America: My Time

Chapter 1553 Forced
Chapter 1543 Coercion
"John is so greedy, he actually wants to take back everything he had before. He's dreaming, we can't agree to that!" Rockefeller was furious when he heard Morgan's reply. This was unacceptable to him, after all, Rockefeller had received a lot of benefits, and giving them all away would hurt him to the core!
"I'm just relaying a message. The decision is yours. John has already prepared for the worst. You should know how serious the consequences will be. He made it very clear that he's confident he can take down Lehman Brothers. You know how terrifying that threat is. If John takes this step, Wall Street will be drastically changed. You understand the consequences then without me having to tell you!" Morgan's reaction to Rockefeller's anger was calm, as he had expected. If Rockefeller had agreed outright, that would have been problematic; he would have had to consider whether a real bloody conflict would have broken out!
"Morgan, you should know that such a request is impossible for us to accept!"

“I know, but John isn’t satisfied with your sincerity, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve said everything I needed to say. What happens next is beyond my control. If you can’t make a decision yourself, you can call them together to discuss it. Maybe we can schedule a conference call. In short, don’t expect me to do anything more. John’s attitude is very clear: he wants more benefits. If this conflict hadn’t been started by you, I would have had reason to advise you, but it’s all your fault. There’s nothing I can do, and John knows everything you’ve done!”

“I knew there was a traitor. Otherwise, how could John know our every move so well? Even a conference call couldn't solve the problem. No one can accept John's demands. Not even me, not even that DuPont guy would accept them. He's made a mistake!” At this moment, Rockefeller's heart was ice-cold, and his mood was extremely heavy!

"Rockefeller, don't force yourself. Let's schedule a conference call. This isn't a decision you can make alone. If you provoke John to the point of directly attacking Lehman Brothers, you should know how serious the consequences would be. This is a responsibility you can't bear. If such a problem arises, you'll be fully responsible. You need to think this through." At this moment, Morgan's voice turned unusually cold. He knew that if he didn't take a firm stance, Rockefeller would definitely find a way to reject his proposal and protect his own interests!

“Morgan, are you sure John is determined to fight us to the bitter end? This is no time for jokes!”

"Whether or not to go to war is entirely in your hands, not John's. Don't fantasize about any other means to change things; it won't work. We all know how terrifying the funds John has. Once Hurricane Investment makes its move, there will be no turning back. If Lehman Brothers collapses, the entire Wall Street will be in turmoil, and the United States will be plunged into a crisis. Do you think the Rockefeller family can bear such severe consequences at that time? Others may not know John's financial abilities, but you do. Others may not know how terrifying Hurricane Investment is, but you do. Think it over carefully, and don't act rashly!"

“I’m not acting impulsively, it’s just that John’s demands are too outrageous. Not only would I not accept them, but no one would. He wants everything back, and we also want the assets we traded for back. The assets he traded to us are shrinking, but the assets he took from us are appreciating. What reason does he have to make such demands of us!” Rockefeller became more and more agitated as he spoke, after all, it was the old guys who were the ones who suffered losses, while John hadn’t suffered much.

"That's not how it works. It wasn't a fair trade back then. You were the ones who benefited, and the outcome is your own responsibility. You failed to manage everything properly, just like this internet crisis. When John was in charge, everything went smoothly without any problems. But when it came to you, you took control of everything, and the situation turned out this way. So, whose responsibility is this? You have to face John, not anyone else!"

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't use any external forces. This is normal business competition, and it should be resolved through business means. I'm not crazy enough to challenge everyone's bottom line. Besides, even if I had such an idea, it wouldn't be possible to succeed. After all, John has more power than me, and most importantly, he has a powerful weapon at his disposal!"

"It's good that you understand, then I can rest easy. If things really go too far, you'll be the one who suffers, not John. Nobody knows how terrible the consequences of John going mad will be, and nobody wants to see that happen. I don't want it, nobody else wants it, not even the donkey or the elephant—the consequences are too terrible! If all else fails, just add some more benefits. There's no need to go head-to-head with John at this time. He's prepared for the worst, but have you?"

Yes, John was prepared for the worst, but the old guys like Rockefeller weren't. After all, they hadn't expected things to develop this way, nor had they anticipated that John would be so tough and so crazy!

"Morgan, what kind of sincerity do you want us to show? Since you've said that, I'm sure you have something in mind." After calming down, Rockefeller also sensed the hidden meaning in Morgan's words.

"John harbors ill will towards many people on Wall Street this time, so a battle between them is inevitable. There's no need for us to get involved. Regardless of who wins or loses, Morgan won't interfere. But this major battle can't break out now. If they want to settle their scores, they should wait until this storm has passed. As long as you all promise not to take sides, I believe John will be satisfied. After all, he's very confident in taking down Lehman Brothers. For him, a little time is nothing, and we have plenty of time to prepare!"

“Okay, I agree to that in principle, but I need to discuss it with the others. We’ll have another conference call tomorrow night. Hopefully, those old guys will accept it, and the donkey and the elephant will accept it. After all, they were involved in this. It’s not enough for us to just agree; we need their approval!”

Morgan was not fooled by Rockefeller's words. He smiled calmly and said, "Rockefeller, we know each other very well. Whether they agree or not is not important. As long as you agree, there is no problem, unless they want to be enemies with all our financial groups. Do you think the donkey and the elephant dare to do that?" Not to mention the elephant and the donkey, even the military wouldn't dare. After all, if these financial giants were really angered, it would be a disaster. The White House couldn't afford it, and neither could the military. So the outcome was predictable.

“Morgan, I’m not trying to shirk responsibility, but I can’t make a decision on my own. It’s best if we all sit down and discuss it together. Even if I agree, what’s the use if others disagree? Also, do you think John will be fine? If possible, I hope you and John can join this conference call. We’ll get in touch with the Elephant, the Donkey, the White House, and the military. Only in this way can we convince people and avoid trouble!”

“Rockefeller, I think you’re overthinking this. It’s completely unnecessary. You’re just wasting your time and energy, or you’re deliberately stalling for time to give yourself more time to prepare. You’re not thinking of giving up those shares, are you? If so, you need to be careful.”

"Do you want to buy at the bottom, or are you worried that John will arrange for someone to do so?" In an instant, Rockefeller realized what was going on, and his voice became somewhat serious. After all, this was no small matter. If someone really bought at the bottom, it would affect his plans!
Morgan smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry, I have no such plans and don't want to get involved in your struggle. As for whether John will do it, I don't know, but you should be prepared. After all, not everyone has your vision, and not everyone is optimistic about the semiconductor chip industry. At least the dot-com bubble burst had a huge impact on Europe and America, and even South Korea and Japan were affected. You should understand how big the impact on the market will be. John has other orders, but do you have any? Even South Korea and Japan don't seem to care much because they have their own home appliances, but what do we have?"

Yes, what do those old guys like Rockefeller have? The automotive chip market is indeed substantial, but that market share isn't under their control. As for other production, it's all moved out of the US. American manufacturing has long been in trouble, and home appliances are now dominated by Japan. Of course, in recent years, Taiwanese and Korean brands have also captured a portion of the market. And as for gaming, needless to say, they were kicked out of the game long ago!
When he hadn't heard Rockefeller's voice on the other end of the phone for a long time, Morgan continued, "Now you understand the difference between yourself and John, right? You only saw the huge market and allure of personal computers, but you didn't think about what would happen if something went wrong. But John doesn't need to worry about that. Home appliances, cars, arcade games, game consoles, and now MP3 players—all these electronic products can help him weather any crisis. Not to mention, he also controls all the network setup orders from the Middle Eastern tycoons."

“You’re right, we did overlook that, but as long as we keep following up, I believe we’ll see results soon.”

"Follow up? What do you have to follow up with? Do you have MP3 patent licenses? Do you produce arcade machines? Do you produce game consoles? You have nothing, so how can you follow up? In comparison, you are not even as good as South Korea and Japan. How did Japan grow stronger and surpass us step by step? It's because they have huge home appliance production capacity, so they have gradually left us behind. Now John is also on this path, and he is doing it more steadily."

"Morgan, you want me to give up on targeting Cyclone, Bell Labs, and ARM, but do you know what that means? All our previous efforts will have been in vain. How can you expect me to accept that?" Rockefeller, that old guy, was indeed shrewd; he understood Morgan's intentions in an instant.

"Do you think there's still hope if you don't give up? Let alone whether you can dominate the personal computer market, you're no match for them in laptops. ARM chips are more energy-efficient, and your costs are higher. Do you think you can compete with John under the same circumstances? Not to mention your foolish decision to abandon Dream World's server manufacturing—that was an even bigger mistake. You only saw the immediate benefits, not the long-term ones. Perhaps in your eyes, Dream World's server manufacturing was inferior to IBM's, but do you still think so now?"

With the development over the past few years, IBM has not only been impacted in the United States, but has also lost its market share in Europe and Asia. Therefore, overall, Bell Labs' servers have replaced IBM's dominant position!
"We were wrong back then. We shouldn't have listened to those guys at IBM and abandoned the server project. We shouldn't have handed it over to John. It's too late to regret it now. However, according to our analysis, the personal computer market will continue to grow. Even a small share will bring huge profits. You want me to give up? I can't agree. Even if I did, no one else would. Otherwise, why do you think everyone would join forces against the Koreans and even try to seize Samsung's shares?"

"But you still failed. Now you are in a very passive position. As soon as John speaks, your situation will become even more difficult. I don't think continuing to fight against John will do you any good. What I care more about is John's financial strategy. I am worried that he will take down Lehman Brothers and replace it, or take down other giants and replace them! John's financial talent is what we should be more wary of. In comparison, giving up on the real economy is not a big deal!"

“Morgan, you make it sound so easy. You’ve gained a lot from cooperating with John, and you’ve eliminated your hidden dangers, so you can move forward with a clean slate. But we can’t do that. This isn’t just a matter for the Rockefeller family; it’s a matter for many people, for the overall interests of our group. Do you think I can make this decision on my own? Do you think we dare to give up?” Rockefeller sighed as he spoke. He had been happy to join forces with other financial groups to suppress John, but now he regretted it. He had been the one to propose it in the first place, and now dissolving the partnership wasn’t easy, especially in this dangerous situation. Even if he wanted to, it was impossible.

(End of this chapter)