Chapter 1230 King of the World (Second update, please subscribe)
Finally back in London!
As he walked out of the dock, Pearson looked around. This was London. He came to London to look for new business opportunities.
Although he made a fortune during the gold rush in southern Africa, who would think that money is a lot?
Besides, this was his mission.
Soon, he saw a taxi driver holding a sign, so he walked over and the driver took him directly to the hotel he had booked in advance.
The next morning, Pearson took a bus to Smith Trading Company according to the address provided by his family.
"You must be Mr. Pearson!"
As soon as he met Pearson, Smith seemed very enthusiastic. He needed an investor to complete the task.
"I have heard of your name in London. People say that Mr. Pearson is a lucky man..."
Faced with Smith's compliments, Pearson frowned from time to time: such compliments were meaningless to him. He didn't even understand why his family asked him to come here. This well-dressed guy looked very flamboyant, a typical London upper-class youth.
"Now, it is certain that Mr. Pearson, your luck is as good as ever."
Smith unrolled a map and spread it out on the table. It was a map with thick brown and red lines and scattered place names that looked like something out of the Arabian Nights. Pearson glanced at it curiously.
"Where is this place?"
"Persia. Western Persia and Eastern Mesopotamia, to be exact."
Smith answered Pearson's blunt questioning with a smile.
"Persia?"
“Do you know oil?”
Pearson was silent for a moment.
"What?"
"oil."
Pearson frowned again.
"You know, the world's oil is either produced in North America, Mesopotamia, or the Caucasus. Now this oil has many uses. Not only can it be used to extract kerosene for lighting, but more importantly, it can be used to extract gasoline, which is the oil used in motor vehicles. In the future, there will be more and more motor vehicles, that is, cars. Cars, buses, trucks, and ships will all use gasoline."
Smith said with a laugh.
“I dare say that the future is the era of oil.”
Pearson just stood there and listened as he went on.
"What does this mean? It means wealth."
Smith looked up at Pearson and said.
"Mr. Pearson, I hope to buy the rights to explore for oil in Persia. If I can find oil, I will ship it back to England in bulk. Once there, I can sell it to anyone who owns a motor vehicle - anyone who owns an engine. In fact, Persian oil will replace French Mesopotamian oil there, and it will be a huge business worth tens of millions of pounds a year."
Pearson's eyes opened as big as copper bells. He couldn't tell why, but he felt that he was listening to an extremely important message, and now he finally understood why his family would let him come here.
He sat down and stared at the map.
"Persia?"
Pearson asked,
"Persia has oil?"
"I should hope so."
"Where in Persia?"
"Underground. Maybe even a mile underground."
“Like a coal mine?”
"Yes, a bit like coal mining, but the way it is mined is different."
"That's not important. You mean buying the oil exploration rights in Persia? The whole of Persia, right?"
"If you can find oil, you can make a lot of money, Mr. Pearson."
Then Smith did something. He looked up and looked directly at Pearson.
"Mr. Pearson, do you know?"
Then Smith's expression became very serious.
"Oil is the future,"
He went on to say,
"Oil is the fuel of the new century. Cars need it, ships need it, factories need it. Whoever can find oil will get rich. More than rich - they will be king of the world. And now..."
Staring at Pearson, Smith said.
"You will have the opportunity to become the king of the world!"
Everything went smoothly, so smoothly that it was beyond the expectations of both men. One had money and the other had ambition. They hit it off and soon reached an investment agreement. Smith finally found an investor for himself.
In the following days, Smith frequently went in and out of various clubs, lobbying those outdated aristocrats - they seemed well-dressed, but in fact they were penniless and had nothing but titles.
But having nothing is no problem.
Because what Smith needs is their titles. As for money, he would not think it is too little even if he invests 1,000 pounds. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Those outdated nobles may be poor, but they can still come up with 1,000 pounds.
In less than two months, Smith attracted dozens of nobles and upper class people to invest by using oil as a pretext. He attracted not only the nobles but also the officials of the empire.
"Looking forward to the good news you will bring us!"
James Bond and John Smith shook hands as they left the company.
"Mr. Bond, I will be in Persia soon. Believe me, I will bring back good news in the near future, and your investment will surely reap extremely rich returns."
Senior civil servants are also John Smith's partners. These senior civil servants may not have glorious titles like ministers, but unlike ministers who change from time to time, they are permanent. They will work in the government for decades. Whether the prime minister is a Conservative or a Liberal, it has no effect on senior civil servants.
Even those who knew the British Empire well knew that it was not controlled by the prime minister and ministers, but by senior civil servants who made plans and implemented decisions behind the scenes.
Who is the true soul of the British Empire?
It is these seemingly inconspicuous senior civil servants. It is for this reason that, rather than making friends with ministers, John Smith prefers to make friends with the kings behind the scenes here. These people are the real "uncrowned kings".
"I will be looking forward to hearing from you."
James Bond said with a smile.
"When the time comes, I won't see you off. I need to go to the Ming Empire next month."
"The Ming Empire?"
John Smith looked at him a little surprised, and then said.
"South America? How can you go so far away?"
"I can't help it. I have to obey the arrangement when I get paid. It's just a job. But I also want to go there and see what the paradise on earth that others talk about looks like."
(End of this chapter)
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