Rise of the Argentine Empire

April 1st, the cargo and passenger terminal of La Plata Port.

Today, the entire terminal is bustling with activity, as many people are on site preparing to welcome these Argentine heroes, as Saint-Hesse has been promoting.

Yesterday, he led his team in a motorcade to the nearby city of La Plata to welcome Ian Travis and his team members. Representatives from Prari International also returned home together.

In addition to Saint-Hesse's team, many people from other organizations were present for the welcome, including representatives from the City Hall, Provincial Government, National Ministry of Industry, Presidential Palace, the military's Blue Faction, the Radical Civic Union, the Socialist Party, the Republican Party, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Customs Department, newspaper reporters, bond representatives, and people from other steel mills.

Representatives from the Argentine Bank, high-ranking officials from the Province of Buenos Aires, the Mayor of La Plata, and the City Council were also present. This is the largest industrial investment in the history of La Plata, and also the largest industrial investment in the Province of Buenos Aires and even Argentina.

"Congratulations to you all, you are all heroes of Argentina."

Saint-Hesse warmly embraced Ian, which was his privilege as the big boss.

"Boss, this is Jensen Hanston Cru, the head of the Belgian steel mill, and this is Gustav Jelinek from the Austrian United Steel Mill."

"Hello, Saint-Hesse Cohen, thank you very much for coming to Argentina and providing great help to the Argentine people."

Saint-Hesse switched to German to greet them.

"Hello, Jensen Hanston."

"Gustav Jelinek."

Then, representatives from various parties gave speeches, and a press conference was held on site to announce the establishment of the La Plata Steel Mill project.

There were four or five speakers, with brief, powerful, and quick remarks.

A statement from the Presidential Office:

"The largest steel mill investment in Argentine history, and the first steel company in Argentina to be built through the issuance of financial bonds, is also a great investment. The La Plata Steel Mill will be included in the Second Five-Year Plan, and the state will also provide financial subsidies..."

Wow, direct funding! Saint-Hesse couldn't help but be impressed. Being included in the Second Five-Year Plan with state endorsement is a very high level of treatment.

Phelps Auster, Mayor of La Plata and member of the Radical Civic Union:

"The La Plata Steel Mill is officially established today. On behalf of the citizens of La Plata, I welcome the construction of the steel mill. At the same time, we will recruit construction workers throughout the city to speed up the completion of the steel mill..."

The Mayor announced some policies on the spot, as well as various assistance and support for the construction of the steel mill.

Representative of the banking industry:

"Congratulations on the establishment of the steel mill. We will provide the steel mill with a five-year loan at normal interest rates, and also provide financial assistance..."

Representative of the Belgian steel mill:

"Thank you to the great Argentine steel mill people. We, the Belgian steel mill, will use our strength to help you..."

Representative of Austrian United Steel:

"The friendship between Argentina and Austria has a long history. We will do our best to build it faster..."

After a large group of people finished speaking, the reporters took pictures. These reporters were all taking photos with cameras, which were already scheduled for tomorrow's headlines.

The flashes of the lights kept flickering. The white flashes seemed to form a line.

Then came the reporter interview session. The reporters scrambled to ask questions, and Saint-Hesse also answered the reporters' various questions with great grace.

Next was the groundbreaking ceremony for the steel mill in the afternoon.

A group of people drove in cars, with municipal buses and people from the police department responsible for protection, first to welcome the Austrian and Belgian companies and people from all walks of life.

La Plata in the early 1950s was already relatively prosperous, with office and residential buildings rising from the ground, wide streets, and a livable environment. Except for the smaller population, it was more delicate and refined than the city of Buenos Aires.

The welcoming banquet at noon was held at the Silver Sea Hotel, the largest hotel in La Plata, which was large enough to accommodate so many people. The City Hall also urgently mobilized many chefs from the city to receive so many heavyweight guests.

Saint-Hesse did not get involved in the matters of those political bigwigs, but discussed future development issues with Ian and the others while eating.

"Boss, isn't the first phase of our project too big?"

The original first phase of the project was one blast furnace and two converters, with an annual output of more than 1.5 million tons. Now, doubling it is indeed quite strenuous.

"An assessment has been done. If it is built in three phases, not only will the time and output be too slow, but it will also fail to meet actual needs."

Saint-Hesse didn't care too much. It's not like they were going to complete more than 5 million tons at once, which would cause problems.

"Okay, then we need to work harder. We have seen the new type of converter at the Austrian steel mill, which not only reduces raw materials but also speeds up the time for steel production."

"Yes, it's really too lucky. I propose a toast to the great Austrians."

Saint-Hesse's table stood up and used soda instead of alcohol. Everyone took a drink. Everyone didn't drink alcohol at noon, mainly because there were things to do in the afternoon.

"Our steel mill, this is our steel mill."

Saint-Hesse muttered to himself, his face flushed with excitement.

This is Argentina's steel ambition.

The morning was a grand event for the entire city of La Plata, the first super-large investment in La Plata, and also the largest private investment in Argentina in recent years.

After various publicity efforts, the people of the city expressed their welcome to the steel mill. La Plata itself has a weak industrial base, which can also solve a large number of unemployment problems.

The industry here is far less developed than the capital, even as a provincial capital. Moreover, the steel mill is relatively far from the city center, in an undeveloped area in the east of the city center, and does not occupy the land of existing residents.

All aspects are also relatively suitable, and it is also promised to solve the employment of at least 2,000 local people, which was quickly approved by the council. Of course, Saint-Hesse would not let go of public opinion propaganda. There is also a branch of the New Argentina Newspaper here, which has been intensively promoting it a month ago.

A steel mill with an annual output of 3 million tons requires tens of thousands of workers. This is also somewhat difficult for La Plata, so it can only be aimed at the whole of Argentina, and foreign workers must also be recruited.

First, they headed to the La Plata Steel Rolling Mill. The land had already been leveled and compacted, waiting only for construction to begin. The surrounding supporting construction sites, refractory brick factory, and the expansion of the steel rolling mill had been completed. Once the construction of the blast furnace, converter, and coal coking plant were finished, steel and molten iron could be produced. This wouldn't happen in a short time.

In the afternoon, a group of people wearing safety helmets went to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony. The number of people was much smaller than in the morning, as it was more for publicity. Reporters excitedly took pictures everywhere. Now, except for the steel rolling mill section, most of the steel plant had been cleared and made into open space.

"Two blast furnaces will be built here. Iron ore and coke transported from the new port of La Plata will be transformed into molten iron at this location," Saint Hérse said to the mayor, pointing to the large open space. The blueprint was imprinted in his mind.

"This is the converter. After the molten iron passes through here, it can be turned into steel ingots, crude steel, and then transported to the steel rolling mill for various processing."

"This is the coking plant, which is also where coal will be processed in the future."

"A water plant will also be built here to serve the steel plant."

"Now is the age of the ocean. Larger and more advanced port terminals are essential, which requires the help of the city hall…"

Saint Hérse spoke eloquently, constantly drawing a pie in the sky, which made the people present feel a surge of passion.

When the first pillar was laid at the steel plant, Saint Hérse felt a little teary-eyed. It was too difficult, taking nearly six months. It really wasn't easy.

The total investment for the first phase of the project was 34 million US dollars, with an annual production capacity of about 3.2 million tons.

Saint Hérse commissioned the Belgian steel plant to build two 1580 cubic meter blast furnaces with an annual output of more than 3 million tons of molten iron. This was also the maximum construction of two blast furnaces that Saint Hérse could currently afford. In fact, he had also prepared more than 10 million US dollars in reserve funds for this.

Austrian Steel helped build the converter, a total of three 120-ton converters, with an estimated annual output of more than 3 million tons of steel after it was put into operation.

The difference between a blast furnace and a converter is that a blast furnace smelts iron ore into molten iron, which either directly enters the converter for steelmaking or is cast into iron billets, while a converter is used for steelmaking.

Saint Hérse's construction site had seven large projects starting simultaneously, with quite a few workers on site.

It wasn't until after four o'clock in the afternoon that the group went to the hotel again for dinner. It was okay to drink appropriately tonight. As the initiator of this project, Saint Hérse definitely had to be present.

At the dinner, Saint Hérse met many high-ranking officials from La Plata and the Province of Buenos Aires. For a time, everyone was happy.

After dinner, most of the ordinary people said goodbye and left, and the people from the Radical Civic Union also left directly, as did all the people from the factory.

A small number of bankers and government officials, however, were still in high spirits and enthusiastically invited Saint Hérse to the next event.

He had no choice but to stay and accompany them, following them to the secret cabaret on the upper floors of the hotel. These Argentine girls had already arranged a uniform group of beautiful waitresses to dance with them, allowing Saint Hérse to witness the corruption of capitalism for the first time. He criticized it fiercely in his heart.

Saint Hérse finally danced a song with a young Argentine girl, then sat back at the bar to rest, politely refusing the girls who invited him to dance. Dancing with other people, these girls might be a little helpless and disgusted, but inviting Saint Hérse was very happy and full of expectation. After all, a young man as handsome and wealthy as him, even if they could latch onto him for a few months, would be especially worthwhile.

Two or three girls sat next to Saint Hérse, letting him truly experience the feeling of being surrounded by beautiful women.

After more than two hours, Saint Hérse, feeling a little embarrassed, quickly said goodbye to these big shots and then fled the scene.

…

Saint Hérse had the Delta team find a place to rest before falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, after the excitement had dissipated, Saint Hérse convened a team meeting at the La Plata Steel Plant.

Compared to yesterday, the steel plant staff today were more calm and composed, and were not blinded by yesterday's flowers and applause. Saint Hérse was very satisfied. Obviously, everyone was doing practical work. The trip to Europe made them deeply aware of the gap between Argentina and industrialized countries.

"First of all, welcome to our friends from the two major European steel plants for their great help to our La Plata Steel Plant. Let's applaud to welcome them."

There was thunderous applause at the scene. Compared to the contempt of the Italians, the disapproval of the French, the resistance of the Germans, the disdain of the Spanish, the arrogance of the British, the conceit of the Dutch, and the casualness of the Luxembourgers, it was clear how valuable the willingness of these two countries to cooperate was.

The Belgian and Austrian steel plants were able to cooperate with the Argentines and send so many engineers, which was indeed remarkable, and it also included a lot of technology transfer. They took a huge risk, which Saint Hérse was grateful for.

"Our steel plant plans to complete the first phase of the project in a year and a half to two years, completing the construction of this steel conglomerate."

"Everyone doesn't need to worry about funding at all. We have at least 50 million US dollars in funding, with various logistical support and personnel cooperation. I believe we will definitely achieve complete success this time."

The meeting lasted for more than two hours, and the cohesion and combat effectiveness of Saint Hérse's team at the steel plant were strengthened. Saint Hérse also gave them a lot of bonuses. This long business trip was really quite difficult for them.

The successful trip to Western Europe also resulted in the sacrifice of two members of the Thunder Cross.

After the meeting, Saint Hérse led the team back to Buenos Aires by car, intending to study peacefully. He had been neglecting his studies recently, which was really not good for him.

Then he received a report from Thunder Mining in Australia, saying that they had bought more than a dozen large iron mines and coal mines, but they didn't have enough follow-up funds, so Saint Hérse had to prepare to raise funds.

Mining equipment and transportation equipment are all big guys, and the investment is also quite large.

Saint Hérse finally breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly collapsed on the table, burying his face in his hands. He got up and walked out. The sun outside was shining brightly, and his heart became filled with joy, forgetting the soreness in his waist.

"Sure enough, continuous learning is essential."

The next morning, Saint Hérse saw that the pedestrians on the street were still hurrying. He washed up, ate breakfast, and then slowly walked towards the school.

Today, the New Youth League and the Radical Civic Union Youth League are going to reach a strategic cooperative relationship. As the president, he must participate in this major event, and he also wants to meet some of the young leaders of the Youth League.

After finishing class in the morning, Saint Hérse, Powell, and other members who joined the New Youth League followed behind him. They were going to hold a session of the New Youth League, and the topic of this meeting was cooperation with the Radical Civic Union Youth League.