North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 69 Your Greed and Ambition

"Boss, are you testing me again? You must already have a strategy in mind!"

Edgar Allan Poe, holding his wine glass, smiled at Azu and said, "A genius as mad as you, I don't believe you haven't thought about how to deal with Major Daniel Cameron!"

Azu smiled in response: "Yes, of course I've considered how to deal with Major Daniel! But what I'm going to do is more than just deal with Major Daniel!"

Edgar Allan Poe exclaimed in surprise, "Not just dealing with Daniel? Could it be that you...!"

Azu replied, "That's right! I want to extract the greatest benefit from it! After all, in the Chinese language, the word 'crisis' represents both danger and opportunity!"

Edgar Allan Poe couldn't help but exclaim, "Chinese is truly profound and extensive! No wonder it is one of the oldest civilizations! I have learned a little about it recently."

Azu continued, "Dealing with Major Daniel is not difficult, but extracting the greatest benefit from this bloodshed will be very difficult!"

Edgar Allan Poe frowned. "Is it just difficult? I don't see any opportunity at all."

"No, there's a chance!" Azu took a sip of wine. Facing Edgar Allan Poe, this old drunkard, Azu couldn't help but drink a couple more glasses.

“Boss, tell me, I don’t believe there’s such a big gap between us!” Edgar Allan Poe said, quite unconvinced.

A proud man like Edgar Allan Poe almost never submitted to anyone.

A young Chinese man like Azu is definitely the first of his kind!
But Edgar Allan Poe was unwilling to admit that there was a huge gap between him and Azu.

Azu said calmly, "We need to let Major Daniel cause bloodshed and panic, but we can't let him actually slaughter the entire city of San Francisco!"

“People like Acting Mayor Mr. Locke, Police Chief Hawke, City Council Speaker Cox, Judge Lawrence, and Militia Commander Hamilton, can die, and must die.”

“But their families cannot be wiped out! Once the entire family is exterminated, their assets will become ownerless, and Major Daniel can easily take them back.”

Edgar Allan Poe asked in bewilderment, "Why? My boss, why?"

“We had Daniel kill someone to create panic and make San Francisco unsafe! In an extremely unsafe city, all kinds of assets become worthless! After all, what use are those upper-class people to assets that they can’t eat or drink if they can’t even keep their own lives?”

"Assets are no longer valuable, and the leaders who made decisions in high society have been killed. Will the remaining clansmen be eager to sell all their assets and flee this extremely dangerous city as quickly as possible?"

Edgar Allan Poe finally understood, and said in an almost dreamlike tone, "Then our company will legally and legitimately acquire their most valuable assets at an extremely low price!"

Azu gently swirled the amber-colored wine glass, as if stirring up the entire situation in San Francisco.

"Yes! Not only the shipping companies and banks under Ross's name, but also the gold mining companies, trading companies, real estate, shipyards, etc. that have been swallowed up by others, I want them all! These are all absolutely high-quality assets, and they will become more and more valuable in the future!"

"After acquiring these high-quality assets, we will also restore San Francisco to calm and safety as quickly as possible! As a result, the assets will quickly recover their due value."

"Finally, with almost all those powerful figures dead, I believe many important positions will become vacant."

“Dear Mr. Edgar Allan Poe…!” Azu looked at him with interest: “Have you ever thought about whether you would prefer to be mayor or speaker of the council?”

"Gulp!" Edgar Allan Poe swallowed hard. "Lee, my boss, I think your greed and ambition far exceed those of anyone I know!"

"Hehe, this isn't greed or ambition, it's ideals and aspirations!"

“Alright, whatever you say!” Edgar Allan Poe pressed, “Then, how can we accomplish all this?”

“It’s very simple!” Azu smiled and said, “Let the bandits into the city to kill people, but absolutely do not let Daniel into the city!” After saying this, Azu fell silent.

Edgar Allan Poe waited a long time, but there was still no further news. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and exclaimed, "That's it?"

"Yes, that's the idea. But the details need to be added!"

That day, Azu and Edgar Allan Poe stayed in the study until late at night.

This made Vivian, who had been waiting in the room, feel deeply uneasy!
-
The next day, early in the morning, a steam paddle steamer set sail from the shipyard's small dock, heading towards the distant Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The only passenger on the ship was a dark-skinned, mute Chinese man.

Meanwhile, on the streets of San Francisco, which had just begun to awaken, a brand new newspaper called "The Standard" suddenly appeared!

Newsboys were everywhere, and the free copies of the "Standard" newspaper meant that almost everyone in San Francisco had a copy.

Shockingly, the editor-in-chief of this brand-new "Standard" was none other than the renowned poet and novelist Edgar Allan Poe!
Even more shocking was the inaugural issue of the "Standard," which unleashed an unprecedented barrage of attacks, targeting the largest bank in California—Bay Area Bank! And its owner, the well-known and famous banker—Howard Ross!!!

The Standard devoted its entire front page to a detailed account of the Bay Area Bank and Ross's various misdeeds, presenting substantial evidence.

Loan sharking, colluding with gangsters, bribing judges and politicians, forcing women into prostitution and slavery, destroying countless families, and illegally seizing other people's assets...!
Each and every one of these incidents is a testament of blood and tears, a sharp dagger piercing the heart of Bay Area Bank and Ross!

After more than three months of investigation by Edgar Allan Poe and his staff, everything listed by the Daily Standard was clear, the evidence was conclusive, and there was no room for doubt!

The distribution of the "Standard" newspaper, with each person holding a copy, was like a bombshell, instantly creating a huge wave throughout San Francisco!

That morning, as usual, Ross arrived at the Bay Area Bank headquarters in a luxurious carriage and had just sat down in his office.

During this period, Ross was very busy, busy seizing the Cameron family's inheritance, busy bargaining with politicians and judges, and busy integrating the Cameron Shipping Company that he had swallowed whole.

But it was all worth it! He acquired Cameron Shipping Company, worth at least a million dollars, at a very low cost.

This was an unprecedented and enormous achievement, plunging Rose into an uncontrollable state of excitement.

The same applies today!
But before he could even settle in, the office door was suddenly slammed open.

The head office manager rushed in, holding a newspaper in his hand.

"Get out of here!" Ross roared. "What kind of mess are you making? Don't you know how to knock?"

"Boss...boss!" The manager, completely disregarding everything else, frantically slammed the newspaper in front of Ross, saying with great difficulty, "Quick, quick, look at today's newspaper!"

Ross frowned, barely suppressing his dissatisfaction, and lowered his head to read the headline of the newspaper.

In the blink of an eye, Ross's face turned deathly pale!
"Oh!"

He slumped into the chair.

"I...I, I'm Fucked!"

(End of this chapter)