105 into Xinjiang

The northwest border in early 1912 was still a severe winter.

The Anxi Army commanders organized logistics personnel to make cotton military uniforms day and night, and the local people also actively helped to raise food and fodder. Eight rest stations and two supply stations have been set up along the way, which can ensure that the personnel of the Anxi Army will move forward together.

At the same time, Lin Tiechang is in southern Xinjiang, and Feng Temin is in Yili. They will also take out parts of the mules, horses, grain and equipment of the former Qing army's logistics organs stationed in Xinjiang as much as possible to provide the Anxi army entering Xinjiang, so that it can reach the predetermined garrison areas in the north and south of Tianshan and the foothills of Kunlun as soon as possible.

In fact, the most troublesome thing is the oil problem of 300 trucks. Li wanted to deal with it in person.

In this era, China's oil market is divided up by two foreign companies, Mobil Oil Company and Asia Fire Oil Company. Due to the fierce competition. In 1908 and 1911, the two major companies twice signed agreements to carve up the Chinese market and implemented monopoly prices.

Among them, Mobil Oil was the first to enter inland China to start kerosene sales, but it did not go well at the beginning, and it was even rejected by local Chinese officials. For example, when Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, was in Guangzhou, he had already introduced advanced Western facilities to generate electricity and use electric lights. However, he firmly opposed the use of kerosene lamps in China's urban and rural areas. He once wrote to the imperial court that "fire oil harms people", "more than foreign medicine (opium)", and advocated the prohibition of "foreign merchants trafficking kerosene", the reason was that " once the kerosene bursts, it became worse and worse, and property and life disappeared..." At that time, people called kerosene "fire oil" because it burned fiercely. The Qing government once issued an order banning cities from using kerosene.

Although some of the sales markets in China are blocked, Mobil Oil Company is not discouraged. They have their own way to deal with it and have been looking for some opportunities. Just like Mobil's foreign industry in Shanghai, it aims at urban residents who have not been able to use electric light lighting. It sells kerosene to every door to every household. While promoting the benefits of kerosene lighting, it also gives away a glass-covered iron seat high-foot oil lamp for free, known as "Mobil lamp", which quickly opens the sales market.

It was not until the rise of Shell and the full landing of Asia Petroleum Corporation in the Far East that the dominant situation of Mobil ended.

Mobil Company established a Hankou branch as early as 1903, opened a special oil transportation terminal by the Yangtze River in Dan Pool, Hankou, and rented the office on the second floor of the Hankou Citibank Building.

Asia Company established a branch in Hankou after Li wanted to take back the concession and implement the reform and opening up after the Xinhai Revolution. The office building is located on the riverside of the three wharfs of the former British Concession.

The first class of Asia Petroleum Company's Hankou Branch is German Huck, and the other deputy class is all foreigners, and Chinese are hired to undertake the local kerosene marketing business. The first buyer, Yang Liguang.

However, Asia Fire Oil Company has been in Hankou for three months, but still failed to open the sales situation. The Hankou branch is also anxious.

Li Xiang started from this place. Through the "inside story" revealed by Yang Liguang, who bought the Hankou Branch of Asia Fire Oil through the Yangtze River Chamber of Commerce, the first class of the Hankou Branch of Asia Petroleum Company was induced by German Huck to take the initiative to come to him.

Huck has long heard that Wuchang is preparing materials to enter Xinjiang. The huge purchase order has made the Hankou business community crazy, whether it is Chinese or foreign. Unfortunately, these huge orders have nothing to do with fire oil or him. If the situation can't be opened in Hankou, his exciting life in China will be over. This time, I learned a business secret from Yang Liguang, a Chinese buyer. Wuchang's Marshal Li has the intention to purchase a large amount of fire oil. In fact, he does not know what kind of war use the young Marshal Li is going to use fire oil, but he decided to seize this rare opportunity to visit the young Marshal Li in person.

Huck stood in front of the most luxurious Chinese-style villa in Luojia Mountain and knocked on the door of a thick and heavy house. A woman who came to answer the door asked, "Who?"

"The first class of Hankou Branch of Asia Petroleum Company is German Huck. I had an appointment before.

The door creaked open.

A very beautiful woman took the business card handed over by Huck. After confirming that it was correct, she smiled and said, "Come with me, sir. The general has been waiting for a long time.

"The mountain road of Luojia Mountain after the rain is not easy to walk. Although the cement road is paved, the carriage is still very difficult to climb."

"Sir, you should consider selling a BMW car produced by Hanyang Locomotive Factory."

"That's a super-rich toy. I can't afford it yet."

The housekeeper's little sister walked in her head and led Huck towards a bay window with orange lights in the dark. He saw the young Marshal Li sitting at a candle-lit table.

When Huck entered the house, Marshal Li stood up, pointed to the food around him and invited him to the seat and said, "Welcome! My friend, come and eat with me." Marshal Li opened the lid of a big soup bowl. "This is Chinese red stewed beef tripe, authentic Chinese flavor."

"What a pity," Huck lowered his head and glanced at the bowl of steaming, spicy and pungent sauce. He couldn't help sighing that Chinese people have a special preference for animal viscera and dare to eat any dirty viscera. He ate beef tripe once in his life and felt like chewing rubber, so he listed it as a taboo food such as octopus. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have eaten."

"Well, when Marshal Li was seated, he brewed red wine from a clay wine pot and said, "Try this."

"Thank you," Huck smelled the intoxicating smell of wine and couldn't help exclaiming, "Ah! This wine is so good."

"Oh?" Marshal Li looked happy. "This was given to me by Ge Fu Consul."

Marshal Li stopped talking and just ate up a whole bowl of white rice in an orderly and quietly manner. He ate it with beef tripe and dipping it in spicy sauce on the plate. He took a sip of white rice, and the gesture and red light on his face showed his satisfaction with the color and fragrance of white rice. He kept poured wine into his and Huck's glasses. A baby face, his lips are covered with oil stains, and he looks a little silly. It is hard to imagine that this young man is in charge of the Ezhou government.

At this time, the beautiful housekeeper brought a piece of yellow cheese and a loaf of bread.

"Try a bite of cheese," said Marshal Li. You love to eat it."

"Thank you. I'm sure it's my appetite." Huck is devouring it now. Cheese, fresh bread and wine are all delicious.

The young Marshal Li breathed a breath of satisfaction.

Li Dashuai put down the bowl and chopsticks. Seeing that Huck had also finished eating, he took more than half of the cheese. After eating it all, he wiped his mouth and said, "Let's go and get some fresh air."

The spring breeze brushed the face, and the bare branches of several tall old trees in the garden have spit out tender buds.

"What can you do?"

Marshal Li's voice became serious, and the calm tone made Huck uneasy.

"I just heard that your army needs to purchase a batch of fire oil. I don't know if Li Dashuai has confirmed the purchaser? Huck asked tentatively.

Marshal Li smiled and said, "No."

"It is said that Mobil's big class in Hankou has come?" Huck continued to test.

"I have to identify whether it is in my interest."

Everyone didn't say anything, only two people stepping on the gravel road.

"Shal Li needs to purchase bulk fire oil. What is it going to be used for?"

"Where did you hear that I was going to buy bulk fire oil?"

"My Chinese buyer Yang Liguang said the business secrets he heard from the Yangtze River Chamber of Commerce."

"This is not a trade secret, but a military secret."

"Okay, Marshal Li, I have absolutely no intention to inquire about the military secrets of the revolutionary army. I just want to do business."

"Okay!"

Li Xiang talked about the amount of fire oil he needed. The huge number, Huck gasped strangely and muttered. The wind blew, and the trees rattled, and they walked up and down in the garden.

"Oh, my God!" Huck spit out word by word slowly, grimly and painfully. While grabbing Li Dashuai's elbow, he stretched out a thick and short finger and poked his face hard. I can't believe it! Do you want so much fire oil to set it on fire? Do you want to 'burn the joint camp' or 'burn the rattan armor soldiers'?

Li Xiang asked without saying anything, "Is there any problem?"

"Li Dashuai, although Hankou oil inventory can't meet your needs, our boss is a shrewd, capable and strong-willed person. The establishment of oil depots in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen can definitely meet your needs.

"Since there is no problem, I will ask Tie Gongqi to discuss the details with you and conclude a procurement contract tomorrow."

"ok!" Huck's voice trembled so much that he loosened Li's arm.

Dashuai Li opened the garden door, looked out and said, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

With the opening of the curtain of modern world free trade policy, the protagonist on the world economic stage has changed from an industrial giant to a banker. The advantages of financial currency, international trade and raw materials constitute the three pillars of the great powers.

The history of the past 100 years that Li Xiang knows is the history of fighting to obtain and control the world's oil reserves. No other factor can be compared with this. First of all, the United Kingdom, and then the United States, are mainly affected by the interests of these two countries, forming a power map of world politics and economy around raw materials and oil, but people know little about it at this time.

After 1873, the economic depression of the British Empire formed a strong contrast with the prosperity of the industrial economy of the European continent, and the contrast with the German Empire was more obvious, which was the background of the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Oil has become the focus of contradictions and conflicts. Only a few elites in London, Bank of New York and the financial circle know this, and others did not realize this until a few years later.

In 1882, oil had no commercial value except for new mining lighting. Mineral oil lamp is a new technology developed by Stovorser, a lamp manufacturer in Berlin, Germany, in 1853. This fuel was called "rock oil" at that time because it oozed out of the rocks, which was distributed in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the United States, Baku, Russia, and Galicia, which is now partly Poland. In 1870, John Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company to develop the lamp kerosene market in the United States and use various strange sludge to "treat" diseases. At that time, the development of internal combustion engines had not yet brought an industrial revolution to the world.

Although at a public rally in London in September 1882, British Admiral Sir Fisher, who was still a naval colonel at that time, said: "Britain must change the status quo of the Navy using coal as power fuel, and should use new oil fuel. Since 1870, in the Sea, Russian ships have used this kind of sticky fuel oil, which the Russians call "black oil." Fisher and other people with a long-term vision are in favor of using this new fuel. He insists that oil as a power fuel will bring a decisive strategic advantage to the UK in the future competition to control the ocean.

Fisher has done a lot of work for this. He cited a large number of facts that fuel oil is better than coal, and firmly believes that these reasons are convincing. Oil-powered warships have no black smoke and will not expose their targets, while coal-burning warships can be seen from ten kilometers away with long smoke tails. It takes 4 to 9 hours for the coal-burning power unit to reach the maximum horsepower, while the oil-burning power unit only takes 5 minutes to reach the maximum horsepower. To provide fuel to the warship, as long as 12 people work for 12 hours, and to provide coal with the same energy, it takes 500 people to work for 5 days. To get the same horsepower thrust, the fuel engine only needs 1/3 of the workload of the coal-fired engine, and the daily consumption is only 1/4 of the coal, which is very critical for a fleet, whether it is a merchant fleet or a naval fleet. The radius of a fleet powered by oil is about four times that of a fleet powered by coal

But at that time, Fisher's idea was considered whimsistic by his British peers.

Around the same time, German engineer Golibel Daimler developed the world's first practical fuel engine for road transportation in 1885. By the turn of the century, cars were regarded as the toys of the super-rich, and the economic potential of the oil era had not been recognized by most people.

Li Xiang may really be able to go to the forefront of the world in the field of oil application.