The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 32



< Reconstruction Committee (3) (photo attached) >

When negotiating with a group that originally had weak solidarity you just need to grab the biggest guy.

The method is also simple.

Or you could openly warn them in front of everyone.

Or you can call them out secretly and tease them gently.

I chose the latter and my prediction turned out to be right on the mark.

“We Lloyd and the fifty or so insurance companies will accept the proposal of Prince Lee Kang the vice chairman of the Reconstruction Special Committee. We will promptly pay the full amount of insurance money promised to the policyholders and also….”

After the meeting William read a statement in front of the state house.

He was the representative of the insurance company summarizing the details decided at this meeting and informing the reporters of this.

Click- click-

The sound of photographs being taken echoed everywhere.

Perhaps in all the photographs being taken now William the representative of Lloyd’s will be the most central figure and will be printed.

Aside from the photos he and his company will be mentioned the most in this article.

Because William and I made an unspoken promise to make it happen.

‘William you take the spotlight.’

I and other insurance representatives just stood next to him like a screen.

But I felt good.

All of this was on my intention.

‘Because all these achievements will be reported to the governor and mayor as something I proposed and agreed to.’

Even if you give everything you have shouldn’t you make sure to get what you deserve?

‘Okay.’

I see my influence growing in California politics.

Of course there were additional sources of income besides this.

This time I received a huge insurance payment from Lloyd’s.

I received all of this as convertible bonds and if Lloyd’s gets noticed and even revives it will benefit me as well.

‘Currently Lloyd’s stock price has fallen by about 90% from its peak.’

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

Because performance is expected to deteriorate after the San Francisco earthquake.

‘But it fell too far.’

Lloyd’s Insurance Company rose at an astonishingly steep rate until the outbreak of World War I.

Automobile insurance and health insurance become the main products and their size increases dozens of times.

Lloyd gained a great deal of trust in the United States as a result of this incident.

Based on this they will scrape up every penny of money from American consumers.

‘The stock price will recover soon. Even if it doesn’t go up as it did in history I won’t suffer a big loss.’

Convertible bonds are truly a solid insurance policy.

If the stock price rises you profit.

Even if that’s not the case you’ll still get back the money you lent.

I pictured in my mind the unprecedented growth that Lloyd’s company would experience in the future.

at that time.

William the representative of Lloyd’s approached me.

“Thanks to your Majesty we are able to promote our Lloyd’s company in front of so many reporters.”

“No. Rather it is I who am grateful not William. Thanks to you I feel like I have saved some face.”

“Haha… is that so?”

William came closer to me and whispered in a small voice.

“Please come to England sometime. We will treat you very well then. Our British food is amazing.”

British food?

eww….

Yeah but…

But like any former lobbyist I smiled broadly and accepted William’s invitation.

“Oh! I can’t wait. I’ll visit England soon.”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Britain is currently the world’s leading economic and military power.

The United States was close behind but would not overtake Britain until after World War I.

It was certainly a joy to have such connections in Britain.

Because the more people know the more helpful they will be.

I think I should go to London sometime.

There are probably a lot of places worth investing in in the UK too.

“This prince.”

As I was slowly moving from the main building to the hotel where I was staying.

A familiar voice was heard.

“jack?”

* * *

Gold King Jack who has the largest gold reserves in California stands before me.

What’s the interest here?

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

Ah… okay.

Interest was also a member of the reconstruction committee.

‘Are you on your way back from meeting the governor?’

I quickly extended my hand to Jack and asked for a handshake.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

“Unfortunately I am not doing well.”

Gold King Jack’s main source of income of course comes from gold mining.

But now a massive earthquake has struck California destroying much of his gold mines.

“Oh like that.”

I glanced up and down at Jack with a pitiful expression.

The situation was not very good as the attire was not very neat.

“Well… I should have signed up for insurance when the prince recommended it.”

Jack sighed deeply and recalled the past.

When Jack and I met earlier this year we set up a joint trust fund.

They had joined hands to acquire shares in the Unsan mine.

To commemorate our partnership I recommended fire insurance to Jack as well.

But at the time Jack had bluntly rejected my offer.

Jack smacked his lips as if he was thinking back to that time again.

“I want to sew shut my mouth that said in the past that I don’t want to waste money on useless things.”

“It’s in the past… nothing will change even if you blame yourself. You can’t go back to the past.”

“That’s true.”

Jack looked very anxious.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t make any small talk and just got to the point quickly.

“Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“Your Majesty I have a favor to ask.”

“What favor?”

“All the mine shafts I owned have collapsed… My situation has become very difficult.”

“this….”

“So is it possible for Your Majesty the Prince to take over all of the trust shares I own?”

I crossed my arms and took a defensive stance.

After that he started to quietly recite the terms of the contract he had previously written.

“According to the contract if you sell your shares within five years of establishing the trust doesn’t it say that you must offer them to your partner first? I think there was a clause that said you could sell them at half price.”

Jack Milo looked aggrieved but with a hint of resignation he spoke to me as follows:

“…you’re right.”

“Is that okay? If that happens you’ll suffer a great loss.”

Jack clenched his hands into fists and shivered slightly.

“I can’t help it. Didn’t you write the contract like that? I was the one who suggested that clause first.”

Usually they tend to throw tantrums.

Maybe it’s because he has a hot temper but he admits it very coolly.

‘Back then… I think they put that clause in because they thought of me as a fool.’

I pretended to think for a moment then pretended to be genuinely concerned about Jack.

“It seems like things are going very well for you. I heard you own more than a dozen mines.”

“That’s right. Unfortunately a significant number of people were affected by this earthquake.”

“Well… doesn’t that mean this isn’t enough?”

The trust fund that the two of us set up was quite small in size.

Because it only holds about a 10% stake in Dongyang Joint Mining Co. Ltd. which operates the Unsan Gold Mine.

It wasn’t likely that Jack’s cash flow would improve if he gave me half of it.

“I have no choice but to secure funds as soon as possible. For now I plan to sell what I can quickly.”

Since it’s over if they go bankrupt it seems like they’re trying to cash out everything they can.

I pretended to think about it for a moment then made another suggestion to Jack Milo.

“Then let’s do it like this.”

He said he would acquire the trust fund’s stake but would buy it for 70 percent of the original price not half.

This is the amount Jack initially proposed and if I were to purchase Jack’s stake for this amount it would be for a bit more than the final contract price.

Jack Milo looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Yes? Is that true?”

“Yes. Even if we break up now weren’t we once partners?”

If I rush to finish here I’ll be at a loss.

In absolute terms it is a gain.

This means purchasing a 70% stake that could have been purchased for 50% of the original price.

It couldn’t end like this.

“I will also buy your share of the Northern Wharf in San Francisco. I will buy it for a fair price. I heard that you have also put that on the market.”

“Yes that’s right. Thank you.”

About a year later.

San Francisco is being rebuilt.

After that the city’s water volume skyrocketed and naturally the prices at the docks also skyrocketed.

I planned to pocket the difference by buying Jack’s stake in Northern Wharf.

“Do you need any real estate? I am a man who owns quite a bit of real estate here in California.”

Jack was in dire need of cash.

When I showed interest in the goods he had he started to unpack the bundle he was carrying.

“Do you happen to have any real estate around Los Angeles?”

“There are some rocky areas in LA that you can’t farm on.”

“I’ll buy that land too. At a fair price of course.”

“Oh my… thank you.”

A portion of Los Angeles land was transferred from Attner Insurance Company.

I once visited LA to look at the land and it was then that I discovered that all the land around the Hollywood Hills was owned by Jack.

‘This is the land the Hollywood sign will run on. This is land worth investing in.’

History is changing a lot because of me.

I don’t know if the Hollywood sign will be running this time but one thing is for sure.

‘That lot is a great place to put up an advertising billboard. It would be useful even without the Hollywood sign.’

When the weather is good you can see the Hollywood sign from 30 miles away.

Even if things don’t go according to history I can still promote the business I own.

“Thank you. For your kindness…”

Jack Milo kept thanking me.

I’ll make it look like I’m the savior because I’ll free up some cash flow.

‘It will be too late to regret it.’

He probably doesn’t know how much valuable land he sold.

Because he doesn’t know the future.

“No. We should help each other when times are tough. Thanks to you wasn’t it possible for my father to recover some of the gold mine shares he owned?”

Jack Milo came to me wiping away a tear.

“Ah… Since Your Majesty has been so kind to me I would also like to give you some advice.”

He advised me in a small voice.

“Don’t get too friendly with the current governor.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It means don’t be too attached to George Pardi.”

“Why do you say that?”

I squinted my eyes and asked him why he said that.

“…I can’t tell you the reason but I’m saying this for the prince’s sake. Please don’t get too close to the current governor.”

A similar scene flashed through my mind.

It was a similar situation to when I recommended fire insurance.

‘Did something happen?’

I went back to the hotel feeling uneasy as if I had taken a shit and not wiped myself.

* * *

I could immediately see why Jack Milo gave that advice.

Because the Irish three brothers came back with some pretty useful information like a swallow.

“There is something fishy going on between the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Governor?”

“Yes boss.”

Aaron took out a new report from my briefcase and handed it to me.

Then he pointed to a page from a stack of documents and explained to me the reason.

“The present governor is interfering with every new business plan of the Southern Pacific Railway Company.”

Even if I just read it briefly I thought I knew why they were fighting.

Governor George Pardee was an unusually environmentalist for his time.

That’s why he seemed to want to protect the natural forests and swamps near the South Pacific coast.

But the railroad company wanted to clear the area and install straight tracks.

If they go around in circles they lose time and money.

‘Furthermore Padi is also a market-oriented person who strongly dislikes monopolies.’

At this time the Southern Pacific Railroad Company had a virtual monopoly on the Southern California railroads.

Padi was proposing measures to encourage the entry of second and third railway companies in order to break this structure.

This is because unlike politicians of this era he considered the industrial infrastructure (railways and ports) within the state to belong to the residents not to the companies.

“It turned out to be as wrong as it could be.”

“Yes. So I guess I’ve been meeting Abe Luef quite often these days.”

It appears that Pardi’s attempts to break the monopoly which had been building up caused the Southern Pacific Railway Company to draw its sword.

As soon as my brother finished speaking Max came rushing in.

“Boss. The Southern Pacific Railroad here is the largest campaign contributor in California history.”

A phrase that means the big shot among the big shots.

Abe Luef a lobbyist and money man will never let go of the Southern Pacific Railway.

“During the last federal presidential election George Pardee was even mentioned as a possible running mate for current President Roosevelt.”

“It is said that Abe Luef strongly recommended Padi at that time.”

If Padre becomes vice president the California governor’s seat will become vacant.

Abe Luef intended to fill this vacancy with a man of the Southern Pacific Railway Company’s choosing.

Of course this plan failed when Padi declined the vice presidency.

“So you often meet this kid in the picture here?”

“yes.”

“Who is this interest?”

“There is a politician from the same party named James Zealot.”

“He is also very ambitious. He tried to run for governor in the last election but there was a rift within the party so I think he suggested George Pardee as an alternative.”

I’ve been researching for a short time and as I’m not a stakeholder everything is a bit hazy but two things seem clear.

First Abe Lueff’s biggest supporter is currently the Southern Pacific Railway Company.

Second they wanted to somehow get rid of George Pardee.

‘As an alternative you’re trying to push James Zealot.’

Padi is just right for me.

How many politicians in this day and age are not racist?

‘I think it would be better for Padre to continue as governor of California.’

Unlike the federal president there are no term limits for governors.

Of course there is no constitutional limit on the number of consecutive terms the U.S. presidency can serve but the president has implicitly refrained from running for a third term.

In contrast there is no limit to the number of consecutive terms for the governor.

Even the governorship of New York is practically a lifetime position with the first governor George Clinton serving six terms for a whopping 18 years.

‘At least if he stays here in California my business won’t be shaken.’

If Padi with whom I have a good relationship continues to serve as governor I will also be greatly helped.

“I guess I have a feeling.”

As in the past the chairman of the public nomination committee has enormous power.

It is possible to incite the party members and of course the candidate can change if the chairman of the nomination committee exerts his power.

Of course if you change candidates arbitrarily you will face a huge backlash.

It may be possible to use subtle force to focus power on a specific person.

‘We must tell George Pardee. And we must get rid of this bastard.’

I happened to have a meal alone with George Pardee.

Because I met him to pay out all the insurance money to the victims.

‘I have to get rid of Abe Luef who I don’t like to see and also become close to Padi and make him my strong supporter.’

< Reconstruction Committee (3) (Photo attached) > End