America 1881: Legend of the West

Rockefeller has been unhappy lately.

Logically speaking, since McKinley came to power and strongly supported the development of monopoly capital, Rockefeller and his Standard Oil Trust were invincible.

The take-off of the United States is based on the rapid development of domestic industry.

Oil is the blood of industry, and Rockefeller controlled oil.

How could his wealth not expand rapidly?

But he was still unhappy.

"These damn newspapers like to make some big news every day, set up some characters, and let the people fall into nihilistic idolatry every day."

At No. 221 New York Avenue, still in the small salon of the Freemasonry, Rockefeller was holding a newspaper in his hand and muttering in a low voice.

The headline of the newspaper published a large photo of Chen Jianqiu and Roosevelt capturing the San Juan Heights.

There are two people Rockefeller hates most right now.

One is Roosevelt and the other is Chen Jianqiu.

The former showed strong political ambitions and aversion to monopoly capitalists.

Not to mention the latter.

Now the two men actually appear in the same photo and are promoted as American war heroes.

"Chen and Roosevelt proved with their heroic performance that they are not just sitting back and talking, but are willing to sacrifice everything for this wonderful country to achieve glory."

Rockefeller read the words in the newspaper, felt irritated for no reason, and threw the newspaper aside.

He turned to Morgan who was staring at him intently with a rather playful look in his eyes:

"Tell me, why did Roosevelt turn a blind eye to his Chinese friend when he clearly had objections to monopoly trusts?"

"Strictly speaking, Chen's company is not a monopoly." Morgan's gaze turned to the ceiling. "Although he is involved in many industries, the only ones that have some degree of monopoly are arms and railways."

"But for those companies in the Gunpowder Association, he doesn't get involved in the management, and he doesn't even hold a shareholding. So if you want to accuse him of monopolizing, it's mostly about raw materials and industry standards."

"As for the railway?"

Morgan did not continue.

Because as we all know, the railways in the western United States belong to Chen Jianqiu, and the railways in the eastern United States belong to Morgan.

In addition, the improvement in railway efficiency brought by industry consolidation after the financial crisis is obvious, so discussions in this regard continue.

"Maybe he saved Roosevelt's life." Morgan thought for a moment and said.

"But do you know what he has been doing recently?" Rockefeller sat up straight and came closer. "He is recruiting soldiers who have withdrawn from the War Department and the army."

"If this continues, he will not just be a monopoly." He said with worry.

Morgan smiled.

"It doesn't seem like it's something you need to worry about. Oh, of course, it's not something I need to worry about either."

What he said next made the oil tycoon even more uncomfortable:

"Chen is a tycoon. He is now full-fledged. Like Roosevelt, he is an American hero. Although his wealth is not as good as yours, it is basically impossible for you to fundamentally shake him."

Rockefeller remained silent.

Morgan crossed his legs, spread his palms, and said sincerely:

"I'll give you a suggestion. Why don't you cooperate with him and get a piece of the pie like me?"

"You have different boundaries. There is no need to have a fight that lasts forever."

Rockefeller snorted.

Of course he understood what Morgan meant by this.

However, he disagreed with Morgan's statement.

He, Chen Jianqiu, is a tycoon, but I, Rockefeller, am an honest person?

Since they are not on good terms, there is no possibility of coexistence.

Rockefeller's philosophy is: I want it, I want it, and I want it too!

The expansion of capital is endless and has nothing to do with the field.

His bet with Morgan is still there.

Although the bet seems a bit trivial now, Rockefeller cared more about whether Chen Jianqiu would die than the bet.

This person's thinking mode seems to be different from that of himself and people like Morgan.

He vaguely felt that if he was allowed to continue like this, he would fall into his hands sooner or later.

Rockefeller thought for a long time before standing up.

After saying a brief farewell to Morgan, he put on his hat and walked out of the salon.

"Chen, you have a weakness."

In the night, the corners of Rockefeller's mouth raised slightly.

"Your weakness is that you are Chinese."

Chen Jianqiu did not know about the discussion in the Masonic Salon.

He had returned to Roswell by this time.

Firstly, it was because he had been busy leading the team to fight in Cuba a while ago and had no time to deal with business matters. Secondly, the inventors of the Roswell Science Committee had come up with some new things, and he needed to personally decide whether they were commercially viable. Value, whether to mass-produce or continue research, or give up and cut off the project.

The Roswell Chamber was packed today.

All members of the Roswell Society of Scientists attended.

Under normal circumstances, the scientists or engineers who can be recruited are somewhat arrogant.

Many people don't have much interest in this kind of administrative meeting unless it is a seminar.

Sometimes I study retreats, or I am too busy to get away from it, so I basically won’t attend.

The chairman of the association, Holmes himself, is a carefree person, and the vice chairman, Browning, is basically perfunctory.

Therefore, the usual regular meetings are basically sparse.

But whenever Boss Chen comes to attend a meeting, the old members will come out of their laboratories or workshops.

Not only that, they also bring a big bag or sack.

When Boss Chen walked into the Roswell Assembly Hall wearing a cloth robe, he was followed by several followers.

Each of them held a large box in their hands.

Chen Jianqiu strode to his seat at the top of the long table and sat down.

This chair has been there for almost ten years, and Chen Jianqiu has been sitting on it for ten years.

Usually when he is away, whether it is a meeting in Roswell Town or a scientific association meeting, the chair will basically be left empty.

A ceramic tea bowl was delivered to Chen Jianqiu, along with an iron ashtray.

A bowl of tea, a cigarette, and a half-day meeting.

In Chen Jianqiu's self-deprecating words, this is one of the manifestations of his entering middle age.

Fortunately, the hair is still there and getting longer and stronger.

Chen Jianqiu picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. After putting it down, he was about to take out his cigar when he suddenly realized that the people sitting at the table were staring at him.

He waved his hand at the followers:

"What are you doing standing there? Open the box."