The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 150



< Guest (1) >

The Tsar’s secret fund of fifty million rubles lies dormant in the royal treasury.

Additionally German government bonds worth about twenty million marks are placed next to it.

The Tsar’s private trust in London is said to have six million pounds worth of stock on deposit.

The gold standard era.

One pound is worth four dollars ten rubles and sixteen marks.

I quickly did some simple arithmetic in my head remembering the current fixed exchange rate in 1909.

‘It’s about fifty million dollars.’

Are you disappointed?

You said there were 10 tons of gold bars?

Did I expect too much from this?

‘There must be more than this.’

Nikolai’s wealth has been a long-standing topic of interest to the general public even occasionally being mentioned as an overseas topic on American morning broadcasts.

Interest grew dramatically especially when his body was discovered in Siberia.

Several people appeared on the news and took turns mentioning Nicholas’s wealth and I recalled that memory and estimated the Tsar’s wealth again.

‘The expert who came to Britain said it was worth $45 billion in today’s value. Another American analyst who came later said it was $250 billion.’

The size of the assets is approximately KRW 60 to 350 trillion.

The error in estimates alone was significant as there were so many assets that were unknown and missing.

‘The price conversion for the 20th and 21st centuries is calculated by dividing the average by 20.’

That means the Tsar’s fortune is worth at least two billion dollars.

But you know.

The assets listed here were only worth fifty million dollars.

There was so little.

Of course if you only consider the absolute aspect it is not absolutely small.

I was slightly disappointed but I hid it and looked at Nikolai.

“Is there something wrong Prince?”

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

After a while of silence while looking at the list of properties the Tsar looked at me with a somewhat mischievous expression.

“No it’s no problem.”

“Really? Ah!”

The Tsar handed me one of the documents next to me and made a face as if he had forgotten something.

“What you just handed me was a list of cash assets. Here this is the real one.”

I quickly read the document he handed me.

‘Then that’s right.’

The Tsar was a landlord and a building owner.

The majority of his wealth was in the form of real estate.

Numerous rich farmlands in southern Russia were his and the great palaces in St. Petersburg were also Nicholas’s.

“I’m talking about my deposits overseas.”

Nikolai came over to me and pointed to the first list he had handed me and gave me an order.

“Move it all to the American Trust. I want you the prince to take responsibility for managing this money.”

The Tsar wanted to entrust me with fifty million dollars in cash assets.

He narrowed his eyes and mentioned one additional condition to me.

“You can tell your family about the German government bonds but the funds stored in England are a bit different. I would like you to keep these secret.”

“ah….”

10 minutes ago.

He explained to the Tsar that there were two anonymous accounts.

The Tsar quotes this.

He was instructed that the $40 million he had in Britain be kept secret from anyone but himself and his successors.

‘Is this the slush fund passed down through the Romanov dynasty?’

I nodded and said I understood.

‘The Tsar is slowly losing concentration.’

That means this conversation is coming to a close.

this.

If this happens there will be less funds to operate than expected.

I was looking around to see if there was anything else I could cash in on and I stumbled upon something good.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak. I would like to hear your opinion.”

“The Tsar appointed the Foreign Minister as his financial manager and gave him full authority.”

“yes.”

“May I dispose of some of the properties listed at my discretion?”

Nikolai straightens his posture.

The sight of him relaxing while holding his leg was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at me his expression changing quickly.

“This prince.”

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“Yes go ahead.”

“Are you thinking of liquidating some of your assets?”

“yes.”

“Do you also think that your liquid funds are too small?”

Did the previous financial manager make this point too?

I nodded and raised my voice.

“Yes. Our cash assets are too small compared to our real estate assets.”

I don’t know whether Nicholas will be able to prevent the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Because my appearance has strangely distorted world history.

‘It will largely come down to one of three situations.’

If the rebellion can be stopped Nicholas will be able to continue as Tsar.

But if the Red Revolution occurs and succeeds he will die according to the original history.

Or if you’re lucky you might be able to escape to a foreign country during the process.

‘If it’s the former there’s no reason to cash out the current assets.’

But the probability of the remaining two hypotheses is higher than the first one.

Because Nikolai is a tyrant.

‘We must liquidate as much of the Tsar’s assets as possible so that he can start over when he escapes abroad.’

what.

If history were to go its course I would rot away in my own American trust vault for the rest of my life.

‘We should push for it actively since it will help both of us.’

“If you wish you may attach conditions. If you attach conditions such as the buyer’s nationality title or the amount of property owned we can proceed with the sale in accordance with those conditions.”

“….”

“Real estate is a great investment. Its value increases with the rise in prices. However it will not provide you with as much income as stocks or bonds. It is also not easy to cash out.”

“okay?”

“Yes. I would suggest lowering the real estate weighting.”

“What else? Do you have any other assets to sell?”

“The Tsar also has mining rights to undeveloped lands scattered throughout Russia. I think it would be a good idea to sell them to the private sector.”

The Tsar looked at me with a negative look.

I continued to persuade him.

“Russian land is vast and vast. There must be infinite resources sleeping underground. It would be great if we could explore and develop them ourselves but as you know time money and people are limited.”

“hmm….”

“That’s why you haven’t been playing around with these things until now. If foreign capital is reluctant let the private sector take the lead.”

The Tsar thought for a moment and then brought up the past.

“I’ve discussed this topic before. People around me have given me various pieces of advice.”

“Is that so? What did they advise?”

“Rasputin was strongly opposed to the first two. He advised that we sell it only after its value has increased as our country’s economy is growing rapidly.”

Are you saying that you’re already hearing this kind of advice from a demon?

Fortunately Nikolai continued speaking with some hesitation as if his trust in Rasputin was still not that deep.

“The Empress also agreed with Rasputin’s opinion. She advised me on the same topic as Rasputin.”

“Did the Empress say that?”

“okay.”

When the topic of the empress came up I half-give up on persuading her.

Because Nikolai was a famous freeloader.

“but….”

“but?”

But Nikolai continued to speak positively about my argument telling me to listen to the end.

“Prime Minister Stolypin expressed the same opinion as you Prince.”

“The Prime Minister?”

“Yes. How much effort has he put into fostering independent farmers? He suggested that I sell off the state-owned lands and also liquidate the royal lands.”

Stolypin was seen by ultra-conservatives as a very radical reformist figure.

Because they have put forward many progressive bills such as employment-health insurance and limiting working hours for minors.

They also wanted to bring in a lot of Western-style European capitalism.

To suggest the sale of such royal property which might lead to a loss of the Tsar’s favor is an understatement.

Sure I am that guy.

‘This raises the question of whether the Emperor supports Rasputin or Stolypin.’

Russia is currently divided into two extremes.

Those who want to block reform continue to hold back the Prime Minister.

Rasputin seems to have been one of those opponents.

“But you are making an argument similar to Prime Minister Stolypin’s opinion.”

Careless.

I hesitated for a moment worried that I might get caught up in the fight between the two factions.

Since backing down would mean leaving Russia with only fifty million dollars I raised my voice and convinced the Prime Minister that his argument was good for the country and for Nikolai himself.

“Yes that’s right.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“Okay then. Huh? Yes?”

I didn’t know if you would accept it right away.

Are you telling me to do it all at once?

When I looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression Nikolai shrugged his shoulders and made a face that seemed to say “Of course.”

“You are an investment genius who turned a mere million dollars into a hundred million dollars. And you did it in just five years?”

It started at $4 million to be exact but there is no need to correct this.

As we listened quietly Nikolai continued his argument.

“No one can smell money better than you. Why did I appoint you as my financial manager?”

but.

Despite many objections I am a foreigner and was appointed as the financial manager.

It means that you have considerable faith in me.

Or maybe you have an enormous greed for money.

I wish both were good for me because it wasn’t bad.

After adding these details he presented the contract to the Emperor again.

“Yes I will. Here is the additional clause. Please sign your Majesty’s name again.”

“hmm….”

After signing the Tsar put his hands behind his back and brought up another incident from the past.

“I used to have more wealth. After I ascended to the throne I started donating a lot so it ended up like this.”

“So you used it for the people?”

“Yes. But unfortunately they are still grumbling.”

It may be that the Russian people were so poor that the emperor’s donations were not even noticeable.

It was also because the emperor continued to commit mistakes that surpassed these good deeds.

“You too if you get the chance someday you might be able to run a country.”

“….”

“When you become a leader there will come a time when you have to think about where and how to spend your money. Be sure to spend your money where it’s obvious you’ve spent it.”

Nikolai showed me in words and actions that I could not understand at all why the Russian people were angry with him.

after….

History changed a little so I was wondering if that guy would keep his throne as emperor.

At least it didn’t seem like that would happen.

It seems that we should focus all our efforts on liquidating Nikolai’s assets.

* * *

“Thank you. The Tsar has been delaying the sale of the royal lands for various reasons. He has summoned me today and instructed me to do so quickly.”

Stolypin nodded and continued to greet me.

“I heard that the prince was deeply involved in this decision. I would like to express my gratitude once again.”

“No. As the Tsar’s financial manager I simply pointed out that the Emperor’s wealth was too concentrated in one place.”

Stolypin also seemed extremely pleased with my answer.

He also expressed interest in the private sale of mines and mining areas that I proposed.

“Oh the prince also showed interest in the undeveloped regions of our country. He seems to have been paying particular attention to the Primorsky Krai and North Sakhalin.”

“exactly.”

“Is it to utilize the Korean community in this area?”

As I nodded in agreement Prime Minister Stolypin made a face that said “Of course I am like that.”

“Yes. This prince’s greatest asset is his enormous assets but he is also the Koreans living overseas. I have heard rumors that they strongly support this prince.”

He exchanged a glance with the finance minister next to him and then handed the documents he was holding to his colleague.

“I will discuss this proposal in depth with the members of the cabinet. Since we owe something we will consider it positively if possible.”

* * *

“majesty.”

I just came out after the talk.

Then Woo Hyeon-sik hurriedly approached me and reported to me something that had happened while he was away.

“When His Majesty visited the Prime Minister’s residence two guests came to His Majesty’s quarters.”

A very familiar name came out of Woo Hyun-sik’s mouth.

“Hoover? Hoover came here?”

“yes.”

An icon of misfortune in the history of the United States who failed to win reelection as president due to the Great Depression.

Hoover said he was here for his next exploration contract.

It seems that after reporting the results of the exploration to me he boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway to leave for France.

“The other one? Who is it?”

“I returned without revealing my name. However I was a woman not a man.”

“Woman?”

All the women I know are in America or on the Korean Peninsula.

Who came looking for me?

“He left saying only that he would come back here again soon.”

“okay?”

“yes.”

Woo Hyun-sik glanced at me who was wondering who the mysterious woman might be and then blurted out the following.

“Should I contact Hoover first?”

< Guest (1) > End