The main agricultural production areas of the Persian Empire were concentrated in the plains of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf coast, and most of the area was arid and water-scarce.

Last year there was a severe drought in the Persian Empire, a large amount of land was seriously reduced or even the harvest was lost, and since the beginning of the summer this year, there has been a serious famine in the Persian Empire, and the peasants in many areas can no longer bear to rise up, and in some cities, five pounds can buy a young slave girl.

That's right, the Persian Empire still had a large number of slaves, and until the 21st century, it was one of the most trafficked regions in the world.

Reza Khan needed food not for the victims in the Persian Empire, but for the army led by Reza Khan, who had no eggs under the nest, and even the army's rations could not be guaranteed, which can be seen in the shortage of food in the Persian Empire.

If the requirements are not high, the grain in southern Africa is still very abundant, potatoes, mangoes, dried cassava and so on are almost as much as possible, and the canneries under the name of Xiao Si are even more varied, from high-end whitebait to cheap canned fruit, but the most popular in the Persian Empire is luncheon meat.

"It's meat! No one eats such a delicious thing in southern Africa? Has Southern Africa reached this level? Reza Khan really couldn't figure it out, luncheon meat is like instant noodles, and if you don't eat it for a long time, you will miss the taste, and if you eat two meals in a row, you would rather be hungry than eat it.

"We used to love it, but—" Li De really couldn't explain how much meat was in the luncheon meat.

The main ingredient of luncheon meat is the starch extracted from potatoes, which is mixed with some animal offal and boiled together, and then it becomes luncheon meat.

Potatoes are arguably the cheapest agricultural product in southern Africa, and many farmers use them to raise poultry and livestock, in addition to making wine.

As for the offal of those animals, before the Chinese came to southern Africa, almost all the offal of animals was directly discarded, and Europeans did not have the habit of eating animal offal, so the dark cuisine recognized by white people in southern Africa was pepper fat sausage.

"Well, I can understand, after all, you're British—" Reza Khan said a little sour, probably meaning that our ancestors were also wide-hearted.

The Persian Empire was indeed once glorious, and this Persia was the Persia of the Spartan Three Hundred Warriors, but the glory of the Persians was in ancient times, and the glory was short-lived, and the Spartan Three Hundred Warriors appeared in the Battle of Thermopylae Pass in 480 BC.

"If you're okay here, you can use this luncheon meat to settle all expenses." Li De still talks about business, although Li De also knows that the Chinese must hug the British thigh if they want to survive in southern Africa, but not all Chinese can accept this.

When he was in Nyasaland, Li De liked to go to the library to consult materials about Chinese history, and the more he learned about the history of the Chinese, the more proud Li De was because of his Chinese identity.

"Yes, now Ahvaz is yours, I hope you can fulfill your promise as soon as possible, the sooner the better, as you can see, we are in a bad situation now." Reza Khan was also reluctant to transfer the benefits of the Persian Empire if he could, but Reza Khan had no choice.

Ahvaz is where the Anglo-American oil company discovered the oil fields, which are rich in oil reserves and are the main oil and gas producing area of the Persian Empire.

Ahvaz was also the capital of Huzestan, a trading center for sugar, rice, and silk in the 12th and 13th centuries, and then declined with the decline of Huzestan's agriculture, and was captured by the British during the Anglo-Polish War in 1857, and Ahvaz would gradually prosper due to the discovery of oil, although no one has noticed this yet.

A week later, two Nyasaland ocean freighters brought 15,000 cans of luncheon meat, which were only the first batch, and each can of luncheon meat sold for five pence for one shilling, but by the Persian Empire the price of one can of luncheon meat had soared to six shillings.

Along with Luncheon Meat, it was the mercenaries of the Umbrella Company who went to Ahvaz, and this time it was Don himself who led the team, escorting the goods and taking over the defense of Ahvaz.

"You're going to take over Ahvaz's defense? Sorry, Reza Khan does not have this right. "Alex had a force of twenty British troops, and this force was the British garrison in Khuzestan.

Nominally it was still the territory of the Persian Empire, but in fact in the agreement with the Russians, Khuzestan was the British sphere of influence.

In Persia, the British had a lot of power, not only to form an army and set up a bank, but also to form a government and train an army, and this force led by Alex was the instructor of the Persian army in Huzestan.

Britain still attaches great importance to the oil of the Persian Empire, and was accidentally bought by the Umbrella Company at the beginning, and now it attaches great importance to Khuzestan, McMahon not only sent Alex to manage the Ahvaz oil field, but also raised an army in Khuzestan to guard against the Persian government, and there are also reasons for the Umbrella Company.

"Alex, this time we are not going to monopolize Khuzestan alone, but we are ready to develop it with other oil companies, and only by being competitive can we make progress." Don pretended, don't care what happens in the future, get the mercenaries into Khuzestan first, and the other oil companies can take their time.

"Develop together?" Alex didn't believe Donn's at all.

"Yes, develop together, but we must drive the Germans and Americans away first, and the brothers will be in the wall and the outside will be insulted!" It's not easy for Don to know this allusion.

Brothers are on the wall, and the insult is from the "Book of Songs, Xiaoya, Tangtang", which is used as a metaphor for although there are internal differences, but to unite to deal with external aggression.

In the Persian Empire, this metaphor is still very appropriate, although the Umbrella Company and the Royal Shell Company have differences, but they are both British companies, and they must unite with the outside world, first drive the enemy away and then divide the spoils behind closed doors.

That's right, for the British, the Germans are of course enemies, and the United States, the rebel, is not at ease.

The arms race in Europe also has a lot to do with the Americans, and like southern Africa, the United States is also making a windfall in the arms race, and before the outbreak of the world war, the United States still owed Britain 150 million pounds, and the heart is that this money is about to be paid off, and Britain still has a tendency to borrow to get by.

"You wait—" Alex didn't talk nonsense, and sent someone to call Rex Rusk from Royal Shell (the previous mistake).

After knowing Donn's identity, Rex Rusk's expression was complicated.

Just a few days ago, Rex Rusk still couldn't resist making a move with Ivanovic.

As a result, Royal Shell suffered a big loss, although no one died, but more than a dozen workers were injured by the workers of the umbrella company, and the injuries were still very serious, either broken arms or short legs.

Although there are doctors in Port Elizabeth, the Royal Shell has no intention of treating those Persian workers.

But if Umbrella is really willing to share the oil field with Royal Shell, it will certainly be a good thing for Royal Shell.

"Sorry, I'm only referring to the oil fields in Khuzestan and not the Elizabeth fields." Donn stressed that the Elizabeth field certainly cannot be shared, and this point needs to be clarified.

"Would you be so kind?" Rex Rusk was slightly disappointed, but not much disappointed, the Umbrella Company's willingness to share Khuzestan's oil fields was already a rare goodwill.

"You can believe it or not!" Don has patience with Alex and has a much worse attitude towards Rex Rusk.

"Tell me how you're going to get rid of the Germans and Americans." Alex does not doubt the ability to act to protect the company, the key is to act in secrecy and not let the Germans and Americans catch the handle.

Germany does not matter, the United States still cannot be offended for the time being, and Britain also needs the support of the United States to carry on the arms race.

On the surface, Britain, France and Germany are now all customers of the United States, but needless to say, the customer is God, and now the supplier is the uncle, and he may not be able to buy things with money.

"It's too simple, Ahvaz is one hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Persian Gulf, here is the famous pirate coast, desert bandits are also rampant, the Persian Empire is too busy to take care of itself, unable to control the place, and it is normal for rebels to appear." Don is very proficient, and it is obviously not the first time he has done this kind of thing.

"Our wells are all mixed together, how can we ensure that we will not be injured by mistake?" Rex Rusk thought a lot, skilled workers also need to be trained for a long time, and if there is a shortage of manpower, it is really difficult to replenish in the Persian Empire.

"Necessary sacrifices are inevitable, but we will also try to avoid them, such as removing technicians and skilled workers in advance and hiring some cheaper Persians to make up the numbers." Don wants to play a game of stealing beams and changing pillars, but the price is a bit big, and the kind of disregard for life revealed between his words, intentionally or unintentionally, is really terrifying.

It is really not a joke to achieve success and withering bones, and it is also an experience to say that Ci is not in charge of the army, and those who achieve great things are not informal, and they cannot expect too much from the people of this era.

Think about the people in the Qing Kingdom who were waiting for people's blood to stain steamed buns for treatment, and the insensitive spectators who watched Ling Chi's execution, they were actually ordinary people.

"In case the country knows-" Rex Rusk was worried, if it was in the wilderness, there were thousands of inhabitants in Ahvaz, and it was still too risky to see everyone.

"Dead people can't speak." Tang En didn't plan to stay alive, the so-called car and boat shop should be killed if he is not guilty, and these oil companies are the same, none of them have a good thing.