@@@@@@

The marble floor is beautifully lit, and the crystal ceiling above the head emits a soft yellow light, which is refracted by the colorful glazed tiles of the dome, decorating the whole palace with magnificence and brilliance. The handmade Persian carpet of dozens of square meters spread in the center of the hall and the beautiful palace layout all made Gu Yuwen, who came to Persia for the first time, secretly speechless.

As an adviser to the president, he came to Iran with Gu Weijun, accompanied by Ma Kui and Lieutenant General Bai Chongxi, who served as a military attache in Iran. Ostensibly, the trip was for the Gulf Oil Company's oil exploration deal, but as the world tensions mounted, countries were desperately choosing more allies. Iran is adjacent to Afghanistan and is one of the most important countries in the Persian Gulf region, so after acquiring the Saudi alliance, Yang Qiu began to pay special attention to relations with Iran.

Helping Saudi Arabia become independent, getting rid of its colonial status, providing oil deals worth six billion yuan, and training and building Saudi defense in the Persian Gulf region have all deeply affected the Arab world, which is bent on independence from colonies. Therefore, Reza Khan also attached great importance to Gu Weijun's visit, not only invited famous people in Iran to welcome him, but also personally went to the airport to pick up the other party to the Rose Palace.

In order to entertain Gu Weijun and his entourage, Reza Khan did not know where to buy a few Ming and Qing calligraphy paintings and porcelain ornaments to put in the palace, and specially invited Chinese chefs from Saudi Arabia to make the palace and dinner full of Chinese elements. The dinner was a grand one, with a long table lined up on either side, with golden grilled meats, a variety of seafood, fruits, a wide variety of desserts, and even fruit wine prepared for the guests in spite of Islamic customs. "Mr. Minister, are you satisfied with tonight's meal? Pahlavi, go and ask Mr. Minister to taste our Caspian caviar. "On the dining table. Reza Khan was exceptionally welcoming.

Hearing the order, Pahlavi, who was seventeen or eighteen years old and handsome, and who was sitting next to him with some muna, immediately got up and personally spooned the famous Caspian caviar with a silver spoon for the guests according to his father's instructions. The scene of the prince himself acting as a waiter made the Iranian generals and internal affairs officials attending the dinner full of stunned, and even Gu Weijun hurriedly got up to thank him, secretly guessing the meaning behind this enthusiasm.

Reza Khan also did this for a reason, after the Sino-Soviet war in Afghanistan. Not only did the Soviet Union strengthen its military presence on the Soviet-Iranian border, but Britain also increased its troops in Basra and deployed a cruiser in the Gulf in case of war against Iran. In this case. Reza Khan was particularly concerned about Iran's independence.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Prince." Gu Weijun glanced at Pahlavi a few more times, thanked him, and saw that he had eaten almost the same, wiped his hands with a napkin and talked about the oil agreement: "Your Majesty, the oil demand in China and the Asian region is growing rapidly, and China alone needs to consume 280 million barrels of oil a year, and the whole of Asia needs 400 million barrels of oil. Therefore, China's Gulf Oil Company has been committed to developing the oil resources of the Persian Gulf region to make up for the growing oil consumption in China and the Asian region. They recently wanted to acquire oil exploration and exploitation rights in five areas, including the Azadegan region in the southern part of your country's Khuzestan province. ”

280 million barrels is 40 million tons, and if you don't count the highly classified Saltu oil field, China's current domestic oil production is not enough. So the whole world knows that China is desperately trying to increase oil extraction in Sumatra and Saudi Arabia in anticipation of a possible war. Reza Khan, of course, wants China to survey and extract Iranian oil. Doing so would not only win over China to balance the Anglo-Soviet infiltration of Iran, but also increase the country's fiscal revenue.

You must know that after the start of the economic crisis, the oil consumption of all countries in the world, except for China, plummeted. Anglo-Iranian oil companies in northwestern Iran extracted only 4.3 million tonnes last year, and their profits fell by 36 percent. Even more shameless! They only paid £360,000 to the Iranian government for mining. A year-on-year decrease of 76%! So he had already calculated this matter in his heart and was ready to agree, but he was not an ordinary person, so he deliberately embarrassed: "Mr. Minister, Germany also sent a special envoy last month, hoping to obtain the right to exploit. You know, we in Iran are a weak country, but Germany is strong, so. ”

Germany's accelerated penetration into Iran and the Persian Gulf is well known, and over the years, Reza Khan has also used China and Germany to constantly balance the power of Britain, France and the Soviet Union, the most obvious example being the two Royal Guards divisions stationed in Tehran, one of which is all German and the other is all Chinese. This detail shows Iran's desire to use external forces to ensure regime stability. But Germany, for all its penetration, had never heard of their intention to extract oil in Iran. You must know that with the current relations between Britain and France and Germany, as long as Germany has the slightest sign of exploiting oil in the Persian Gulf, it will definitely be obstructed in every way. Gu Weijun couldn't help but glance at Ma Kui, who thought about it and said: "Your Majesty, you should know how amazing our company's investment in Saudi Arabia is, we are not only committed to oil extraction, but also willing to help the countries that sell oil develop their economies and education, so I hope you can give priority to us." ”

Who doesn't know that China's Gulf Oil Company is the current oil hegemon of the Persian Gulf? With an annual output of 50 million barrels of crude oil, 86 tankers of various types, in addition to supplying oil to China, it is also exported to Europe and the Americas. So Ma Kui's words immediately made Reza Khan and the officials itch. Let's talk to the heart, which country and force in the Gulf region today does not envy the Saudi family? It took less than a decade to go from a British vassal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to what it is now the richest and most advanced country in the Persian Gulf region. And it is China that has brought about such a big change! Of course, they also know that the Saudi model cannot be replicated, because China at that time urgently needed to gain a foothold in the Persian Gulf, so it would offer a sky-high price of 6 billion yuan.

Gu Weijun saw that he was a little moved, and continued: "Your Majesty, on the way here, I have learned in detail about the situation of my country's Gulf Company, they are willing to invest 200 million yuan to buy the right to survey, if oil can be found, then they are willing to continue the practice in Saudi Arabia, sign a 60-year contract, and hand over 40% of its shares to you and the Iranian government to deal with." ”

As soon as the people around heard this offer, they almost jumped. 200 million yuan is 100 million US dollars, and this fee is equivalent to earning it for nothing. After the oil is surveyed, the Iranian government can get 40 percent of the shares without spending a penny, and according to the current calculation of 3.5 yuan per barrel of oil by Saudi Arabia's Sino-Arab oil company, then Iran will receive 1.4 yuan for each barrel of oil. If five million tons (35 million barrels) can be extracted every year, it will be 49 million yuan! That's more than thirteen times the cost paid by Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

Even Pahlavi found the offer very tempting, and his eyes were straight on his father. But Reza Khan was expressionless, and instead frowned slightly. Although he really wanted to get this contract, the recent Sino-Soviet war made him hesitate, especially now that Iran has become the front line of competition and confrontation between China, the Soviet Union, Britain and Germany, how to ensure Iran's independent status and ensure that national security is not infringed in this kind of competition, is his biggest concern at present. Think of these. He couldn't help but look at Bai Chongxi beside Gu Weijun.

Clearly, he wanted a security assurance!

Before the establishment of the Saudi state, Bai Chongxi served as a military attache in Turkey and Iran, and Reza Khan also contributed to the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty, and served as an instructor of the Iranian Royal Guard. When the Saudi crisis left office. In gratitude to him, Reza Khan also gave him a copy of the Golden Koran. So when I saw that my old friend also came this time, I asked, "General Bai, thank you for taking my general to observe the military operations in Afghanistan." I was very surprised by this war, especially the fighting ability of your army. The generals came back and said to me, you have used some advanced weapons this time, I wonder if you can introduce me a little? You know best. We in Iran are in a very bad situation at the moment. ”

Before he came, the General Staff had guessed that Reza Khan would take advantage of the oil contract to demand military guarantees and support, after all, he had always wanted to really get rid of the interference of Britain and the Soviet Union, so he would actively approach China. Also pulled Germany to try to achieve the goal. A year ago, Bai Chongxi really didn't dare to say big things, but as the world situation changed suddenly and Su De approached, Yang Qiu had already made a strategy to actively deal with it. Even the plan for the garrison of the Persian Gulf was put on the General Staff. So after glancing at Gu Weijun, he said, "Your Majesty the King can rest assured." You and Iran are the most important partners of our country, and we will not allow anyone to threaten your country's independent policy! The current situation in the world is very complicated, but I might as well tell you that the Soviets have been in secret contact with Germany many times, and it may not be long before you see a large number of German weapons in Afghanistan and even in the northwest of our country. ”

"The USSR and Germany are allied?!" Motolov's arrival in Berlin is not a secret to big countries like China and Britain, but for Iran, a country that can't even get out of the Persian Gulf, it's a bolt from the blue! Soviet-German alliance? What is this concept? The Soviets have always had their eyes on Iran, and they have long wanted to expel the British and use Iran as a bridgehead for exporting GCISM. If it weren't for the cleverness of Reza Khan in his early years, he took advantage of the internal strife in the Soviet Union to sign the "Soviet-Iranian Peace Treaty", perhaps Iran would have been destroyed long ago! Therefore, he still does not dare to officially turn his face with Britain, nor does he dare to offend the Soviet Union, and deliberately woos Germany when there is already China, just to maintain balance.

But the news of the Soviet-German alliance turned everything upside down! So far, there are more than five thousand Germans of all categories in Iran! Going deep into Iran's various industries, if the Soviet-German alliance is formed, wouldn't Iran be equivalent to wearing a new emperor's clothes in front of the Soviet Union?

Reza Khan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

But he still didn't believe it, how could the Soviet Union ally with Germany? Didn't they quarrel fiercely before? Bai Chongxi knew that it was impossible to convince Reza Khan with just two sentences, but he only knew about this matter, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. Gu Weijun knew the inside story better, and also knew that Germany's sale of weapons was a foregone conclusion, so he took over the conversation, picked up the cup and looked indifferent: "Your Majesty, I can't explain too much." It's better to wait for the German planes to appear in the hands of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and then you make a decision. ”

Joke! If German planes had appeared in the hands of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, it would have been too late to make a decision! Reza Khan, even if he didn't believe it, wouldn't bet on it. What's more, the officials and generals around were also whispered by this big news, including many of the officers who had previously clamored for the United Germany. Seeing that the time was ripe, Gu Weijun put down his cup and promised: "Mr. President knows that you have always been committed to a policy of neutrality, so I do not want to interfere in your governance. But Iran's current security situation is very bad, so he said that if you are willing to sign the oil deal, we will immediately and unconditionally sell you 200 tanks and 86 fighter jets, all of which are new equipment that has been tested in Afghanistan, and build a railway from Tehran to Kashgar in due course. In addition, the "Qingdao Agreement" signed by China and the United Kingdom stipulates that China has the right to free economy in the Persian Gulf and other Arab regions, and also has the right to protect oil security! If our oil investment in the Persian Gulf region is threatened and the British government is unable to provide protection, we will automatically have the right to use all diplomatic and military force to protect oil security! ”

Reza Khan's eyes lit up suddenly. Gu Weijun's meaning is obvious, although China will not intervene in the Persian Gulf at present, if Britain cannot fulfill the "Qingdao Treaty" to protect China's oil security in the Arab world, the Chinese National Defense Forces will send troops to the Persian Gulf!

But the problem is that China is too far from the Persian Gulf, and while the Chinese National Defense Forces are just a stone's throw from the important town of Herat on the border between Afghanistan and Iran, the terrain of Afghanistan limits the speed and scale of the army's movements.

In the Rose Palace, his breathing suddenly became short, and Reza Khan's expression became solemn for the first time.

Will he say yes?

Gu Weijun, Bai Chongxi and others all pinched their sweats, Iran is too important!