Chapter 648 The Wheel of History
"There are days to relax, but instead of doing your job, you just make movies." Gail said with a wry smile, "It's a waste of time."
"I called you back from Puerto Rico for your life. Don't be a human in your next life. Just be a hanged man. I'm really afraid that one day you will die in a woman's belly without me knowing it." Sheffield sighed as he looked at Gail's obviously swollen eyes, "How about I put you in jail for a while. I think you will thank me."
"William is right. Your life is a waste of time." McHale took a sip of juice and said, "We should cherish our bodies and go out for a walk. I feel pretty good after returning to Brazil this time."
"If I don't go back for ten years, nothing will change. What's good about that?" Gail said impatiently. "I'm responsible for the important responsibility of managing Puerto Rico's industries. Don't I make money? The cash flow is no less. As for the international trading company, there is a professional team of managers to manage it. The worst that can happen is fake accounts. Nothing serious will happen."
"I mean everyone should relax. How much money you can make from working all day is important, but it's not the most important thing." Sheffield hesitated, "Not everyone can make all the money. I can't do that. If someone really has this ability, they'll have to worry about whether their life will be in danger."
Slave owners also want to make money, but given the current environment, there are not many places where breakthroughs can occur. They can only wait for the environment to change, and this change is waiting for the real powers in Europe to kill each other.
If there had not been a world war, Sheffield would have doubted whether the United States would have dared to challenge the world's hegemony with military force, because the United States' opponents had long been Spain, Haiti, and Vietnam. The Korean War and the Vietnam War were two wars in which the United States fought very bravely.
It was a rare case of a single leader taking the lead, but it did not bring victory. The United States has always had a big problem with its will to fight. Not to mention learning from its father, the British Empire, to beat up all the powers, even if it beat India and Brazil to make up for the situation, there is no such example. In terms of war opponents, Japan should be the strongest, but everyone knows Japan's potential, a standard one-wave opponent.
But almost all countries in this world are soft-hearted and not hard-hearted. If Europe had not declined, several self-righteous countries in America might have dared to act recklessly in front of the United States.
A recent example proves this point. Apart from the public opinion on the issue of black people in the country, President Wilson formally apologized to Colombia and expressed his willingness to pay a suitable amount of compensation.
This move has caused controversy not only among Republicans but also among Democrats. You have to know that the Democratic Party is a typical war party, advocating even more than the Republican Party a hundred years later. They just robbed, but they actually apologized to Colombia, which is not even a hegemon in Latin America? It is simply unreasonable.
Even Gale, who had returned to New Orleans, asked if this was true, and the slave owner replied in the affirmative, but both he and McHale expressed their incomprehension.
"We are a strong country and they hate us, but we are not the strongest, so they have even more reason to hate us. Being in this embarrassing position will lead to this result. I have said this before." Sheffield shrugged helplessly. That's good enough.
At least the slave owners felt very happy. In another time and space, the slogan of entering the country would have been shouted long ago.
"Now that you're back, see which actress is suitable. All the beauties in the country are here. Forget the Gish sisters, they're a little young." Sheffield turned to some lighter topics.
"I see that female star always looks over here, whether she has something to do or not. The relationship between you two must be extraordinary." When it comes to this issue, Gale has an expression that says, "I'm not sleepy anymore," and suddenly he is much more energetic. "I heard that Annie arranged your company's shareholders' meeting here. Aren't you afraid that she will find out?"
"Annie is from an aristocratic family," Sheffield boasted proudly. "She is very rational and sensible. I am also planning to make a movie about dinosaurs. Of course, I am just an investor. I am really working hard to enrich the spiritual life of citizens."
"Based on my smart brain, I have concluded that you are trying to change the subject. Everything you said are just excuses." Gail gave his own judgment, and McHale kept nodding in approval.
"This is the pattern, you don't understand the future!" Sheffield failed to change the subject and stood up to look at the scenery.
What is he afraid of as a big business owner? Nothing to fear. Anyway, during the meeting, Mary Pickford will start to promote the movie. When the American sweetheart comes back, Anne will have been comforted by the slave owner and will return to Arlington contentedly. Thinking about it this way, it is perfect.
This time, all the major shareholders and managers of the joint company are present. Sheffield and his wife Anne will communicate with industry managers and shareholders.
But before that, the slave owner first had to communicate with his wife. The issues regarding the Italo-Turkish War and the Balkan War had been merged at the London Conference and were in the midst of a fierce verbal battle, which had not yet been completed.
Anne could finally put her worries about her homeland to rest. This was how wars were in the early 20th century: either war would start immediately, or as long as they showed willingness to talk at the beginning, it meant that a real war would not start for the time being.
"I have promised the shares of the steel company to Edith, and the shares of the aluminum industry to Louisa." Sheffield put his arm around Anne's shoulders and walked in Oak Manor under the sunset, and stated the issue very bluntly.
"Hmm?" Anne looked at her husband with bright eyes, meaning what next?
"My dear, you don't seem surprised at all." Sheffield gestured with his hand, "You should at least show some emotion."
"I have long given up guessing your purpose. Anyway, you would not think it would be beneficial to do so. Now I can only guess that you want to win over the Rockefeller and Morgan families and divide up some important industries. I want to know what you have left for my children." Anne looked at the slave owner seriously and said, "I am your legal wife."
"How could I treat you badly? You've been in my house since you were a teenager." Sheffield talked endlessly about this issue. "Many industries seem to make money, but in terms of significance, they are not that important. For example, steel. Any country in the world can establish a steel industry. This is true for all categories of manufacturing. So what I left for Alexander either has a very high technical threshold and is not easily replaced, or it is easy to form a monopoly. Once it has established a foothold, it is very difficult for others to compete."
At least in terms of manufacturing, Sheffield thought he was right. He couldn't remember a time when the United States' manufacturing industry stood out from the crowd. Only when other countries were at war did no one find fault. The current United States manufacturing industry, in the eyes of European countries, was standard shoddy and had a bad reputation.
After the end of World War II, the manufacturing industry did not gain a reputation. Soon, the domestic market of the United States was conquered by West Germany and Japan. In terms of scale, the United States had already lost to the Soviet Union before losing to the Republic. In all aspects, the United States lost more than it won, relying on its powerful allies to defeat the Soviet Union with a group of weak countries.
"The United Company may be invincible in the world. Food! We control the food of the whole world, and everyone must obey us. Military industry, whether it is land, sea or air, requires long-term investment. With this industry, no one will have improper thoughts about us. Scarce energy represented by oil. I will definitely not divide the derivative industries of these three industries and the channels represented by chain supermarkets. Of course, there are also black gold companies that make a lot of money and spend more!" Sheffield saw that his wife was fascinated by what he heard, so he lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek, savoring the taste, "I still hope that my descendants will become the richest people in various countries."
"It's just that you have too many children, and I'm afraid your assets won't be enough to share." Annie sighed, "But you are the controller of the joint company, and I will listen to you."
"You should think carefully about which son to let be the Pasha of Kuwait," Sheffield said lightly. "Dividing the property does not mean that the joint company will become weaker. On the contrary, it will become more streamlined, but the profit will not necessarily decrease. Moreover, by supporting each other at that time, my industry can continue to exist for a long time."
Both of them attended the shareholders' meeting at the same time. As an excellent tool man, all Sheffield needed to do was to support his wife and help Anne establish her prestige in front of the management team.
The main purpose of this conference is to make some adjustments to the industry of the joint company, so as to participate in the world war more comprehensively, including the expansion of the shipping port, and how to provide more efficient blood transfusion to the two major camps.
Many managers feel that their bosses are looking for trouble. When the situation is so good, why start purchasing raw materials and mines? What is the point of expanding the port?
The slave owner was determined to do this, of course, to ensure that the best war materials were in his hands within his sight, to prevent others from stealing his business after the war broke out. Seeing that the official competition was about to begin, why not quickly find a way to break the legs of other athletes? What are you waiting for?
While the United Company completed this important adjustment, the wheel of history was still turning relentlessly. At the London Conference, meetings were held again and again to discuss the results of the Sino-Turkish War and the distribution of interests among the European powers and the Balkan League. The most heated debate at the conference was the division of the Ottoman Empire's European territories. At the tenth London negotiation held in January 1913, the Ottoman representatives refused to cede Adrianople and the Aegean Islands, which caused the peace talks to be interrupted for a time. Later, under the pressure of the Balkan League and European powers, they reluctantly accepted the other party's demands and agreed to give up all the Ottoman Empire's European territories except Constantinople and allow local ethnic groups to exercise autonomy.
Before the negotiations came to a conclusion, a coup d'état took place in Constantinople, and the pro-German faction officially took control of the situation in the Ottoman Empire. With the support of the Germans, the Ottoman Empire made the negotiations even longer.
(End of this chapter)
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