Chapter 611: Forming a Mercenary Army
Basra Province is located on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab River where the Tigris and Euphrates meet, 55 kilometers south of the Persian Gulf. It is the largest port and second largest city in Iraq. It is known as the Venice of the East and is also the Earth's hottest place, with the highest surface temperature ever measured.
For Sheffield, if the territory in the Persian Gulf is expanded by even one meter, it will bring thousands of times the benefits in the future, not to mention the area of a province? How much oil is there underground can only be calculated by estimation.
Sheffield could go out and preach the nonsense that oil is a non-renewable resource, but not a word of it was believed. The Soviet Union once reported that old oil rigs that had been shut down had resumed production to a certain extent after being reactivated.
The Ottoman high-ranking officials made the decision to give Sheffield an important piece of land as a pasha territory mainly for two reasons. The first was that Basra and Kuwait were both places that the British had taken a fancy to, and they had been committed to bringing them into the scope of the protectorate.
Constantinople may have had the idea of killing three enemies with two peaches to see whether the British Empire and its rebellious sons would cause trouble here. It would not be wrong to introduce other forces to balance the situation when its strength is weakening.
The second point is that the main population in the area 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 have a close relationship with the British and have a very strange attitude towards the Ottoman Empire.
Sheffield could still understand this point. In the First World War a few years later, in order to defeat the Ottoman Empire and complete the encirclement of the Central Powers, 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 an unstable factor, there would be no reluctance to use them as an exchange for Sheffield. This can be understood as the Turks selling out the Arabs.
Although he had seen through certain inside information, Sheffield did not want to get involved in the internal affairs of the empire. As a businessman, he was paid to do things. Since the great Sultan and the supreme caliph had already issued a call, William Pasha was really ready to go through fire and water this time.
"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 have no idea how powerful the real European military powers are. But we can't really provoke a military power. The fighting power of the Italians is just within an acceptable range."
After Jesla arrived at Oak Manor, he heard Sheffield talking in a relaxed tone about supporting the Ottoman Empire in the Italo-Turkish War.
"It's normal for the boss to make such a decision to expand Kuwait's territory." Jesla said hesitantly, "But our company, even if all the Black Gold Company goes, only has 20,000 people."
"How could I let all the Black Gold Company members go to North Africa to fight? I can't afford to pay if too many people die." Sheffield told the truth with a wry smile, but then he changed the subject and said, "But there are many ethnic groups in this world that have a hard time staying alive. We don't have to fight the war ourselves. From Western Sahara to the Indus River, there are countless *** in this world. Don't they want to fight for the Ottoman Empire? At least I can offer a monthly salary of ten dollars, and I can form a hundred thousand mercenaries in an instant, and let the employees of the Black Gold Company be the commanders. It just so happens that I have more money recently, so I have the ability to do it."
Recently, the slave owner has just become the richest man in the United States. After the reorganization of United General, it has become the most powerful company in the United States. All previous debts have been paid off, and it is also promoting domestic airship routes.
But even so, he still has a huge amount of cash in his hands. He wanted to exchange it for gold bit by bit, and use the rest to update the equipment of the military industry and wait for the outbreak of world war so that he can ship it directly and seamlessly.
But now it seems that we can lay a good foundation for future development in the oil industry.
Now that the decision had been made, Sheffield rushed back to Arlington to make preparations, calling on retired soldiers from the Texas State Guard and employees of the Black Gold Company to form an organization similar to an officer corps, with an estimated number of around 5,000 people.
"Why do we have to fight for the Turks again? This is different from what you agreed to at the beginning." Anne was very annoyed as she watched her husband busying around. "How much will this cost? If there are too many casualties, you will have to pay compensation."
"It's worth it no matter how much money you spend. Your husband is not going to war with the French. I'm not being arrogant. If the French were to go to war with me, I would surrender immediately." Sheffield said confidently, with his hands on his hips. "But the Italians can't let me do this. If I don't fight them, how can I save my dignity as the richest man in the world?"
"Besides, we have too much cash on hand now, and we should spend some of it right away. Many Pashas in Constantinople are willing to exchange Basra Province for it, so I will do my best." Sheffield turned his back to his wife as he flipped through the phone book. "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 that there are benefits."
Now that Wilson has been confirmed to become the next president of the United States, there is nothing else in the country for Sheffield to focus on. He feels that now is the right time to compete with Italy, one of the six major powers in Europe.
"It won't hurt to fight a war to gain experience. This world is so dangerous." Sheffield contacted John Connor and talked to him for a long time before he came back. Then he said to Anne, "My dear, I love France. If the French see that things are getting tense and send troops to intervene, I will definitely let the local troops surrender. I can't beat the French army. In fact, the subsequent developments may be that the French have taken advantage. Think about it carefully."
Sheffield was a slave owner who was good at sweet talk. He used his eloquence to flatter Anne so much that she was completely confused and had no reason to object.
A few days later, most of the retired officers from the Texas Rangers had gathered in Arlington, and John Connor also rushed back, exhausted, and asked his boss what the specific plan was.
"I have asked Brown, the manager of the Middle East branch, to hire mercenaries from the gathering areas of Eastern Christian sects at a price of ten dollars a month. In India, we are recruiting mercenaries from Goa. Of course, the banner is different. In India, they are waging a holy war against the Italians for the great caliphate, and the monthly salary is three dollars. The most admirable thing about Hindustan is the cheap labor force, which is so gratifying." Sheffield lay on the recliner and did not hide anything from John Connor. "As for our own strength, together with the retired officers of the State Guard and the employees of the Black Gold Company, we will gather 5,000 people to command the recruited mercenaries."
"The price of ten dollars seems a little expensive. The local labor in the Middle East doesn't seem to be that expensive." As someone who is well aware of the prices of population around the world, John Connor doesn't understand why there is such an unreasonable price.
Twenty thousand people in the Black Gold Company have a monthly salary of two million dollars. I don't know how John Connor got the nerve to say that ten dollars a month is too expensive.
"You can't calculate like that. The Kuwait territory cannot always be guarded by the Black Gold Company. Sooner or later, local people will be absorbed to form a defense force. The believers of Eastern sects are more trustworthy than Islam. Besides, this is the tradition of our Ottoman Empire!" Ever since the incident in Basra Province, Sheffield has completely played the role of William Pasha.
The use of Christians was a tradition of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire selected some of the strongest boys from the conquered Balkan Slav families to form a force called the New Army, which was the first standing army of the empire. Members were regularly selected and reviewed. They were the most combat-capable soldiers of the Turkish Empire, and the first choice was mainly Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Serbs and Bosnians, and later included Romanians, Georgians, Ukrainians, South Russians, Poles and Armenians.
If a soldier has talent, 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 police, palace guards, and firefighters in peacetime.
Listening to his boss referring to the Ottoman Empire all the time, John Connor couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He knew his boss very well. When it came to taking money to do things, he had always been a role model.
An edict from Constantinople directly put the richest man in the United States into the role of William Pasha. John Connor didn't understand that although Basra Province was a good land in the Middle East, it should not be very attractive to the Sheffield family.
Burying this doubt deep in my heart, there are still many things that need to be planned. Although the Black Gold Company has been suppressing anti-American elements for a long time, and the retired officers of the Texas State Guard have military training experience, they are not a real army after all.
Why join the battlefield? You can't wear a suit to fight in the desert, right? At least there should be a military flag? When John Connor asked the question in his mind, Sheffield looked at him with a very strange look, took out a telescope, pointed at the gate of Arlington Manor and said, "Which of these flags is suitable? Pick one yourself. I have no objection to any of them."
Holding a telescope and looking at the row of flagpoles at the entrance of the manor, John Connor said helplessly, "Do I need to choose?"
"I think so too. We can't go to war under the Star-Spangled Banner, right? What do people think the United States is going to do? I am doing this entirely for the reputation of the United States." Sheffield stood up from the recliner and whispered in John Connor's ear, "As for this unit, how about calling it the Texas Legion? Dark blue uniforms!"
(End of this chapter)
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