The main agricultural production areas of the Persian Empire were concentrated in the plains along the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of the areas were dry and short of water.
Last year, a severe drought occurred in the Persian Empire. A large amount of land suffered a serious reduction in production or even no harvest. Since the summer of this year, a serious famine has occurred in the Persian Empire. Farmers in many areas could not bear it and revolted. In some cities, five pounds can buy a young female slave.
That's right, there are still a large number of slaves in the Persian Empire. Until the 21st century, this was one of the areas with the most frequent human trafficking in the world.
Reza Khan needed food not for the victims in the Persian Empire, but for the army led by Reza Khan. Even the rations of the army could not be guaranteed. The Persian Empire was in short supply of food.
The situation is evident.
If the requirements are not high, the food in southern Africa is still very sufficient. Potatoes, mangoes, dried cassava and so on are almost as much as you want. The cannery under Stoudemire's name has a rich variety, ranging from high-end whitebait to cheap canned fruits.
However, the most popular item in the Persian Empire was luncheon meat.
"This is meat! No one eats such a delicious thing in southern Africa? Has southern Africa developed to this level?" Reza Khan really couldn't figure it out. Luncheon meat is just like instant noodles.
If you don't eat for a long time, you will miss this taste. If you eat two meals in a row, you would rather be hungry than eat.
"We used to like it very much, but" Li De really couldn't explain how much meat was in luncheon meat.
The main raw material of lunch meat is starch extracted from potatoes, mixed with some animal offal and cooked together, and then it becomes lunch meat.
Potatoes can be regarded as the cheapest agricultural products in southern Africa. In addition to being used to make wine, many farmers use potatoes to raise poultry and livestock.
As for the offal of animals, before the Chinese came to southern Africa, almost all offal of animals were discarded directly. Europeans did not have the habit of eating offal of animals, so the dark cuisine recognized by white people in Southern Africa is spicy pepper sausage.
"Okay, I can understand, after all, you are British." Reza Khan's words were a bit sour, which probably meant that our ancestors were also rich back then.
The Persian Empire was indeed once glorious. This Persia was the Persia in the Spartan Warriors. However, the glory of the Persians was in ancient times, and the glory period was very short. The Spartan Warriors appeared in 480 BC.
During the Battle of Thermopylae.
"If there are no problems on your side, all the expenses can be settled with this luncheon meat." Li De still talked about business. Although Li De also knew that the Chinese must cling to the UK if they want to survive in southern Africa, but that was not the case.
All Chinese can accept this.
When he was in Nyasaland, Li De liked to go to the library to check information about Chinese history. The more he knew about the history of the Chinese, the more proud Li De was of his Chinese identity. The British saw Americans as nouveau riche, but
According to Chinese standards, Britain is actually a nouveau riche.
"Okay, Ahvaz is yours now. I hope you can fulfill your promise as soon as possible. The sooner the better. As you can see, our current situation is very bad." If possible, Reza Khan would also
Reza Khan was unwilling to transfer the interests of the Persian Empire privately, but Reza Khan had no choice.
Ahvaz is where the Anglo-American Oil Company discovered oil fields. It has abundant oil reserves and is the main oil and gas production area of the Persian Empire.
Ahvaz was also the capital of Khuzestan. It was a trading center for sugar, rice, and silk from the 12th to the 13th century. Later, it declined with the decline of agriculture in Khuzestan. Ahvaz was occupied by the British during the Anglo-Persian War in 1857.
After the army fell, Ahvaz will gradually prosper due to the discovery of oil, but no one has noticed this yet.
A week later, two Nyasaland Ocean Shipping Company freighters brought 15,000 cans of luncheon meat. This was only the first batch. Each can of luncheon meat was sold by the Rhodesia Canning Company for one shilling and five pence.
, but in the Persian Empire, the price of a can of lunch meat soared to six shillings.
Going to Ahvaz with the luncheon meat were the mercenaries of the Umbrella Company. This time, Tang En personally led the team. While escorting the goods, he also had to take over the defense of Ahvaz.
"You want to take over the defense of Ahvaz? Sorry, Reza Khan does not have this right." Alex has a unit of twenty British soldiers under his command, which is the British garrison in Khuzestan.
Nominally Khuzestan was still a territory of the Persian Empire. In fact, in the agreement with the Russians, Khuzestan was a British sphere of influence.
In Persia, Britain had great rights. Not only could it form an army and set up banks, but it could even form a government and train the army. The army led by Alex was the instructor of the Persian army in Khuzestan.
Britain still attaches great importance to the oil in the Persian Empire. Port Elizabeth was easily bought by the Umbrella Company accidentally, but now it attaches great importance to Khuzestan. McMahon not only sent Alex to manage the Ahvaz oil field, but also
While building an army in Khuzestan to defend against the Persian government, there were also reasons for protecting the Umbrella Company.
"Alex, this time we are not going to monopolize Khuzestan, but we are preparing to develop it together with other oil companies. Only by being competitive can we make progress." Tang En said hypocritically. Don't worry about what happens in the future. Let's get the mercenaries into Khuzestan first.
Zestan, other oil companies can take their time.
"Develop together?" Alex simply didn't believe what Tang En, the mercenary leader, said.
"Yes, let's develop it together, but we have to drive away the Germans and Americans first, so that we can live together as brothers and defend ourselves against foreign aggression!" It's not easy for Tang En to actually know this allusion.
The saying "Brothers are jealous of each other within the wall and resist their aggression from outside" comes from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Tangdi". It is used to describe the need to unite to deal with external aggression despite internal differences.
When used in the Persian Empire, this metaphor is still very appropriate. Although the Umbrella Company and Royal Shell have differences, they are still British companies, and they must unite to deal with the outside world. They must first drive away the enemies and then divide the spoils behind closed doors.
Yes, for the British, the Germans are certainly enemies, but the United States, the traitor, also has no good intentions.
The arms race in Europe also has a lot to do with the Americans. Like southern Africa, the United States also made a fortune in the arms race. Before the outbreak of the world war, the United States still owed Britain 150 million pounds, and I feel that this money has almost been repaid.
It has been cleared, and the UK still has a tendency to borrow money to survive.
"Just wait." Alex didn't waste any time and sent someone directly to call Rex Rusk from Royal Shell (a typo in the previous article).
After learning Tang En's identity, Rex Rusk's expression was very complicated.
Just a few days ago, Rex Rusk couldn't help but make love to Ivanovich.
As a result, Royal Shell suffered a big loss. Although no one died, more than a dozen workers were injured by workers from the Umbrella Company. The injuries were serious, with either broken arms or short legs.
In this era, broken arms and legs cannot be reattached, and someone may die. Although there are doctors in Port Elizabeth, Royal Shell has no intention of treating those Persian workers. In an era when human life is like a piece of grass, you can only ask for it.
What a blessing.
But if the umbrella company is really willing to share oil fields with Royal Shell, this will definitely be a good thing for Royal Shell.
"Sorry, I only refer to the oil fields in Khuzestan, and do not include the Elizabeth Oil Field." Tang En emphasized that the Elizabeth Oil Field cannot be shared, and this point needs to be clarified.
"Are you so kind?" Rex Rusk was slightly disappointed, but not too disappointed. Umbrella Company's willingness to share Khuzestan's oil fields was a rare goodwill.
"You don't have to believe it!" Tang En was patient when facing Alex, but his attitude was much worse when facing Rex Rusk.
"Tell me how you plan to drive away the Germans and Americans." Alex did not doubt the protection company's ability to act. The key is that the operation must be secretive so that the Germans and Americans cannot get a handle on it.
It doesn't matter to Germany, the United States cannot be offended for the time being, and Britain also needs the support of the United States to continue the arms race.
On the surface, it seems that Britain, France and Germany are now customers of the United States, but it goes without saying that the customer is God. Now the supplier is the boss, and you may not be able to buy anything with money.
"This is too simple. Ahvaz is 150 kilometers away from the Persian Gulf. It is a famous pirate coast and desert bandits are also rampant. The Persian Empire has too much time to take care of itself and cannot control the place. It is normal for rebels to appear.
"Tang En is very familiar with it. It's obviously not the first time he has done this kind of thing.
"Our oil wells are all mixed together, how can we ensure that there will be no accidental damage?" Rex Rusk thought more. Skilled workers also need to be trained for a long time. If there is a shortage of manpower, it is really difficult to replenish them in the Persian Empire.
"Necessary sacrifices are unavoidable, but we will try to avoid them, such as removing technicians and skilled workers in advance and hiring some cheap Persians to make up the numbers." Tang En wanted to play a trick, but the cost was a bit high.
Moreover, the disregard for life revealed intentionally or unintentionally in his words is really frightening.
It’s no joke that one general can accomplish great feats, but a thousand bones will wither. It’s also a rule of thumb to be kind but not in charge of troops. Those who achieve great things don’t stick to trivial matters. We shouldn’t have too high expectations for people in this era.
Think about those people in the Qing Dynasty who waited for human blood to be soaked in steamed buns to cure their illnesses, and those insensitive spectators who watched Ling Chi's execution. They were actually ordinary people.
"What if the country knows about it?" Rex Rusk was worried. It didn't matter if it was in the wilderness. There were thousands of residents the size of Ahvaz. It was still too risky to do it in public.
"The dead can't talk." Tang En had no intention of leaving him alive. The so-called car and boat shop should be killed even if it is not guilty. The same goes for these oil companies. None of them are good.
