People in the Republic of China era began to rise from industry.

Chapter 163: A Scheme That Caused Lin Yi's Defeat

"oil?"

"Yes, it is said that the reserves are at least one million tons."

Inside the Song Mansion in Jinling, Kong Yongzhi spoke in a very calm tone.

He had grown accustomed to the surprises Lin Yi occasionally brought him.

So when this guy went to the Gobi Desert in the Northwest and discovered oil, he wasn't surprised at all.

Upon hearing this, Song Wenchang merely frowned slightly.

He slowly lit a cigarette for himself, quickly calculating in his mind.

The current international oil price is approximately 80 cents per barrel.

Converted to RMB, it's a little over two yuan.

One ton of crude oil, calculated as six barrels, costs twelve yuan.

So if all one million tons are mined, that would be twelve million tons.

And this is only based on the starting price of crude oil in the United States.

After a series of refining processes, and then transported from the United States to China, the value of one ton of crude oil increases at least threefold!

So if Lin Yi were to turn this business into a vertically integrated operation in China, his profits would probably be at least 18 million.

And that doesn't even take into account the recent continuous rise in international oil prices!

As he was still marveling at the result, he heard Kong Yongzhi say, "Moreover, this is only the result of their exploration of less than a month, and the area is very small."

“You should understand that these things buried underground are either completely absent, or if they are present, they are often connected in a continuous area.”

"So, the oil reserves in that godforsaken place are probably more than ten times a million tons."

Hearing Kong Yongzhi say this, Song Wenchang finally gasped.

If it's ten times, wouldn't the profit be over 200 million?

This is something many people could never earn in their entire lives.

Damn it, how come all the good things happen to this guy?!

He cursed inwardly, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and said, "We can't just stand by and watch him succeed. At the very least, we have to get a share!"

Kong Yongzhi glanced at him: "Sharing a share?"

His tone was somewhat contemptuous, which made Song Wenchang frown immediately.

“I said, this is the bottom line.”

"If we can go even further, that would be even better."

“But that’s the Northwest. Ma Yuanqing is very wary of the Nationalist government. He would never hand over the oil to us and let us extract it ourselves.”

As he spoke, Song Wenchang's eyes flickered.

Oil is extremely important.

For an individual, this is a gold mine.

For the nation, these are essential strategic resources.

The Nationalist government is now training German-equipped divisions.

Trucks are needed for transporting supplies, towing artillery, and even for the planned mechanized infantry.

Not to mention, there are also two armored brigades planned, as well as an air force with 600 aircraft of various types.

Any one of these items will become a major fuel consumer in the future.

Therefore, the discovery of oil in the Northwest could very well have prompted the Nationalist government to advance into the Northwest.

He was very confident that he could make this happen.

But this will bring a new problem: once this move is made, too many people will want a piece of this pie.

In the end, less than one-tenth of it will probably end up in my own hands.

Moreover, once troops are mobilized, money must be spent first.

Ultimately, the responsibility will fall on my shoulders as the finance minister and acting premier.

The thought of this made Song Wenchang's scalp tingle.

The lack of funds is the biggest problem facing the Nationalist government right now.

Training German-equipped divisions requires huge sums of money, as do purchasing aircraft and armored vehicles.

This is not as simple as just buying airplanes; the real bulk comes from the various supporting personnel and facilities.

The increasingly vibrant economic development movement also requires investment during this stage.

As for the effects and the resulting increase in fiscal revenue, we won't see any signs of it until around this time next year.

Money is needed everywhere.

He has recently considered resigning several times because of these issues.

Therefore, if we were to push for military action in the Northwest again, whether it would succeed was another question, but it would certainly be another big problem that would fall on our shoulders.

Kong Yongzhi failed to notice the subtle changes in Song Wenchang's expression.

Hearing Song Wenchang's words, he nodded in agreement and then smiled and said, "That's right, so it's definitely not enough for just us to handle this."

"We must find someone to cooperate with."

Song Wenchang was taken aback: "An American?"

Kong Yongzhi shook his head: "I'm afraid the Americans won't do it. They can't even extract all their own oil. Ten or twenty million tons of reserves probably won't even catch their eye."

"Not to mention that Lin Yi still has some influence in the United States. It's not an easy thing to get Americans to cooperate with us."

"So, this matter still falls to the Japanese."

Hearing this, Song Wenchang frowned: "Isn't that inappropriate?"

"Other businesses are fine, but cooperating with the Japanese to drill for oil is something that will make people talk behind your back."

"Leaving aside public opinion, I'm afraid the voices of condemnation against us within the Nationalist government alone would be deafening!"

As he spoke, Song Wenchang shook his head vigorously, saying, "No, this is absolutely not going to happen."

Strategic materials are of utmost importance.

The meat rotted in the pot, and no one said anything.

But if it were given to the Japanese... Song Wenchang was a little worried that he would be shot in the back.

Seeing his expression, Kong Yongzhi chuckled: "Wenchang, you're usually quite shrewd, how come you've made such a mistake in this matter?"

"There are many ways to cooperate."

"If the Japanese had settled this matter in the Northwest first, and then we had taken back some shares, wouldn't all the problems you're worried about have been solved?"

Seeing that Song Wenchang still looked somewhat bewildered, Kong Yongzhi adjusted his posture and said, "To put it simply, this is just a matter of order."

"The discovery in the Northwest is due to this matter. Once the Japanese find out, they certainly won't miss it."

"According to their usual methods, in addition to paying money, they will definitely sell Ma Yuanqing a batch of weapons as well."

"Based on this alone, Lin Yi's elimination is a foregone conclusion."

"At this stage, the issue of transporting the extracted oil out of the country must be considered."

“If we were to travel to Chang’an, using trains would definitely be the most economical option.”

"And this is our trump card in negotiating with the Japanese."

"Once we acquire shares based on this, who can find fault with us?"

As he spoke, Kong Yongzhi chuckled and said, "They'll probably have to praise us for snatching food from a tiger's mouth."

Kong Yongzhi's explanation was quite detailed, and Song Wenchang immediately showed a look of sudden realization.

But then his expression turned somewhat grim: "Minister Kong, you must have planned this all along, right?"

Kong Yongzhi chuckled: "Isn't this just a discussion with you?"

Before Song Wenchang could speak again, he said, "Most importantly, now is the best opportunity to get rid of Lin Yi."

Song Wenchang raised an eyebrow: "Using the Ma family's knife to kill someone?"

"Correct."

Kong Yongzhi nodded: "Lin Yi has traveled to so many places and has always been successful."

"Chen Bonan, Li Delin and others all regarded him as an honored guest."

"It's simply impossible for us to orchestrate his assassination."

"But this trip to the Northwest was like a cooked duck flying away for him."

“Ma Yuanqing, who ultimately chose to cooperate with the Japanese, must have been aware of this as well.”

Hearing this, Song Wenchang's eyes lit up: "Given Ma Yuanqing's style of doing things in the Northwest, I'm afraid he won't leave any future troubles for himself."

"If we give them a little encouragement, Lin Yi might just suffer a crushing defeat!"