America: My Time

Chapter 1144 Retreating to Advance
Chapter 1134 Retreating to Advance
Promises are just empty words to those guys in the White House, and to those old fogies as well—they always have plenty of excuses. But there's a catch: the situation can't get out of control, things can't spiral out of control, and everyone's interests can't be affected. As for rules, they don't exist for the weak; those old fogies won't listen. But if it's someone of equal standing, they'll take it seriously. John's warning is the biggest threat to those old fogies; no one dares ignore it, not even the greedy ones have any reservations!

"DuPont, stop talking. Since someone is willing to do this, why should we stop them? Blocking someone's path to wealth is never a good thing. They're different from us!" Morgan smiled calmly, stopping DuPont from stopping those guys any further. Continuing would make them think they were deliberately trying to ruin their business. Even if they solved John's problem, it would create new conflicts; after all, profit is a powerful motivator!

Although everyone present is from a long-established family and a member of a conglomerate, their situations are all different. For those families already in dire straits, they would rather forgo their relationship with John than miss this opportunity—the enormous profits from Westinghouse Electric—to revitalize their families. As for John, they can figure out a solution later. After all, they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their family's revival.

Morgan saw this as a point, which is why he made those remarks. Of course, some were short-sighted, but most were acting in the family's best interests. Under these circumstances, Morgan couldn't easily intervene, as everyone's choices and stances differed.

“Very well, since you all insist, then it’s settled. You can negotiate the price and then notify Morgan, or you can go to China yourselves to negotiate with John!” DuPont sighed and shook his head, because some of these people had a good relationship with the DuPont family.

"Rockefeller, what do you think about ending this? Of course, you can speak up if you have any other thoughts, but I won't pay attention to them after I leave!" At this moment, Morgan shifted the focus to Rockefeller, after all, this old guy was the one in charge of those guys.

Rockefeller smiled calmly and said, "I have no problem. Don't worry, there won't be any problems this time. We will negotiate a price that satisfies you, and there won't be any other issues!"

"That's good. I hope everything goes smoothly. However, I misspoke. It wasn't a price that satisfies me, but a price that satisfies John. If you want to take back Westinghouse Electric, you have to satisfy John. You should know that John isn't short of money. If anyone thinks everything in Asia is evidence, then they should be prepared to fail." At this point, Morgan was still kindly reminding Rockefeller, but whether it would be effective was another matter.

Those guys wanted to probe John's true strength, which would have been impossible without the changes in the Asian situation. For these greedy old men, seeing John expose such a 'weakness' naturally gave rise to inappropriate greed, which is why so much trouble arose.

"I understand, don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you!" At this moment, Rockefeller could no longer pretend that he knew nothing. He had to show some attitude, after all, it was a matter of etiquette, and he understood Morgan's good intentions.

"I have nothing to worry about. What I'm worried about is that you will pay a heavy price. When you think you have everything under control, your plan is actually a joke. You have already fallen into the enemy's trap."

No one could ignore Morgan's words. If anyone in the United States knew John the most, it was Morgan. After all, their cooperation had been ongoing, and Morgan certainly had a good understanding of how much money John had. For him to say something like that, it was clear that John had a considerable amount of money.

"Damn it, this is another trap. John, that little fox, is really cunning and treacherous. He's selling Westinghouse Electric to raise funds instead of using other assets for the transaction. This is another trap set for us, designed to make us think he lacks liquidity, mislead us, and lead us into his carefully laid trap!"

In an instant, those quick-thinking old men all had the same thought in their minds, secretly cursing John for his treachery and cunning. None of them considered that this wasn't John's doing, but rather their own greed. However, although these old men were cursing John in their hearts, their expressions remained unchanged!
Upon closer examination, the situation in Asia did indeed present numerous problems. They hadn't considered them before because their greed had blinded them. However, once they sobered up and re-examined John's plans in Asia, they realized that things weren't as simple as they had initially thought. John's loans were indeed substantial, but they were all obtained from banks in various countries and were secured by collateral. Most importantly, the bulk of the funds were tied up in Japan, and they were well aware of the powerful relationship John had with Japanese banks. If they were to actively participate, the consequences would likely be dire.

"Morgan, you knew this all along. Standard Chartered's funds haven't been touched. All that talk about preparing funds for Asian energy is just bait. If we make a move, we'll fall into John's trap!" Someone couldn't help but ask at this moment. After all, this situation had infuriated many of them. If they took this dangerous step, what awaited them was a crushing defeat, a terrible disaster!

"I don't know what you're talking about. Only John can answer your question. I know nothing. One shouldn't be too greedy. When you greedily stare at others, you unknowingly fall into their schemes. This time, I'm giving you this warning because of the US election. I won't give you this warning next time. You all better watch yourselves!" Morgan said, then ignored them and got up to leave, having no intention of continuing the conversation.

As Morgan rose to leave, Rockefeller's expression shifted repeatedly, but in the end, he said nothing, only letting out a long sigh. He understood that Morgan had given them considerable face this time; everyone present owed him a favor, and the White House also owed him one. Soon after Morgan left, those old-timers who no longer wanted to get involved in the acquisition of Westinghouse Electric also rose to take their leave. Different paths lead to different destinations, and they didn't want to continue talking with these guys. They worried that they might inadvertently be dragged into the acquisition again, ruining their last remaining friendship with John! Friendships are viewed differently by different people; some value them, while others don't.

"These guys are going too far! They don't give us any face at all. Do they really think we have to stand with them?" One of the old guys who didn't want to let go spoke up in dissatisfaction when they saw Morgan and his group get up and leave. After all, they saw this as ignoring them.

"Alright, stop saying that. Since they're unwilling to participate, they naturally aren't willing to bear any pressure either. They're not on our side, so why would they waste their favors on us? Now that we have a result, all we need to do is negotiate a price. Morgan's integrity and John's integrity are beyond question. We don't need to think too much about it. Since he's already spoken up, Westinghouse Electric is no longer a problem!"

Whether it was worth sacrificing the last vestiges of friendship for this benefit was up to each of them to decide. Those who remained harbored different feelings. However, no one wanted to give up, because they all had different ideas and plans. Even Rockefeller was no exception.

This time, Rockefeller was once again on the opposite side of John, and his feelings were also different. If he could, he would not want to do this, but he had no choice. Someone had to stand up, someone had to make a sacrifice. He had no other way. He knew in his heart that after this, the friendship between the Rockefeller family and John was over.

Driven by profit, it wasn't long before these old guys agreed on a suitable price and left one by one. Each person had a different mood; some left with heavy faces, while others left with joy. That's human nature.

"Is it worth it? Is it worth paying such a price just for Westinghouse Electric? Those guys might not care about John's past relationship, but it's different for the Rockefeller family. We already have conflicts with John in the past. If we do this again, we'll really become strangers."

“There’s no question of whether it’s worth it or not. I’m doing this for the sake of the family. Even if this relationship ends, our relationship with Old Martin remains, and there will be opportunities to reconcile in the future. However, there are some things that need to be addressed regarding the White House and the Donkey, not to mention the many other interests involved. We have to prioritize energy, and do you think we can reconcile with John if we don’t do this?”

"Even if we can't reconcile, there's no need to escalate things to this extent. Being targeted by this guy will put us under considerable pressure, and we might even fall victim to his schemes if we're not careful!"

"You underestimate John and Morgan. You think we're doing this for our own benefit, but we're doing it for everyone's benefit. Morgan is so easy to talk to because it's also related to them. Do you think John doesn't understand the reasons? He understands perfectly well, which is why he so decisively gave up Westinghouse Electric. This guy is using a strategic retreat to advance, taking one step at a time to prevent us from targeting him further. Think about how many assets he's already given up. This time, by giving up Westinghouse Electric, he's using it as an excuse to retaliate and issue a direct warning. Who would think this is John's fault?"

"Isn't it a bit crazy to pay such a high price just for this little problem? He's giving up too many assets and the losses are staggering. Is it worth it?"

"It's not worth it in your eyes, nor in the eyes of those short-sighted fools, because they only see the small immediate gains. But for John, that little fox, it's worth it. Once Westinghouse Electric is sold, he'll be invincible. In the US, no one will dare to target him anymore, at least not openly. He's given up too much profit and paid a huge price to uphold the rules. Anyone who provokes him again is defying the rules and will incur public wrath—not just the wrath of us old conglomerates, but the wrath of the entire American high society. To be able to play the 'retreat to advance' strategy to such an insane degree, you can imagine how terrifying John is. Everyone knows this is John's scheme, but no one can do anything about it. It's an open conspiracy, and even if you know it, you can't stop it. Profits move people's hearts!"

"But was it worth the huge price he paid? With his abilities, he didn't need to pay such a high price at all. The Jaguar Security Company's resources, along with his own abilities, are more than enough to handle any pressure."

"You're still too young. The gap between you and John, that little fox, is too big. The benefits you see are nothing to John. You have to give to receive. Without so many sacrifices, do you think he would be at peace? He wouldn't have such a good reputation and such a good public image. Compromise after compromise, concession after concession, are all sacrifices to uphold the rules. Everyone sees and remembers these sacrifices. When the sacrifice reaches a certain level, it becomes invincible, unless someone tries to directly break the rules. Do you understand? He's more capable than you think. His current position and everything he has today didn't come for nothing; it's all a testament to his abilities."

At this point, Rockefeller let out a long sigh. These old guys had long seen through John's plan, but what good was it? They still fell for it every time and still actively entered the game. Because profit is a powerful motivator, no one can resist the temptation of profit, which is why everything has come to this!
(End of this chapter)