At night in London, almost every day those nobles and wealthy people have to hold all kinds of banquets, and whether or not they receive an invitation to the banquet is directly related to a person's social status.

For London now, perhaps the most symbolic banquet invitation is only the president of Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company, Ji Li? Miss Stirling's invitation to the banquet is here, the centuries-old Stirling family's mansion on the outskirts of London, which was reclaimed by the nouveau riche family half a month ago.

As hosts, they should dress neatly at an ordinary banquet, but not be too elaborate, so that the men feel that they are dressed poorly, and the women regret that they did not wear a genuine necklace before going out.

But here, as the master, you must wear the most gorgeous dress, and also wear the most dazzling jewelry, in this kind of upper-class banquet, anyone comes here to show off their wealth, status, they never hesitate to use gorgeous clothes, extravagant jewelry to show their wealth, and as the master, Ji Li, in order to maintain her image, can only do the same.

Aristocratic luxury is most fully displayed here. Ten o'clock in the evening. In the gardens of Stirling Manor, tall trees clearly set off the sky dotted with golden stars. It looks like it's going to rain a lot of rain today, and there's still a layer of mist floating in the sky.

Downstairs, waltzes and bliss were heard in the hall, and bright lights came through the cracks in the shutters. At this moment a dozen or so servants in the garden were preparing dinner, and they had just received orders from Madame that it should be held under a canopy on the lawn, and that the beautiful blue sky dotted with stars had given the lawn the advantage of the decision. The garden was filled with electric lights and the tables were covered with candles and flowers, and there was no difference between the lavish balls of all over the world.

Wherever she appeared, she always attracted everyone's attention, and when she appeared in the ball hall on the first floor, all eyes turned to the richest woman in Europe, and some young aristocratic men had eager expressions on their faces.

The social scene in London is so incredible, of course, if it weren't for the oil fields owned by the Anglo-Mexican oil company in the name of Ji Li and the wealth she would have personally, it would not have been possible to win their attention just because she was just a bankrupt aristocratic lady.

At this time, under the gaze of countless curious eyes, Ji Li greeted her acquaintance slightly, and walked over to Countess Arlo, who was standing in front of a mantelpiece with several vases, and beside her stood a man in an admiral's dress.

As she approached them, a cheerful smile always came to her face, and as she approached, Admiral Fisher, who had come with the Countess of Arlo to the Stirling estate, first saluted the young lady. Countess Arlo, on the other hand, greeted each other with a close greeting.

"Ji Li, do you know Admiral Fisher?"

"Just heard of it."

Ji Li replied.

"But I haven't met Your Excellency the Admiral."

"Look, he's right here!"

"Ji Li, this is Admiral Fisher, the Second Sea Lord!"

"Hello! Miss Sterling! ”

Despite his surprise at the girl's youth, Fisher was still very gentlemanly and saluted the woman who had stirred up the whole of London. Perhaps for London, in the past half a month, the most heard is the name of this company and the owner of the company, Ji Li? Miss Stirling.

"Hello, Your Excellency!"

Outstretched her right hand, Kirly gave Fisher a sweet English lady-like smile.

After a kiss, Fisher smiled at the woman who would drive the men of the entire upper class of London crazy.

Young and beautiful, beautiful and rich, such a girl would have a fatal attraction to any man of London's upper class, but not him.

Among the guests in this hall, are they envious and jealous of the oil fields and Ji Li of the Anglo-Mexican oil company? Stirling's fortune came here for a variety of purposes. And for Fisher, the reason why he came here was on the one hand because of Arlo's invitation, but he was attracted to it all because of "oil"!

Fisher, who served as Second Sea Lord in charge of personnel, education, training and recruitment in the Admiralty, was perhaps the first and only senior admiral in the entire Royal Navy to realise the importance of oil. He insisted that oil as a power fuel would give Britain a decisive strategic advantage in the future race for control of the seas.

But twenty years ago, his idea was considered whimsical by his British peers. It is precisely because of this that he became a "one step ahead" naval officer, he knew that oil would replace coal, but Britain did not have oil, not even the colonies, how to ensure the future supply of British oil, has always been a problem on his mind.

And on the other hand, Germany, Russia, and France, the material of the battleship, steel, and the energy of the battleship, coal, are either close to or surpass the British. Under this pressure, Fisher felt that Britain had to find a new way to find an alternative energy source, and that energy source was oil.

It was for this reason that he appeared at Miss Stirling's banquet, and he did not know that he was the protagonist of this evening's banquet.

At night, the hall was a little hot, and servants carried tea trays full of frozen cold drinks through the crowd.

At this time, Countess Arlo pointed to a guest in the crowd with some surprise.

"Ji Li, that is Mr. Sherf, the president of the London branch of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, and is he also your guest?"

Ji Li's pretty face only showed some helplessness.

"It was Baroness Casey who brought the men!"

"All of London knows that Rockefeller is at war with Miss Gilly, and that Mr. Rockefeller's cruise ship has refused to carry oil for the Anglo-Mexican Company! Fisher, I don't understand! Can't the British fleet carry oil for the Anglo-Mexican company? ”

Ya Luo put on a hateful look, as if she was fighting for Ji Li.

"Don't we have the largest fleet in the world?"

As Arlo spoke, Kiri looked depressed and smiled as she looked towards Fisher.

"Countess, Britain has the largest fleet, but there are very few oil tankers, and 60% of Britain's refineries belong to Rockefeller, and 95% of its refineries belong to American companies."

"Anglo-Mexicant oil is extracted in Mexico, and the United States and American companies have always believed that it is the American arena!"

Fisher, who was holding a wine glass, added that although Britain and Mexico had discovered large oil fields that could ensure the future supply of British oil, geopolitical factors were his concerns, and he could not help but worry about the fact that American companies completely controlled oil production, transportation, and refining.

"Ji Li, if that's the case, are you going to sell the oil fields to the Americans?"

After Arlo asked this thoughtless sentence, Fisher turned his gaze to Kiri, on the one hand he was expecting her answer, but on the other hand, he began to wonder that Kiaro had invited him to participate in the dance party as a dance partner, and there must be something wrong with it.

In connection with the recent public relations of the Anglo-Mexican oil company in London's political and financial circles, Fisher vaguely understood the intention of this young and surprising girl, she was seeking support from the navy, and it was not enough to be advocated by the financial community, scientists and politicians, if the navy could produce a report proving the importance of oil, then 10 Downing Street might be on the side of the Anglo-Mexican company.

"Countess, there are no oil fields in England!"

Taking a drink from the waiter's plate, Ji Li said solemnly.

"Perhaps, no one is aware of the importance of this new fuel right now, but maybe in a few years, people will realize the strategic importance of this new fuel. The problem is that Britain itself does not have oil and must rely on the United States and Russia for supply, but now the Anglo-Mexican oil company can provide a stable supply of oil to the UK. ”

Even in peacetime, this dependence on the outside is unacceptable, and in the event of war, it is simply impossible to rely exclusively on foreign oil supplies.

When Ji Li said this, Fisher added in his heart. The reason why he has surprisingly kept a low profile in this frenzy that has driven London's financial circles crazy is precisely because the source of oil is Mexico, and if it were in any British colony or area that Britain can control, when those American companies want to get involved, I am afraid that he has already taken the case and supported British companies in his own strength, but here it is different.

"Anglo-Mexican, oil fields in Mexico, just try!"

When she saluted the financiers of the needlework street with a wine glass in her hand, Ji Li, who was half-turning, said lightly.

"In the future, we will also invest tens of millions of pounds in the Middle East to explore and extract oil!"

Listening to Ji Li's words, Ya Luo wanted to say something, but when the words came to her mouth, she felt that it was better not to say it, because she saw that Fisher would seem to prick up her ears to listen to Ji Li's words, obviously for fear of missing any details, and Ya Luo also vaguely felt that this might be another opportunity to make a fortune.

After a pause, I saw one of the guests.

"Your Excellency, Admiral, Lady Arlo, please allow me to introduce you to a guest."

With that, Ji Li turned and walked towards a corner of the room, her colorful skirt flickering and whirling in the hall.

After Kiri left, Fisher's arm was already around Arlo's waist.

"Hey, my Admiral, this isn't the place for you to do anything."

Arlo smiled charmingly, but his waist was so wrapped around him, the upper class has always been a place full of "amorous anecdotes", like Lena over there, who is flirting with the financiers of the Needlework Street, while her husband, the Count of Halder, is talking about love with another lady.

Acquiescing to Fisher's actions, Arlo walked towards a room next to the hall, with Fisher following her.

Upon entering the study-like room, Fisher took the fingers that had been nervously inserted upwards under her bra.

"It's not a simple ball, is it?"

"John, you know that I need to live, and she needs your help too, doesn't she? My oil general! ”

With a naughty smile, Arlo said with a smile. And Fisher just smiled and didn't say anything, London is like that, there is love, there are interests, and of course, pornography.

By this time, Ji Li had already entered the study, and beside her was an Englishman of his age, who was short and stout, with short gray hair. When the two entered the room, the door to the study was closed.

"Admiral Fisher, Countess, allow me to introduce you, William? Knox? Mr. Darcy! ”

A smiling Kiri introduced the gentleman next to Fisher.

"Hello, Your Excellency, Countess!"

Darcy bowed respectfully, wondering why Miss Sterling had invited him in.

As a businessman, Darcy naturally knew that the arrogance of the Admiral and the Countess was a matter of course, although thirteen years ago, after the family moved back to England, he established contact with the upper class through real estate in London and the countryside, but that upper class was still too far away from Miss Stirling's society.

"Your Excellency, Mr. Darcy is a commendable British businessman! Three years earlier, when the Minister to Persia, Sir Live, had met with his friend, the Persian General Kitabergi, in Paris, the latter asked him if there were any British companies interested in oil concessions, and Mr. Darcy quickly seized the opportunity to send plenipotentiaries to Tehran to negotiate. ”

When Ji Li introduced him like this, Darcy's face changed slightly.

"At that time Persia was in a period of financial constraints, and the country was in dire need of money, and it took only five weeks for Mr. Darcy's representative to obtain King Al-Din? Khan's grant granted him a privilege that allowed him to exploit and sell natural gas and oil throughout the territory of Persia except for the five northern provinces for 60 years, covering an area of 1.2 million square kilometers! And the price is nothing more than 20,000 pounds in cash and 20,000 pounds in shares, and 16% of the net profit for the future! The opinion of the experts is that the local geological conditions in Persia are favorable. ”

"Oh!"

Fisher is this towards William? Knox? Darcy looked at him squarely, and it was surprising that he had made such a deal with 20,000 pounds.

The surprise of the Admiral and the Countess made Darcy's expression unnatural, it was his gambler surname that made him rich in Australia, but it made him forgetful, and the two years of Persian oil exploration finally slowly swallowed up the wealth and status he had acquired in Australia, and Persian exploration also tormented his gambler psychology when it devoured his wealth in the past.

Having never been to Persia, he waited in London for good news from the Persian side. Reynolds was in charge of exploration, from his arrival in Tehran in May 00 to the official drilling in October, but during this time, Reynolds encountered a lot of trouble, first the local tribal leaders did not agree with the king's concessions, the extra price was high, and the constant demands for benefits, from illness to extortion by the tribesmen, mechanical failures, scorching heat waves and merciless gales, and endless disappointment from drilling failures, were enough to shake people, and perhaps the most deadly was that Persian control devoured his wealth.

In order to raise funds, Darcy sought the support of the British Admiralty and the famous Rothschilds, but to no avail. All he received were letters and telegrams from Reynolds urging patience and patience, and Darcy's patience and money faded little by little while waiting.

Just when he was desperate to lose patience with Persia and had the idea of exiting this bottomless pit, two weeks ago Anglo-Mexican Oil came to the door, unlike him, Anglo-Mexican Oil owned a large oil field in Mexico, which made it easy for them to get millions of pounds of loans from London financiers, and it only took a week for the two sides to reach an agreement, and the two sides cooperated in the exploitation of Persian oil, and Darcy received a return of 500,000 pounds and a 2% commission on the net profits of Anglo-Polish Oil Company in the future. The Anglo-Mexican Oil Company sent personnel to take charge of the exploration and management of Persia.

While Darcy's own gamblers were ashamed, Kiri was there telling about the prospects of Persian oil.

“…… Through the research of geologists, we believe that there are also large oil fields in Persia that are not inferior to those of Mexico, and although the risk of futile and the harsh environment discourage many, Anglo-Mexican oil will spend no less than 20 million pounds on oil exploration in Persia in the next ten years! ”

Ji Li's voice in the study was loud, crisp and pleasant. This was the advice of the Anglo-Mexican Oil Company, Mexico was beyond British influence and control, but Persia was completely different. This will increase the bargaining chips on the Anglo-Mexican side, and when she reported the proposed electricity to her husband, she received a call back from him on the same day: "Buy it at any cost!" The bottom line for her husband is to own at least 60% of the shares, but she gets 100%.

"Can't your company get the money to explore Persian oil by selling Mexican oil fields?"

Fisher asked rhetorically, an almost imperceptible cloud still floating over his face.

"Your Excellency, will Britain cede the north of the Yangtze River in exchange for control of the south?"

Ji Li asked slyly, what she needed was an oil field that had already produced oil, and as for Persia, it was just a bargaining chip in exchange for British support.

"Without the support of the Mexican oil fields, would it be possible for Your Excellency, the short-sighted bankers, to lend to Anglo-Polish oil? I think Mr. Darcy's experience can explain it! ”

Pointing to Mr. Darcy beside her, Ji Li took a deep breath and looked at Admiral Fisher seriously.

"Your Excellency, you spoke freely twenty years ago of the importance of oil, and likewise after you took up the post of Second Admiralty, you began to study the possibility of oil replacing coal with oil for the British fleet, and I think there is nothing more important than securing the future supply of oil for the British Navy? And this is by no means guaranteed by the non-British of the New World! ”

Fisher was silent for a moment before looking at Kirly.

"As far as I know, Miss Ji Li, your husband is a Chinese, isn't he?"

After saying that, he smiled toothily at Ji Li, since the discovery of the big oil field in Mexico, he noticed this company, and also knew that her husband was a Chinese, and even her husband was the actual investor and actual shareholder of British and Mexico, although just recently, those files were hidden, but he already knew the answer.

Glancing at Arlo in a panic, Ji Li quickly calmed herself down, noticing Arlo and Darcy's surprise, a bitter smile flashed across the corners of her mouth.

"It's good that he's Chinese, not American! What do you think? Your Excellency! ”

(To be continued)