Chapter 1097: That's My Money

“We are businessmen. We should protect the interests of businessmen,” a fat man at the conference table said, his thick palm resting on a copy of the agreement in front of him. His tone was cold as he tried to persuade the others. “In accordance with morality and the spirit of the contract between businessmen, we should protect Linus’s interests… because those are, fundamentally, our interests.”

Beside him, an old man with a full beard shook his head, his withered hand caressing his own copy of the agreement. He waited for the fat man to finish before interjecting, “This is wartime. Who will guarantee that our interests are not violated? The Third Reich has seven million troops, and their tanks are charging toward Moscow. If 100,000 SS cross the border, what can we do? Fight back with the pistols under our beds?”

“They wouldn’t dare!” another thin man in a respectable suit, further down the table, shrieked. “Switzerland is a permanently neutral country! Invading us would completely bankrupt their credibility!”

“Alarmist talk? If they were playing by the rules of business, waging a war of capital, we could crush their fragile economic system with a simple flick of our wrist,” the old man at the head of the table said slowly. “Even if we did nothing, a single move from Linus would have been enough. But now? Linus has no chance to make a move—that Führer will not give him the chance.”

“We have to consider the possibility that the Germans will use other means. Even just having the lawless elements within Switzerland harass us would be enough to affect all of our lives,” he said. His voice was stately, unhurried, and carried a certain leader-like quality.

“I have been in contact with President Pétain of Vichy France,” said another man, sitting beside the leader. He was referring to a probing action that had not yielded optimistic results. “He very tactfully informed me that the German Führer, Akado, is no easy character to deal with. And I sensed an atmosphere of cooperation there. The French are working with the Germans to advance European integration.”

“In fact, we don’t necessarily have to be hostile to the Third Reich’s suppression of business development,” the frail old man sitting next to the fat man spoke up. “I still believe that, even with the enormous risks, the Third Reich remains a very suitable place for investment. Our investments there have already yielded returns of several dozen times over. What could be more exciting than that?”

“Agreed! Fundamentally, we and the Third Reich are not in opposition,” the old man at the head of the table nodded. Then, as if he had made a decision, he said directly, “Since the German Führer is willing to use his prestige to do some ‘out of line’ things, and it just so happens that this can provide some benefits to everyone present, then I still feel that compliance is more in line with our interests than a challenge.”

“Well said! We are businessmen, not judges. We have no moral constraints, and no contract forces us to save Linus,” another “antique” who had been silent until now nodded, supporting the lead old man. “I support this agreement!”

“Agreed!” the frail old man quickly chimed in, then looked at the fat man next to him with a challenging gaze.

The fat man tapped his fingers on the agreement twice, then nodded as well. Anyone who knew this fat man knew that his skill at sensing which way the wind was blowing was unmatched. “Since you all say so, I certainly won’t object. We aren’t Linus’s nannies. He angered his own country’s Führer. What has that got to do with us?”

What had these titans of finance in such a dilemma was, in fact, an appendix to this contract. Germany intended to use this agreement to pay off its massive loans, but the agreement also included a new loan of a full 100 billion, to be used for peacetime construction in the homeland and in the occupied territories. This was no small sum. At least for the world at this time, it was a sum so enormous it couldn’t be bigger.

“The first agreement, I think, is fine to sign. In any case, we aren’t losing out, just screwing over Linus,” the fat man said. He then continued, “But this additional clause about increasing the loan… shouldn’t we think it through clearly before signing?”

If it were just a loan agreement, it would still be very tempting. After all, for a bank, lending is a primary business of “borrowing a chicken to lay an egg.” But this loan agreement had made all the shareholders present hesitate. The interest rate on this loan agreement was simply too low, several times lower than the interest Germany had offered when it had applied for loans before.

“Germany is no longer willing to bear the high loan interest rates it did at the start of the war,” the old man sighed. The era when they could slaughter Germany at will, demanding any price, was over. Now, Germany held the winning hand and was slowly tightening its own borrowing. This agreement was clearly an important step in breaking the cycle of capital.

The man beside him let out a helpless sigh and chimed in, “This Schacht really knows his finance. He takes 100 billion from us, then uses military and other pressures to force his own country’s capital to restrain itself. As long as those tycoons and capitalists give up their fight for profit against the state, then this money will be enough to ensure that most of Germany’s domestic enterprises can return to a path of normal development…”

“We are playing ‘borrowing a chicken to lay an egg,’ and they are also borrowing our chicken to lay their egg,” the frail old man said with a nod. “The interest rate drops, our profits are diluted, the German domestic capitalists are forced to give up a portion of their profits under high pressure, and the German government’s pressure is unprecedentedly reduced… Who knows, they might actually be able to weather this storm.”

“Why should our profits be diluted? We are the creditors. Naturally, we lend if it’s a good deal, and we don’t if it’s not. What are they going to do, attack us just because we’re unwilling to lend them money?” When it came to his interests, the fat man began to clamor again. He was a famous fence-sitter, it was true, but he was an even more famous “iron rooster” (stingy person).

With a cold laugh, the frail old man glanced at the fat man beside him and said sarcastically, “What’s the use of you saying this? That’s what we’re here to discuss. There is still a profit, it’s just a question of how much. The money you’re not willing to earn, perhaps someone else is?”

“The risk of continuing to invest in Germany is simply too great,” the fat man said, attacking the frail old man who was opposing him. “If that Akado can seize Linus today and confiscate his property, then tomorrow he can seize me and confiscate my property!”

The frail old man was suddenly speechless. On this matter, Akado and the SS behind him had indeed avoided Linus’s strongest field and had, at the smallest cost, taken care of the dangerous capital crocodile, Linus. But the impact of this method, which was outside the rules of the game, had indeed made the other investors fearful.

Between two people, even to borrow a few hundred, you still have to look at their character, let alone tens of billions or even hundreds of billions. If the reputation of the country borrowing the money wasn’t good, it was indeed one of the main reasons affecting whether this loan could be secured. Just think, if North Korea and China were to ask a Swiss bank for a loan at the same time, it’s estimated that even a fool would know it’s safer to lend to China, right?

“On the contrary, I feel that we should raise even more funds and lend them to the Germans,” the man sitting by the leader suddenly spoke up, offering an opposing opinion. “Why did the Germans suddenly lower the interest rates? Because the war is in their favor, and they are confident of restoring peace in a short time. A Germany that has shaken off the war will be in dire need of reconstruction…”

Hearing this analysis, the frail old man’s eyes lit up. This was absolutely another golden opportunity to get rich. Germany possessed the world’s most advanced production equipment and technological level. As long as it had financial support, Europe would be integrated by the Third Reich into a world factory. And if you added in the African and Asian markets, which were already in German hands, that was more than half of the world’s supply and demand cycle!

“That’s right! So, you will personally go and talk to Schacht. We are all smart men. We can press the loan interest even lower, that doesn’t matter. We can even, on our own initiative, go to the French, the Israelis, and even the Americans and borrow another large sum of money,” the old man at the head of the table said, discussing hundreds of billions as if it were just a few hundred bucks.

“Perhaps we can consider a new currency for the next 100 years, to replace the pound and the dollar as the world’s settlement unit,” the old man said with a smile after laying out the tasks. “The Imperial Gold Mark… sounds pretty good.”

“Sir, I will go and see Schacht right away…” The man sitting next to the old man stood up, nodded, and then respectfully exited the conference room.

After the door had closed once again, the old man at the head of the table looked at the fat man, who was not far from him. “My boy, learn a little from the Rothschilds. In all things, use your brain.”

“Extra! Extra! After recovering national debt, our country’s economy continues to improve! A large injection of foreign capital has brought about the most prosperous economic period since the beginning of the war!” a newsboy shouted in the street, waving the newspaper in his hand.

And far behind him on the street, in a castle on a hill that overlooked the city, Linus tore the newspaper in his hand to shreds. He no longer even had the strength to shout and curse. His eyes were filled with an emptiness, a despair. A few hours ago, he might have been the richest capital giant in the world, and now he was only one step away from having nothing. He, of course, knew where this “market-saving” money had come from. “I’ll @#$! you Akado! You’re using my money to buy the hearts of the people!”

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