The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 149



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‘Branovel’ is the Russian name for ‘Nobel Brothers Oil Company’.

‘Is this Emmanuel Nobel?’

Emanuel is a relative of Alfred Nobel the inventor of dynamite and is one of the five richest people in Europe.

I made a slightly excited expression grabbed his hand and shook it up and down.

“If I say I don’t know you here in Russia I’ll be treated as a spy right? Yes. Nice to meet you.”

Before the main conversation begins time for self-introductions.

I worked hard to launch Nobel.

To gain favor.

Nobel too did not come here to fight me as he responded to my words and actions like a seasoned businessman.

“I am truly honored to have this exclusive meeting with the prince. The investment legend of the prince has spread across the vast Atlantic Ocean all the way to Russia.”

Emmanuel took a step toward me slightly dragging his last words.

“I’d like to hear some of your secrets today. Do you have some time?”

As soon as he finished speaking I quickly looked around.

The place where we are currently standing is the Catherine Palace famous for the Amber Room.

As expected from a banquet held in a royal palace it was filled with not only Russian aristocrats but also diplomats from other countries.

“There are a lot of eyes watching here so let’s move to the terrace over there.”

“yes.”

Excluding the absolute monarchs who owned entire countries I was one of the ten richest people in the world.

The same goes for Emmanuel Nobel.

With the two giants talking right now everyone’s attention is bound to be focused on it.

Nobel and I moved to an outdoor terrace where there were no people avoiding eavesdroppers.

After that we started to continue our conversation.

“When I first saw your face it felt like I was reunited with a childhood friend.”

“Me too.”

Emmanuel began to quietly analyze the reasons why they were showing affection for each other.

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“The reason we feel good about each other even though it’s our first meeting is probably because the prince and I are looking at the same place.”

“okay?”

“Yes. Didn’t the prince recently invest a large sum of money in an oil company?”

“yes.”

Nobel brought up another point of contact emphasizing that our common interest was ‘oil’.

“Furthermore the prince and I have the same ‘enemy’. Isn’t that why we feel close to each other?”

“enemy?”

A person’s face flashed through my mind but I pretended not to know and changed the subject.

“Enemy? Who is my enemy?”

“Well… it refers to an old fox who does scheming and plotting on an island. He is Baron Rothschild a person Your Highness knows well.”

I made a face like I had no idea Baron Rothschild would be mentioned by Nobel.

Nobel looked at me like that and snickered.

“Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“Standard Oil which the prince invested in. Do you know who is behind the antitrust lawsuit against this company?”

I know.

There is no hard evidence but given the circumstances we can roughly guess who is controlling this.

But I kept my mouth shut.

Because I wanted that name to come out of Nobel’s mouth.

“People say that Baron Rothschild instigated this.”

“The Baron?”

“Yes Your Majesty you have probably heard of the reporter named Aida Tarbell.”

“I know right.”

I recalled what had happened in New Jersey and explained why I knew this reporter named Tavel.

“Representative Rockefeller mentioned that guy’s name often. He must have been very stressed because public opinion in the United States was going in a negative direction for him because of that reporter.”

“Yes. It was also thanks to her book that President Roosevelt was able to file a historic antitrust lawsuit against the tycoon Rockefeller.”

Nobel told me a hidden anecdote he knew.

“I mean the book by Tarbell called [The History of Standard Oil]. I heard the Baron was behind the publication of that book.”

“how?”

“It is said that they bought a lot of these in the beginning. Word of mouth spread through major bookstores.”

“That’s it. Isn’t that some kind of fraud?”

“Yes it is an act of deceiving consumers. However the Baron is said to have committed a devilish act of fraud in order to manipulate public opinion.”

To summarize Baron Rothschild’s enemy can be summarized as Rockefeller.

But Nobel mentioned my investment portfolio to link the Baron to me.

“Your Majesty you have invested a lot of your assets in Standard Oil don’t you? According to the publicly disclosed portfolio this company is the largest portion of your assets.”

“….”

“The Baron is currently undermining the corporate value of Standard Oil through his secret operations. Furthermore the Baron is silently remaining silent without even uttering a word of warning even though the Prince is continuing to invest in it.”

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After the antitrust ruling Standard Oil was split into about thirty companies.

Yet Standard Oil’s overall stock price does not fall but rises.

This future is something only I know about.

‘In this day and age monopolizing the market is an investment method that maximizes profitability that all capitalists desire.’

Nobel is also a man of this era.

That is why he showed me his belief that monopolies are profitable and argued that the Baron’s actions were detrimental to me.

“How can you call such a person a friend? He is the prince’s enemy.”

Nobel was quite serious.

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing when I saw him like that.

“Haha. Hahaha.”

“Why are you laughing Prince?”

I quickly changed my expression and lowered my voice.

“That’s because there really is no one in the world you can trust.”

“….”

“I was escorted by him to Buckingham Palace in England. Suddenly an anecdote from that time comes to mind.”

My wife Ethel was teased by the British aristocracy for her American accent.

This had nothing to do with Baron Rothschild.

But I insisted to Nobel that the Baron had been plotting to embarrass me.

Nobel readily agreed to what I said because he had ill feelings toward Rothschild.

“Oh my. The Baron really deceived the Prince.”

“It was my fault. I was too naive and trusted that person. He was the one who was always going to stab me in the back.”

“….”

“By the way why did you do me this favor? They say there is no such thing as unreasonable favor even if there is malicious intent without a reason.”

Let’s say the Baron is my enemy.

I asked him why I should believe in Nobel.

Nobel looked slightly embarrassed but then controlled his expression and looked at me.

“Now that it has come to this I will be honest and tell you everything without hiding anything. The Baron has been my enemy for a long time. He is a devil who has been shaking up our Branobel in a very open manner for the past ten years.”

Don’t beat around the bush and use the straight path.

I agreed with Nobel’s argument and cited a proverb.

“As the old saying goes the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That must be why you approached me.”

“Yes. I wanted to learn the Prince’s investment myth but that’s my main goal.”

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

That’s also very good.

“Okay. What can I do to help you as a friend?”

Now that we’re on the subject let’s get to the main point quickly.

“I want to invest.”

As expected.

This guy is talking about money that guy is talking about money.

“I know it is difficult. Didn’t your Majesty recently invest a whopping ten million dollars in our competitor Royal Dutch?”

I guess they looked into my financial situation.

Nobel looked cautious as he mentioned his recent participation in the Royal Dutch Capital Increase.

“But our company Branobel is also an oil company that owns a large oil field in the Baku region. It is a company worth investing in.”

“Hmm. I don’t have much liquid cash. I can’t afford to invest in your company.”

“I guess I was one step late.”

no.

Actually I have quite a bit of liquid funds.

only.

I just said that because I didn’t want to invest in Nobel’s company.

‘With the Red Revolution most of Branovel’s assets are nationalized. It may not go as planned but why should I gamble?’

Emmanuel Nobel looked slightly bitter.

I opened my mouth looking at Nobel who had become my new friend.

“But I can give you one piece of advice.”

“Advice?”

“okay.”

Advice doesn’t cost money.

The speaker too.

And those who listen.

Both.

Nobel made a face as if he was trying to hear what I had to say.

“Teach me a trick Prince.”

“Yes. Your Branobel you know.”

“yes.”

“The problem is that assets are too concentrated in one place.”

Before the 1900s the Baku and Romanian oil fields accounted for more than three-quarters of total oil production.

But as time passed the story changed.

Eastern and Western United States.

Borneo and Java.

Iranian Plateau.

Caribbean etc.

Because oil was pouring out all over the world.

“Standard Oil alone has oil fields in many places including Asia Russia Romania and the United States.”

“….”

“Royal Dutch is similar. They mine oil all over the world. But Branobel is not like that.”

“that….”

I quickly cut off the Nobel representative and continued what I was saying.

“Well there must be a reason why you made that choice. The Rockefellers and the Rothschilds who have become my family didn’t they hinder your overseas expansion? They blocked your liquid funds…”

I advised him not to be too obsessed and suggested another solution.

“Overseas expansion does not necessarily require spare funds. You can also overcome this by pursuing a merger with another company in the U.S. or Europe.”

“Are you saying that Royal Dutch and Cell have become one company?”

“okay.”

I mentioned the candidates one by one and found someone who would be a good match for Branobel.

“Anglo-Persian is a young company that’s just starting to grow so they’ll bide their time until their corporate value is higher. Hmm. Texaco or Gulf Oil in the US would be good since Standard Oil is stuck because of antitrust.”

Why did I mention Texaco and Gulf Oil?

‘There’s a reason.’

Both are mid-sized oil companies based in Texas.

What if Branobel and Texaco merge?

What if the Baku oil fields are blown away by the Red Revolution?

The American company that merged with Branovel will be reeling from the shock for a while.

‘That’s when I should step in and buy it cheap. The value of Texas oil fields is infinite.’

The proposal I just made is actually not such a bad one for Nobel.

If history had played out according to plan Nobel would have returned to Sweden penniless after the Baku oil fields were confiscated by the Soviet Union.

But what if his company merged with Texaco or Gulf Oil?

What if a red revolution happens later?

There will be a lot of damage but somehow we will be able to salvage enough funds to get back on track.

“If you really need liquidity sell some of the Baku oil fields to other companies. I heard that Anglo-Persian is interested in the Baku oil fields.”

“….”

“Sell it and use the money to invest in oil fields in other regions. As you know the Baku oil fields have been almost fully explored so there is no chance of a new field being discovered.”

At least with today’s technology.

Moreover Anglo-Persia was soon to be semi-nationalised by the British government.

It might be a good idea to drop a time bomb on Britain.

‘That is why Britain is not deeply involved in the Civil War.’

Well anyway.

I continued to persuade Nobel.

“European and American oil companies are now in a state of alliance. On the other hand your company is playing around only within Russia.”

“….”

“Russia is neither a politically stable country nor a country with a large economy. Is there any reason to be obsessed with it?”

Nobel.

They told me the future to this extent.

If I can’t accept it then there’s nothing I can do.

‘Because we might think of another way to get Britain or the Rothschild family into trouble.’

I finally gathered my strength in my throat and summarized it briefly.

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You might end up regretting it later. Be prepared for that.”

As the wind continued to blow from the side Nobel narrowed his eyes as if he was deep in thought and remained silent for a while.

I gave Nobel some time to think alone and moved to the banquet hall.

* * *

“Your Majesty. Here is the contract.”

About a week later.

I officially became the financial manager of the Imperial House of Russia.

You may wonder how a foreigner can become the treasurer of another country’s royal family.

Surprisingly the leaders of the imperialist powers of this era tended to only look at ability when it came to money.

‘You can see this clearly when you see that JP Morgan a Protestant is the Vatican’s financial manager.’

I began to explain each contract to the Tsar shoving them in front of him.

“There are three types of accounts. The first is an account that is open to everyone and the account in the middle is an anonymous account that only His Majesty and His Majesty’s [direct descendants] can access.”

The second account is anonymous so it requires a complex password and seal to verify your ownership of the account.

After explaining this in detail I presented the last anonymous account to the Tsar.

“The last one is an account that only Your Majesty and Your Majesty’s designated successor can access. It is an anonymous account among anonymous accounts.”

“oh!”

“If Your Majesty calls my men will come to this palace at any time when Your Majesty calls. As long as I am in Europe I will stop by at any time so please rest assured.”

He gave the Tsar the understanding that it might take some time to withdraw a large sum of money as it would have to cross the Atlantic.

The Tsar chuckled and handed me a document apparently satisfied with the anonymous account I had introduced.

“Here is a list of my assets.”

The Tsar gave me one last request before handing it over.

“It’s written in the contract but I’m anxious so I want to get your confirmation once again. You! You must keep the secret about my property until I die.”

“Yes of course.”

Are the feelings of the Russian ambassador Beber who is eating Gojong’s back exactly the same as mine right now?

On the one hand I felt sorry for Nikolai but on the other hand I coveted his wealth.

‘Except for being a good father he’s just like King Gojong.’

Doesn’t karma go round and round?

It seems like the karma of Russia which had been eating away at the Korean Empire has come back to create the current scene.

After giving the Tsar my earnest request I quickly looked over the inventory of Nicholas’s property.

‘uh?’

This is more than I thought…

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