Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 404 War Leverage

"Next is the last topic. If history proceeds as planned, the Gulf War will begin next August. How do you think we can maximize our interests?"

Inside the study, Lin Yan's initial question about "maximizing the benefits of the Gulf War" was immediately replaced by a heated atmosphere of calculation.

This is not a moral discussion, but a sophisticated tactical simulation of a known future.

The eyes of the leaders gleamed with the light of top hunters as they began to break down and concretize Lin Yan's issues, imprinting them with the mark of their respective territories.

Alexander spoke first, his speech rapid:

"Young Master, the key is the 'structural trading' approach. In finance, we can manipulate volatility. By leveraging our 10% control over global oil shipping, I can create a controlled 'expectation of tight spot supply' in the New York and London markets, forming a perfect closed loop with my long futures and options positions, resulting in profits in the tens of billions of dollars."

He paused:

"But how this money is spent is the key to political arbitrage."

"I propose that a portion of the excess profits be channeled back to China through our channels in Washington, either in the form of special wartime bonds or substantial donations to the Veterans and Families Foundation, as a form of 'patriotic repatriation'."

"The goal is to cultivate our image as 'partners in adversity' in Congress and the military, especially in the Army and Marine Corps, which are facing budget cuts due to the end of the Cold War."

"When Congress is arguing over the National Missile Defense (NMD) or Future Soldier programs, our lobbying power will protect those solutions that use our chips and communications architecture. This is using petrodollars to buy political insurance for the future of our technology."

Albert continued Alexander's point, stating that his strategy focused more on long-term psychological and rule-based influences.

"Europe's role in this war will be that of an awkward bystander and logistical supporter. This will generate two emotions: one is the shock and increased dependence on the overwhelming high technology of the US military, and the other is the unease about its own powerlessness and being forced into a bind. We must strengthen the latter and profit from it."

He stated clearly: "First, by using the European media we control, we can keep asking: Why doesn't Europe have its own reliable energy transport support for the Persian Gulf? Why is our communications standard (GSM) just a supporting role in coalition coordination? This will quietly erode NATO's consensus on 'absolute necessity'."

"Secondly, I will push for the European Commission to sign a long-term and stable strategic transport framework agreement with our holding shipping company under the guise of 'ensuring European energy security,' embedding our logistics network into the definition of European economic security."

"Third, and most directly, through our influence in the French military-industrial complex and German precision manufacturing companies, we will ensure that any European equipment procured by the coalition, wherever possible, incorporates our 'Galaxy' chips or technology from our European joint venture factories in its core data processing modules and anti-jamming communication components. This will leave the mark of our technology on the post-war assessment report."

Lin Yi is relatively more pragmatic:

"Nanyang, as an area of ​​absolute control, will be the anchor and digester of all actions."

"First, the chip production capacity in Penang and the telecommunications equipment assembly lines in Singapore must operate at full capacity to produce all the test products and technology verification modules needed for the Alexander and Albert front lines under the guise of 'commercial emergency orders,' ensuring zero delay and high quality."

"Secondly, by leveraging our absolute control over the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, we will provide the most efficient and secure passage and scheduling for the Lin family's fleet and all the fleets of our 'partners,' becoming the most reliable hub of the coalition's logistics chain in Asia, and integrating the global logistics data obtained as a result with the tactical data collected by our fleet."

"Third, the 'Starport Data Hub' must enter wartime operation mode ahead of schedule, becoming a super brain for processing battlefield electromagnetic signals, satellite imagery, and logistical information. The 'post-war analysis reports' generated here will be a gift to Beijing and Moscow that is more precious than any weapon."

Marcus's words were concise yet weighty:

"The African front is a preventative deployment and resource lock-in."

"First, global attention to rare metals will surge after the outbreak of war. I will leverage our control in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo to further tighten the export of chromium, cobalt, and platinum group metals, and coordinate with Lin Yi to establish a dedicated channel through our fleet to transport them directly to the Singapore reserves."

"Second, the ports and listening posts along the North African coast (such as Egypt and Djibouti) will work in conjunction with Albert and Alexandria to become another foothold for monitoring the movement and communications of US forces in the Mediterranean and Red Sea."

"Third, provide 'non-lethal' logistical support (through complex proxies) to all parties to the Middle East conflict, such as the transport and repair of food, medicine, and engineering machinery, to establish broad and neutral channels of contact amid the chaos, and to lay the groundwork for any possible extension of interests after the war."

James' strategy highlighted geographical advantages:

"Oceania, especially Australia, can seek stability and alternatives amid the panic."

"My mission is: first, to leverage our absolute influence in the Australian political and business circles to push for them to sign ultra-long-term, fixed-price supply contracts with the natural gas and iron ore projects we control in Indonesia, thus binding their resource exports and economic interests more closely to our Southeast Asian system rather than the traditional British and American markets."

"Secondly, we will use Australia as a secondary safe haven for our financial arbitrage funds and a transit point for our technical personnel. During the war, some R&D personnel evacuated from Europe can be housed in R&D centers in Australia under the guise of 'vacation' or 'academic exchange'."

"Third, through Australian media, we will continue to promote the narrative that 'Asia is the future and stable supply chains are more important than ideological alliances,' thereby softening the domestic public opinion base for following the US military actions."

After everyone finished speaking, all eyes turned to Lin Yan once again.

Lin Yan slowly leaned back in his chair, his fingertips lightly intertwining.

"Very good," he concluded. "Alexander's 'political insurance,' Albert's 'security deconstruction,' Lin Yi's 'data furnace,' Marcus's 'resource shackles,' and James's 'risk-averse binding.' You are no longer planning how to profit from a war, but designing how to use this war to reshape power relations with multiple major powers and regions, and to extend our reach deeper into the foundations of global energy, logistics, communications, and finance."

His eyes gleamed with a knowing light that seemed to foresee the future.

"Remember, after January 17, 1991, the world will never be the same. Everyone will see the power of high-tech weapons, but only we will see and grasp the more fundamental things behind them: the absolute dominance of information flow over logistics and energy flow, and whoever controls the key logistics and energy nodes will have the potential power to influence or even shape the former two."

"We hold 10% of the oil and shipping, but this is not the end. It is the initial leverage we use to usher in the next era—an era of deep integration of the digital and physical worlds. This war is our first and last rehearsal for this new era."

"Let's proceed according to plan."

Lin Yan finally gave the order.

"Let's add a 'variable' to Saddam Hussein's gamble that he couldn't possibly understand."