The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 178



< US ARMY (2) >

“General Leonard Wood.”

Leonard Wood was considered a leading Republican presidential candidate in the upcoming election two years later.

Is that why?

As expected of someone who receives a lot of public attention he had to put in a lot of effort to meet Lee Ja.

‘What kind of schedule is this tight?’

Leonard Wood acted like he was busier than I was.

He continued to unilaterally postpone his promise and this happened a whopping three times.

Something was boiling inside me but I’m a pro.

As a former lobbyist he kept his personal feelings buried deep inside and smiled brightly at Leonard Wood.

“Nice to meet you.”

“It is an honor to meet you Your Highness.”

Leonard Wood was unlike any soldier I had ever met.

He didn’t even use his typical stiff speech but rather greeted me in a friendly manner.

At first glance he seemed closer to a politician than a military man.

“Please sit over here.”

I was becoming a successful businessman and a seasoned politician but I was also human.

Before I could seriously ask about her current situation I still had some grudge left inside me.

I asked him a question without ruining his first impression.

“General Wood.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

“You seem to have been very busy.”

“yes?”

“I had to postpone my appointment to see you three times. If you just count the time it’s been a whole three months.”

“Haha sorry.”

Leonard Wood began to make excuses dodging like an eel in oil.

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“These days there are a lot of people waiting in line to meet me. So it’s been a bit difficult to make time.”

“okay?”

“Yes. Moreover I am a civil servant who must also be faithful to my main job Your Highness.”

Leonard Wood suddenly grabbed my hand and started whining.

“I hope your Majesty understands my circumstances.”

At first glance it seemed like a sincere apology.

But it was all an act.

His schedule from last week which I obtained now testifies that he is lying.

‘Were you so busy that you went to play golf with a federal senator last Sunday?’

what.

I didn’t come here to ask why you won’t meet me.

I wanted to quickly change the subject.

But the quick-witted Leonard Wood struck first.

“Ah! Prince.”

“Speak General Wood.”

“I heard that Lee & Wright owned by the prince recently bid for our military bomber selection project.”

“….”

Flyer 4 developed last year.

This new bomber is doing very well in Europe.

Austria has already concluded contracts with Germany and the UK and aren’t additional introduction negotiations underway with Russia and Italy?

Thanks to this Lee & Wright munitions factories in the United States and the United Kingdom enjoyed special privileges that enabled them to keep their equipment running late into the night.

But those damn American soldiers haven’t heard a thing since that little contract we signed a while back.

We’ve done several demonstrations.

We sent our sales team members to the Department of Defense to lobby them hard but for some reason the additional contract was delayed.

“My subordinate reported that. Am I wrong?”

“Ahem. You seem to have misunderstood something.”

I squinted my eyes and mentioned Lee & Wright’s long relationship with the Pentagon.

“Not recently. It’s an extension of a contract that has been under discussion for a long time.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. We’ve been talking about it for about three years now.”

“It’s been three years?”

Leaving the surprised Wood behind.

I nodded and recalled past memories.

“The original founders of Lee & Wright were the Wright brothers.”

“Yes I know that too.”

“Yes. Then you must have heard about that contract. They signed a preliminary contract with the US Department of Defense immediately after the initial flight was successful. However due to malicious criticism from the Smithsonian Institution the contract was postponed indefinitely.”

Leonard Wood told me with a slightly serious expression on his face that he knew that story very well.

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“In the meantime I made some investments and reached an agreement with the Smithsonian Foundation so the tangled threads were somewhat unraveled. We signed a preliminary contract with the Department of Defense officials on revised terms. Oh that was already two years ago.”

He continued to explain the terms of the previous contract to General Leonard Wood.

“The US Department of Defense has signed a contract to purchase 10 of our products. They have agreed to sign additional contracts if we successfully cross the English Channel.”

The circumstances thereafter are as follows.

The U.S. military kept delaying additional contracts even though our new Flyer had already crossed the English Channel.

‘I should have paid more attention.’

Lee & Light is already a successful company in Europe.

Furthermore Lee & Wright was also making great strides in the U.S. market by gradually developing the agricultural aircraft market.

That’s why I didn’t focus much on the US military side.

This is also the reason why I left it entirely to the subordinates below.

‘The problem is that while the contract was being postponed day after day a latecomer appeared.’

A guy named Curtis got involved in a US military contract.

This guy approached the US military using an unidentified investor as the front line.

So I decided that I had to keep Curtis in check.

Because the best way to stop a growing competitor from sprouting is to crush it in its early stages.

‘A kid without a patent… is trying to interfere with this market by even manipulating public opinion in such a disgusting way.’

So to get this over with quickly I was rushing to sign the contract and was going to ask Leonard Wood to do the same.

But the timing is not good.

Let’s make some more small talk.

And ask about recent events.

I should have brought this up after we had become emotionally close.

Something went wrong.

“Oh so that’s what a sad situation it was.”

Leonard Wood nodded and gave the politician a ready-for-anything look.

But unfortunately.

That was it.

“Your Majesty.”

“I’m listening General Wood.”

“You didn’t come here to ask me to do that for you did you?”

I blinked and looked at Leonard Wood.

I was speechless at Leonard Wood’s attitude which seemed to be hiding his body.

“Work related to military supply contracts is work related to the Ordnance Bureau. I am the Army Chief of Staff not the director of the Ordnance Bureau.”

“….”

“I am sorry Your Majesty but I don’t think I can be of much help.”

As I kept my mouth shut Leonard Wood played the drums and janggu alone.

“Ah! I have been rude. It would be impossible for a prince who is one of the top five wealthiest men in America to come to me for such a thing. Especially considering his past actions isn’t it even more so?”

Look at this kid.

Even though I am usually a person who does not show my emotions easily my eyebrows shook slightly at the unexpected attack.

‘This guy….’

It’s still early in the conversation and we haven’t exchanged many words but I have a rough idea.

This gentleman Leonard Wood.

You are intentionally ignoring me right now.

‘That’s strange. The information I had in advance didn’t say he was racist.’

I started to think calmly.

It’s a combination of Leonard Wood’s actions in the history of the United States and the results of the recent midterm elections.

Suddenly an exclamation mark flashed in my head.

‘There are rumors that Leonard Wood is deliberately distancing himself from New York’s capitalists these days.’

I thought it was just a rumor going around since they delayed the promise a bit but didn’t break it.

But what if this hypothesis is true?

‘It’s earlier than the original history but it seems that he has decided in his heart that he will become a politician not a soldier.’

It must have come to this because of all the hard work put into it.

If it seemed like the candidate would become president the flies would smell it and gather around the candidate.

‘Taft who had previously been mentioned as a strong presidential candidate was eliminated after becoming Chief Justice. It is easy to delude yourself into thinking that your chances of being elected have greatly increased.’

anyway.

Leonard Wood seemed to have made up his mind on one thing.

The senator I met last week was a member of the Roosevelt faction and he seems to be fully committed to their faction.

‘You can’t treat me like this otherwise.’

It’s not a good idea to treat me and the capitalists of New York like this.

Why are you acting like this?

‘Is it to gain support from the strong Roosevelt faction?’

In the recent midterm elections many Roosevelt faction members were elected.

The Democratic Party also saw its progressive forces make advances.

Representatives of New York capitalists who can be seen as the traditional force of the Republican Party were stranded in this huge trend and suffered many defeats.

It seems that these midterm election results trends had a big impact on this meeting.

After all public opinion is smiling brightly at the Roosevelt faction.

‘No matter what anyone says winning or losing an election is all about ‘money.’

How is electing a few hundred congressmen any different from electing a president?

Presidential elections with the exception of the first president Washington are usually decided by the amount of campaign money mobilized.

I acknowledge the Roosevelt faction’s belief in grassroots democracy but at present no one can surpass the New York capitalists in terms of their ability to raise funds.

This is also why after the Civil War most of the US presidents were Republicans.

‘You made a bad choice.’

but.

Leonard Wood in the history of the original game also stood in the wrong line and bled a few times.

He was wronged by Wilson and lost the command of the European Expeditionary Force to Pershing.

Even when he was mentioned as a strong presidential candidate in 1918 and 1922 he failed to unite the factions within the party and ended up remaining only a strong candidate.

Leonard Wood always messed up at crucial moments which is why this outcome happened in the original history.

‘To be honest I had a liking for Lee Ja because I thought he would be good at leading the world war since he had a military background.’

If you come here there’s nothing I can do.

I had no choice but to focus on Charles Evans Hughes who I had originally thought of.

Moreover if the United States were to enter World War II I would strongly support Pershing as commander in Europe.

‘I originally thought so but I’m even more convinced now.’

If Wilson falls as I wish and the Republican Party continues to hold power in this history.

If that is indeed the case then the most likely candidate for commander in Europe is Leonard Wood.

Among the existing military personnel he is the one most favored by the Republican leadership.

But if Leonard Wood comes out here he’s completely out.

‘This is a shame.’

As a result just like the original history Leonard Wood will lose the position of President and even the position of Generalissimo to someone else.

“Your Majesty would you like a cup of tea?”

Leonard Wood just smiled without even knowing what I was thinking.

He had no idea how his fate had just been decided.

‘You just got hit on by me.’

I laughed at Leonard Wood inwardly and sipped the tea he offered me.

Because I’ve seen everything there is to see in him.

* * *

“This prince.”

Could it be because things didn’t end well with Leonard Wood whom I met last time?

The meeting with legendary naval commander Admiral George Dewey was tense from the start.

“Please sit over here. I have always wanted to talk to this prince. Thank you for contacting me first through Representative Rockefeller.”

But such worries were unfounded.

General Dewey greeted me with a bright smile and a benevolent expression like that of my grandfather.

“Why did you send someone to me and urge me on? And now that I’m retired I’m just an old man in the back room.”

right.

George Dewey had just resigned a month ago.

However even after retirement he could not be said to have no influence at all as he continued to serve as chairman of the U.S. Navy Board the main policy-making body of the U.S. Navy.

“It’s a maritime school…..”

George Dewey looked quite interested.

He thought for a moment and then asked me.

“You want to establish a maritime school in addition to the flight school and military school?”

“That’s right.”

“You want to ask me for advice about that now?”

He nodded.

Then General Dewey looked interested.

“Then what will you pay me?”

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

This was especially true in the United States a capitalist society.

“What do you want?”

General George Dewey smiled broadly at my question and opened his mouth.

< US ARMY (2) > End