Chapter 419 Secret

While Churchill was anxiously waiting, the submarine loaded with 200 tons of gold arrived at the Spanish port.

The Spanish heads of state, Arias and Salazar, who were negotiating matters, could not help laughing when they heard the news. "Hahaha, it's so funny! I wonder if Mr. Churchill will be furious when he knows about it in the future." Last time, Britain sent 270 tons of gold, of which 200 tons were shipped back to Germany; this time, all 200 tons will be shipped to Germany. If Churchill knew that his own gold was given to Germany for nothing, would he be furious on the spot?

After laughing for a long time, Salazar wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and stood up. "I have to go back, lest our Ambassador Samuel gets impatient. I wonder if they can take out so much gold this time."

"If there is no gold, we can accept other things, jewelry, diamonds, antiques, famous paintings... except for pounds, as long as it is valuable, we will accept it. His Majesty George VI's crown is inlaid with many gems, maybe he can break off a few for the British Empire." As the oldest and most prestigious royal family in the world, the British royal family owns the largest number and the most valuable rare treasures.

In the 1980s, Mrs. Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, sent an inventory team composed of accountants, gem experts, historians and epigraphers to inventory these jewels. It took fifteen years to complete this work.

When Salazar returned home, he saw Ambassador Samuel walking back and forth in the living room with an anxious face. "Sorry, sorry. I have something important tonight and I'm late."

Ambassador Samuel didn't bother to greet and went straight to the point. "Mr. Vice-President, the gold has been delivered. What about the secret you mentioned?"

"Of course, I always keep my promises." Salazar signaled Ambassador Samuel to stay calm and personally poured two glasses of wine and placed them on the coffee table.

"Mr. Ambassador, I believe you also know what the Germans rely on for blitzkrieg." Without waiting for Ambassador Samuel to speak, Salazar stretched out two fingers. "Tanks and planes." "Blitzkrieg" is not a tank war or armored war, but a multi-service joint operation. In addition to tanks, aircraft also play a key role in it; even the role of the air force is greater than that of tank troops.

When the German army blitzed Poland, the first thing it dispatched was the air force. As soon as the war broke out, a group of bombers took off from Germany and flew into Poland, attacking Polish troops, arsenals, airports, railways, roads and bridges. Then the German ground forces led by tanks and armored vehicles launched a full-line attack. At this time, Poland's transportation hubs and command centers were destroyed, and the army fell into chaos. Therefore, the German tank troops easily broke through the Polish defense line and were able to drive straight in.

"What drive these tanks and planes? Oil! Without oil, planes can't fly, tanks can't drive, and a lot of advanced weapons will become scrap metal."

Ambassador Samuel frowned slightly and interrupted his long speech. "Mr. Deputy Head of State, is this the secret you are talking about? Are you kidding me?"

"Of course not." Salazar said very seriously. "As I just said, oil is the lifeblood of Germany. As long as Germany's oil supply is cut off, then not to mention Germany's war machine, the entire Germany will be paralyzed, and the war situation will naturally turn around."

Ambassador Samuel's face was already quite ugly. "You are not talking about the Romanian oil fields, are you?"

Salazar shook his head. "The output of Romanian oil fields is constantly decreasing, and that little oil is not enough for Germany to squander." Romania's oil production was 8.71 million tons in 1936, 7.2 million tons in 1937, and 6.2 million tons in 1939. "If Germany relied on Romania's oil fields, it would have run out of fuel by now. The secret I'm talking about is..." At this point, Salazar leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Germany has discovered a new oil field, a very large oil field."

"New oil field?!" Ambassador Samuel was shocked and almost jumped up from the sofa. "New oil field? Are you serious?! How big?! Where?!"

"Libya, Siirt Basin."

"Libya?!" Ambassador Samuel looked unconvinced. More than 95% of Libya is desert and semi-desert. It's not that no one has explored it before, but no useful resources have been found; except sand, it's sand.

Salazar smiled slightly. "Your Excellency the Ambassador, are you wondering what kind of oil there is in that broken place in Libya? Unfortunately, the Germans not only found it, but also its storage capacity is terrifyingly large. As far as I know, it can support Germany and its allies for ten years of high-intensity combat."

"Ten years?" Ambassador Samuel's face became extremely ugly. Could it be that even God stood on the side of the Germans?

Before World War II, the main oil producing areas in the world were still concentrated in a few countries, and the lifeline of oil was still controlled by several oil powers such as Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union.

The first was the United States. At this time, the United States was the country with the largest oil production in the world, accounting for more than half of the world's oil production, reaching 60,000 tons in 1939. During World War II, the United States' oil production once accounted for more than 70% of the world's oil production. It can be said that Americans flooded Germany and Japan with oil.

The second is Britain. Although the oil production in Britain and its colonies is not outstanding, the British have used their strong capital and influence to infiltrate major oil fields around the world. From mining, transportation to sales, the British can be seen. The British are the biggest competitors of the Americans in the oil field. The competition between the Americans and the British is very fierce. It was not until 1928 that Britain and the United States signed the "Red Line Agreement" that the two sides shook hands and made peace.

The third is the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is the world's second largest oil producer. In 1939, its oil production reached 30.3 million tons, but it was only one-sixth of that of the United States. In addition, the Soviet Union's refining capacity is slightly insufficient.

Fourth, Venezuela; Fifth, Iran; Sixth, Indonesia; Seventh, Mexico; Eighth, Romania; Ninth, Iraq; Tenth, Colombia. (At this time, the oil of the Middle East did not have a high status in the world market. Before 1939, the oil of the Middle East accounted for only 5% of the world's total oil production)

Among the top ten countries, only Romania can continue to provide oil to Germany.

And now Germany has found such a large oil field in Libya, which can be regarded as completely free from the shackles of oil. The consequences are really unimaginable.

Ambassador Samuel, who was somewhat dazed, listened to Salazar. "As long as your country destroys the oil fields in Libya, Germany will not be far from defeat. How about this secret, is it worth 200 tons of gold?"

Ambassador Samuel did not bother to say anything, and stood up to say goodbye and left. Salazar spoke. "I heard that London was attacked by a strange flying bomb? Coincidentally, one of our engineers also participated in the production of this flying bomb. I wonder if your country is interested? There is another secret that is free. I heard that the number of missiles stored by the Germans is enough to bomb London for a year."

"..." Ambassador Samuel staggered and almost fell to the ground. He said goodbye silently and left, and hurried back to the embassy to send a telegram to London.