America 1881: Legend of the West

February 1893, Sanjiang Bank, 2 Wall Street.

Mr. Greg Okafor would have been very proud.

As general manager, Sanjiang Bank became the largest bank in the West in less than 10 years under his management, and moved its headquarters to Wall Street, making it qualified to sit on an equal footing with such well-known financial industry leaders as Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. .

But at this time, he was not happy at all, and looked worriedly at the long line of people waiting for payment outside the window.

He knew that such long lines also appeared in every branch of Sanjiang Bank in the United States.

As a senior financial practitioner, this situation made him shudder.

Okafor's strong pectoralis major muscles cannot give him any sense of security at this time.

"What are you doing standing at the window? Come on, drink tea."

At this time, the only sound that could reassure him came from behind.

Chen Jianqiu was wearing a loose cloth robe, sitting on a wooden chair, making Kung Fu tea with great interest.

The first batch of tea liquid that was not drunk was poured into the tea washing machine beside it. The green steam was floating in the air, and the fragrance was refreshing.

Okafor turned around and walked to the coffee table, took the cup of tea handed to him by Chen Jianqiu with both hands, put it to his mouth and took a sip.

"How is it? It's good, isn't it? The best Biluochun was shipped from the East, but it's just last year's old tea. I'll wait until this year's Qingming Festival to see if I can let them collect some. There are a lot of people who are eagerly counting on it."

The eager guest in Chen Jianqiu's mouth refers to little Astor.

He now likes drinking tea very much, and under his influence, a group of wealthy people and politicians in New York's upper class are also addicted to tea ceremony.

Okafor drank the remaining tea in the teacup and placed the teacup on the coffee table.

He looked at Chen Jianqiu worriedly:

"Boss, since the federal government promulgated the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, more and more of our customers are selling their assets and exchanging them for gold. I'm afraid that the pressure on the bank will be great in the future! "

The "Sherman Silver Procurement Act" that Okafor mentioned is exactly the same as what Chen Jianqiu heard at the Silver Association a few years ago.

Associations and proponents of bimetallism pushed their ideas through various channels, putting pressure on the president through Congress.

Finally, Cleveland had no choice but to sign the bill.

He doesn’t want to see the Democratic Party fall apart on his watch.

The federal government began to purchase large amounts of silver and issue paper currency.

But the battle-hardened American people are not so easily fooled.

This move was seen as the government's abandonment of the gold standard.

So a large number of property owners began to sell their assets and exchange them for gold.

Chen Jianqiu had done the same thing a few years ago, and he now has tens of millions of dollars in gold in his hands.

"I asked you to control the authorization and scale of credit a few years ago. You didn't say anything at the time, but you must have complained about my conservativeness in your heart, right?"

Chen Jianqiu held the tea cup with two fingers, tasted it slowly, and spoke slowly.

"But, I'm still worried." Okafor was still a little worried.

Despite its strong gold reserves, he was still worried that Sanjiang Bank would be greatly impacted.

"This is an opportunity, winner takes all, don't worry, we won't be the one who falls."

Chen Jianqiu finished the tea in the tea cup and started pouring the second cup.

At this time, Silas walked in from the door with a bag in his hand.

"Mr. Chen, are you looking for me?" He glanced at the restless Okafor and the contented Chen Jianqiu, and then began to look at the office.

This is the first time Sanjiang Bank has come here since its headquarters moved to New York.

The furnishings and decoration of this office look like a quite oriental style, with paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls, and wooden oriental-style furniture placed in an extremely elegant position.

"Coming?" Chen Jianqiu took out a new tea cup, lifted the boiling water from the stove beside him with his right hand, and poured it on the tea cup.

After ironing the tea set, Chen Jianqiu poured another cup of tea into the tea cup.

"Come, drink tea." He pointed to the wooden chair opposite.

Silas sat down, put the bag beside him, and took the tea cup at the same time.

"How much of the Pacific Railway shares do we have left?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Less than ten percent."

"Where's the Santa Fe Railroad?"

"About fifty percent, Mr. Hauck of the Philadelphia Railroad purchased most of our shares."

Silas blurted out.

He has been operating this matter for the past few years, so he is very familiar with the data of these matters.

"On the third Friday in April, sell all the remaining shares for me." Chen Jianqiu finished his second cup of tea.

Silas and Okafor were stunned, and they looked at Chen Jianqiu at the same time.

"This will bring great fluctuations to the market!" Silas reminded seriously.

About 10% of the stocks of the two railway companies may not seem like much, but if they are reduced and sold at the same time, it will cause quite a stir.

Chen Jianqiu smiled.

He began to pour himself a third cup of tea:

"Yes, but what does that have to do with me?"

More than two months later, Washington, April 4, the third Friday in April.

Mr. Carlyle, then finance minister, was giving routine interviews to newspapers across the east.

Carlisle was a gray-haired Democrat who liked to pout and always looked unhappy from a distance.

He was known for his honesty and integrity, which made him less of a politician.

It is precisely because of this that he has such a good reputation within the party that he was able to take up the post of Finance Minister.

"Mr. Carlisle, there are rumors that a large amount of gold is flowing from China to Europe?" A reporter raised his hand and asked, "It is said that some European companies have begun to refuse to accept payments in US dollars and require the use of gold."

"This is normal business behavior. We have no way to control the choices of European companies." Carlisle leaned on the sofa and rested his hands on the armrests.

"There are also rumors that Europeans have been selling silver to the US government, which directly led to a further decline in silver prices. Is there such a thing?" another reporter asked.

"The government purchases silver on the market in accordance with the Silver Procurement Act, but it does not ask where the silver comes from." Carlisle's expression did not change much, and he looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Mr. Carlisle, what do you think of the recent trend of gold hoarding?" a third reporter asked.

If Carlisle answered the first two questions calmly, this question made the Finance Minister's face suddenly turn sour.

His mouth seemed to pout slightly again.

"Many domestic newspapers are irresponsible and over-interpret government policies. Our silver purchase bill does not mean that the federal government will abandon the gold standard."

"These rumors are full of malice, but many people believe it. To be honest, this is an irresponsible behavior. I think there is no reason for everyone to lose confidence in the U.S. dollar."

The Finance Minister's answer seemed to contain a lot of personal emotions.

"These behaviors have a bad direction. If everyone takes dollars and demands to exchange them for gold, the gold in the national treasury will not be enough for exchange."

The interview scene instantly became silent.

Everyone is thinking about what Carlisle's words mean.

Finally, a New York Times reporter raised his hand.

"Mr. Carlisle, what you just said, may I interpret it as saying that the government's gold reserves are no longer enough."

None of the reporters present, including him, expected a positive answer.

But Carlisle was tired of the intrigues within the Democratic Party and the stupid congressmen spouting shit in Congress.

Plus, he's not very good at telling lies.

So, a shocking statement.

"Yes, the government's gold reserves have fallen to a rare low. I am not comfortable disclosing the exact amount, but we are indeed facing a crisis!"

This sentence made all the reporters present stunned.

Their pens were recording quickly in their respective notebooks, and this news would soon be spread to the entire east and the whole country through their respective newspapers.

While Carlisle was being interviewed by reporters.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Silas sold all his railroad company shares for Chen Jianqiu.

That day, the stock prices of the two railway companies plummeted.