The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 92



< 7-person group (4) >

“Do you have anything else to say to me? Representative Morgan.”

“Before the meeting tomorrow I have something to tell the prince first.”

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“Before that…..”

Morgan suddenly lowered his head.

“First of all I would like to apologize if I offended you during our meeting earlier.”

It’s understandable that your neck would get stiff if you climbed so high but Morgan is truly amazing.

I looked at him my mind tense.

Of course on the outside he kept showing the generous face of a prince and controlled his expression.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault…”

“No. I am the chairman of the Council of Seven. I should have been more careful and talked to Hill beforehand.”

That’s a control freak’s answer.

Indeed.

‘What a clever person….’

If you look closely at Morgan’s actions

He takes all the credit for himself and secretly passes the blame for his mistakes onto others.

It’s still like that now.

Aren’t you constantly mentioning James Hill and beating around the bush saying it’s not your fault?

“Hmm… Don’t be so apologetic. I can kind of understand why Hill said that.”

I just waved my hand and tried to pass it off as if it was nothing.

“How frustrated must you have been that you proposed putting a bunch of racist Democrats in the presidency? Isn’t that right?”

“you’re right.”

“Come to think of it I also often think about such an absurd future.”

It’s terrible.

Imagine if there were whites-only bathrooms in federal buildings.

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

The ones who had such a black-white segregation bill as their party platform were the Democratic Party.

I trembled inwardly and erased the future that should not have happened from my mind.

“Your Majesty have you also thought about the Democratic Party government?”

Morgan opened his mouth carefully observing my intentions.

“It’s terrible but we can’t keep a president in Washington who is at odds with our capitalists.”

“ah….”

actually.

I never once thought of the Democrats as an alternative to Roosevelt.

Unlike the greedy people here I have never tried to monopolize an entire industry through a trust company.

Naturally his relationship with Roosevelt is not that bad.

On the other hand the Democratic Party which is full of racists was not a natural fit for me.

But it is said that people naturally argue with each other.

If you wanted to play in a group you had to at least pretend to understand the group’s rules and tendencies.

So I was playing it safe to say that I hated Roosevelt too by being open about my disgust with Roosevelt’s progressivism.

“At least until this election… but after that we have to change it somehow.”

“I also agree with your thoughts Prince. I don’t know about the next president but shouldn’t the next president be one of our people?”

“okay.”

Morgan smiled brightly and agreed with me.

“This prince.”

“Tell me.”

“If nothing else the Federal Reserve system must be passed at least within five years.”

“….”

“We don’t have much time.”

To be exact Morgan doesn’t have much time.

Morgan is a man in his seventies.

‘Moreover he is a control freak. He thinks he doesn’t have much time left so he will want to end this all with his own hands as soon as possible.’

America is getting stronger.

Although Britain still holds the position of the world’s largest economy this hegemony will soon pass to the United States.

World War I brought this forward but even if the war had not happened the United States would have easily overtaken Britain by the 1920s.

‘It will come in 5 years at the earliest or in 10 years at the latest.’

Even if it wasn’t just because of his age there was another reason he was in a hurry.

If America’s economic power becomes so strong that the federal government becomes even more powerful than it is now.

In other words Morgan who has suffered through hardships is essentially handing over economic power to a future government.

It was clear that I was going to make it completely mine before then.

“Your will seems very firm.”

“Yes. I intend to pass this bill at any cost.”

“Worst case scenario would you put a Democrat in the presidency?”

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

“yes.”

Morgan like the other six gathered here was a Republican.

But he declared to me that he would definitely pass that law even if it meant hurting other party members.

I could feel the sincerity in his blazing eyes.

“Yeah. Who are you looking at in the Democratic Party? If you think someone from the Roosevelt faction will be the next candidate?”

“Jennings may come out again but if he does it will be his fourth attempt.”

right.

William Jenning was a big shot within the Democratic Party having already run twice as its candidate in this era of Republican dominance since Lincoln and had a strong support base within the Democratic Party.

But if he fails this time it will be his third presidential election failure.

The United States usually does not give presidential candidates multiple chances.

If you fail not twice but three times your political career is as good as over.

So no matter how strong Jennings’ political base is the next step will be difficult.

“Since there is so much discontent accumulated within the party they will probably try to nominate a relatively new political candidate.”

Morgan pretended to think carefully for a moment then poured out his heart.

“So? Who do you think is an alternative?”

“I am considering Woodrow Wilson as an alternative.”

“Wilson?”

“yes.”

As expected.

I squinted my eyes and made a slightly displeased expression.

“Do you know anyone?”

“No. But….”

“but?”

“I might come into contact with him sooner or later.”

“How do you say that?”

“I heard that one of our Koreans will soon be going to Princeton University to get his Ph.D.

I have Syngman Rhee.

Unlike our first meeting he was very friendly towards me and gave me some helpful information.

‘Maybe he thought this would be more helpful to him.’

Because I wield overwhelming power in the Korean community.

It seems like he’s trying to flatter me in some way until he takes Seo Jae-pil’s place.

“Oh! Is that so?”

“okay.”

Morgan looked quite interested.

However I didn’t ask who the Korean was.

I guess becoming Wilson’s disciple wouldn’t be of much help to Morgan.

‘I guess I should meet him since I’m in the East.’

As I looked forward to meeting Syngman Rhee I once again focused on my conversation with Morgan.

“I guess the reason you came to me is because the odds are 3 vs. 3.”

“….”

“Rockefeller and Baron Warburg are staunch Republicans. Hill and Schiff on the other hand are relatively flexible and will likely agree with you.”

“As expected it is this prince. You have accurately identified the tendencies of our members.”

Morgan gave me a look of great admiration and continued with words that eased my worries.

“Oh Prince. I also don’t think the Democratic Party is a good idea. I’m someone who thinks the Republican Party comes first even if I die soon.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So we will do our best to find our man within the Republican Party. However if that attempt fails we will push Wilson as the next president.”

Morgan reassured me that Wilson was just for insurance.

But I didn’t believe Morgan.

Capitalists of this era break their promises like an old pair of shoes if it is for their own benefit.

‘First of all… let’s find the right candidate within the Republican Party and at the same time collect Wilson’s weaknesses.’

I can never see Wilson becoming president.

Never.

I continued my conversation with Morgan reaffirming this once again.

“Oh Prince. I have something else to propose to you.”

Morgan spoke to me holding up two fingers of his right hand.

“Are there two?”

“Yes. One is about the Panama Canal and the other is about Cuba.”

If that’s a suggestion coming from Morgan’s mouth…

Both of these suggestions sound like they would smell like gold.

I looked at Morgan with my ears pricked up.

* * *

“They’re resuming construction on the Panama Canal?”

“yes.”

There were two great canals in the history of the Yuan Dynasty.

One is the Suez Canal which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and the other is the Panama Canal which is currently being discussed.

This canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and if connected it would allow ships to travel from the eastern to western United States.

‘Better than the train.’

Because there is no transportation method that is as cheap and safe as logistics using a ship’s hull.

When the Panama Canal opened it could be called the second logistics revolution.

Americans were so desperate to complete the Panama Canal that they went so far as to create a separate country called Panama in the region and make it independent in order to beat the Colombian government which had no interest in completing the Canal.

“Are you saying you’re giving me some of your shares in the Panama Canal now?”

“yes.”

“Why are you handing it over to me when your company can keep it?”

Along with the management rights of the Suez Canal that sweet management rights.

“The financial crisis is over but no one knows when or how this detonator will explode again. Until the Federal Reserve is formed we need to hold cash.”

Morgan licked his parched lips.

As he said.

Morgan had a lot to spend his money on.

Because one individual is acting as the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.

So he wanted to transfer the valuable Panama Canal shares to the members of the Council of Seven and he made the offer to me first since I had the most cash.

“But there was a condition attached. In exchange for acquiring some of the stock you wanted to hire Koreans as workers building the canal?”

“Yes. Koreans are more nimble and hard-working than the Qing people. This is a fact proven by the Western Koreans.”

I looked slightly embarrassed.

“I can’t just arbitrarily order around Korean residents in America.”

Panama is a yellow fever-endemic area.

Because of this many people died from mosquito bites while completing the Panama Canal.

I mentioned this and politely declined.

“So I would like to add one more condition.”

“condition?”

“Yes. We will recruit workers for the Panama Canal construction project from among Koreans in the Korean Empire not just those in the United States.”

Morgan pressured Japan to temporarily open visas to Panama for Koreans.

Since he had provided the Japanese government with a large amount of bonds Morgan anticipated that the Japanese government would not be able to simply ignore his demands.

“Aren’t Korean immigrants heading to Russia today to immigrate?”

Morgan told me about the current situation in the Korean Empire as if he had done some research on it.

“It must be the same in Cuba.”

“Yes. I have quite a few farms and I would like to recruit workers to work there. Of course Koreans.”

The contract period is 3 years as usual.

I thought about it for a moment and then answered Morgan’s suggestion.

* * *

Morgan’s surprise offer to hire our fellow Koreans.

I half approved and half rejected.

“I will refuse to buy shares in the Panama Canal. However you can do whatever you want with regard to hiring overseas Koreans.”

Panama Canal stake rejected.

Because it might give the impression that you are dealing with overseas Koreans.

‘It feels like a subtle trap.’

It’s like a poisonous apple.

If Morgan’s suggestions were to be distorted and spread to the press wouldn’t my reputation be damaged?

That’s why I rejected it outright.

‘If Morgan is the control freak he could use this as an excuse to put a leash on me to use my committee seat as a puppet.’

However he showed a reserved attitude regarding the employment of overseas Koreans.

Even if I refuse there’s no telling what Morgan might think.

Unable to go to Primorsky Krai.

It was to open the way for Korean Empire citizens with personal circumstances to head to the New World.

‘We must put our efforts into mosquito control to eradicate yellow fever.’

After returning to my accommodation I was lost in thought for a while.

The last conversation I had with Morgan kept coming back to me.

‘Come to think of it Morgan is really greedy.’

At the end of the conversation he explained to me again his specific ideas about the Federal Reserve Board.

To summarize:

He was preparing to swallow up the newly established Federal Reserve Bank.

‘If the 14 Federal Reserve Banks produce seven members of the Preparatory Committee and the remaining two positions are held concurrently by the President and Vice President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank which is a sort of neutral zone…’

If Morgan’s proposal is implemented he will start by controlling one-third of the Federal Reserve board.

They say it’s neutral though.

The two New York-based commissioners will essentially be Morgan’s puppets.

‘Of course it might not work out like this.’

Because other forces besides Morgan will oppose it.

It’s already started.

After returning to the accommodation each faction invited me and made me double and triple proposals different from what Morgan had proposed.

‘If anything they could give up one or two seats to the government or the National Assembly by throwing out the inedible persimmons to anyone.’

Another way to reduce Morgan’s power is to level New York’s status to that of other regions.

Alternatively there is a plan to increase the number of preparatory committee members to 15.

anyway.

Either reduce it to 7 seats increase it to 15 seats or give up some seats to the government.

Each faction is racking their brains to try to break the balance that is favorable to Morgan.

‘Whether or not we unite will determine whether Morgan’s plan will go through or not.’

Actually I didn’t mind passing like this.

JP Morgan would think they’d get it.

He will be on the path to ruin for a while because of the ‘Titanic incident’ that may occur in the future.

Even if that’s not the case…

World War I.

The Great Depression.

During World War II.

New York’s financial markets will be turned upside down again and again.

Among them if I were to take over the Federal Reserve Bank of New York I might actually take over Morgan’s dream of world economic hegemony.

Of course this is just a guess assuming that everything goes according to the best-case scenario so I had to do some thinking myself.

‘Currently there are only two people in the Council of Seven who can keep Morgan in check.’

It doesn’t matter if the meeting ends like this.

The sly old Rockefeller continued to complain about Morgan’s proposals and seemed to want to build an anti-Morgan force.

So I think I’m going to really push for one person before this meeting is over.

‘If you’re going to do it why not make them feel indebted to you?’

Officially he is second only to Morgan in influence but he is the richest man in American business.

“I have something to tell you.”

The next day.

I opened my mouth which had been tightly shut in a place where seven people were gathered.

“Actually I’ve had a chance to meet the nephew of the Rockefeller representative here a few times. I’m embarrassed to say this but I think we’ll continue our good relationship.”

I just said this though.

From then on Rockefeller’s status within the Council of Seven rose rapidly.

Rockefeller emerged as Morgan’s true rival.

I smiled faintly at that Rockefeller.

< 7-person group (4) > End