Rise of the Argentine Empire

While Saint-Hesse was preparing to establish consulates with several European countries, his eldest son was born, named Saint-Hesse Pampas Cohen.

In the early hours of the morning, Yilena began preparing for labor in the hospital, and Saint-Hesse had just finished work.

Saint-Hesse was in a place in the hospital, holding his daughter in his arms, with a somewhat nervous expression.

The matters hadn't been completely dealt with, so he brought the steel mill team to work on-site.

Little Britney was sleeping peacefully in his arms.

With the advancement of medical technology, although the risk of childbirth has been reduced to a minimum, it still exists.

Saint-Hesse was a little worried about his wife Yilena, but he didn't show it.

He hasn't had time to accompany her in the hospital recently.

Building a large state-owned steel factory, and it being a steel factory, requires him to personally plan many things.

This is, after all, not the Cohen Consortium, where he can have the final say and directly invest money to do things.

He needs to convince many people, needs to deduct money from the Ministry of Finance, needs to report to the Presidential Palace, needs to communicate with customs, and needs to communicate with the La Plata Steel Factory and the Blanca Steel Factory, even if it's just for show.

He needs to build a platform and needs to allocate talents to the steel factory.

He needs to attract suppliers for the Medanos Steel Factory, especially a stable supply of coal and iron ore, and also needs to build a power plant in Medanos, as well as a water plant, and also recruit workers...

It is far more difficult than those state-owned companies in Blanca City.

These things are not difficult for Saint-Hesse, but he must be careful and meticulous, and he must do it himself.

He must build the framework for this kind of thing before his subordinates can do things in a regular and legal manner.

This also made Saint-Hesse feel guilty.

The entire Plari International Hospital has been heavily guarded, with soldiers carrying live ammunition protecting the hospital.

Plari International Hospital is a private hospital in the suburbs of Blanca City, belonging to a medical company under Plari International, a complete Cohen family property.

It only serves the family in Blanca City.

For Saint-Hesse, he hasn't felt nervous for a long time, except when his eldest daughter was born.

He only took a quick look at the births of his other illegitimate daughters at most.

Little Saint-Hesse is his first son, and also the bloodline that can continue the Cohen family's inheritance.

Perhaps due to underlying thoughts, he is indeed very happy that the Cohen Consortium needs an heir.

His governing team also needs something to stabilize morale, and Argentina is no exception.

Although he somewhat maliciously suspects that the Perón couple don't have their own children, which has a bit of an impact on their control of the Presidential Palace.

Now he has both sons and daughters, and he even wants to have a few more.

Speaking of which, his daughter Britney is somewhat like her mother, and seems to have a strong interest in mathematics, completely unlike her old father.

Saint-Hesse asked the office staff to leave and sat quietly in the chair, letting his thoughts wander.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"High Official, the madam and the baby are healthy, and the madam has been sent to the sanatorium manor behind the hospital."

The door opened, and the doctor in charge of Yilena's delivery came in to report the situation to Saint-Hesse.

He waved his hand, and Doctor Maria turned and left.

Doctor Maria secretly wiped the sweat from her forehead. Tonight, she was probably the most stressed employee in the entire hospital.

Saint-Hesse is not only a high official, but also her big boss. She successfully completed the task without any danger, and she can also get a year's salary as a bonus, so she is very excited.

This is Saint-Hesse's promise to the entire medical team responsible for Yilena. After all, money is a good thing, and it is essential to get others to work for you.

Saint-Hesse nodded slightly and said to the hospital director waiting outside the door:

"Director Forrest, please make proper arrangements."

"Understood, Mr. Cohen."

Forrest immediately went to arrange other suitable matters. As the president of Plari International Hospital, he is Saint-Hesse's absolute confidant.

He doesn't have to come forward for many things, but he feels more at ease when his own people do things.

Forrest has also seen many of this big boss's women giving birth here, and he personally took charge of them all.

However, it is rare for Saint-Hesse to personally ask about everything, which shows that Saint-Hesse has the deepest affection for Yilena.

These illegitimate children do not inherit the Cohen family name, but they basically receive the best treatment. For example, Rosa, the current vice president of Barron Bank, also gave birth to a daughter for Saint-Hesse, who is very much loved by Saint-Hesse.

Others like Natalie and Mercedes also gave birth to children for him, who he raised in apartments in the suburbs of Blanca.

Now Saint-Hesse is not actually enthusiastic about matters of men and women. Most of these women have had relationships with him for a long time.

Letting them leave him, or even seeing them marry someone else, is not something he is willing to see.

Besides, he can afford to raise a hundred more, and having blood ties is also to reassure them.

Furthermore, as the standard-bearer and promoter of Argentina's most radical fertility encouragement policy, having a few more babies is the best example.

Since marrying Yilena, Saint-Hesse has not gone out to fool around again, and Yilena has also acquiesced to the existence of these women.

For him, these women are already enough of a headache.

And the impact of the throne of power, the construction of a new Argentina, and even the construction of the Greater La Plata Alliance are more tempting.

Saint-Hesse hurriedly went in to visit. He took a look at his son and quickly waved his hand to let the professional team take care of him.

Saint-Hesse took three steps and made two steps, heading to Yilena's room. Someone was taking care of Yilena.

"You all go out too, and take good care of my daughter."

"Yes, sir."

Saint-Hesse handed his daughter to the family nanny and asked them to leave.

Yilena's face was a little pale, and she was lying quietly on the bed.

"Madam, you've really worked hard."

"Cohen, how is the work in the Provincial Government Hall going?"

"It's almost done."

After a while, Yilena's complexion recovered almost.

Saint-Hesse took her hand and quietly accompanied his wife until the morning. After washing up, he went to the Provincial Government Hall to work.

People are refreshed on happy occasions, and Saint-Hesse is no exception. Many things went smoothly today, and he didn't work overtime. He left work on time to visit his wife at the sanatorium.

This situation lasted for several days.

Yilena urged him several times before he returned to his workaholic mode, but he still visited Yilena three or four times a week.

After Yilena returned home, the visits gradually decreased.

......

In addition to the steel factory, Saint-Hesse was also busy raising funds to build three new state-owned enterprises: Pampas Oil Company, Pampas Mining Company, and Pampas Power Company.

In the Provincial Government Hall, he doesn't have to do most things himself, but he has to prepare to set up such a large state-owned company himself.

Firstly, others can't do it, and secondly, he must start this matter.

The Blanca City State-owned Assets Group, which he built single-handedly, is Argentina's most powerful local state-owned system. Last year's annual output value has already exceeded 60 million US dollars, and the total assets have reached 262 million US dollars, and it is still growing rapidly.

This is one of his most important political achievements in Blanca City, and it is also an important measure for him to achieve the development of Blanca City.

The three largest companies of the Blanca City State-owned Assets Committee are Blanca State-owned Department Store Company, Second Construction Company, and Blanca Commercial Bank. Blanca City Commercial Bank contributes the largest source of assets and profits. Blanca Department Store has the most branches and the highest sales. It is seeking to establish a larger department store and is currently planning to change its name. Blanca Department Store is not very suitable for expansion.

Other state-owned enterprises include Blanca First Construction Company, Blanca Third Construction Company, Blanca Capital, Blanca Grain Reserve Company, Blanca Machinery Corporation (originated from the small factory that started by producing honeycomb coal machines), Blanca Textile Company, Blanca Clothing Company, Blanca Food Company, Blanca Port Company, Water Company, Blanca Power Company, Blanca Western Public Bus Company, Blanca Expressway Construction Company, and other 17 state-owned companies.

These Blanca City state-owned companies are managed with decentralized power and have developed rapidly, contributing an important source of finance to Blanca City and are also an important supplement to Blanca City's industrial system.

Of course, since he stepped down, in addition to some personnel changes, he has not interfered too much in the affairs of the Blanca City Government Hall and the State-owned Assets Committee. He has already established a complete municipal system.

The companies of the Blanca City State-owned Assets Committee are no longer related to him, although most of the top leaders and persons in charge of the state-owned companies were personally selected and appointed by him.

The promotion of important personnel in Blanca City was quickly filled, and the reform of the Blanca City financial system, as well as the reform of other local administrations, Blanca City always cooperated well under the leadership of the Radical Party, and his influence was still there.

Blanca City's state-owned companies are very successful and developing very fast, but they are mainly concentrated in trade, infrastructure, public services, commerce, finance, and other aspects. There are actually not many industrial companies.

This is also unavoidable. The main purpose of engaging in these things at the beginning was to raise some funds for the development of Blanca City, and competing with the people for profit was also a last resort.

Now it's different.

During his time in charge of the La Pampa Province government, Saint Hesser continued to select suitable talents and personnel through internal channels. For example, the establishment of the Pampa Canal Engineering Company, the Pampa Power Generation Company, the Medanos Steel Plant, and the reorganization of the La Pampa Commercial Bank all benefited greatly from the efforts of the city of Blanca.

This time, the scale of the La Pampa State-Owned Assets Committee will be even larger. The Medanos Steel Plant alone has an investment of 40 million US dollars, and three larger state-owned companies will also be established.

Moreover, the La Pampa Province government will focus on the more difficult heavy chemical industry.

Last year and this year, many Argentine companies were sold to large American and European companies, but they were unwilling to sell to state-owned companies in Blanca or La Pampa Province. Their unique arrogance has inspired Saint Hesser's ambition.

To establish more powerful state-owned industrial companies to directly compete with these large European and American companies.

The development direction this time is still steel, oil, mining, and electricity, which require heavy capital investment.

Although the city of Blanca has the investment of the Cohen Consortium, the development of the heavy chemical industry is still slow and difficult, and the Cohen Consortium seems to be struggling alone.

Argentina is different from the old capitalist countries in Europe, America, and Japan. It does not have so many capital families that can quickly recover and continue to invest in the heavy chemical industry.

Now Japan has formed a new batch of consortia. They hold shares in each other, forming a strong competitiveness, and vaguely have the intention of excluding New York investment banks. Although it is not obvious, Saint Hesser has already seen it.

As far as the steel industry is concerned, Saint Hesser also supports Hans Steel, but for now, the development of private steel plants is still very slow and their competitiveness is weak. While supporting them, the municipal and provincial governments still need to personally intervene and use these forces to do things.

These "capital families" in Argentina cannot drive the development of the entire Argentine heavy industry.

Here, the market mechanism is naturally imperfect, and the caudillos and large landowners are guarding more stable land and wealth, and do not invest much in industry.

Whether in the past, present, or future, "compradors" are the only way out for Argentine capital.

During the Port Blanca era, the four major families were basically comprador-style, colluding with British capital to suppress the development of other small families in Port Blanca and develop them into subordinates.

At that time, Port Blanca was a small "dynasty."

When Saint Hesser eliminated the most powerful Blanca First Family—the Hector Gaine Family—the other three major families, Bariloche, Martinez, and Grey, became "obedient" and "cooperative."

He broke all of this and started a new stage of development in the city of Blanca.

In recent years, the remaining three major families have also invested in many new industries, textile factories, shipbuilding factories, building materials companies, clothing factories, and some other messy companies. It can only be said that it is still difficult to get rid of the "comprador" mentality.

Saint Hesser will not make things too difficult for them. Their British masters behind them can also help the development of the city of Blanca.

But it is impossible to count on these people. It can only be said that there are not enough new wealthy families in Blanca.

They need time to accumulate more wealth before they have the ability to invest in the heavy chemical industry, just like South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, when various chaebols were supported by the South Korean presidential palace and developed South Korea's heavy chemical industry.

Apart from the Cohen Consortium, among the local new wealthy people in Blanca, there is not even a company with sales exceeding 10 million US dollars.

On the contrary, the Hans family doing steel, Bruno doing electronics, and the Ditria family doing automobiles are a bit impressive, but there are too few such companies.

Other companies, some do not have enough profits, some are willing but unable, and some only want to stick to their own small plot of land.

Perhaps in a few decades of slow development, such talents and people with excellent strategic vision will appear, but it will be too late by then.

Since the Cohen Consortium cannot drive it, and the various investment promotion policies of the municipal and provincial governments cannot drive it, then he can only personally intervene.

He had considered doing it when he was in Blanca, but there were many problems at that time, and it was difficult to say that a city could support a large steel plant. Blanca's annual fiscal surplus was estimated to be just enough to build a large steel blast furnace.

A clever woman cannot cook without rice.

Although Blanca's finances increase a lot every year, there are more expenditures, and forcibly starting a steel project will not end well.

The situation is different now.

No matter how bad La Pampa is, no matter how small the population is, it is still the foundation of a province, and it is still a province with a defense army.

No one dares to forcibly pick Saint Hesser's "peach."

Moreover, the ruling organization of this province is still under his control.

Saint Hesser's authority has been initially established.

Now he can let go and do it.

Behind the construction of the Medanos Steel Plant, there are external support from 2 large steel plants, guarantees from 3 large Argentine banks, loans from 5 foreign institutions, support from 7 mining suppliers, and a construction team of 12,000 people.

Saint Hesser personally equipped the most experienced steel plant leadership team in Argentina, and with the full support of the Blanca Municipal Government and the La Pampa Provincial Government, it was approved at full speed with a green light, and the construction site has already been rolled out.

As for the power company, mining company, and oil company, Saint Hesser intends to continue to do so.

… …

As an immigrant country, Argentina's most prominent advantage in terms of foreign investment or the establishment of consulates is still the immigration advantage.

What is a consulate? It is an institution responsible for managing local nationals and other consular affairs.

Now there are few European expatriates in Argentina, that is, foreign residents who have not obtained Argentine citizenship, but there are still many immigrants, and many first-generation immigrants have not even passed away, such as those who immigrated in the 1910s, who are now in their sixties or seventies, and second-generation immigrants generally have closer ties with their home countries.

Saint Hesser's first breakthrough in European relations was Italy. Before and after taking charge of the Blanca Municipal Government, he established cooperation of more than 100 million US dollars with several large Italian consortia in automobiles, oil, steel smelting, military industry, and shipbuilding, and established cooperative relationships with several Italian families. There is still a lot of cooperation now.

Although Italy is not a wealthy country now, it is still richer than Argentina, and it is a major European country.

Many of Saint Hesser's outstanding subordinates are of Italian descent. Whether in the Blanca Municipal Government, the La Pampa Provincial Government, several large companies under the Cohen Consortium, or the army, Italian descendants are a very excellent group of people, with many geniuses and talents, even more than those of Spanish and German descent.

The La Pampa Defense Army has truly gotten on the right track. Saint Hesser found that although some Germans, or people of German descent, are better at formal military training, they are very suitable for serving as instructors to train the army,

Because of well-known reasons, Saint Hesser cannot let them serve as officers.

The officers are mainly of Spanish and Italian descent. They are generally third- and fourth-generation immigrants with solid roots, from orthodox military academies, and have higher qualities.

The soldiers are mainly of Italian descent. Most of these Italian descendants are relatively poor, and there are also gang members, but there are very many excellent soldiers.

This time, the people who were laid off in the demobilization were the gauchos, native whites, mostly of Spanish descent. Some of them have poor knowledge and cultural level, some are naturally unwilling to cooperate, and some are loafers. There are many reasons.

Especially in the army, contrary to general impressions, the combat effectiveness of Italian-descended squads is the strongest. They are more united and obey orders, and even train seriously, and various tactical methods are very well coordinated.

Saint Hesser often said to his Italian-descended subordinates that he has a natural sense of closeness to Italian descendants. His wife, Ilena Sophia, is of pure Italian descent.

Others are that German descendants will be more united, but now German descendants in Argentina can only achieve something in the business world, or most of them are in a semi-retired state. After all, Argentina once sheltered many war criminals.

Spanish descendants have long been integrated into the Argentine nation, and there are huge differences between the lower and upper classes.

Among the subordinates of the provincial and municipal governments at all levels, there are Italian, Spanish, and German descendants. They also fight and unite with each other, making the entire La Pampa political arena full of vitality.

Saint Hesser does not want his subordinates to be united, which is impossible. However, although his subordinates have vaguely several mountain strongholds and factions, they are generally more cooperative, and the work is progressing more smoothly. More of them are based on the Radical Party as a territory, or schools as small teams, rather than various ethnic descendants.

As Southern Europeans, Italians' bloodlines are also biased towards the Latin pedigree, with relatively short stature, slightly darker skin, dark eyes, and darker hair.

Just like the eighteen election teams sent out, they have obtained legal rights in Port Colorado, Otto, and Prado, and are replicating the economic development miracle of Blanca.

In order to obtain Italian investment, Saint Hesser sent a team to Rome to discuss cooperation.