novelSusiti Chapter 95 New York Layout and Gold Mine Riots
Chapter 95 New York Layout and Gold Mine Riots
Chapter 95 New York Layout and Gold Mine Riots
The following day, all the major New York newspapers carried the headline: "Exclusive Formula Confirmed! New Continent Light Metals Development Corporation Publicly Demonstrates Aluminum Refining, Columbia College Professor Verifies on Site!"
"A New Era of Industrial Revolution? Low-Cost Aluminum Refining Technology Appears in New York!"
"Is aluminum price about to collapse? An exclusive formula may change the world!"
Overnight, New World Light Metals Development Corporation became the talk of the town in New York.
"Charlie, do you believe this is true?"
Inside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes flipped through a newspaper and asked his friend on the other side of the sofa a question.
As the predecessor of the New York Stock Exchange, it is now the most prestigious trading center in New York. Only stockbrokers with top-notch resources and excellent reputations can enter, so its membership is only a little over one hundred.
On the other side, a man wearing a top hat swirled the red wine in his hand, dismissively saying, "Porter, I'm all too familiar with this kind of scam."
"First, introduce a novel concept or story to attract public attention, and then list the stock for trading."
"Find a few more off-exchange stockbrokers who don't even have a fixed office, and have them buy and sell, engage in a few wash trades to drive the stock price up rapidly."
"Once all the fools are attracted, we can secretly sell the stocks and leave with the money."
"It's an overused trick, there's no need to pay any attention to it."
He paused, took a sip of red wine, and continued, "Instead of focusing on that, why not look at railway company stocks? Several railway companies have good prospects recently, so it's worth buying some."
The middle-aged man named Potter nodded thoughtfully: "But I don't think this is fake."
"They have actual products, and they've been validated by chemistry professors at Columbia University. If they can produce more aluminum in the future, this company's stock price will skyrocket."
"Potter, how about we make a bet?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "I don't understand how he conjured up aluminum, but with the cost of extracting aluminum being so high, they definitely can't keep up the act for long."
"I bet a hundred dollars that this scam will collapse within three months!"
Potter laughed and said, "I accept."
As the news spread, the threshold of the third-floor office in the Broadway building was practically worn down by the crowds.
Strauss sat behind his desk, rubbing his temples, looking slightly tired.
He couldn't remember how much coffee he'd drunk or how many guests he'd received that day; he only remembered those repeated phrases: "Mr. Strauss, we are from Jensen Company, and we are willing to undertake your company's stock issuance—"
"Mr. Strauss, do you need a loan? The interest rate at the Bank of New York is only ten percent—"
'
"Mr. Strauss, our mining exchange brokers are most interested in your company. We can—"
As evening fell, Dutch and Hosea returned from outside, looking relaxed and happy.
How many Strauss companies are there?
Strauss pushed a stack of business cards on the table forward and said, "There are seventeen brokers interested in handling our stock issuance. Two of them are professional brokers from the mining exchange, with good reputations, but their fees are also high."
"Seven banks have contacted us, all asking if we need loans. In addition, several mining companies want to acquire our secret formula."
He picked up his coffee and took a sip to perk himself up: "But just as we expected, it was all small fry; none of the big banks or stockbrokers showed up."
Dutch sat down to the side, crossed his legs, and said, "It's okay, they'll fall for it eventually."
He lit a cigar and said slowly, "First, choose from those seventeen stockbrokers. We must keep the two mining exchange brokers, and then pick three more with good reputations. Five should be enough."
Strauss nodded and asked, "How was your day?"
"Successfully infiltrated."
Hosea sat down on the other sofa and complained, "The brokerage industry in New York is a real mixed bag. A lot of brokers don't even have offices; they just shout about stocks on the street, like small vendors."
"Wow, that sounds perfect for us con artists." Strauss raised an eyebrow.
"That's right, we're now stockbrokers from the West."
Dutch exhaled a puff of smoke, then pointed at Arthur, who had just entered, and said, "And our dear Mr. Arthur Morgan, he is now the boss of the Western Gold Mining Company."
Arthur rolled his eyes when he heard this as he pushed the door open and came in.
He plopped down in his chair, threw his hat on the table, and complained, "I don't understand, why do we have to start a new company? It made me run back and forth between the law firm and Albany today. Those bureaucrats are so slow, I almost had to spend the night in Albany."
"That's because you're carrying a second scam on your shoulders."
Dutch smiled slightly and said, "With just Strauss, we can at most pry a few million dollars out of New York, which is nothing to New York."
"But if we include Arthur's side, I'm confident I can poach more than ten million."
"So I'm that important?"
Arthur blinked. "So how do you lie? The same trick as Strauss?"
Hosea shook his head and said, "Of course not. Even the dumbest person wouldn't believe two identical scams that come out at the same time."
"The scam is very simple, it's just that—"
One day later, the shares of New Continent Light Metals Development Corporation were officially issued.
The underwriters were five stockbrokerage firms: two professional brokers from mining exchanges and three long-established Wall Street firms. The offering price was set at $20 per share, for a total of 10,000 shares.
Inside the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charlie flipped through the day's stock market news, a disdainful smile playing on his lips.
"Twenty dollars a share? They really dare to ask for that much."
In today's New York market, the stock prices of large companies are stable at over $50. Giants like Erie Railroad and New York Central Railroad are all above $60.
Small companies with solid performance typically have stock prices above ten dollars.
A new company that hasn't even officially started mass production dares to price its stock at twenty dollars?
They're either very confident, or they just want to make a quick buck and leave.
He tossed the news aside, picked up his glass of red wine, and took a sip: "Porter, I'm sure I'll win that hundred dollars."
On the first day of trading, the stock traded 30 shares.
"Not many people are buying it."
In the office that evening, Strauss clicked his tongue. "Of these thirty shares, twenty were bought by Arthur. If you do the math, we're still at a loss of four hundred dollars."
"Don't rush."
Dutch stood by the window, looking across the street at Wall Street, and said, "There will be some movement tomorrow."
The next day, a man named Smith bought fifty shares of New Continent Light Metals Development Corporation stock at a mining exchange.
A client named "Jones" bought one hundred shares on another mining exchange.
On the third day, a man named "Williams" bought forty shares, and a man named "Brown" bought twenty shares.
"Four thousand dollars have been thrown out, friends."
Strauss scratched his head, looking at the numbers in the ledger. "But our stock price hasn't moved an inch. Only retail investors are buying our stock. Are the guys in New York really that patient?"
Hosea explained from the side, "That's normal. The transactions we're making now aren't even a ripple in the market. The New York Stock Exchange has hundreds of thousands of dollars in trading volume every day. We're just throwing a few thousand dollars in, and we won't even hear a sound."
He paused, then continued, "For a stock price to rise, large amounts of capital need to enter the market. Only when those large institutions, companies, and bankers make a move will the stock price move. Right now, all the large funds are on the sidelines, waiting and watching."
"Alright, the warm-up is over, it's time to pour our funds in!"
Dutch stubbed out his cigar and said, "My lord said that all the gold, bonds, and cash he currently possesses are at our disposal, as much as we want!"
Soon, news spread among Wall Street stockbrokers: several mining companies were reportedly very interested in New Continent Light Metals Development Corporation's aluminum refining technology and were secretly assessing its value.
The source of the news is unverifiable. But the news itself is enough to make some people who are watching this stock start to get interested.
At the same time, several stockbrokers holding the company's stock also received large stock purchase requests.
On the fifth day, a total of 1,200 shares of the company's stock were sold, and the stock price rose to $20.50.
What truly ignited the stock market was a well-dressed middle-aged man who walked into the office of New Continent Light Metals Development Corporation and handed over a business card: John Harrison, consultant for Sevonne Mining Company.
"I want to acquire your company's secret formula," he said.
As one of New York's largest mining companies, this company owns several coal, gold, and copper mines, making it an undisputed behemoth in the mining industry.
The news spread throughout Wall Street that very day, and the stock price immediately began to soar.
$21.30, $22, $23.60 —
Inside the office, Strauss stood by the window, gazing at Wall Street across the street, and asked, "Dutch, how much did we spend?"
Dutch flipped through the ledger and announced a figure: "So far, we've bought a total of 2,300 shares, costing $46,000."
"What about selling it?"
"1,300 shares, income of $29,411.90."
Strauss turned to Dutch: "Still losing money?"
"It's only been a few days, don't rush it." Dutch smiled slightly: "Next, we can proceed with the second step of the plan."
""
He turned to Hossia and asked, "Have you found the newspaper?"
Hosea gave an OK sign and said, "Found it. 'New York Business Week,' one of New York's best-selling newspapers, specializing in exposing the shady dealings of various companies. There are at least eighty or a hundred companies that have been bankrupted by this newspaper."
Meanwhile, in Chinatown.
Zeng Tai leaned back in his recliner, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Dutch and his team sent back a message: Washington is aware of what's happening in California, Congress has passed an emergency funding bill, and two regular regiments are assembling and preparing to head to California."
Upon hearing this, Su Song remained expressionless and simply nodded: "As expected. With two dragoon regiments wiped out, the governor assassinated, civil war breaking out in Northern and Southern California, and cities in Southern California being looted, Washington cannot stand idly by."
"But I didn't expect them to receive the news so quickly, even though the official personnel we sent out were all wiped out by us halfway through."
On the other side, Guilliman walked directly to the map hanging on the wall, his gaze falling on the distance between the east coast and the west coast.
"Two regiments, departing from New York or Boston, will travel by sea, then transfer to land transport at the Isthmus of Panama before boarding ships. With all the supplies for the two regiments, including ammunition, food, tents, artillery, and horses, it will take them at least three months to arrive."
His finger traced across the map: "If we go by land, with the marching speed of heavy army troops, twenty miles a day is considered fast. Three thousand miles, plus delays in supply transport, it would be good if we could reach California in six months."
"In short, as long as they don't send the navy over, there's absolutely nothing to worry about them."
"Although there's no need to worry, it's still good to weaken it in advance," Su Song said. "My lord, I have an idea."
"Speak," Zeng Tai said, looking at him.
Su Song also walked to the map and pointed to the location of Oregon.
"Brigadier General John Ellis Wool, Commander of the U.S. Army Pacific Command, is currently stationed in Oregon City with his troops. According to the news Dutch saw, the last intelligence was sent out from Oregon by him."
He paused, then continued, "As the supreme commander of the Pacific Division, Wool will inevitably have to coordinate with all parties and deploy troops in the future. But what if he suddenly dies—"
Su Song didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already quite clear.
Zeng Tai stroked his chin: "You mean, take down Wool?"
"Exactly."
Su Song nodded. "Under Bai Yun's leadership, a 300-strong Indian force has entered Oregon and is operating in the Columbia River basin."
It's only a few days' journey from Oregon City. Sending them there to sneak into the city and take out Wool and his staff wouldn't be difficult at all.
Guilliman added, "If the Pacific Command's command center is paralyzed, coupled with the chaos of fighting in Northern and Southern California, even if those two thousand regular troops reach the West Coast, they will fall into chaos due to the lack of command and coordination."
Zeng Tai pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "It's feasible."
The three were chatting when Jianyuan strode in from outside.
"My lord, something has happened at the gold mine."
Zeng Tai blinked: "What is it?"
"Weren't the Van der Linde gang always robbing gold mines? After several small mining companies went bankrupt, we bought the gold mines and laid off all the miners."
Jian Yuan said, "When Yuan Guang sent people over, those unemployed white miners gathered and blocked the road, demanding that Yuan Guang must hire white people, or they could not get in."
"That's interesting," Zeng Tai asked. "How many white people were there?"
Jian Yuan said, "Judging from the number of people in the mines, there are about eight hundred. Yuan Guang plans to take them down one by one."
"Why go through all that trouble?"
Zeng Tai lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Let the Xinghan Hall people go. They haven't seen blood in a long time since they killed those American officers!"
"yes!"