Time Travel 04: I Fight the US in the Middle East

Chapter 137 Many people want a piece of this lucrative oil field.

In the last century, Langtuo copied the Soviet Frog-7 unguided tactical rocket, naming it Zharzar. It was low-cost and produced in large quantities, but its accuracy was poor, and it could only be used for area destruction.

The early Zarzal-1 had a maximum range of only 75 kilometers and a very light warhead; it was simply a copy.

However, after a period of imitation, Langtuo military engineers quickly extended the range by increasing the diameter and length. The widely used Zarzar-2 could fly 200 kilometers while carrying a 600-kilogram warhead.

The Zarzar-3, a further improvement, increased its range to 300 kilometers, but—

Without a guidance system, relying entirely on inertial flight, the error is ridiculously high. It can deviate by five kilometers at 100 kilometers and by ten kilometers at 200 kilometers—even a comprehensive strike wouldn't be enough.

Therefore, the Langtuo people installed an inertial guidance system on the Zarzar rocket. Since spin stabilization was no longer needed, they added stabilizing fins. This improved version is the Conqueror-110 missile.

It can be said that the Zarzar rocket is an unguided version of the Conqueror-110. As long as there is corresponding electronic equipment, it is easy to add a guidance system.

The key is the missile body, especially the solid propellant technology. Without these production lines, Azam would only be able to make makeshift rockets using fertilizer and sugar. Now, they are directly making standardized rockets!

Upon hearing Azam's question, Haisham-Hamadani quickly replied, "The missile bodies are all pretty much the same; the difference lies in the guidance system. We can only smuggle those electronic components from the West, and our production capacity is already low. You might as well abandon the guidance system altogether; that would make production much simpler."

Azam nodded: "Okay, no problem. I knew Brother Langtuo would never lie to us. I hope you can deliver this production line to us as soon as possible so we can stop those damned oil thieves."

"Okay, I'll contact you when I get back — by the way, what are you guys planning to do lately?"

"Nothing much, just trying to stop this American oil thief's operation—"

Hamdani's eyes sparkled: "Can I come along and watch?"

Before, it was just fighting a war, but now they're finally starting to make money, and they're even seizing it from the US military. Just thinking about it is exciting, and he really wants to see how the Mahdi Army does it.

Azam glanced at him: "That's unlikely, after all—you don't look like Arabs, so you can't be drivers."

Persians have fair skin, defined facial features, and a variety of hair and eye colors, which are quite different from Arabs with wheat-colored skin, black hair, and black eyes.

"We won't be drivers, but we can be smugglers of oil," Haisan-Hamadani's words stunned Azam.

What good is being a smuggled oil dealer? You're just helping me sell oil, what else can you do—

and many more!

Given the shamelessness of those guys in the provisional government, they might actually take this opportunity to smuggle out some crude oil to sell, and these people—need to be taken over by private oil dealers!

Looking into Azam's eyes, Haisan Hamdani knew he understood. Indeed, it's good to talk to smart people!

"Actually, back in the 1990s, there was already a group of officials who were smuggling oil, using our Langtuo route. We still have smuggled oil dealers in Baghdad. Let's make some contact with them."

"good!"

Azam nodded.

At the same time, in Baghdad, within the Green Zone.

Oil Minister Samir-Gadban looked listless.

His family's savings of many years had been completely robbed, and that guy Hazim-Shalan had disappeared without a trace. Thinking about his wealth, he felt a pang of heartache.

but----

Money can be earned back, and now is a good opportunity.

dong dong!

After a knock on the door, Deputy Minister Tarig came up: "Minister, we've gathered 280 trucks and hired 452 drivers—the US military is pressing us urgently, should we act now?"

Samir-Gadban nodded: "Yes, the Americans' demands must be met as soon as possible. A few fewer vehicles doesn't matter. How many were there again? Two hundred and eight vehicles? That's quite a lot. After years of war, it's remarkable that we can still find so many tanker trucks in our country!"

Wait, two hundred and eighty vehicles—he was about to correct him, but then suddenly realized, "Okay, whatever you say."

Although the oil field is under the control of the US military, their main role is guarding it. They are not aware of the oil field's daily operations, and the US military does not actually investigate how many vehicles drive through it.

If handled properly, it's easy to fool people, and all the crude oil hauled from the seventy-plus trucks can be sold to illegal oil dealers, thus pocketing the money.

The country of Yituo doesn't have much of a good thing, except for its abundance of oil. Moreover, the country is in a state of chaos, so illegal oil dealers run rampant.

Larger groups, such as ISIS, once controlled Iraqi oil fields and sold the oil through Syrian or Turkish channels. Smaller groups sabotage oil pipelines, load crude oil onto trucks, and even weld a joint onto the pipeline for easy loading without polluting the environment.

As for the more sophisticated methods, high-ranking officials directly manipulate the system to smuggle oil.

No matter who it is, if they sit in this position, they will try to make money!

"Oh, right, all that extra crude oil—"

"You don't need to worry about too much. Just arrange for our people to drive those cars."

After saying this, Samir-Ghadban stood up from his seat and began to walk outside.

"Mr. Gadban, where are you going—"

"I'm going to find someone to do your job, and then wait for my instructions."

"Yes."

Old Town, Sharga Market.

The sun was as scorching as ever, and the weather was as hot as ever. The stall owners were all lying half-dead on their stalls. It would be at least until the sun went down and the temperature dropped before the market would become more crowded.

When an obese man appeared in the market, he aroused the curiosity of some people, but—judging from the guards accompanying him, no one dared to go up and greet him.

The man finally reached a fruit stand and looked at the old man tending it: "Sadi, do you have any fresh grapes left?"

"How could there be any fresh grapes? The roads are uneven, and most of the grapes rot by the time they get here."

The old man had slightly fair skin and his pupils weren't black, making him a little different from the others. However—everyone was used to it; after all, this fruit stand had been there for over a decade. As for the old man's background—everyone knew it too.

Langtuo's fruit vendor.

Despite the fact that Langtuo and Yituo fought for many years, they actually exchanged a lot of goods and supplies.

Although Italy is located in Mesopotamia, it is unable to be self-sufficient in agricultural products due to war and sanctions. Langkawi, on the other hand, can provide rice, flour, fruits and vegetables, etc. It can be said that Langkawi is an important supplier of food and vegetables to Italy.

Yituo has little domestic industry and needs to import everything, while Langtuo has a strong industrial foundation, so it supplies products such as cement, steel, glass, and ceramics.

In later generations, even electricity and energy were provided by Langtuo to Yituo. Although Yituo was right under the oil, they couldn't use it themselves and even had to purchase refined oil from Langtuo.

This old man is a fruit vendor at the Sharga market. Once upon a time, people would come to him to buy fresh grapes, citrus fruits, and so on.

Unfortunately, fresh fruit has become increasingly rare since 03.

In fact, Yituo is also one of the ancient regions for grape cultivation, with grapes being planted as early as seven thousand years ago. Many of the stories in One Thousand and One Nights feature grapes. Unfortunately, there are very few vineyards left here now, and the grapes we eat daily are all imported from Langtuo.

at this time----

The man chuckled and said, "I do have a batch of grapes, pure black, and quite sticky inside. Do you want some?"

The old man named Sadi's eyes instantly lit up: "I want it, how much do you have?"

"Not many, seventy-two standard semi-trailers, each carrying about two hundred and fifty barrels. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Sixty percent."

The price of crude oil on the black market is of course lower than the market price, usually half price. Offering 60% of that price now is already very generous!

The man nodded: "Okay, let's go with this price. We can establish a long-term cooperative relationship in the future. The grapes come from Kirkuk and travel south. Where will you pick them up?"

"Kifli".

Although Kirkuk and Mosul are not far apart, they are not on the same highway. The highway from Baghdad to Mosul is Highway 1, while the highway from Baghdad to Kirkuk is Highway 2. The two highways run almost parallel to each other in a north-south direction. Highway 2 connects with Mosul after reaching Erbil.

Therefore, heading south from Kirkuk follows Highway 2. Kifuli is located more than 100 kilometers south of Kirkuk and is also the closest place to Langtuo.

"Alright! Then we'll take over after nightfall."

To others, Saadi was just an old man selling fruit, but Samir-Gadban knew he was an oil smuggler.

Back when Saddam Hussein was still alive, and his two sons were notorious in Baghdad, this old man was selling fruit and also receiving all kinds of smuggled oil, no matter the quantity—a barrel, a truckload, or even a hundred truckloads—he could sell them all.

Before becoming Minister of Petroleum, Samir-Gadban had also been involved in the oil business. Unexpectedly, more than a decade later, the old man is still around, and still doing such a large-scale business.

Finding suitable private oil dealers is not easy. Forget about Sha's connections. The long transportation route would significantly increase costs. Using precious refined oil to transport crude oil is a waste. The distance is too far, meaning the value of the refined oil burned is about the same as the crude oil in the tank, which is not worthwhile.

Kotto is a good choice, but unfortunately, it can only handle smuggling missions for the Americans. What if the crude oil smuggled by Iranian officials arrives in Kotto and collides with the Americans' mission?

Don't even think about it, the relationship is terrible. Turkey? Turkey is a Western country.

It can be calculated by going around in circles that the only one who could help smuggle crude oil was actually his former mortal enemy, Lang Tuo!

In the business world, there are no fathers and sons; even your father's killer can sit down and talk about cooperation, let alone partners you've worked with before.

He left satisfied, but—not long after leaving the shop, the fruit stall clerk rode away on his beat-up motorcycle, and no one knew where he went.

Kirkuk is a large place, and its main oil-producing areas are divided into four parts: Baba, Baihasan, Habaz, and Jampur. Due to the destruction of the pipeline leading to the north and the fall of Mosul, these oil fields have had to cease production.

Even after the fall of Mosul, some local armed groups came to loot it, but fortunately the US military arrived in time, preventing the area from suffering too much damage.

And now—

The transport convoy has finally arrived!

At the Baba oil field, U.S. military official Pete frowned as he watched the convoy approach.

What kind of cars are these?!

The old-fashioned Mercedes and Volvos—occasionally there are a few that are slightly newer, but the front of the car still has square characters, which I don't recognize, but they don't look very good.

The US military's own fuel tankers are still the best, but unfortunately, with the siege of Mosul underway, the army's logistical support needs to keep up, so the military fuel tankers are unavailable and we can only watch them go.

Moreover, the number of the security forces protecting this convoy was pitifully small; there was only one pickup truck at the front and one at the back of the convoy, with machine guns mounted on them, which could only frighten ordinary people.

Finally, the convoy came to a stop, and leading the way was none other than—Deputy Minister of Petroleum, Tarig.

He practically jogged the whole way, bowing and scraping: "Mr. Pete, as per your request, we have raised 208..."

The tanker trucks have been dispersed to four oil fields. Next—"

"Hurry up and load the fuel. We need to make at least one trip a day. Do you have enough drivers?"

"That's enough. We'll try to arrange one car with two drivers."

The current task is to transport oil from the north of Yituo to the south. To transport more oil, the trucks cannot stop, but people need to rest. So, each truck has two drivers: one drives and the other sleeps.

Heavy trucks are equipped with sleeper berths in the back so that drivers can rest.

Actually, there aren't enough drivers, but it's close enough; at least the cars ahead all have two drivers.

"Load the oil!" Tarig shouted behind him.

Oil fields are very large, with oil wells only a few hundred meters or even a kilometer or two apart. The oil extracted from the wells is transported through pipelines to a centralized transportation station and then transported away through the main pipeline.

At the same time, this centralized transfer station also has some loading arms or bottom loading booms for sealed filling, directly loading crude oil into oil drums or tank trucks.

Buzz, buzz!

One by one, the tanker trucks drove to the designated location, turned off the engines, pulled the air brakes, removed the keys, and the drivers discharged static electricity from their bodies while connecting the vehicles to the static grounding device.

Everything was ready, and the crude oil flowed into the tank.

On one of the Steyr tractor tankers, the temporary driver, Hacker, looked around at the American soldiers.

Hmph, this is clearly our Yituo oil field, but it has fallen into the hands of the Americans. They attacked our Yituo for the oil!

Remember the defenses here as well as possible; one day, our Mahdi Army will liberate this place!

That's right, he was a member of the Mahdi Army. Of the more than four hundred drivers, over fifty were his own men. Of course, not many people could be trusted by Tarig to carry out special missions, and he was the only one who successfully infiltrated. Of course, Tarig would soon regret it.

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