Chapter 58 The Dark Side of the American Consortium
Situ Meitang has been in the United States for many years. He only touched the stockings and immediately understood the value of the stockings. He asked excitedly, "I wonder how much these stockings are worth?"
Jiang Cheng was really not sure about the pricing, so he asked, "I brought more than 2 million pairs, which are for this season. I wonder what you think the price should be?"
Situ Meitang smiled and said, "Although the U.S. economy is in difficulty now, it is not as exaggerated as it was in 1931. Americans still have a lot of savings in the past few years. I think these stockings are transparent and smooth. You must know that foreigners are different from us. They
They have a lot of hair and rough skin. I know that many American women often do painful things like plucking their hair to make their legs smoother. Your stockings are simply their savior. I think it can be priced at two dollars. This is
What is it made of?”
When Jiang Cheng heard that it could be priced at two dollars, he thought it was acceptable. After all, he would decide based on the sales situation. When asked about the material, he said, "The main material is nylon. We should be the only ones in the world who have it now, but I heard that DuPont
The company is already developing this and should be able to produce it soon."
Situ Meitang asked, "Have you applied for this patent yet?"
Jiang Cheng shook his head and said, "I haven't applied yet. I'll ask Prime Minister Situ for help when the time comes. It shouldn't be a big problem."
Situ Meitang seemed to have thought of something and said, "One more question, Xiao Jiang, you said that DuPont is also researching this product, so do you know what stage they have reached in their research?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "If I'm not wrong, they have discovered nylon and are now studying the issue of industrialization."
Situ Meitang frowned and said, "That's troublesome. This DuPont Company should be called the DuPont Consortium to be precise. In just over a hundred years, it has become the sixth largest consortium in the United States. In addition to their family's business methods, it is indeed
First-class foreigners. They have a lot of black tricks. If they just wanted to study it and haven't done it yet, or if they were in the early stages of research, things would be easier to handle. But now they also have this nylon in their hands, and once we sell it to the outside world,
, DuPont will definitely fully understand the value of this nylon, no, maybe DuPont already knows the value of these stockings. Then we will become a thorn in their side, not to mention our little Chinese gang, even Mr. Roosevelt under the wrath of the consortium.
I can only stay away."
Although Jiang Cheng knew in later generations that the U.S. government was controlled by several consortiums, would it be possible for him to suffer a bloody disaster if he sold silk stockings? He couldn't help but be a little disbelieving and said, "Is there a problem if we want to have the patent in hand?"
Situ Meitang saw Jiang Cheng's look and knew that he didn't believe it, so he said, "You should know Edison."
Jiang Cheng nodded immediately, "Who doesn't know? He is a great inventor."
Situ Meitang shook his head and said with a smile, "You probably think he is a great inventor like most people, but he was an excellent businessman before he was an inventor. The so-called stories and legends of Roman Park are just a group of inventors.
In order to better promote their products, you should have heard of Tesla and Maxim. These two genius scientists were squeezed out of the American scientific community by Edison using all dirty methods.
, that’s all, everyone still said that he was a kind person. Also, in comparison, after all, these two people are still alive.
Edison's General Electric Company is a small soldier under the Morgan consortium. If the DuPont consortium, which is on the same level as the Morgan consortium, takes action, haha, their company is a company that makes explosives. In order to monopolize the explosives business, many people were involved in it.
The stupid factory exploded. As for patents, you don’t really think that the United States is a country that respects patents, do you?”
Jiang Cheng wondered, "Isn't it?" After all, the United States' respect for patents was advocated by countless public figures in later generations. Situ Meitang laughed and said, "When Dickens, who wrote "A Tale of Two Cities," visited the United States, he complained to the Americans about his novel.
It was sold all over the streets in the United States, but it never brought him even a penny in royalties. The U.S. Congress retorted with confidence: "The country is not developed yet, and poor people should be allowed to obtain knowledge or entertainment at a lower price. Besides,
Publishers can lower the price of books without paying royalties to foreign authors, and can attract more readers, thus increasing the author's visibility and long-term income in the long run...' After hearing this, do you still think the United States is really
Is it a country that respects intellectual property rights? He only respects patents that are beneficial to him. "What Jiang Cheng didn't know was that in the 1950s and 1960s, 80% of aspirin on the world market came from the United States, but among them
Less than one-tenth of the number had patent authorizations. This made Bayer, which owned the patent, half angry. Listening to Situ Meitang's words, Jiang Cheng also felt that he might have thought a little simpler, and he also thought of something he had already seen.
In this novel, wasn’t the main character in the novel because of his silk stockings, Dupont poured water on the road? Then he said, “Then according to Prime Minister Situ’s wishes, our silk stockings business will not be done?”
Situ Meitang smiled and said, "How can that be done? People die for money and birds die for food. If we don't dare to do this business of making money because of the slight risk, then we don't have to hang around anymore and just go home and farm, Xiao Jiang,
You are our key. Since your organization is only willing to push you to the front desk, then you are our Achilles heel. Your safety is the most important, but not many people know you, so just pay more attention. If we
If we want to do this stocking business, then we have to think carefully and come up with a perfect plan."
Jiang Cheng nodded in agreement, and then thought of the genius Tesla. Other well-known scientists are either very proud of themselves or are still growing, so it is difficult to find them. Only this person can be said to be in poverty, so he asked, "
I wonder how Tesla is doing now?”
Situ Meitang sighed, "He is indeed a genius, but because he offended Edison, he was banned by the Morgan chaebol. He now lives in seclusion, living alone in a hotel in New York City, and occasionally makes some unusual statements to the press. Because of his weird behavior
, also called a madman.
Jiang Cheng asked, "Then why doesn't he leave the United States?"
Situ Meitang laughed and said, "How could he get away? Someone is monitoring him all the time, for fear that like Mark Xin, he will go to Europe and make a comeback."
Jiang Cheng thought for a while and said, "I want to meet him, is that okay?"
Situ Meitang thought for a moment and nodded and said, "It's not difficult to see him, but it would be really difficult if you want to take him away."
Jiang Cheng recalled a story from later generations and said with a smile, "I have a way. Okay, let's discuss how our stockings can break through Dupont's ban."
After discussing it all night, Jiang Cheng and Situ Meitang felt that all the details had been considered, and then they split up and started taking action.
Jiang Cheng visited Roosevelt again the next day. Roosevelt was quite interested in this young Chinese man and asked Jiang Cheng to have dinner with him.
At dinner, Jiang Cheng told Roosevelt his idea of sending international students to the United States.
Roosevelt thought about it and believed that a large number of international students who received higher education in the United States would be close to the United States in the future and have an American worldview.
Roosevelt smiled and raised his glass and said, "As for education, our U.S. government has always strongly supported it. I will coordinate various schools in the United States. As long as students from your country pass the test of our school, they can come to study in our country."
Jiang Cheng said gratefully, "The American people have always been our good friends. By the way, I brought our company's latest products as a gift to Mrs. Anna." As he said this, Jiang Cheng handed over a gift box.
Anna was curious and wanted to open it. Roosevelt knew some Chinese customs and said, "Anna, in China, it is impolite to open a gift in person. You'd better be patient."
Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "President Roosevelt is very knowledgeable about our country's culture. I hope to have the opportunity to invite President Roosevelt to visit us in China."
What Jiang Cheng didn't know was that the night before he visited Roosevelt, the Roosevelt administration received a note from the Japanese government.
During the half month that Jiang Cheng left China, several major and far-reaching events occurred.
After Zhou Guansheng went to Lushan, he still did not get the result he wanted after hard bargaining with Jiang Zhongjiang. Although he already knew the general trend of the future, he was not depressed, but he saw that Jiang Zhongjie was not even willing to give the Red Army the establishment of several divisions.
, and also saw clearly that although Jiang Jingye agreed to join hands with the Red Party to fight against Japan, in his heart he was afraid of the Red Party and could not take any substantive actions. After all, in Jiang Jingye's eyes, the war was still far away, and there was no
It is urgent, and I still have time to slowly build up the Red Party. Although the Red Party still has a large territory and tens of thousands of troops, they are all in extremely poor places. Just look at the people who joined the Red Army. It turns out that when they were in Jiangxi
, most of the people who joined the Red Army brought clothes and bedding, but in Shaanxi, few even brought their own chopsticks. Jiang Jie firmly believed that as long as he dragged it on, the Red Party would definitely succumb to its conditions.
On June 4, 1937, the Konoe Cabinet was finally formally established. Konoe immediately appointed Hirota Koki as foreign minister. This was also the third time that Hirota Koki served as foreign minister. As early as 1935, this person had served as Okada.
The Foreign Minister of the Tian Cabinet, and put forward the famous Hirota Three Principles - that is, first: require China to recognize Manchukuo, and require a high degree of economic and cultural exchanges between North China and Manchuria. Second: China ceases all anti-Japanese activities, abandons Britain and the United States,
Rely on Japan. Third: defend against Russia, defend against the Red Party, and strangle the Red Party.
After the "February 26" Mutiny in 1936, with the support of the Military Ministry, Hirota Koki became Prime Minister of the Cabinet and appointed himself Foreign Minister. At the same time, he established the fascist system of the Japanese Military Ministry.
This time, the Konoe cabinet re-appointed him as foreign minister, nothing more than releasing a clear political signal to the outside world - the original Sato diplomacy has ended, the soft policy towards China has ended, and Japan's foreign policy will become tough again.
stand up.
Konoe also pointed out in his first statement that domestic conflicts are immediately reflected in financial and economic difficulties. In order to simultaneously meet the military's requirements to strengthen defense expenditures and the government's three goals of "balancing material supply, balancing international income and developing productivity"
This requirement is extremely difficult to achieve.
At that time, some military officers said that internal deficiencies could be obtained externally. Such remarks spread throughout the Japanese military circles at an extremely fast speed. Everyone turned their attention to North China, where they had everything they needed - military merit.
and wealth.
As if in response to Konoe's first statement, Hirota Koki also quickly made a statement, saying that the original Hirota Three Principles are no longer suitable for the current international situation, and that foreign policy must undergo even greater changes in order to fundamentally improve China.
Japan relations.
Japanese military officers stationed in China seemed to have smelled it and flocked to write letters stating their views.
At this time, anti-Japanese uprisings broke out in Zhangbei, Baokang and other places, and the puppet troops in many places were defeated.
Xiangyue Siqing was the first to send a report stating that the situation in North China was tense and asked for further reinforcements.
Upon seeing this, Kenshiro Shibayama, the military affairs section chief of the Japanese Army Ministry, immediately reported to the country that anti-Japanese propaganda in North China was becoming increasingly fierce, and the middle and lower levels of the 29th Army were strongly hostile to Japan. The garrison was often harassed by guerrillas and suffered terribly. The only option was to increase the number of garrison troops and
Only then can the intensity of repression be alleviated.
Hideki Tojo, who was still serving as the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army at this time, put forward strategic opinions: "Soviet Russia poses a great threat to Manchuria, and Japan and the Soviet Union are feuding, so there will be a war in the future. If this war breaks out, we, the Kwantung Army, will
Although it is brave and invincible, the outcome is hard to say. The Nanjing government will be like the Song Dynasty in the past, and the Soviet Union will attack our army. The situation will be exactly the same as that of Mongolia, Jin, and Southern Song Dynasty. To prevent such a thing from happening, we believe: If it is for us
As military force allows, it is the best policy to first strike at the Nanjing regime and remove the threat behind me."
It can be said that within a week after Konoe came to power, the Japanese army quickly unified its thinking. The war between China and Japan was no longer a question of whether to fight, but when.
After receiving the telegram from the troops stationed in China, the Guards responded quickly and secretly sent another 20,000 troops to the Northeast region, and moved troops to Shanhaiguan to prepare for war at any time.
Major Japanese intelligence organizations began to recruit and train agents in China, which made Dai Li finally discover something was wrong.
June 15, 1937 - The Lushan Chiang Kai-shek Agency has been in a good mood these days. Zhou Guansheng of the Red Party has given in step by step. The establishment of Yan'an has been reduced from the original five divisions to three divisions. I believe that Yan'an now has
You are almost out of food. Huh, without that Zhang Liu to support you, I want to see how you can support your tens of thousands of troops in the barren northern Shaanxi. On the other hand, the Red Party guerrillas in the south are really annoying, but everyone
Selfishly, now that the Red Party in the South has no connection with the Red Party in the North, we can think of some way to absorb the Red Party in the South.
Agent Jiang, who was thinking about good things, saw Chen Brai walking by with a happy face. Knowing that there was probably some good news, he said, "What's wrong? Is there any news?"
Chen Bulei nodded and said, "Commissioner, I am very happy. Liu Xiang is here on behalf of Lu Zuofu. He is here to discuss the reorganization of the Sichuan Army. I heard that the Sichuan Army has actually begun to reorganize according to our requirements. Liu Xiang is very sincere."
Jiang Jie smiled and said, "Look, our Central Committee is indeed what everyone expects. Is there anything else?"
Chen Brai handed over another piece of paper and said, "A call from Hong Kong. The ordnance given to us by Germany has arrived. This time it is said that the German arsenal has been emptied. Equipment for ten divisions has arrived at once, and five divisions have just arrived.
In Europe, General Falkenhausen said that because according to Lieutenant Colonel Jiang's opinion, people wait for weapons and do not let weapons wait for people, now several people train with one weapon. Therefore, as long as the weapons are obtained, the combat effectiveness of six divisions can be formed immediately.
However, there is still a slight gap between these divisions and the three veteran divisions."
Agent Jiang smiled excitedly and said, "Okay, if I have thirty German weapon masters, why should I fear that the Japanese invaders will never be wiped out?"
At this time Dai Li knocked on the door and asked to see him.
Agent Jiang saw Dai Li's serious face and knew what had happened, so he asked, "Yunong, what happened?"
Dai Li nodded and said, "Principal, according to reliable information, the Japanese invaders suddenly recruited and trained a large number of agents in North China. The rats we have have been acting very powerful recently, and the students suspect that the Japanese invaders are about to take action."
Agent Jiang was surprised when he heard this and asked, "Why so fast? Is the information reliable?"
Dai Li nodded and said nothing.
Agent Jiang walked a few times with a cane and sighed, "Why don't you give me more time? If you give me another two years, no, one year, our situation will be completely different."
Chen Brai is worthy of being a think tank. He immediately said, "Margou Bridge, the war will definitely break out at Marco Polo Bridge."
Jiang Zhi and Dai Li both looked at Chen Brei, and Chen Brei continued, "The situation in North China has been very tense recently. It is said that the officers of the 29th Army were invited to a banquet of the Japanese army a few days ago, and they all started fighting on the spot. If it is really the case recently.
If we want to start a war, it must be in Peiping. Peiping has been surrounded from several sides, and the only exit is the Marco Polo Bridge."
Agent Jiang nodded and said, "Yunong, send more people to monitor the movements in Peking, and - where is Jiang Cheng? Isn't their Weihua intelligence organization also very powerful? Do they have any news?"
Dai Li looked at Agent Jiang and said, "Principal, since the last time the committee kicked him out, he has returned to Shanghai and done nothing. But recently, he has suddenly made great efforts to organize the preparations for the relocation of Shanghai's small and medium-sized factory machinery."
When Agent Jiang heard this, he immediately understood that Jiang Cheng must have known something, and sighed, "This Jiang Guquan, I just talked about him and got angry like this. It's really immature. Fortunately, I gave him this word. In this way, Yan
As for (Chen Brai's character), you go and issue a commendation order to promote him to the rank of colonel. By the way, tell him that the party and the country need him, and he cannot play with national affairs for the sake of temporary anger. In addition, send a message to Song Zheyuan and give him a proposal.
Wake up."
Chen Brai nodded and left.
Agent Jiang looked to the north, with great regret in his heart - a great opportunity was about to go to waste again, he just hoped that this war would be delayed a little later.