Greece to roman road

After a while, seemingly satisfied with Constantine's cooperation, Ms. Chris came to Sanford. The two talked in a low voice, then turned and left in a hurry.

"Mr. Sanford, who is she? Why are you so enthusiastic?" Constantine asked Sanford when he saw that Sanford seemed to be familiar with Chrissy.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency, it's a good thing. That is Samuel's wife. As for who Samuel is, he is a shareholder of Standard Oil," Sanford said with a smile on his face.

The period between the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Spanish-American War in 1897 was called the Gilded Age by Americans because of rapid economic development.

With the development of the economy, the wealth of a large number of wealthy people has increased, just like Rockefeller.

But the United States, as of 1883, had a history of just over 100 years. It is too young and therefore lacks sufficient foundation.

Europeans look down on these nouveau riche relatives and think that the United States is a cultural desert and a waste of soil.

After some rich people got rich, they wanted to improve their social status, so European aristocrats came into the sight of American rich people.

Through marriage, the rich improved their social status, the nobles gained wealth, and both parties got what they needed.

Therefore, in the late 19th century, the phenomenon of the daughters of wealthy Americans marrying European aristocrats became a common practice.

The most well-known ones are the father and mother of the later British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

As an experienced diplomat, Sanford, who has spent many years among New York's upper class, knew what Chris was up to when he saw her look.

Constantine, who was confused and still in the dark, looked at Sanford's mysterious expression. After asking twice without getting an answer, he gave up on the question.

"Sanford, if I read correctly, this banquet seems to be a gathering of a group of oil tycoons, right?" Constantine changed the subject.

"Yes, to be precise, it was a meeting of shareholders of the Standard Oil trust," Sanford replied.

"Have they encountered any trouble?" Thinking that President Chester was invited to this banquet, I am afraid that these monopoly capitalists have encountered some trouble.

"What else can it be? Standard Oil is such a behemoth. It is the largest crude oil producer in the United States and monopolizes 95% of the United States' refining capacity, 90% of its oil transportation capacity, and 25% of its crude oil production. Many people have concerns about this company. Dissatisfaction, it’s so powerful,” Sanders said.

"I'm afraid this gathering is for Standard Oil shareholders to test the president's attitude," Sanford said, lowering his voice.

"Of course, their troubles are not just the public's antipathy towards Standard Oil, they are also in trouble themselves," Sanford said with a gloating expression.

"Is there any more trouble?" Constantine asked cooperatively.

"You know the electric light, right? Edison invented the light bulb two years ago and you can use electricity to light up," Sanford said.

At this point Constantine suddenly realized.

Speaking of which, the United States is now the largest oil producer in the world. It can be said that the origin of the modern oil industry is in the United States.

But cars and diesel ships had not yet appeared in this era. Without them, they consumed a lot of oil. Where would the oil produced by large companies like Standard Oil be used?

The answer is lighting.

The biggest use of petroleum in this era was to refine kerosene, which was used as oil for kerosene lamps and for lighting.

Crude oil is extracted from oil wells and refined to produce kerosene. This refined kerosene burns very well, has a strong light source, and emits extremely stable light, so it quickly became popular.

However, kerosene lamps have some disadvantages, such as being prone to catching fire and causing fires.

Two years ago, Edison invented a light bulb that lasted 1,000 hours. This situation worried oil kings like Rockefeller because the kerosene lighting market was threatened.

After kerosene was refined in this era, in addition to the kerosene, there was also gasoline.

Large amounts of gasoline are useless and difficult to store, so oil merchants usually dump the gasoline for disposal.

Because the gasoline engine has just been invented (in 1883, the German Daimler invented the gasoline engine), it will take a long time to apply it on a large scale and consume a lot of gasoline.

Therefore, the best days for oil producers are far from coming.

Taking advantage of this banquet, even if we can't meet President Chester, it is a good opportunity to get to know some American business tycoons.

At this moment, the hall suddenly became quiet, the band stopped playing, and the ballroom dancers on the carpet also stopped dancing.

Seeing this, Constantine looked toward the entrance and saw a man about 50 years old with a thick beard on his upper lip and a black round hat walking in.

"This is President Chester," Sanford whispered as he approached Constantine.

As the host, Rockefeller stepped forward to greet him, and then the two of them walked into a room together with several men in black suits.

After a cup of tea, Rockefeller walked out of the room with several men. They were talking and laughing with relaxed expressions. It was obvious that they had received good answers.

Rockefick walked up to Constantine and said, "Mr. Constantine, I heard that you are also here to meet Mr. President. If so, now is the time. President Chester is still there." In the box.”

After hearing Mr. Rockefeller's prompt, Constantine thanked him and walked into the room under the gaze of Sanford.

The man sitting on the sofa saw someone coming in, stood up, straightened his wrinkled clothes a little, walked towards Constantine, stretched out his right hand and said: "Welcome to New York, USA, Your Excellency the Duke."

Obviously Constantine's identity is not a secret in the eyes of the president.

"Thank you, Mr. President."

After shaking hands, the two sat on two sofas facing each other.

"Mr. President, what do you think of Africa?" Constantine got straight to the point, not wanting to waste time.

"I heard that European adventurers have been very active there recently, and the American people are also very concerned about European adventures in Africa. As for me personally, to be honest, I am not interested in it. Things on the North American continent are enough to worry me." President Chester replied.

"It's like this. In order to maintain normal trade between European and American merchants and the indigenous people of southern Africa, maintain necessary commercial exchanges, expel the darkness of the African continent, and bring ignorant Africans into a civilized society, the Congo Committee has been working with the Arab slaves there in recent years. traders, and other evil native struggles hostile to European and American traders.”

For politicians, giving a high-sounding explanation for their actions is an essential skill.

"I hope that you, Mr. President, can agree and support that the Congo Committee will be responsible for maintaining order in the Congo River Basin and providing necessary protection for European and American businessmen." Constantine made no secret of the purpose of the Congo Committee.