Rise of the Argentine Empire

The shadow of the Cold War still loomed over the globe, and the nuclear threat was a heavy stone weighing on the hearts of every ambitious major power.

Ever since the Soviets detonated their atomic bomb in '49, the Americans could no longer prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The French and British were also striving to possess their own nuclear arsenals.

The British were preparing for nuclear tests in Western Australia, and now even more powerful nuclear weapons—hydrogen bombs—were beginning to bare their fangs in the Soviet Union. If the timeline hadn't changed, next year would be the year the Soviets detonated their first military hydrogen bomb, while the hydrogen bomb the Americans detonated last year couldn't be used for military purposes, giving the Soviets a win.

Saint-Hesse wasn't worried about these wars. He turned the focus of the San Hai Shipyard to European countries like Germany, Spain, and Italy, as well as the United States.

He had a small goal: to become the world's shipping magnate, build new sea routes, and lay the maritime foundation for Argentina's rise. This required not only individual effort but also consideration of the historical process.

In the future, his fleet would transport various resources back to Argentina and sell domestically produced goods abroad, making the development of his own shipyard essential.

During the era of the 'Three Germanys,' Germany had seven super shipyard consortiums, one of the most advanced and powerful shipbuilding centers in the world, second in scale only to the United States, although the gap between first and second was immense.

Now, Germany's shipbuilding industry was struggling to survive, in a phase of striving for revival. Saint-Hesse's goal for Germany was simply to recruit some shipbuilding talent. If there were naval ship designers, that would be even better.

Speaking of a suitable helper to go to Spain, the most suitable was Sean from Sequoia Capital in the United States. He could now be considered a figure with a bit of influence.

Saint-Hesse planned to have Sean from the United States handle these matters again. After he became successful, he also contacted his original family in his hometown of Spain.

This second wave of shipyard development would require Sean's external assistance. Fishing boat challenges were not difficult; all that was needed were some diesel engines to get them running.

Sean had already found many new paths in the United States and was Saint-Hesse's important external support. As a pure descendant of Spain, Sean had some old connections in southern Spain and could attract some Spanish shipbuilding talent. The German side was still entrusted to Horst, who already had many German engineers at Rheinmetall.

Moreover, to alleviate their worries, it was necessary to provide them with strong protection, especially from the future Samode, who was quite arrogant in Argentina.

The San Hai Shipyard would also eventually enter the naval ship manufacturing industry, and Rheinmetall's artillery could be directly mounted on warships in the future.

Unlike the first time, Saint-Hesse also sent a team to Italy. The Italian economy was developing rapidly and also needed foreign cooperation.

Spain and Italy were now second-tier major powers in Europe, and it could be said that they were naturally close to Argentina. Developing good diplomatic relations with them in the future was an essential rehearsal.

The Spanish military reformed the Naval Shipbuilding Bureau, which was formed by the merger of civilian shipyards, and the Bazan Shipyard came into being.

The newly established Bazan Shipyard faced many difficulties: Spain after World War II was in ruins, the economy was sluggish, the military budget was drastically reduced, naval ship orders were few, and after centuries of silence, the technological foundation of the shipbuilding industry had long since faded.

Saint-Hesse's San Hai Shipyard needed a strong partner. Direct cooperation with the Americans was impossible, but cooperation with Spain was an advantage, and the two countries had now changed from a plastic father-son relationship to being in the same boat.

Saint-Hesse found the San Hai Shipyard team and prepared to cooperate directly with the Spanish. They would reorganize their navy in a few years, which was a good opportunity. The Argentinians had to be able to produce their own warships, and the Bazan Shipyard also needed some foreign orders.

Orders could be given to anyone, but it was certainly better to give them to close friends and relatives. There was no conflict of industrial development between the two countries.

After World War II, Spanish shipbuilding technology developed rapidly and once sat in the third position in the world in the 1970s and 1980s.

As Argentina's former suzerain state, Spain still possessed good shipbuilding technology, at least much better than Argentina's, and both were in the Spanish-speaking system. A strong Spain was also conducive to a strong Argentina. At least in the future, Western Europe could have five powerful first- and second-tier countries: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

As for antagonizing them, that would be courting death. Argentina and the European Community only needed friendship, and friendship was built on a similar footing; otherwise, there would at least be obedience.

If Spain and Italy could become influential major countries in the future European Community, then Argentina would benefit from it.

Spain, Italy, and the Federal Republic of Germany were objects of unity, France was an object of appropriate cooperation, and as for the United Kingdom, it was a sub-version of the five permanent members of the Security Council, but before a major conflict arose, a plastic friendship could be maintained.

Currently, shipyards around the world are facing the biggest winter since World War II. The Americans continue to sell various second- and third-hand ships, but few people like these generally low-quality Liberty ships. Many of the early Liberty ships have even reached their designed lifespan and become scrap metal.

Saint-Hesse needed more high-tonnage freighters to transport imported raw materials and export domestic goods, requiring at least a total of one million tons of shipping tonnage.

This was a huge fleet development plan, and there were currently no world shipping magnates.

Many people gradually built up huge forces by selling American military supplies.

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After Germany was dismembered, even East Prussia, the "land of its rise," was gone, ceded to Poland and the Soviets.

Germany was now not even allowed to produce light weapons, but there were many workers and engineers at the middle and lower levels in Germany, and they should shine and generate heat in the master's house.

Many people are now betting that the global economy can continue to develop and exceed the top scale of World War II. The two shipping magnates in Hong Kong are among them. Most capital is relatively pessimistic about the future. They believe that war is coming soon, and the Soviets are also preparing for World War III, with the entire country tied to the chariot of war.

Currently, the world's number one shipbuilding industry is still the United States, but they are facing a huge crisis after World War II: overcapacity and fierce competition from their younger brothers.

During World War II, the United States produced a total of more than 5,000 "Liberty ships" and their improved version, the 16,000-ton displacement "Victory ships," which was enough to show the terrifying manufacturing power of the United States at this time. They produced ships like they produced cars.

The manufacture of Liberty ships fully embodied the power and superiority of American modern industrialized mass production. Because of the superb assembly line manufacturing process, Liberty ships were built too quickly. Countless Liberty ships with a deadweight of more than 10,000 tons crushed the Third Reich and Japan.

For example, in October 1942, the "Teal" of the Oregon shipyard was launched 10 days after laying the keel.

The rapid construction and low price of Liberty ships made them a symbol of American industry during World War II.

This was the formidable manufacturing prowess of the Americans, but the world simply didn't need so many ships anymore. They were being wholesaled and sold off everywhere. Saint-Hesse's Pralle International fleet mainly consisted of Victory ships with a deadweight tonnage of 16,000 tons. They were more reliable and reasonably priced, but even a Victory ship cost at least $500,000, including various operational expenses.

The Victory ship was an improved version of the Liberty ship. The original plan was to produce 615 vessels, but production stopped at 534 because the war had already been won. The American shipbuilding industry was terrifyingly efficient.

Pralle International was also preparing to wholesale a bunch of Victory ships to expand its fleet. Currently, Pralle International had 11 ships with a total tonnage of 170,000 tons, while the future shipping magnates would typically have millions or even tens of millions of tons. There was still a long way to go.

The design lifespan of a Victory ship was 20 years, while the Liberty ship was only 5 years. Saint-Hesse intended to acquire a few more, and preferably obtain the production technology as well.

In 1946, the United States established a 'War Assets Administration,' headed by Major General L. B. (Leland Bradley) 'Tony' John, who had full authority to handle these surplus materials worth tens of billions of dollars without needing to seek instructions or report.

He handled approximately $36 million worth of military surplus materials every day, and nearly $1 billion worth of various goods were crossed off his list in red ink each month.

Selling within the United States alone couldn't fully absorb these high-end scraps, so business was conducted worldwide.

Brazil at least bought a production line for braiding ropes for the navy. Norway and the Netherlands were, of course, ideal buyers of old ships. Italy was most concerned about military shoe production lines, while Czechoslovakia would take anything cheap. However, they had no cash. The Southeast Asian countries, anxious to fill their stomachs, were concerned about America's surplus flour and milk powder.

Civilian shipyard technology was not within the Spanish blockade. Moreover,

even if there was a blockade, it could be smuggled through a third country. There were always more solutions than problems. Now, Saint-Hesse had saved a lot of foreign exchange reserves that he couldn't spend, so he could buy, buy, buy like crazy.

The civilian shipbuilding industry was still in the early stages of a boom, or to put it bluntly, a period of high accident rates.

It was suitable for recruiting talent and purchasing various shipbuilding equipment. World War II was a major boom for shipbuilding worldwide.

It was like the rehearsal of daily package delivery before the peak of Double Eleven in later generations. No one could have imagined that the market could explode so enormously, or that the post-colonial countries could develop so astonishingly.

Many industrial companies were either going bankrupt or transforming. The current overcapacity was still affecting them. Many people believed that it would be at least thirty years before the transportation scale could exceed that of World War II.

Therefore, many countries were pessimistic about the surplus shipyards. Even France was nationalizing shipyards to avoid the decline of the shipbuilding industry. This gave Saint-Hesse an opportunity.

The world was changing too fast. The global shipping industry's overcapacity was also making the operation of shipbuilding industries in various countries even worse.

Moreover, shipbuilding technology wasn't considered too high-end; after all, it wasn't a high-precision industry.

The Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel was dismantled by the Allied forces after World War II, and now only ruins of scrap metal remained.

The seven major shipyards of Nazi Germany were basically scattered after World War II, lacking both ordinary workers and talent.

Moreover, Saint-Hesse, who now had some strength, began to prepare for going to the United States. Rhein Armaments needed further development.

The same was true for Rhein Industries. He wanted to build a more combat-effective smuggling group. There were still a lot of American World War II materials stored in American warehouses.

Two years ago, he didn't have enough strength or channels. Now was the perfect opportunity. The United States still had a lot of World War II materials left, most of which couldn't be sold, like tanks being converted into tractors.

There were also various ships that hadn't been sold yet. Saint-Hesse was scammed by the Americans once last year, and now he planned to get revenge.

Saint-Hesse wanted to have his own powerful shipyard, which could also greatly promote the development of the La Plata Steel Plant.

In December 1950, the U.S. government invited the governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru to negotiate in order to sign bilateral agreements on military assistance and labor related to U.S. assistance, making many Latin American countries the U.S.'s military backyard.

In fact, the United States successively established 434 military bases in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and other Latin American countries, and established a 'Defense Council' in Latin America.

Through these bilateral agreements, the United States had the right to supervise these aids, thereby controlling the armed forces of these countries. In addition, bilateral agreements also enabled the United States to occupy important strategic positions in Latin America and establish military bases within some Latin American countries. In fact, the United States was in Mexico [space]

The United States' attempt to militarily control Latin American countries was opposed by the people of various Latin American countries.

Under the pressure of popular protests, the Mexican government, which was adjacent to the United States, officially refused to sign a military agreement with the United States in February 1952. Guatemala, Argentina, and other countries also refused to conclude military agreements.

The Argentinians had now become a thorn in the side of the Americans again. Saint-Hesse was certainly not afraid of the Americans. He planned to scam them in the United States.

Through these bilateral agreements, the United States had the right to supervise these aids, thereby controlling the armed forces of these countries. In addition, bilateral agreements also enabled the United States to occupy important strategic positions in Latin America and establish military bases within some Latin American countries. In fact, the United States was in Mexico After visiting some American chemical companies, Saint-Hesse realized that his efforts in the chemical industry were too few, and he had been involved in many chemical industries.

Even though he had the Maria Plastics Petrochemical Plant, the Rhein Explosives Factory acquired with the first foreign exchange, and the Rhein Fertilizer Plant invested heavily in the first place, he had not accomplished much in the chemical industry, and they were quite scattered, without forming a synergy.

Moreover, the Rhein brand had been overused. Even though Rhein's first factory was the Rhein Explosives Factory, the most famous one now was Rhein Armaments. He was even considering changing the name of Rhein Industries to something more suitable.

Therefore, continuing to use the Rhein brand was not conducive to subsequent brand building. He simply removed a syllable from Maria and thought of the famous Mayan culture of the Indians, and came up with a new brand, Maya Chemical, to integrate several chemical-related industries.

Now that Rhein Industries had the tractor and motorcycle industries, it was no longer appropriate to confuse it with Rhein Armaments, so he planned to change it to Rhein Motors Company.