The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 94



< Meeting of Giants (2) >

Gasp gasp-

Gasp gasp-

I ran along the Central Park trail breathing heavily.

Because my head was a little complicated due to my upcoming engagement to Ethel Rockefeller.

Running was the only thing that helped me clear my confused mind.

‘It’s pretty.’

The Central Park Reservoir known throughout history as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Lake is right before my eyes.

I gazed at the beautiful lakeside scenery for a moment lost in thought.

“majesty.”

“huh?”

Choi Hyun-woo who was assisting me next to me spoke to me.

As time passed too late I decided to lighten the mood.

“Every time I come here New York feels completely different from San Francisco. Even though they are in the same country.”

“It can’t be helped because the landmass is so large. Aren’t the climates and vegetation of Beijing and Shanghai quite different?”

“Ah! Now that I think about it that’s exactly right.”

“then.”

I got up from my seat and slowly moved towards the star.

Central Park is just 5 minutes from my house.

I gave myself a thumbs up.

Because I liked the investments I made in the past.

“I think I made a good purchase. The security is good and the view is not bad. It’s just my taste.”

The location is so good that I think I can resell it for a high price later.

I felt inwardly pleased as I entered the annex and stepped into the office.

“majesty.”

“What are those documents you are holding in your hand?”

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

“Here are the documents you need to sign today. Please check them.”

“her….”

Why is there so much to do?

After the financial crisis.

Since I’ve been back out West work seems to keep piling up.

I need to quickly hold a general meeting of the Synthetic Association finalize the general rules of the association and then pass my work on to the next association president.

‘Let’s get engaged in June in New York and get married in September in San Francisco.’

The momentous event of marriage takes place this year.

As a result his second European tour will likely have to be postponed until next year or the year after.

But it was a situation where I had to go there at least twice before the start of World War I.

I had so much work piling up this year that it was difficult to leave for Europe right away.

“It looks like Representative Livermore has been steadily buying oil company stocks as I instructed.”

“Yes. They say they buy at the bottom every time the stock price goes down.”

Woo Hyun-sik who was in charge of my finances looked at me with a slightly worried look.

“Your Majesty the proportion of oil company stocks in your assets is increasing. Should I tell you to continue buying them?”

then.

I nodded and answered Woo Hyun-sik’s question.

“The oil industry will continue to grow in the future. Oil will be used in all industries just like blood flows through our bodies.”

“But we’ve already bought $5 million just this year.”

I shrugged my shoulders and responded that it was no big deal.

‘I should keep buying Standard Oil stock.’

He will soon become a member of the Rockefeller family.

That’s why you can invest without worrying about what others think.

Because $5 million wasn’t even enough to threaten his management rights.

‘The Rockefeller family already owns more than half of the company so how could my investment be considered a threat?’

Standard Oil would be torn apart by the federal government’s antitrust beam.

In the aftermath stocks quadrupled in just one year in Yuan history.

Because the split individual companies started to take care of each other’s profits their profitability became ridiculously better than when they operated as monopolies.

‘Standard Oil is a stock that you can buy in advance without losing money.’

Ah! Now then….

I need to give one more gift to the person who will become my family.

I should write an editorial about how breaking up monopolies doesn’t necessarily benefit consumers.

‘That’s also true. Those who argued that monopolies were bad predicted that oil prices would fall if Standard Oil was broken up but in reality the opposite happened.’

And score points with the person who will become your relative.

As a successful investor I also make some predictions in advance.

This is a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

‘While I’m at it I should also buy shares in non-Standard Oil companies like Texaco and Gulf.’

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

Rockefeller can’t move because of antitrust laws but I can’t.

“By the way… Mrs. White canceled the appointment?”

“Yes. Those who heard the news are waiting.”

I am a busy person.

Because there was a long line of people waiting to meet I had to plan my schedule in advance.

However due to unavoidable circumstances the advance reservation was canceled.

This could be used to take a break or have a surprise meeting with another guest waiting on site.

“Are these all the people who visited our house today?”

“Yes. Since they are people who did not make prior arrangements I have written down the purpose of their visit separately. Some are waiting for you in the guest room.”

I looked at the visitor list and picked out one person.

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

“Are you talking about Albert Taylor?”

“Yes. Is this person really from Joseon?”

“Yes. The documents he brought supported his statement. It seems he had been working as a technician in the mines for generations.”

Normally I would have just rested or met someone else.

But I wanted to meet Albert because what I had said to Ethel three days ago was still lingering in my mind.

“I would like to have a conversation with Izawa. Bring him to my office.”

“Yes I will do so.”

* * *

“Oh hello your highness. My name is Albert Taylor. It is an honor to meet you your highness.”

“Sit over here.”

“Yes thank you. I expected you wouldn’t be able to meet me since you are so busy. I think it was a good idea to shave this morning.”

The man I was seeing for the first time greeted me with great courtesy.

I uncrossed my legs and leaned slightly toward Albert Taylor.

I showed him that I was focused on the conversation.

“I actually lived in Joseon for several years.”

Taylor tried to get to know me a little better by opening up about his past.

“I’ve heard the story. You’re looking for gold in the El Dorado of the East?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“Well you don’t just want to tell me the story of your life in Joseon do you? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Because I don’t have much time.

In parentheses.

Let’s get to the point.

“I would like to receive two investments.”

“invest?”

“Yes. After my father passed away I wandered around Joseon and when I heard that there was another amazing gold mine in the southern part of the Korean Empire I decided to explore it.”

I asked Albert looking interested.

“Yeah that mine. What’s its name?”

“This is Jiksan Gold Mine.”

The place Albert recommended for investment was a gold mine in Chungcheong Province.

“The Japanese are worse at prospecting than we are. That’s why despite having acquired those good mining rights they seem to have suffered a lot of losses.”

As gold began to pour in from the Unsan gold mine foreign investors began to take interest in the gold mines of the Korean Empire.

As investment funds were poured into the exploration of gold veins Japanese capitalists also followed in the footsteps of the Western powers and began to explore the entire Joseon region.

“The Japanese put their mining rights on the market in a hurry?”

“Yes. I think it was difficult to receive additional investment funds because the domestic economic situation was not good.”

Japan’s economy is still in a difficult situation due to the aftereffects of the Russo-Japanese War.

As domestic investors closed their wallets the early investors who had purchased the mining rights to the Jiksan mine eventually appeared to have shed tears and sold them at a low price.

“I would like to acquire the Jiksan gold mine rights but I am a little short on money. Your Majesty please invest. This is a deal I don’t want to miss.”

Albert Taylor wanted to take over the company by attracting capital from his native country the United States.

He emphasized to me that the Jiksan gold mine was one of the few large gold mines in Joseon excluding the Unsan Daeyudong.

“Investing in a gold mine…..”

Gold mining investment is a lucrative industry.

However it doesn’t cost as much money as you might think.

For the same amount of money it would be much more profitable for me to invest in promising fields such as automobiles chemical refining etc.

‘If it were before I met Ethel I would have rejected it outright…’

Ethel said that the Rockefeller family never let anything be taken away from them.

similarly.

Jiksan Mine is also Joseon’s gold mine.

A growing desire to not hand it over to someone else began to arise.

‘It doesn’t really mean anything but…’

What if I stack up all the gold bars produced in Joseon in my safe?

Then what would happen if I took this back with me when I returned to my country?

“majesty.”

My safekeeper Woo Hyun-sik was watching me from the side and then he quietly approached me and gave me some advice.

“Jack Milo currently resides in New York.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name.

Jack Milo is a very famous person in the western United States.

He used to own 1/5 of the gold mines in the western United States so he was called the Gold King until now.

Choi Hyun-woo whispered to me mentioning Jack Milo’s name.

“Why don’t you ask him for some advice?”

but.

You might want to ask an expert.

If Jack Milo just glanced at the report and saw if it was really going to be profitable he could probably give me an estimate.

“I can’t invest just on your word. I have a colleague in New York right now and I’d like to ask him a question. Can you give me some time?”

Albert Taylor nodded vigorously.

Although we had just emerged from the financial crisis liquidity in the market was still dry.

In such a situation it is not easy to get new investment so I think I will have to be persistent and get my investment back.

* * *

Five days later.

I met Albert Taylor again at the best steakhouse in New York.

Of course Jack Milo the Gold King was also present.

“hmm….”

Jack Milo stared at the investment proposal written by Albert Taylor.

“If you just look at the report that Interest brought it seems like a pretty good investment.”

“okay?”

Jack Milo who had been reading the proposal for a long time soon turned his gaze to me.

He scribbled something on the proposal pointing out some important points.

“Yes. It seems like a pretty profitable mine. However….”

“but?”

“You can only draw that conclusion if you assume that all the facts written in this report are true. As your highness knows the figures written on this piece of paper can be manipulated if the author so desires.”

Albert Taylor jumped up from his seat his neck red from the indignation of Jack Milo’s warning.

“Everything written in the report is true. I swear it on the name of my deceased father.”

No matter what Albert Taylor protests.

Jack Milo looked only at me and advised me again.

“If I were you I would send someone to check this again. If the information in it is confirmed to be true I would sign the contract immediately.”

The bottom line is that we need to send experts to Joseon.

I glanced at Albert Taylor and then back at Jack Milo.

Then he waved his hand.

“Oh my prince. I don’t like it. I told you this before but I will never go on a ship again until I die. I swear to God.”

embrace.

Didn’t Jack Milo always say that every time he met you?

He said that his ship ran aground in a storm and that he had a great trauma with water.

“I didn’t mean to look at it that way. Is there anyone you can recommend to me? I don’t know anyone here.”

Jack Milo rolled his eyes and began searching through his connections.

“I guess it’s because everyone I know is doing well so they all already have a year’s worth of advance engagements.”

It was difficult to find a recommender just by remembering the person in his head so Jack Milo took out the business card holder he had in his arms and started looking through it.

“ah!”

Then he quickly handed me one of the business cards he had.

“There’s an exploration engineer who recently went bankrupt and is currently in a slump. He’s a bit young but his skills are well-known in this industry.”

“okay?”

“Yes. He is also a member of our Bohemian Club. He is a trustworthy person so come meet him.”

I read the name of the person on the business card out loud.

“Herbert Hoover?”

“Yes. The young man is incredibly good at finding veins of ore. I’ve been keeping an eye on him too to see if I can commission him someday.”

no way.

You’re not talking about the 31st President of the United States are you?

I squinted my eyes and asked where he was.

“Where is Hoover now?”

“I heard you’re looking for a job here in New York to make up for a punctual schedule. I live nearby. Would you like to come with me?”

< Meeting of Giants (2) > End