Chapter 35: The Crocodile's Teeth
"Is there any such thing as a revolutionary in this country? You know, I always have a lot of respect for those who rebel against the Bao government. Boss Yang said with a cruel smile.
"Mr. Yang, this is a country with a strong religious atmosphere, and people in this country believe in their gods, not the imagination of some impoverished thinker nibbling on black bread." Holland said helplessly, it seems that this product has not been unconsidered, in fact, this kind of work is the favorite job of the merchants of the British Empire.
"A thinker who nibbles on black bread can become a god if it is packaged, but this effect is too slow, and we need a way to see the effect more quickly, and, what's going on?" Yang Feng looked up at the large number of protesters in the distance, and it was clear that the Persian people were not satisfied with their ruler.
"It's nothing, Monsieur Bortat and his tobacco company got into a little trouble, His Majesty the King signed a monopoly agreement with his tobacco company, and you know that monopolies are generally not good for anyone but the monopolist himself, and as a result, this agreement angered the imams of Shiraz, and the Russians hated it, so they pushed for these protests, claiming that it was for the sovereignty of the country, of course." Holland gloated.
"How can this work? Once the agreement is signed, it must be fulfilled, even if it is wrong, it must be fulfilled, otherwise it will be a violation of the sanctity of the contract, and then the fleet of the British Empire should come out to administer justice. Boss Yang said righteously.
"Maybe Mr. Bortaat's energy is too small, and it is difficult to achieve such a thing as sending troops without enough influence in Congress, and it is not easy for a small tobacco merchant to sway those respected parliamentarians." Holland said with a shrug.
"He can't, we can." Yang Feng smiled treacherously.
Holland's eyes lit up suddenly, it is indeed difficult for a small tobacco merchant to influence the parliament, but Rothschild is easy, not to mention that the shareholders of Imperial Oil also include the royal family, and the Chinese in front of him are even closer to the navy, and a simple fleet deterrence may be a telegraph matter for them.
"I'm going to contact Mr. Bortart." Holland said hurriedly.
"Also, by the way, contact Shiraz, if they need to rebel against the Bao government, I am happy to provide a little help within my ability." Yang Feng said.
"Understood." Holland said with a smile that a two-pronged approach is the best approach.
Bortaat, a tobacco merchant from London, heard the news of Boss Yang's arrival, and immediately rushed from Tehran day and night to Abbas, and stood by Yang Feng's side like a humble servant on the luxury yacht, which was said to cost several times more than all his possessions combined.
"Mr. Bortat, as a merchant who most reveres the sanctity of the contract, I am very indignant at the injustice of this country towards you, so you can go back now and tell His Majesty the King of Persia that if you do not fulfill your previous agreement, then the fleet of the Royal Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz, and if he treats the people so softly, then the Royal Navy will not rule out taking more severe measures." Boss Yang, who was lying on the guardrail of the boat and fishing with his little maid in his arms, said.
"Mr. Yang, thank you very much for your help, I will go and sue His Majesty the King now." Bortat said excitedly that he didn't expect such a good thing to have an extra powerful ally out of thin air.
The next thing is relatively simple, after receiving the telegram sent back by Yang Feng from Abbas, under the behind-the-scenes promotion of Baron Rothschild, the British naval fleet stationed in the port of Aden, without domestic orders, was sailed into the strait of Hormuz by the commander of the fleet in the name of training, this powerful fleet of two battleships and six cruisers appeared outside the port of Abbas, but the king of Persia was frightened a lot, and his attitude was obviously much tougher when dealing with the domestic protests, Even in Tehran, cavalry was used.
But the imams were clearly very powerful, and the theocratic status also ensured that they had nothing to fear, and under their increasingly fierce rhetoric, protests also increased, and a small number of firearms began to appear in the hands of protesters, and they even shouted slogans such as the king is a criminal who betrayed the country's sovereignty, and there were small-scale shootouts with the military and police, and a civil war was on the verge of breaking out.
Nasser al-Din. Shah and his Prime Minister Amin are not fools, who is the owner of the yacht moored outside Bandar Abbas, they also inquire very clearly, what the recent deterioration of the domestic situation has to do with this person, they also have some understanding, the real purpose of Imperial Oil is nothing more than to make themselves submit, but their offer is too low, ten percent of the shares, plus a 10,000 pounds a year extraction franchise fee, this is simply bullying.
Although it is still impossible to determine whether there is oil on their own land, since they can recruit these big crocodiles, it is estimated that they will not be far away, but if they are not promised, these guys will definitely continue to support the protesters in the country, with a steady supply of weapons, those bao people really dare to turn the protest into baodong, but if they give in to the protesters and abolish the agreement with the Persian Empire Tobacco Company, then the British fleet should hit the door, In the past few days, Nasser al-Din and his ministers have been so worried that their heads are almost white.
For the first time, the ruler of the Persian Empire discovered that in front of these powerful capitalists, the monarch of a small country was not even a fart.
In this case, Holland, who represents Imperial Oil, came to the door again, and the conditions did not change in the slightest, or those, if Nasser al-Din still refused to sign the agreement,
"Your Majesty, you should know that my boss is in Bandar Abbas right now, and his time is precious, and a man with millions of pounds of business to attend to every day can't have much patience." Holland said with a reserved smile on his face.
"We can sign the agreement, but the tobacco company is there, and your company has to help us." Prime Minister Amin said with a gloomy face.
"Of course, in fact, Mr. Yang has persuaded Mr. Bortat to take the initiative to give up the tobacco monopoly agreement under appropriate circumstances, but the honorable Majesty needs to give him a small compensation, and the specific amount can be settled by negotiation between the two parties, it is estimated that it is only one hundred thousand pounds, and you don't need to care too much about a little money." Holland said, as if he were talking about a small amount of money.
"Million pounds?" Prime Minister Amin exclaimed that such a huge sum of money would bankrupt the royal family.
"Is it a lot? I don't think it's too much, do you? Of course, if your country's finances are tight, the Imperial Oil Company can provide a loan and return it with the royal family's shares in the oil company in the future. Holland smiled and said, in fact, Bortaat's offer was 500,000 pounds, and as for the other 500,000,
Imperial Oil has been busy for such a circle, even the appearance fee of the Royal Navy, plus the cost of weapons for the protesters, these can't be paid for by themselves, right? Although 500,000 pounds is a little more, it can be regarded as a lesson for Nasserding.
By this time, however, Nasser al-Din had no choice, and protests in several cities had turned into small-scale baoluan, and at the same time the British fleet had officially blocked the Strait of Hormuz, although the Russians protested to the British and came to tell Nasser al-Din that if the British did use force, they would firmly support the Persian people.
However, Nassr al-Din also knows very well that this is the biggest hungry wolf behind him, the British only want money, they want their own land, the money is gone, they can make it again, and the land is gone, and it is estimated that it is impossible to get it back with the strength of Persia.
So after some bargaining, Persian Zhengfu finally redeemed the tobacco franchise from the Persian Imperial Tobacco Company at a price of 800,000 pounds, and at the same time signed a monopoly agreement with the British Imperial Oil Company for oil exploration and exploitation throughout Persia, and the price rose slightly, 15,000 pounds per year, but Nasser al-Din gritted his teeth and did not borrow money from Imperial Oil.
You must know that this kind of borrowing comes with huge interest.
This inevitably makes Boss Yang feel a little fly in the ointment, but it's not a big deal, Imperial Oil has not extracted a drop of oil, it has already earned 300,000 pounds, which is also an exciting good news, deducting the commission to the navy, and the worthless weapons fee, the net profit is at least 250,000 pounds, and even Rothschild can't help but be happy to know the news.
And during this period of Yang Fengfan's cloudy rain, the mercenaries of Ambrera arrived, this group of people was transferred from Western Australia, including a hundred Americans and three hundred Chinese led by fifty British officers, under the escort of this almost a battalion of heavily armed mercenaries, the staff of Imperial Oil, led by the big boss, continued west to Kuwait Harbor, which belonged to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and then disembarked here and entered the Iranian province of Khuzestan to the destination of the trip, Masjid Suleiman.
From the moment he set foot in Kuwait, Boss Yang's excited little heart has been beating non-stop, and all the sand and wasteland along the way have automatically turned into a gushing oil well, especially in Kuwait, which is still a very inconspicuous small city, he knows that this land can almost be said to float on the ocean of oil.
"Do you have any connection to the Ottoman royal family?" He asked Holland next to him.
"Sort of." Holland said that he has been doing business in the Middle East for more than ten years, and this kind of thing is naturally normal.
"Help me get in touch, how much will it cost to buy this port and the 10,000 square kilometers of sand around it?" Boss Yang asked.