"Mr. MacDonald, there's new news." Scrooge's intelligence secretary Popov said to Scrooge.

"Oh, what's the news?" Scrooge asked.

"Just ten minutes ago, the Spanish fleet began a breakout operation." Popov said.

"Very well, anything else?" Scrooge said with a smile.

"Also, our army has taken Manila." Popov added, "We estimate that it will not be long before we get the news of the total annihilation of the Spanish fleet." President McKinley believes that victory in the war is within the horizon. Therefore, he wants to invite some people from the economic circles to the White House to discuss how to help the people of Cuba and the Philippines do a good job in construction......

"That's really good news. It's harvest season. Scrooge said.

Indeed, the harvest season has arrived. It's winter, but it's definitely a good season for Scrooge. A few days ago, the Federal Reserve officially went up and running, and one of its sponsors, Scrooge's McDonald Ventures, owned 10 percent of the bank. JPMorgan owns 6 percent of the shares. These are not many shares on the surface. Because theoretically, equity is distributed according to region. So although the Northeast has the most developed economy and the most powerful banks, they don't get much of a stake. In this way, it seems that the Fed is extraordinarily fair and reasonable. You see, those big bankers don't cover the sky with one hand, and their equity is actually very limited. Banks in our Midwestern states own two-thirds of the shares.

This is indeed true. But if you take a closer look at the banks in the Midwest that own Fed equity, you'll see that several of the major shareholders of those banks are other banks. And these other banks often have a common majority shareholder with absolute controlling interest, and this major shareholder is either surnamed MacDonald, or Morgan or Rockefeller, or something. So in fact, the basic equity is distributed in this way. The equity ratio of the MacDonalds, Morgan, and Rockefeller families is: 5:3:2. The three of them, directly or indirectly, own 60 percent of all shares in the Fed. If you include the shares controlled by the Morgan Alliance, then the shares they control are even as high as 75%. So, in effect, the Fed has become a tool in the hands of the MacDonald League and the Morgan Union.

In addition, the establishment of the Federal Reserve also means that the tone of the relationship between the MacDonald family and the Morgan family has been established, that is, although there is competition between them, there is also collusion. Now, the two monopolies have finally reached a compromise and are beginning to join forces to turn their attention to the larger international market. Although the struggle between them will continue to be staged, fighting without breaking will become the mainstream of their relationship.

In addition to the Fed, the most important fruit, Cuba and the Philippines will soon fall into Scrooge's hands. These two places are not only rich in resources, but also more strategically important.

Without Cuba, European power would have no decent foothold in the Americas, except for Canada. Canada is north of the United States, from where it is impossible to radiate South America. Therefore, once Cuba is lost, Europe loses the possibility of throwing its power into Central and South America. At a time when naval diplomacy was still being directly pursued, this almost inevitably led the Europeans to gradually lose their market in South America. And the market vacuum they left behind is all American, to put it more clearly, it is all the MacDonald Union and the Morgan Union.

As for the Philippines, it is not to mention the rich resources of the Philippines itself. Its existence also provides a support point for the United States to intervene in Asia. Just as without Cuba, it would be difficult for Europeans to compete with the United States in South America. In the Far East, the United States has always been able to make a small fuss, watching the British and French eat and drink spicy food, but only smell the fragrance and swallow saliva. A very important reason for this is that the United States lacks a foothold in Asia. Needless to say, the British, in Asia they were colonies everywhere. The French also had their own territory in Southeast Asia, and they could not only continue to squeeze profits from their own colonies, but they could also rely on their existing colonies as a base from which to seek more benefits in the larger public colony, China. And what about the United States? In the past, the closest bases to the Far East were all in Hawaii, so how could they compete with the Europeans?

"Popov, go and call Greystone over for a moment." Scrooge said.

"Yes, Mr. MacDonald."

……

In a few moments, Greystone arrived at Scrooge's office.

"Dad, do you have something to do with me?"

"Not bad." "President McKinley is going to invite some business people to the White House to discuss how to deal with the follow-up issues between Cuba and the Philippines," Scrooge said. I want you to go in my place. ”

"Okay, Dad." "Then what plans or ideas do you have that I would like to convey to Mr. President?" ”

"Yes, there are some." "First of all, there's the question of Cuba. Greystone, you also know that Cuba has been fighting for independence for many years. This time they're definitely going to be independent. But we support them and fight for them, not really for their independence. We want liberation to replace the Spaniards, not the Cubans. But you have to make the president understand that we can't go the way of the Spaniards. We have a better choice, and we are finding some friends among Cubans who are willing to cooperate with us fully. You must know that in the revolution or independence of any nation, there are great and sincere idealists, as well as opportunists and careerists who are mixed in. We need to be good at taking advantage of the latter. As for the former, isn't it the most romantic thing for a great revolutionary like them to fall before the dawn? The hero should be killed by the last bullet after winning the battle, just like Lord Nelson. Then our friends can carry on their legacy...... The key for Cuba is to ensure that those who love us more than Cuba are brought to power. ”

There are many revolutions in human history that tell the story of this. Revolutionaries who are truly dedicated to others are easily sacrificed because they always keep the danger to themselves. They kept shedding their blood in the revolution, and finally when the revolution succeeded, it was the careerists who came to power. In the original history, when Wang Guowei talked about the Xinhai Revolution, he once said such a mean sentence: "The sage will fall for himself, and the unscrupulous will follow his selfishness." This phrase is used for revolutions in many countries. Cuba is no exception. In his many years of association with the Cuban revolutionaries, Scrooge had already chosen the unscrupulous ones who could be used in the future.

"As for the Philippines," Mr. Scrooge said, "it's quite the opposite." We're going to basically follow the Spanish way there. They must not be allowed to be independent. Because if we make them independent, then the rest of Indochina will follow their example. This would be to the detriment of the British and French. We are not strong enough in Asia to compete with Britain and France, and we don't have to do it for the Filipinos. ”R1058