After discussion, Greystone and Morgan Jr. reached a compromise with Jacob Schiff. Because of the disparity in their positions in the negotiations, such a compromise could almost be said to be entirely the constant demands of Greystone and Morgan Jr., while Jacob Schiff kept retreating. The final agreement was basically the same as the terms that Scrooge and Morgan had set for the children.

Under the terms of this agreement, Jacob Schiff transferred all of his shares in the Midwest banks to the MacDonald and Morgan families for a symbolic price, and helped the McDonald and Morgan consortium acquire other related banks. At the same time, some companies owned by the McDonald and Morgan consortium will also have their shares swapped with Jacob Schiff, which will ensure the reliability of Jacob Schiff's bank. In addition, in return for Jacob Schiff's goodwill, both the McDonald and Morgan consortiums will support Jacob Schiff's investment efforts in Europe and Asia, as well as in Africa.

Jacob Schiff, of course, understands that this is more or less a bit of exile. Obviously, both the MacDonald and Morgan consortiums are already very wary of him. So they all want him to do less in the United States. However, Jacob Schiff can only reluctantly accept this, anyway, he has a certain foundation in Europe, which is better than going bankrupt in the United States.

Towards the end of the meeting, Morgan Jr. suddenly spoke:

"Uncle Schiff, the Russians seem to be very dishonest in recent years. How about it, are you interested in playing with the Russians with us? ”

The so-called "Russians are not honest" is not the same in Jacob Schiff's understanding as Morgan Jr.'s. As a Jew, Jacob Schiff's first thought was the anti-Jewish actions of the Russians, but he quickly realized that Morgan Jr. was not one to be angry at the injustice suffered by the Jews, and even in the past two years, Morgan has invested in the Trans-Siberian Railway, a strategic project of the Russians. The Russians killed a few, oh, more than a few, it should be thousands of tens of thousands of Jews or something, does it have anything to do with Morgan and them? So the "dishonesty" that little Morgan talked about is certainly not a trivial matter such as anti-Semitism.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Morgan?" Jacob Schiff asked.

"The Russians have violated the most basic human conscience and wantonly persecuted the Jews. How? I remember that you are also a Jew, and you don't know this? Greystone interjected in surprise, "Such an evil thing, anti. Person. How can we sit idly by? So we should unite and teach the Russians a lesson. ”

"Another hypocritical MacDonald." Jacob Schiff said this in his heart. But he wouldn't say that verbally.

"Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Morgan, you are right, an uncivilized country like Russia should be taught a good lesson. Only then will they know the basic norms of civilized society. Jacob Schiff said with a grateful look.

"Uncle Schiff, if you can stand up and take the lead in teaching the Russians a lesson, I believe that your appeal among European Jews will be greatly enhanced, and you will be able to handle your business in Europe in the future." Morgan Jr. said.

Hearing this, Jacob Schiff felt that he gradually understood the intentions of the MacDonald Consortium and the Morgan Consortium.

"You mean you want to work with me to further open up the European market?" Jacob Schiff asked.

"Not just the European market, but also the Asian market. For example, Manchuria has extremely fertile black soil, which can produce the best quality soybeans in the world, and is very promising in agriculture. "But the Russians have kept it under strict control, and have not allowed merchants from other countries to invest at all, which is contrary to the principle of free trade." It's so hateful. This cannot continue. ”

"The MacDonald consortium is also very strong in agriculture, and they seem to be very interested in the interests of the black land in the East." Jacob Schiff thought so, and said, "I wonder how you plan to teach the Russians?" Is it to create a food crash? Or create an artificial famine for Russia? ”

Tsarist Russia, although also one of the world powers, was the so-called fifth industrial country in the world. But in that era, the gap between the fifth and the previous one, two, three, and four was quite large. Therefore, Russia's finances are also largely dependent on exports to the international grain market. Moreover, compared with the advanced countries, Russia's industry is not only relatively small in scale, but also relatively poor in technology. Moreover, there are many important industrial products that cannot be produced in-house and must be dependent on foreign countries. For example, fertilizers and pesticides, which are extremely important for agricultural production. The MacDonald consortium is Russia's largest supplier of pesticides and fertilizers. If MacDonald had intentioned, it was not entirely impossible to artificially create a big harvest in Russia.

Even if the land is fertile, if you don't use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the yield of pure green is not much higher. For example, in the later generations of the Red Rabbit Country, there were some lovely environmental activists who always liked to call for the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides without or less, but they didn't know that if it was really as they hoped, the food output of the Red Rabbit Country would fall to the point that even the third brother was inferior.

Greystone shook his head, the MacDonald consortium was capable of doing this, but there would certainly be a consequence of doing so, and that would be that the Russians would have to turn to Germany. As a result, MacDonald not only lost the Russian market, but also greatly improved the strategic environment for the Germans. No matter how you look at it, it's not worth it.

"It's impossible, it's just going to cheapen the Germans." "It's not good for us to do it directly, but maybe we can pay a thug to beat the Russians for us," Greystone said. ”

"You're saying we're provoking the Japanese and the Russians to fight?" Jacob Schiff reacted.

"Yes, Japan and Russia have a deep contradiction, and they are fighting with the Russians for Manchuria and Korea. Fresh. The Japanese also dared to take risks, as can be seen from the Sino-Japanese War. Moreover, the Japanese also knew that it would not be long before the Trans-Siberian Railway would be fully completed, and once this railway was completed, they would not be able to confront the Russians in Manchuria, and by that time, they would not even be able to keep the DPRK. Fresh. This is something that they cannot accept in any way. Therefore, the Japanese desperately hope that they can solve the problem before the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, the Japanese government's finances could not support a war with a power like Russia. You know, although the Russians have not had much prestige in Europe since the Crimea, they are still a behemoth compared to Japan. Therefore, if Japan wants to go to war, it must have the financial support of various countries. Morgan Jr. said.

"But will the Japanese be able to defeat the Russians?" Jacob Schiff asked suspiciously, "I don't want the Russians to win a big victory, and then take the whole of Manchuria and Korea in one fell swoop. The result of swallowing it whole. ”

Unlike the MacDonald and Morgan families, who were only interested in making war profits, Jacob Schiff, as a Jew, did not have a false hatred for the Russians. He didn't want to see the end of the war, in which Russia became stronger, instead of being weakened.

"On the subject of war, you should trust MacDonald's judgment." Greystone said haughtily, "According to our judgment, the Russians have no chance of winning this battle." ”

"Can you tell me about it?" Jacob Schiff asked. Indeed, MacDonald's judgment of war was always very accurate, which allowed them to make war profits again and again. But for something as big as this, Jacob Schiff would like to hear more explanations.

"The victory or defeat of the current war is nothing more than the manpower and material resources that both sides can invest." "In terms of manpower, there is no shortage of people in either country. As for the material resources, or simply, the financial resources, both countries have problems. Japan is a poor country, and we all know that they are building on a large scale, and their construction has not been able to make them enough money, at least for now. As for Russia, it is also a pauper in Europe. I doubt they can afford to equip every soldier with a rifle. ”

"But even if Russia is poor, his poverty is for the countries of Europe. Compared to Japan, it is still much richer. Jacob Schiff said.

"This brings us to the question of the efficiency of the delivery of power." Greystone laughed. He discussed this issue many times with his father, Scrooge, and Donald.

"Once upon a time, the ocean was the biggest obstacle, but now technology has turned it into a thoroughfare for power. On the contrary, the obstacles on land are more difficult to overcome than others. Russia's center of power was in his European part, and although its territory extended to the east, it had to pass through the vast Siberian ice fields to put a force in the east. It's even more difficult than crossing the ocean. Supplies, in particular, can be lost even more on the way than they do at their destination. Since the fragile transport lines could hardly be counted on in a war, the war really fought, and this war was not a war between Russia and Japan, but only a war between the Far East of Russia and Japan. The forces of the European part could not be brought over at all, or could only be joined in the form of refueling tactics, which did not play a decisive role at all. So in terms of strength, at least for now, the Russians do not have any advantage. ”