America 1881: Legend of the West

"Mr. Chen, do you really want to give up this opportunity to control the entire steel industry in the United States?"

Carnegie stared at Chen Jianqiu and asked.

"You know, whether it's your railroad company or the arms industry, you need the support of steel."

"If one day, and I mean one day, my steel company changes hands, someone might have a chokehold on you."

He said slowly.

The figure of the oil tycoon appeared in Chen Jianqiu's mind.

"Rockefeller? It shouldn't be easy for him to eat you, right? As far as I know, he has been trying to challenge your position in the steel industry, but he has never succeeded."

Carnegie shook his head.

"not him."

The steel tycoon picked up his glass of whiskey again, took a sip, and looked out the window.

"No matter how rich Rockefeller was, he was still engaged in industry. He didn't have that much cash."

Chen Jianqiu glanced at each other.

They all understood what Carnegie meant.

If it weren't for Rockefeller, there was only one person in the country who had the ability to take over the Carnegie business empire.

"JP Morgan?"

Carnegie still looked out the window:

"Be careful with Morgan, he's more dangerous than he looks."

Hearing what Carnegie said, Chen Jianqiu fell into deep thought again.

Although Mr. Morgan has stood on his side in most incidents so far, many times his starting point is not for his own benefit.

Big bankers have never been men of faith.

As long as it benefits him, he will turn against his teammates faster than anyone else.

In addition, according to information from the Border Detective Agency, the president has a photo of his construction of the Baltimore port in Cuba.

Chen Jianqiu originally thought it was someone from Rockefeller who did it.

But based on Holiday's feedback, it seems unlikely.

In view of the fact that Standard Oil Company has been infiltrated by the Border Detective Agency, even a copy of the ledger has been copied.

The accuracy of this news deserves respect.

If it wasn't Rockefeller, who was it?

Chen Jianqiu had not thought about Morgan before, but now Carnegie reminded him.

"Let's see if my Pacific Railway Company can satisfy Morgan's appetite." Chen Jianqiu thought for a moment and said.

He spread his hands and said to the steel tycoon with some helplessness: "Look, Mr. Carnegie, I really don't have much cash to provide you. I have to sell the iron, and I have to recruit a bunch of other people."

Carnegie smiled: "I'm not in a hurry."

Yes, if this thing can be done, it will be a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so there is no rush.

After reaching an initial consensus, the atmosphere at the table suddenly became relaxed.

Scottish specialties were also served one after another.

There are lobsters and soup made from freshly caught sea fish from the port, which is extremely delicious.

Compared with the previous "haggis" which made people feel uncomfortable, these dishes look much more comfortable.

Not only is it delicious, but at least you won’t be tempted to vomit just by looking at the plate.

"By the way, Mr. Carnegie, I would like to ask you, are you willing to sell the steel empire you created?"

Chen Jianqiu asked while twisting the lobster's "arm".

"I am old and have only one daughter. There is no way I can maintain the Carnegie Steel Company by relying on her alone." Carnegie sighed.

"If the deal goes through, you will be the richest man in the world." Chen Jianqiu did a simple calculation in his mind and said.

"If Morgan were to buy my company, I would not only ask him to buy all my shares and then discount them; but if it were you, I wouldn't be so open-minded." Carnegie said.

"Oh? Why is this?" Chen Jianqiu asked curiously.

"After I heard about what you did, I wanted to understand one thing." Carnegie said, "After wealth reaches a certain level, to a person, it is just a number."

“Wealth means nothing if it doesn’t go back to society.”

Roosevelt and Chen Jianqiu both nodded in agreement.

It seems that the old man has figured it out as he is getting older.

"You let employees hold shares, set up worker pension organizations, and even implement an eight-hour working day."

"If it were before, I would definitely laugh at your naivety."

"I have always believed that I have achieved everything I have now through my own hard work, and the reason why those workers are workers is because they don't work as hard as me."

"I can't even understand why those workers hated me so much when they were on strike."

"Sometimes I think now, what have I brought to this country, what have I brought to this society? Is it just pain?"

"Mr. Carnegie, you don't have to belittle yourself. Your factory has brought jobs and paid taxes. It's not as bad as you thought."

Chen Jianqiu was afraid that if the old man continued to talk, he could not help but wipe his neck with a knife, so he comforted him.

But the steel tycoon looked at him sincerely:

"Mr. Chen, you are willing to share your wealth with others, so I decided to help more people like you."

"Oh, sometimes, it's just a habit. Trust me, you can also get a sense of accomplishment while helping others."

Chen Jianqiu didn't know how to respond to this "great enlightenment" steel tycoon, so he could only say this.

But he suddenly remembered something again and continued to ask:

"Mr. Carnegie, you are willing to sell your life's work to me. I'm afraid it's not just for this reason, right?"

The steel tycoon suddenly took out a golden pocket watch from his shirt.

The workmanship of the pocket watch is extremely exquisite, and the hollow pattern on the cover is particularly eye-catching.

He put the pocket watch in his hand and played with it for a while, then opened the cover, took out his handkerchief and wiped the dial carefully.

"This pocket watch was given to me by my mentor." Carnegie looked at the pocket watch in his hand with a complicated expression.

Chen Jianqiu stopped what he was doing, wiped his mouth, and began to listen carefully.

Mentor? Does this old man who is about to die still have a mentor?

"I don't know if you've ever heard of Scott," Carnegie said.

Chen Jianqiu raised his eyebrows.

I've heard of it, why haven't I heard of it? The old man's body is still buried in the wilderness of New Mexico.

But with Carnegie's next description, Chen Jianqiu realized that this Scott was not Scott.

Carnegie’s mentor was another railroad tycoon after Vanderbilt.

He can be regarded as Chen Jianqiu's senior.

Before Carnegie became famous, he worked in his railroad company and was highly regarded. He was regarded as a close disciple of the latter.

But later there was a business collision with Rockefeller's business empire.

Rockefeller struggled to lose money and replaced railway transportation with oil pipeline transportation, which made the desperate Scott bankrupt and indirectly led to his suicide.

"I will never forget the death of my mentor." Carnegie looked a little painful.

He looked at Chen Jianqiu hopefully:

"Mr. Chen, in my life, I have never been able to avenge my mentor. The most I can do is compete with Rockefeller in another field."

"I know the grudge between you and him, so I hope you don't lose!"

"Okay, let me lend you some good words."

Chen Jianqiu smiled and raised his glass.

"May those who died rest in peace!"

Roosevelt and Carnegie also raised their glasses.

After the three people greeted each other in the distance, they drank all the wine in their glasses.

After chatting for a while longer, they walked out of the restaurant.

Carnegie's driver drove the steel tycoon away first.

After watching the car leave, Roosevelt and Chen Jianqiu also walked towards their own cars.

However, after the two of them walked to the car, Chen Jianqiu just opened the door and checked whether the fishing rod in the back seat was still there, then closed the door again, walked past the car and walked forward.

"Aren't we going to drive away?" Roosevelt was stunned.

Chen Jianqiu turned around, looked at Mr. Vice President, and said with regret:

“Don’t drink when you drive, don’t drive when you drink, Mr. Vice President.”

Roosevelt was stunned.

He had never heard of this law in the United States.

When it comes to drinking, are there not many people in the West who drink while riding horses?

Which one is this?

"Let's go, Teddy, let's walk along the coast to the city." Chen Jianqiu urged when he saw that Roosevelt was not moving.

"Let's go! We just need to digest after eating. Let's take a walk back."

"You're not really planning to sell the Pacific Railroad to Morgan, are you? Then another railroad giant will appear in the United States!"

On the way back, Roosevelt asked Chen Jianqiu a little worriedly.

"A Big Mac is a Big Mac. The bigger it is built, the more enjoyable it is to dismantle it."

Chen Jianqiu disagreed.

He suddenly thought of Morgan for no reason.

At this time, Morgan was indeed with Rockefeller.

He was asking the latter for the spoils of the gambling game.