Morgan and a bunch of Wall Street bankers were trying to get more money for themselves by financing Scrooge, but they were also worried about the rapid expansion of Scrooge's power.

"Just like that, Scrooge? Macdonald's strength is about to go to the next level. Morgan said, "I'm afraid, one day, he takes so much money and goes into the financial world to stir up trouble, what will happen to us?" ”

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and you can't speak.

"We have to unite to be able to stand up to monsters like Scrooge in the future." Morgan said, "But unity is not something that can be done by talking, and that kind of unity is useless." When the time comes, Scrooge will just wave the checkbook, and every one of us here," Morgan smiled, and continued, "and every one of us here, including me, will run around and sell everyone else." So, mere lip service is not at all interesting. ”

"What do you mean, Mr. Morgan?" A banker asked.

"We have to be one in terms of assets so that we can compete with Scrooge. So one of my plans is that we want to cross-stake each other, so that our interests become a whole, so that we can really become a whole. Morgan threw out a plan he had already prepared.

"This ......" everyone hesitated.

"Actually, I don't want to use this method if I can." Morgan said, "If it weren't for the rapid rise of Scrooge, I would still prefer to rely on the survival of the fittest to integrate the power of Wall Street." ”

A few bankers muttered a little, and then at last one of them spoke, "Mr. Morgan, you have a point, but Mr. MacDonald is not going to eat the whole American market alone, is he?" And even if there is such a danger, it is not an imminent danger. And such a union, to be honest, would make us lose considerable autonomy. So we also have to think about the benefits of doing that, and how the rights would be distributed if a new consortium emerged. ”

"Yes, Mr. Morgan, these questions need to be discussed." More people chimed in.

Morgan clasped his hands in front of his chest, a habitual gesture that is said to have been won by the Emperor Napoleon every time he performed it. Morgan has loved Napoleon's stories since he was a child, and in many places he has consciously or unconsciously imitated the great emperor.

"Have you ever studied Scrooge? In the history of the expansion of Mr. MacDonald's family business, in addition to the continuous advancement of technology, have you noticed another trend? "That's the mutual support of the MacDonald family's estates." We can see that Scrooge had the largest share of the Pacific Railway, and when the road was being built, most of the steel used for the rails and bridges along the way came from his steel mills, and at the same time, the mining rights obtained by the Guò Railway further promoted the development of his steel company. Look at the recent tower, this is an advertisement for steel, I'm sure that the demand for steel in the construction market will definitely rise in the future, and then his steel will support his electrical, and his electrical orders will promote steel. The capital in his hands from all walks of life supports each other, which is one of the reasons for the success of the MacDonald family. And what about us? However, because of mutual competition, everyone's profits have declined. If we can also support our allies where we have an advantage, we too can quickly defeat our rivals and increase our power, as Scrooge did. ”

"So how are the rights distributed?"

"According to the proportion of each person's shareholding." "On a one-share, one-vote basis, we can nominate specific management," Morgan said. I believe that this should be enough to guarantee everyone's rights. ”

……

"Mr. MacDonald, we understand that Morgan seems to be conspiring with other bankers, and that they may want to forge a closer alliance than they do now." Bond reported to Scrooge that "in the last two weeks, they have been meeting frequently on Morgan's yacht, and their shares have changed hands unusually in the stock market." We suspect that they are forging a closer alliance through cross-shareholding. ”

"Thank you, Mr. Bond, for a job well done!" Scrooge was pleased to say, "I think your excellent performance is enough to earn you the right to a share of the company's gift." Hopefully, the intelligence services, under your guidance, will be able to get better day by day. ”

"Thank you, Mr. MacDonald." Bond said, "I will do my best to serve the company." ”

After Bond went out, Scrooge said to Dorothea, "Dorothea, what do you think about this?" ”

"My dear, I think there must be something strange about this." Dorothea replied.

"Tell me what you think." Scrooge continued.

Morgan did this in an apparent attempt to consolidate the banking system across Wall Street. Once his loose alliance becomes so tight, even conglomerate, the remaining banks in the United States, no matter who they are, except for ours, will no longer be able to compete with this financial monster. But I don't understand why Morgan took such a step so early. His current share of capital does not occupy an absolute majority in this consortium, which means that his control over this consortium is not stable. I think he could have waited a few more years, and it wasn't too late to do so when his power was relatively greater. Dorothea replied.

"He just had too much urgency, or rather, our actions put too much pressure on him." "He feared that one day, we, too, would be able to run to Wall Street and drive the steamrollers, relying on the power of the entire MacDonald family." But to be honest, although finance is really profitable, I really don't have the confidence to fight with Morgan when I play this. In this field, I don't have any high-tech technology to solve them in one fell swoop. So in a short period of time, in fact, he really doesn't have to be so nervous. But when he pressed the other banks, we could take a free ride. ”

……

Just as Morgan was beginning to form his financial trust, Rong Hong and Zhang Yu had just returned to China. After only a day's rest after the two men landed in Shanghai, they rushed to Nanjing again to meet Li Hongzhang, the governor of Liangjiang.

"Chunfu, rich people, how did you get from this trip?" Li Hongzhang and Rong Hongzhangyu are acquaintances, and they are not in the official office, so Li Hongzhang naturally looks very casual. It's just that Li Hongzhang can appear casual, but he can't be so in the lower position. So Zhang Yu still stood up honestly and reported:

Yu was entrusted by the marshal, and Mr. Rong Hong traveled all over Europe and the United States, and Westerners all said that there was no one who could beat the MacDonald rifle for the benefit of foreign guns. So Yu and Mr. Yung Hong visited the MacDonald Infantry Weapons Company together, originally hoping to buy rifle production equipment from him. Mr. MacDonald, the owner of the factory, made me look at the gunsmiths, the steel mills, and the university. It is really eye-opening to talk to me about the way of Westerners to enrich the country and strengthen the army. If there is no such trip, Zhang Yu will only be a frog at the bottom of the well for the rest of his life, and he will not know the size of the world. ”

Although Zhang Yu always wanted to maintain the face of the self-proclaimed "Celestial Empire" when he was in a foreign country, after returning to his own side, he still told the truth honestly, and it was too much of a move to go to a foreign country.

"Fumin, what did you see to be able to say such a thing?" Li Hongzhang still knows the temper of his staff very well. This person has always been Gengjie, and he is quite exclusive, not really touching a lot, and categorically he will not say so.

Zhang Yu bowed deeply to Li Hongzhang again and said, "If it weren't for the handsome's send, Zhang Yu would definitely laugh at the generous house." The MacDonald rifle is certainly exquisite, but it is not worth mentioning when compared to MacDonald steel, which is the backbone of the country, but not compared to the University of Cleveland. In the past, Zhang Yu always thought that there were many people in our country, and tens of thousands of people, if they could work together, they would be afraid of foreigners. To this day, I know that the gap between my country's national strength and that of the Westerners is so great that it is almost desperate. ”

"So touched? I'm curious. Li Hongzhang said, "Come, tell me what you have seen in Europe and the United States." ”

……

"You're saying that just a steel mill under MacDonald Steel produces dozens of times more steel than my Daqing Dynasty?" Li Hongzhang was also taken aback, "And in just a few years, the original equipment is backward?" Isn't the American Merchant Qiji Iron Works that we bought even more backward? Well, what else does that MacDonald say? 'Prosperity and strength'? 'Better than getting rich first and then being stronger'? This person is very knowledgeable, and the strength of Westerners is not without reason. In the past, we all thought that the Westerners were strong, but the ship was strong and the guns were sharp, and today I heard what the two said, and I knew that the strong was born by the rich. Li Hongzhang also sighed.

"Sir, Mr. MacDonald also said that if you want to be rich and strong, you must come from industrialization, and if there is no industry, you will definitely not be able to create a zào rich and strong. And industrialization, the most important thing is not the machine, but the person who can start the machine, improve the machine, and the machine. Therefore, if we want to make the country rich and strong, we must develop industry on a large scale, and if we want to develop industry on a large scale, we must continue to cultivate talents who can adapt to the industrial age. China is so weak in natural sciences that it is not easy to train such people on its own, so it is necessary to send students to study natural sciences in the United States. Rong Hong took the opportunity to speak.

"Who says that Westerners have no way?" Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "For this person's words, he attaches great importance to education, which shows the prosperity of Western culture." The matter of studying abroad should be fought for by the imperial court, but it is difficult to extinguish the fire from afar, and it is not urgent. What happened to the two of you who bought the machine? ”

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