Chapter 580

After hanging up the phone, David Rockefeller pinched the bridge of his nose, frowned and picked up a document on the table in front of him, and looked at it carefully again.

This is a plan carefully designed by the brain trusts of the Trilateral Commission to attract Cleveland and DuPont.

In a moment he will go with John Cleese to the Cleveland people's residence in Washington, taking part of this plan with them.

But now, he has received a piece of news that cannot be said to be good news - Dupont met with the boy Smith at noon today. The key is that both parties have brought their own accounting and legal teams. Any fool can guess what this means.

David felt that things had never been so bad. Even when Red Bear held the military exercise in the early 1980s, his pressure was not as great as it is now.

After all, at that time, all the capital in the world was afraid, and everyone could face it together. Unlike now, when faced with such a threat, the pressure was on him and John Cleese.

To be honest, he regrets it now. I regret that I made peace with Abel last year, and I regret that I didn't kill the ferocious Texas gray wolf when it was just a wolf cub.

This feeling of regret has always existed in David's heart.

Fortunately, he is a rational person, and he knows that regretting now has no other use than making his mood worse.

David took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the coat rack nearby, picked up his favorite top hat and put it on his long gray head.

After leaving the door, surrounded by entourage and assistants, the group left Rockefeller's residence in Washington.

The low-key motorcade drove on the bright streets of DC in June. The unique heaviness of the Empire Center made the atmosphere here completely different from that of New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other cities.

Unlike those regular animals, David didn't like it here. in his youth. A big shot living here put great pressure on the young man and his parents.

He remembered that during those years, his father, John Davidson Rockefeller, the second-generation head of the family known as Little Rockefeller, had been looking miserable all day long for several years.

He still remembered that night, that very crucial night. Many people came to the house and held secret discussions in his father's study. As a young man, he led someone to stay outside to help keep the secret.

Then the next day, news happened that shocked the United States and even the entire world.

The commander-in-chief who made young Rockefeller and many people extremely disgusted and afraid, unfortunately died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the white house and on his desk...

The old David recalled those miserable years and that very important night.

He took a deep breath and thought that he was not as decisive and ruthless as his father.

The key is that the other party's defenses are obviously tighter than those in the White House back then.

Moreover, it was only when everyone united, including even some people in the army, that they successfully achieved the impossible task.

Nowadays, many people are saying that this is not allowed and this is not okay. But if they were really determined to take risks, even he himself couldn't make up his mind.

It's not that he is old, but that the situation today is completely different from that of then.

If Rockefeller Jr. and others had not done that, they would probably have died slowly, and the butcher's knife would one day fall on them.

Now, even if they do nothing. It's just that when competing, the pressure is greater and the opponent's energy is stronger.

What's more, the cake is now bigger than before. In the past, everyone only grabbed cakes in the United States, and overseas cakes were still controlled by a few established countries.

Now, except for a few areas, almost all of the big pie of the earth belongs to Americans.

The cake has expanded so much, but the people are still the same people as before. At most, their appetites have only become bigger.

The cake is so big now, and it's not a matter of life and death. There are too many concerns.

What John Cleese wanted to do two years ago is something he can't do now either.

Taking a deep breath, David Rockefeller had to give up the very dangerous idea in his mind.

Looking out the car window, the pedestrians passing by were obviously a bit more "black" than they were twenty or even ten years ago. David was a little confused. He noticed that the number of black and minority residents in Washington seemed to be increasing. .

He thought of this scientific term when boiling a frog in warm water.

That's the case with this change in Washington, D.C.

This is also the case with such a powerful guy that he is facing now.

He was once weak and easily put out. But at that time, he was very cooperative and docile, and behind him, there was the military-industrial complex with the most powerful force protecting him.

Now, he, Morgan and the others have become the frogs being boiled in warm water.

At this moment, Old David had a wry smile on his face, and felt extremely helpless in his heart. It is conceivable that when DuPont and Smith come together, it will be difficult for Morgan to continue to hold hostage and control the largest chemical giant in the United States within the DuPont consortium. .

As for that guy Smith, he has always been friendly with the military-industrial complex. With DuPont's blessing, he is bound to be more popular with the Five Corners Building.

Fortunately, there is a place for myself and others in the military-industrial complex. Don't worry about this guy, he really can't lose his tail.

Then...there is only compromise.

Fortunately, Cleveland people are really short-sighted. Even if they want to vote for Smith again after this time, the opponent will never want them.

Thinking of this, David finally breathed a sigh of relief and made up his mind.

The motorcade turned a corner and headed for Morgan's residence in Washington.

Soon, in Washington, which was shrouded in a tense atmosphere, the news that DuPont and Smith signed a cooperation agreement was spread by interested parties almost immediately after the meeting between the two.

Not long after, the cooperation agreement between the Cleveland Consortium and JPMorgan Chase Bank was officially announced.

The two pieces of news came out one after another, and then various chain reactions spread from Washington to the entire United States.

Many people were relieved, and many were even more nervous.

But most of the chain reactions have nothing to do with ordinary people. Some of the subsequent impacts on finance caused the chemical industry, military industry, steel and other sectors of the three major U.S. stock indexes to suddenly rise.

Obviously there are some well-informed institutions or elites who know that these sectors have promising prospects, so they bought them in advance and waited for appreciation to easily make a fortune.

Here, almost all the stock gods on Capitol Hill are not left behind.

In the United States, having a "stock god" on Capitol Hill is not a legend but a reality.

There are nearly a hundred members of Congress who engage in stock trading openly. Those that are not exposed and entrusted through sophisticated third-party agencies are definitely more numerous. Even among the LPs invested by Smith, many investors can find the traces of these "stock gods" in the end.

It has long been an open secret on Wall Street that lawmakers are engaging in insider trading.

Compared with these people, Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Soros all feel inferior in terms of investment returns.

Their money is generally not handed over to these people, but is handled by private individuals they trust.

They can make money without these investors, and they can make more money than Buffett can make for them. There is no need to pay Buffett any fees or commissions!

In other words, Abel's hang-up was more severe than their real-life hang-up. This made some of them choose to hand over part of their money to Abel to take care of it in order to avoid trouble.

Abel didn't care about these minutiae. He was concerned about David and the others, and he chose to compromise again.

This time, thanks to their efforts, the Clevelanders went back on their word and continued to maintain their original position, even leaning more towards their side. Fortunately, although the DuPont consortium was unable to completely integrate into the joint consortium, it at least reached a very critical cooperation.

Next, as long as DuPont and Abel can win against Morgan and the others within the DuPont consortium, it is not impossible to take over the entire DuPont.

Even if they can't win or are tied, at least half of DuPont will join the joint consortium.

This joint consortium, which is structured around the Texas consortium, with Abel's Smith Department as the core, and externally supported by Oilers Capital and Independent Capital, has become significantly more powerful than before with the addition of DuPont, an established consortium.

And when this result was achieved that was acceptable to both parties, the originally tense atmosphere in Washington immediately became peaceful again.

Grand parties and social banquets were also held throughout the empire center.

As the first manager of the empire, George Shrub was relieved.

He launched the 39th White House Banquet this year, and it was also the largest banquet this year with invited guests and guests.

The time is 2003, on the evening of June 23.

The collaboration between Dupont and Smith has come to an end.

The banquet in the White House is very sacred in the eyes of many people, and being able to attend it once is worth their bragging for a lifetime.

In fact, many people can participate in the banquet in the White House.

As a symbol of imperial rule, for the sake of harmony and superficiality, many banquets are held here every year to entertain people from all walks of life, and even ordinary people.

For example, there are banquets for journalists associations, banquets for musicians, banquets for outstanding social figures, etc.

Even in Hollywood, many people can visit the White House every year. From this point of view, the banquet in the white house seems to be just that.

But in fact, apart from these ordinary banquets that allow ordinary social elites to gild their achievements.

The White House's truly fascinating and speculative banquets are those hosted by members of Congress, foreign heads of state, and top American figures.

This kind of banquet is really full of gold.

Otherwise, it will really be like what Mary French, the chief etiquette officer of the White House, said——

"If you want to refuse an invitation to a dinner, there can only be four reasons: first, a death in the family; second, a serious illness; third, a wedding; fourth, an important position that requires a business trip. In addition, no matter what the reason, You are not allowed to miss the dinner for any reason, this has nothing to do with personal honor, but with the authority of the entire national institution."

If ordinary social elites fail to come after being invited, such as Hollywood superstars or musicians, they will really be retaliated and suppressed afterwards!

Abel has participated in such banquets many times, and even spent the night there quite a few times.

He really didn't feel anything special, and if he didn't want to send a signal to the outside world, there was a high probability that he and Morgan wouldn't even come.

Even if they don't come, they won't be suppressed by the White House.

In the Empire, they were authorities in their own right.

However, in order to give both parties a step forward, Abel and David still made it clear that the meeting would be on-site.

As for a banquet of this level, for Lydia Hester, who had the honor to participate as Abel's female companion tonight, everything naturally seemed very fresh and shocking.

Tonight, the dinner program went like this: First, the T&T President and the First Lady stood at the front door of the White House to receive the guests.

Lydia noticed that Prince George was indeed related to Abel. His attitude was very casual and cordial. He was obviously more popular with the first couple of the United States than others. He hugged and talked longer than others. !

Even Lydia was lucky enough to take a photo with the First Lady. This was something that her cousin and her former best friends could not ask for!

She felt that just this photo would drive Amanda completely crazy at home!

After taking photos and greetings, the first couple's twin daughters personally led them upstairs and into the oval yellow hall, where they enjoyed some privately brewed cocktails and took a rest.

There are already many people in the hall, many of whom are stamping their feet outside. Their industries and regions are at a level below "earthquake".

Plutocrats like Morgan, Rockefeller, and DuPont, or several members of the cabinet, the Supreme Court, the chief senator, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and others.

After taking a short rest in this hall, Lydia, as a guest, followed Abel downstairs to the diplomatic reception room on the first floor to accept questions from the press group.

The higher the level of the banquet, the greater the quantity and quality of the press corps here. There is no doubt that Lydia feels that the press corps here tonight is so strong that the Pulitzer Prize winner is not a big deal among them.

Finally, a formal cocktail reception was held in the East Room, where guests enjoyed fine wines while watching performances. Tonight's performance included several top pianists.

Someone in the middle got excited and danced in the hall. The top pianists and musicians cooperated very well to provide dancing performances in front of these top holders of human power and wealth.

The atmosphere got better and better, and during this period, Lydia also happily joined Abel and danced on the dance floor in the hall.

It was my first time to participate, and I attached great importance to it. So Lydia kept observing all night, which made her discover that the Bush couple were indeed as conservative as the rumors said.

When the banquet briefly turned into a dance, even old guys like David Rockefeller happily joined in. Many congressmen even showed off their dancing skills, and even several bosses and judges joined in.

But the first couple kept smiling and did not join the dancing queue. Although the First Lady clearly showed no objection to dancing, Lydia felt that Commander George was completely unwilling to even take a single dance step.

He always finds a quiet place to stand alone, silently watching the scene in front of him with a smile.

Fortunately, after Abel danced two songs with Lydia, he let go of her hand and invited the first lady Laura Wales.

The lady was a little reserved at first, but her husband laughed and clapped beside her.

The first lady was able to join the dance floor and danced two songs with Abel.

This made Lydia realize that the relationship between Smith and Bush was indeed unbreakable.

In addition, Lydia was very nervous when Abel left Lydia to dance with the first lady and her daughters in the middle of the dance.

She was worried that there would be other guests who would invite her to dance together. If something like that happened, it would be hard for her to refuse or accept it.

If you refuse, you will be somewhat offended in this situation.

Lydia was worried that her lover would be unhappy if she accepted. She knew that he was really stingy than anyone else in this regard.

Fortunately, Lidya discovered that in the end, she was nervous for nothing.

During those forty minutes, many people did turn their attention to her. But in the end, not a single man came to ask her to dance!

She was a little confused at first, but later she figured it out——

The characteristics of his lover have long been known to everyone in the upper echelons. His identity and character were there, and no one dared to touch him, so Lydia didn't have to dance with anyone else.

Lydia wouldn't feel embarrassed because after George's twin daughters danced with Abel, they came over with a smile and invited her.

As a result, Lydia was able to dance with the two first daughters in the east hall of the white house, and enjoyed the treatment that 99.99% of New York ladies could not enjoy.

Overall, Miss Lydia Hester felt that the entire dinner was very enjoyable, almost as if she was in a dream.

Little did she know that the atmosphere and tune of this banquet was destined from the beginning.

When Abel, Morgan, and the others were chatting and laughing in the yellow hall where they took a short break, everyone relaxed.

Only then did the dance party appear in the east hall behind, making everyone smile.

Without the previous tone, what Lydia saw at that time would definitely not be this dreamy upper-class social party, but another kind of white house.

What made Miss Hester even more happy was that the two first daughters were very friendly towards her. During this period, we exchanged contact information and even said that after the dance, we could have a drink together to enhance our relationship and friendship.

These are the two first daughters, and they are also the two closest cousins ​​of little Laura Shrub.

Lydia, who was able to have a good relationship with the two of them and get closer, and who was very clear about her position around Abel, naturally agreed very happily.

Later, after the banquet, they went to the hotel where Lydia stayed in DC.

After all, Lydia is indeed not qualified to live in a white house now.

The next morning, the entire sky in the District of Columbia was gray, with brown and black clouds crowded in the sky. The wind brought rain and knocked on the windows of the hotel suite. The rain slid down the glass and formed a small stream that flowed gurglingly.

The senator's suite with the curtains tightly closed seemed extremely dark. The TV in the living room only had pictures and no sound. There were three empty red wine bottles and four goblets on the table, as well as a few pieces of black truffle chocolate left. of two plates.

On the carpet were a few scattered high heels and stockings hanging on the armrest of the sofa. Haute couture evening dresses and suits were scattered all over the floor until they reached the closed bedroom door...

In the bedroom with a moderate temperature, there is an aroma mixed with alcoholic perfume and strong truffle smell. On the messy Simmons, eight feet are exposed outside the quilt in an orderly manner.

"Hmm~"

The feeling of numbness in both arms made Abel frown and slowly open his sleepy eyes. He grinned and carefully removed his right arm from under Lydia's neck. Lydia hummed softly, turned over and continued to sleep soundly. A feeling of sourness made Abel grin again, moved his wrist a few times, and then looked at the other two beside him.

What a sin, as expected, it doesn't really matter what you look like when the lights are off. And sure enough, there are no ugly girls in youth.

Average-looking women are not that bad when they are young.

At least that's how the body and skin feel.

I just made the same mistake that all men in the world make…

With Brother Long's words in his heart, Abel decided not to face the scene that might happen next.

He quietly stood up and left the hotel suite, leaving a few people behind to follow Lidya, and then left a message to Lidya asking her to help solve the problem.

As for this matter, just treat it as a wrong romantic encounter.

Abel felt that no matter whether they or George knew about it, they would definitely think like him.

Maybe even little Laura would be the same if she knew.

No way, who calls myself amazingly charming? Although they all drank some wine, they were all sober.

It's voluntary.

Then you can't blame yourself.

Thinking this way, Abel, who felt that something was wrong with Washington, even simply left the power center of the empire and flew back to Los Angeles.