America 1881: Legend of the West

Masonic Salon, 221 New York Avenue.

The original dim gas streetlights at the entrance have now been replaced by electric lights, and the sound of car horns has replaced the "dede" of horse hooves, becoming the main theme of New York night.

"Bang, bang!"

A car drove crookedly onto the curb and then rushed into the flower bed on the roadside.

The car was quite sturdy, but the ground went under and the wheels got stuck in the mud.

A young man stumbled out of the driver's seat and walked onto the road.

"Master! Master!" Another man jumped out of the passenger seat and caught up with the young man in front.

"Master, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

The young man took out a cigar from his clothes, lit it for himself, turned his head and glanced, and when he opened his mouth, he smelled of alcohol:

"Why are you panicking? It's okay, not a piece of flesh is missing from your body." He said disapprovingly, "You are a driver, so you should understand that this kind of situation is very common."

When the driver saw that his young master was okay, he went back to the car and squatted down alone, crying.

"Hey, isn't it just a broken car? That's all." The young man turned around with a cigar in his mouth and said disdainfully.

"Master, I can't explain it." The driver was about to cry.

"It's not you who drove the car. What do you want to explain?" The young man laughed. "Besides, I haven't been able to see the old man for several months now. How can he care about my life and death?"

"Leave the car here for now. You can drive another one to pick me up when you go back!"

After saying that, he swaggered towards the door of the salon.

The waiter at the door witnessed everything and was not surprised.

"Master Rockefeller, please show me your..."

The young man did not seem to be listening to the waiter.

He shook his head and began to fumble in his exceptional pocket.

But after touching for a long time, I didn't seem to find what I wanted.

"Do you think I can get in with this face?" The young man raised his head proudly and looked at the waiter.

"I'm sorry, Master Rockefeller, this is a rule." The waiter answered, not knowing whether he was joking or seriously, "What if you are in disguise?"

"Damn Irishman."

Little Rockefeller turned around and cursed in a low voice.

He walked back to his stalled car and grabbed the door handle.

But he tried hard for a long time, but he couldn't open the car door.

"Who the hell can help me open this damn car door!" he yelled, kicking the car door.

Fortunately, the driver didn't go far.

Hearing his young master's voice, he hurried back and opened the car door for his young master.

Little Rockefeller got half-body into the car and fumbled for another ten minutes before he found his Masonic badge under the car seat.

"Oh!"

He slammed the car door directly and walked towards the door of the Masonic Salon again.

The waiter said nothing this time, opened the door, and let little Rockefeller in.

Young Rockefeller walked through the long corridor hung with portraits of the pioneers of Freemasonry and came to the living room.

There were not many or few people in the living room, but they were basically his elders.

Morgan was still sitting in his seat near the bar; opposite him, barrister Hickman was wearing glasses and flipping through the pile of files.

Sugar tycoon Walter was also there. In addition, there were tobacco tycoon Washington Duke and others, as well as arms tycoon Chen Jianqiu.

Young Rockefeller was different from his father.

The elder Rockefeller's dislike of Chen Jianqiu stemmed from the fact that the latter "had a fight" with him when he first arrived in New Mexico, and the second was a devout Protestant's dissatisfaction with pagans.

If a person doesn't even believe in God, what bottom line can he have?

Young Rockefeller did not have such a strong sense of mission and belief.

Although he didn't have a good impression of Chen Jianqiu, he couldn't say he hated him deeply.

But he was also curious about why Chen Jianqiu appeared here.

The latter seemed to know what he was thinking, and gently turned his palm, revealing the Masonic badge on his palm.

Chen Jianqiu raised the half glass of whiskey in his hand and shook it at Little Rockefeller with a smile on his face.

When little Rockefeller saw the whiskey, he seemed to have forgotten everything, ran to sit down next to Chen Jianqiu, and poured himself a glass without hesitation.

As soon as he raised the wine to his mouth, he realized that there were two people sitting on the sofa opposite him.

One male and one female.

The man is Harriman, the vice president of Northern Securities, and the woman is his secretary and lover Eva.

A burst of anger suddenly rose from little Rockefeller's belly.

His badge was inherited from his father, and Chen Jianqiu's badge may have been given by Morgan.

The latter is also a hero after all.

Then why can these two people enter?

"Hmph!" Little Rockefeller snorted.

When he thought of the Irishman at the door just now, he became a little angry.

A redneck from the West, a nouveau riche, a woman.

Hiss~ This woman seems to be extraordinary.

When little Rockefeller's eyes fell on Eva, he found that Eva was also looking at her.

The woman wore a low-cut red dress today and her hair was pulled up, which clearly revealed the smallness of her face.

But Eva seemed to see through her disdain and looked at him coldly.

This made young Rockefeller feel like a thorn in his back.

Just as he was about to glare back defiantly, Morgan interrupted him.

"I called everyone here today to discuss with you the government's recent antitrust actions."

said the big banker.

His voice is very calm and neither arrogant nor impetuous.

“This sudden attack by the federal government on Northern Securities was carried out quickly and ruthlessly without any warning in advance.”

He did not say that he went to Washington to seek reconciliation.

"The government is determined to challenge us this time. If they want to do this, then we will have to go to court."

Morgan looked around the room.

"I have fought many lawsuits in my life, so I will fight for my rights to this government prosecution to the end. Our country is a country with the rule of law."

"But what I want to say is that if Northern Securities collapses, the government will not let you go! Today of Northern Securities is your tomorrow!"

Duke's head reached to Walter's ear and whispered:

"No wonder I heard that Carnegie has been quietly selling shares of the United Steel Company. It turns out that he had already received the news that the government was going to take action. This old and cunning guy."

"Yes, I heard about it too." Walter nodded, "It seems that there are always buyers secretly buying in."