Rise of the Argentine Empire

Winter snow fell, and the temperature in the southern Pampas grasslands plummeted.

It was already below freezing, and all outdoor construction was forced to stop.

The heavy snow had been falling for two days, and the outside was already more than 10 centimeters thick. Some naughty children were building snowmen and having snowball fights on the wide roads.

Isaac Torri used to be a worker on a large ranch in the suburbs and has 3 children. Now he lives in the Eastern District.

In April of this year, he was hired as an employee of the Blanca City Construction Engineering Company. He was notified by his boss to take a vacation yesterday when it started snowing.

Fortunately, the City Construction Engineering Company still pays basic wages during holidays, which is much better than those small construction teams.

At home, he wore a cotton-padded jacket and cursed as he closed the door that was opened by his bratty son, promising to beat him up when he got back.

Then he complained that his wife didn't know how to educate the children, letting them go out to play in the snow as soon as it snowed, worrying about what would happen if they got frostbite.

But when he thought that she was still pregnant and working very hard, his heart softened.

The house was heated by the honeycomb briquettes his wife had made a few days ago, which didn't smell very good.

It could be used for heating and cooking, which was much better than in previous years, much better than just burning coal.

The house he was renting now was newly built, only painted with white lime, and the floor was leveled.

The rent was not very expensive, and his salary was more than enough. It was just that with so many people in the family eating, he couldn't save much money.

Now his wife was pregnant again, and he could receive a subsidy every month. Moreover, it was said that under the new policy, milk powder could be purchased at a preferential price before the child was 1 year old, which is why he didn't secretly look for a doctor to have an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Argentina.

He replaced the old honeycomb briquette in the stove with a new one, and the house became warm again.

"Since the new mayor took office, the family's conditions have improved a lot."

He said to himself.

Beep beep beep, his neighbor Thomas knocked on the door. He came to visit, and Isaac quickly took out the yerba mate at home to prepare to entertain the guest.

Thomas was a small leader of the Radical Party, responsible for the winter heating of residents in this neighborhood.

"Isaac, you must repair this chimney as soon as possible to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, or ventilate it more. This has been emphasized to you several times. The materials are very cheap. This is no joke."

"Thomas, you also know that I'm too busy, and..."

Isaac spread his hands and said with a hippie smile.

"You said the same thing the other day. It will be too late if something happens."

"That would be great."

Thomas brought a few people to help, and finally they worked together to get the ventilation facilities done, and the air in the house was much better.

In the evening, the family was happily eating fried steak and mashed potatoes.

"Dad, you are so awesome."

Little Isaac looked at him adoringly, which made him feel very satisfied.

"We have to thank Mr. Mayor, otherwise our family would probably have to spend the winter in the shed on the farm."

Isaac's wife corrected him.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor, otherwise my cow-herding salary wouldn't be able to support so many children."

The mass-produced honeycomb briquettes came in handy, and the grassroots staff of the Radical Party in Blanca City also guided these people to pay attention to the safety of honeycomb briquettes.

.......

Monday morning, a little after 7 o'clock, his daughter woke up early and woke him up.

San Jose was wearing a single layer of clothing. The room was very warm because he had installed heating in the house. He held his daughter in front of the window to watch the snow. Several dwarf chestnut trees outside the window were covered with snowflakes, which was very beautiful.

The chairs in the yard were also covered with a layer of snowflakes, and the vegetable greenhouse in the distance had already been repaired.

Elena also got up early and was reading and studying in front of the study. After Elena recovered, she planned to find something to do at the Blanca Physical Science Academy.

The cook, Anna, was preparing breakfast.

Britney was quiet. San Jose ate while reading the newspaper. After finishing breakfast, he handed his daughter over to the nanny, Mina.

Mina Landon is her daughter's full-time nanny and has extremely rich experience in taking care of children.

San Jose changed into his coat and kissed Elena goodbye. Buston and others were already waiting in the garage. It was estimated that today would be busy too.

When he arrived at the City Hall, San Jose continued to handle official duties and continued to arrange various livelihood issues for the citizens in winter.

Blanca City, which had made emergency plans, did not receive any impact.

The armed police force established by the Police Department came in handy. A group of police officers with superb motorcycle driving skills could quickly respond to various emergencies and appear quickly in every corner of the city.

San Jose trained these armed police officers in the same way he trained special soldiers, and continued to equip them with the most powerful firepower equipment.

The current City Hall leadership team not only includes San Jose, the head of the Radical Party, but also does not avoid the original Justice Party talents. People from the Socialist Party and the Republican Party can enter the City Hall to work. San Jose is really eager for talents.

San Jose formulated a more reasonable performance appraisal system than the one in San Martin City, and will organize the first civil service examination on July 1 to recruit a new batch of administrative officers.

Expand the management of Blanca City.

In San Jose's view, expanding production is the most necessary thing. Currency devaluation can expand exports, but that is the export of agricultural products, not the export of industrial products. San Jose hopes to establish a Southern Joint Export Association to expand existing production.

And the green agricultural revolution brought about by fertilizers, irrigation facilities, and improved varieties will continue to expand agricultural production in the south. Although Argentina is now a large agricultural country, its production system is very primitive.

And tractors, mechanization is indeed something that must be done now. Southern Argentina lacks people and needs to industrialize. Mechanization cannot meet the production needs.

One of the most important equipment for agricultural mechanization is the tractor.

At present, only large farms in Argentina use tractors, mainly imported from Germany and the United Kingdom, such as the Bulldog wheeled tractor produced by the German Lanz company.

The total number of tractors in the country is only 20,000, of which the Leiton brand tractor accounts for 25%. Half of them are purchased by Future Agriculture and Andes Cigarette Factory, mainly for reclamation, and are basically distributed in northern Argentina.

The Leiton Tractor Factory currently produces a copy of the K-52 tracked tractor, a modified version of the American Stuart light tank. It utilizes a tank track chassis, with reduced track size. It has high fuel consumption and noise levels. It runs on gasoline, but has a high power output of approximately 300 horsepower, making it very effective for land reclamation and cultivation.

Compared to imported tractors, Leiton tractors are indeed quite affordable, as they are produced using outdated tank production lines imported from the United States. After modification, the production cost of a single tractor is only $1,000 USD, with a selling price of $1,200 USD. Nearly 5,500 units have been produced to date, making it the best-selling domestically produced tractor in Argentina. A batch of approximately 500 units has also been exported to Uruguay and Brazil.

Leiton Tractor continues to expand production, optimize production processes, and produce more affordable Argentine tractors. They are now preparing to produce the T-54 wheeled tractor and the T-54C tracked full-function tractor.

The T-54 wheeled tractor's exterior was personally designed by San Jose, featuring a driver's cabin with tempered windshields, available in both basic and high-end configurations.

Japan's Kubota is fully cooperating in the research and development, introducing engine technology from multiple countries. The exterior features a red color scheme, with a relatively square body for easy die-casting.

The T-54 is a large tractor that uses an 80-horsepower engine, much smaller than the Sherman tank's engine. It's independently developed by the Argentine Diesel Engine Factory, a fully domestically produced diesel engine with advantages such as low fuel consumption, high horsepower, fast speed, and relatively low noise.

The engine's raw materials are provided by the Special Steel Factory, and the manufacturing process is relatively sophisticated. A complete assembly line has been designed, which can completely replace the original, seemingly crude and bulky T-52 tractor.

Equipped with a 200-liter large fuel tank, the endurance is relatively long-lasting. Continuous work for 8 hours is not a problem at all, and different agricultural implements can be attached.

When San Jose saw the prototype, he decisively reduced the production of the T-52 production line and fully prepared for the mass production of the 54 series tractors. Heaven rewards those who work hard, and now this wheeled tractor has officially rolled off the production line.

Of course, the prices of the two newly built tractors will be much more expensive than the 52-type tractors, and only wealthy farm owners can afford them. But they are much cheaper than imported German Bulldog tractors, and can even be exported in large quantities. San Jose is full of confidence and has increased investment in the new factory.

In addition to the two basic tractor models, the T-54 series tractors can also be modified into excavators, loaders, harvesters, seeders, and other models.

San Jose is confident in facing the upcoming imported tractor war.

More tractor models will be produced in the future.

This tractor has completely reached the international advanced level. San Jose estimates that the entire Argentine South will need 200,000 tractors, which is a huge market. Moreover, with the expansion of various production lines, the development of factories supporting tractor parts can further reduce costs.

It can even be sent to international exhibitions to expand exports as a foreign exchange-earning product.

San Jose plans to support a batch of parts production factories, also in preparation for the upcoming minivan production.

Before securing the Leiton Motors production line, this tractor joint factory is already one of the most advanced factories in the current Argentine industrial system.

The only regret is that the San Martin Aircraft Factory has not made much progress.

......

With Baron Bank's large-scale increase in deposit interest rates across the country, it has attracted a large number of private deposits in Argentina.

Many Argentines are attracted by Baron Bank's high interest rates and store pesos in Baron Bank to resist inflation.

Baron Bank has grown from a top 20 bank nationwide when San Jose acquired it to become the largest private bank in Argentina in less than a year, directly surpassing Garcia Bank, second only to the four state-owned banks, and the fifth largest bank in the country.

The number of account holders at Baron Bank has increased from 200,000 to 1.9 million, an increase of 14.5 times, and is still increasing.

Domestic bank deposits have increased from 5.6 billion pesos to 32 billion pesos, and the scale of loans has exceeded 23 billion pesos. Profit expectations are very strong, and it is expected that this year's profit will exceed 500 million pesos.

The latest Argentine peso to US dollar exchange rate has changed from 1:50 in the 1950s to the current 1:130. The black market is even lower. It has depreciated by nearly 2 times in less than five years, which is very alarming. Inflation is also outrageous, which has made Argentine people resentful. The economy has not developed much, but the money has become less valuable, and wages only seem to have increased.

The number of bank employees has increased from 1,800 to more than 9,000. Branches have been established in major cities across the country, and international branches have been established in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Sao Paulo.

Baron Bank has become San Jose's most important financial tool.

It's just that the peso's value is actually limited now. It can't buy foreign equipment, nor can it be exchanged for anything, and it continues to depreciate. It can be said that it's a useless thing. Now Argentine people are more willing to save hard currencies such as US dollars, pounds, and gold, but there are also a large number of pesos in circulation. Peron printed a lot of banknotes.

Argentines lack US dollars, but San Jose, through American banks and large-scale exports, holds a lot of US dollar foreign exchange, which can be used to buy foreign industrial equipment. When San Jose turns US dollars into industrial equipment, invests in domestic production, and exports to foreign countries, he can turn pesos into US dollars.

This series of operations is the reason why San Jose can continuously invest and build domestically. Argentina has a large amount of resources, and turning them into industrial products for export to foreign countries is what he is doing.

Of course, the operation is much more complicated than imagined. After all, selling these goods is a very difficult and complex task.

For example, San Jose's Thunder Mining uses Baron Bank's abundant funds to mine minerals across the country and around the world, selling them to Rein Military and Leiton Industries to produce various mechanical equipment and munitions, and then selling them, converting them into US dollars, francs, and gold, and depositing them back into Baron Bank, forming a virtuous cycle.

Southern Energy, Southern Oil, Blue Cloud Textile, La Plata Steel Factory, Maya Chemical, Three Seas Shipbuilding, and Prari Foods are now doing the same, which can rapidly develop and expand exports in a short period of time.