Chapter 35: The Alligator's Teeth; The Rise of the Two-Way Smuggler; Heaven and Earth Bookstore

  "Is there something like a revolutionary in this country? I must say that I have always been full of respect for those who resist the government." Mr. Yang said with a sly smile.

  "Mr. Yang, this is a country with a strong religious atmosphere, and the people of this country believe in their gods, not some poor and wretched thinker's nonsense about black bread." Holland said helplessly, it seems that this guy has also considered these things, actually this kind of thing is what British Empire businessmen like to do most.

  "Munching on black bread, the thinker could also become a god if packaged properly, but this effect is too slow. We need something that works a bit faster now. And what's going on here?" Yang Feng raised his head to look at the large crowd of protesters in the distance, clearly the Persian people were not satisfied with their rulers.

  Nothing, Mr. Bortat and his tobacco company have gotten into a bit of trouble, His Majesty the King has signed a monopoly agreement with them, you know how monopolies are, generally speaking they're not good for anyone except the monopolist themselves, this agreement has enraged the Aghas of Shahrzad, and the Russians also dislike it very much, so they've been stirring up these protests, of course claiming to be defending national sovereignty.

  "How can this be? Once a treaty is signed, it must be carried out, even if it's wrong. Otherwise, it would be an infringement on the sanctity of contracts. At times like these, the British Empire's fleet should come out and uphold justice." Mr. Yang said with righteous indignation.

  "Perhaps Mr. Bortat's influence is too small, sending troops is a difficult thing to achieve without sufficient clout in Congress, and it's not easy for a small tobacco merchant to sway those respected congressmen." Holland said with a shrug.

  "He can't, we can." Yang Feng sneered.

  Holland's eyes lit up, a small tobacco merchant was indeed hard to sway the council, but Rothschild did it with ease, not to mention that Imperial Oil's shareholders included royalty, and this Chinese man in front of him had close ties with the navy, a simple fleet intimidation would probably be just a telegram for them.

  "I'll go get Mr. Bortat," Holland said hastily.

  "Also, I'll get in touch with the people of Shiluo, if they need to resist the Bao regime, I'd be happy to provide some help within my power," said Yang Feng.

  "Understood." Holland said with a smile, two-pronged approach is always the best way.

  Boulter, a tobacco merchant from London, on hearing the news of Yang's arrival, hastened day and night from Tehran to Abus, where he stood like a humble servant beside Yang on his luxurious yacht, which was said to have cost several times more than all Boulter's possessions.

  "Mr. Boulter, as a merchant who holds the sanctity of contracts in high esteem, I am outraged by this country's unjust attitude towards you. So go back and tell His Majesty the King of Persia that if he does not fulfill your previous agreement, the Royal Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz next. If he continues to treat those Bao people so weakly, the Royal Navy will not rule out taking more severe measures." said Yang, leaning on the ship's railing with his little maid fishing.

  "Mr. Yang, thank you very much for your help, I will go tell His Majesty the King now." Bortat said excitedly, he didn't expect that such a good thing would happen, and out of thin air, he gained a powerful ally.

  Things became simpler after that, following the receipt of Yang Feng's telegram from Abbas, under the behind-the-scenes push of Lord Rothschild, the British naval fleet stationed in Aden Port, without waiting for domestic orders, entered the Hormuz Strait under the pretext of training. This powerful fleet consisting of two battleships and six cruisers appeared outside Abbas Port, but it scared the Persian king quite a bit. In dealing with domestic protests, his attitude became much tougher, even deploying cavalry to suppress in Tehran.

  But the Ahku's power was obviously very strong, and the status of the divine right also guaranteed that they were fearless. Under their increasingly fierce verbal attacks, the protest activities were also increasing day by day. A small number of firearms began to appear in the hands of protesters, who even shouted slogans such as "The king is a criminal who sells out national sovereignty." They clashed with the heavily armed 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 either, the owner of that yacht anchored outside Abbas Port is also well-informed about what's going on, they have some understanding of the recent deterioration of the domestic situation and its connection to this person. The real purpose of Imperial Oil is nothing but to make them surrender, but their offer is really too low, 10% shares plus an annual exploitation fee of ￡10,000, which is simply bullying.

  Although it is still unclear whether there is oil on their own territory, since they can attract these big sharks, it is estimated that it is also eight or nine out of ten. However, if they do not agree to this, these guys will definitely continue to support domestic protesters and have a steady supply of weapons. Those people are really daring to turn protests into riots. But if they surrender to the protesters and abolish the agreement with the Persian Tobacco Company, the British fleet would be at their doorstep. Nasir al-Din and his ministers have been worried for days, and their hair is almost white.

  This ruler of the Persian Empire found for the first time that in the presence of these mighty capitalists, a petty prince did not even count as a fart.

  In this case, Holland representing Imperial Oil came again, the conditions had not changed a bit, still those, if Nasser Eddine still refused to sign the agreement,

  "Your Majesty, you should know that my employer is currently in Abbas Port and his time is very valuable. A person who has to deal with millions of pounds worth of business every day cannot have too much patience." Holland said with a hint of a proud smile on his face.

  "We can sign an agreement but from the tobacco company side, your company must give us assistance," said Prime Minister Amin with a gloomy face.

  "Of course, actually Mr. Yang has already persuaded Mr. Bortat to proactively give up that tobacco monopoly agreement under the right circumstances, but Your Majesty needs to give him a little compensation, the specific amount can be negotiated between you two, I estimate it's just around one or two million pounds, a small sum of money not worth worrying about." Holland said, as if what he was saying was indeed a small sum of money.

  "One million pounds?" Prime Minister Ah Ming exclaimed, such a huge sum would bankrupt the royal family.

  "Is that a lot? I don't think it's too much, do you? Of course, if your country is experiencing financial difficulties, the Imperial Oil Company can provide a loan, and then repay it with dividends from the royal shares in the oil company later." Holland said with a smile. In fact, Boltatt's opening offer was ￡500,000, as for the other ￡500,000

  The Imperial Oil Company has gone to a lot of trouble, including the Royal Navy's appearance fee and the cost of weapons for the protesters. They can't possibly pay all this out of their own pockets, can they? Fifty million pounds is a bit excessive, but it's also a lesson for Nasser.

  However, Naser al-Din had no choice at this time. Protests in several cities have evolved into small-scale riots, and the British fleet has formally blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Although Russia protested to Britain and came to tell Naser al-Din that if the British really took military action, they would firmly support the Persian people.

  However, Naser al-Din was also very clear that this was the biggest wolf behind him. The British only wanted money, but they wanted their own land. Money can be earned again, but if the land is gone, it's unlikely to be taken back with Persia's strength.

  After some haggling, the Persian government finally redeemed the tobacco monopoly from the Imperial Tobacco Company of Persia for ￡80,000. At the same time, it signed a concession agreement with the British Imperial Oil Company to explore and exploit oil throughout Persia. The price was slightly higher, at ￡15,000 per year. However, Nasir al-Din gritted his teeth and did not borrow money from the Imperial Oil Company.

  To know that this loan is all with huge interest.

  This was somewhat disappointing to Mr. Yang, but it wasn't a big deal. The Imperial Oil Company hadn't even extracted a single drop of oil yet and had already made ￡300,000. This was also exciting news. After deducting the commission paid to the Navy and some insignificant weapons costs, the net profit was at least ￡250,000. Even Rothschild couldn't help but feel excited when he heard this news.

  At this time, the mercenaries of the Ambrella company arrived, who were from Western Australia, including 100 Americans and 300 Chinese led by 50 British officers. Under the escort of these nearly fully armed mercenaries, the employees of Imperial Oil continued to head west under the leadership of their boss, first arriving at Kuwait Port, which belonged to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, then disembarking here and entering Iran's Khuzestan Province en route to their destination, Masjed Soleyman.

  From the moment he set foot in Kuwait, Boss Yang's excited little heart had been racing non-stop. All the sand and deserts along the way automatically turned into a gushing oil well, especially in this small city of Kuwait, which is still very inconspicuous now, he knows that this land can almost be said to be floating on an ocean of petroleum.

  "Do you have a connection with the House of Osman?" he asked Holland beside him.

  "It's nothing," Holland said, who has been doing business in the Middle East for over a decade, and this kind of thing is par for the course.

  "Help me get in touch with them and ask how much it would cost to buy this port and the surrounding 10,000 square kilometers of sand?" asked Mr. Yang.