The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 50



< The Ruler of New York >

dripping-

There was a knock on the door to the first-class cabin where I was staying.

“Boss are you sleeping?”

After opening my eyes I turned my head to confirm its identity.

It was Aaron.

“No I just woke up.”

“The train conductor says we will be arriving at New York Central Station in ten minutes. Please prepare to disembark.”

“Okay.”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes I started packing my personal belongings.

Afterwards escorted by his group he set foot on the New York station.

for a moment.

I even stood still and closed my eyes to slowly breathe in the New York air.

Hmm smell~

My urine smells like urine.

I can smell the strong scent coming from the train station so this must be the New York I know.

‘Oh my look at all those rats crawling around next to the sewer.’

Still not afraid of people.

As expected New York mice are a bunch of cowards.

‘It feels like meeting an old friend I haven’t seen in a long time.’

New York City is a city with as many memories as my hometown of San Francisco.

When living as a modern-day person named Park Byung-jun.

I entered Columbia University in New York right after graduating from high school and that’s when my connection with New York began.

‘I only have memories of studying and working hard.’

I lived in this city for 11 years before I left my job as a broker at a securities firm in the heart of Manhattan.

I lived long enough to see the world change dramatically and I also worked as a lobbyist and frequented New York City.

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Like it or not there were bound to be a lot of memories.

“Your Majesty please ride first.”

“Okay.”

We chose one of the many carriages waiting in front of the train station and headed to the hotel.

During the spare time I was able to enjoy the cityscape of New York here and there and I had fun comparing how different it is now compared to the early 21st century which made me spend a lot of time enjoying it.

‘New York in the 1900s was cool in a different way than it is today.’

Since I lived there the longest after San Francisco and Washington I knew quite a few famous places in New York City although I wasn’t as familiar with them as those who were born in New York.

Of course the twin World Trade Center towers that were once the symbol of New York did not exist yet.

The Empire State Building too.

It seemed like the Chrysler Building was never built either.

But even so some familiar buildings caught my eye.

“Your Majesty that place is called the Flat Iron Building. Doesn’t it look like an iron?”

Because the building had to be built on a narrow lot the Flatiron Building has a triangular base when viewed from the sky unlike other buildings.

When I visited this building in the 21st century I was amazed and thought ‘This building is a hundred years old.’

It hasn’t even been five years since it was built.

It’s surprising in another sense.

‘It’s not exactly the same but it vaguely resembles a modern form.’

New York is becoming more and more complete.

But on the contrary the image of Hanyang in Lee Kang’s memories was truly rural.

If.

Seriously if my plan succeeds and I can return to the Korean Empire someday.

It seems that we will have to pour a lot of money to realize the image of 21st century Seoul.

‘The New York we know today wasn’t created all at once.’

Didn’t it take a hundred years or so to develop into what it is today?

It will continue to grow significantly for another 40 years until World War II.

If we rebuild Hanyang or rather the Republic of Korea we must develop it over a considerable amount of time.

It must be dozens of times more difficult.

So I took a quick look at New York in the 1900s imagining the very very distant future.

As time goes by.

The carriage I was riding arrived at the J&J Hotel where we would be staying for the next three months.

“Your Majesty please finish unpacking your luggage later and then go out.”

“Okay.”

After stopping briefly at the hotel the first place we visited with Giannini was New York’s financial district.

My goal was to make a killing in the financial panic of 1907 and Giannini wanted to learn advanced financial techniques.

Since our two goals for visiting New York were the same we were able to enter a securities firm building across from the hotel without much disagreement.

“Whew you got here just in time.”

Giannini and I took a quick look around the James & Will Securities building we had just moved into soaking up the atmosphere of Wall Street.

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* * *

“James. Buy 500 shares of US Steel at market price ASAP.”

“No. Why are you so slow? I got here before that guy. I asked him to sell all the GE stocks in my name. What are you doing?”

“American Tobacco 55 Weeks. Call for $3.35?”

“James I ordered 500 shares of US Steel earlier. It’s canceled. You said you already bought them? What the hell. This is the only time I act quickly.”

The New York securities firm branch I had just entered was like a flea market.

It is common for high-ranking officials to come and go.

Slapping is optional.

There were also occasional sights of people swearing and fighting with their mouths.

“That base mining company you recommended. Why is the stock price dropping so much these days? You didn’t recommend this stock to me just to screw me over did you?”

“No shit. What are the insurance companies doing that makes their stock prices crawl like snails? Isn’t it time for a big rebound? More than 50% of the stocks I own are insurance company stocks. If this keeps up I’m dead. I’m going to go broke.”

“This prince. &&@$# *#@$##@.”

The room was so chaotic that I couldn’t even hear Giannini who was right next to me speaking.

“….”

“….”

Giannini and I were unable to adapt to the noisy atmosphere inside the securities firm and kept our mouths shut.

Although Giannini had been leading the lending to the victims from the warehouse during the great earthquake he seemed flustered because the noise of the New York stock market was incomparably louder than before.

I also didn’t know it would be this much of a mess so I was flustered.

“Good! If I can continue to make profits like this for a little longer like two years becoming a millionaire won’t be a dream.”

Greedy remarks were made here and there.

“Oh no. If it falls 5% more you’ll be completely liquidated. You fucking David recommended this stock! You David you’ll take it!”

On the other side there is endless despair.

This is where two conflicting emotions coexist.

Ah I finally feel like I’ve come to the ‘real’ New York.

“Go outside for a moment.”

“Yes? What did you say?”

He grabbed Giannini’s arm and dragged him out of the brokerage building.

“Oh my god shit. I’m not in my right mind.”

As soon as he came out Giannini looked at the sign for James & Will Securities as if he was tired and sighed.

I crossed my arms and studied Giannini’s face.

“Okay. What was your first real impression of New York?”

“It feels a lot different from San Francisco.”

“Be specific.”

“I feel like X. I’m so tired right now because my energy was sucked out of me. I want to go to bed right now.”

I chuckled and patted Giannini on the shoulder.

“You are destined to run a commercial bank or something.”

“Huh? What does that mean…?”

What does that mean?

If you’re already tired after not even being there for 5 minutes it means you’re not in tune with this atmosphere.

‘I’m rather happy but Giannini your shadows have already reached the level of the clown.’

At first I was embarrassed but now my excitement never goes away.

Because it felt like a great opportunity had come to me.

Inside there is a young man who looks innocent.

A respectable old gentleman.

A housewife holding a baby.

Even a young lady who doesn’t seem to know anything about finance.

Weren’t New York City residents of all stripes trading stocks with cash in their hands?

‘A typical high point signal.’

Right now only New York City has this kind of atmosphere but in exactly 20 years the entire United States will change like this.

That would mean you’ve really reached the top.

The valley of the fall will be much deeper and last much longer than this year.

‘Greed. At the end of endless greed only hell awaits.’

The Panic of 1907 was caused by America’s backward financial system.

Behind this the greed of Americans also played a part.

Because the U.S. economy was booming for a long time speculative funds were pouring into the stock market.

I will greatly increase my wealth in this chaos.

If all goes according to plan he’ll become one of the richest men in America in no time.

“Are you going to go back like this?”

I glanced at Giannini and asked.

Looking at this situation it seemed like if I stayed in New York for too long I would not be able to live out my life and would die.

“No. I’ve only been in New York for a day. How can I go back?”

At this Giannini shook his head.

“Well that’s true.”

After I finished speaking I turned and walked in the opposite direction of the securities firm building.

Then Giannini followed me in a hurry.

“Where are you going Prince?”

“I know someone in New York. If you still have the energy to travel come with me to see him. He’ll be more knowledgeable about New York than we are so he’ll be able to help.”

Giannini nodded.

Originally it was standard to travel or go on business trips with local people.

That way you’ll be less likely to get scammed and you’ll also get to know famous spots that are easy to pass by.

“Oh but. Before we meet him I have one thing to ask of you.”

He squinted his eyes and made an expression as if he was telling a secret.

Then Giannini followed me lowering his voice and looking at me with curious eyes.

“Please speak. There is no harm in listening to the prince. I will take your advice to heart.”

“Please be careful what you say when talking to the person you meet today.”

At this Giannini tilted his head.

“Why do you say that….”

“He’s a lot more talkative than you might think.”

“ah….”

Giannini made a knowing expression.

His face looked like it had half stepped in shit but that was because Giannini hated men with loose lips.

He was a mafia-like man by nature.

Having lived among rough men Giannini was naturally tight-lipped.

So when he said he was meeting someone who was the exact opposite of him his expression seemed to distort slightly.

I looked at Giannini like that and urged him once again.

“I’m telling you this for your own good. Be very careful what you say.”

“yes.”

* * *

“Your Majesty it’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know you’d come to New York so quickly.”

The person I wanted to meet was Hearst.

He was the head of the Hearst Press Group whom I first met at the Bohemian Club.

I planned to get Hearst’s help on this trip to New York because of that connection.

“Nice to meet you. I came by for some business here.”

“Oh I see. Excuse me who is that person next to you?”

“Amadeo Giannine president of the Bank of Italy.”

“Ah! So that’s him.”

“Yes. President Giannini this is William Randolph Hearst the head of the Hearst Press Foundation.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“I am very happy to meet you. Hehehe – the prince has brought another interesting person with him.”

XOXO.

Gossip Boy lets out a slightly irritating laugh and scans Giannini up and down.

After that Hurst turned his gaze to me perhaps losing interest again.

“Oh my prince.”

“Tell me.”

“Actually I have a prior engagement so I don’t think I will be able to talk to the prince for long today.”

“Oh really?”

He looked slightly disappointed.

We came all this way but we ended up parting ways again without even exchanging any information.

“Mr. Hurst.”

“Come in.”

A figure who appeared to be Hearst’s secretary rushed into Hearst’s office.

Then he whispered something softly.

At this one corner of Hearst’s mouth twitched slightly.

“Your Majesty do you have any prior engagements this evening?”

“How can I make a prior appointment when I came to see you? My schedule for dinner and tomorrow morning is completely clear.”

Hurst smiled brightly and clapped his hands.

“That’s good. In fact I proposed to the person I had a prior engagement with today after hearing rumors that this prince was coming.”

“If it’s a proposal? What kind of proposal are you talking about?”

“I said I would like to introduce you to this prince who came from far away. He accepted very readily.”

oh.

Anyone who interacts with Hearst must be pretty upper class.

I exchanged a quick glance with Giannini then turned back to Hearst and asked about the unidentified guest.

“What’s his name? Is it someone I know?”

Hurst rolled his eyes and then gave a vague answer.

“You may not know me since you haven’t met me yet but I’m sure you might know me since I’m so famous. It would be boring if I told you in advance so let’s exchange business cards later.”

what.

When I made a puzzled expression Hurst quickly continued.

“Oh I think the prince is very curious so I’ll give you a hint. People in New York call him the Crown Prince of New York.”

ah!

I know who it is.

Because at this time there is no one other than him who is the crown prince of New York.

‘We’re finally meeting.’

By the way can I get along well with Izawa?

The man known as the Prince of New York is known to be a notorious racist.

‘You’ll know when you meet him. I mean his true identity.’

* * *

“Oh my. Your face looks better.”

“No way. Mr. Hearst you’ve really become a genius. Is something good happening?”

“Unfortunately no. Isn’t New York a bit quiet these days?”

“Well you need a lot of interesting incidents to sell a lot of papers. I guess you’d rather be in quiet New York than here.”

Hearst shook hands with the stranger and laughed then turned his gaze to me.

“Ah let me introduce you. The person here is Prince Lee Kang from the Korean Empire. Prince Lee. I don’t know if you know this person but….”

“Morgan Jr.”

“Oh! You knew Mr. Morgan.”

Hearst looked back and forth between me and JP Morgan Jr. with an interested look.

So I quickly reached out my hand.

“Nice to meet you. Let’s get along well.”

<The Ruler of New York> End