Chapter 238 World Creditor
"But there is a huge disparity in strength between the British Empire and the Boers. I believe the British will be able to deal with the Boers in a short time. Their own military industry can fully meet their requirements. Why let other countries profit?" As a company leader who was accustomed to making money from wars, Eugene DuPont naturally noticed the trend of the British Empire preparing for a major war in South Africa.
But given the current status of the British Empire in the world, no one would think that the Boers would have a good ending. Like everyone else, Eugene Dupont did not think that the Boers could hold out for long.
"The Dupont family originated from France?" Morgan looked at Eugene Dupont deeply and said, "Then you should know about the Fashoda incident. In fact, if you observe carefully, you will find that things are not that simple. Of course, this is just my judgment. Maybe the British can really deal with the Boers easily."
A French army led by Colonel Marchand crossed the Sahara Desert and arrived in the east. There, they encountered the British army stationed in Fashoda on the Nile River led by General Kitchener. The two armies confronted each other, neither of them gave in, and the situation was tense.
The reason for the conflict between Britain and France was that the African colonization plan formulated by France conflicted with the British colonization plan. The French African plan was to establish a French Africa occupying half of Africa from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of Africa, while the British plan was to extend from Cairo all the way down to Cape Town to establish a British Africa running from north to south. The respective plans of France and Britain were like a big cross, and Fashoda was the area where Britain and France happened to encounter each other.
Britain has always believed that the Nile River Basin is its sphere of influence and will never allow other countries to interfere. Therefore, Kitchener warned the French troops that "the presence of French troops in Fashoda and the Nile Valley is seen as a direct violation of the Egyptian government and the power of Great Britain" and ordered the French troops to withdraw from Fashoda. France was unwilling to give up the east-west coast connection that was about to be realized with the opening of the Nile River Basin, and was ready to use diplomatic negotiations to delay time. However, Britain's response was to order the naval fleet to prepare for battle, and the reserve fleet also began to be on combat readiness. The war between Britain and France was imminent. The French government was worried that if a war broke out with Britain, Germany might take advantage of the situation and had to make concessions.
Three months ago, Britain and France reached an agreement, in which France recognized Britain's exclusive right to the Nile Basin, and Britain recognized France's rights in Central and Western Sudan. This matter was regarded as a great humiliation by the whole of France and led to hostility between Britain and France.
"Many countries are paying attention to the British actions!" Morgan showed his unique insight. He just had a feeling that the war between the British and the Boers might not go smoothly.
It can be said that Britain's preparation for a major war in southern Africa has aroused the unanimous interest of all countries. These countries have one thing in common: almost all of them have fought wars with the British.
As a banker who was able to gain a foothold in the risky financial industry, Morgan was even ready to make a fortune from the war, and his urgency was no less than that of family businesses like DuPont that relied on war to make a fortune.
Morgan already knew that the British government had allocated 10 million pounds to support the war, but he believed that 10 million pounds was only the minimum preparation. Once the war lasted for more than half a year, the British would definitely open up financing channels, and he was ready to take action. If this situation really happened, he could tie up the DuPont Consortium and use the division of some profits as a financing requirement to help the DuPont Consortium catch its breath.
Now Morgan doesn't know what the final outcome of the war will be, but he has made preparations for both situations. If everything goes well for the British army, he will comfort Eugene DuPont. If not, he will take the DuPont Consortium and contract the war financing himself, and let the DuPont Consortium bear part of the British army's war supplies.
In this way, Morgan could make money while helping DuPont out of its trough. It was a sure-win deal no matter how you looked at it.
Morgan's debts had to be repaid, but the money earned by DuPont was repaid by the British government. Morgan did not pay for the DuPont family's benefits. Although this was the most ideal situation, there was always a certain chance of it happening, right? As a banker, Morgan felt that he could not restrain his greed when he was sure of success.
Compared to Sheffield and Rockefeller Jr. who were like thieves in the same city, the headquarters of **** was very lively. Everyone knew that the chairman of the DuPont consortium was a guest in person, and their bosses, the Morgan father and son, were negotiating cooperation.
The well-dressed and successful people, wearing expensive custom-made British suits and Italian handmade leather shoes, smiled at the guests from DuPont. As the backbone of the Morgan family, who run Wall Street, they maintained good self-cultivation and a comfortable attitude, and did not look down on their guests just because they dealt with explosives every day. Wall Street elites are Wall Street elites.
Morgan Jr. sent Eugene DuPont to the hotel and hurried back with some sorted documents in his hands. Even for such an important social event today, he still reported his work according to the usual procedures, "Father, documents on Argentine public debt and insurance industry."
"I believe that the successful issuance of Argentina's public debt, a share of 75 million US dollars, should calm me down. If we add the Mexican public debt, it will be 200 million US dollars. The profit we will make from it is unimaginable." Morgan did not hide his preference for money in front of his son. "Son, it is not the law that drives history forward, but money, only money."
"I know, father! Argentina's public debt is high-quality public debt, and many European countries have not raised tariffs on Argentina." Morgan Jr. nodded. He knew that his father was still upset about the Mexican public debt being intercepted. Even now that Argentina's debt has been successfully issued, it is still the same. This 75 million US dollars of public debt can only serve as a consolation.
One hundred years ago, Argentina, like other South American countries, was a country where blacks made up the majority of the population. But today, Argentina is a country similar to European countries, even more European than the United States. The speed of Argentina's economic growth is unparalleled in the world. Argentina exports a large amount of grain and beef to the world and is known as the "world's granary and meat storehouse." Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is called the "Paris of South America."
Although it may be of higher quality, other partners in the Morgan Alliance should be satisfied, but his father will never be satisfied.
"The tariff issue is a sore spot for the Sheffield family. The United Company has long been competing with the Argentines for a share of agricultural and livestock product exports!" Morgan gloated, but then he changed the subject and said, "Although agriculture and animal husbandry have a huge influence, they are not a good profession to fight risks, so the United Company's cash flow is actually not much. For this reason, Mrs. Anna has thought of many ways, such as selling lottery tickets and smuggling. It can be said that their family is lucky. They bought a lot of land and unexpectedly encountered such a large oil field. Finally, they have an important industry to monetize and can embark on a journey of rapid expansion."
"Our family is just the opposite. We have a huge cash-in business. The Sheffield family believes that everyone needs to eat. If they can decide what everyone eats, no one dares to touch them. But the cash-in ability of the agriculture and animal husbandry industry is limited. How much can the price increase be? Our family's insurance industry not only has stronger cash-in ability, but also has a huge coverage. It's true that everyone needs to eat, but the money spent on food is not much, and the agriculture and animal husbandry industry is not easy to monopolize. The Sheffield family, together with most of the farmers in the south, only has the ability to influence prices."
"Similarly, everyone is afraid of death, so our insurance companies are not only as influential as agriculture and animal husbandry, but also cover a wide range of people. Most importantly, in order to avoid death, citizens will not save money."
Young Morgan nodded. His father had said this many times. The Morgan family was a pioneer in the insurance industry, and he knew how important this industry was.
Old Morgan only glanced at Argentina's public debt, but spent a long time reading the insurance company's documents. Finally, he said, "What we lack is not capital. That's why I say that, unlike the Sheffield family, the United Company is overly asset-heavy, just like the DuPont Consortium. It has a lot of fixed assets, but it faces a lack of funds when it wants to expand. The DuPont Consortium has a more serious problem in this regard. The weakness of our company is that it is too focused on the financial industry and light assets. We have a lot of funds, but we have no influence in the basic industries. We must change this situation now."
"The rich and influential family is the Rockefeller family, the hegemon of the oil industry, so I have to get involved in the real economy to balance the layout that relies solely on light assets." Morgan envied the Rockefeller family and asked, "Do you believe that if there is a confrontation, the young heir of the Sheffield family will come forward? Rockefeller wants to use this ally to test our strength, and I have also found their opponent."
"If the US Treasury and Standard Oil come to a fight, it will be a huge, earth-shattering fight and it will not end well." J.P. Morgan Jr. understood what his father meant and even admired his father's prediction.
"That's right, my heir! I've sensed that things won't go so smoothly." Old Morgan finished reading all the documents and packed them up. Just as he was about to leave work, he suddenly stopped and said, "You should keep an eye on the financial institutions in London. Although we need to enter the industrial sector, we can't neglect our own fields. If one day the world hegemon can ask me for help, what am I? A world creditor!"
(End of this chapter)
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