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The original dim gas streetlights at the entrance have now been replaced by electric lights, and the sound of car horns has replaced the "dede" of horse hooves, becoming the main theme of New York night.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

The big banker said, his voice was very calm, neither arrogant nor impatient.

“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."

He gently patted Chen Jianqiu's arm.

"Mr. Chen, have you heard about this?"

"Never heard of him. I haven't even seen him today." Chen Jianqiu took a sip of the whiskey in the glass and looked in another direction.

The ring face of the ring on Eva's index finger was turned around.

People in the living room began to whisper to each other.

"We cannot allow this to happen in the United States. As long as there is a case where we lose, the government can cite this ruling and deal with us one by one!"

Duke said, standing up.

"Yes, we should use the energy and resources we can to influence this judgment!" Walter said immediately.

"John, what do you think?" Morgan suddenly asked young Rockefeller, who had been silent and drinking.

"What do I think? Does it matter?" Rockefeller Jr. said while being half drunk.

He had drunk a lot when he arrived. He sobered up a little after the car drove into the flower bed. After entering the door, he drank one cup after another and drank a lot.

"You might as well go ask my dad." Rockefeller Jr. put the wine glass on the table, lowered his head, slumped in the chair, and seemed to have fallen asleep.

Morgan sighed.

Once upon a time, the man in front of him, like little Astor, was an ambitious young man who aspired to inherit the family business.

But after several failures, old Rockefeller ignored him and he became an alcoholic.

"Mr. Chen, what about you?"

Morgan no longer looked at Rockefeller Jr., but turned to Chen Jianqiu.

"Me? What can I, a Chinese, do? I am still at the mercy of others. I have to do whatever the government says." Chen Jianqiu spread his hands.

Morgan wanted to say something else, but he stopped when the words came to his lips.

After discussing for a while, everyone reached a partial consensus and decided to adjourn the meeting.

The tycoons were all busy men. They dressed neatly and chatted with each other in private for a while at the door before getting into their respective cars and leaving.

Finally, Rockefeller Jr. was carried by the driver and waiter into the newly arrived car.

Morgan watched them leave, turned around, and glanced at Harriman behind him:
"Harriman, come with me into the house. I have something to tell you in private."

After saying this, he went back into the house.

Harriman glanced at Eva beside him and hesitated:

"How about I find someone to take you back first?"

Eva smiled and shook her head:

"No, I'll walk home. Mr. Morgan wants to see you alone. It must be something very important."

"But I heard that it is very dangerous for a girl to walk alone in New York at night." Harriman was still hesitant.

"Don't worry. The safety of New York at night depends entirely on whether the people living in that area are rich."

Eva gathered her coat and gave Harriman a kiss.

The two people parted at the door.

Harriman turned and went into the salon.

"There's a traitor in the company."

Morgan sat in his usual seat, his face grim.

"I saw some internal information of our company from Knox. Harriman, you have to find that bastard as soon as possible!"

"In our West, there is only one way to deal with a traitor, and that is to kill him."

A sinister smile appeared at the corner of Harriman's mouth.

After parting with Harriman, Eva walked step by step on Fifth Avenue.

However, she did not walk along the avenue, but turned into an alley next to it after walking a few hundred meters.

She stopped in front of a clothing store in the alley.

All the shops in this alley are closed.

There were no pedestrians in the alley, and the store was dark.

Eva pushed the door of the store.

The door was pushed open.

This door is either not locked, or someone has opened it in advance.

Suddenly, a man came out from behind the counter holding a lamp:

"My beautiful lady, you chose this time to meet me in this dark place. Aren't you afraid that Mr. Harriman will be jealous?"

Chen Jianqiu asked with a smile.