condition, the negotiations will continue. Originally, in the eyes of the British, this negotiation would eventually break down, because some conditions seemed to the British, even if they had oil, it would be more than worth the loss.

The British side was very surprised by the concessions made by the Chinese side, and the huge interests in front of them made them invisibly ignore many problems. One of these benefits is that many of these benefits cannot be realized in a short period of time.

One of the most direct conditions was that China gave up the balance of the British compensation to China, and the rent would be paid year after year. And handed over the design drawings and various performance data of the Kunlunshan-class battleships to the British, which China also agreed.

Britain's most important interest is China's development of the Middle East, which can be said to be a barren land, very primitive and backward. To extract oil, and this is a zero industry, the Chinese side needs a lot of time to build some supporting facilities.

According to Britain's own estimates, this time will not be less than ten years, and it will be at least ten years before this place will actually produce oil. In another 20 years, China will develop all the oil drilling equipment in the Gulf region, and as soon as the lease period expires, Britain will be able to take over the fruits of China's labor in an open and open manner.

(To be continued)