Morgan simply mentioned the general situation to Scrooge on the phone, after all, the complexity of this kind of thing is not something that can be explained clearly in three or two sentences. So Morgan simply asked, "Scrooge, are you free tomorrow?" I'll be here tomorrow morning at Duck Castle, and we'll have a detailed talk. ”

"Okay." "Mr. Rockefeller happened to be in New York, and the three of us discussed it together." ”

Rockefeller came to New York this time for the purpose of the New York oil refinery, which was about to be put into operation. Now the warships of the U.S. Navy are gradually replaced with steam turbine power, although theoretically, steam turbines can also burn coal, but as fuel, petroleum products have the obvious advantage of higher energy density. In other words, the use of petroleum fuel can increase the range by a lot and save a lot of storage space. In addition, because there is no need to remove the slag, the liquid fuel does not need to be poured into the furnace by the workers one by one, which not only saves the space of the boiler, but also saves manpower, and more living space for workers. In terms of transportation, ships using petroleum refining fuel have gained considerable advantages over coal-fired ships, and considering that the price of oil is not high now, even cargo ships that do not have high requirements for speed have an economic advantage in using oil. As a result, in addition to the Navy's new warships, even some shipowners who originally used traditional coal-fired reciprocating steam engines began to improve their steam engines so that they could burn fuel. The boilers of some newly built ships were directly made into oil-fired boilers.

This demand made oil smelting more profitable, so Rockefeller built such a refinery in New York to produce marine fuel. In addition, the residue left over from oil refining, that is, asphalt, can also be sold to the municipal department to pave the road.

At about half past eight the next morning, Morgan arrived at Duck Castle. It wasn't easy, Duck Fort was far out of the city, and Morgan would normally have to get up very early to arrive at that time. It's even more difficult considering that Morgan has always been resistant to things like waking up early. Scrooge had thought Morgan wouldn't arrive until about ten o'clock. So when Anna told him, perhaps Mr. Morgan's carriage, was heading for Duckburg, Scrooge was taken aback. But when Scrooge looked out the window and found that the main hall of the New Pirate yacht was on the dock not far away, Scrooge understood that Morgan had probably been fooling around on the ship for another night, and then the ship had come running in the morning. Maybe this guy just got up and finished breakfast.

……

"Where do they want to invest?" As soon as a few people sat down, Scrooge asked.

"Railways, coal mines. In addition, I heard that the Rothschilds had opened an oil refinery in England, and it was said that they had received a lot of technical support from Cambridge, and the oil produced was of good quality. Maybe this guy will come and buy an oil field or two, and then open an oil refinery to steal business with you. Morgan gloated and said, "John, the Rothschilds have a lot of money, and it looks like you're going to meet a tough opponent." ”

"Hmph." Rockefeller didn't speak, just snorted with his nose to show his attitude. The Rothschilds were indeed rich, and with the help of the British, they were also technically powerful. But do they think that if a Jew is the Chancellor of the Exchequer in England, they can do the same in the United States? Then they would have made the same mistake as last time, which was too contemptuous of American power.

"Scrooge, I've heard that they've just taken control of the pharmaceutical factory in the UK, well, the one in which you also have a stake in it. I wonder if they're going to make money by imitating your routine. What's it called? Well, Scrooge you said, 'Take someone else's path and leave someone else with no way out.' 'You have to be careful, but don't let those vampires get you out of the way. ”

The means of following competition are also common tricks in later generations, and if used well, it does have the effect of "taking the road of others, making people have no way out". In the e-commerce of later generations, there is such a model. The first example is the well-known Microsoft. In the nineties of the twentieth century, there was a company called Netscape, which developed a web browser called Netscape, well, this thing was one of the sparks that ignited the Internet boom later. At one time, it occupied most of the market share. Then, well, the evil Microsoft saw that this market was very profitable, so they bundled their self-developed IE browser into their own plague and death hype system, and ran to the road of Netscape. And then, well, with its overwhelming market share in the operating system, Microsoft really got Netscape in nowhere. After a few years of hard work, it's finally over. Although before the end, the U.S. court ruled that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws, it was too late, Netscape had already lost almost all of its market share, and it didn't take long to hear this verdict to smile at Jiuquan.

In China, there are such models, for example, penguins are a typical example. However, it is not easy to "go other people's way, so that others have no way out", he needs you to have an overwhelming advantage in some aspect of the relevant area, in order to use this advantage to make the family "no way out". This is the case with both Microsoft and Penguin. But now, although the Rothschilds are powerful, does he have a business that is highly related to Scrooge's money-making methods, and has an overwhelming advantage to support him? If not, how could he let Scrooge go the way and leave Scrooge with no way out?

"Ah, I know that. I'm even talking to them about licensing heroin. Scrooge said disapprehantly, "Don't be surprised, Mr. Morgan, it's normal. The patent term for heroin is also approaching. In two years, the whole world will be free to produce this thing. Therefore, as long as Rothschild is willing to pay for it, there is nothing wrong with authorizing them a year or two in advance. As long as they are willing to pay. ”

"Even if the patent expires, but your brand has established credibility, it's not easy for others to compete with you. Why should you ...... I see, Scrooge, you must have some big project hidden in your hands, especially the kind that can make money, so you are in a hurry to ask for money now, aren't you? You want money to tell me......" Morgan first expressed his confusion at Scrooge's approach, and then said with a look of sudden realization.

"Nothing." Scrooge denied it, saying, "That's not the reason I sold my heroin patent. But I can't say right now. Mr. Morgan, I don't think there's anything to be afraid of European capital coming to us. The fact that European capital is willing to take risks and come to us naturally shows that the economic situation in Europe is not optimistic. If you can make money easily in Europe, then why come to us? They want to come here to grab money, but they have to put money in first, right? It's easy for the money to come in, but if you want to get out, it's not necessarily. With Rothschild taking the lead, I'm sure there will be a whole bunch of European capital that follows them and jumps around in the United States. With some hot money like this, the U.S. economy is bound to overheat in the next few years. And then, and then what will happen, I think you know better than I am. ”

Morgan certainly knows what can happen in such a situation, nothing more than a sudden bad news in the midst of a good situation, and then the stock market or something starts to crash, and then there is an economic disaster.

"Scrooge, you're not a good person." Morgan said, "What you mean is to let them invest like crazy, turn all their money into industries that they can't just throw away, and then take advantage of the frenzy before the crash to quietly sell some of their non-critical industries, and when the stock market crashes, European capital can only cut the meat and stop the loss, and at that time, you buy it back at a low price." If you come and go, the Europeans will help you build a factory or something, and then buy it for you. Well, you must be under the guise of such an ism. ”

"I'm just following the example of those who succeeded, just as in the crisis of 1857, Mr. Morgan Sr. made a series of impressive moves." Scrooge replied with a smile, "How can I say I'm not a good person?" Besides, believing in God, paying taxes, and cheating the British, isn't that the most important thing an American should do? ”

"So, what do you think are the sectors that you can temporarily let go and let them invest?" Morgan asked again.

"Ah, some industries that don't have absolute monopolies. There are also industries that seem to be highly profitable, but there are no technical barriers brought about by core technology. Well, for example, railways, shipbuilding, and even power facilities, such as cable making, utility poles, and line installation. ”

"It's okay to extract oil." Rockefeller suddenly interjected, "It's the same with even low-tech refining." Scrooge, if you don't object, I'm going to raise the price of petroleum products and crude oil a little bit more, so that they feel like they have money to make into the industry, well, so that in a few years we can take over the fields and factories that the Europeans have left behind. ”

"Good." Morgan smiled, "Just like before the last war." ”

"No, it's not the same as last time, this time we're going to trap them in more money." Scrooge smiled and said to Morgan, "Well, let's cooperate well and fight a beautiful war of annihilation against those European capitals." ”