Chapter 74: What's the matter?

Although the sun had already appeared on the horizon, Brighton was still waking up at 6:30 a.m. The streets were not as busy as they would be during the day, and Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing arrived at the Sky Ladder Building without any problems. They went to the meeting room of Wharton Company together.

The official start time at Wharton is 9am, so when Ming and Qing arrived, the office was empty. Fortunately, Ming had kept a spare set of keys, otherwise he would not have been able to get in.

Once they arrived, Ming first switched on the lights in the meeting room and opened the exhaust fan to ventilate the room. By the time he had finished, Gang, Cheng and Irbedov had arrived almost simultaneously.

After everyone had taken their seats in the meeting room, Zhou Ming said, 'Since everyone is here, I think you must all already know the news. At around 6:15 this morning, Iraq ended its war with Kuwait and announced the official annexation of Kuwait as its 19th province. At the same time, the international oil market also immediately responded. According to the last round of over-the-counter bidding on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning, the current prices of light and heavy crude oil have risen to 18.27 and 17 US dollars per barrel, respectively.'

'In other words, since we placed the order yesterday, our assets have risen by 15 to 20 percent. This is really exciting news!' Irbedov said first, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, yesterday I am very grateful to you. Under your guidance, my friends have invested some money in the futures market in Dublin, and they are all calling to thank me this morning!'

Tong Gang and Li Chenghe also said to Zhou Ming, 'Luckily, it was Brother Zhou Ming who decided to close out the position early and go long on the price, otherwise it would have been a bit difficult when the situation became chaotic later.'

Facing the praise of Tong Gang, Li Chenghe and Irbedov, Zhou Ming just casually smiled, then turned on the TV, which was broadcasting news from Kuwait.

'After 13 hours of fierce day and night fighting, Iraq has occupied the entire territory of Kuwait and eliminated all Kuwaiti forces, declaring Kuwait to be its 19th, and inseparable, province. In addition, according to reliable sources, one Kuwaiti prince and five members of the royal family were killed in the fighting, while the Kuwaiti king and the rest of the royal family have gone into exile in Saudi Arabia.'

Seeing Zhou Ming's strange behaviour, Tong Gang suddenly realised something. He said to Zhou Ming, 'Right now, the TV is full of news about the war in Kuwait, and the futures market is also reacting as expected. Although due to the time, the New York Mercantile Exchange has not yet started the floor auction, it is foreseeable that the price of crude oil futures will definitely skyrocket, and it may even exceed the range of the over-the-counter auction last night.'

Having said that, Tong Gang paused for a moment, and then continued, 'But little brother Zhou Ming, it seems that you are not concerned about this at the moment. Are you waiting for some news? Will the situation change?'

After Tong Gang brought it up, Li Cheng and Ildebaldov also responded, looking at Zhou Ming one after the other. Zhou Ming did not give a direct answer, but instead asked in return, 'Chairman Tong, Brother Li, and Mr. Ildebaldov, what do you think the United States will do in response to this incident?'

Zhou Ming's question was like a bolt from the blue, and the three of them were stunned for a moment, because it was indeed a question. Only a child who knows nothing would naively believe that the economy is the economy and politics is politics, and the two are not connected. In reality, however, politics and the economy are closely linked. Sometimes even a small political move can bring about great economic changes. The reverse is also true. The economy can often affect the political ecology between countries.

It goes without saying that politics affects the economy. If there is no such influence, then any economic reform bill is nonsense, whether it is China or the United States.

Conversely, since capital in each country manipulates very large political resources, politics cannot make any decisions without considering the thoughts of the capital in that country. Just like the Vietnam War back then, arms dealers received large orders through the war, so no matter how large the domestic anti-war wave was, the presidents unanimously supported and even expanded the war, until the appearance of the last president to end the war. As a result, he was forced to resign due to the retaliation of capital.

Now, internationally, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has become the sole controller of world order, and it wants a hand in everything. Now Iraq has openly violated the United Nations Charter and invaded Kuwait in violation of the order set by the United States, so there is no reason for the United States to sit idly by.

Condemning sanctions and then intervening militarily is a common tactic used by the United States. In the past, Tong Gang, Li Cheng and Ielbiedov would definitely have thought the same way, but now, with the involvement of the two major consortia of Brighton and Rockefeller, things don't seem so simple.

First of all, these two consortia are not ordinary small consortia, but the two pillars that control the lifeblood of the US economy. They have supported many US presidents, and even the Kennedy family, who came from the Brighton consortium, served as president themselves, and have considerable influence in American politics. So on this premise, these two consortia want to stir up chaos in the Middle East so that they can profit from it, and will they allow the US government to impose interference?

No one knows the answer to this question, but obviously Zhou Ming is worried about this.

'It seems that little brother Zhou Ming is once again ahead of us in his thinking,' Tong Gang said with a smile. "Indeed, under the current circumstances, the reaction of the US government and the world will also have a very significant impact on the international oil futures market.'

Ilbeidov also speculated, "However, the aims of the Brighton and Rockefeller consortia are not the same as ours. Their goal is the oil fields in the Middle East, and the value of the oil fields obviously cannot be guaranteed during a war. Therefore, under the influence of the consortia, it is quite possible that the US government will acquiesce in Iraq's occupation and annexation of Kuwait.'

'But there's another point that we must also pay attention to,' Li Cheng also speculated, 'In the United States, there are not only the two consortia of the Brighton and Rockefeller families, but also other large consortia such as Morgan and California. These consortia are not only in a long-term state of opposition with the Brighton and Rockefeller consortia, but also have a very large influence on American politics. In my opinion, it is really hard to say what the final outcome will be.'

While the three of them were talking, they all finally turned their attention back to Zhou Ming, who shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Don't look at me, I'm also waiting for an answer to this question.'

Afterwards, Zhou Ming pointed at the TV: 'I believe the U.S. government will have news soon.'

As if to prove it, as soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, a televised speech by U.S. President Walsh was immediately broadcast.

'Just yesterday, an unbelievable thing happened. Iraq in the Middle East brazenly invaded his neighbour Kuwait. This is a blatant violation of international law, a clearly defined act of aggression. They destroyed the oil fields, took American hostages. This is not only a provocation against the United States, but also poses a real threat to American national interests. So we must hit back hard! As President of the United States, I declare here today that from now on, all Iraqi and Kuwaiti assets in the United States will be frozen. At the same time, the United States will also fulfil its responsibility as a major power and safeguard the security of the Middle East!'

Listening to Walsh's televised speech, Tong Gang speculated, 'Walsh is a president with a lot of political experience. He can talk a good game, but the more important thing is to see what he will do.'

Zhou Ming nodded and then asked Irbedov, 'Wasn't the Soviet Union originally an ally of Iraq? You must still have a large part of your industry in the Middle East, right? Can you help check the movements of U.S. troops in the Middle East?'

Il'yashin nodded and said yes, and then in front of Zhou Ming and the others, he dialed out a number, which was quickly connected. Il'yashin asked in Russian, and after waiting for a while, he finally put the phone down half an hour later and replied to Zhou Ming, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, my friend just told me that the six US warships stationed in Bahrain have all cast off and set sail, and I have no idea where they are going, but they definitely are not going in the direction of attacking Iraq.'

Irbeldov's answer took Tong Gang and Li Cheng by surprise: 'What? The US military ships have fled? These guys, they talk a good game, but when it comes down to it, it seems that they are still bound by capital!'

'Not necessarily. Perhaps they were trying to avoid losses,' Irbedov said. 'Because just now, the Iraqi army has marched to the Saudi border and set up outposts there, making it look like they're going to continue marching into Saudi Arabia. With the current strength of the US military in the Middle East, it's not enough to stop an Iraqi attack, so they had to run first.'

'If that's the case, then the situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly complicated,' Tong Gang said. 'Although from the perspective of the United States as the world's only superpower, it is certain to fight back when its international order is challenged, the key is that the Brighton and Rockefeller consortia want to prevent this war, and whether this war breaks out or not is largely related to the future international price of oil.'

'But today is only the first day after the outbreak of the Gulf War. Based on the information we have, it is impossible to make a judgment. Or we can take things one step at a time, that is, we can partially unload some of the orders first, and wait until the situation becomes clearer before making a decision,' Li Cheng said.

Zhou Ming, however, shook his head and said, 'That's a speculative approach. Investment means acting only after you have grasped the exact news, and you must be sure to grasp the news before everyone else does. Once the news spreads and everyone is selling, it will be almost impossible for us to buy it back again. Or our judgment may be correct, but by then everyone will be placing orders at the same time, and we will be like the Spring Festival, simply unable to get on the bus.'

'Then, Zhou Ming, do you have any good ideas?' Tong Gang asked.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, 'Chairman Tong, perhaps we can change our thinking.'

...

At the same time, a phone call came to Saddam's office. He was listening to a situation report from his secretary when he heard the phone ring. He immediately waved the secretary away, and he answered the phone.

'Congratulations, Mr. President, your country's territory has expanded by 18,000 square kilometers,' the caller said.

'I have already attacked and completely occupied Kuwait within one day. Now it is your turn to honour your promise. Why should I freeze all my assets and those of Kuwait in the United States? You know that my country is now short of money,' Saddam said angrily.

'There is no need to rush, Mr Saddam. As long as you have oil, you will have money. If you do as I say, I can guarantee that your country will soon return to the state it was in eight years ago,' the caller said.

'What do you want me to do...'

Saddam's words came to an abrupt end. He suddenly realised something and asked, clutching the phone, 'Wait a minute. You're not that person. Who the hell are you? This is a private line. How did you get this number? What the hell is going on?'