Morgan was led by the servant through a small garden to Scrooge's office.

"Ah, dear Mr. Morgan, what is the wind that has brought you to me?" Scrooge stood in the doorway of the small parlor to greet him.

"Trade winds, of course." Morgan also happily replied that just looking at this pair of answers, people who don't know their grievances really think that they are iron buddies.

"The trade winds blow from west to east, Mr. Morgan, your home is northeast of my castle. If you follow the trade winds, you should to you. Scrooge said with a smile.

"No way. I've wanted to talk to you for a long time. It's a pity that you don't go out much at all. Morgan said.

"Ah, sometimes I still go out. Just as you sometimes go out on the Pirate for a walk, sometimes I go to the Cleveland Mansion. Alright, Mr. Morgan, let's come in and talk. ”

The two of them walked into the small living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Scrooge, what do you think about the monetary standard?" Morgan leaned forward, looked at Scrooge, and asked straight to the point.

"Yes to this question? I don't have any particular ideas. Mr. Morgan, you are an expert in this area, and I would prefer to hear your thoughts first. Scrooge smiled and replied.

Morgan knew what Scrooge meant by "no particular thoughts." The meaning of this is nothing more than to say, "I know that you support the gold standard, and as for the composite gold and silver standard, there are some benefits for me, but if you can compensate accordingly, I am willing to change my attitude and support you instead." ”

"Now, some people are talking about a new gold and silver standard," Morgan said, "and Democrats have even passed a silver bill that requires the government to buy and issue a certain amount of silver coins every month." Scrooge, I don't want to go around in circles with you, because we are all smart people who know where our interests are, and we are not easy to be fooled. It's just too inefficient to spend time and effort on this. So, let's just get straight to it. The gold-silver composite standard system is very bad for me, because it will inevitably lead to inflation, and it will reduce the income of my loans, and reduce the debt pressure of the debtor, which will affect many things I do.

Of course, the gold-silver composite standard has a certain effect of stimulating consumption, which is of course beneficial to you. Scrooge, I think, it's because of this that you gave so much support to the Democrats in the last election, right? However, at present, this effect is yes, but it is not particularly ideal. Because your property also includes banking and insurance, they suffer from this problem as well. Add to that the rise of silver's status and actually mean a decline in the influence of your gold mine on the economy. It's also an intangible loss. So, while supporting the gold-silver standard is good for you as a whole, the benefits are not really much, Scrooge, am I right? ”

"Overall, it's pretty much right." Scrooge nodded and said.

"So you see, this thing is so important to us, and to you, it means much less. Why don't we make a deal if you support ......," Morgan said.

"Wait, Mr. Morgan. The stakes are not all at stake. "It's not a small thing that means much to me. You know, when the Civil War was just over, the Democratic Party was almost an outcast. I slowly raised it, let it gradually recover, and finally got to where it is today. Now that they have come to power, it will naturally bring me a lot of benefits. And as you probably know, the Democratic Party's comeback has come from the Midwestern states. The composite standard of gold and silver is the expression of the interests of the Midwest, and it is impossible for the Democratic Party to turn its back on this demand. So if I want to make concessions, I have to pay the price of getting the Democrats out of office. This is not a trivial issue. ”

"You're right, but I don't think it's impossible to talk about, and even if the Democrats lose the White House temporarily, it doesn't mean it's over. On the contrary, he will be more dependent on you. Scrooge, let's put it this way, I know that you have been expecting a war, a war against the Spaniards. I think we might be able to come to a compromise where you don't support the gold and silver standard, and I make sure that when the Republicans come to power, they will start this war. What do you think? Morgan said with a frown, as if it had cost him a lot of sacrifice to make such a decision.

"Mr. Morgan, that's not how it is. Indeed, if I could go to war with the Spaniards, I would have gained a lot of benefits when I went. But this matter cannot be counted as your compensation to me, because what I want to do is detrimental to my interests, and what you are going to do is what is also beneficial to you. This cannot be regarded as compensation, only cooperation. Seriously, even if there was no issue of the gold and silver standard, would you still encourage the Republican Party to oppose it? Besides, the Democratic Party can be said to be mine at the moment, and what about the Republican Party? It's not just Mr. Morgan, it's all of us. In fact, the war against Spain is almost a matter of course, and as long as the Democrats are still in power, I can also get the United States to declare war on Spain with my own influence. You should know how long I've been preparing for this. I think you're just picking a flower from my garden and giving it to me. Scrooge's face smacked a mocking smile.

"Haha, Scrooge, look at what you say. You're not a beauty. I'm not going to send you flowers. Morgan used such a joke to erase the embarrassment of being debunked, and then said;" So, if I propose, let's join forces and build a third bank, what do you think of the idea? ”

"Establish a third bank?" Scrooge was taken aback.

The so-called First Bank refers to the first central bank in the history of the United States. However, this bank is not a central bank in the modern sense of the word, as it is still a private commercial bank. First Bank, like other banks, takes deposits from depositors and issues commercial loans. In addition, First Bank is established under the shareholding system, and the shares are sold publicly in the market, and the shareholders distribute dividends like shareholders of other listed companies, and determine how the First Bank operates. The only difference is that other commercial banks are state banks, while First Bank of America is a national bank with operations throughout the United States, and First Bank is the only bank that serves the U.S. Treasury.

Because of its mode of operation, a direct consequence was that 70 percent of the shares fell into the hands of European capital, especially British capital, and the Rothschilds became the majority shareholders of First Bank. For Americans who believe in "believe in God and hate the British," such a situation is hardly tolerable. So the First Bank was closed after twenty years of deposits.

A few years later, the United States and Great Britain fought the Second American-British War. During the war, the Americans found it too inconvenient to live without a central bank. So in 1815, the Americans set up a second bank. Second Bank, like First Bank, is a national commercial bank. As a result, because he robbed the banks of the states, there was a backlash from the states, and twenty years later, it was shut down again.

For a long time after that, there was no central bank in the United States.

When the financial crisis broke out in 1893, 500 banks failed due to a run on the stock market. And in this time and space, Scrooge stood up, just like in the original time and space, ten years later, Morgan stood up and took the lead in bailing out the market, and provided loans to some banks that were in a run, but in fact were still in a good situation, and Scrooge almost saved the entire banking system. It was in the same year that Scrooge's secret vault was revealed in the newspapers, and the full gold in the vault suddenly stabilized the situation and freed people from the panic of the run, and as a result, fewer than 200 banks failed that year, and those that were helped by the MacDonald consortium were basically able to escape the crisis. Of course, this also greatly increased Scrooge's prestige and status in the financial world.

"Yes, but it's not the same as First Bank and Second Bank." Morgan began to explain his vision, "It's a coalition of big banks, and this alliance is funded by reserves from the big banks. It's not a commercial bank, it doesn't take deposits and lend money, it just coordinates the actions of the banks, and in the event of a run like 1893, it coordinates the mutual support of the banks, as you did in 1893, so it should be considered a non-profit organization......"

"I think it should also have the power to act on behalf of the central bank, the power to hold the power to issue dollars." Obviously, Scrooge was very interested in such a proposal, because this mention almost made the Federal Reserve, which later really controlled the lifeblood of the United States, pop up more than ten years in advance.

"Yes, it's just that bankers generally don't have a good reputation, so you need to take the lead in this matter. In this way, resistance can be reduced. Morgan said, "As long as we can really set up such an institution and control it well, it is really not in our own interests." ”

"Mr. Morgan." Scrooge stood up and said, "You're a genius, it's a great idea. However, how to deal with the specific implementation plan and the issue of rights distribution? ”

Morgan smiled: "Scrooge, at present, this is completely just a basic idea, and the specific details need to be carefully discussed by those of us. I think Duck Castle is a good place where we can gather our friends and come up with a draft here. ”R1058