PFC Loans under the annotations in Chapter 5
Loans under the annotations in Chapter 5
Montgomery is known for his extreme self-discipline and his impeccable schedule.
He always goes to bed at nine o'clock, gets up at six-thirty, and by seven o'clock he is dressed and ready to have breakfast in his office while reading battle reports.
Even when the fighting on the front lines is urgent, this is the case, and no one is allowed to disturb him while he is sleeping, including in case of urgent military situations.
But this morning, Montgomery was half an hour late, only rushing into his office to pick up the battle report after the soldiers had finished breakfast.
(Note: 7:00 to 7:30 is the British Army's breakfast time.)
Gray noticed that Montgomery looked tired and had bloodshot eyes.
Montgomery would often casually ask his staff questions to find out the details he had missed while he was asleep.
But now he remained silent, his mouth full of bread, his eyes unfocused, staring at the battle report on the table for a long time without turning it over.
This left Gray somewhat confused and nervous; the general seemed to have something on his mind.
After a while, Montgomery turned and asked, "How's the situation at Red Sea Oil Company?"
Gray instantly understood why the general was behaving so strangely; he had been thinking about Thorne's advice and hadn't slept well the night before, which was why he was late this morning.
"Everything is going well, General," Gray replied. "Mr. Thorne returned to the company yesterday, and I believe he will be able to begin production of the 'problem oil' today."
Montgomery grunted in agreement. "Did you provide him with gasoline samples?"
"Yes, of course," Gray replied.
To avoid arousing suspicion from the Germans, Thorne wanted to produce gasoline of similar quality and octane rating to that used by the German army.
"And gasoline drums," Montgomery added. "The Germans use different drums than we do, so we have to prepare them in advance."
"Of course, General," Gray replied. "I'm already gathering them; the oil drums we've captured should... be enough."
Gray wasn't very confident; the British army had been suffering defeats along the way, and they hadn't captured many oil barrels.
"Very good." Montgomery nodded in satisfaction.
At that moment, a communications soldier brought over an envelope and whispered, "Top Secret, General."
Montgomery jumped up as if pricked by a needle. He quickly got up, took the envelope from the communications officer, carefully took out the telegram, glanced at it, and then took out a lighter to burn it.
"Top Secret" refers to the "universal decoder" manufactured by the British Code Decryption Headquarters, which was capable of deciphering the German Enigma code.
With it, Montgomery could learn in advance all of the German military plans, including when the Germans would attack.
After a moment of silence, Montgomery turned to Gray and gave the order:
"Go to the Red Sea Oil Company immediately and tell Thorne that he only has three days."
"Three days later... no, on the third night."
"He has to deliver the 'problematic fuel' to me."
Gray instantly felt the pressure: "General, isn't time too tight...?"
Montgomery's eyes widened, startling Gray into straightening up: "Yes, I'll be right there!"
They hadn't gone far when Montgomery called them back.
"Take an infantry company with you." Montgomery tapped his finger on the table, making a clicking sound. "Make sure the plan goes smoothly."
"Yes, General," Gray replied, his expression serious.
He knew Montgomery; when he made that gesture, it meant that the mission could not afford to go wrong in the slightest.
Otherwise, his career would come to an end, and he might even be sent to a military court like Campbell.
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Hafate town.
Thorne and Wells split up early that morning.
Thorne went to the city 20 kilometers away to get a loan, while Wells recruited workers in the town and reopened the oil refinery.
Thorne returned around 9 a.m., and the loan went smoothly as expected.
When Thorne initially asked the teller for a loan of £10, the teller refused without the slightest hesitation:
"Excuse me, sir."
"You still have a loan of £12 outstanding with our bank."
"We cannot provide you with a new loan..."
The teller was Egyptian and spoke fluent English.
He was outwardly respectful to Thorne, but his eyes held disdain. He had seen Thorne more than once, and someone like him who hadn't paid off his old debts could forget about getting a loan of £10, let alone a penny.
(Note: 1 pound = 20 shillings, 1 shilling = 12 pence)
Thorne had anticipated this outcome. He pulled out the quota list, handed it to the teller, pointed to Montgomery's annotation, and said nothing.
The teller smiled dismissively at first.
No document can change this reality; banks can't operate at a loss.
But when he saw the sentence "All departments will be given priority in supplying refined raw materials to the Red Sea oilfields," his smile vanished instantly, his eyes widened like saucers, and he repeatedly checked the signature and stamp.
Soon, the teller looked up at Thorne, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with obsequiousness:
"Sir, please wait a moment."
"terribly sorry!"
"It won't be long, I'll be right back!"
Thorne nodded. This wasn't something he could decide on his own; he'd have to talk to the department manager first.
However, Thorne believed there would be no problem.
Six months ago, King Farouk of Egypt decided to become a true king and therefore issued some orders that were not in Britain's interest.
then……
British troops deployed tanks and armored vehicles to surround Abidin Palace, forcing the King to sign the appointment of pro-British figure Nahas as Prime Minister.
Now, they were faced with Montgomery's comments, and they knew what would happen if they disagreed.
A few minutes later, Thorne was greeted by a British man in a suit and wearing glasses.
(Note: In 1942, important banking positions were usually held by British people, but after the war, they gradually became held by Egyptians.)
"Hello, sir." He shook hands politely with Thorne. "My name is Chapman, and I'm the branch manager."
He led Thorne into the adjacent VIP room, and after the waiter served coffee, he cautiously looked at the documents and said, "Excuse me for asking, but the annotation says 'priority supply of refined raw materials.' I think this 'refined raw materials' might not include loans..."
"Mr. Chapman," Thorne interrupted him rudely.
"I took out a loan to purchase refined raw materials."
"If you have any objections, I can contact General Montgomery right now."
Chapman panicked instantly:
"No, no, you don't need to do that."
Please believe me, this is just a routine procedure.
"If the loan is for purchasing refined raw materials, then there's no problem at all; we'll process it for you immediately!"
Then, in less than half an hour, the loan was approved, and £10 filled two suitcases.
In the past, even if all the documents and materials were complete, it would have taken at least one or two weeks to complete the process, during which Thorne would have had to make several trips.
Finally, Chapman bowed and scraped as he saw Thorne out of the bank, even opening the car door for him.
However, Thorne's dilapidated Ford looked somewhat out of place in this scene, especially with the piercing, sharp noise it made when the doors opened.