Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

Poul started to make a move, grabbing the telephone and dialing the number of Mr. Morgan's residence.

As the telephone trilled, Poul nervously tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for the call to connect. After a few rings, the call was finally answered by an operator, who then connected him to Mr. Morgan.

"Hello?" a gruff voice answered.

"Mr. Morgan? It's Poul here," Poul said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Oh. Mr. Nielsen…or rather, Poul. I have been expecting your call since the time I received news about the permits and licenses. Care to explain?"

"Well, Mr. Morgan, there has been a problem with getting it. You see, the state is not giving us the permits and licenses because of the prospect of environmental damage, which I found ridiculous because if that was the case, then they should have given the Standard Oil Company a closure order since they are the ones destroying the environment as we speak."

"This is what I'm warning you about, Mr. Nielsen. This is what it likes to compete with Mr. Rockefeller. He will do everything in his power to stop you from ever starting it. You may be new but he deemed you as a threat to his business…"

"Yet despite knowing that, you still invested in my oil enterprise right?" Poul asked, trying to keep his frustration at bay. "So that means you expected this also to happen and have some sort of a plan to circumvent this problem, right?"

"Plan? No, I don't have a plan. You are the owner of the company, along with your partner. You two figure it out because if not, I'll pull out my investments in your oil enterprise," Morgan warned and continued. "Consider this as a lesson."

"Mr. Morgan, though I appreciate you investing in our oil enterprise, pulling out your investment just so you can teach me a lesson was never a wise move. Don't forget, we have Caroline Dupont, if you pull out, then she'll be filling in your shoes and our only sole investor who will get all the benefits."

"Before you can get all the benefits, you have to have an oil refinery. How can she get all of that without it? Before making a statement, Mr. Nielsen, you must know what you are dealing with," Morgan retorted.

"Oh we will get those permits and licenses, that is certain, Mr. Morgan…" Poul replied.

"Good, you have one month to sort those things out, if not, well I'll be pulling out."

Poul's heart sank as he heard the dial tone. He had one month to figure out how to get the permits and licenses or risk losing Morgan's investment.

He sat down on his desk, deep in thought. He couldn't let Mr. Rockefeller win. He had to find a way to convince the state to give them the permits and licenses they needed. He picked up his pen and began to scribble down ideas.

Since the state is the one he was dealing with here in this issue, he has to be creative. Since their concerns are about environmental damage, then he'll give them a presentation about their oil mining company being environmentally friendly.

Poul spent the next few hours drafting a plan that would address the state's concerns about environmental damage. As an engineer in the 21st century, and having experience in overseeing oil mining operations off the coast of Poland. He came up with innovative methods that can be implemented in this era to minimize the impact on the environment during the oil extraction process.

But there is a huge possibility that it might get rejected at the possibility of the officials being bribed by Rockefeller. What's more, his Standard Oil Company has been already made public, meaning people can buy stocks and there is also a possibility that the officials in the state have stocks, and therefore won't risk the value of Standard Oil decreasing over some new mining company that could rival it.

All of this possibility is making Poul's head spin. He knew that if he wanted to succeed, he needed to be strategic and find a way to counteract Rockefeller's influence.

If Morgan isn't going to help them, then there's only one person in the world that they can turn into.

Poul grabbed his telephone and contacted an associate of his in New York.

"To whom can I connect you?" the operator asked.

"Connect me to Ms. Dupont's Residence…"

"Understood…" the operator acknowledged the order and immediately connected Poul to Caroline.

After a few seconds, he heard a voice at the other end of the line.

"This is Dupont speaking."

"Caroline, this is Poul," Poul said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"Oh my…Poul. How may I assist you?" Caroline asked politely.

"I need your help. We're having trouble getting the permits and licenses we need for our oil enterprise, and Mr. Morgan is threatening to pull out his investment if we don't get them within a month," Poul explained.

"I see. What can I do to help?" Caroline asked.

"I was hoping you could use your influence to help us convince the state to give us the permits and licenses we need. We have the plan to address their concerns about environmental damage, but we're afraid that Mr. Rockefeller's influence may be too strong," Poul said.

"Oh, Mr. Nielsen, or Poul rather. You are kind of underestimating the state. If Rockefeller told them to not hand over the necessary permits they need to start an oil mining company, then that's basically it. You cannot fight an industrialist here in this world with legal means. If he is playing dirty, then you should too." Caroline replied.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Poul asked. A tinge of desperation laced his voice.

"It's easy really," Caroline replied flippantly. "You can hire a private investigator that would look into Mr. Rockefeller and his associate in the government. Find evidence that they have been engaged in corrupt practices, and use that as leverage to get the permits and licenses you need."

Poul was taken aback by Caroline's suggestion. He had always played by the rules and never thought about breaking them. But he knew that time was running out and he needed to act fast.

"Do you know anyone who could help us with this?" Poul asked cautiously.

Caroline chuckled. "My dear Poul, I know just the person. His name is Jack Davis, and he's one of the best investigators in the business. He's discreet, thorough, and most importantly, he gets the job done."

Poul breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Caroline. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Don't mention it, Poul. I'm always happy to help a friend in need. I'll send you Jack's contact information right away. Good luck, and keep me posted," Caroline said before hanging up.

Poul sat at his desk for a few minutes, lost in thought. He knew that he was stepping into uncharted territory and that the consequences could be severe if he got caught. But he also knew that he had no other choice if he wanted his oil enterprise to succeed.

He took a deep breath and picked up the phone to call Jack Davis, hoping that he could help him uncover the truth about Rockefeller and his associates.