The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 1093 Money is a man’s courage

Iraq, capital Baghdad.

Saddam was in a good mood.

Saddam has been in a good mood since September 9 last year.

During the Gulf War, the United States and its allies launched large-scale and prolonged air strikes, turning Iraq into ruins, which frightened Saddam so much that he even smelled the scent of death.

He didn't expect that the powerful million-strong army he had assembled would be so vulnerable.

In the Gulf War, Saddam chose to surrender, and with the coordination of a third party, Saudi Arabia and other countries accepted Iraq. The United States had to withdraw, although Iraq paid a huge sum of money for this.

After the Gulf War, Saddam used the funds in the East to purchase supplies, and then took out large loans for post-war reconstruction.

Now, Iraq is finally on the right track.

This year Iraq can export 500 million barrels of oil and 30 cubic meters of natural gas per day.

The international crude oil price is about to break through $40 per barrel, and the natural gas price has reached $170 per cubic meter, which means that Iraq can earn $2.51 million every day from oil and natural gas exports.

With more income, Saddam became more confident.

In order to make things difficult for the Americans, Saddam sent 10,000 troops into Afghanistan. Of course, these 10,000 troops have been retired from the Iraqi army. Even if the Americans come to protest, Iraq can say that this is a private act, not Iraq's.

The longer the Americans fight in Afghanistan, the greater the losses, and the happier Saddam will be.

Just then, Osama came to report.

Osama is the one who is specifically responsible for this matter.

"Osama, how is it? Have the weapons, ammunition and supplies been delivered?" Saddam asked.

These ten thousand people naturally passed through Persia.

In the Iran-Iraq War, both sides fought to the death and formed a life-and-death feud.

However, after the Gulf War, Saddam took the initiative to repair the relationship between Iran and Iraq, which eased the tensions between the two countries. Iran and Iraq have a common enemy, the United States, and a common enemy naturally provides a basis for cooperation.

Of course, so many people died on both sides in the Iran-Iraq War, so reconciliation is not something that can be achieved easily, so on the surface the two sides have not established diplomatic relations until now.

The 10,000 Iraqi troops were previously in the Kurdish mountains in northeastern Iraq, where they had been fighting Kurdish armed forces for many years. They are good at mountain warfare and have experience in guerrilla warfare. This time, they entered Afghanistan's Farah and Herat provinces through Persia. Both provinces are mountainous.

Saddam sent these 10,000 troops into Afghanistan not to fight the Americans head-on. No matter how arrogant Saddam was, he knew that he was no match for the U.S. military.

These 10,000 troops entered Afghanistan to fight mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare, and to learn from the guerrillas how to fight guerrilla warfare well.

This force also needs weapons, ammunition and supplies, and all of these need to come from Iraq.

"Mr. President, everything has been handled!" Osama said, "Binsam wants us to provide them with a batch of weapons, ammunition and supplies so that they can better fight the Americans!"

"Give it to them!" Saddam waved his hand. "Tell them that we will give them another 5 million US dollars. As long as they can cause trouble for the Americans and their lackeys, we can give them more later!"

Having money means having enough confidence.

The revenue from oil and natural gas gave Saddam tremendous confidence.

5 million US dollars is almost the amount earned from two days of oil and natural gas exports!
Osama went to deal with the matter. Faw Port is the largest seaport in Iraq and also a major crude oil export port.

After dredging, this sea area can accommodate 40-ton oil tankers. The annual oil transportation capacity of the entire port reaches 1.5 million tons, and the annual oil transportation capacity of the entire coastal port can reach 3 million tons.

At this time, there were two 40-ton supertankers docked at the dock. The oil pipelines were connected to the tankers, and a steady stream of oil flowed into the tankers' oil tanks along the pipelines.

The national flag hoisted by the tanker is the five-star red flag, representing that this is a Chinese tanker.

Two oil tankers, both from China!

Because of the US sanctions, Europe and the United States do not import oil from Iraq. After the Gulf War, Iraq's oil exports were all handed over to Panshan Group.

Through Panshan Group’s shipping company, Iraq’s oil and natural gas are exported to the world.

By now, the RMB accounts for 80% of Iraq's oil and natural gas export settlement currency.

Part of the money earned from exporting oil and natural gas is used to repay maturing loans and loan interest, and the other part is used to purchase weapons, equipment and various commodities from China.

Up to now, China can supply all the goods that Iraq needs.

As the only country in the world with a complete industrial chain, China can produce all kinds of goods. The goods produced may not be the best, but at least they are sufficient.

Not far away, two LNG ships were loading natural gas. These two LNG ships were also flying the Chinese flag.

The two LNG ships will be filled with liquefied natural gas for export to Europe.

Because of the United States, European countries cannot import oil and natural gas from Iraq, but the United States does not prohibit the import of oil and natural gas from China or other places.

Here, Panshan Group acts as a middleman and earns the difference.

This was not only done in Iraq, but also in Persia.

Persia's economic development has been good in recent years because of its continuous exports of oil and natural gas.

Because of the US sanctions, Persia is unable to trade normally with Europe and the United States. Many countries, fearing sanctions from the United States, do not dare to import oil and natural gas directly from Persia, but they can import oil and natural gas from middlemen.

Moreover, Iraq and Persia now not only export crude oil, but also some refined oil through refineries!
For example, Pakistan imports refined oil directly from Persia to meet Pakistan’s oil needs.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries have also further improved the level of their petrochemical industries in recent years. They no longer simply export crude oil as before, but instead export a portion of refined oil products as well as corresponding chemical materials and products.

Panshan Group now monopolizes the entire Middle East equipment market and equipment maintenance market. With its high cost-effectiveness and good service attitude, manufacturers from Europe, the United States and other countries have been driven out of the Middle East market.

Panshan Group even has two professional oilfield fire-fighting brigades in the Middle East, and has accumulated rich experience in oilfield fire-fighting.

At this time in the port, you can even see mercenaries performing security tasks, and each mercenary is fully armed.

When seeing these mercenaries, other people will only feel scared, but the Chinese will only feel at ease. As long as these mercenaries are there, they will be safe.

After the oil was full, the two 40-ton tankers set off and left the port.

Not long after, they encountered an escorting warship. The tanker sounded its whistle and saluted the escorting warship.

(End of this chapter)