Chapter 372: Knocking on the Mountain and Shocking the Tiger
"Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a very new term. I wonder which area of ??oil the President has set his sights on?" Judging from Li Tiancheng's concentrated gaze on the map, Cai E guessed that Li Tiancheng seemed to have set his sights on Arabia. Seemingly barren land, so I asked for proof.
In Cai E¡¯s view, Li Tiancheng¡¯s vision has always been very unique and forward-looking. This is already a consensus among the people, so he will also consider Li Tiancheng¡¯s words carefully and seriously.
"Middle East, Arab region." Li Tiancheng slowly laid out the map on the table, then gently pointed at the extensive Arab region along the Indian Ocean, and said meaningfully: "The southern and southwest areas of Baghdad in this area have already A large amount of oil resources have been exploited, and the discovered oil reserves are so huge that they are rarely seen in the world. It contains the largest oil field with the most abundant oil reserves in the world."
"I think that the oil in this area has not been fully discovered and exploited. There should be more abundant oil reserves in the entire Arab region. It may become the oil production center of the world. Turkey is really lucky. It occupies With such a good land, I believe that once the oil in the Arabian Peninsula is discovered and exploited, it will be a huge boon to Turkey, and their economic development level will reach a higher level, even surpassing the big brother in Europe, Germany." After a brief pause, Li Tiancheng's fiery gaze stayed on the Arab territory on the east coast of the Red Sea and continued.
Cai E glanced at Li Tiancheng with a hint of doubt. Since he was from the old society, his grasp of science and technology was far less than that of Li Tiancheng, and he naturally did not know much about the geography of mineral resources, so he asked slightly suspiciously. He said: "The president can see the potential oil reserves in this area, which really impresses me. However, speculation is just speculation after all, and it has not yet become a reality. Is it too early to tell now?"
"Haha, there is no need to worry, Minister Cai. You have to believe in my vision, Li Tiancheng. Our exploration team has jointly carried out extensive and in-depth exploration work in the Arabian coastal area with the Turkish National Geological Exploration Team. This area contains huge oil reserves. The facts will be discovered in the near future, and I have already got the answer from some symbolic information sent back by the exploration team." Li Tiancheng smiled lightly, knowing that his seemingly arbitrary judgment would make Cai E think something. Of course, he would not tell him that he was a time traveler and could predict everything, so he had to use scientific methods to make Cai E believe his predictions.
"I see. Since the president has invested a lot of energy in this area, arranged so many people, and now has an idea, there must be nothing wrong." Cai E then nodded and put down his doubts. , added: "The relationship between our country and Turkey has become unprecedentedly close because of the close cooperation during the world war more than ten years ago. I believe that the Turks will sell us the oil they can exchange for a lot of money."
"Well, there is no doubt about it." Li Tiancheng nodded in agreement, and then said: "And Turkey has always been a weight for me to balance the power in Europe. I have always been afraid that Germany will be too powerful and arrogant in Europe and will not be able to cooperate in technology. In terms of military and economic cooperation, we have always been partial to Turkey. In some respects, we have not hesitated to transfer some advanced military technology to Turkey instead of Germany."
¡°All this is to create a strategic balance in the European region, and Turkey¡¯s geographical location is extremely important to our country. It spans the Eurasian continent, and the Arabian region it rules has the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Therefore, it has become a bridge and link between the two continents of Europe and Asia, and also a barrier that blocks the mutual penetration of forces on the two continents." Li Tiancheng added thoughtfully.
"What does the president mean?" Cai E seemed to understand something from Li Tiancheng's deep eyes, so he tilted his head slightly and asked in confusion.
"It doesn't mean anything special. I just mentioned that we will continue to strengthen the cooperative relationship with Turkey in the future, so as to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries and use the economic and technological cake to firmly bind Turkey to the Chinese tank. This is a very important strategic decision and must be firmly implemented in the future." Li Tiancheng went on to explain.
Li Tiancheng's view is indeed accurate and pragmatic. As a victor in World War I, Turkey has always been a leader in Europe. However, because their military exploits during World War I were far inferior to the aggressive Germany, they In terms of geopolitics after the war, Germany has always been suppressed by Germany, which has received more distributed benefits.
After the war, Turkey realized that Germany would become the real master of the European continent after Britain and France, while Turkey, which was originally a second- and third-rate country, would still be in a subordinate position. ThisThe point is a fact that Turkey, which owns vast land and resources and is ambitious, cannot easily accept.
Therefore, after the war, Turkey has always identified China as a major backer that it can rely on, and actively deepened its cooperative relationship with China. The relationship between the two countries has spent more than ten years in the honeymoon period, and is even more complicated than the seemingly inseparable Sino-German relationship. reliable.
In terms of oil exploration, Turkey has not hesitated to cooperate with China in energy development and has proactively proposed that in future energy mining projects in the Arab region, Turkey will try its best to attract Chinese capital and mining technology to help Turkey This rich resource has been transformed into huge funds, injecting fresh and surging blood into the country's economic development.
Previously, the United States and Germany offered more favorable conditions than China and wanted to cooperate with Turkey in energy, but they were declined by Turkey because cooperation with China can bring more advanced technological support, not only in terms of energy extraction. , In other aspects, China also promised to make certain contributions to Turkey's improvement of industrial technology level.
Turkey has been coveting the second largest position in the world for a long time. China also hopes that Turkey will assume more responsibilities in international affairs, check and balance the influence of Germany, and balance the role of major countries such as Germany and the United States in the economy. The two sides hit it off and became one of the major powers. the most intimate partnership.
The series of relevant agreements on economic and technological development signed by the two countries after the war have shown that the cooperation between the two countries is better than that of any other country in the world. Both sides grant the other party most-favored-nation status and fully enjoy the other party's support.
However, after the end of World War I, the world did not form an organization like the United Nations. At that time, Li Tiancheng also considered establishing such an organization. But thinking about the United States in later generations, with the United Nations, it is even more constrained. Many things will be affected by other big countries. It is really not cost-effective to object but not dare to act freely, to bypass the United Nations at every turn, and to be considered unjust to launch one overseas war after another.
Li Tiancheng accepted the lessons of the United States in the 21st century and did not promote the establishment of an organization such as the United Nations. He only established an international security conference that is held regularly every year. At the conference, participating countries will be able to put forward their own suggestions and ideas in the field of security. However, the final decision is still in the hands of most countries, and democratic voting is adopted to decide whether to adopt the recommendations.
However, as victorious countries and world masters, China and Germany have obtained special rights that are different from other countries in the security field. That is, the two countries are not restricted by the resolutions passed by the International Security Conference. All political matters involving the security of the two countries In the military field, both countries have the right to deny resolutions passed by the security conference. This gives the two countries the supreme security status. No country can make threatening suggestions to China and Germany through the security conference.
Those small countries and defeated countries need to unconditionally implement the voting resolutions passed by the Security Council. If they violate the resolutions, the country will be unanimously condemned by the participating countries of the International Security Council and subject to other sanctions, and even military strikes. Of course, The security conference is not the United Nations, and the participating countries are not obliged to send troops to participate in military operations. Whether to participate in military missions against the countries targeted by the resolutions depends entirely on voluntariness.
But if it is a type of sanctions other than non-military tasks, such as economic sanctions, countries must strictly implement them in accordance with the resolutions, otherwise they will be regarded as violating the resolutions and may be sanctioned.
In addition, in terms of voting power, China has obtained the special power of ten votes from representatives of a country. At this point, Germany only has the power of five votes, and other countries only have the power of one vote.
At present, the participating countries of international security conferences are mainly more than 30 major countries and regions in the world, such as Europe, the United States and China. China and Germany will play a big role in voting, sometimes determining whether a resolution can be passed smoothly. .
China has always wanted to increase and expand Turkey's voting power, but Germany's opposition has prevented this idea from being realized for a long time. If Turkey, which is closer to China, also obtains a majority of voting rights, then international security As long as China and Turkey join forces at the meeting, the force will be stronger and more conducive to China achieving its strategic goals.
Germany has also become bolder in recent years. It has repeatedly ignored China's objections and hints and secretly contacted the United States, Britain, France, Russia and other defeated countries in World War I to counter China's growing influence. Its ulterior motives have become more obvious. , it¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t challenged China yet in public.
Recently, Germany has even begun to extend its tentacles to India and other South Asian regions, and has signed a series of cooperative agreements with India to help India's economic and technological development, making the relationship between Germany and India become more ambiguous, and quickly It exceeds the intimacy of China-India relations.
Li Tiancheng said that Germany has changed its attitude towards China in recent years.The boss¡¯s national policy began to seek broad alliances in the second pole world to counter China¡¯s growing influence. As a result, Sino-German relations gradually passed the honeymoon period of more than ten years and reached the edge of parting ways.
Although the two countries still maintain a so-called strategic partnership on the surface, this relationship has been far inferior to that of the years just after the end of World War I. The exchange of visits, technical and economic cooperation between the two countries' high-level officials and militaries has been weakened due to political aspects. The reasons have been greatly affected and are gradually in a state of landslide.
Especially in 1935, Germany and the United States conducted their first cross-regional joint military exercise, which greatly stimulated Li Tiancheng. This was the first time after the war that Germany and the defeated United States came together and carried out strong military exercises. Strong alliance.
Now, after 1936, Germany is still engaged in extensive military cooperation with India. The two countries almost decided to conduct a joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean, but because India is a neighbor of China, they are worried that The impact was too great and was not ultimately implemented.
In fact, after Indian Prime Minister Gandhi let out the news that Germany and India might conduct a joint maritime military exercise, two aircraft carriers of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy stationed in Sudan sailed through the southern waters of India and entered the South China Sea within the Strait of Malacca. , China¡¯s official statement is that the two aircraft carriers sailed to the South China Sea normally for exercises, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that the sudden appearance of the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet this time is obviously a warning to Germany and India not to try to create tension at China¡¯s doorstep. situation.
In response to India¡¯s poor performance, China decided to reduce some economic and scientific and technological cooperation projects with India, and exchanges of visits between high-level officials of the two countries have also been subject to certain restrictions.
India's geographical location is relatively special. It is under the huge oppression of a powerful China. A powerful vibrator can capture New Delhi, the capital of India, with just one dive, and the whole of India will fall. Therefore, India has become a country that feels that China is becoming more powerful. The country that poses the most direct threat.
India¡¯s national policy was also a close partnership with China in the early days, but in the middle and later stages, it began to seek extensive cooperation with the second-pole world, so that when it receives threats from China in the future, it can find reliable allies to support India in resisting China.
Germany and the United States have seized on this subtle psychology of India, created discord between China and India, and provided India with more help, making it an indispensable regional force to check and balance China.
The Germans believe that if there is no support from India, then in the event of a conflict between China and Germany in the future, China's powerful army will directly enter the European continent through India and Turkey. This will make Europe's situation very dangerous. Therefore, India is relatively Weak and poor countries have become the new favorites of the second-pole world, and India's strength is also growing day by day. After all, it is the second most populous country after China, and its potential is immeasurable.
Compared with India, Turkey is China's strongest ally. Although countries such as Germany and the United States have repeatedly extended olive branches to Turkey in an attempt to weaken China's influence as a key bridgehead in Eurasia, Turkish policymakers have firmly They believe that cooperation with China will be their wisest choice, so Turkey has become the most important weight to assist China in countering Germany's attempt to unite the second-pole world.
Li Tiancheng was still holding a world map and discussing a series of related issues with Cai E. In his eyes, Turkey had become an irreplaceable strategic bargaining chip. The two sides had in-depth discussions on cooperation and exchanges related to Turkey. The situation was changing. The imminent situation forced Li Tiancheng to consider what to do.
"Minister Cai, I am going to give you a task. I will soon have people contact Turkey to discuss military cooperation and exchanges between the two sides. This time I have decided to send you to Turkey to deepen the cooperative relationship between the two countries. What do you think?" Finally, Li Tiancheng proposed a task assignment to Cai E and said in a solemn tone.
Hearing this, Cai E's eyes flickered slightly, but then he thought about it and realized that there was nothing surprising. Since he wanted to deepen cooperation, he had to take certain actions.
However, in the past exchanges between the two countries during Cai E's mission, almost all the exchanges between the two countries were initiated by Turkey, especially in terms of military cooperation. This is the first time that China has initiated a mutual visit, because Turkey is more demanding of China in the military, and every time They are enthusiastically looking for various opportunities to conduct military technology exchanges with China, but China is not very interested.
"Did the president catch any clues about why he suddenly became so wary of Turkey?" Cai E looked at Li Tiancheng's deep eyes flashing with wisdom, and seemed to see the strange solemnity in Li Tiancheng's expression, and asked again .
Li Tiancheng raised his head slightly and glanced at Cai E. He pondered deeply for a moment, and then said in a serious tone: "If we don't take the initiative anymore, I'm afraid something will happen."We have to play tricks on our vested interests again, and by then it may be too late. "
"Recent intelligence work shows that the undercurrent of the world has become increasingly fierce. I am afraid that the days of peace of mind after the war will soon pass." Li Tiancheng said with a sigh.
"The president is talking about Germany, right? The Germans have indeed stretched their hands and legs too far recently. They are very close to India and are paying attention to the southwest of our country. The Germans are making trouble at our door. It is a bit troublesome. I think it¡¯s time to knock the mountain to shake the tiger?¡± Cai E¡¯s eyes were slightly lowered and he answered meaningfully.
"Knocking on the mountain to shake the tiger, how to shake it?" Li Tiancheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Cai E's shining eyes, wanting to hear his opinion.
Li Tiancheng always believed that Cai E was a man who was both wise and daring. In history, Yuan Shikai wanted to proclaim himself emperor. Cai E pretended to be hanging out in a brothel in Beijing, pretending to be a plaything, but he was deceived. He captured Yuan Shikai, successfully escaped back to Yunnan, and then immediately formed a protective army to conquer Yuan Shikai. This shows that he is a man of wisdom and courage, and he is also one of the hardliners in the army.
The reason why Li Tiancheng transferred Cai E to the position of Minister of Defense in the past two years is because considering the changing world situation, the military can no longer be in power by moderates who need to conduct extensive cooperation and exchanges with foreign militaries in peacetime. There must be Only a tough guy who can straighten his spine and dare to hit others with his fists can cope with the changes in the current international situation. It was under this historical background that Cai E, a tough man, came into Li Tiancheng's eyes.