Chapter 42: Dare to pull the emperor off his horse

Hoover's praise for Ming Zhou was sincere, because for most people, whether they study hard or work hard, whether you work in the fields or in front of a computer in a financial building on Wall Street, their goal is nothing more than to get a promotion and a pay rise. They are content to get a higher salary every month.

The so-called ambition is that at most, some people have saved enough money to start a small company and become their own boss. The idea of being able to build a company and be incorporated under the wings of a large consortium is already the most extravagant hope people have.

However, Zhou Ming is not satisfied. He even wants to look up to the same blue sky as these large consortia. Perhaps it sounds like the ambitious aspirations of people as children, but Hoover has a feeling that he can really do it, or that he can not only do it, but he can even do it even better.

Thinking about this, Hoover steadied his mind, and then said to Zhou Ming, 'As far as I know, the main shareholders behind Tang Bank are the California, Morgan, and Texas consortia. Among them, the Morgan and Texas consortia each hold 25%, and the California consortium holds 30%. Tang Bank is therefore headquartered in San Francisco, California.'

'What about that Uncle Hu? Is he also from the California consortium?' Zhou Ming asked.

Hoover nodded and said, 'That's right, he comes from a very large family within the California consortium, and that family is also the largest family in the California consortium.'

'Then since it is supported by three consortia, how did the Tang Bank still fall into such a run on its deposits? I don't know California and Texas that well, but at least the Morgan consortium started out in finance, so he should have a way to resolve this run on its deposits, right? Does he not care?' Zhou Ming asked curiously.

Hoover shook his head with a bitter smile and said, 'Although the Tang Dynasty Bank is not the core business of the Morgan Consortium, as an important holding company of Morgan, the Morgan Consortium is unlikely to stand idly by. However, it takes more than one day to freeze three feet of ice. The predicament of the Tang Dynasty Bank was not caused in one or two days, but is the outbreak of problems that have accumulated over a long period of time. Therefore, even for the Morgan Consortium, it is also very tricky to solve.'

Hoover paused for a moment before continuing, 'If you've been paying attention to the stock market recently, you should have seen the stock price of Massachusetts Securities plummet. This is a countermeasure by the Morgan consortium.'

'A diversionary tactic?' Zhou Ming said, 'But then again, Brighton is the territory of the Brighton consortium, and if Tang Bank enters so recklessly, it will definitely attract the other party's crazed targeting, right? Haven't the three major consortia made any contingency plans?'

'Mr. Zhou Ming, haven't you heard the saying that plans cannot keep up with changes?' Hoover said, "A plan is only useful when you can control the situation. It's like when you acquire a company that is smaller than yours. But who can predict the struggles and arrangements between large consortia? Since it is impossible to predict, then wouldn't it be very likely that any plan you make will become useless?'

'I see. Then Mr. Hoover, can you tell me about the Brighton Consortium?" Zhou Ming asked, and after thinking for a moment, he added, 'Within the scope of what you know.'

Hoover replied, 'Of course, as the head of the Tang Dynasty Bank in Brighton, I am familiar with the Brighton Consortium.'

Hoover then told Zhou Ming everything about the composition of the Brighton Consortium. First, the composition of the Brighton Consortium. No matter how long the history of the Brighton Consortium, its composition is very similar to that of other consortia, and it is mainly composed of the four families of Adams, Kennedy, Lowell, and Lawrence, as well as the companies they control.

Of these four families, the main spheres of influence of the Lowell and Lawrence families are their home cities, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Coupled with the fact that they are naturally less active, the most important of these are the Adams and Kennedy families.

Needless to say, the Kennedy family is well known to anyone who cares about international politics. The president of the United States who almost declared war on the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, triggering a possible Third World War, and was later assassinated in Texas, came from this family. The Kennedy family's ability to produce a president is inseparable from the family's own financial resources.

The Kennedy family started in finance, holding Brighton Bank, wholly owning Kennedy Securities and a number of food companies.

During John F. Kennedy's presidency, he selfishly awarded all defence contracts to the Brighton Consortium. As a result, the Kennedy family also held significant shares in both Bell Aircraft, which manufactured aircraft, and Phoenix, which manufactured missiles and other high-tech weapons. For this reason, the Kennedy family ranked second in terms of power, despite entering the scene much later than the other three families.

The Adams family is undoubtedly the core of the Brighton Consortium, which is the most powerful.

The Adams family is known as the 'first royal family' of the United States, not only because the Adams family planned the American War of Independence and was one of the three most important Founding Fathers of the United States, and the White House was planned and built by the Adams, but also because the Adams family set a precedent for both father and son becoming president. It can be said that since the founding of the United States, the Adams family has established its central position within the Brighton Consortium.

As the core of the consortium, the Adams family has a controlling stake in all the important companies of the consortium. Whether it is Bell and Phoenix, which receive arms orders, food companies, or even Harvard University and MIT, which are controlled by the Lowell and Lawrence families, the Adams family also serves as a director of the school respectively. The Adams family's holding of the Brighton Bank, the foundation of the consortium, reaches a terrifying 49%.

'It is for this reason that there is a joke here in Massachusetts: if the governor catches a cold, at most he can be replaced, but if the Adams catch a cold, then the whole of Massachusetts will be infected,' Hoover said to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming was not at all surprised by this. After all, the Adams were the oldest family of the American financial consortium, and even during his own presidency, he had stubbornly made the decision to move the capital in order to counter other financial consortia. Such a powerful family, if it can't even control its own base, that would be an unbelievable story. However, what interested Zhou Ming was another story.

'Since the Brighton Consortium is so powerful here, there must be many representatives of the consortium in the state government and parliament, right?' Zhou Ming asked. Hoover gave a positive answer, and Zhou Ming then asked, "So what I want to ask is, who does the Brooke family work for?'

'The Adams family," Hoover's answer was very direct.

Zhou Ming suddenly understood: 'So there is a reason why the Brook family is so powerful.'

Hoover nodded and told Zhou Ming, 'That's right. The Adams family has adopted a policy of encirclement in the state legislature. Since retiring from the presidency, they have come to understand that the head of state is only a puppet with a limited time in office, and that only the parliamentary system will endure forever. That is why they never directly support the governor or the speaker of the house, but only focus on supporting their own senators who have a say in the state legislature. Old Brook is one of them.'

After a moment, Hoover thought for a while and said, 'And according to other information, in addition to being a senator supported by the Adams family, Old Brook is also in major economic cooperation with the Adams family. The investment company controlled by Old Brook Holdings is an important enterprise of the Adams family.'

'I see. As far as I know, there aren't many senior senators in the state legislature. In other words, if I find a way to get rid of either Old Brook or the investment company controlled by Old Brook Holdings, won't that force the Adams family out?' Zhou Ming suddenly looked at Hoover intently at the end of his sentence and said, "I think this is also the real purpose of Uncle Hu finding me, isn't it?'

Faced with Zhou Ming's sudden question, Hoover panicked and subconsciously said, "Zhou Ming, why would you think that?'

'Because there is no love without a reason in this world. Since Uncle Tiger has found me and asked you to support me, and asked me to become an influential person in Brighton within a year, how could there be no purpose?' Zhou Ming asked.

Hoover had already regained his emotions by this time. He said to Zhou Ming, 'To be honest, I don't know the real purpose, but I guess Mr. Tiger simply hopes that you can cause as much trouble as possible for the Brighton Consortium, because this will relieve the pressure on the Tang Dynasty Bank.'

'Mr. Tiger really looks up to me, actually thinking of asking me to start from the Brighton Consortium's home base and cause trouble for this consortium that controls the lifeblood of the United States,' Zhou Ming said with meaning. He thought for a moment and then asked, 'I don't think I'm the first person chosen by Mr. Hoover to do these things, right? What happened to my predecessors?'

'They all failed, some are dead, and some are in prison,'

Hoover said this and lowered his head, afraid to look into Zhou Ming's eyes. It seemed that he was also ashamed of this inhuman request, but Zhou Ming's next words made him drop his eyes.

'This is really a tragic story, but it's exciting,' said Zhou Ming.

Hoover raised his head again. He looked at Zhou Ming in disbelief and asked blankly, 'Zhou Ming, you said you were excited?'

'Why wouldn't I be excited?' asked Zhou Ming, retorting to Hoover. 'You see, the Brighton Consortium is one of the ten largest consortia controlling the United States, and it is also the oldest consortium in the United States. It is well known to have instigated the American War of Independence, but now I am going to mess with it. Isn't that tantamount to poaching from the United States? I participated in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and now I want to play with the American plutocrats. How can you say that it isn't exciting?'

Hoover took a sharp intake of breath. Faced with Zhou Ming's words, he was shocked.

Because originally Hoover would have thought that Zhou Ming would give up after seeing through his intentions. After all, Zhou Ming was already considered to have made some achievements in Brighton. Not only did he have an insurance company with assets of over 100 million, but he was also a very promising candidate in the election.

No matter how you look at it, he was a rising young tycoon. At this time, he should not provoke the Brighton Consortium, a local bully. After all, they were major tycoons controlling the lifeblood of the US economy. There were at least 10,000 ways to make Zhou Ming unable to stay in Brighton.

But Zhou Ming said he was excited to play with the Brighton Consortium. How could this not be shocking?

Hoover was so shocked that he could hardly speak properly: 'Zhou Ming, are you sure you really want to do this?'

'Why not? Have you forgotten what I said, that I want to look up at the same blue sky as those big shots?' Zhou Ming said.

If Hoover was shocked just now, then after listening to Zhou Ming's words, he was completely convinced. He remembered a very rough saying: 'If you are willing to be flogged, you dare to pull the emperor off his horse.'

Isn't this what Zhou Ming looks like now?

Only then did Hoover understand why there have been so many changes of dynasties in Chinese history, unlike Europe, where one family can rule a country for a thousand years. Isn't it because there are many people like Zhou Ming, who have the domineering manner of a king and dare to challenge the supreme power?