Chapter Ninety-Six: Preparations in Secret

In 1882, the United States railroad construction fell sharply, triggering the thirteenth economic crisis in the history of the world economy! Banks and investors sold off railroad stocks and bonds, and the scale of railroad investment shrank sharply. In the four years from 1882 to 1886, the international wholesale price index fell by 24%, and the capitalist world was depressed for almost four years!

This economic crisis, which began in the United States, soon spread to Europe, with Britain and France being the most serious, with a large number of steel, shipbuilding, banking, and other enterprises closing down, as many as several thousand bankrupt factories, and the number of unemployed workers skyrocketing!

Huoshan has been secretly planning for this imminent economic crisis more than a year ago, and now it is almost time to harvest!

"How much money do we have prepared now?" Huo Shan asked after thinking about it.

"It's close to $100 million!"

"Oh, there are already so many?" Huo Shan was a little surprised when he heard this number, because now is not the future of inflation, according to the calculation of one dollar and two square meters of silver, one hundred million dollars is one hundred million taels of silver, which is an unimaginable astronomical amount in this era of scarcity of materials and relatively backward economy!

"Yes, we received 30 million US dollars from Standard Oil at the beginning, except for the salaries of personnel, the company's office buildings and other company real estate, and the purchase of 500,000 tons of oil refining equipment at the beginning, we have deposited the rest of the money in the Standard Bank of the Americas! In addition, we have made nearly $40 million in the share of sales from the Texas Oil Company, the five million oil field purchases that Standard Oil Company gives us every year, and the two Mexican iron ore mines that we have developed in cooperation with Carnegie Steel! All of these combined amounts have been close to $80 million! In addition, we have been investing in the stocks of American steel, railroad, shipbuilding, and other heavy industrial companies in the stock market, and the harvest is also very rich. Now, the funds under our direct control are close to 100 million, and the stock market in the United States is still very hot, and these stocks in our hands are still rising, so when the time comes for the young master to say, I am afraid that our capital will be even stronger than now!" Huo Wolf said with a few treasures.

"Well, are those two guys still safe now?" Huo Shan, who was in a good mood, couldn't help but ask with a smile after hearing that he already had so much money.

"Stark and John are getting along well now, they have become frequent visitors to the American high society, I'm afraid that even if the young master lets them go now, they won't leave!"

"Don't be careless, Huo Wolf! People's hopes are endless, and sometimes they suddenly get too much, and they often lose their rational judgment! Therefore, the means of monitoring should not be less! After all, we don't have a lot of money in the United States now!"

"Understood, young master, I'll be extra careful!" Huo Wolf replied with a cautious face.

"Well, and how is our situation in northwest Canada? Huo Leopard has stayed there for a year and hasn't come back, except for every time the 'Snow Leopard' escorts the gold back, we can get some news there, we really lack information there!" Huo Shan couldn't help but say with some complaints. Of course, he just said it, after all, the gold of Alaska and northwestern Canada is a huge wealth that can make the devil feel excited, and he can only rest assured if he puts Huo Bao there!

"Hehe, young master, this is also something that can't be helped, the Pacific Ocean is too vast! It takes two or three months to go back and forth from the Yukon to Taiwan! So unless we can lay the submarine cables! Otherwise, this situation will not change!" Huo Wolf replied with a smile.

"Yes, but now is not the time to lay submarine cables, as for the future, there will always be a way!" Thinking about the radio communication that was getting farther and farther away, Huo Shan said!

"Well, yes! Now that technology is developing so fast, maybe one day we can go back and forth in just one day!"

Hearing this, Huo Shan couldn't help but glance at him with some surprise, this kind of idea is indeed very good and advanced, but it is not a utopian dream, as long as it takes a few decades, when the aircraft is developed and matured, the global connection will be even closer! Going back and forth between Canada and Taiwan in one day, it will also become a reality!

"Okay, let's not talk about that, tell me about the specific situation where we are, okay?" Huo Shan said after waving his hand.

"Yes, young master, we now have a Chinese population of nearly one million in the whole of Alaska and the northwestern parts of Canada, mainly in the coastal areas of Fairbanks, Dawson, Whitehorse, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Moreover, more than half of them were recruited by us from within the United States! There are very few people who have emigrated from the United States, and less than one-third of them have immigrated from the country! In addition, in addition to the nearly 500-strong 'Snow Wolf' special forces, the 25th Division of the Army is nearly 20,000 people! However, that guy Deng Shan has complained to me several times, saying that his troops, in addition to hunting all day long, are about to become militiamen, even after endless training!"

"Didn't I give him a task? Although there are no big battles, there are also plenty of opportunities to exercise?"

"Young master, the population of Canada is less than three million, and they are basically all located near the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, and there are already few people in the northwest region, plus we have been constantly fighting cold shots in the past two years, and destroying the ruling institutions and economic construction of the two countries there, and now there are nine and a half out of ten residents living there, and there are not many of them left! The remaining natives don't dare to provoke us! Deng Shan is indeed a little idle and panicked there now! I think the young master should find him another errand!" Huo Wolf said truthfully! Of course, there is also a reason for being entrusted by others! After all, the troops are guarding there all day, and there is no entertainment program, and the time is short, and it is nothing, and if the time is long, it is a person who can't stand it!

Hearing his words, Huo Shan couldn't help but pat his head with a headache, the army is really a double-edged sword, and if it is not used well, it is easy to hurt himself! Moreover, he also understands Deng Shan's difficulties, nearly 20,000 old men stay together, and after a long time, they will have impulses when they see sows, let alone people!

"In this case, after you go back, tell him to divide the army evenly into companies and platoons to each village and town where we are, and turn them into militias! He will be the commander of the militia of our Huo Jiajun there, but the number of the 25th Division cannot be revoked! Maybe one day we will need them!" After thinking about it, Huo Shan said slowly! There are a lot of troops of 20,000, and the goal is also big, so it is impossible to transport them back to the Far East! Changing jobs to the people may be the best way to solve the problem!

"I understand, young master! When I go back, I'll tell him!"

"Well, I know! I've been putting you outside all these years, just for the scientists on that list, and now that two years have passed, you're almost busy! Next year, you will hand over the work to the people below!" "In the past few years, although Huo Wolf has been in charge of the Military Intelligence Bureau, all year round, except for the scientists from all over the world who have searched for Huo Shan on the list of Huo Shan for the Dragon's Lair, he has been in Taiwan for less than a month, and all the things of the Intelligence Bureau are usually managed by Huo Long! But this is also something that can't be helped, this matter is too important, leave it to others, Huo Shan is really not at ease!

"I see, young master!" Huo Wolf replied calmly.