Mediterranean hegemon

"As for food..." Contini said, "This is indeed a problem, but don't worry too much. I have agreements with the Soviet Union and Turkey and can get a large amount of food. The current restriction is transportation, but I believe there is no sea transportation. The joint shipping company in question has been established, and my requirement is to reach a carrying capacity of 300,000 tons within 3 years and 1 million tons within 5 years.”

"You are always generous." Toth said with emotion. "I feel that the United Group has become larger and more comprehensive. Now there is no European consortium that can compare with your career."

Contini smiled: "No one can compare with me in losing money. Just half a year later, the financial director told me that I had lost 1.6 billion lire. It was almost 80% of the quota last year. I lost 18% in the second half of the year." -1.9 billion lire. Of course, this is a book loss. I did not count the appreciation of some assets and land... I am not aiming to make money. We are a national policy consortium, the founder of the Fascist cause, and the creator of the Italian miracle. Making money is Leave the classless stuff to Fiat.”

Toth also laughed: This sentence has its roots. Mussolini just gave a speech two days ago, announcing that Libya is Italy’s lifeline and that he must defend it with “the life of the last Italian and the last lira.” , and also claimed that the United Group is a typical model for Italy to build and develop Libya. Once he wears this high hat, Contini cannot escape even if he wants to. Of course, he will not choose to escape and develop Libya. This is the intended meaning of the question.

"Doctor, when do you expect the oil pipeline to be connected to the Algerian oil field at the earliest? The oil field installation project there is said to be basically completed by September or October at the latest."

Toth gritted his teeth and said: "As long as the manpower and vehicles you promised me are in place, I promise to connect the oil pipeline to the predetermined location before November."

"Okay, I will wait for your good news. I will have a showdown with the French in October."

"Showdown? What kind of showdown?"

"The French have been blocking me regarding crude oil transportation, refusing to let me go to Algiers to build a port, and they can't pass the oil pipeline..."

Todt was shocked: he had always thought that Contini had already arranged to leave for Tripoli, but he did not expect that there would be such a big episode in the middle, so he said worriedly: "The French are willing to give up?"

"This is impossible! Let's start a verbal war, an economic war, a political war, and maybe even a military war."

"Military war? Are the French crazy?"

"They will bribe the Algerian tribes. Haven't the British been bribing the Libyan tribes recently?"

"What would you do if that were really the case?"

"Get on the oil guards!" Contini said expressionlessly. "The 6,000 oil guards are not security guards. They are trained according to the regular army. Even if the French send a foreign legion, I will touch the tiger's butt."

Toth shook his head in disbelief, but this was in line with the president's personality! The fascist youth leaders are so tough! So tough that you have nothing to say!

"If the French push me too hard, I can also do dirty tricks!" Contini smiled, "I brought a bunch of second-hand weapons this time, all of which were captured by us in the last war in Austria. It’s bad stuff, but it’s enough to give it to the Algerians to make trouble for the French authorities. By the way, there are also three treasures of the National Socialist Party: the assault truck, the Sickert cocktail and the Munich Ray!”

"What good stuff?"

Contini whispered in his ear: "The suicide vest, I call it Briand's vest. As long as the person wearing it comes close to you, and then gently touches it, the whole world will be clean. Suitable for all ages!"

"Oh God!" Todt touched his forehead and marveled. He was also a member of the National Socialist Party. Of course he knew how powerful the three treasures of the National Socialist Party were: they once defeated the Weimar Wehrmacht and lost half a regiment. , and now if Briand's vest is added to it, the French will really cry to death. France is good at everything, but it is afraid of killing people!

He also wondered why Contini wanted to tell him this. In fact, Contini believed that these things could not be hidden from Todt. He did not regard the other party simply as an employee of the United Group. This was the future of Todt's organization. The boss, how can I do it if I don’t build a good relationship?

Now Toth also understands why in the planning drawings given to him by Contini, there are so many airports, railway lines, military depots, material depots, fortifications and other things that are completely unnecessary for economic construction in North Africa. Your Excellency, the President, is preparing to negotiate with France. People are fighting in the desert!

However, the left hand has to deal with the French, and the right hand has to deal with the British. Can the small Italian really stand up?

"So it depends on the courage. A real fight will not work. Let alone Britain and France, even Italy alone cannot stand it. But if it is not a national-level battle, the combat effectiveness of the United Group exceeds that of any other party." Contini said proudly, "Just With my 6,000 oil guards armed with German officer corps and my annual losses of 3 billion lire, no one dares to challenge the United Group!”

Of the three plastic innovations mentioned by Contini, two are actually knockoffs: the first is phenolic plastic, which was invented in the United States 20 years ago. This year, the patent protection expired, and United Plastics began mass production. The most typical example is the shell of the United radio; the second is aniline formaldehyde plastic, which was invented 6 years ago. Although it is still under patent protection, it does not bother the president. He asked experts to add some random materials to make a new product. Now it is mainly used in cables and has good insulation performance; the third is PVC plastic. As early as 1912, German chemist Colette had invented PVC and applied for a patent, but until the patent expired in 1925, Colette could not think of any use for PVC. However, in the United Laboratory, chemists from all walks of life used high-boiling point solvents and tricresol phosphate to heat and mix with PVC to process it into soft PVC products. This is not a knockoff but an improvement. Contini calls it white plastic.

White plastic was soon used in United Real Estate. They used a large number of PVC pipes in residential water pipes and sewers, and they were all white. Because PVC pipes are easy to bend and connect, and there is no rust or water residue in the pipes, United Real Estate promoted them as high-end products like aluminum alloy doors and windows. Now there are three standards to distinguish high-end residential areas: first, whether the doors and windows are shiny or not. Aluminum alloy is very shiny; second, whether the water pipes are white or not. Only high-end products such as PVC are white, and black ones are backward products such as cast iron pipes or galvanized pipes; third, whether there is a telephone line in the unit.

United Film Company also promoted this plot: whenever a high-end residential area appears in the camera, these prominent places must be shot. Therefore, in the movies of that period, you can often see the heroine closing the shiny aluminum alloy windows or running out to answer the phone. This routine is taught by the president himself and is called implanted soft advertising. The petty bourgeoisie in Italy buys this!

What's even more outrageous is that the United Group also used the excuse of insufficient supply and refused to sell these materials separately. Only the residential areas and Leader New Village developed by United Real Estate have these materials. This makes people who buy houses feel proud and willing to contribute premiums to the homes of United Real Estate. The fashionable words of the president are called brand premium.

These routines later became classic viewpoints in Italian management and marketing textbooks. Every footnote and example is the United Group. It is not without basis that later generations praised Contini as a management master and marketing master. How could they know that the President's goods were all stolen from later generations, and what was even more unexpected was that the President actually wanted to introduce a large amount of this high-grade white plastic to transport water in North Africa where there was no one to live.

Using plastic to transport water is of course not only to solve the current supply difficulties. Contini also has factors to consider for future desert wars: how to quickly form standardized, storable, impermeable, non-deteriorating, small-packaged, lightweight and low-cost water tank materials. He has been trying hard to figure it out for a long time, and now he is finally willing to use it.

If it is used well, he is also going to promote small-bottle packaged mineral water. If the advertisement is done better, it can be sold as a high-end product. Do the buyers drink water? They drink the mood and unique feeling! Of course, the opaque PVC is not high-grade enough, and transparent and other safer new products are needed, so the joint laboratory has to work at full capacity!