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

Wang Yaotang stood on one side of the conference table, representing the Blue Team, while the other side consisted of military personnel, representing the Red Team.

On the table was a sand table of Iraq, decorated with various flags. Much of the information regarding the arrangements for both sides was provided by Wang Yaotang.

Wang Yaotang had never played the recommended game before, so he simply followed his own ideas and pointed to the two radar stations, saying, "At 1 a.m. tonight, 10 AH-64 Apaches, carrying Hellfire rockets and anti-tank missiles, will penetrate at extremely low altitudes and destroy the radar facilities."

Immediately, someone picked up two signs and inserted them.

“There’s a sentry 5 kilometers away…” The staff officer was interrupted by his companion halfway through his sentence, “It’s no use. The Apache is too fast. Its cruising speed is 260 km/h, and its Hellfire missile has a range of 8 kilometers. It’s semi-active laser-guided. It will be shot down before it can detect the radar.”

The Apache entered service in 87, and the Chinese engineers didn't have performance data yet; this was all brought back by Wang Yaotang.

"Ah this..."

Wang Yaotang smiled and said, "Instead of pursuing and causing more damage, we only need to target the radar. In my opinion, the Apache is not as good as the Y-5. The heat source is too big, and it cannot escape the infrared telescope at night. If it is the Y-5, the success rate will be higher."

The group of staff officers looked at each other in bewilderment. Using the Y-5, something that had been phased out by the old Chinese, to compare with the Apache helicopter was... very incongruous.

However, when it comes to nighttime low-altitude penetration, the Y-5 does have an advantage over the Apache.

Red Team: "We immediately contacted our rear to report that we have been attacked."

Wang Yaotang: "That would require that the ground communication lines were not destroyed. Radio communication is out of the question; it would definitely be destroyed."

The red team pursed their lips and remained silent.

"At 1:15, the rear base received news of the successful raid. F-117 Nightingale stealth fighters were deployed. The radar cross-section is 0.001 square meters. They carried Paveway III laser-guided bombs with a BLU-109 bunker buster warhead weighing 984 kilograms. The laser guidance has an accuracy radius of 3 meters and can penetrate 30 meters into the ground. The targets were the Baghdad Air Defense Command Center, Rashid Air Base in eastern Baghdad, and Basra in the southern center."

After Wang Yaotang finished speaking, he raised his hand in a gesture of greeting.

The Red Team members were so furrowed their brows they could suffocate flies. The US didn't acknowledge the existence of the F-117 until 87. It was used once in Operation Justice in Panama in 89. The outside world only had information released by the US; all the Chinese knew was that it was stealthy.

Based on the data on paper, it's impossible for it to be detected by radar, at least not by Iraqi radar, which is mostly French-made. The US military must be confident in its ability to deploy it.

Seeing that the red team remained silent, Wang Yaotang personally removed the small flags from the three command centers.

"Upon receiving the signal of a successful attack, Tomahawk cruise missiles, TLAMC, with a 450 kg warhead and a range of 1600 km, were launched from a warship in the Persian Gulf. The targets included strategic objectives such as the Baghdad Telecom Building, the Presidential Palace, the Ministry of Defense, and power plants. The first round of launches consisted of 100 missiles."

Wang Yaotang raised his hand again to signal.

The Red Team members gritted their teeth. Wang Yaotang's tactics were completely different from the past. He relied entirely on overwhelming equipment to conduct beyond-visual-range combat, leaving them with no way to counter him. This made everyone very uncomfortable.

First, the intervals are too short. Even if communication could be maintained, the army couldn't do anything in such a short time. As for the air force...

With the MiG-29's radar, it would be impossible for it to detect the F-117 from the air.

As for missile countermeasures, if the Scud missiles were deployed in Kuwait, their range would be sufficient, but they would first need to be able to pinpoint the location of US warships. Not to mention, the accuracy of the Scud missiles is appalling, with an error margin exceeding 500 meters...

Its terminal speed is relatively slow, making it almost impossible to break through the mid-range and near-range interceptions.

The old man above also frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

Seeing that the Red Team remained silent, Wang Yaotang continued, "Currently, one hour has passed, and the time is approximately 2:30 PM. All F-15Cs, F-16s, and F-111s have been deployed. The targets are Iraqi airports, missile bases, communication hubs, and command centers. E-3 'Sentinel's' airborne early warning and command are being used, RC-135 'Eye of the Storm's' electronic reconnaissance aircraft are monitoring Iraqi radio signals and recording radar frequencies, and U-2/TR-1 'Ears of the Storm's' high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft are being used."

"Accompanying them were EF-111 'Raven' and EA-6B 'Prowler' aircraft, with the aim of jamming Iraq's existing radar and communication equipment across all channels, rendering them deaf and blind."

"The EF-111 'Raven' is a supersonic electronic warfare aircraft modified from the F-111 platform. The EA-6B 'Prowler' is an electronic warfare platform built on the A6 Intruder platform, focusing on long-range jamming, electronic intelligence reconnaissance, and anti-radiation support, and is suitable for carrier deployment."

The "Raven" hovered over the area, and the Chinese had never experienced it before, especially since the "Raven" entered service in 81. What is currently circulating is all paper data. According to this reference, the Iraqi radar should show large areas of snow.

They are all aircraft, hundreds or thousands of them. The exact number that can be displayed depends entirely on the limits of the radar, not the limits of the jammer.

In this situation, Iraq's SAM-6 air defense missiles were completely useless; all they could do was scramble their air force to intercept them.

This is...

Aside from the Russians, who else in the Air Force can rival the United States right now?

During World War I and World War II, air forces relied mainly on dogfights, where pilots were king and ace pilots could take on three or four opponents at once. But things are completely different now. Supersonic fighters, radar fire control lock-on, and beyond-visual-range strikes mean that often, you can't even see them. It's all about the performance of the aircraft, radar, and air-to-air missiles.

In a small country like Iraq, pilot training is measured in seconds, while in the United States, pilots can train freely, making the comparison incomparable.

In the 1950s and 60s, the Chinese and Americans clashed several times. The Chinese MiG-15, J-5, and J-6 fighters shot down 22 American aircraft without suffering any losses themselves. But after the 1970s, things really changed…

Seeing that the Red Team remained silent, Wang Yaotang held up a hand and said, "This air battle has no time limit. The objective is to drop 5000 tons of infrared-guided Paveway 2 bombs."

"Detect the enemy first, strike first, use precision guidance, completely destroy Iraq's air defenses, and occupy the entire airspace!"

The Red Team was completely enveloped in a low-pressure atmosphere, standing there with their hands on their hips, unable to utter a single word. They had no power to retaliate against this series of attacks and could only rely on the ground battle that followed.

The elderly man above gently tapped the handrail with his fingers, his brow furrowed in the process.

"I expect this airstrike to be completed within two days. Then the ground war will begin, with an attack launched from the middle of the Iraq-Camel border, cutting across the battlefield from the left, with the goal of completely cutting Iraq and Kuwait apart."

"The Air Force will enter the battlefield first, preventing any Iraqi aircraft from taking off. At the same time, it will monitor the Scud missile units and artillery positions, and destroy them immediately if they dare to open fire and expose their positions!"

"Armed helicopters and tank units will enter the battlefield simultaneously, forming a superior force in the region. With air and ground coordination, this operation is expected to last 24 hours. The navy will simultaneously threaten Kuwait, and the marines will be ready to land at any time."

"It's not that easy. The air force does have an absolute advantage, but once we enter urban warfare, the US military's advantage in combined air and ground operations will be greatly reduced. Iraq can completely rely on the cities to tie down the US military," the Red Team member said unwillingly.

Wang Yaotang shook his head. "This is not a war of annihilation. Iraq is the aggressor. They have no chance of getting the support of the Kuwaiti people and cannot fight urban warfare. The objective of this operation is to force Saddam to withdraw his troops. Even if the US military wanted to fight, they couldn't. We and the Russians would not allow it."

"It's impossible for Saddam Hussein to really fight to the death with the US military. At this stage, Saddam's goal of occupying Kuwait has already completely failed. Surrendering means losing half the battle, and he won't persist."

"Yes, Comrade Yaotang is right." The old man smiled and clapped his hands gently.

Soon everyone joined in applause. Although the red team lost, they weren't resentful. They looked at Wang Yaotang with more approval: This guy doesn't seem like a proper businessman!

Wang Yaotang thanked him profusely, his smile radiant.

"Comrade Yaotang has opened our eyes. This kind of tactic of targeting key facilities such as radar, communications, and command, which is entirely dominated by the air force and missiles, has really opened our eyes."

"From this perspective, the improvement of radar technology is imminent. Once we become blind and deaf, we will completely lose the initiative on the battlefield, and others can attack us however they want."

"Actually, it's not so bad," Wang Yaotang said with a smile. "Iraq's terrain is too flat. The desert is said to have a harsh climate, but that was when technology was not advanced enough. Now it is no longer a natural barrier. Our situation is completely different."

"Air force and missiles can determine the course of war, but to achieve a decisive victory, the ground forces still need to step in. If the US military wants to attack us, they can only launch an attack from the two directions of Taiwan and South Korea. Given the terrain of Fujian, even if the US air force gains an advantage, their ground troops will have a hard time getting up there. The 600-kilometer combat range of tanks may not even be enough to reach Fuzhou."

"Shandong also has Laoshan, Yimengshan and Taishan. The army can't get up here, and the air force can only do some sabotage."

Everyone nodded in agreement; this hit the nail on the head, and the atmosphere improved considerably.

The group then pressed Wang Yaotang for more specific details about the US military equipment. All he could mention were the F-15s and E-3A/C 'Sentry' early warning aircraft, which Camel had procured. He only had paper data on the other aircraft; he didn't remember much about the information released later. Towards the end of the conversation, they expressed a desire to see the front lines firsthand, which Wang Yaotang readily agreed to. Aside from the fact that they were all still employees of Umbrella Corporation, Camel would pretend they knew nothing.

After the meeting with the military, Wang Yaotang still had many things to do, but the old man was very interested in the economic cooperation proposed by Camel.

The old man's vision is indeed far-sighted; he has already foreseen the energy shortage that the country will face in the future. However, with so many things to do for the country's development, he doesn't have the energy to deal with these issues right now.

In 88, the Ministry of Petroleum Industry was abolished and merged into the Ministry of Energy. Although the three major oil companies were established, they are still in the era of "bringing in" rather than "going out". They prioritize the integration of domestic business and have not built or operated oil fields or chemical plants overseas through investment, shareholding or controlling stake.

Founded in 80, CPECC has undertaken projects such as water supply pipelines, earthquake exploration, oil well fire extinguishing, and pipeline construction in Iraq, Kuwait, Myanmar, Tunisia, and other countries. It only charges service fees and does not hold equity in projects, with the aim of exploring the possibility of entering the international market in the future.

Wang Yaotang's return with the camel, expressing his desire for deeper cooperation, has greatly pleased the people at the Ministry of Energy.

The work assigned by superiors is your job; anything you do beyond that is considered an achievement!

Who doesn't want to improve?

We have tried overseas markets over the years, but so far, there is no hope of development. It's not that we are not trying, but the current international environment is not friendly to Laos and China. Our national strength, military strength, economy, technology and other aspects are still relatively backward, so even fair competition is not very promising.

Camel had previously spent $200 billion, which suddenly made its foreign exchange reserves much more abundant. With Wang Yaotang acting as a go-between, the Ministry of Agriculture and Camel had a lot of cooperation. The funds were not large and the scale was not big, but it still made the Ministry of Agriculture quite famous. Who wouldn't be envious?

Now the God of Wealth has finally come knocking.

Wang Yaotang didn't engage in any deception or cover-up. He made things very clear: it was a collaborative development and research project. Camel valued China's talent pool and hoped to catch up with Europe and the United States in terms of technology in the future, so that they could break free from their dependence.

There was no mention of restraining the Americans; that's not the Department of Energy's job. Besides, people naturally have influence.

The Ministry of Energy was well aware of its own disadvantages and acted with great magnanimity. It stated that the three major oil companies, including the three major state-owned oil companies, had little understanding of foreign markets. If they went abroad rashly and made a fool of themselves, it would damage the national image. Therefore, it hoped to jointly establish an oil company overseas with Wang Yaotang and then cooperate with Camel through the new company.

In China, private companies are not allowed to get involved in oil-related matters, but abroad, they certainly follow local customs.

Of course, it could also be because they're afraid of messing things up and taking responsibility.

Everyone knows more or less about the situation in the Middle East. A cooperation suddenly falling from the sky—how could there not be something else behind it? What if it gets messed up…?

What could Wang Yaotang say? Of course, he gave a thumbs up.

The Annamese have been shelling the South China Sea for over a year now, and the island and reef construction is complete. They're just stopping their fleet there and setting up some people on the islands to provide supplies to passing cargo ships. But Wang Yaotang has been slow to develop the offshore oil fields.

Don't you like making money?
It's not because we lack technology or talent.

The fact that they can now establish joint ventures abroad has really solved a major problem. Once the Gulf War is completely over and cooperation is on track, Wang Yaotang can start thinking about the oil fields in the South China Sea.

When principles set their mind to something, they can move incredibly fast!

Of course, they also knew that this opportunity was rare.

In just over a week, the two oil companies registered a new company in Hong Kong with Wang Yaotang. Subsequently, the two oil companies transferred personnel from the Exploration and Development Research Institute, Engineering Technology Research Institute, Engineering Materials Research Institute, Petrochemical Science Research Institute, Capital Chemical Research Institute, and Dalian Petrochemical Research Institute. The personnel, including administrative and technical staff, arrived in Hong Kong in just half a month.

Looking at these people, Wang Yaotang thought: All the heroes of the world are now in my grasp!

Wang Yaotang was also busy for more than half a month, and after returning to Guangzhou, he began an inspection tour.

The Shajiao B Power Plant, the videotape factory, and the pager factory all need to be inspected. We also need to visit the stone quarry and the Zhuhai Power Plant. If the boss doesn't show up for a long time, the subordinates will either feel that you don't care enough and start to slack off, or they will cause some trouble. We can't have much expectation of their character.

After crossing the customs from Zhuhai to Haojiang, I had a meal with people like He Duwang and the Haojiang Governor's Mansion to build rapport.

The development of Macau has been quite good in the past two years. Although Wang Yaotang has not devoted much energy to it, from the perspective of the business community, he is already one of the top five important figures in Macau.

He controlled 100% of the telecommunications market, 80% of the building materials market, 80% of the security market, 70% of the nightclub market, 50% of the passenger transport market, and 30% of the electricity supply in Macau. It could be said that if he stomped his foot, the entire Macau would tremble. Some decisions of the Macau Governor's Office had to take his opinion into consideration.

If Wang Yaotang hadn't consistently shown little interest in the gambling industry, He Duwang would have started to worry about his position.

After all the people from the two oil companies gathered in Hong Kong, Wang Yaotang chartered two planes to fly directly to Leed. By then it was late October, and the US had amassed 250,000 troops in Saudi Arabia, looking ready to send troops at any time. The atmosphere of war in the Middle East was very tense.

Before leaving, Wang Yaotang heard that his hometown was planning to send someone to talk to Lao Sa and tell him the results of their previous "deductions," hoping that Lao Sa would pull back from the brink. But Wang Yaotang knew that the hope was slim.

If Old Sa were to back down at the slightest intimidation, he would lose all prestige and would inevitably find it difficult to control his subordinates.

For Saddam Hussein, the current situation is better than defeat than retreat.

Eight years of war left behind enormous debts, leading to a shift from civilian to military affairs, while the army itself expanded significantly.

How many of these people rose to prominence?

How many hills are there?

Even if these people don't want to be in power, they can't stop their subordinates from giving them an extra layer of clothing.

It would be better to use the Americans to clean up a bunch of people.

Anyway, Wang Yaotang doesn't mind speculating with the darkest thoughts, otherwise it's impossible to explain why Old Saddam is still so tough even though he knows it's impossible to confront the United Nations led by the US military.

They can't possibly really think they're the fourth largest economy in the world and can drag the US down like 'Annan' or 'poor man', can they?

When Wang Yaotang arrived with his technical team from his hometown, the Camel region held a grand welcoming ceremony, far exceeding the usual standards. The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources personally greeted Prince Hishamnazel, leading Wang Yaotang to suspect that they were trying to ward off bad luck...

Of course, in the eyes of the people at the two oil giants, Wang Yaotang certainly had influence at Camel Group!
Over the next few days, the technical staff from both sides communicated, but Wang Yaotang was not involved and could not understand the conversation.

The main difference is that the two countries have taken different approaches. The Laos and the Chinese need to study issues such as deep wells and mining in low temperatures, while the Camel needs to consider issues such as preventing eruptions, fires, and explosions.

The different routes are diametrically opposed, and you'd be pretty much learning everything from scratch, which is why one of them couldn't go to sea.

The situation is much better in the petrochemical sector. Camel itself is only a primary chemical company, mainly exporting crude oil to chemical plants in Europe and the United States. Camel is eager to improve its chemical industry capabilities.

There's hardly any profit in raw materials and primary processing.

In addition, the technical expertise on Camel's side is mainly dominated by white people, and Camel itself is only mediocre.

But Old Sha is rich!

Tell me what equipment you need!

How much funding do you need? Just tell me!

The people at the domestic research institute had never fought such a lucrative battle before, and they were incredibly excited.

After the old king spent the money, he took Wang Yaotang away. Perhaps because the 'deduction' had caused some stress for Old Sa, he's been making some rather big moves lately. (End of Chapter)