Outside the venue, the Americans and others, especially the journalists, who had come to watch had already begun to argue about the oil. However, the main issue of debate is whether Kuwait's oil reserves are really as large as the Chinese government has claimed, and whether it is reasonable for the Chinese government to nationalize all oil resources.

Of course, the vast majority of people at the scene felt that it was very unreasonable, after all, in this era, no country other than the Chinese government has ever promulgated such a law. The Mexican government has done this before, but unfortunately all the previous governments have been overthrown by the Americans and the British, so in fact no one has done so in the past.

As for China? At present, there is only one Yushi Group involved in oil in China, but this huge business empire is Yan Shao's industry, so naturally there is no problem.

At the same time, just when there was an argument outside the venue, the delegations in the venue couldn't help but be slightly stunned when they got the news.

Almost everyone couldn't help but glance at the British delegation, after all, everyone knew that in the past, Kuwait could basically be said to be the British government's sphere of influence. At the same time, it was also a gift from the British government to China, and now the news of the discovery of a large amount of oil in the Kuwait region has suddenly come out, not to mention whether the news is true, it is enough to embarrass the British government―――――― which is like the British gave Chinese an ore that they thought was a lead nugget, but who would have thought that it was a gold nugget inside...

This is especially important after the end of the war in Europe. The British have paid a lot, especially financially, and owe a lot of foreign debt, if there is a place like Mexico that can bring a lot of benefits to the British government at this time. Maybe the British government will have a better life, but now, the local government has let the British give it to the Chinese for nothing.

It was said that at the beginning, it was very cost-effective to exchange the above-mentioned land for the support of China's troops, but now, this can no longer be described as a loss...

On the other hand, while gloating. After seeing the stiff and at the same time ugly expression of the British representative, the representatives of other countries could not help but look at the Chinese delegation.

This time, I will follow the delegation. It's almost all quiet. It is precisely because of this that they found that after learning the news, although the low-level personnel of the Chinese delegation were quite happy, the high-level personnel were...

Although the top personnel also made a happy face. But many of the people present can still see it. This one is just a disguise, in other words...

"In fact, the Chinese have known this news for a long time."

Suddenly, the words echoed in more than one person's mind.

In fact, it was not only the delegations of other countries, but also the delegations of the British government. And after considering this, considering that the news was announced on the day of the conclusion of the Washington conference, it seems clear what the purpose of the Chinese is.

At least at this moment, the members of the British delegation felt as if they had been slapped in the face. One can imagine how ugly the British expressions must be now.

This one. It's Yan Shao's revenge!

The truth is indeed the same as everyone thinks, although it is true that the people at the bottom do not know much about oil. But at least the top people are well aware, and it can even be said that almost everyone at the top knows this very well. At least whether it is Li Liang, Bu Zigao or Gu Weijun.

Even two days before this matter was announced, China sent a telegram to inform them of this incident, but they were ready―――――― of course, Yan Shao also asked Li Liang to buy a camera and take pictures of the expressions of the British government representatives at that time, so that Yan Shao could also be happy next.

It's just obvious that this is not the right time to do this, so Li Liang didn't do it. But fortunately, Yan Shao was just joking, and actually didn't plan to really let Li Liang do it.

For Yan Shao, being able to embarrass the British already represents the achievement of the goal.

Come to think of it, I thought it was just a broken copper thing, but after giving it away at will, I found that it was a large piece of gold. Not to mention a slap in the face, no matter who is replaced, you can't help but slap yourself in the face.

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While the other side of the room was still shaking at the incident, on the other hand, sitting in his own seat, Wilson picked up his coffee from the table, intending to take a small sip. However, at this time, Roosevelt's words surprised Wilson, and even put down the cup that was already in his hand.

"What do you mean by that..."

"It's easy...", pursing his lips, Roosevelt hesitated, and didn't seem to particularly trust his own judgment. But after a moment's hesitation, Roosevelt spoke. "I have a few conjectures, the first is that the place where there is oil is not only in Kuwait, and the second guess is that the Chinese have long known that there is oil there?"

At this point, without waiting for Wilson to interrupt himself, Roosevelt had already continued to speak.

"First of all, Kuwait is not very large, so in this case, will there be oil deposits in the surrounding areas of Kuwait? This is just like our country and Mexico, in the vicinity of an oil-rich area, there is usually a certain amount of oil, Kuwait's territory is very small, if it is really as the Chinese government has announced, there are indeed a large number of oil resources in Kuwait, then it is very likely that there are also in some areas near it..."

"Another is why did the Chinese demand Iraq and Kuwait in the first place? When the Chinese proposed to participate in the European war, it was precisely the most tragic war in Europe, and at the same time, it was also the time when Britain and France needed support the most, and at this time, if China offered to help Britain and France. Then Britain and France will definitely give a relatively rich return, and in this case, no matter where China proposes to seek colonies, I am afraid that Britain and France will consider it..."

"One could even say. Even if China were to seek French Indochina in Indochina, I am afraid that the French government would bow its head and think about it, and then find a way to refuse. ”

"Moreover, we all know very well that neither Iraq nor Kuwait is actually a particularly rich place, and it can be said that when those two places are added together, in addition to a relatively large territory, all that remains is sand and poor people. And what about compared to Iraq? There are still many places for the Chinese to choose from, even if the Allies did not have many colonies at that time, but at that time Germany still had large colonies in Africa, including German East Africa. The conditions in these colonies may not be particularly good, but they are not so much stronger than Iraq and Kuwait, where there is nothing but sand and sand..."

"At that time, the Chinese could have used these areas as conditions. Britain, France and other countries were asked to make these areas a condition for China to send troops. I believe that Britain and France will never refuse, especially after China has shown a certain strength in the European theater. ”

"Even if you don't choose Iraq and Kuwait, there are many other regions to choose from, but the Chinese did not choose these regions, but chose these two places, which is somewhat intriguing..."

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Intriguing, intriguing indeed.

As mentioned earlier, the Allies did have relatively few colonies at that time. At least definitely much less than on the side of the Entente. After all, any member of the Entente actually owned a considerable number of colonies. Especially in a country like the United Kingdom, which has an incredible number of colonies under its command.

But this did not mean that the Allies did not have a single colony, at least the Germans still had a few in Africa. These colonies, though not very good, are worth much more than Kuwait and Iraq―――――― at least until today.

And the Chinese will abandon these good places and choose Kuwait and Iraq, places where there is almost nothing but sand, and there seems to be only one reason, that is, these two places actually hide very valuable things...

And right now, it seems that what this thing is is already obvious, that is, oil.

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Listening to Roosevelt's words, Wilson was slightly silent, Roosevelt's words made him a little shocked and at the same time a little incredulous.

It was really hard for him to believe that the Chinese had discovered a long time ago that there was a large amount of oil in the Middle East, and that in addition to Kuwait, there were also oil in other regions, but Wilson was relatively easy to believe.

But even so, after looking at Roosevelt, Wilson couldn't help but ask.

"Do you have any evidence for these!"

"No, but Mr. President, you should remember whose hands did the Tampico oil field in Mexico discover," Roosevelt continued to speak. I used to be very interested in Yan Shao, so I made some special visits, and found that there was actually a big controversy about whether there was oil in the local area, at least the Geological Survey of the Mexican government at that time, which had conducted an investigation on Tampico and other places, but the experts of the Geological Survey gave them two completely different answers, which even the director of the Geological Bureau tore up the report in front of them. ”

As he spoke, seeing that Wilson seemed more interested, Roosevelt also told this more interesting story. Wilson couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking it was very interesting.

After a laugh, the atmosphere in the office became much more relaxed, but after the death of this sentence, Roosevelt continued what he had just said.

"At that time, it can be said that no one dared to be sure that there would be oil deposits in the Tampico area, but Yan Shao decided this, and even spent a lot of money to buy everything including the company from the owner of the land at that time, and it was because of this land that Yan Shao got the first bucket of gold in the real sense..."

Therefore, it is very likely that Yan Shao knew that he had oil in the Kuwaiti region, which is why he was during the First World War. Two places in Iraq and Kuwait were specifically proposed as their colonies. ”

"The only thing I can't be sure about now is that the Chinese are trying to cover up Kuwait's affairs, so they will make it look like Kuwait is only getting Iraq in passing." There are also oil stocks in both Iraq and Kuwait. ”

"Both of these are possible, but I personally prefer the second point, after all, in the ensuing period the Chinese government not only consolidated its rule there, but also spread it to the Persian Gulf, and at the same time took advantage of the construction of railways to obtain oil exploration rights along the Persian coast from the Persian government and the British government..."

Speaking of which. Roosevelt's expression became completely stern.

This is the reason why he will insist on his own judgment, especially in the matter of Persia, everyone knows that Yushi Group is Yan Shao's industry. Then the fact that Yushi Group deliberately bought the oil exploration rights in Persia is too suspicious, unless the Chinese have long been sure that there is oil there...

If that's the case, it's a little too scary...

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And it wasn't just Roosevelt. Even Wilson himself knew it.

Of course. They didn't even imagine how rich the Middle East was in terms of oil reserves.

The Middle East is a Eurocentric term that refers to the region east of Europe and between the Far East and the Near East. Specifically, it refers to the eastern and southern regions of the Mediterranean, from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Geographically, the Middle East covers almost the entire West Asia region, and includes part of North Africa, as well as a subregion of Africa and Eurasia.

This generally includes Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Palestine, the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia), and Sudan, Mauritania and Somalia. Turkey and Cyprus, although geographically part of the Middle East, are considered to belong to Europe, and Afghanistan to the north is sometimes closely linked to the Middle East.

In a way, the Middle East is a region that stretches from Egypt to the west, Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the south.

The first discovery of oil in the Middle East was in Iran in 1908, and today about 80% of recoverable oil reserves are located in the region, of which 62.5% are in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. At the same time, about 60% of the world's oil resources are located in the Middle East. In other words, whoever controls the Middle East is in control of oil.

There is no doubt that after owning the oil resources of Siberia, Central Asia and China itself, plus the oil resources of the Middle East, Yan Shao's oil resources have exceeded more than seventy percent of the world's reserves, which also means that the oil empire that Yan Shao expects has been formed!

In the future, as long as it can continue to rule the region steadily, then even with the oil resources here, China can continue to control the whole world.

After all, oil is the most important fuel for the next hundred years, and no country can leave this fuel.

In later generations, the United States can be regarded as powerful, but it is because it offended these oil-producing countries that it led to an oil crisis.

For example, during the 1973 oil crisis, OPEC refused to ship oil to Western countries that supported Israel against Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War (October War). This led to a fourfold increase in oil prices, which lasted for five months, from 17 October 1973 to 18 March 1974.

At that time, the price of crude oil rose from less than $3 per barrel in 1973 to nearly $12, one of the three major oil crises of the second half of the 20th century. The surge in crude oil prices has caused a recession in the developed West, with GDP growth estimated at 4.7% in the United States, 2.5% in Europe as a whole, and 7% in Japan. It also caused fuel shortages for South Vietnam in the Vietnam War, exacerbating its economic and military disadvantages in the war against North Vietnam.

It can be seen from this that the control of oil has a great effect on the control of the world.

And after controlling the entire Middle East region, China is equivalent to owning the capital of the whole world. As long as it can keep it, even if something does happen in the future, it can at least ensure that China can have the capital to make a comeback.

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Naturally, Americans certainly cannot imagine that at this time, China has actually controlled more than 70% of the world's oil reserves. In the eyes of the Americans, even if the Chinese control the entire Middle East region, it is equivalent to the level of the United States.

However, given China's growing power, this is, in a way, a threat to the United States.

It should be noted that if the qiē is really as Roosevelt said, then other countries are inevitably a little coveted about the qiē they have today. This even includes the Americans, but today's China is not the same as it was in the past. (To be continued......)