In the evening, Arthur also returned to Li Mu, and the two briefly met.

After Arthur reported to Grant, he also went to a few familiar councillors, and they all promised to help, but they didn't promise Arthur anything.

"Looks like we're going to have to zoom in." Arthur looked at the names on the list and was not worried.

The list bears the names of lawmakers who have pledged to support New York's centennial independence fair.

Li Mu once thought that he already had good strength and should be able to call for wind and rain in the Congress, but after getting this list, Li Mu was stunned to find that the list he got from Amis was basically useless.

The term of office of the U.S. Senate is six years, and one-third of the list is re-elected every two years, and it was two years ago that Li Mu got the list from Amis, to be honest, Li Mu has not used this list much, and now Li Mu was stunned to find that the names on the list have disappeared three-quarters of the way from the Senate list, leaving only the pitiful three names still hanging on it.

In addition to this list, there are only two senators who are single-handedly held out by Li Mu, Runkel and Chen Guofang, but Chen Guofang is not in Washington now, and Runkel is in Boston, both of whom are far from quenching their thirst, so Li Mu found that he now only has Burnside, an unreliable "insider".

Don't look at what Burnside said nicely in front of Li Mu, in fact, the same thing, Burnside can say it again to the Philadelphians, basically don't have any hope for the integrity of politicians, no matter how big the hope is, it will definitely be disappointed in the end.

"What kind of ultimates did you prepare?" Li Mu was curious about Arthur's backhand.

"Hmph-" Arthur sneered and pulled out a wad of printed pieces of colorful paper from the briefcase he was carrying—

Don't get me wrong, it's not a dollar, it's a bond.

Well, bonds are worth about the same amount as the dollar, maybe even more.

"Do you still have bonds?" Li Mu took it and took a look at it, and found that all of them were bonds with a face value of 500 US dollars, the issuer was the "New York Independence Centennial Exhibition Committee", and the underwriter was actually the Bank of America: "And - what the hell is this New York Independence Centennial Exhibition Committee?" ”

Although Li Mu's household registration is now in Springfield, he is already half of New Yorker, but Li Mu really doesn't know when this organization was established in New York.

"I was going to stop using these bonds if everything went well, but now it seems that there should be an investment." Arthur shook his head and sighed, there is a lot of people who can't help but be lonely in the rivers and lakes.

Li Mu immediately understood what Arthur meant, and these bonds were intended by Arthur to be used for gifts.

If you want to buy a person in power, bearer bonds are the best way.

So how much does it cost to buy a person in power?

Max? Wirt wrote a "History of the Business Crisis," in which Max? Werth describes how merchants in the late nineteenth century used bribery and unfair means to carry out these business practices. The book lists a lot of data, such as the fact that in 1874 the LaCrosse and Milwaukee railroads were in commercial operation, Max? Wilt counted the total expenditure on bribes at more than $1 million, including $50,000 for the governor, $10,000 for the lieutenant governor, $10,000 for the secretary of the treasury, $5,000 for the governor's secretary, $5,000 for each of the 51 congressmen, $175,000 for the heads of thirteen state departments, $10,000 for the secretary of the House of Representatives, 15,000 for the bribes, and so on.

Ignoring the specific figures used for bribery, just looking at this list, the US government at this time can indeed be called greedy for all people, and the degree of corruption is palpitating.

The cost of buying a senator is probably less than the cost of buying a governor, but slightly higher than the cost of buying a state department head, so in Arthur's plan, the price of buying each senator is about $20,000.

And according to the difference in intimacy, familiar parliamentarians have to give more, this is one of the unspoken rules, it is always bad to give it to outsiders, but their own people pick and choose.

"Come on, come on, give me some first." Li Mu looked at these bonds with greedy eyes, this is tantamount to paying bribes and using the money of the New York government to establish his own connections, such an opportunity must not be missed.

"Those are all for you, you look at the send, find the target person, especially the potential, for those who want to focus on taking care of them, and for those who are about to step down, or about to be old and confused, just do whatever you want." Arthur carefully instructed Li Mu to avoid spending unjust money.

"Rub, I'm from the Qing Empire, and I still need you to guide me about gift-giving?" Li Mu disdainful, when the Chinese engaged in these unsightly things, the Europeans were still hanging on the trees.

Arthur was very well prepared, and the bonds he gave to Li Mu were about half a million dollars, and these bonds could be circulated in the market, and if they were sold now, they would be worth slightly more than face value.

The next day, J· P. Morgan and Rockefeller and others arrived in Washington in batches.

Li Mu has become a temporary gathering point for the "lobby" here, and Rockefeller is full of praise for Li Mu's house, and is ready to buy the land next to it and become neighbors with Li Mu in the future.

"Now is the best time to invest in real estate, Washington is growing fast, the population is increasing rapidly, and it will not be easy to find such a large plot of land in the future." Li Mu agreed with Rockefeller's idea and encouraged Rockefeller to join the ranks of the "land hoarding army".

Li Mu's house is located on the shore of the tidal lake, next to the Potomac River, which is the center of Washington, D.C., less than a kilometer away from the Washington Monument and less than two kilometers away from the Presidential Palace.

At this time, Li Mu and Rockefeller, J· P. Morgan: They are having afternoon tea on the shores of the Tidal Lake, which is full of cherry blossoms planted by Washington, and although it is not the season for cherry blossoms, you can imagine how beautiful it will be in March.

"If you want to play, you can play big, let's buy this island, we can build a road on the island, and then build two strong bridges, this is a paradise." Rockefeller has ideas, and he plays more thoroughly than Li Mu.

Li Mu's home is on a small island, strictly speaking it is just a peninsula, only one road leads to the direction of the Washington Monument, the total area is about 1.5 square kilometers, the island has not been developed yet, there is a small forest on the island, the rest is wasteland, Li Mu originally wanted to buy all the island, but because the Washington government planned a park on the island, it was stopped.

Compared with Rockefeller, Li Mu is a good law-abiding citizen, so since the Washington government has planned the use of the island, Li Mu no longer cares, Rockefeller is different, and the government's planning has no binding force on Rockefeller, which is Rockefeller's confidence as a billionaire.

Well, Li Mu's courage is still a little smaller.

"Can you get down to business? We're not here to discuss when land prices will rise. ”J· P. Morgan was very dissatisfied with Li Mu and Rockefeller's inconsistency, and a group of tycoons ran to Washington to hoard land regardless of their business, can they be more unreliable?

Rockefeller's response to J· P. Morgan's accusations were unconcerned and looked at J. Morgan. P. Morgan smiled lewdly, and Li Mu felt a little furious in his heart.

Li Mu cheered up and prepared to discuss today's division of labor with Arthur.

Yan Shun suddenly walked over quickly: "Ream, there are two gentlemen named Paul Mesfield and Max Isaia outside who want to see you. ”

Phillies react so fast!

Li Mu and Arthur glanced at each other, and they could both find the battle intent in each other's eyes.

Li Mu and Arthur jumped up and down to dig the corners of the Philadelphia people here, of course the Philadelphia people will not be indifferent, there are Philadelphia senators and representatives in Washington, these people will definitely not sit idly by and watch the Centennial Exhibition of Independence being snatched away by New Yorkers, no need to ask, this is a knock on the door.

"Ask them to come in, and by the way, exchange this for the rum they brought back from Cuba." Li Mu is not afraid of war, all the people who come are guests, since people come to visit, there is no reason to be closed.

Soon, under the guidance of Yan Shun, Paul Mesfield and Max Isaiah came over.

Mason has already added a few chairs, which happen to be in a semicircle with Li Mu and the place where they are sitting, opposite the misty tidal lake, under the chair is the green grass, and next to him is the lush cherry blossom trees, the environment is indeed good, but to talk about these bad things, it is really incompatible.

"Today's weather is good, and a few of you are really in good spirits." Paul Masefield was a fat man, tall and fat, who looked to weigh more than two hundred pounds, and when he sat down on the chair, it was obvious that the legs of the chair were sunk deep into the grass.

Max Isaia is thin and quite short, in terms of appearance, these two people must be a perfect match if they talk about cross talk.

"The essence of life is to be happy in time, isn't it? On a sunny morning, drink and chat, maybe get a fishing rod and fish, this kind of life is called life. "Rockefeller spoke the most, and the hostility in Rockefeller's words was not heard.

In fact, if there is no such thing, whether it is Li Mu or Rockefeller, they will not be enemies of Philadelphia, after all, whether it is the Horse Group or Standard Oil, they have business in Pennsylvania, and offending the people of Philadelphia will definitely have an impact on the business of the Horse Group and Standard Oil.

Of course, it is not enough to be afraid, the business projects of the Horse Group have no rivals, and Standard Oil is the first trust enterprise in the United States, which are two behemoths that have formed a de facto monopoly, and one city and one place can no longer play much role in them.

"Paul, long time no see." Arthur finally spoke, and on this occasion, Arthur and Paul were direct opponents.