On February 18, the federal government suddenly announced that it would 100% nationalize all oil fields and natural gas wells in the Middle East. Unlike the common "temporary expropriation", this time it was permanent.
The reason is simple and crude.
The Europa people's transaction process was fraudulent and plundering, which was naturally untenable in legal terms. The authorities simply denied it completely.
What's even worse is that there is not even a dime of compensation.
To be honest, the above wave of operations is a vivid interpretation of Houhei Xue. After all, the previous peace agreement was clearly written in black and white.
After the news spread, some were happy and some were sad.
Needless to say those who are happy, the vast majority of the people are clapping their hands and cheering. Everyone has long been unhappy with the big capitalists. Why are they starving while the other side is enjoying themselves?
You know, even Archon Ji only supplies a dozen kilograms of meat every month. His living conditions are slightly better than those of ordinary people, but they are far from luxurious.
As for those who are worried, they are mainly concentrated among the upper-class elites of Europa. They generally hold shares in large and small energy companies in the Middle East and are the most direct victims.
In addition, affected by this incident, the entire industrial and commercial community was instantly panicked, including the old Zhang family.
Zhang Chongxin called his son back with a phone call.
"Dad, what's so urgent?"
"You know everything about the oil fields in the Middle East, right?"
Zhang Hao nodded: "Didn't we already guess it last week?"
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Zhang Chongxin waved his hand.
"Then what do you always want to say?"
Zhang Hao sat down on the sofa and poured himself a cup of tea.
Zhang Chongxin let out a long sigh: "Just now I was thinking whether I should hoard more gold in the future."
"Why are you hoarding gold?" Zhang Hao asked curiously.
At present, the price of gold is at a historical high, reaching an astonishing more than 2,800 yuan. The investment risk is too great, and it can almost be said to be unprofitable.
"Of course it's just in case. If all our property is expropriated, at least we can still leave some wealth for Da Puding and the others."
Zhang Chongxin explained patiently.
Zhang Hao said helplessly: "Dad, to be honest, in such a critical moment, no matter how much gold you hoard, it will be useless. Rich people will not be able to buy food."
"How do you know it's useless?"
Zhang Chongxin was not convinced by Qi Dao.
"Because I've experienced it myself."
Zhang Hao answered secretly in his heart.
In the dream, there was a time when food production dropped sharply due to natural and man-made disasters. At that time, the price of food on the black market was almost sky-high, but there was no way to buy food.
In fact, this is not difficult to understand, because the government directly controls 99% of the grain production, and the number of self-built micro plantations like theirs is very small.
Under such circumstances, we can occasionally make adjustments in normal times, but once a famine occurs, it will really make the sky and the earth unable to respond, and we can only lie down and wait for relief.
Thinking of this, he tried to comfort him: "Dad, you don't have to worry. I have already arranged backup outside. When the day you said comes true, our family will have a way out. I guarantee that no one will go hungry."
"Then let me just say something." Zhang Hao pointed in the direction of the mountain behind our house: "On the mountain behind our home, I buried a batch of canned doomsday cans in advance. As long as I take them out, it will be enough for the whole family to eat for more than ten years.
"
"Is it confidential?" Zhang Chongxin's eyes suddenly lit up.
Zhang Hao nodded: "I dug the hole myself and buried it. No one knows about it. There are many similar places."
"Okay, since you were prepared, that's good. It seems I was worrying too much." Zhang Chongxin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, as long as I'm here in our family, you don't have to worry about it. I've even considered the lives of your great-grandson and great-great-grandson. No matter what happens outside, our family can cope with all changes by staying the same." Zhang Hao said confidently.
"Who else besides you knows about these preparations?"
"only me."
Zhang Chongxin immediately shook his head: "No, you can tell Da Pudding about this later. In case something happens to you one day, at least there is someone in the family who knows about it."
"Dad, don't worry! How could I make such a stupid mistake? I left a will with Lawyer Luo. If I'm gone, the lawyer will give Hua Qing and Da Pudding a letter with the burial location.
They are two brothers." Zhang Hao explained patiently.
"Listen to me, let's tell Big Pudding! Lawyers can't be 100% reliable. We need to be prepared on both sides. This is safer."
Zhang Chongxin insisted.
"Okay, then I will tell him personally when your eldest grandson comes back from vacation." Zhang Hao agreed casually.
…
At the end of the month, this year's fifth sandstorm, "Butterfly," was born.
The sandstorm this time was the highest level of extreme intensity, and it spread from Siberia to the South China Sea, covering most of the mainland.
In recent years, due to the complete collapse of the terrestrial ecosystem, sandstorms have become more frequent and more destructive.
Taking last year as an example, sandstorms occurred for at least half of the year, seriously affecting production and people's daily lives.
The capital, Zhucheng, is the residence of the governor.
Ji Zhangqiu is worrying about choosing a successor.
The plan did not change quickly. Just recently, the Europeans showed a strong sense of resistance and even resorted to war, forcing him to make compromises.
The current situation is already so difficult that it cannot withstand any war.
But speaking of it, the Europeans did not make any excessive demands. They only had one condition, and that was that the choice of consul must be approved by them.
The Minister of the Interior, Fan Zhenxiang, is from our own side. He knows without trying that he will definitely fail.
After much deliberation, it was best to choose a political amateur.
"Lao Xia, there will be an election next month. Have you chosen your candidates?"
Lao Xia is his chief staff officer.
Xia Congwen came over with a document: "It has come out. We have initially screened out five candidates. According to your requirements, they are all political amateurs without any political experience.
Among them are two businessmen; one is from the education system; the other is from the scientific research system; the last one is the only woman, of mixed Eastern and Western descent, and is a well-known philanthropist."
"Huh? Such a coincidence? Let's talk about the female philanthropist first!" Ji Zhangqiu quickly became interested.
Xia Congwen casually handed over the resumes of the five people, and then began to introduce: "Gu Huifang, fifty-five years old this year, is the founder of the 'Charity Fund', and has been engaged in charity for thirty years..."
"She's never married?"
Ji Zhangqiu looked at his resume and interrupted directly.
"Well, Ms. Gu is a non-marriage person. She has been single to this day and has no children."
Xia Congwen replied.
Ji Zhangqiu shook his head when he heard this and immediately put down the resume in his hand: "PASS her away! This kind of person has no worries and firm beliefs, and is easy to go to extremes. He is not suitable for politics."
The subtext is that the other party is not easily controlled.
In fact, what they need is a consul with a gentle personality. To put it more bluntly, what they need is an obedient "puppet" who can temporarily help them get through the current predicament.
It is also an explanation to the Europeans.
Xia Congwen was a little regretful. They found this person with great difficulty. He had many labels on him and was the most suitable candidate. The Europeans would definitely have no objections.
Ji Zhangqiu flipped through the resume in his hand and suddenly found an "old" acquaintance. He couldn't help but wonder:
"What's going on with Zhang Hao? He's only forty years old this year. Is he too young?"
"Consul, to tell you the truth, at the beginning, we also had doubts about his age, and the group was divided into two groups.
Those in favor believe that young age is also an advantage, which can give the outside world an image of positive reform and enterprising spirit, and can also inspire young people."
Xia Congwen explained in detail.
Ji Zhangqiu nodded. The current situation is extremely serious and the society is full of depression. If a young man comes to power, it will surely have an inspiring effect.
As for the issue of experience, don't worry about it at all. What they need is a puppet anyway, and it doesn't matter whether you have experience or not.
"Is there any other reason?"
"Yes, Zhang Hao is a representative figure of the younger generation in the industrial and commercial community, and can even be said to be the leader of the entire industrial and commercial community. If the federal rich list is restored, with his current net worth, he will definitely be ranked among the top three.
In addition, he has close ties with our officials and has had many cooperations with us, the biggest one being Southeast Fisheries Company. Do you still have any impressions?"
"Southeast Fishery Company?" Ji Zhangqiu quickly thought of it, "Of course I remember that they were the first company to go to the Southern Ocean to hunt whales, and they seemed to have gained a lot."
"You are right. They went to sea three times and caught millions of tons of fish in total, which effectively alleviated the federal food pressure."
Xia Congwen quickly added.
Ji Zhangqiu smiled happily and asked casually: "What happened next? How is this company?"
"It was disbanded ten years ago. After all, there are not endless fish in the sea, so there is nothing we can do about it." Xia Congwen lamented.
"Then he should have made a lot of money, right?"
"Consul, you have forgotten that Zhang Hao donated all the profits from the fishing company to the controllable nuclear fusion project, which is the Shuguang New Energy Company established by him in conjunction with the Eastern Academy of Sciences and Zhucheng officials."
Ji Zhangqiu slapped his head on the spot: "Look at my memory, I forgot such an important thing."
"Consul, I don't blame you, controllable nuclear fusion is not something that happens overnight. Shuguang Company has been working hard for these years, and there has been no big movement at all. Most people don't know this company exists."
Ji Zhangqiu smiled: "It seems that our Director Zhang is still a technology geek. Most people would not dare to invest in such a big project."
"That's right!" Xia Congwen paused, then changed the topic: "Actually, in my opinion, he is more like a charity entrepreneur."
"Oh? What should I say?"
"I forgot to explain to you, Zhang Hao is not only an outstanding businessman, he is also a big entrepreneur who is enthusiastic about public welfare.
In Federation 86, after the Yellowstone volcano erupted, he did not hesitate to sell millions of tons of grain imported from the other side, half of it, and half to the Huicheng officials."
"When you said that, I remembered that this incident was very sensational back then." Ji Zhangqiu nodded.
"Actually, there are many similar things. For example, his feed factory stockpiled 30 million tons of smelly fish and rotten shrimps, which can be used to raise meat rats and earthworms. In the end, it was all cheaper than the WFP.
In addition, when the war in the Middle East broke out, he advanced funds to organize a convoy fleet to escort in the Southern Ocean. Up to now, the WFP has not returned the money to the other party, so it is probably nothing.
There is also the Southeast Fishery Company. When it was first disbanded, officials such as Guangdong Province refused to take any money, and the WFP also pretended to be stupid and refused to pay for the goods. In the end, Zhang Hao paid for all the severance pay himself."
"you mean?"
Ji Zhangqiu was thoughtful.
"Consul, we have found through research that Zhang Hao is always at the disadvantage when facing our officials, whether passively or actively, without exception." Xia Congwen hinted.
Ji Zhangqiu immediately understood what the other party meant.
It can be summed up in one sentence:
Boss Zhang is soft-boned and easy to manipulate, which fully meets their requirements.
However, he still hesitated:
"It is said that there is no good man without good reputation. Since this person can become a business leader, he must have something special. I think his intelligence and ability are not bad. Maybe it is not as simple as we think."
Xia Congwen tried to persuade: "As a consul, it is easier to deal with smart people. If you change it to someone who can't see the situation clearly, I'm afraid it will only cause trouble."
"Well, what you said makes sense."
Ji Zhangqiu was a little moved.
Seeing this, Xia Congwen kept up his efforts and said: "Actually, there is another point. Since we announced the takeover of the oil fields in the Middle East, the business community has been filled with complaints. Choosing a businessman to be the leader will not only quickly appease people's hearts, but it will also be easier for Europa to accept.
."
This is also the main reason why they chose two businessman candidates.
Ji Zhangqiu browsed Zhang Hao's resume again, and suddenly he said: "I didn't expect that this Director Zhang is actually the father of five children, the youngest of whom was born less than a year ago."
“A happy family is also a plus.”
Xia Congwen echoed casually.
"It's confirmed that a harmonious family is more likely to be accepted and loved by the people." Ji Zhangqiu smiled, and then let out a surprise: "Hey, he had quite a lot of experience when he was young. He actually traveled to all seven continents.
The four oceans are really enviable."
Xia Congwen immediately explained the specific reasons.
Ji Zhangqiu couldn't help but smile knowingly, and said meaningfully: "I didn't expect that he is a person who values emotions. It's good to value emotions, and it's not easy to do evil things."
"Consul, Zhang Hao is the second most popular candidate we selected, second only to Ms. Gu."
"What does he think of Western society?"
Ji Zhangqiu continued to ask.
"I'm mostly sympathetic, but I'm not a pedantic person, otherwise not all of the benefits will go to our country in the end." Xia Congwen said cautiously.
Ji Zhangqiu nodded with satisfaction: "It's good if you can distinguish the priorities. Let's make him a key investigation target!"
"Okay, I will go back and add his personal information and try to do everything in detail."
"Don't go too far. You can go back later and call over those who often deal with him, especially Governor He of Guangdong Province and Minister Li of the Ministry of Transportation. I want to have a chat with them.