Chapter 578

In the vast sky of the North American continent, a Boeing 747-VIP is flying west. In the luxurious interior of the Smith, which is like a palace in the sky, Abel sat in front of a fine writing desk made of Brazilian wood over 500 years old, looking at the briefing on the computer in front of him.

Of course, for safety reasons, this high-end desktop computer is inlaid on this high-quality Brazilian wood desk. This way, even if the plane encounters some turbulence in the airflow, it is impossible for the computer to slip and hit Abel.

Ding Dong——

The doorbell rang in the sky palace that doubled as the main living room and Abel's sky office.

"Come in..."

"Boss, are you looking for me?" Secretary Lidya walked in at a loss.

Generally speaking, when Lydia's boss lover is at work, even if he is just reading a business briefing, he will not ask her to come in and act recklessly.

When he really wants to do that kind of thing, it's usually when he's almost finished reading the briefing and the work is done. When he needed a break, he would let Lydia come in to help him relax.

Abel has only watched the briefing for less than half an hour now, so he probably hasn't finished it yet.

The secretary didn't know why the boss called her in.

"After arriving in Washington, there will be two press conferences. You will attend them on my behalf as my spokesperson."

"Are you referring to the NRA press conference about the recent incident in Pennsylvania, and the signing press conference after Rolls-Royce officially regained its freedom?"

Lydia quickly thought about Abel's itinerary for the next few days after arriving in Washington.

She immediately asked softly.

"Yes." Abel nodded slightly.

The first of the two press conferences that Lydia mentioned was in April this year, when a 14-year-old boy in Pennsylvania shot and killed his principal and then committed suicide.

This incident caused a big fuss and public opinion was aroused. The Forbidden Woods faction in the United States jumped up and down again, doing all the old tricks of placing candles and praying to commemorate... As the re-elected chairman of the National Rifle Association, Abel must of course express something at the NRA's external press conference.

But it would be a bit of a loss for him to do this kind of thing himself. The best way is to send a representative, and preferably not an executive from the Smith Department.

That would draw attention to him, which would be a bit bad for companies such as Smith Media that need to be exposed to the general public to a certain extent.

As Abel's personal secretary, Lydia's status is very suitable at this time.

As for another press conference, it was about the Rolls-Royce company that Abel had started planning a few years ago, and it finally came to an end this year.

Volkswagen and BMW admitted their failure. The Germans wanted to avoid being sanctioned by long-arm jurisdiction, and there were also voices of dissatisfaction within them. Although the losses were heavy - about US$500 million, they could only pinch their noses and admit that the London House of Lords' verdict on the Rolls-Royce acquisition seven years ago was not valid.

Under the interference of the barbaric Americans, the Germans finally spent money. Not only did they not buy Rolls-Royce and Bentley, but they lost money. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is now an independent company again.

This press conference was a press conference in front of the media for Rolls-Royce Motor Company to announce its acceptance of the acquisition intention agreement from Smith Motors Group of the United States.

As for the American Smith Automotive Group, it is a new company that was established less than three months ago.

In addition to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is about to fall under its ownership, it is also the largest shareholder of Tesla New Energy Technology Company in the United States.

Both conferences were held in Washington, but not because that is the capital of the United States.

And it just so happened that Abel was going there in the near future. In order to accommodate Abel, the NRA and Rolls-Royce could only place the news media conference at the center of the empire.

"Okay, no problem." Lydia suppressed the excitement in her heart, but the expression on her face was charming. If Abel now needs her to "work" for him in some aspects, she will definitely do her best and Unprecedented enthusiasm...

The reason is simple, because it is obvious to Lydia. These two conferences were very long-faced and easy to show off.

They all face the public, and not just the general public. Only business elites and upper-class people pay attention to this kind of thing.

This will make Lydia appear in the eyes of these people, which will invisibly greatly enhance her social status.

What's more, Lydia has felt it, probably not just in these two press conferences.

In the future, it is very likely that for similar meetings or activities that are not very important to Abel, but require him to send a special representative, he may be able to get the opportunity to attend as a representative!

She knew that this meant that her status in Abel's heart had risen to a higher level.

Maybe even taller than my cousin Amanda!

[My sacrifice is not in vain! Sure enough, as my mother said, for a man like Abel, not fighting is the biggest fight! ]

Lydia suppressed her excitement. Seeing that Abel had no other requests, she lowered her head and read the business briefing again.

She backed away slightly, planning to leave to prepare for the two press conferences.

She didn't want to mess up such a great opportunity.

But before going out, Abel motioned for her to call Edward over.

Lydia nodded and left. Within a few seconds, Edward knocked on the door and walked in.

"How are things going in Afghanistan?"

"The plane has left Central Asia and should now enter Europe. It is expected to arrive in Texas tomorrow morning."

"How are the preparations going in Fort Worth?"

"Everything is ready."

Abel nodded with satisfaction, thinking that a batch of precious Silk Road treasures would soon be released in the collection room of Smith Manor, adding thousands more names to Smith's collection list that already had a large number of Asan's gold treasures, a very special A good feeling of gain filled his heart.

Although there are some bandit behaviors, it is indeed very shameful morally.

But... aren't these the owners of these treasures? Don't they value them very much?

It's okay for Afghanistan. After all, it is in a period of war, so it is understandable that the protection is inadequate.

There are more secret treasures from the Third Brother Temple. Their country is at peace, but they still ignore them.

It's better to keep it for yourself and contribute to human culture and antiques!

Feeling that his thoughts were still shameless after all, Abel smiled and stopped paying attention to this trivial matter in his mind.

Even for his little things, Rock Security and Black Rock risked three lives. The number of local unlucky people who died as a result is as high as double digits...

Treasures and gold, they are often stained with invisible blood.

Smith appears over Washington, DC.

The sky has gone down, and the entire DC area is lit up with lights. It is extremely beautiful when viewed from the air.

When he got off the airplane ladder, Abel received news that he was not very surprised about.

The George Bush administration announced not long ago that Henry Paulson has been appointed as Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief's Staff and a member of the White House House Committee, replacing former Treasury Secretary John Snow as the new U.S. Treasury Secretary.

When George first came to power, his Treasury Secretary was Paul Henry O'Neill, a typical American establishment figure. He once held an important position in the White House when Herbert was the Commander-in-Chief, and was Herbert's Minister of Defense at that time.

After George came to power, perhaps in order to support the old man, or perhaps because Herbert wanted to make his son's position more secure, Paul Henry O'Neill, who was indeed very capable, became George's finance minister.

The problem is that this old man doesn't know whether he is dissatisfied with George or George's staff. Not long after he took office, he expressed his dissatisfaction with George in many aspects on many occasions not long after he took office.

On several occasions, even in public, his behavior could be considered egregious to his employer, George.

In parallel time and space, George tolerated this guy for three years, and he didn't know whether to say he had a good temper or that Paul Henry O'Neal had amazing energy.

Or both. In this time and space, this guy was dealing with the emergency after 9/11, which made Abel very unhappy. Abel was acting very strangely in front of George and Herbert. Paul Henry O'Neill.

The result was that Paul Henry O'Neill stepped down earlier than in parallel time and space, and George replaced his own man, John Snow, as the new Treasury Secretary.

It's been almost two years. The problem is that the U.S. economic situation under the George administration has not improved in the past two years. Even if the quantitative easing techniques learned from neon people are used, it has not really boosted the economy.

Since last year, Washington has been awash with calls for John Snow to step down. It would be better for him to stay in that position than not to have it at all, because he is George's answering machine.

Even when George started his own company, he suffered losses in eight out of ten years. How could he manage the economy well?

Many times, to a certain extent, the US Treasury Secretary is very authoritative and generally very capable in economic matters.

Finally, maybe these voices have reached a certain level. Or maybe George really wants to revitalize the economy.

This time he transferred John Snow elsewhere and appointed Henry Paulson as the new Treasury Secretary.

Speaking of Paulson, this guy can be said to be an old acquaintance of Abel.

His last job was as Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group. When Abel first emerged on Wall Street, the first person he faced was Paulson and his gang.

At that time, when Abel was "warring" with Wall Street, Goldman Sachs' attitude was always very ambiguous, and Paulson's contribution was included in this.

Because in fact, Paulson at that time was already flirting with the Texas Group by chance and had certain connections with George's staff team.

At that time, Abel officially became the son-in-law of the Shrub family.

For the sake of the benefactor, but also to avoid possible losses for Goldman Sachs in that conflict.

Paulson-controlled Goldman Sachs chose neutrality.

At the time, his approach seemed a bit like seeking power for personal gain.

There were voices of opposition within Goldman Sachs at the time. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Abel to severely punish those investment banks in the capital market, causing them heavy losses.

On the contrary, Goldman Sachs Group, because Paulson chose neutrality for power-seeking, had no consequences, but suffered no losses. He also made a little profit by taking advantage of the situation afterwards, which made Paulson's authority within Goldman Sachs even greater.

These are all things in the past, and now this guy is George's new treasurer.

Abel knew that the subprime mortgage crisis would definitely come earlier than in parallel time and space.

Because Paulson has been "one of the most active Wall Street participants in Greenspan's new securitization reforms."

It was Goldman Sachs, with Paulson as CEO, "promoting securitization reform and endless new product demonstrations" that allowed Wall Street's reins to be completely let go.

Now that this guy has become the finance minister, the progress in this area will only be faster.

Although Abel is not without a chance to stop it, he can ask George not to appoint this guy and take the opposite strategy to delay or avoid the subprime mortgage crisis.

But even if Abel really does this, this financial crisis is still destined to come, and no matter how hard he tries, he can only delay it for a few years at most.

On the contrary, if he does this, he will receive the overall hostility of Wall Street and the disgust of many financial groups. Because Paulson and others are doing this, the biggest benefits are the consortiums with unrivaled authority in finance.

Even if these are not considered, the crisis is still inevitable. In fact, traces of this crisis had already appeared in the early 1990s. At that time, the U.S. debt and the domestic economy were about to collapse, and signs of the Great Depression were also appearing throughout Europe.

And then...then Red Bear blew himself up and saved the world of capital.

After a super shot in the arm, the young people in the United States and Europe have been living in poverty for more than ten years. In parallel time and space, 2007 and 2008 finally couldn't hold on anymore and then exploded.

If China hadn't taken advantage of it at that time, the Great Depression would have definitely come around 2008.

As a result, Wall Street behaved as it always did, and continued to commit suicide after being taken advantage of.

Finally, more than ten years have passed, and with the super black swan incident of masks, the precursor to the Great Depression has finally arrived...

These are things that will happen in the next ten years in parallel time and space.

The problem is that Abel exists in this time and space. His plundering of many giants on Wall Street forced these people to go further and more ruthlessly on the road of invading the United States.

The butterfly effect he formed had even greater side effects in this regard.

Therefore, even Abel himself judged that this subprime mortgage crisis will definitely come early.

Especially since Paulson became Treasury Secretary so many years earlier than in parallel time and space...

Thinking of this, when he stepped off the airplane ladder, Abel directly told Allen to let Smith Intelligence Company complete the reorganization as soon as possible.

Abel needs them to formulate measures to face the subprime mortgage crisis earlier.

In the dark, after the plane landed, he got into the motorcade that had been waiting for him for a long time and headed straight to downtown DC. Emily, who knew he was coming, had prepared a sumptuous dinner and was waiting for him.

Alexander is now a member of Congress. Although he is still a member of the House of Representatives, he, like Neil Bush, spends most of his time stationed in Washington, except when he needs to return to his respective constituencies for election campaigns and shows.

So when his motorcade arrived at the Alexander couple's residence in downtown DC.

No doubt, dear Congressman Neil Bush, who is also at the Smith home in Washington.

He and Alexander were in-laws, and the two families lived together in Washington. Even if one person is a donkey and the other is an elephant, no matter how close they are to each other, no one will say anything based on their origins and relationships.

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the sunshine and rain you give, which makes the earth produce rich food. Please also purify this food for us. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!"

Listening to the pre-meal prayers of his parents, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, Abel crossed his hands into fists and placed them on the dining table. Then he closed his eyes and began to pretend to sit with his family and pray before meals.

"Thank you Lord for giving me food today, please let me..."

There is no way, who made this our old tradition.

In the body's memory, this was also a destined process in Texas.

A traditional habit that most devout believers have.

Abel was not that pious. He would only do this when he was a guest at Shrub's house or when he went home to spend time with the elderly.

He has no such rules when he is alone or with his women.

Maybe some of them have, but he hasn't. At least they did not pray before meals in front of him.

After making the sign of the cross, everyone opened their eyes. Neil Bush glanced at Abel with emotion, then picked up the wine glass, looked at Abel and said, "Let us raise a toast to Abel coming to Washington."

"Thank you. Thank you everyone." Abel smiled and raised his glass and thanked him.

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle. Everyone was proud of Abel's achievements today. Especially for Neil and Alexander, the significance was even greater.

Because without the rise of Abel, Neil Shrub would definitely still be working as a small oil businessman for him. Relying on Shrub's fame and influence, he could make hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and his entire family would have to share it. All day long, I have to run around the United States, Asia or Europe with my younger brother, cheering to earn millions of dollars a month.

Even if Neil is not a member of parliament, he still has a commander-in-chief father and a commander-in-chief brother, so he is still considered a figure in the country.

In contrast, Alexander's changes were even greater.

If Mr. Congressman Smith does not have this son.

This senior Texas redneck is probably still on his farm, teaching local rednecks or newcomers from the south how to better shear sheep and shave the hooves of cattle.

Then because of their work mistakes or low efficiency, they stood by and yelled at each other, making their faces turn red and their necks thick with anger...

Where could it be like now, where all the people entering and leaving the center of imperial power were famous figures in the news, and the topics discussed during the day were closely related to all aspects of the world's most powerful country.

The various gatherings and parties in the evening are yearned for and envied by all the animals in the world.

As a member of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, I am already at the top of this country.

The vast majority of American elites work hard all their lives, and the height they can reach is probably this, which is the ceiling for many people.

But for them, this is just the starting point arranged for them by their son/son-in-law.

Above, there is a higher position waiting for them.

So how could the two fathers not feel emotional about this at this moment?

After the opening drinks, the atmosphere was very cheerful. But because among the three men, two are powerful figures in the empire, and one is one of the masters of the empire.

Both women are housewives, so the topics at the dinner table are naturally almost all related to power and governance.

The mothers of Emily and little Laura talked softly about their daily lives as wives, looked at their husbands and sons/son-in-law from time to time, and chuckled from time to time.

Abel, on the other hand, was chatting with his father and father-in-law about the recent incident that attracted the most attention from the upper echelons of Washington or the entire United States - the conglomerate annexation incident.

You know, Abel sitting here is one of the absolute core in this incident.

"To put it simply, if I succeed this time." Abel looked at his father-in-law and dad, chuckled as if he was bragging:

"Then who will be the commander-in-chief of the United States in the future, I will have at least 1/3 of the decision-making power. If the other 1/3 is determined by then, then I will have the final say on who will be the commander-in-chief of the United States."

"Dear Alexander and Neil, tsk tsk... How about we let you take turns? One person for four years, each of you for eight years! Hahahaha——"

"Oh~~" Neil's voice was melodious, and he raised the red wine glass to cover up his blushing face after hearing Abel's words, "I feel like I'm drunk. This California red wine seems to have a higher alcohol content than ordinary French red wine is higher?"

Alexander looked at his in-laws with disdain, thinking that his own people were just pretending!

But the former Texas senior redneck thought about being able to sit in the position where George is sitting now.

Even though he really didn't value it very much at first.

But when this possibility increases infinitely, even a person with a rough and arrogant character like Alexander can't help but feel excited in his heart.Power, it is truly the most terrifying poison for mankind.