A few days later, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Northern Securities held a regular press conference here, and Mr. Harriman, vice president, answered questions from reporters on behalf of Northern Securities.

"Mr. Harriman, what do you think about the Minnesota prosecutor suing your company and alleging that your company is suspected of monopoly?"

A reporter stood up and asked.

"Nonsense!" Harriman righteously rebuked, "That's slander. ”

"But allegedly in court, they provided ample evidence to prove this, such as your plans to further acquire the remaining railways and increase freight rates again."

The reporter asked relentlessly.

Harriman was about to answer.

I don't know if it's because the heating in the house is too full, or if it's because you stand for too long.

The headlights at the top of the room shone through.

He suddenly felt dizzy, his calves were a little weak, and he couldn't support it.

A sharp ache came from the lower back.

Harriman's hand couldn't help but hold his waist, and his eyes glanced at Eva, who was sitting in the back row of the audience.

The woman took out a small mirror to touch up her makeup as if no one was around.

Noticing Harriman looking at him, he removed the small mirror.

She sucked her thumb lightly, wrapped the tip of her tongue around the direct fingernail, and smiled seductively at the VP.

Harriman shuddered and began to shake.

Morgan couldn't stand it from the audience.

He stood up, gathered his clothes, and walked up.

He was sixty-six years old, but he seemed to be much stronger mentally than a rickety Harriman.

Morgan took the microphone and motioned for Harriman to go down first.

"Mr. Harry is feeling a little unwell, and I will answer your questions on his behalf."

Morgan went on to say:

"First of all, Mr. Reporter."

He turned his gaze to the reporter who was asking a question.

"The accusations you made about our monopoly do not exist."

"The railroads involved in this case in Minnesota belong to two different companies, but Northern Securities only controls the two companies at the same time, and does not form a so-called monopoly."

"And according to our information, the judges in Minnesota don't agree with the prosecutor's accusations, so the odds of them winning are almost non-existent."

The reporter who had just asked the question raised his hand again, but Morgan decisively ignored it.

The old banker continued his statement:

"You always blame the acquisition of Northern Securities, saying that such behavior will destroy the market and bring disaster to the economy."

He paused deliberately, the corners of his mouth curled slightly, and his face was mocking:

"Have you ever wondered what Minnesota's railroads were like before we came along?"

"Vicious competition! The two railroad companies were able to build two parallel railroads between the two locations and then fight for the source of passengers. ”

"They don't have a unified standard, their operation is chaotic, there is malicious competition between various companies, and all kinds of chaos emerge in endlessly!"

"The Western Railway Company has clearly solved this problem." Someone muttered below.

Although the voice was small, it was keenly captured by Morgan.

His ears didn't look at all like that of an old man in his sixties.

"You're right, Mr. Chen's Western Railroad Company pioneered this, but he focused more on other things, so he entrusted me with the future of the country's railways, and we have a very good relationship."

Morgan nodded.

"I'll give you another example, Mr. Harriman's company"

His eyes searched the front rows of the audience for the figure of the vice president who had stepped down, but he unexpectedly did not find it.

Morgan continued his search and found Harriman in the last row.

The guy's hand was already under Eva's skirt.

And the woman next to him actually looked at him with a confused expression, and the crimson on her face had already floated to the foundation.

Harriman didn't seem to hear himself mention him at all, and his lover was a little bit of a sideshower.

Morgan suddenly felt a little nauseous, and stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

"In short, a lot of railroad companies are doing whatever it takes to compete and make their shareholders suffer."

"And since the emergence of Northern Securities, such a thing will not happen again. We have brought order and created wealth! May I ask, do you welcome this so-called 'monopoly' or not? ”

The reporters below took notes one after another, and many of them forgot to continue asking questions.

But the reporter just now still didn't intend to give up, he didn't even raise his hand, and stood up:

"But! Mr. Morgan! Coal and lumber prices in New York City have risen by 20 percent this year due to higher freight rates! Many poor people can no longer afford coal for heating! ”

"Mr. Reporter, please raise your hand before you speak," the host on the side stopped him, but was stopped by Morgan in the middle of speaking.

The banker is very calm.

He looked at the reporter, smiled and said:

"Mr. Reporter, this is very normal market behavior!"

"We live in the best time America has ever lived!"

"The economy is booming, the world is focused on it, there is a lot of opportunity and hope, and millionaires are being born all the time!"

"But some people always like to complain, have they ever reflected that they can't afford coal, could it be that they don't work hard enough?"

The reporters below began to talk to each other, whispering.

Morgan didn't care if the gang would get his word out or not.

He's just a businessman, not a politician, and he doesn't need votes, so he doesn't care what civilians think.

The press conference ended quickly.

During the end, Morgan met Chen Jianqiu with a cigar in his mouth in the hallway at the door.

"Mr. Chen, why are you here?" Morgan was a little weird.

He remembered that he didn't invite Chen Jianqiu, and he didn't see this yellow-skinned Chinese boss in the venue just now.

However, Morgan still held Chen Jianqiu's hand.

"Oh, our Gunpowder Association is also having a meeting at the Astra Hotel next door, and I just happened to come out to breathe."

Chen Jianqiu pointed to the other end of the corridor and said.

Since the reconciliation between Astor Jr. and his cousin, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and the Astra Hotel have been connected by a 300-meter-long promenade.

As a close friend of little Aster, it is understandable that Chen Jianqiu held the meeting of the Gunpowder Association at the Astra Hotel.

Morgan withdrew his hand and asked in a low voice:

"Has the government been in trouble with you lately?"

Although the model of the Gunpowder Association is different from that of Northern Securities, Morgan does not know their operating mechanism very well.

However, judging from the situation in the market, it should also be a kind of monopoly.

If Northern Securities is attacked, the Gunpowder Association will not be able to escape.

Chen Jianqiu took a puff of his cigar and frowned:

"Yes, it's said that the New Mexico government is going to sue us."

Morgan didn't quite trust his ears.

"New Mexico? Isn't that an autonomous prefecture that has become Chinese? Why sue the Gunpowder Association? ”

"It's good that New Mexico is a Chinese autonomous state, but it is also the largest arms production base in the west.

"The autonomous canton still maintains the same political system as the other states of the federation, and I have to respect the people's choice, right?"

Chen Jianqiu sighed.

"Alas, it's all a bunch of white-eyed wolves who can't be fed."

Morgan suddenly realized.

It seems that Chen Jianqiu's backyard is on fire.

He patted Chen Jianqiu on the shoulder and whispered, "Don't worry, as long as the federation doesn't make a move, these states won't be able to do anything to us." ”

Chen Jianqiu nodded: "Mr. Morgan, borrow your auspicious words." ”

While the two were biting their ears, Eva took Harriman's arm and walked up to them.

"Harriman, wait a minute, I have something to tell you." Morgan waved at Harriman.

Harriman is flirting with Eva in high spirits.

"Honey, you're so clever."

"I grew up by the sea, and if you want to get something out of the crevices of the reef, you need a dexterous finger."

Morgan coughed.

"You go over there and wait for me first!" Harriman slapped Eva's round buttocks.

"Harriman, it's not good for you to do this."

When Eva was too far away to hear them, Morgan got straight to the point.

"I don't interfere in your private life, but I hope you will be mindful of your influence in public. After all, you are the vice president of Northern Securities. ”

Although at first, he was very satisfied with Harriman's "joy".

But he found himself underestimating Harriman's bottom line.

If reporters and other shareholders find themselves looking for such a rough and uneducated person to be vice president, they are afraid that they will make a fuss about it and bear on the future of the company.

But Harriman wasn't a fuel-efficient lamp, and he looked unimpressed.

Seeing Harriman like this, Morgan didn't want to say anything more, just said a good word and turned away.

"Why is this old man like this?" Harriman looked at Morgan's back, a little dissatisfied, "We don't all do this in the West. You say yes, Mr. Chen. ”

Chen Jianqiu smiled and didn't speak.

"Say, is he jealous of my youth and strength?" "I heard from his butler that he had to get up in the middle of the night to pee several times. ”

"Possibly."

Chen Jianqiu took a puff of his cigar.

Morgan took the elevator all the way to the first floor.

He had just put on his coat and hat and walked out of the hotel gate, about to board his car, when he suddenly noticed a group of reporters gathered in front of the Astra Hotel next door.

The gang seemed to have just sent off a big man, and when they saw Morgan come out, they rushed over from there.

This caught the battle-hardened Morgan a little off guard.

Before he could react, the reporters began to "bomb wildly":

"Mr. Morgan, what do you think of the claim made by the Federal Attorney General, Mr. Knox, that the federal government will formally sue Northern Securities?"

"What did you say?" Morgan couldn't believe his ears, "Knox? Where is it announced? When? ”

The reporters glanced at each other and invariably pointed to the Astra Hotel next door:

"Just now, at the Astra Hotel!"

A gust of wind blew Morgan's hat up and landed on the street in the distance.

(End of chapter)