Chapter 235 Time is money (Third update, please subscribe)
Once the cannon goes off, there is ten thousand taels of gold.
Of course it costs money to fight, and it must be very expensive to fight.
This is true for a country, and even more so for a company. After all, mercenaries cost more than conscripts!
The Dutch should be very clear about this. After all, they have hired mercenaries more than once in the past few hundred years.
You will naturally understand the reason.
From the beginning, Li Yian never thought about returning Dutch Borneo to them. The question is, how to refuse?
We are all civilized people, so it is definitely impossible for us to rob openly.
Even if you want to rob, you must find a suitable reason and excuse to legalize the robbery.
Well, I'm not robbing, I'm just doing business.
Business is just one word - money!
Although the Netherlands was once a coachman on the sea, that was all in the past. The gold reserves were basically wiped out by San Dezi. They were occupied for several years and paid so much tribute. Now The Netherlands, let alone poverty-stricken, is certain that hundreds of millions of dollars will definitely not be available.
So, Li Yian sticks to one principle now - I am easy to talk to, as long as I have money!
I need to spend money to fight, my soldiers need to be paid, and you need to pay to hire me.
The land I spent so much money to recover cannot be given to you for free, right?
If you want to go back, you can - make money!
This is true for the Netherlands, and it is true for Royal Shell. Of course, it is also true. Not only that, but also the money I spent on rebuilding.
The 700 oil wells on Taragon Island were all burned down by the Japanese and the Japanese. Now I have rebuilt them all. I charge US$60,000 for one oil well, which is reasonable.
The oil refinery on the island was also rebuilt by me. I charged US$10 million, which is reasonable.
And...
In a word, money!
How much is the bill?
Isn’t that bill just paper? You can just grab a pen and fill in as much or as little as you want.
After seeing the total of all the bills, Lord Bilster had only one thought in his mind - this guy is blackmailing them!
“How is it possible? When we built the refinery, we didn’t spend so much money.”
He didn't even realize he had fallen into a trap when he screamed in surprise.
"Your Excellency, do you think the Japanese demolished the oil plant? They blew up the oil plant. We need to put out the fire, clean up the ruins, and rebuild. Do you know how much it cost? ? I charge you 20 million US dollars, which is already a favor price..."
A favor!
What Li Yian likes most is favors, especially favors owed to him by others. The same is true now when facing the Lord in front of him.
“This favor is so precious!”
Lord Bilster couldn't help but smile.
"Otherwise, what do you think? We have made a rough calculation at present, well, you only need to pay us 400 million US dollars, and that's it. Of course, this fee is up to now. Now I have 70,000 troops stationed in Balikpapan, and the daily basic expenses alone exceed 2 million US dollars. A year later... Well, even if there is no war, you will still have to pay me 700 million US dollars in security fees. , Of course, you can negotiate with the Dutch to settle this amount. After all, you can’t pay all of this cost, the Dutch government still has to pay a big share.”
It doesn’t matter whether there are 70,000 people! , you only need to tell the other party one thing - the garrison spends money every day!
And it costs a lot of money!
Among them, as early as when Balikpapan had just been recovered, Huberts Johannes van Mok, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, who fled to Australia after the war broke out, had Expressing the hope of sending people to check the local damage, Li Yi'an's answer was simple - it is difficult to guarantee safety during the war.
Everyone understands. Politicians always understand what each other means.
Not guaranteeing safety means telling you not to think wildly, otherwise I won’t even be able to guarantee your safety.
For Huberts, who only had a few thousand East Indian colonial troops in hand, he directly chose silence. After all, this world is determined by strength.
Leave all the worries to Amsterdam!
However, obviously, no one, including Huberts, expected that Li Yian would issue such a sky-high bill. This was definitely not following the routine.
What's even more terrible is that the bill is irreproachable - they are a private company and not an ally. Why should you ask a private company to bear the expenses of recovering your house?
This is true for all countries, let alone your Royal Shell. At this moment, Lord Bilster realized!
He understands!
This guy never thought about returning the oil field to them. Everything was just his excuse, but his excuse was so...impeccable!
"Mr. Chairman, you know, no one can afford this expense! Royal Shell can't afford it, not even the Dutch government can afford it!"
700 million US dollars a year, plus the previous several hundred million US dollars, more than one billion US dollars, even if the Netherlands is sold, this amount of money will not be available.
Lord Bilster, who has become enlightened, has even changed his title. Nothing else... This is a title among businessmen.
Everything in the world is nothing more than business.
"This is not my business. I am a businessman. Your Excellency. My secretary will give you a detailed bill later. It clearly records our expenses for recovering the oil fields, repairing the oil fields, and refining the oil." factory and the cost of providing security services.”
As soon as Li Yi'an finished speaking, Lord Bilster said in surprise.
"Security service?"
"Yes, you know that there are still many Japanese stragglers in the rainforest. They have launched many attacks on oil fields and refineries. In order to protect The refinery, I even had to send out my armored forces, you know, their expenses are more and bigger..."
This is not a lion's mouth, but a real expense, Even if it's just a piece of toilet paper, it still costs money. The daily expenses of an armored regiment are not much, which is only a dozen or two hundred thousand US dollars.
The bill is detailed, just as Li Yi'an said, when he saw the bill delivered by truck, the first thought that came to Lord Bilster's mind was - it's over. !
From now on, Royal Shell could no more see the oil fields of Borneo than they could see its own ears.
A truckload of bills made Lord Bilster realize it again.
If the Dutch come, they will also understand, because Li Yian also prepares a bill for ten trucks. If it is not enough, he can also prepare a bill for ten more trucks.
In general, the Dutch have only two options, either to pay the price in bankruptcy, or to allow him to continue to protect Borneo for the Netherlands. Of course, this protection requires a fee!
As long as they don't pay for a day, the bill will accumulate on a daily basis. In fact, Li Yian didn't even look at it because he didn't even calculate the interest.
It is definitely the conscience of capitalists.
Although there was no gain, Lord Bilster couldn't help but said to his attendant Adam when he looked at the truckload of bills.
"Mr. Adam, do you know what time is to us now?"
"What?"
"Money!"
Lord Bilster said with emotion.
“We once verified that we said time is money, but we never really equated time and money, but now, these guys are equating time and money, whether we want it or not, We have to face all this. "
What is time is money? It is clearly extortion, but the other party just disguises it.
“When we were in London, we discussed various possibilities, including their refusal to return the oil fields and other assets, and even their refusal to return Dutch Borneo. We will comply with the request The Colonial Office will intervene. Of course, the Netherlands will also ask the United States and Britain to intervene, but, Mr. Adam, do you know? We all miscalculated!"
Lord Bilster's sick face! , this will completely turn into a bitter face.
"The cards he plays are not within the scope of our consideration at all...money! They just want money, and every minute now, we need to pay him money, because he is a damn company! Damn, it's that The bastard sent this company to Borneo. Don’t they know that it costs money to hire mercenaries to fight? Damn it, don’t they know that hiring mercenaries is expensive?” br>
Just when Lord Bilster was cursing the stupidity of those people, his throat suddenly seemed to be pinched by something, and he stopped for a moment, his eyes widened, just like that. He stared straight ahead, staring at the woman approaching with a smile on her face.
Is it her?
Yes, it’s her!
“Oh my God!”
Lord Bilster ran over almost as if he had forgotten everything. For him, the oil fields, oil, and even the stupid things done by those idiots were no longer worth mentioning.
He only had that girl in his eyes.
Although she was the only one, Lord Bilster did not dare to confirm. After all, it all happened so suddenly that he felt a little weird!
(End of this chapter)