Basra Province is located on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, 55 kilometers south of the Persian Gulf. It is the largest port and the second largest city in Iraq. It is known as the Venice of the East and is also the hottest pole of the earth. It has the highest temperature ever measured on the surface of the earth.

temperature.

For Sheffield, even if the territory in the Persian Gulf is expanded by one meter, the benefits will be hundreds of times greater in the future, let alone the area of ​​​​a province? How much oil is underground can really only be calculated through estimates.

.

Sheffield can go out and preach the lie that oil is a non-renewable resource, but he doesn't believe a word of it. The Soviet Union once reported that old oil drilling rigs that had stopped production restored production to a certain extent after being reactivated.

The Ottoman high-level officials were able to make such a decision to give land at an important location to Sheffield as a pasha territory. This was mainly due to two considerations. The first was that Basra and Kuwait were both places that the British were interested in, and they had been working hard to make them the Pasha Territory.

The local area is included in the scope of the protectorate.

Constantinople does not have the idea of ​​two peaches killing three soldiers in the enclosure. Let's see if the British Empire and the traitors of the British Empire will cause corruption around here. When the strength is weak, it cannot be said that it is a mistake to introduce other forces to balance it.

The second point is that the main local population is Arabs, and the Ottoman Empire’s rule over the area is not stable. Moreover, as the largest ethnic group in the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs collude with the British and have a very favorable attitude towards the Ottoman Empire.

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Sheffield could still understand this. In World War I a few years later, in order to defeat the Ottoman Empire and complete the encirclement of the Allies, the British supported the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula and opposed the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Since the Arabs near the Persian Gulf are a destabilizing factor, there will be no reluctance to use them in exchange with Sheffield. This can be understood as the Turks selling the Arabs.

Although he has gained some insight into the inside story, Sheffield does not want to get involved in the internal affairs of the empire. As a businessman, he takes money to do things. Now that the great Sultan and the supreme caliph have issued a call. William Pasha is really prepared to go through fire and water this time.

Without hesitation.

"It's not without benefits to fight a war. For example, our company has been dealing with some anti-American elements for a long time. In fact, we don't know how much combat power the real European military powers have. But we can't really find a military power.

When a powerful country provokes a provocation, the Italians' combat effectiveness is just within the acceptable range."

After Jesra arrived at Oak Manor, she heard Sheffield speaking in a relaxed tone about providing support to the Ottoman Empire in the Italian-Turkish War.

"It is normal for the boss to make this decision to expand the territory of Kuwait." Jesra said with a hesitant look on his face, "But for our one company, even if all the black gold companies come in, we will only have 20,000 people."

"How could I let all the Black Gold Company go to North Africa to participate in the war? I can't afford to pay for too many deaths." Sheffield told the truth with a wry smile, but then changed the subject and added, "But there are many people in this world who are difficult to live.

Ethnic groups, we don’t necessarily have to fight the war ourselves. From Western Sahara to the Indus River, there are countless *** in the world. Are they unwilling to fight for the Ottoman Empire? At least I offer a monthly salary of ten dollars, which can be done in an instant.

Just form a hundred thousand mercenaries and let the employees of Black Gold Company be the commanders. It just so happens that I am rich recently and have the strength to do it."

In the recent short time, the slave owner has just been promoted to the richest man in the United States. After the reorganization of United General Corporation, it has become the most popular company in the United States. All previous debts have been paid off, and domestic airship routes are being promoted.

But even so, he still has a huge amount of cash in his hand. He originally planned to convert it into gold bit by bit, and the remaining equipment for updating the military industry would be directly shipped seamlessly when the world war breaks out.

But now it seems that it can lay a good foundation for future development in the petroleum industry.

Now that a decision had been made, Sheffield quickly returned to Arlington to make preparations and summoned retired soldiers from the Texas Guard, together with employees from the Black Gold Company, to form an organization similar to an officer corps, with an estimated number of about 5,000 people.

"Why do you have to fight for the Turks again? This is different from what you said at the beginning." Anne looked at her husband busy in annoyance, "How much will it cost? Once too many people are killed in battle, won't you still

Compensation will be given.”

"No matter how much money you spend, it is worth it. Your husband is not going to war with the French. I am not arrogant. If the French start a war with me, I will surrender immediately." Sheffield said confidently, with his hands on his hips, "But the Italians can't

If you ask me to do this without making a few gestures, am I going to lose the dignity of being the richest man in the world?"

"Besides, we have too much cash in our hands now. We should spend some of it immediately. There are many pashas in Constantinople who are willing to exchange the province of Basra, so I will do my best to do it."

Sheffield, who was flipping through the phone book, turned his back to his wife and said, "As a monopoly capitalist, I must have great business ethics. Since I have agreed, I must do it no matter what the consequences are, not to mention the benefits."

Now that Wilson has become the next president of the United States, and there is no place in the country for Sheffield to pay attention to, he feels that now is the time to compete with Italy, one of the six major powers in Europe.

"There is no harm in fighting a war to accumulate war experience. The world is so dangerous." He contacted John Connor and communicated for a long time to get him to come back. Then Sheffield said to Anne again, "My dear, I love France. If

When the time comes when the French are anxious about the situation and exclude the army from intervening, I will definitely be willing to let the local troops surrender. I can't defeat the French army. In fact, the French may take advantage of the subsequent development. If you think about it carefully."

Sheffield, a sweet-tongued slave owner, used his sharp tongue to lick Anne like a cloud, and all the opposition was out of the question.

A few days later, almost all the retired officers from the Texas Guard gathered in Arlington, and John Connor also rushed back in the dust, asking his boss what the specific plan was.

"I have asked Brown, the manager of the Middle East branch, to hire them as mercenaries at a price of ten dollars per month in areas where Eastern Christian sects gather. In India, I have recruited prostitutes from Goa, of course under the guise of

The flags are different. The Indian side is for the great Caliphate, carrying out jihad against the Italians, with a monthly salary of three dollars a month. The most admirable thing about Hindustan is the cheap labor force, which is so gratifying." Sheffield lay on a recliner.

"As for our own strength, together with the recalled retired officers of the state guard and the employees of the Black Gold Company, we can gather 5,000 people to command the recruited mercenaries."

"The price of ten dollars seems a bit expensive. The local labor force in the Middle East does not seem to be so expensive." As a person who knows the prices of people around the world, John Connor does not understand why there is such an unreasonable price.

The monthly salary of 20,000 people in the black gold company is two million dollars. I don’t know where John Connor came from, saying that ten dollars a month is too expensive.

"You can't calculate like that. The Kuwaiti territory cannot always be guarded by the Black Gold Company. Sooner or later, it will have to recruit local people to form a defense force. The believers of Eastern sects are more trustworthy than the ***. Besides, this is the tradition of our Ottoman Empire!

"Since the events in Basra Governorate, Sheffield has completely assumed the role of William Pasha.

The use of Christians was originally a tradition of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire selected some of the strongest boys from the conquered Balkan Slavic families to form a force called the New Army, which was the first standing army of the empire.

They are regularly selected and reviewed. They are the most combat-effective soldiers of the Turkish Empire. The first choices are mainly Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Serbs and Bosnians, and later include Romanians, Georgians, Ukrainians, South Russians, and Poles.

People and Armenians.

If a soldier is talented, he can be promoted to pasha or even grand vizier. These new soldiers are slaves and the backbone of the army. They also serve as policemen, palace guards, and firefighters in peacetime.

Listening to his boss talking about our Ottoman Empire, John Connor couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He knew his boss very well, and he had always been a role model in the field of collecting money for services.

An edict from Constantinople directly put the richest man in the United States into the role of William Pasha. John Connor did not understand that although Basra Province was considered a good land in the Middle East, it should not be of any use to the Sheffield family.

Great attraction.

Burying this doubt deeply in my heart, there are still many things to plan. Although the Black Gold Company has suppressed anti-American elements for a long time, and the retired officers of the Texas Guard also have military training experience, they are not a real army after all.

In what name do you join the battlefield? You can't wear a suit and go to the desert to fight, right? Do you still need a military flag anyway? When John Connor asked about his doubts, Sheffield looked at him with a very strange look and took it out casually.

He pointed a telescope at the gate of Arlington Manor and said, "Which of these flags is suitable? You can choose one yourself. I have no objection to whichever one you choose."

Holding a telescope and looking at the row of flagpoles at the entrance of the manor, John Connan saw that the Southern Cross flag went directly into the lens of the telescope. John Connan said helplessly, "Do you still need to pick it?"

"I think so too. You can't go to war with the Stars and Stripes, right? What do other people think the United States is going to do? I'm doing this entirely for the reputation of the United States." Sheffield stood up from the recliner and whispered in John Connor's ear.
Chapter completed!