Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

The Siamese couldn't understand why the camel people wanted to come to them for some kind of agricultural technology exchange.

Although we are both major agricultural countries, you grow wheat in a desert climate and I grow rice in a tropical rainforest climate. Is there any need for us to communicate?
Of course, from an institutional perspective, both are monarchies, so they are naturally closer. Therefore, when the camels arrived in great numbers, Siam also organized a large-scale reception.

When it comes to agricultural technology exchanges, camels are serious.

The current national policy is to develop agriculture...

Wang Yaotang really couldn't understand what camels were thinking. It was like they were just making decisions on a whim. How could they possibly do agriculture in a desert climate? It was impossible!
But that has nothing to do with him.

The "Laos-China Trade Fair" was quite successful in the past two years, but it was suspended due to the Hainan issue. Now that Wang Yaotang has some free time, Luo Wenhua mentioned it at a dinner party, and Wang Yaotang used this as an excuse to go to Siam.

Such a cross-border trade fair cannot be organized by the private sector alone, as it involves issues such as tariffs. Wang Yaotang needed to communicate with the Bangkok government and the Prime Minister's Office of Siam, and in doing so, he received an invitation to a dinner in Siam.

The banquet invited many foreign diplomats in Bangkok, including Chinese.

Invited, I gladly went. During the banquet, it was mentioned that the Shaanxi region of Laos and China also has a high-altitude and arid climate and grows wheat, with hundreds of years of experience in this area. This caught the attention of Omar, the camel representative.

Wang Yaotang then mentioned that agricultural machinery products from Laos and China have advantages in terms of price and after-sales service.

Upon hearing this, the Lao-Chinese ambassador immediately seized the opportunity. This was a great chance to expand Lao-Chinese influence internationally and break the diplomatic blockade, so how could he not grasp it?

Moreover, the purpose of an envoy is to sell goods, and everything serves economic development.

Although he was unaware of the scheme involved.

The ambassador invited a technical exchange delegation on camels to visit Laos and China, and Omar readily agreed.

What happened after that was no longer Wang Yaotang's concern; the diplomatic departments of the two countries held consultations.

For the Arab world, establishing normal diplomatic relations with one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council would greatly enhance its international standing and allow it to further solidify its position as the leading Arab state in the Middle East.

At the same time, bringing in Laos and Chinese can better navigate between the US and Russia, and a triangle is more stable.

This event was extensively reported in the television and newspapers of both Laos and China, characterizing this agricultural technology exchange as a groundbreaking journey in diplomatic relations between the two countries.

All of this seemed so reasonable that it aroused no suspicion from anyone.

Two weeks later, the camel's private plane flew directly to Beijing, where Omar and his delegation received a warm welcome upon disembarking.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to Omar and his entourage, Prince Banda and his father, Prince Sur, arrived in Hong Kong discreetly by plane after changing identities. They were picked up as soon as they got off the plane and boarded Wang Yaotang's private jet without even leaving the airport, heading straight to Laos and China.

Omar's delegation came at Wang Yaotang's invitation, and he naturally wanted to participate in business activities beyond technical exchanges, so it was only natural for him to fly to China at this time.

Once the plane enters Laos and China, no one outside can know where it is going.

A certain base.

The old man personally received Wang Yaotang and Prince Suer's entourage. The reception ceremony was very low-key. Prince Suer, as the chief of the Camel Air Defense Bacteria, could not disappear for a long time, so the entire exhibition was arranged very tightly.

After the reception ceremony, Prince Banda turned around and boarded Wang Yaotang's private plane. This time it was the complete launch process, and he was going to the designated landing point for close observation, so he would continue flying.

Of course, no matter how tight the schedule is, we still have to have a meal to exchange feelings. This log purchase is not just a simple business transaction, but a real ice-breaking trip. Camel really intends to bring Chinese power into the Middle East to balance the US and Russia.

After the banquet, the group changed clothes and entered the mountains. Prince Suer was very happy to learn that he was the first foreigner to see East 3 with his own eyes.

Camel people love being number one in everything...

Upon arrival, our personnel first opened the door of the cave hidden in the mountains, and the tractor slowly pulled out a dark green log with a diameter of 2.25 meters and a length of 24 meters from the cave and placed it on the launch vehicle.

The launch vehicle is then guided by a tractor to travel along a dedicated track or road to an open launch area. Once in the designated position, the support device quickly deploys to stabilize the vehicle. Subsequently, the hydraulic system on the launch vehicle is activated, and the 24-meter-long log slowly changes from a horizontal to a vertical position.

The log, so thick and so long, pointed straight to the sky. Observing it up close, one felt incredibly small. With each breath, one could feel the truth surging in their lungs and rushing to their brain. Prince Sur's face slowly flushed red, and a smile involuntarily spread across his lips. In his mind's eye, he could already picture the camel raising the log, frightening the Persians into kneeling under its banner and apologizing...

Wow—just thinking about it is fucking awesome!

At this moment, several fuel trucks drove over, and the staff connected the fuel pipelines and began to inject unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide into the missile body, causing plumes of white mist to rise from the site.

After pulling Prince Suer back a short distance, Wang Yaotang pointed to the tall log and said loudly, "The Dong-3 alone requires 60 tons of liquid fuel. With the missile body and warhead, the total weight exceeds 65 tons. Sending such a heavy thing 2800 kilometers away is a high-tech feat mastered by only three countries in the world."

"Amazing, absolutely amazing!" Prince Suer clapped his hands gently, his face full of amazement.

"Uncle Suer, the power of the East 3 missile isn't just the 1500 kg of high-energy explosive in the warhead. The log tip can reach Mach 10. Dozens of tons of logs falling from the sky at that speed can destroy a target. What's more, the 60 tons of fuel inside won't all burn out. Usually, 15%-20% will remain, which is 8000-12000 kg of high-energy fuel, far exceeding gasoline. Contact with that fuel will cause a violent explosion. The power..."

Wang Yaotang waved his arms, shouting, "Within 500 meters, both humans and animals will perish; within 1 kilometer, they will be rendered incapable of fighting!"

"Very good, very good!" Prince Suer nodded repeatedly, looking very excited.

"More is better, bigger is better, caliber is justice, turret is truth!" Wang Yaotang waved his arms, spitting far away.

"Well said!" Prince Suer laughed loudly.

"What utter nonsense!" The technician accompanying the old man frowned more and more, and tried several times to interrupt Wang Yaotang's boasting. "Isn't this false advertising?"

The lethal radius of the East 3 rocket is only 35 meters, and the kill radius is 200 meters. As for the explosion of several tons of fuel, that's utter nonsense!
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide will only burn when mixed, and will only explode when burned in a confined space.

At the end of the Dongfeng-3 missile's flight path, the warhead and the missile body separate. The fuel is inside the missile body. After a high-speed impact with the ground, the sealed compartment will indeed rupture, but the liquid inside the compartment will splash out, forming an independent leakage area. The amount of liquid that can mix is ​​not much. A certain amount of combustion will occur, but an explosion is almost impossible!

That's such an unprofessional statement!

If the camel believed it, wouldn't that make the hometown a fraud?
This is bringing shame to my hometown!
Whether it was for the sake of the researchers' rigor or for the sake of national integrity, this technician could no longer hold back and had to stop this young man from talking nonsense!
Just as he was about to speak, the old man next to him grabbed him and gestured for him to be quiet.

The technician leaned over anxiously and whispered something, but the old man still shook his head.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals, but he believed that Wang Yaotang had a reason for saying that, and it wasn't just nonsense.

Although he didn't understand the reason.

The filling of the launch liquid would take several hours, and it didn't seem like a good idea to do it like this. So someone brought over tables and chairs and placed them nearby, and the group sat down and started chatting.

Wang Yaotang was the main speaker, while Prince Suer and the old man listened.

"In my opinion, your purchase of logs is a very wise decision, which will save your country at least trillions of dollars in losses," Wang Yaotang said confidently.

Prince Suer raised an eyebrow. He admitted that Wang Yaotang had some insight, but wasn't this a bit of an exaggeration?

"Don't doubt it. In my opinion, the entire Middle East will be in a state of war for the next 40 years, and there will be almost no lasting peace." Wang Yaotang said this with great confidence, which could be felt by those around him.

Prince Suer frowned, his tone somewhat cold, "Why do you say that?"

No one would be happy to be told that their country's surrounding areas will always be in a state of war.

The old man looked at Wang Yaotang in surprise. His hometown had a dedicated international affairs department, and the internal analysis did not include this possibility.

He was also eager to hear what Wang Yaotang, this 'outsider,' thought.

Wang Yaotang smiled confidently, poured a cup of tea for the three of them, and then slowly said, "Camel is also nearby, so he must know why the Balkans are called a powder keg, right?"

Prince Suer nodded. “The crossroads of the empire, a place of multi-ethnic and religious conflict.”

“Yes, it was the crossroads of the three great empires of the Ottomans, Austria-Hungary, and Tsarist Russia, a connecting point of Eurasia, a vital sea and land transportation route, with many ethnic groups and serious conflicts between the three major religions.” Wang Yaotang said in a deep voice, “But that was before the 20th century. In the present day, only the Russians remain of the three great empires, and their tentacles have already reached the Middle East. The Middle East, which controls the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, is the true crossroads and a vital sea and land route. Uncle Suer, you have to admit that.”

Prince Suer nodded with a stern face.

"Leaving aside smaller ethnic groups, the main ethnic groups in the Middle East include Kurds, Persians, Arabs, and Squid people. They are all sworn enemies and wish the other dead. Am I right?" Wang Yaotang said, looking at the old man and explaining, "It's like us and the Japanese. We still had land contact."

Prince Suer frowned and nodded, and the old man suddenly realized.

“Religious conflicts will only be more serious than in the Balkans. There have been five wars in the Middle East, the Iran-Iraq War has just ended, internal conflicts in Syria are ongoing, Iraq has just massacred Kurds within its borders, and the war in Yemen has never stopped.” Wang Yaotang shrugged. “At the crossroads, the three conditions of multi-ethnicity and religious conflict are all met.”

Prince Suer's heart sank. He didn't want to admit it, but it was the truth. The country had been trying to maintain an optimistic attitude; after all, Camel was wealthy and genuinely wanted peace. So...

Wang Yaotang, however, showed no sign of stopping, continuing to provoke Prince Sur, emphasizing that without alarmist rhetoric, a higher price could be achieved. "And that's not all," he continued. "The Balkans couldn't influence the global economic situation back then, but the Middle East can now. It produces 40% of the world's oil, and the two oil crises severely damaged the Western world, led by the United States. The subsequent drop in oil prices further crippled Russia's oil exports." Wang Yaotang shook his head repeatedly, looking frightened. "We've offended both of the world's poles!"

Prince Suer's face was dark, and his lips trembled slightly. "We didn't want this either. We just wanted to avoid being oppressed and to show our existence!"

Who knew things would turn out this way?

"Does Uncle Sue think the Americans and Russians can coexist peacefully?"

Prince Suer shook his head, "Absolutely impossible!"

"Given the Middle East, which can severely impact their own economies and inflict heavy damage on their rivals, will the two major countries stand by and watch each other exert influence over the Middle East at will?" Wang Yaotang asked.

Prince Suer remained silent, the answer being that he definitely wouldn't.

Both major powers will employ different tactics, but in order to avoid direct conflict and start Season 3, a proxy war is inevitable.

The problems inherent in the Middle East itself...

Prince Suer didn't want to speak. He turned his head and stared intently at the East 3, which was being fueled. The heat in his eyes almost set the East 3 ablaze.

The old man was just pondering Wang Yaotang's judgment. At that time, his hometown was focused on economic development, so the main attention was on Russia, the United States, Europe, and Japan. If it weren't for the fact that both Iran and Iraq were purchasing weapons domestically and had little economic interaction, the attention to the Middle East would naturally be very limited.

Otherwise, the price wouldn't be so outrageous as to ask for ten million...

Leaving aside more specific factors, Wang Yaotang's analysis was reasonable and well-founded, and the old man could not find any flaws.

Looking up, the old man saw Prince Suer's burning gaze and, after a moment of confusion, realized the king had come.

This is what the strategists are like!
Moreover, judging from Prince Suer's reaction, it's clear that Wang Yaotang hit the nail on the head.

Based on this, is it really possible that Dong 3 could sell for 3 million per stick?
The old man got extremely excited just thinking about it.

This is called professionalism!
Having put enough pressure on him, Wang Yaotang changed the subject and talked about the publicly discussed agricultural technology exchange. “People need to eat to live. Grain may not seem expensive, and even if it were completely imported, it wouldn’t cost much in a year. However, it is easily controlled by grain merchants and the forces behind them. Let alone a food shortage, even just the news can cause social panic. Therefore, I think it is very necessary and a wise decision for Camel Development to focus on food security.”

"Bullshit," Wang Yaotang thought to himself.

Prince Suer nodded. Being praised by someone he valued made him feel a little better. "That's exactly what we were thinking, which is why we've invested so much money in development."

“Speaking of which, I have a suggestion, Uncle Su’er, would you like to hear it?” Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

“Go on,” Prince Suer said, now taking Wang Yaotang’s words very seriously.

This is no ordinary businessman; he's clearly a super strategist!

"Establish multiple paths."

"How to say?"

“Here’s what I think: Your country can increase its grain import channels to enrich its grain sources on the basis of its own agricultural development. The extra grain can be re-exported to neighboring countries. Although it will increase costs a little, the security will be greatly enhanced. Even in the event of a catastrophic weather event, food security can be guaranteed.” Wang Yaotang said with a smile, “I myself am preparing to expand grain trade. The three major grain-producing countries in Southeast Asia, Siam, Annam, and Myanmar, all have close relations with me.”

“Alright, we’ll import 30 tons from you every year.” Prince Su couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh. He certainly knew how to seize opportunities, but the suggestion was good. Wang Yaotang’s face was worth that import volume to him.

At worst, we can resell them to neighboring countries, which would only cost a few million dollars a year.

The old man smacked his lips, "This deal was negotiated so easily!"

I also produce a lot of food, so I can supply it!
"Is there anything else?" Prince Sur asked with a smile.

"I won't go into the agricultural machinery; we'll talk about that later with Omar. I'll talk about fresh water, which is more valuable than oil in the Middle East," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

Prince Suer immediately became interested, sat up straight, and looked at Wang Yaotang intently.

“According to the data I’ve obtained, your country’s average annual rainfall is less than 100 millimeters, while evaporation reaches thousands of millimeters, which is why 90% of the land is desertified. Currently, agricultural development mainly relies on pumping groundwater. A few days ago, I spent a lot of money to consult experts from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States, the European Centre for Climate Research in Bergen, and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany. I don’t understand those technical terms, but their conclusion is that the groundwater resources in the Middle East are not abundant and have been gradually decreasing over the past millennium, and this is irreversible. At the current rate of pumping, there is a risk of depletion in just a few years,” Wang Yaotang said in a deep voice.

“Really!” Prince Suer exclaimed.

The old man didn't suspect anything, and his brows furrowed.

“Really.” Wang Yaotang nodded emphatically.

What a fart!
All we know is his name, but it's certain that camels abandoned agriculture in later generations, so this is just empty boasting!
"What do you suggest?"

"Invest in research on seawater desalination technology."

Upon hearing about studying Prince Suer, he frowned; for various unspeakable reasons, the camel was simply incapable of doing so.

Seeing this, Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "Uncle Suer should know that I fought the Annamese twice in the South China Sea in the past two years and destroyed all their military deployments in the South China Sea."

Prince Suer nodded.

"To be honest, the reason I'm paying attention to the situation in the Middle East is because I'm preparing to lead the joint development of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea with my hometown. I'm very optimistic about the energy industry and the domestic economic boom, which will lead to a very strong demand for energy." Wang Yaotang smiled at the old man.

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Good lad, you're trying to ambush me, aren't you!"

Wang Yaotang grinned and said, "To block Annam, Malaysia, and the Philippines in the South China Sea and to develop oil and gas resources, we need a lot of manpower and resources. The primary issue is freshwater resources. I can't let Annam, Malaysia, and the Philippines cut off my freshwater supply. And transporting it from my hometown over thousands of miles away is also impossible. The only solution is to develop seawater desalination and rainwater harvesting."

"I have the need, I have the money, and there are scientific research resources in China. There are no difficulties in developing related technologies. We've already launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, so researching seawater desalination is a piece of cake."

Old man: Is there any necessary connection between these?

Prince Sur suddenly realized why this kid knew more about the Middle East than the people of the Middle East themselves; he wanted to do energy business, and that made sense!

"I'm investing in this project!" Prince Suer waved his hand. "We've also invested in offshore oil exploration and related chemical technologies. If we're going to do it, we'll do it the best!"

He was even more enthusiastic and excited than Wang Yaotang. Camel was so poor that all he had left was money, and he had always wanted to get rid of his dependence on American oil technology. Now that someone was willing to help, he was naturally happy.

We camels never look at whether someone has money when we make friends!

Anyway, none of them are as rich as us!

"Chemicals? That's heavy industry. The investment is too big, and the profit margin is low. I haven't thought about developing in that direction for the time being. Besides, the United States is too powerful in related technologies, and the profit prospects are unclear." Wang Yaotang seemed very troubled.

The old man couldn't help but raise his hand, then quickly pulled it back and ran his fingers through his hair.

The old man was extremely worried!
You're going to agree to this windfall?
The country can provide you with investment, and the country can also provide you with profits!

Prince Suer was also anxious, "You said that freshwater cannot be controlled by others, and the same applies to chemical technology. Otherwise, the pricing power of crude oil will always be in their hands, and how much money can you make!"

“This…” Wang Yaotang shook his head slightly, “I’ll think about it.”

“What’s there to consider? We can contribute 80% of the investment, and we can share the technology. As long as you’re willing to take the lead!” Prince Suer said eagerly.

For camels, the vast majority of the time, spending money yields no results.

A trustworthy leader is crucial!

Prince Suer now has complete faith in Wang Yaotang. He started from scratch, has a good business sense and management skills. He can help them purchase logs as soon as he says so. He has a deep network of connections, a strong strategic vision, and no ties with Europe or America. He's practically perfect!

"Then wouldn't I be taking advantage of you?" Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

“I didn’t ask about our relationship, we’re friends!” Suer said with a big laugh.

"This matter isn't urgent. Let's first resolve the issues of logs, agricultural machinery, and fresh water. Mutual trust needs to be built up step by step, with gradual adjustments made," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

These words made Su'er even more convinced that Wang Yaotang was a reliable person who wasn't greedy for money and was a trustworthy partner!

The old man, being a spectator, finally realized what was going on. Wasn't this a classic case of playing hard to get?

This kid, he sold someone out and then expects them to count the money for him! (End of Chapter)