I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 730: Ploiesti Oil Field

History’s evaluation of Admiral Aifute is rather obscure, characterizing his lack of cooperation as "having no confidence in victory."

In reality, Admiral Aifute’s actions were largely motivated by self-interest.

For many years, Russia’s Eastern Front battles were commanded by Admiral Aifute, and they were all unsuccessful.

Through these defeats, combined with the Western Front engagements, he eventually concluded: "Defense is the only correct tactic."

This seemed like Petain’s approach, but it was more about the lack of confidence in the Russian Army, as the Russian Army was always retreating, making it hard to hold them in the line for defense, let alone offense.

Therefore, when Brusilov proposed a counterattack, he strongly opposed it, considering it an absurd idea, especially upon hearing Brusilov intended to modify carriages with Maxim guns, he vehemently opposed:

"This will not achieve victory, believe me, it has no hope."

"We will suffer heavy casualties, just like the British did on the River Somme, losing a hundred thousand men in a day."

"It’s unimaginable; despite such clear evidence, some still blindly plan an offensive, using carriages no less."

"Have you forgotten? The British also used cavalry!"

...

Admiral Aifute completely overlooked the differences between Russia and the River Somme:

Russia’s terrain is complex and covered with ice and snow; in spring and summer, the melting ice turns into mud and even marshes, making it difficult for the German and Austrian forces to construct complete underground fortifications like those on the River Somme.

Moreover, the tactic of adding Maxim guns to carriages is entirely different from cavalry.

Cavalry may have speed but almost no firepower; shooting from a running horse misses, and they often engage in close combat with sabers.

In contrast, carriages equipped with Maxim guns can deliver long-range firepower beyond rifle range and can engage in mobile warfare.

As a result, everyone knows, Brusilov achieved victory, and it was an unprecedented great victory.

Admiral Aifute should have led the main Russian forces to launch a fierce attack on the German Army, preventing them from reinforcing the Austro-Hungarian Legion, and then sending forces to encircle the German defensive line from the breach Brusilov created.

If done that way, it wouldn’t only be the Austro-Hungarian Legion collapsing, the entire Allied Army would collapse.

But Admiral Aifute deliberately delayed, making superficial feints on the front and not sending troops to reinforce the flanks.

It wasn’t until more than a month later, when Brusilov’s offensive was already halted, did he pretentiously send reinforcements, but by then it was too late.

Clearly, at that time, if Admiral Aifute cooperated with Brusilov to expand the results, wouldn’t he be helping Brusilov slap his own face?

Shire understood this, so he knew the current "great" situation was only temporary, and the Allied Army was far from total collapse.

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang, and Dejoka answered it; it was Camille calling.

"There is a guest at home," Camille’s voice was somewhat nervous, "It’s a woman, she’s here to see Shire."

"A woman?" Dejoka glanced at Shire with confusion.

"Yes," Camille replied, "She said her name is Mary, and it seems... she has a relationship with Shire...."

Dejoka turned to ask Shire, "Do you know someone named Mary?"

"No," Shire replied simply.

Then he suddenly remembered the Queen’s name is Mary and quickly corrected himself, "Yes, what’s the matter?"

Dejoka was speechless, glaring at Shire with a voice full of reproach, "She came to the door, go deal with this trouble!"

"No, father," Shire defended, "It’s not what you think...."

"I understand," Dejoka interrupted Shire, "She is waiting for you at home, solve it, and there will be no issue."

Then he lowered his voice, adding a hint, "Don’t let Lucia know, move quickly."

Shire: ...

...

Because Dejoka had some matters at hand and could not leave, Shire went home alone, taking Major Laurent’s car.

When he arrived home, he found Camille entertaining Queen Mary in the living room.

Camille seemed to have the same misunderstanding as Dejoka, her expression a bit awkward, but Queen Mary was laughing heartily, unaware of what she had heard.

Upon seeing Shire return, Queen Mary quickly asked, "Is it true? You shot at Hari? Almost killed her?"

Shire was startled and looked at Camille, not understanding why Camille would tell Mary such things.

Queen Mary eased the tension for Camille, "No, I asked about it. I just wanted to know more about your romantic affairs, but I didn’t expect to hear this."

She then winked at Shire.

Shire understood that Queen Mary deliberately let Camille misunderstand, making it hard for him to explain.

"I have some things to do," Camille, relieved, picked up a shopping basket, using a rather flimsy excuse, "I forgot I arranged something with the neighbors."

Before leaving, she shot a fierce look at Shire, seemingly saying, "Think about Lucia, you bastard!"

Shire could only respond with a wronged expression.

"Is there something you need, Queen?" After Camille left, Shire turned to ask Mary, "I thought I made it clear in the telegram; I can’t help you."

Mary did not answer immediately. Instead, she retrieved a document from her bag and placed it gently on the table, wearing a confident smile, "Why don’t you look at this contract first?"

She then joked, "I trust you wouldn’t treat me the same way you did Hari."

Shire was filled with both anger and curiosity. He took the document and opened it, then looked at Queen Mary in astonishment, "50% ownership of the Ploiesti Oil Field?"

Queen Mary nodded slightly.

The Ploiesti Oil Field is Romania’s largest oil field.

At this time, the entire Romanian annual oil production is about 2 million tons, with Ploiesti producing over 1 million tons, accounting for more than half of the country’s production.

And Queen Mary, with a grand gesture, offered half ownership of it to Shire.

(Note: The demand for oil during World War I was not high, so production was low. By World War II, it had multiplied several times over.)

"Do you know what this means?" Shire asked, holding up the document.

Shire had heard of the Ploiesti Oil Field, in modern times, during World War II, the US Army conducted heavy bombing on it because it supplied 50% of Germany’s oil needs.

This oil field currently produces over 1 million tons of oil annually, but by World War II, it had expanded to 10 million tons, becoming the lifeblood of the German Army.

If he could own half of its shares, his assets would increase at least tenfold, wouldn’t they?

"Of course, I know," Queen Mary sipped her coffee elegantly, completely different from the earlier tension.

After putting down the coffee cup, she looked at Shire with a playful gaze, as if playing a game, "I want to know, if you sign this contract, would you still allow the Germans to invade Romania and take the oil field?"

This was a worthwhile deal, Queen Mary thought, exchanging oil for Romania’s safety.

If we don’t pay this price, we may end up with nothing at all!

(Above is an image of the US Army’s heavy bombing on the Ploiesti Oil Field during World War II)