"Click!"

The camera shutter was pressed, and Evan and Audrey's figures were frozen in the film.

The background is the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

Because of "morning exercise", Audrey had already missed the morning performance, so she simply took a day off by phone, so she could go out for a trip.

When choosing a place to visit, Evan and Audrey had a good relationship and both put the Statue of Liberty first.

After taking the photo, Evan and Audrey turned and walked into the pedestal. Next they were taking the elevator and climbing the stairs to the crown at the top.

Bob hurriedly put away his bulky camera and followed the two of them.

While walking on the hovering stairs, Evan suddenly remembered his experience at the Empire State Building Observatory that day, so he said to Audrey, who was also panting: "Audrey, remember to watch out for me after the crown later."

Audrey asked with her eyes, "Why?"

Evan said: "I may be afraid of heights..."

Audrey hadn't spoken yet, and some of the tourists who were traveling with him laughed and said, "It's so funny, I'm afraid of heights and still come here..."

Someone else said, "What's ridiculous about this? Didn't you see if they came with the girl..."

"oh……"

The men among the tourists immediately looked at Evan with the expression I understood.

Just as Evan and Audrey climbed up, Wall Street, Manhattan, across the river from the island where the Statue of Liberty, was busy.

At 4 p.m., the New York Stock Exchange, located at 11 Wall Street, closed.

A few minutes later, several Wall Street masters came to No. 23 Wall Street, which is only one street from the Stock Exchange, and JP Morgan's headquarters.

Among these people are the president of the Reserve Bank of New York, Alan Sproul;

Chase National Bank Chairman, Winthrop Aldridge;

Chairman of Manhattan Bank, James Waberg;

Chairman of Chemical Bank, Harold Holmes;

Morgan Stanley President, Harold Stanley;

World Bank President John McCloy.

These people can almost be said to be the "leader" of the American financial industry.

At 23 Wall Street, it used to be called "Morgan House". However, since Jack Morgan's death in 1943, JP Morgan, who was transformed from a private partnership to a corporate world, is no longer a person named Morgan.

At this time, JP Morgan's board chairman was Thomas Lamont.

Of course, Morgan's descendants are still part of the board of directors.

Lamont, who became a partner at Morgan Bank in 1911, was a very powerful figure. He represented the US Treasury Department at the Paris Ghetto, was the proposer of Daws loan, was Morgan's most important agent in overseas business, was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and was an unofficial adviser to the three presidents Wilson, Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt.

During World War II, Lamont was the spokesperson for Jack Morgan.

As one of the two major national consortiums in the United States and an important member of the Morgan consortium, Lamont had a great influence on the financial industry in the United States.

Another national consortium, representatives of the Rockefeller consortium, were also present.

Of course, it would not be a trivial matter for seven presidential figures to gather together.

At 4:20, a special person was welcomed in the living room where the Morgan House was often used to hold a banker's salon.

His name is Dean Lovett.

He comes from the White House and is the US Deputy Secretary of State who has just taken office.

Dean appeared here to consult Wall Street on behalf of President Truman.

After a simple greeting, everyone sat down.

In addition to the eight people introduced earlier, there were two others. One was named Russell Leffingwell, the second person of JP Morgan, and the other was a young man named David Rockefeller, who was ostensibly the assistant of Winthrop Aldridge.

Dean said straight to the point: "Gentlemen, I won't talk anymore. I must have a clear idea of ​​my purpose."

"Now, I, the President and Secretary Marshall, whom I represent, would like to hear what you have to say about the 'European aid' plan?"

As soon as the words were finished, Harold Stanley, McChloe and Lamont, among the seven, spoke out.

"No, I support Mr. President's policies," Stanley said.

"Europe needs our strength or they will collapse," McCloy said.

Lamont said: "Internationalism has always been insisted on by Morgan."

Afterwards, others also expressed positive opinions to varying degrees.

Dean nodded with satisfaction when he heard this.

"Thank you all, I believe Mr. Truman must be very happy."

"So, next, I would like to ask you about the content of the Marshall Plan."

"Mr. George Kennan believes that the Soviet Union should be added to the aid targets. What is your opinion on this?"

As soon as this problem arises, the living room is immediately lonely and silent.

A moment later, World Bank President McCloy said: "George Kennan? Has he been assimilated for a long time in the Soviet Union? Otherwise, how could he make such a request?"

Obviously, McCloy was against it.

Following the Chase National Bank chairman, Winthrop Aldridge also said: "Mr. Lovett, is this kind of thing still necessary to be confused? Truman wouldn't be convinced by him, right?"

Dean shook his head and said, "No, Mr. President is just hesitating, so he needs to listen to everyone's opinions."

"That's good, you've seen our opinions..." Aldridge suddenly paused, and he saw Lamont and Leffenwell whispering, and said unhappy: "Mr. Lamont, why, do you have different opinions at Morgan House?"

"Tom (the nickname of Thomas Lamont), be careful to repeat the same mistakes, but it has not been long since the Mussolini incident."

Aldridge's words made Lamont's face dark. Mussolini's incident was a stain on him and the Morgan consortium. Before World War II, Morgan Bank was Italy's largest overseas bank. Lamont and Mussolini had a good relationship and had provided him with loans of up to $100 million.

This is also one of the reasons why the Morgan Consortium was positioned by the entire American society as an alien institution conspiring and joining forces with foreign forces during World War II.

However, as the world situation changes, the internationalism of the Morgan consortium will be re-recognized by Washington.

This gathering is one of the evidence.

"Well! Mr. Aldridge, this is already a thing of the past! We should not indulge in the past, but should look to the future, right?"

The one who made a sound was Leffenwell. After all, Lamont's fault was revealed and he had something to do with him.

"Also, I do have different opinions on whether the Marshall Plan wants to include the Soviet Union."

"What!?"

Except for Lamont, everyone showed surprised expressions.
Chapter completed!