The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

The negotiations quickly became a stalemate.

Chen Zhenchuan knew that the World Bank loan was far from a done deal.

The White Eagles harbor deep-seated suspicions about the "non-standard" monetary system of Southeast Asia and have little interest in investing large sums of money in what they consider a secondary part of the Asian hinterland.

He could only argue his case logically, seeking a breakthrough in terms of the articles of association, the demonstration effect, and slightly higher interest rates.

Whether there are dates or not, we'll still throw a shot.

He recalled the half-joking remark made by Commander-in-Chief Zhang Chi before his departure.

I calmed down again.

As for why not simply borrow money from the private capital market to build this railway?

This was also a clear instruction from the President: the railway network, which is vital to the nation's development and people's livelihoods, must be in the hands of the state.

In contrast, more commercial sectors such as aviation and ocean shipping are open to competition from all kinds of capital.

After all, if the railway were built with loans from private capital, it could involve rights issues, just like in the late Qing Dynasty.

While borrowing from the newly established World Bank might involve paying more interest, at least the rights to the roads and operations would remain firmly in the hands of the Southeast Asian countries…

Almost simultaneously, in Yangon, on the other side of the blue planet, a high-level meeting concerning the future was underway.

Negotiations on the White Eagle side dragged on until evening, while in Yangon, it was already morning.

Seated on either side of the long table were the true operators of the Southeast Asian economy.

In the streets and alleys of Southeast Asia, whether it's conversation in teahouses or editorials in newspapers, people habitually refer to the three key figures who control the country's economic lifeline as the "three driving forces of Southeast Asia's economy."

Today, two of these three carriages are seated on either side of Zhang Chi.

The first person sitting to his left was Bai Hongsheng.

He is widely recognized as the top leader among the people. This nominal Chief Economic Secretary of the Cabinet actually wields the enormous power of the Nanyang Development and Reform Commission.

Under his supervision, the first three-year plan before the founding of the People's Republic of China was completed ahead of schedule. Now he is fully responsible for formulating and implementing the even more ambitious second four-year plan after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

He was the chief architect of the Southeast Asian economy, and the plans he drew determined the framework and structure of Southeast Asia's industrial sector for the next few years.

Sitting to Zhang Chi's right, and slightly opposite Bai Hongsheng, was Lin Wenshu, the "third brother" of the three-horse carriage that people talked about, who was somewhat aggrieved.

He was a bit older and had a sharp, capable-looking face.

This man, under Zhang Chi's instruction, took charge of the Ministry of Finance and was the gatekeeper of Southeast Asia's "money bag".

His power appears to be divided – monetary policy is handled by central bank governor Chen Zhenchuan, while development planning is handled by Bai Hongsheng.

However, he firmly controls the core financial power, including budget preparation, tax policy, national debt issuance, and supervision of state-owned assets.

Ultimately, any blueprint needs his approval before the money can be transferred.

He was the chief financial officer of the Southeast Asian economy, ensuring that the national machinery operated efficiently within the limits of its financial resources.

As for the absent "second chariot," the central bank governor Chen Zhenchuan is currently in the special economic zone across the ocean, engaged in a heated debate with the white eagles over loans.

The core issue at this moment is to open up a new track outside the original tracks of these three driving forces.

A concept that sounded almost like a fantasy 47 years ago.

National Economic Sovereignty Development Fund.

The concept for this fund was naturally proposed by Zhang Chi, and Bai Hongsheng's team was responsible for refining it.

Lin Wenshu was the first to express cautious opposition.

Lin Wenshu flipped through the documents, his brow furrowed: "Your Excellency, to establish such a large investment fund, independent of the fiscal budget and central bank reserves?"

There is no established precedent for this globally.

According to orthodox economic principles, the primary task of a country's foreign exchange reserves and fiscal surplus is to maintain liquidity, stabilize exchange rates, and pay international payments, rather than to engage in high-risk investments.

If the economy performs well in the next few years, I believe it's advisable to increase holdings of American Treasury bonds; this is the safest option.

"The legitimate one?" Zhang Chi gently tapped the table. Lin Wenshu was someone he had personally promoted to share power with.

However, he was determined to establish a national economic sovereign development fund.

So he looked at Bai Hongsheng: "Hongsheng, what do you think?"

Bai Hongsheng pushed up his glasses:

"Minister Lin's concerns are based on common understanding."

But precedents are created by people.

The Dutch East Indus Company in the 17th century set aside a portion of its trading profits as an independent 'income fund' for long-term investment and shareholder dividends, which operated for centuries.

We are simply taking this idea from the company level to the national level.

I believe this can be called 'intergenerational smoothing of resource returns'.

We cannot simply consume all the resources and wealth left by our ancestors or discovered by our generation; instead, we must transform them into capital that can continuously benefit future generations.

"Resource revenue?" Lin Wenshu keenly grasped the key point. "Where are we getting so much excess resource revenue right now?"

While the revenue from domestic oil, rubber, and tin mining is considerable, most of it has already been included in the budget, leaving little after maintaining operations and making investments.

Are we going to use the fiscal deficit to establish this fund?

A meaningful smile appeared on Zhang Chi's lips. He gestured to his secretary to unfold a portion of another map marked "Top Secret - Exploration".

“What if we have new, huge resource revenue expectations?” Zhang Chi’s finger slowly traced across the vast area of ​​the Arabica Peninsula and northern Afica on the map.

"To be precise, it's oil. Our geological exploration team and commercial agents have been quietly working in these areas for a long time, buying up some very 'promising' land exploration concessions."

Everyone present was astonished, even Bai Hongsheng showed a look of surprise.

They knew the country was looking for more oil resources, but they didn't realize that the president's plans had already extended so far.

"Even if we ultimately cannot fully control these potential oil fields."

Zhang Chi himself was well aware that those oil fields were enormous, beyond imagination.

Given the current national strength of Southeast Asia, it is impossible for them to monopolize these future major oil fields. After maintaining sufficient profit-sharing rights, the lion's share should still be handed over to the United States.

"Simply by transferring some blocks or mining rights to White Eagle Oil Company after the initial exploration confirms the reserves, we can generate an amazing, unbudgeted cash flow."

This money, instead of going into regular fiscal policy, serves as the initial capital for a sovereign wealth fund, or in other words, it's a 'pre-discounted future oil royalties'.

Lin Wenshu took a deep breath; the information was too shocking.

If such a large amount of unexpected funds truly exists, then establishing an independent fund to operate it would be financially feasible, and even necessary.

This can prevent a one-off revenue from impacting the normal fiscal budget.

Of course, Lin Wenshu couldn't have imagined that this one-time income from selling the oil field wouldn't be tens of millions of dollars, or even hundreds of millions of dollars—a huge sum of money in his eyes.

Instead, it's a one-time income of tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars, and future profits that flow like a gentle stream.