The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 151 - 163: Secret Operation

What is the Eurasia Development Bank?

Simply put, it’s a "harvesting bank"—specializing in reaping Europe’s wealth.

In short, all its business will be based on extracting wealth from Europe—of course, under the guise of investment and assistance.

When finance wields its sickle, the "chives" being harvested are often none the wiser.

In this regard, we should learn more from the United States. After the war, Wall Street swung its sickle again and again, reaping wealth across the globe. And what did they harvest?

Was it resentment?

No, it was gratitude!

At least, that’s often the case. Just look at how many times the American blade has mowed down Europe—not only did it fail to turn them against each other, but it actually drew them closer together with every cut.

Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Korea have all been harvested several times as well.

Although we lack the ability to reap chives worldwide, just being able to follow in America’s wake and gather a little of what falls from their sickle is enough to fill our coffers.

Before long, the Eurasian Development Bank was quietly established in New York. Almost no one on Wall Street noticed this bank, but what they couldn’t have imagined was that, over the next twenty years, this bank would lurk in the shadows like a silent panther, following in the footsteps of Wall Street’s financial giants, preying on opportunities. By the time it attracted attention, it had already grown into a financial behemoth itself.

While the Eurasian Development Bank was quietly being set up, Pierre, who was preparing to return to Borneo, began sorting out his businesses in the United States and Europe, integrating those that could be placed under the Zhenhua Group umbrella.

Those that couldn’t be integrated needed to be spun off and managed by separate holding companies. The reason for this restructuring was, of course, to prepare for the next step: returning to Borneo. The company’s management was still somewhat chaotic.

And Pierre couldn’t possibly inspect every factory and business himself every day. Therefore, he needed an assistant team to help him manage and categorize all his assets.

Thus, the Zhenhua Group’s secretariat was further expanded—from just a handful of people at the beginning to nearly fifty staff members, including both Chinese and Americans. All Pierre had to do each day was listen to the secretariat’s reports to stay up to date on each company’s latest developments. Through the secretariat, he could remotely direct the operations of each subsidiary. Only with the secretariat could effective management be achieved, preventing organizational chaos.

The restructuring took nearly a month to show results. However, Pierre couldn’t stay in New York every day. Besides making two trips to Cuba to pick up goods, he also had to maintain constant contact with France.

Just as the company had completed its initial restructuring, a telegram from Switzerland prompted Pierre to immediately fly back to France. At the task force headquarters in Reims, Pierre met Berlin once again.

"I’ve found what you wanted," Berlin said straightforwardly as soon as they met.

"Really? Where is it?"

"In the Ruhr," Berlin explained.

"In the summer of ’43, after our supply route for tungsten ore from Portugal was cut off, our production of hard-core armor-piercing shells faced a severe raw material crisis. So at that time, Speer ordered the use of 1,200 tons of stockpiled uranium to replace tungsten in making armor-piercing shells. It wasn’t until last year that a special core for these shells was developed. These shells are strictly prohibited from being used in training because they are difficult to manufacture, so production is limited. Currently, there are about 1,000 tons of uranium stored in a warehouse in the Ruhr."

Uranium ore was what Pierre had previously asked Berlin to help obtain. He had originally thought Berlin would use agents in the Congo to get it, but unexpectedly, Berlin had found uranium right in Germany.

A full 1,000 tons!

"However, under current circumstances, it’s very difficult to get this uranium out of Germany."

While Berlin shrugged helplessly, a voice inside Pierre’s mind was shouting—secure that uranium!

Not when the Allies reach the Ruhr, but now!

If he waited until the Allies attacked, that uranium would likely become Allied war spoils. The American and British intelligence agencies had always kept a close eye on Germany’s nuclear program. How could they possibly let that uranium slip away?

"But if you need it, I can help move the uranium to a secret warehouse. If your search team enters Germany in the future... maybe you can get to it before the Allies do. But I can’t guarantee you’ll get it—after all, the Allies might find it before you."

A thousand tons of uranium!

Who could resist such a temptation?

"You mean... you can move it somewhere else? Could you get it to the Swiss border?"

Berlin shook his head directly.

"It’s a long way from Cologne to Switzerland—halfway across Germany. I could get a train, but I can’t guarantee the Allies won’t bomb it. Pierre, at best, I can get it to the Dutch-German border. That area is relatively safe, because the Allies are airdropping supplies to the Dutch and won’t attack trains in that region. Yes, I can get the uranium to the Netherlands..."

Uranium!

A full thousand tons!

That day, after Berlin left, Pierre gazed out at the barracks through the window. At that moment, only one thought remained in his mind—to get that uranium.

"Go to the Netherlands now?"

Standing in front of the map, looking at the front lines that had been deadlocked in the Netherlands for months without progress, Pierre frowned deeply.

"This is going to be tough. The Netherlands is almost entirely under German occupation. Going there would be walking into the lion’s den."

But in his heart, another thought lingered...

A voice spoke to him.

If they missed this opportunity, Borneo would have to wait at least another five years—maybe even ten—for an atomic bomb. Unless uranium deposits were discovered in Borneo in the future, the lack of raw materials alone would be enough to delay Borneo’s nuclear ambitions by over a decade.

The Soviet Union was so vast, yet it took them four years just to gather enough uranium to make an atomic bomb. Let alone Borneo—if there turned out to be no uranium mines there, then luck would really run out!

Soon, Pierre called over his intelligence officer, Cheng Peng’an.

"Peng’an, do we have any way to infiltrate the Netherlands?"

"To the Netherlands? Not at the moment, but if we look for a way, we’ll definitely find one," Cheng Peng’an replied.

"But Captain, that’s a war zone right now. To get into the Netherlands, we’d have to cross areas where both sides are fighting, and the risks would be huge. The Allies are currently attacking the German defensive lines. With bullets flying everywhere on the battlefield, it’s best not to go through the war zone. From a safety perspective, going by sea might be safer."

Going to the Netherlands by sea—maybe that could work!

So, Pierre said to the young man behind him, "Alright, go find out what channels we have to get there, and draw up a special operations plan!"

Actually, Pierre could have gone to the Netherlands himself as a laborer, but the risks were too high. Besides, his intelligence department needed to carry out some covert operations.

After all, Hydra had to take action—eventually, it would reveal itself to the world.