America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 449 A Different Way to Play

"Sometimes I really want to crack open your head and see what's going on in your brain."

The party was about to end, and many guests had already left. At this moment, Massim leaned slightly closer to Ernst and whispered something in a low voice.

Stealing oil.

It wasn't cutting-edge technology, nor was it a groundbreaking idea, but the American military had never considered it before.

Another idea is to plant leaves around and in areas controlled by the US military overseas bases. Considering the current global deployment of the US military, this is a perfectly tailored idea.

The U.S. military has nearly 800 military bases around the world, which are located in strategic locations on every continent. They are like natural leaf shops.

Moreover, the US military has almost no cost to sell the leaves.

The fuel costs for transportation are covered by the US government's defense budget, there are no middlemen or protection fees in the area, and there's no fear of being investigated.

The most crucial point is that we are not afraid of not having a market. It's not just about selling to foreign countries; the US military itself is a huge market.

Many people in the meeting room felt an urge to beat their chests in frustration upon hearing this idea. They hadn't realized the immense benefits before; what a terrible mistake!

Therefore, they readily agreed to Ernst's requests for orders for tanks, transport vehicles, and tankers.

It's not that they couldn't do it themselves without Ernst, but they valued Ernst's intellect even more.

How much money will these orders from Cass Defense amount to?

How much will the subsequent maintenance fee contract cost per year?

If Ernst could come up with a few more brilliant ideas like this, even just one more, the profits distributed would be a drop in the ocean compared to the gains they would bring.

The 90 million maintenance orders and vehicle orders distributed annually are only worth a few hundred million dollars, while the oil theft and leaf theft business, once implemented, could conservatively generate billions of dollars in revenue for relevant parties within the US military system each year.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Ernst downed the rest of the champagne in one gulp. The cold liquid slid down his throat, but it did nothing to diminish the clarity in his eyes.

Seeing this, Massim smiled and asked casually, "By the way, I saw Grigory and you two chatting quite a bit earlier?"

Ernst knew that this was probably what he really wanted to find out.

In this complex web of intertwined interests, any sign of cooperation could become the fulcrum that moves the world, and no one knows whether it will change the existing landscape in the future.

Ernst didn't answer directly, but simply nodded. "It was alright, we talked about some trivial things."

Massim was clearly not satisfied with this answer. He raised his glass, clinked glasses with others, and then said with feigned concern, "Grigory and his men are all old foxes. They've been in this business for decades and are very shrewd. You'd better be careful when dealing with them."

Seeing Ernst nod without speaking, Massim kindly asked again, "Would you like me to analyze this for you?"

If the two actually discussed something, or if Grigory proposed a deal, Ernst might ask him to help analyze it.

The military-industrial complex is different from other sectors like energy, pharmaceuticals, and finance, which are more commercially oriented. The military-industrial complex, however, deals more with politics.

Ernst was a complete novice in this field, a total newcomer, and sometimes a single misstep could lead to him being set up.

The problem is that the two were just chatting casually when they accepted each other's invitation and officially entered this circle.

He also knew that the reason the other party was able to make an exception and accept him was not only because his wealth had indeed reached a certain level and his influence among the younger generation in America was enormous, but most importantly, because of his intelligence.

But what exactly is a community of shared interests? Isn't it simply mutual benefit and complementarity?

I lack connections and need to rely on your resources.

If you guys aren't smart enough, I'll help you come up with some ideas.

Let's all help each other and make this pie bigger.

As for how the spoils will be divided, and whether or not everyone will get a share, that depends on their own abilities.

"No need for analysis, but you'll soon find out what we talked about."

After saying something that left Massim somewhat puzzled, Ernst said, "I'll see the guest out. You can do as you please."

Massim watched his departing figure, his eyes darting around before he too finally left.

After the party, when Ernst returned to his hotel, Allen and Thomson were waiting for him inside.

He took off his coat, gestured for the two not to get up, then ordered a coffee and sat down opposite them.

His gaze swept over the two of them, and without wasting words, he asked, "You already know the situation. To fulfill those orders, how many employees do we need to hire?"

Modifying transport vehicles is easy, especially tank trucks; modifying vehicles is a piece of cake. Tanker trucks are essentially used car dealers.

Cass Defense's primary mission is the manufacture of new combat vehicles and annual maintenance contracts worth $90 million.

Thomson was very familiar with this and had already calculated that "if it's just production line workers, including assembly, welding, and quality inspection positions, 1000 to 1200 people would be enough to meet the demand."

"But if you include the needs for miscellaneous positions such as logistics, the number of employees will be around 1500."

"So many?" Ernst hadn't expected that so many people would be needed.

With 1500 employees, the annual salary would conservatively be over $40 million, or even $50 million.

Even with tank orders and annual maintenance orders of $9000 million, how much revenue can a company generate in a year?

"Since the defense budget is paying salaries anyway, why not hire more employees?" Thomson said to Ernst.

Ernst understood. No wonder American weapons were so expensive; there was a reason for the high price.

The way the military industry operates is truly unique.

No sooner had Thomson finished speaking than Allen interjected, "Perry found me and wants to visit you."

"Perry?" Ernst frowned, quickly searching his mind for the name, but couldn't recall it.

Allen immediately explained, "He's a U.S. Representative from Ohio, and Case Defense's factory in Ohio happens to be located in his district."

I understand, they're here for job opportunities.

This time, Case Defense needs to recruit so many employees. If these employees can be elected through his district, then Perry, as the district councilor, can also use this to increase his approval rating.

"These politicians are certainly well-informed," Ernst thought to himself.

They had just finalized the deal that afternoon, and by evening they learned that Cass Defense needed to hire a large number of people.

Since Allen reported this matter to him, it means that Perry is someone who can be won over and is worth the effort.

"Go and meet with him and talk to him. But I've already promised Grigory that I'll recruit 300 retired military personnel and put them to work in a factory in Ohio."

Allen nodded immediately; he knew this wasn't part of a deal, but rather a pledge of allegiance.

In the ecosystem of military-industrial complexes, enterprises, governments, and the military have long formed a symbiotic relationship.

Congress passes the budget, the military receives equipment, businesses get orders, and a portion of the profits is used to benefit politicians' districts and solve the employment problem for American soldiers.

Lockheed Martin's factory in Texas, Boeing's production line in Washington state—all the contractors are products of this logic.

"I will divide up the remaining positions and give them as gifts to the Ohio members of Congress."

Ernst was very satisfied with Allen's arrangements.

Regardless of which faction you represent, it's never wrong to be polite.

They say you're obligated to someone who feeds you, but once you get used to it, will you still deliberately go against me in Congress?

"Please take care of things here and set up a management team for me. As for the legal position, you can take it for now."

Allen had no objection to receiving an extra penny in salary.

"By the way," Ernst turned his gaze back to Thomson, "what about the R&D personnel? What are your thoughts?"

CASE Defense took over Chrysler's remaining defense business, including its research and development personnel.

However, Daimler clearly didn't want Ernst to have it so easy. Several of the top researchers were poached by Daimler-Chrysler to work on civilian vehicle development.

Therefore, Ernst needs someone who can keep things under control to lead the research and development team at Cass Defense.

"There is someone suitable, but they can only be used temporarily."

"What does 'overuse' mean?" Ernst didn't quite understand.

Thomson gave a wry smile and explained, "Because he's already 71 years old this year. Although his health is still pretty good, nobody knows how much longer he can keep working."

"What's his name? Which company did he work for before?" Ernst pressed, not immediately denying anything because of the other person's age.

In the military industry, experience is often more important than age.

"Hawk Wilson, formerly a senior engineer at Raytheon," Thomson replied. "He's not only a leading expert in fire control systems, but also very familiar with the overall design of armored vehicles and tanks."

"Before joining Raytheon, he worked for the Chrysler Group, where he led the team that developed the fire control system for the M1 main battle tank."

"Moreover, before his retirement from Raytheon, his research and development focus was on upgrading digital systems. If we can add this system to the M1 tank, the Army will definitely be willing to allocate additional budget for it."

Ernst's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected such a good thing to happen.

"He's the one."