America: My Time

Chapter 1561 Retreat or Trap?

Chapter 1551 Retreat or Trap?

"Letting go, that's easier said than done. If we could really let go, that would be great. But making such a decision is not easy, and even if we were willing, others might not cooperate. Although we are all giants in the conglomerate, we cannot have absolute power within the conglomerate!" At this moment, Rockefeller sighed and spoke the minds of everyone. After all, they all understood each other and were aware of their own situations.

“I understand, I understand everything you’re saying. If I didn’t understand anything, do you think I would be offering advice to you all? In my opinion, you should put aside your prejudices and wariness and accept John. To be honest, you’ve never truly accepted John because you’ve always treated him as a junior and tried to suppress him. But no one can do that unless you’re willing to accept a crazy and chaotic war, or even your own destruction!”

"Impossible. He wouldn't dare do that. If he did, he would become an enemy of the American high society, or even public enemy number one. The power of deterrence is not something that can be used casually. If he does use it, he will put himself in a desperate situation!"

"Mellon, do you think these words will convince everyone? You yourself probably don't even believe them. Strength determines everything. When that moment comes, John, that madman, is capable of anything. Don't judge him with old eyes; he's no longer the boy he once was. He's grown into a true giant. I advise you all not to cross his bottom line, especially Oregon. If you insist on doing so, be prepared to face destruction. Actually, instead of wasting your energy on John, you should seize overseas market share. I think John is right about one thing: we can't always rely on financial power to plunder the world to make up for ourselves. The British failed back then; can we do it again?"

Although Morgan's words infuriated everyone, they had no choice but to accept them, as it was the truth. John's strength was undeniable; he had become a giant in every industry and possessed ultimate power. They dared not gamble with John's life. Moreover, over the years, they had come to know John's character well—he was an extremely insecure man, and if they crossed his bottom line, the consequences would be severe.

Seeing that no one spoke, Rockefeller sighed and said, "Morgan, we know that the power of finance is limited, but do you think we can influence everything? Don't be fooled by our status as financial giants; we can't truly control the decisions in the United States. We can reach a consensus, but will those guys from the Donkey and the Elephant agree? Will those guys in the military agree? Will the oil tycoons and other new money families accept it? This is an era of great change, and everything is beyond our control. We can't truly control everything, and we should perhaps start to retire like John."

When Rockefeller said these words, everyone was stunned. No one expected Rockefeller to say such a thing, which shocked them so much that they were speechless and couldn't react for a moment!
After a moment, Morgan said, "Rockefeller, are you serious? This is no joke."

Rockefeller smiled wryly and said, "Of course it's the truth. Do you think I would lie at this time? Besides, this is related to the development of our major conglomerates, or more accurately, the development of our major families. After hearing your explanation, I understand that I should step down and let the new generation take over. We old guys can't keep up with the times. If we continue, it will only affect ourselves."

Seeing the change in Rockefeller's attitude, the heads of these old families, such as Morgan, DuPont, and Mellon, were all taken aback, and a faint sense of understanding appeared in their eyes. However, they did not speak because they were mindful of the presence of some traitors present. After all, this was no small matter, and they needed to be cautious!
“That’s right. We are indeed getting old. I plan to step down after this dot-com bubble bursts. I can no longer control the Morgan Group. It’s better to step down and let the new generation take over. Moreover, you all think that Morgan has not suffered any losses this time. In fact, you are all wrong. Even if I reacted quickly, I could not make up for the losses caused by this crisis. Taking this opportunity to step down is a good choice. At least it can give them time to take control of everything!”

Upon hearing Morgan's words, DuPont nodded and said, "Very well, it's time for me to step down too. Once this crisis is over, it's time for them to take over everything. Otherwise, if we old guys keep in power, they won't get any experience, which isn't a good thing. We've already seen John's strength, and there's no need to be his enemy at this time. He's already decided to go behind the scenes, so there's no need for us to continue!"

Soon, one old man after another expressed their stance, but while they had made their position clear, it was hard to say whether they would actually keep their word once everything was settled. After all, power is not so easily relinquished, and even Rockefeller's stance was merely a preparatory step, a series of arrangements!
And so their exchange ended. But after everyone had left, Rockefeller, Morgan, DuPont, and the other old men found a new spot to sit down, their eyes filled with seriousness. The traitors who had appeared during their previous conversation had made them feel threatened and pressured!

"Morgan, what do you think we should do? How should we deal with these traitors? They've clearly sided with Oilfield Capital and are ready to part ways with us!" Rockefeller handed the decision-making power to Morgan, not because of trust, but because of his attitude!
“Rockefeller, this is an internal matter for you. As an outsider, it’s not appropriate for me to interfere. You can decide for yourselves. Actually, I think John’s words make sense. We can’t be too lenient with these guys, otherwise they will only become more and more arrogant, unless we are determined to get rid of them and make them take the blame for us. But even so, we must be fully prepared, otherwise it will easily backfire!”

As soon as Morgan finished speaking, DuPont nodded and said, "We do need to be wary of these guys. However, Rockefeller's plan is also in our favor. We can retreat behind the scenes to lower their guard and let them act freely. This way, we can also examine our own problems. After all these years, I don't think only these few guys are traitors. There are probably many more in the shadows. Even John is going to hide behind the scenes, so we'll follow suit. If these family members don't come forward, how will we know how much they've corrupted us?"

At this moment, Mellon frowned and said, "Is this necessary? Although these guys have indeed developed rapidly in recent years, everything is still under our control. If we retreat behind the scenes now, we will definitely run into problems ourselves in the short term!" "If we don't do this, do you think they will fall for it and jump out one by one? I'm starting to understand why John keeps clinging to Gulfstream Aerospace; it's a threat to them. Also, it seems Wall Street has been significantly eroded by them, yet they haven't taken any responsibility. We've borne all the pressure and criticism; it's time to make some arrangements. You mentioned Rockefeller?" The Morgan tycoon said, turning his gaze to Rockefeller, awaiting his answer, after all, Rockefeller's reaction today was quite problematic!

"I can't hide it from you after all. We really should make some arrangements. Over the years, they've used money and Jeffrey Epstein—that guy on Wall Street, the Donkey and the Elephant—to win over a lot of people, not to mention those in academia. If it weren't for John's sabotage, they probably would have won over even more people. Now they've formed a huge network. The reason I insist on going against John, especially on this matter with the Koreans, and forcing John to accept our demands, is to make them believe that we and John are enemies, to lower their guard, and to let them completely let loose!"

At this point, Rockefeller sighed softly and continued, "I don't know if John saw through my plan or if he was truly provoked and his reaction was exactly what I wanted to see."

“I knew you couldn’t have been so crazy. This isn’t how you’re supposed to behave. Our communications could have been tapped. Who knows how many of those government officials have already been bribed by them!” Morgan wasn’t surprised by Rockefeller’s statement. People who know each other well can naturally understand each other’s character.

"Many of our employees have been bribed, and the investments of Oil Pacific Capital in media and entertainment are getting bigger and bigger, more and more reckless. Their plan is clear: to seize control. John has been quietly cooperating with them. Otherwise, do you think the CEOs of those major media groups would still be under Oil Pacific's control? Now I understand how cunning and treacherous John is. He's handing over media and entertainment to Oil Pacific Capital so that even if problems arise later, they'll bear the blame!" Rockefeller has gradually seen through John's schemes, especially John's layout in media and entertainment. When John was weak, he had to rely on those guys, but does John really need to do that now? Most importantly, John directly moved the three major Hollywood studios to Oregon. This is a direct test of those guys' reactions, and it's obvious they've fallen for it!
"Paying some price to understand our situation and make all the necessary preparations will be very beneficial for us. Since John wants to stir up a storm, we'll play along. Let those guys think that we've made a mistake, that we've been hit hard in the dot-com bubble and in the power sector, and give them what they want."

It has to be said that this is a crazy plan. None of these old guys are easy to get along with. They are all old foxes who have seen through the greed and madness of the oil capital. So they want to take this opportunity to hide behind the scenes like John, so that these old money families will gradually lose control of the United States.

"We must keep our military in our own hands. We need to gradually take back the shares of those military-industrial enterprises and not give them any chance. Wall Street should directly lift its pressure on them. However, we cannot let the oil and mining groups interfere. We must keep these most basic things in our own hands. If possible, everyone should gradually sell their media to them and only control one or two influential media outlets!"

"I have no problem. DuPont will cooperate with the plan. However, we can't do nothing at this time, otherwise those guys will definitely be wary. Especially if we give up without a reason, it will be hard for them to believe us. We should accelerate our layout in the oil energy sector and increase our investment in semiconductor chips, making it seem like we're going to have a big battle with John in the semiconductor chip field!"

DuPont nodded and said, "That works. As long as we make that gesture, I believe they will be fooled by the illusion we create, completely lower their guard, and devour the markets we've withdrawn from!"

"No, it's not a fake, it's a real showdown. Only in this way can we truly convince those guys, and John will definitely cooperate with us!" Morgan shook his head, pointing out DuPont's shortcomings. If they were to fake it, there wouldn't be any problems in the short term, but after a while, everything would be discovered.

“But are you sure John can cooperate with us? And we can’t discuss all of this with John. It’s not that I don’t trust John, but I’m worried that if we do discuss it, they might find out.”

"Don't worry, I've arranged everything. The Koreans will definitely give us a satisfactory answer. They're not willing to be suppressed by John like that. As long as they struggle, we can take the opportunity to make this storm bigger and show those guys our 'determination.' Once our attention is completely drawn to John, do you think these guys can resist such a huge benefit? With their greed, won't they go crazy for it!" Rockefeller's words made everyone nod. Everyone understood the greed of the oil capital. Given the opportunity, there was nothing they wouldn't dare to do. After all, without pressure, they would all go crazy!

(End of this chapter)