British civil servant

2Chapter 16 United States Steel Corporation

Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Tallulaban Khead, Pauline Goddard, Miriam Hopkins, Joan Bennett.

Familiar star names are all on the list, many of them were opponents who competed for Gone with the Wind back then, but now they are all on the invitation list, the list provided by Ingrid Bergman, and Hollywood stars who have risen to fame in recent years.

In addition to Katharine Hepburn's connections, well-known managers and even politicians are on the invitation list.

Soon the news was spread, Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, and the recent scandal-ridden Ingrid Bergman jointly issued an invitation to hold a charity dinner, inviting celebrities to participate in the joint name.All of a sudden, the circle of ladies and celebrities was detonated, and everyone who thought they should have a place looked forward to it.

It's true that Ingrid Bergman is now involved in scandals, but this is actually a question of you poor people who really understand cars. People who are also working hard in the film and television industry don't care about such things at all.

This is such a common unspoken rule. Not to mention the red sofa that all actors tacitly know. Many actors' starting roads are not even ranked on the red sofa. They have to take the initiative to find the director.

Even if what happened to Ingrid Bergman is true, it is just a mistake that everyone has made.

It's just the attention of some people who buy a ticket and think they are their parents. What can be blamed for a simple transaction?

Ingrid Bergman has attracted a wave of attention, and Katharine Hepburn's qualifications are expected, but the biggest focus is still on Vivien Leigh. Now everyone knows about British India and has become the focus of some people's discussions.

This colony under the name of the British Empire has also become the focus of attention of many Americans, and public opinion is also deliberately guiding this attention. Combined with social news, it is even more exciting.

Actors are not afraid of being popular, but they are afraid of not being popular. No matter what the popularity is, as long as there is enthusiasm, it is good.

Due to various reasons, the news had just spread, and there was already a hot response, which made Vivien Leigh very much looking forward to it.

"Vivienne, you are really concerned about this matter." Katharine Hepburn tilted her head, feeling very strange about this kind of thing.

"I am the honorary president of the British-Indian Actors Association, and I just took office." Vivien Leigh said evasively, "There was a drought just after I took office, and I must use my popularity to let everyone do their part in the misery Power, people can't be too sympathetic..."

Ah Choo!Alan Wilson, who was in the Governor's Mansion, sneezed several times in a row, with a sullen and suspicious face, feeling the direction of this groundless rumour.

Compared with Ingrid Bergman, who is keen on whitewashing, Vivien Leigh pays more attention to honor. She was born in British India, her father is a wealthy businessman and her mother is an aristocrat. She has a sense of superiority since she was a child.

Although she was married before becoming an actress, she later became a hot movie star by virtue of her popularity. She is not short of money, she just wants to be respected.

Ingrid Bergman just wanted to clean up through charity, while Vivien Leigh wanted to consolidate her position through charity.draw the attention of the government.

In British India, seeing how Alan Wilson said one thing and controlled all aspects of the entire British India, she knew that that was the real right, an unrestricted right.In the eyes of that man, the attention she was after was a burden, and civil servants don't need popularity at all.

Even if it is more famous, Alan Wilson, who left a classic image by saving women in France, is definitely worthy of any British.

The receptions of the three actresses have aroused much anticipation, and they must all be the top in Hollywood. They belong to the kind where many starlets, models, and patrons have to squeeze their heads to get in.

A strong Hollywood lineup will bring countless opportunities.This is true no matter for investors, or for those stars and young actors.

For many people, this is a good opportunity to expand their network. The communication at the reception will greatly promote the many filmings and cooperations in Hollywood in the next year.

There are often a lot of scripts that are valued in communication, and there are often a lot of directors who are finalized to direct movies here, and often more stars will be invited to audition for a certain production, and have preliminary cooperation intentions.

Maybe big stars, big directors and big producers will keep their hearts under these temptations, but how could those little stars, actors, directors and producers not rush to get such an opportunity.

The fate of many people was changed at this time.Why don't they want to be the lucky ones chosen by fate?

The so-called opportunity to become famous overnight will appear at many receptions, not to mention that this is a charity reception jointly organized by the three actresses, whether it is Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, or Ingrid Bergman who is deeply involved in the whirlpool of public opinion , are all characters with their own traffic.

Even the entertainment newspaper in Los Angeles reported the original intention of this charity dinner with headlines on the front page, linking it with the current drought in British India.

This is not entertainment news in the general sense, but social news, which is even more sensational.

British India is well-known because of the current drought, and because of Gandhi's behavior, it caused a wave of enthusiasm in the United States, and became a figure that many Americans wanted to know.

Vivien Leigh arrived in the United States just at this time, and called for such a charity dinner, combined with current events, ignited public opinion in the United States.

Many media praised Vivien Leigh for making a magnificent turn in her life. She was an angel in the past, but now an angel has fallen to the mortal world. As for Ingrid Bergman, who was boycotted, she also received some praise. A few newspapers think whether the previous accusations against Ingrid Bergman were too harsh.

Under this kind of upsurge, it is reasonable that the charity dinner of the three actresses is taken seriously.I don't know how many people exchanged benefits here, and I don't know how many people paid the price to get the admission ticket.

But these are not important, the banquet kicked off under such a superficially glamorous situation.

In fact, just the arrival of the guests makes people feel that the trip is worthwhile, not to mention that this occasion is a high-incidence area for private giving and receiving. The hotel that organizes the reception can completely provide space for today's male and female guests to have a good time. In-depth communication.

Hollywood women, the belt is notoriously slack, it always falls down automatically for no reason.

In Europe and the United States, Pamela Mountbatten's age is already the age for marriage, but in the entertainment industry, it is more open, and everyone does not think there is anything wrong, and most people may even think that this is the real world .

Because she is British, Vivien Leigh is considered innocent, at least compared to the stars in the United States.

The guests here also included many stars that Vivien Leigh was already familiar with, such as Bette Davis who had auditioned in Gone with the Wind. The most iconic feature of Bette Davis was the pair of bewitching eyes.

Someone wrote the song "The Eyes of Bette Davis" to praise her eyes.

Betty Davis was holding a well-dressed man on his arm. After the man came in, he said nothing to everyone, as if he was waiting for something. After all the guests arrived, Vivien Leigh appeared. First of all, he would like to thank the guests who came here today. Then introduced the purpose of this charity dinner.

It means that the affairs of British India have been known to the whole world, and now hundreds of millions of people in the subcontinent are suffering from hunger.As a star who was born in British India but has a wide reputation today, she very much wants to do something for British India at this time.

"Vivien Leigh, right? Betty, do you know that your friend speaks differently from ordinary celebrities?" The man next to Bette Davis listened to Vivien Leigh's words for a while, tilted his head and said, "It's very similar It's the people in the federal government who speak."

"Drake, you're overthinking." Bette Davis smiled and joked with the beneficiary she recently hooked up with, "She's British, not us Americans."

"No matter which country you work in, the way you speak is the same." Drake shook his head and said, "Those who work for the government speak differently from ordinary people. Maybe Vivien Leigh was influenced by something when she was in the UK." maybe."

Among the guests who came in, not all were film-related practitioners. For example, the company Drake worked for had nothing to do with the film industry, but a company called U.S. Steel Corporation.

Founded in [-], the company was formed by the merger of more than a dozen companies including Carnegie Steel Company and Consolidated Steel Company.To be modest, it is half of the steel industry in the United States.

Derek maintained good patience. Like these Hollywood celebrities, he listened to Vivien Leigh's eloquent speech and the following acts of kindness, watching curiously. The whole process seemed to be like this, just like these so-called Hollywood celebrities are like real celebrities...

At the reception stage, Derek brought Bette Davis, who followed suit, to Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, and Ingrid Bergman, introduced himself, and expressed his concern and best wishes for the situation in British India.

"Betty, who is your boyfriend?" Ingrid Bergman saw that Bette Davis was a little passive, so she asked.

"I work in a steel company." Derek smiled gently, and asked Vivien Leigh curiously, "Miss Vivienne just came from British India, how is the steel industry in British India, can you tell me?" Come on, maybe there is a chance to work together?"

2Chapter 17 Does India have many resources?

"After you arrive in the United States, maybe someone will come to your door and ask about the situation in British India."

Vivien Leigh suddenly remembered what Alan Wilson said before parting, and the well-dressed man in front of him seemed to be.

When I think about it, I feel even more admiration for the man in New Delhi.

"I haven't been in British India for a long time, but it is a place with outstanding resources. This is a fact that all British people know." Vivien Leigh habitually began to probe, and she didn't have this kind of thinking.

"I don't know Miss Vivienne, what are you doing now?" Derek turned to ask another question with a serious face. He always felt that the way the star in front of him spoke was too official.

"Recently, I just became the honorary president of the British-Indian Actors Association." Vivien Leigh paused for a moment, recalling the past few months. Apart from that kind of thing, this is the most impressive thing.

In fact, Vivien Leigh does not have much experience in speaking skills, but the fact that she happened to become the honorary president of the British-Indian Actors Association is real, and speaking frankly has unexpected effects at this moment.

So that's the case, Derek knew it in his heart, he said how could an actor have such an official meaning when he spoke.It turned out that he had just become the president of an art association who didn't know his purpose, and was in a toddler state.

Knowing this, Derek was relieved, and said that he wanted to talk about the topic of British India with Vivien Leigh.Vivien Leigh was of course willing to accept this, but someone reminded her before coming.

U.S. Steel was formed by the merger of more than a dozen companies, including Carnegie Steel and Consolidated Steel.

It is a representative of the US steel industry. US Steel is not just the steel industry. The background of its birth is the contest between the old Morgan and Carnegie. In fact, the relationship between the two is not good.

In the end, the establishment of the U.S. Steel Company represented that Morgan had finally successfully extended his hand from Wall Street to the real industry.The U.S. Steel Company has also become a brand of the Morgan family in the real industry.U.S. Steel is not terrible, but the Morgan family behind it is very terrible.

The U.S. Steel Corporation has always represented the influence of the Morgan family, and it is like a ceiling in the United States. As one of the directors of the steel company, Derek is of course not interested in these Hollywood stars pretending to be high society.

Although the number of shares in Derek's hands is not an astonishing number because of the large number of shares in U.S. Steel Corporation, but as a director who can attend the company's general meeting, it is already higher than the general director who only appears when dividends are due. layer.

Since the background of the establishment of the U.S. Steel Corporation is financial-driven capital, it naturally has the characteristics of financial-driven capital.

Now that the world war is over, whether it is modest or not, the United States of America is the biggest winner of this world war. All competitors, far or near, are either dead or lying in the intensive care unit.

At this time, the board of directors of U.S. Steel Corporation, and Wall Street behind it, judged that this would be a good opportunity for internationalization. In fact, the internationalization attempt of American companies was quite early. From the early days when the old Rockefeller was still there, Standard Oil continued to It is clear when it enters various places.

In order to enter the Far East market, Standard Oil gave free kerosene lamps to promote the demand for oil.This act of giving away kerosene lamps is limited to the international market and has never been done in the domestic market of the United States.

It can be said that Standard Oil’s journey into the international market started from being taken advantage of, relying on funds from the domestic market, and subsidizing on the road to internationalization. A certain conscience wants to say that I am the same. This is the only way for international companies.

The top capital of the United States has already gone through this road, but for the vast colonies, it is still impossible to enter because of the barriers. The closed economy of the colonies makes it very difficult for American companies. This is the case in all colonies, and the British India is but a typical representative.

Because British India, as the richest colony of the British Empire, is naturally coveted.It's just that the British Empire has always shown an attitude of not being able to get involved.

It's just that things seem to have changed since the end of this world war. As time goes by, the British seem to no longer insist on keeping British India. There are various signs that the British have accepted their fate.

This is a good opportunity, and then British India is facing the test of drought, and the wonderful news that there may be a great famine comes, which makes people eager to try.

Knowing that Vivien Leigh wanted to appeal to all walks of life in the United States to pay attention to the famine in British India, Derek brought the voices of some directors of the U.S. Steel Company to this occasion that he would not normally come to, so that he could make efforts in other investments. Grab Bette Davis, bring along, and relax.

Although Vivien Leigh didn't know much about the inside story of British India, she probably knew that British India had everything in terms of the total amount, but compared to the huge population, it was indeed somewhat insufficient.

The specific distribution of these natural resources is naturally in the hands of the Governor-General of British India, and it just so happens that the man is giving orders in the Governor-General.

India is rich in resources such as coal, bauxite, ilmenite, and rutile, but is extremely scarce in energy resources such as oil and natural gas. The reserves and output of various minerals rank among the top in the world.

For example, the reserves and output of chromite in India rank among the top three in the world; the output of coal, barite, iron ore and bauxite ranks among the top five in the world; global thorium and mica are the main origins of India.

Of course, it was impossible for Vivien Leigh to know such details, but she knew that the coal and iron resources in British India were sufficient.

The news that Vivien Leigh doesn't know much is enough for Derek, the director of the U.S. Steel Corporation. The fact that coal and iron are not separated is a good thing for the steel industry.

In the early days when Carnegie established the status of steel king decades ago, he used coal to overthrow his competitors in the steel industry.

As for Carnegie and Morgan's attack and defense around the steel industry later, that is another issue. In the end, Carnegie's steel company became U.S. Steel Corporation, which is not a particularly commendable acquisition case.

In the final analysis, in one sentence, Morgan gave too much money. In [-], Morgan joined forces with major Wall Street credit companies and banks to offer a sky-high price of [-] million US dollars for Carnegie Steel Company.

In fact, the Morgan family's financial resources alone would not be able to afford the money even if they became trousers. It was the Morgan system of the entire Wall Street that worked together to beat the steel magnate with money. After the acquisition, Carnegie became a new branch richest man.

The possession of coal and steel is the foundation of a successful steel company. Derek knows this. He believes that a star, even a star who is the president of a small art association, will not lie to him about this matter.

"Actually, U.S. Steel is determined to be a world-class company. Of course, we have already achieved it. However, the development of the company will not stagnate. In fact, we have always been interested in British India, but for some reasons it failed. And Now, it can be said to be an opportunity to understand British India."

As a successful businessman, Derek often deals with people in the federal government. How can a company of the size of the U.S. Steel Corporation be separated from politics?

"I don't know Miss Vivian, do you know some officials from British India?" Derek finally showed his fox tail, wanting to take a shortcut on the internationalization of US Steel Corporation.

"Instead, there is a little brother who works in the Governor's Mansion of British India." Vivien Leigh thought about it, and the one she was most familiar with was Alan Wilson, and she couldn't be more familiar with it.

"Oh, that's right. It's really gratifying news. Miss Vivienne, I personally sympathize with the situation in British India, but the most fundamental reason is development."

Derek was overjoyed, and went further, "Of course, regarding the fundraising for British India, I can actually help. On another level, to make this fundraising smoother, of course I want to Some information, as long as Miss Vivienne can provide it through certain channels, it will be very simple."

this?Vivien Leigh was a little embarrassed, she hesitated a little, and it was the first time she had experienced these things and was inexperienced. She didn't know whether to agree or not, and whether that person would be disturbed.

"Vivienne, this is a good opportunity." Seeing Vivien Leigh hesitate, Bette Davis was a little anxious. Did she know what it meant to be a director of the U.S. Steel Corporation? She is American.

Derek himself did not speak out, obviously showing strong confidence in this matter. Even if there is a problem, it will not be caused by a female star. In the end, it depends on what British India thinks.

"Okay, I'll contact my brother in New Delhi." Vivien Leigh was urged by Bette Davis and agreed.

"About this fundraising matter, I believe it will become the focus of heated discussions among the American people." Derek said with satisfaction. As a senior executive of a de facto monopoly company, he knows how to deal with the media, otherwise it will be endless antitrust litigation.

Both Ingrid Bergman and Katharine Hepburn were delighted by this incident, especially Ingrid Bergman, who found that she was too inferior to the director and producer in order to improve.Look at Bette Davis, she is a master at finding such a benefactor while still maintaining her marriage.

A conspiracy against British India on the other side of the ocean has been born, and Alan Wilson, who takes the maintenance of the British Empire as his own responsibility, is also busy, thinking about how many green cards are appropriate to issue.

Chapter 248 Priceless Information

Alan Wilson hasn't received a telegram from the United States yet, so he doesn't know that what he is thinking is similar to Derek's idea, but the two people have different considerations. One is for the enterprise, and of course the United States will benefit in the end.

And what he considered was how to benefit the British Empire, that is, to form a relationship between the upper echelons of Britain and India. This is also the law of historical development.

Alan Wilson doesn't know who did this in history, but he is doing it now.

In fact, after the British Empire lost all its colonies, it is not true that it completely lost its influence.

In the original British colonies, many mining companies chose to list in London. In the 21st century, there are more than [-] African mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a total value of one trillion pounds.

Even many Africans are well aware of this matter. As for India's upper class, it has always been deeply influenced by Britain.

This is the same as France holding on to its African colonies. Britain and France just have different emphases in means. From the financial field, Britain is definitely more successful than France. London is still the second largest city in the world after the United States. Great financial center.

Otherwise, how could the UK's local industry be on an equal footing with France's comprehensive industrial country when there was almost nothing left after the Iron Lady's catastrophe?It relies on the financial control of the former colonies, and it is smarter than France.

The negative impact is not without it, just like there are more and more Africans in France, there are more and more South Asian faces on the streets of the UK.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, sub-powers such as Britain and France adopted different policies for different countries.

For the former colonies, it is to attract a small number of talented talents and powerful local elite families, but it does not let go of the large-scale introduction of labor.

The introduction of labor force starts from Eastern Europe, and citizens of Eastern European countries are given work visas.

The number of people in the Eastern European group is actually much larger than the number of people from the former colonies. The reason why there are more blacks in Britain and France is because the skin color of the blacks can be seen at a glance. Most people can’t tell the difference between the citizens of Eastern Europe and the citizens of Britain and France. of.

But the citizens of Britain and France, at least the British can tell the difference between Eastern Europeans and their own citizens. Although Polandball is not original in the UK, it is very popular among British netizens. The reason is that the Polish people are used to refer to Eastern Europe. people in the territory.

The status of distributing the right of abode in the UK is Alan Wilson's current job. He hopes that the UK can complete an orderly withdrawal from British India, instead of being the same as in history. British India became independent, and London was belatedly aware of it.

Since it is an orderly retreat, all aspects must be considered, how to take away the most valuable part of British India.