On Wall Street, in the conference room on the top floor of the Morgan Stanley Building, Daniel Morgan leaned back in his chair and quietly listened to the explanation of the company's financial data for the last quarter.
Some time ago, with the rise of the "doomsday threat" and the establishment of the Noah's Ark Fund, aerospace companies in Silicon Valley and Seattle sprang up like bamboo shoots after a rain and set off a wave of aerospace fever unprecedented in half a century.
As the leading wolf of Wall Street investors, Morgan Stanley certainly wouldn't let go of the aerospace pie.
However, the defense tax introduced by Celestial Trade was like a bucket of cold water poured on the heads of new aerospace companies in Silicon Valley and Seattle.
Of course, this was not the most painful thing for him. As a world-class investment bank, his managers certainly couldn't put all their eggs in the same basket. Morgan Stanley didn't just invest in companies in Silicon Valley and Seattle. They invested all over the world, and even some aerospace companies listed in Xin had their names on the shareholder list.
What truly pained him was something else.
The Noah's Ark Fund, which raised 100 billion US Dollar in half a month, was declared bankrupt because of a bill forced through Congress. For this reason, Morgan Stanley and the Rockefeller Consortium had to resist the pressure of the elite class and return the investors' capital, and they even lost 5.1 billion US Dollar.
Wall Street did have a great influence on Congress, and many members received benefits from them, but no one dared to say they could form absolute control over Congress.
Whether it was the collapsed Jewish consortium or the WASP – "Wasp" that now dominated Wall Street.
That was politics.
The separation of powers provided the soil for the expansion of capitalism, but it would never allow capitalists to drain all the nutrients from the soil. When everyone took to the streets to protest against the "escapism" of the elite class and asked the government to set an example, even the members who received benefits had to consider the voters in their own election.
"Let's end the meeting here." Daniel Morgan raised his hand and interrupted the manager who was trembling with fear while reporting his work. "Kevin, go back and get ready. The company's HR department will talk to you about work in a while."
The manager's heartbeat dropped to the bottom, and sweat suddenly covered his forehead.
Daniel didn't care about the expression on his face and waved his hand tiredly.
"That's it, the meeting is over."
Everyone at the table heaved a sigh of relief. They hurriedly packed up their things and left, afraid that the boss would look at them if they were too slow. Everyone knew very well that the boss was not in a good mood. It was not a wise move to leave a deep impression on the boss at this time.
In the eyes of others, they might be unreachable existences, receiving six-figure or even seven-figure salaries, sitting in the office drinking coffee while typing on the keyboard, and handling tens of millions of funds. However, only they themselves knew how careful they had to be behind this glamorous surface.
Wall Street was never short of talents. Other than capital itself, no one was irreplaceable.
After the meeting, Daniel stared at the financial report on the table. He could not help but feel annoyed.
For the past few days, Carmen's last words had been lingering in his mind.
"Will you regret the choice you made today?"
Daniel muttered to himself. Sometimes he would think, if the UA consortium helped the Rothschild family, just like what his parents did in the "Crystal Night" in World War II, would it be a different situation now?
Just then, his phone on the table vibrated.
Daniel shook his head and drove the unrealistic thoughts out of his mind. He picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.
"Hello?"
"It's me."
A familiar voice appeared in his ear.
Daniel took a moment, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said with interest, "Mr. Kerry? Mr. Secretary of State, why do you remember your old friend? "
In 2004, the Morgan Consortium had bet on Kerry, but Kerry eventually lost to Bush, and the investment was for naught. However, Daniel did not think it was a failed investment because "betting on both sides" was already a tradition on Wall Street. No matter who was elected, the "War on Terror" in 2006 would not be affected in any way.
What really made Daniel feel sorry was that this promising politician never showed interest in the presidency after his defeat in the 2004 election. He played the role of a diplomat for the Democratic Party wholeheartedly.
"What do you think of the 2019 Asia-Pacific joint military exercise?"
Kerry's straightforward question made Daniel pause for a moment, then he seemed to understand something and said thoughtfully, "If you are asking me if I support it, my answer is, of course, I support it."
At this point, Daniel suddenly changed the topic and said with a smile, "But, isn't the pressure a bit too light?"
"I think so too. The rise of Celestial Trade has seriously threatened our influence in the Asia-Pacific region, and now this is reflected in the economy. If I choose to appease at this time, it is tantamount to giving away the hegemony that has been established for decades. " After hearing Daniel's words, Kerry hid all the joy and excitement in his heart and continued calmly, "Hill and her team are preparing for the 2020 election. If she is still in power for the next four years …"
"There is no doubt that the situation will be worse!" Daniel knocked his knuckles on the conference table and laughed. He switched the phone to his other hand and said with bright eyes, "Mr. Kerry, I know a good western restaurant. If you have time after work, we might as well have a meal together and talk about next year's election."
…
The bow of the ship split the raging waves, and ten dark and imposing figures engraved milky white ripples on the turbulent sea.
On the Ford aircraft carrier, Captain Hogg stood in the command tower and gazed at the horizon in the southwest.
Although he couldn't see anything from here, he knew very well that it was the direction of Coro Island.
Even the dazzling sunlight couldn't hide the arrogance between his eyebrows.
And he and his fleet did have the capital to be proud.
As the first new-generation aircraft carrier designed using CAD technology, the equipment inside the "Ford-class" had been fully networked and computerized, and the overall degree of automation was much higher than that of the Nimitz-class. The number of personnel on the aircraft carrier was reduced from 3,190 to 2,000, but the efficiency of the carrier-based aircraft was 15% higher than that of the Nimitz-class, and the overall strike efficiency was more than doubled.
In addition, the ribbon power distribution system replaced the Nimitz-class' radial power distribution system, thus reducing the length of the cable and making it easy to reconfigure. This left enough room for the installation of electromagnetic pulse cannons, laser anti-missile, and anti-ship weapons in the future.
Although it had not experienced actual combat, from any perspective, the Ford-class was worthy of the world's number one aircraft carrier.
"Report! A Celestial Trade fleet was found 100 kilometers southwest, confirmed to be two Guardian-class frigates. "The adjutant saluted and reported next to him.
"Two frigates?" Hogg frowned after he heard the subordinate's words.
It was expected that Celestial Trade would target them. After all, this aircraft carrier battle group was clearly targeting them. From a distance of 100 kilometers, it could be seen that the other party was very cautious and reduced the possibility of a mishap to the minimum. However, he didn't understand why they only sent two frigates to follow from afar.
Was Celestial Trade that confident?
Or did they completely give up sea power?
"Send out the carrier-based aircraft to see what they are doing!" Hogg ordered in a deep voice.
"Yes!" The aide-de-camp saluted, turned around, and left.
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