America: My Time

Chapter 508 Testing or Scheme?
Chapter 508 Testing or Scheming
“John, feel free to make any requests you have. I’m sure those old guys won’t refuse at this point. Besides, you don’t want to see a trade war between the US and Japan, do you? That wouldn’t be good for you either!”

"Heh, Jimmy, do you think I'm stupid? A trade war between Japan and the US? Is that even possible? Do you think the White House can afford such serious consequences? And what will the other US allies think? They agreed to the Plaza Accord; they fully cooperated with the devaluation of the dollar and the appreciation of the yen; they even agreed to the semiconductor agreement between the US and Japan. Now you want to start a trade war with Japan? Only a fool would believe that. We can't be too blatant. At least the White House will have some reservations and still have face to save."

At this moment, John looked at Jimmy as if he were a fool, his mockery undisguised. Those old guys thinking of using him? They were dreaming. John wasn't naive. Giving a junior protégé a warning was fine, but killing him was unacceptable. Besides, with Wall Street's forces moving into Japan, how could he allow such a situation to occur? Even if those old guys wanted to, they couldn't succeed.

“John, what do you plan to do? You can’t just sit around and let this great opportunity slip through your fingers, can you? There are quite a few people plotting against Japan right now, trying to tear a piece of flesh from them!” Even at this point, Jimmy still wanted to persuade John. It seemed that Morgan was also tempted, or rather, Morgan had the same idea as those old guys.

“I don’t want anything. What you see as an opportunity is not an opportunity to me, but trouble. I can tell you clearly that old man Akio Morita came to me, but I refused because I understand that this is not something I should get involved in. You can make a fuss, I’ll sit back and wait and see. For me, this is a great thing, allowing me to sit back and watch the tigers fight.”

Faced with John's persistent attempts to reason with him, Jimmy couldn't help but sigh and said, "Just as the boss predicted, you wouldn't get involved in this farce. Now that my mission is accomplished, I've said what I needed to say and done what I needed to do. I can go back and give you an explanation!"

"Hehe, that's for the best. Let those old guys do whatever they want, whatever methods they have. If they can really take down Japan, it'll be a good thing for me too. I'm just afraid they won't be able to. They won't dare to push those Japanese guys into a corner. If they were so confident, they wouldn't have sent you to see me and made me talk to those Japanese guys. This has happened more than once or twice. Playing this game too much will only make them see through all our schemes. They can ask for benefits, but I don't believe they dare to go too far. Japan will definitely back down on this matter because their market is under our control. They have no choice but to back down. But those old guys want to scheme against me? They're just too arrogant. They want me to go to Japan for technology? They're out of their minds. This is the White House's responsibility, it has nothing to do with me!"

John was fully aware of the US's schemes against Japan and knew how the Toshiba incident would ultimately end. The US could indeed get everything it wanted from Japan, but that would be done by the White House, who would bear all the infamy and trouble. He wasn't going to be foolish enough to get involved and offend those Japanese guys for nothing!

John never underestimated the Japanese. He was always cautious with them, planning ahead instead of directly plundering them or causing them resentment. John did things much better than the Americans, using gentler methods that not only avoided their hatred but also earned their gratitude.

Look at how good John's reputation is in Japan, and then look at how bad the reputation of American conglomerates is in Japan. If you can get everything you want from them through gentle means, why make things bloody and cause them resentment? From the moment he started cooperating with these guys in Japan, John has been fleecing them a lot.

“Okay, you’re right, but you can’t keep going on like this forever. John, even if you have grudges against those old guys, you can’t keep going on like this forever. You have to give everyone an explanation. You’ve made a lot of money, but you’ve been keeping all that money in your account, which makes a lot of people uneasy and scared. They’re all worried that you might suddenly do something drastic. Nobody wants to become the next Standard Chartered Bank!”

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in those guys. I just don't have much faith in the White House's capabilities. I don't believe they can turn things around or change the current state of the US economy. I wanted to invest before, but someone stopped me. Now I really don't have a good outlook on the US economy, so I don't want those guys to benefit."

"John, are you serious? You don't have a positive outlook on the US economy right now? You know, the military industry is booming, which will definitely drive the recovery of the entire US economy, and the semiconductor and automotive industries will also see changes!"

"That's your opinion. I don't have that kind of confidence. A trillion dollars in spending? They want to go to space? And the Star Wars program? That's a complete joke. Do you think I don't know anything about space? Hughes Aerospace isn't just for show. I know very well how terrifying that investment is. My civilian project already requires such a huge cost; imagine how much theirs costs for military purposes. If all the money is spent on military industry, how can the economy possibly improve? I'm more optimistic about plundering Japan than about the recovery of the US economy!" "Is that why you've been observing?"

"That's right, that's exactly it. I won't easily get involved without good news. I'd rather invest in China than in the US at this time. I'd rather invest in mining than expand aggressively in the US right now!"

"John, in your opinion, when is the time for expansion, when is the time for the US economy to recover?"

"I don't know. It depends on the US itself, and even more so on the companies themselves. I really don't have a good opinion of those guys. Look at the US auto industry, they're all being suffocated by the United Auto Workers, letting the workers stand on their heads. And look at the semiconductor industry, they're all unwilling to invest in R&D. To be honest, they're even unwilling to invest in R&D funds. How can I have a good opinion of them? And look at Bell Labs, which I own. All the profits are invested in R&D, which is why it has developed to its current state. Look at Nvidia and Dreamworld, how high are their R&D costs? But what about other companies? Don't you know?" "Those old guys acquired Intel, but what are they really up to? They're all dreaming of snatching technology from Japan instead of investing in their own R&D. The amount of money they've invested is a joke. I really don't have high hopes for them. And those guys who spout nonsense, saying they could crush Japanese companies as soon as they lowered their costs—look at them now! They're still getting crushed by Japanese companies. As for the funds I have, that's to deal with Japan's crisis. I don't completely trust those guys. If someone angers Japan, and they treat me as an enemy, I need enough funds to repay those loans."

When John brought up loans, Jimmy realized that John had hundreds of billions of dollars in loans at Neon Bank. If anything happened to Neon Bank, it wouldn't be good for his businesses, and he had to prepare for the worst.

Jimmy didn't see anything wrong with John being wary of the Japanese bank's schemes. He would have done the same. A loan of tens of billions of dollars was no small matter. A slight misstep could plunge him into crisis and allow those Japanese guys to snatch those valuable assets from his hands.

After their conversation, Jimmy was starting to get a headache. He had unknowingly been led by the nose by John. Now he didn't know whether John was pessimistic about the US economy, was wary of Japan's machinations, or was planning to scheme against those old guys. The more he heard from John, the less Jimmy knew what this little fox was really thinking.

Faced with John, this little fox, Jimmy didn't even dare to believe everything he said, worried that there was a conspiracy or scheme behind it, and that if he believed it, he would be deceived. Moreover, Jimmy could now clearly sense that John, this little fox, was not worried about the Toshiba incident in Japan, and perhaps this little fox was also making plans.

Watching Jimmy leave, John couldn't help but sneer. From now on, Morgan was no longer someone he could trust. Morgan had changed, and John didn't believe a word Jimmy said, nor could he believe it, because there were too many unreasonable things about it.

Faced with enormous profits, even allies might betray you. Jimmy's words were full of traps and schemes; to believe them would be foolish. Would those old guys really be so stupid as to use Morgan to plot against him, to test him? John couldn't believe it. Although the possibility existed, it was slim. Yet Jimmy had said it anyway. Especially now, he needed to be more cautious, not easily trusting anyone, not trusting anyone at all.

(End of this chapter)