Expedition to Europe

At the end of the World War, Australia had a population of only about five million, of which Perth had a population of only about 500,000.

When "Angel Jack" arrived at Port Hedland, Port Hedland was still a small fishing village, with only one or two thousand people in the entire port.

"Angel Jack" had been in Port Hedland for only two years. In Andrew Wood's opinion, even if "Angel Jack" hired some miners, the current population of Port Hedland should be no more than 10,000 or 20,000, and it would never reach the scale of 100,000.

So when Timothy revealed this number to Andrew Wood, Andrew Wood was so surprised.

As if to give Andrew Wood enough time to digest, Timothy did not continue to speak, and the small corner fell into silence for a while.

"Even if there are 100,000 people, so what?" It took Andrew Wood a long time to react, but when he said the number "100,000 people", he couldn't help swallowing his Adam's apple: "Even if there are 100,000 people, just relying on those Indians, our National Guard can beat ten, no, twenty!"

To be honest, although Andrew Wood is a member of the Budget Committee, Andrew Wood's math is really not very good. A National Guard of more than 1,000 people, even if one person can beat twenty, can only withstand 20,000 people. If you want to take back Port Hedland, then Perth's National Guard needs to fight one hundred.

As for the Indians, after the World War, the huge Indian Corps has become a joke of the Commonwealth.

Indians sent more than one million troops to Europe in the World War, but the results achieved were few and far between. Not to mention the Australian and New Zealand Corps with only 300,000 people, even compared with the Canadian Corps with less than 100,000 people, the Indian Corps is also inferior.

"Not Indians, I really don't know if you have ever been to Port Hedland. There are less than 2,000 Indians in Port Hedland now. I even doubt whether there are any Indians who have entered Port Hedland except the initial batch. Look at Port Hedland now. It is full of Annan, Koreans, and Chinese. Can you still say that our National Guard can beat ten people alone?" Timothy was really angry.

How to say it? Except for some elites, most Westerners have a poor geographical concept. Now if you take an Australian map and ask people on the street to point out the location of Port Hedland, you can probably get a hundred answers if you find a hundred people.

Not only geography, many Westerners are also poor in mathematics. Let alone the 100,000 level, if you ask them to calculate addition and subtraction within 100, it is estimated that 99 out of 100 Westerners will fail, and the remaining one will have to rely on a calculator.

"I, I have indeed not been to Port Hedland, but it seems that you have not been there either. How did you know?" Andrew Wood's focus was different from Timothy's.

"Don't worry about how I know this, this is the fact. Do you still have the confidence to take back Port Hedland now?" Timothy was already heartbroken.

"No," Andrew Wood was not stupid, and he could still make a clear judgment based on a simple comparison of power, but he immediately added, "If it's really like you said."

"Yes, just like I said." Timothy was very sure.

Indeed, as Timothy said, there are indeed 100,000 people in Port Hedland at present, and they are mainly Annan and Koreans. There are also many Chinese, but usually Chinese will disguise themselves as Annan and Koreans.

In the eyes of Westerners, the facial contours of Orientals lack three-dimensionality, that is, in the eyes of Westerners, Orientals are all big faces, so Westerners can't tell the difference between Orientals. In the eyes of Westerners, Orientals look almost the same.

There was another long silence. Timothy was not in a hurry. He slowly finished the wine in the glass, raised his hand to ask the bartender for another glass, and continued to sit there and taste it slowly.

"Even if there are 100,000 people, it is impossible for all of them to be soldiers. If we ask Melbourne for help, Melbourne will not sit idly by." Andrew Wood finally found a glimmer of hope.

"It's hard to say. Port Hedland implements a universal military model, which is similar to Switzerland. There are less than 5,000 regular troops there, but the miners' combat skills are not bad, at least they are not unfamiliar. As for Melbourne, forget it. Melbourne is unreliable. For Melbourne, whether Western Australia is under the management of the Perth City Government or under the management of Port Hedland, it will not lose the taxes it should pay, and if Port Hedland directly contacts Melbourne, Melbourne may get more." Timothy ruthlessly broke Andrew Wood's hope.

In fact, Port Hedland is not as strong as Timothy said, nor as weak as Andrew Wood thought. At present, there are about 20,000 people in Port Hedland who have received military training from Lanfang veterans. The training intensity is not low, similar to that of regular troops. If a war really breaks out, it is estimated that Port Hedland can mobilize about 30,000 to 50,000 troops at any time, including 20,000 combat units and 10,000 to 30,000 logistics troops. These logistics troops can also be mobilized in critical moments.

As for Melbourne, as Timothy said, if Perth really breaks up with Port Hedland, Melbourne may not stand on whose side.

"Angel Jack" is British, so the conflict between Perth and Port Hedland is actually a civil war in Australia.

In this case, Melbourne doesn't care who stands on the side.

And at present, Melbourne is also carrying out large-scale urban construction. The reason why the Australian government is still in Sydney and has not moved to Melbourne is because Melbourne has not yet been built, so Melbourne is also in need of money now. If Port Hedland uses a gold offensive against Melbourne, Melbourne may even support Port Hedland, and then Perth will lose any external help.

The Perth City Government now only has a nominal righteousness. In fact, whether in terms of financial resources or strength, it is no longer a rival of Port Hedland. Port Hedland exports millions of Australian dollars of ore every day. The Perth City Government is very clear about this, so Perth will be jealous.

As for Timothy, Timothy does not want Port Hedland to overthrow the Perth City Government, so he will tell everything he knows.

Think about it, if Port Hedland and the Perth City Government continue to maintain the current situation, then "Angel Jack" will continue to write checks to Timothy. If Port Hedland and Perth fall out, this source of income will be cut off, which is what Timothy cannot accept the most.

"According to what you said, are we going to let Port Hedland continue to be so lawless?" Andrew Wood was indeed angry, but he had no idea to solve this problem.

"What else can we do? We can't fight. The British are unreliable, Melbourne is unreliable, and the **** Guard is even more unreliable. Do we have to vote?" Timothy was really sad when he said this. Even if he had the check given by "Angel Jack" in his pocket, he couldn't help feeling sad.

"But what if we don't take Port Hedland back? That's 10 billion Australian dollars--" Andrew Wood's expression was really a bit heartbroken, as if someone was going to take 10 billion Australian dollars out of Andrew Wood's pocket.

Just half a year ago, a company from the UK gave the total value of the mining industry in the Pilbara region, which was estimated to be more than 10 billion Australian dollars.

The original text is in Liu # 9 @Book/Bar!

10 billion Australian dollars!

Not to mention Australia, the whole world was shocked by this news. Since then, actions against "Angel Jack" have occurred frequently.

"Even if it is 100 billion Australian dollars, so what? You have to earn it and spend it." Timothy sneered.

"What do you mean?" Andrew Wood looked suspicious.

"Let me tell you this, do you think that Port Hedland now belongs only to "Angel Jack"? Look at the mining machinery used in the Pilbara region, where are they bought from? Look at the cargo ships leaving Port Hedland, where do they transport the ore? Look at the nationality of those ships, don't you understand?" Timothy was really disappointed, and he had the urge to pour the wine in his hand on Andrew Wood's face.

"Where?" Andrew Wood really knew nothing.

Timothy had to take a deep breath before speaking, and then count to ten, in order to suppress the anger in his heart: "All the mining machinery used in the Pilbara region is imported from the Invincible Company, and the cargo ships that carry the cargo all belong to the Royal Transport Group of Lanfang. As for the destination of those ore, almost all of them are Wanghaizhou in Lanfang. Now you understand?"

"Ming, I understand, Lanfang people, French people--" Andrew Wood suddenly realized.

"Invincible" Company is an engineering machinery company affiliated to the French Renault Group. Although this company is not well-known, it occupies a large market share. As for the Royal Transport Group of Lanfang, the whole world knows that it is Qin Zhiyuan's company.

Then the question is, since France and Lanfang are both deeply involved in Port Hedland, the question now is if Perth takes action against Port Hedland, will the French and Lanfang help?

"Think about it, that's 10 billion. Now we know this news, and the French and Lanfang people also know it, and it is very likely that they knew it earlier than us, so the relevant layout should have been started two years ago, so there are only 100,000 people in Port Hedland now. Now, do you still think Port Hedland is easy to get?" If this still can't convince Andrew Wood, Timothy is ready to end it like this.

Andrew Wood has indeed realized the seriousness of the problem, but that's 10 billion Australian dollars. In front of such a huge fortune, no one will not be tempted.