The attitudes towards wealth are different in the East and the West. Many people believe that the rich people in the East are pigs raised by the government. After they are fattened, they must be slaughtered so that the government can have a fat New Year.

Americans' attitude towards wealth is completely different from that in the East. This two-party system in the United States determines that the social status of rich people will inevitably be higher than that of politicians. Politicians have to rely on the support of rich people to gain power. Therefore, in the United States, it is basically impossible to turn against others.

For example, if tycoons like Li Mu, Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, turn around and try to deal with Li Mu and others after Hayes comes to power, then Li Mu and others can launch an impeachment at any time to pull Hayes off the power. Therefore, the relationship between tycoons and politicians is mutually dependent and supportive. After Hayes comes to power, they will definitely reward tycoons like Li Mu and others, so that they can continue to gain the support of tycoons.

The dinner was taken by the famous chef Lance Tssonsan from France. This was not the chef hired by Li Mu, but the chef borrowed by Li Mu from Benjamin Harrison's house.

As a rising star among the Harrison family, Benjamin Harrison is currently based in Washington, so the family has all the chefs, maids, gardeners, coachmen, etc. Li Mu only stays in Washington temporarily and will return to New York in a few days, so there is no need to buy them so complete.

Lance's craftsmanship is still very good. Although the variety is not as good as Lao Yan, there are several dishes that are very outstanding, especially the steak and pine nuts, which are very suitable for Li Mu's appetite. Of course, the guests are also very happy to eat.

After dinner, Li Mu sent the guests away one by one, and in the end only Li Mu and Benjamin Harrison were left.

Benjamin Harrison doesn't have to send him off. His house is next to Li Mu's house. The wall between the two families has opened, making it look like a family.

After dinner, we had to chat as usual, Chuxue brought iced wine to Li Mu and Benjamin Harrison.

"Since Chuxue is here, why do you have to borrow a cook from me?" Benjamin Harrison was very dissatisfied.

When I was in Cuba, Benjamin Harrison often fed for Li Mu, so he had long missed Chuxue's craftsmanship.

Li Mu smiled but said nothing, what a joke? If it were only Li Mu and Benjamin Harrison, Li Mu might have let Chuxue cook in person, and there would be too many people tonight.

"I heard you want to run for Senate Speaker?" Li Mu was very concerned about Benjamin Harrison's political ideals.

"It's not my thoughts, it's my family, but I don't have the right to object." Benjamin Harrison smiled bitterly. He had no choice. Even if he knew it would be embarrassing, he had to do what his family asked.

Although Benjamin Harrison came from a famous family, he had not been in politics for a long time and had not had enough qualifications. It was a bit early to jump out to run for a Senate now.

However, this is also the arrangement of the Harrison family. Now Benjamin Harrison jumps out to run for Senate Speaker, which does seem a bit abrupt, but even if this time is not successful, it will be natural to wait until Benjamin Harrison runs for Senate Speaker again next time.

"Your family is anxious enough..." Li Mu smiled and joked.

If Li Mu remembers correctly, Benjamin Harrison will have to wait ten years before he can run for president, so it will be almost the same. It is natural to be the previous term, or two Senate speakers, and then run for president.

"Individuals always have to obey the whole, right? We can't live just for ourselves." Benjamin Harrison was still open-minded.

This is the sorrow of the children of a large family. Even if they are unwilling to accept it, in the face of the overall interests of the family, individuals can only choose to surrender. This is the so-called sense of responsibility. When a person has not realized this, it means that he is not mature enough.

"What do you think about Ryukyu?" Li Mu sincerely asked Benjamin Harrison for advice.

If there is another person in this world who can make Li Mu trust all his heart and soul politically, then this person is undoubtedly Benjamin Harrison. After all, the friendship between Li Mu and Benjamin Harrison originated in Cuba and later became further firm in Hawaii. Although Benjamin Harrison himself is only a senator, his ability to be elected president is enough to prove that Benjamin Harrison's political literacy is beyond ordinary people.

In fact, if you want to talk about trust, the person Li Mu trusted the most in Washington should be Chen Guofang. After all, Chen Guofang is also a Chinese. The things in this bloodline are the most firm and will not be shaken easily. However, Chen Guofang is still lacking in politics compared to Benjamin Harrison. After all, Chen Guofang was a businessman before entering politics, and Benjamin Harrison was trained by the Harrison family as the future president since he was a child.

"It doesn't matter, didn't you say it, it's just the personal behavior of some people, but they happened to choose the weapons provided by the Horse Group." Benjamin Harrison said it lightly and didn't take it seriously at all.

Li Mu was so smart that he immediately realized.

Li Mu had always been worried that the actions of Junma Group in the Far East would arouse some people's vigilance. Now it seems that Li Mu overestimates people's political acumen these days.

Japan in this era was just a poor country, and Ryukyu was even smaller and could not be found on the map. So if we talk about how much Westerners paid attention to Japan and Ryukyu at this time, it would be too much to take the Far East's status in the world seriously.

If Li Mu was doing things in the Qing Dynasty, then due to ethnic reasons, some people might question Li Mu's purpose, but in Japan and Ryukyu, to be honest, many Americans don't even know where Japan and Ryukyu are. They can't find a world map, so you don't need to question it.

Taking a step back, Li Mu's identity as an arms dealer is also the best cover. As a qualified arms dealer, Li Mu should have fanned the flames everywhere. If Li Mu had been honest, it might have really disappointed many people.

"Do you still remember the bears I saw in the living room just now?" Li Mu seemed to have inadvertently mentioned his true purpose.

Benjamin Harrison didn't say anything, but just raised an eyebrow to show that he was listening seriously.

"I actually want to go to Russia. You must know that Japan is just a barren country. Although their silver mines are attractive, compared with Russia, Japan is like a poor man with a barren house. So to make money, you still have to find a way from Russia." Li Mu explained in detail, and there was no slightest avoidance of his greed and desire for Russia in his words.

"Are Russians rich? Are you referring to their bear skins and bear paws?" Benjamin Harrison still couldn't understand.

Although Russia is the most vast country in the world, Americans have never been worried about Russians. Not long ago, Americans just bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, which made Americans contempt for Russians reach their peak. In the hearts of most Americans, Russians' ambitions are probably similar to those of Mexicans, because they will sell their country's territory for money. Will Americans value Mexicans?

Stop kidding.

"Silly!" Li Mu gave Benjamin Harrison without hesitation. It would be fine if ordinary people do not value Russia. Even political elites like Benjamin Harrison view Russia this way. This is really not something that can be summarized in the word "silly": "Think about our Alaska, which is a Canada separated from our American mainland. Are you not worried about where we will lose one day? And if we cross the Bering Strait from Alaska, then we are facing the vast Siberia. Are you always moved now?"

Of course, what really made Li Mu salivate was definitely not the bear skin and bear paw, but the vast land owned by Russia. Only with this reason can Li Mu explain his behavior.

"We Orientals are so obsessed with land... It's like you, why do you want so much land? Does that land bring you more profits every year than the Junma Group?" Benjamin Harrison still couldn't understand Li Mu's behavior.

Li Mu suddenly felt speechless. In fact, Li Mu could not explain why the Chinese were so persistent about the land. This was probably caused by the characteristics of the farming nation or the character of the Oriental people who prepared for the future.

"Tell you a real story. My father was once a tenant farmer. His greatest ideal was to own a piece of his own land..." Li Mu drank all the wine in his glass, and combined with the sad expression and sad voice on his face, it was indeed very touching: "Before my father, my grandfather was the same. Grandpa's father, even grandpa's grandfather, they all thought so and worked hard for it. So you have to understand that for me, for us Chinese, having food at home is the real calmness in our hearts, so I longed to own land so much. If possible, I even want to take all the land in the world."

Benjamin Harrison looked at Li Mu again with a surprised look, completely moved by the story made up by Li Mu.

The so-called Li Mu's father was a tenant farmer, of course he was a gangster. Li Mu was an orphan, and he had no idea what his father did.

This story is indeed very touching. The family has worked hard for one goal for generations, and owning a piece of their own land has become an indelible obsession for the entire family. This can explain why Li Mu is still buying tirelessly after owning many lands in Arizona and Indiana.

"Okay, I can understand your behavior, but unfortunately, I can't help you now." Although Benjamin Harrison was moved by Li Mu's words, he still would not make a promise beyond his ability.

If Benjamin Harrison is now the Speaker of the Senate, then Benjamin Harrison might have provided Li Mu with some help, but unfortunately Benjamin Harrison is not.

"It doesn't matter. As long as you continue to move forward according to the family's plan, sooner or later, you will control this huge country." Li Mu had confidence in Benjamin Harrison.

Building confidence is a wonderful thing. In life, those low-compulsive forces want to deceive others, first of all, you must constantly hypnotize yourself, so that you can deceive others or not, at least you can deceive themselves.

A person who is not confident in himself may also build confidence if he receives constant encouragement and praise from others.

For people like Benjamin Harrison, it is easier to build confidence. He comes from a famous family and receives elite education since childhood. He is born to rule others. Therefore, for Benjamin Harrison, confidence is not a problem. Benjamin Harrison needs interest. He must first change his attitude towards politics so that he can make achievements in politics.

In fact, for ordinary people, becoming a senator is already the pinnacle of their life, but for people like Benjamin Harrison, a senator is just the beginning of his political career and his future is destined to be extremely bright.

After returning to New York from Washington, Li Mu began a full-scale attack on the Democratic Party.

The internal election of the Senate was a signal. Before that, although Republicans were full of confidence, the Republicans had been at a disadvantage in the campaign. Hayes and Samuel Tilden tied in the Senate election, which showed that the gap between the Republican and the Democrats had been smoothed out and the final battle was about to begin.

In mid-November, the New York Centennial Exhibition successfully concluded.

Junma Group became the biggest winner of the Independence Centennial Exhibition. During the six-month exhibition, Junma Group's total transaction volume exceeded US$200 million, accounting for more than one-quarter of the total transaction volume of the Independence Centennial Exhibition.

Interestingly, the second-ranked profit-making group is the Organizing Committee of the Independent Centennial Exhibition. Due to Li Mu's guidance, the souvenirs launched by the Organizing Committee of the Independent Centennial Exhibition emerged. During the entire exhibition, the Organizing Committee sold more than US$20 million in souvenirs, and the total profit was also over US$10 million.

The profit margins of souvenirs are very high. A keychain with a cost of only five cents can be sold at nearly 30 cents. Excluding sales costs and transportation costs, the profit is as high as more than 20 cents. This profit margin is higher than that of Junma Weapons Company's arms sales.

At the end of November, New York City held a mayoral election, and City Councilman Edward Jeffrey was successfully elected.

Edward Geoffrey is also a Republican. During Arthur's administration in New York, Edward Geoffrey served as the director of the New York City Treasury and cooperated with Arthur, so Edward Geoffrey received Arthur's support.

After Edward Jeffrey took office, he held a thank-you dinner at the Clinton Castle Hotel.

During the banquet, Edward Geoffrey took the initiative to find Li Mu, expressing his sincere gratitude to Li Mu, and at the same time expressed his wish to Li Mu to enter the New York City Council.

parliament!
Chapter completed!