African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1169 - 178: The Soft Knife

It's apparent that behind the downfall of the Ladani Black Gang, the prime suspect is the East African Oil Company, yet Chavez and the others probably won't find evidence.Moreover, from Endel's attitude, East Africans aren't worried about Chavez finding evidence, because although this matter began due to the East African Oil Company, the actual execution was done by others, with no direct involvement from the East African Oil Company.

This incident also served as a warning to the local powers, that East African companies are not to be trifled with. They can take out the Ladani Black Gang today, and swap for another power tomorrow. Even the local aristocrats, in front of the East African national machinery, are just slightly bigger ants.

Maracaibo City, Lagengrin Tavern.

With a large influx of East African companies, the employment rate in Maracaibo City has greatly increased, and Lagengrin Tavern is a small tavern that's newly opened in the dock area for a few years.

Many dock workers return here after work for a few sips of cheap beer, so the business at Lagengrin Tavern is exceptionally good.

"Mr. Rice, long time no see, our boss is already waiting for you in the private room!" Kana, the tavern's waitress, said to the boss's friend.

"Mm." Rice just nodded and then familiarly walked towards the stairs to the second floor.

Rice's identity is the owner of a local barber shop, and he is a fishing buddy of the tavern's owner Anthony; the two often go fishing together at Maracaibo Lake or Venezuelan Gulf.

Walking to the private room door, Rice knocked on it, after a short while, a voice came from inside.

"Please enter."

Rice walked into the private room, Anthony was lying on the sofa, sipping a glass of red wine, Rice rudely sat across from him.

"The wrap-up this time was quite good, none of our people were exposed, and no extra traces were left on the scene," Anthony said, putting down his wine glass to Rice.

Rice: "It's just that the action was too large, this time it directly shocked the whole of Maracaibo City, but such cases will definitely end up as unsolved cases."

Anthony chuckled and said: "The action needs to be large, and we should not offend the local powerful families; the Ladani Black Gang is just right to use as a warning. After all, they are merely thugs fostered by these families, easily discarded."

Rice: "Originally, I did not support this action, but now that it's done, there's nothing else to say. However, the matter is far from over, after all, where there are people, there are disputes."

"This time we can help the East African Oil Company settle the matter, but does that mean we'll do the same next time? We're not hired hands for the East African Oil Company, and it's really using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

Anthony then said: "The main issue is that our entrance into East Africa was too late, so our foundation is relatively weak. But it'll improve once we've laid the groundwork."

"This time, the higher-ups told me that the newcomers domestically lack experience, so they must rely on our strength. However, I never thought this would be considered a significant task that we receive for the first time in Venezuela."

Anthony and Rice both belong to the East African National Defense Security Bureau, which had already planted secret agents in Maracaibo City before the arrival of East African state-owned enterprises.

This was naturally considered by Ernst, for if it was according to the nature of the National Defense Security Bureau, they would never send someone to a backwater like this; London, Paris, Berlin, all are better than Maracaibo City.

Moreover, realistically, currently there are few cities in Venezuela that catch the eye, including its capital Caracas.

...

Rhein City.

The events in Venezuela even shocked Ernst, as nearly two hundred lives are a bloodbath in any region.

As the mastermind, Ernst naturally would not mourn for these two hundred societal dregs, but rather consider how to further deepen influence in the Maracaibo Lake area.

Ernst tapped the table and said: "The Ladani Black Gang incident served as a wake-up call; initially I worried the Americans were behind this, yet unexpectedly it's just a small black gang causing trouble."

"Therefore, our overseas assets must be rigorously protected, especially in countries and regions with weak law enforcement and social instability."

The Minister of Commerce, Ningxia Bo, remarked: "Actually, the trouble faced by the East African Oil Company in Maracaibo is largely due to insufficient experience. They are also conducting business in Russia, Romania, etc., yet the newly sent manager in Venezuela clearly lacks experience. After all, our companies in Maracaibo City are more than just the East African Oil Company, if they can unite, they will form an unstoppable force."

"Although Venezuela is merely a small country, our foundation in South America is indeed weak, and Maracaibo is not favored within the Venezuelan region either."

Ernst: "I won't accept these excuses, you must find ways to fully unite the local forces into a single entity."

"You are all aware of how important the Maracaibo Lake area is to us. Our initial batch of assessment personnel discovered a large quantity of oil and gas resources, areas where our East Africa is short, which is also the lifeline of our current economic development."

"Every year, the consumption of petroleum by automobiles alone is astronomical, let alone other industries. Therefore, ensuring the stability of national energy security necessitates the diversification of our overseas oil assets."

East Africa's petroleum consumption has completely surpassed that of other countries in the same Era, and the only competitor would be the United States. Nevertheless, the United States' automotive industry was severely crippled by East Africa earlier, and now they can only entertain themselves behind closed doors, their development far less impressive than before.

The largest car production company in the United States can only rank seventh in East Africa, and, because of East Africa's malicious competition, it doesn't earn much profit.

Conversely, East Africa has made tremendous strides in the oil industry, not merely due to the automotive industry, but the entire industrial system's collaborative effort. Now, East Africa has completely left the steam Era behind, advancing rapidly in electrification and internal combustion engines.

The standing of oil and gas in East Africa is also rising quickly, although East Africa naturally has abundant petroleum resources, it still falls several grades short compared to other production regions.

Among them, the Persian Gulf Region most favored by Ernst is not planned for exploitation by East Africa now, given its sensitivity which might easily lead to disputes and conflict; handling it later when East Africa has fully established itself locally is better.

Contrarily, Venezuela's oil resources are entirely different, East Africa's eagerness to participate is mainly to prevent the United States from capitalizing on it.

Although Venezuela's oil quality isn't exceptional, the sheer volume compensates, allowing negative factors to be largely ignored.

Ultimately, oil is oil, and even when there's a quality gap, it certainly can boost East Africa's national development if properly utilized. For instance, a significant portion of asphalt used for road construction in East Africa is sourced from Venezuela.

In the previous Era, Venezuela's large-scale oil extraction approximated post-World War I, hence East Africa hurried to stake out territories just before the war's outbreak.

However, haste begets unstable foundations, evident in the Ladani Black Gang incident, considering East African enterprises have only been developing in Venezuela for a few years, their ties with local powers remain tenuous.

This led to the East African National Defense Security Bureau stepping in directly for a mild demonstration of power, after all, in regions like Venezuela previously neglected by countries, East Africa could certainly opt for forceful intervention if desired.

Forceful intervention naturally involves deploying troops for direct invasion and colonial activities, so East Africa could seize local resource exploration rights without spending a dime.

Nonetheless, such actions entail significant repercussions, as Venezuela is also a sovereign nation located in South America. Merely employing violent means won't resolve issues and could backfire, so Ernst resolutely chooses subtle measures to address Venezuelan issues.

A combination of hard and soft tactics is key to resolving Venezuelan problems, and currently as Europe and America are at their most vulnerable in monitoring Venezuela, it also facilitates East Africa's strategic planning.