All day on October 20, Simon stayed at the Westeros headquarters in Rockefeller Center, midtown Manhattan.
Through communication with the senior management of Ygriet Company, the Westeros family political advisory team, Cersei Capital analysis team, Simon's personal assistant office and even the Westeros family private intelligence team, a clear analysis of the recent issues surrounding Wisconsin Logistics was completed. Sorting out and analyzing a series of events that occurred in the distribution center.
It was already evening in a small conference room at the Westeros company headquarters.
Simon and James Raybould stood side by side in front of a white writing board in the corner of the conference room. There were only a few words on the white board.
political party.
union.
Short.
media.
competitors.
Many things seem complicated, and if you cut through the mess, there are always just a few core threads.
To win votes, political parties must stir up some topics of greatest interest to the public and make promises that are in line with public wishes.
Trade unions must maintain their status while striving for more benefits.
Short sellers need a company's stock price to fall in order to be profitable.
The media needs hot spots of public opinion to boost sales and ratings.
Competitors cannot be merciful as long as there is an opportunity.
Not only that, these factors are not completely separated from each other, but are in a mutually reinforcing relationship. Political parties want to win over trade unions, short sellers need to borrow the power of trade unions and political parties, and the media is often the most effective tool of public opinion. Competitors have a negative impact on political parties and trade unions. Both the media and the media are happy to hear about it.
The two looked at the list of words on the whiteboard in silence for a moment. James Raybould spoke first: "I will go to Washington over the weekend to talk to the president."
That pair in the White House really needs a hammering.
In fact, Simon's requirements for the Clintons are not very high, and he also understands that in that position, there are too many things to weigh. However, if the other party insists on watching the Democratic Party's actions in Wisconsin on the basis of bullshit reasons such as that the party is not monolithic, he will not mind allowing the Democratic Party to lose as much of its influence in Wisconsin as possible.
As a state that was the focus of last year's midterm elections and also a focus of the Westeros system's political in-depth development plan, it is not difficult for Simon to do this. Compared with states and counties in the Midwest that only have two or three electoral votes, Wisconsin's share of 10 electoral votes is not insignificant at all.
Thinking this, Simon nodded and said, "Also, if you can, talk to Gore again."
With Clinton's popularity advantage accumulated in recent years, there is little suspense about re-election in next year's general election. On the contrary, if the next Vice President Al Gore wants to continue to seize the presidential throne after Clinton, he must not do without West. The help of Luo system. Moreover, the Gore family's influence in the Democratic Party is much deeper than that of the Clintons, who have a relatively shallow foundation.
James knew about Simon's secret meeting with Bush Sr. at the beginning of the year, and also knew some of Simon's thoughts. Hearing this, James asked, "Have you changed your mind?"
"Of course not, Jim, you just need to have a meal with Gore, you don't need to commit to anything."
Simon does not hope that Gore will continue the U.S. economic development-centered national policy after Clinton. Instead, he hopes that the Bush family will come back to power, and through several wars, the wealth accumulated by Clinton will be restored, and the United States will fundamentally decline. Simon believes that this way of weakening the people is more beneficial to the expansion of the Westeros system.
However, during the discussion with James, Simon would not explain it so straightforwardly.
It's hard to say whether James will be a staunch patriot.
Therefore, the reason given by Simon is that the huge Westeros system must have certain solid allies between the two parties in the United States. The Clintons are considered allies of the Democratic Party. Re-election will be a problem, let alone continuing to exert the influence of the Clinton family in the future.
On the Republican side, Simon's choice is the Bush family.
As for Clinton’s current Vice President Al Gore, although he was the main promoter of the U.S. Information Highway Act, Simon never considered wooing him from the beginning.
Of course, it is okay to use the influence of the Gore family within the Democratic Party to intervene in the recent turmoil.
Whether it is politics or business, there is no escape from intrigues.
Having said this, James scratched the word 'short' on the whiteboard again and asked: "This, Simon, what are you going to do?"
Of the five factors that triggered this turmoil, the last two, 'media' and 'competitors', are not too important. The Westeros system currently has a very strong control over the media field and will never be one-sided. As for competitors, not many of them are currently concerned about the Westeros system.
Therefore, in addition to political parties and labor unions, the other most unstable factor is Wall Street's short capital sharpening its efforts on Westeros system technology stocks.
Simon collected his thoughts for a while and said: "What short sellers want to achieve by shorting a company is nothing more than those means, provoking litigation disputes, introducing authorities to interfere, exposing financial scandals, etc. The things in Wisconsin have nothing to do with short sellers. Big, they are still building positions now, but I think they will continue to use these things to suppress the market's confidence in Ygrit in the future. As for the financial aspect, Ygrit now has no room for them to exploit, so the most important thing is The best method is to introduce interference from the authorities, which is nothing more than anti-monopoly review. Even if we have made some compromises with Washington, Igret's monopoly advantage is still too obvious. If Robertson and the others want to go short, the most effective way is to start from this aspect. Get it."
It was Simon's established plan to choose the appropriate time to split Ygrit.
After all, the scale of Igret is too huge now. If we don't take the initiative to adjust, it will be difficult to escape the shackles of development.
James also understood this, so he knew that even if those short sellers succeeded, it would not cause a heavy blow to Ygritte. However, he still quickly asked: "Simon, are you really not worried about the new technology bubble in the short term?" Rupture?”
Simon said: "Cisco, AOL and Eagle, the only one I am a little worried about is AOL, because it is still investing heavily in building its own infrastructure network, so I plan to let AOL issue another one in the near future. 5 billion US dollars in long-term bonds and sufficient cash reserves. Apart from that, there is nothing. If the bubble really bursts, Cisco can easily survive the trough with its market advantage, especially Ygritte. You are sure I have read the memo of the meeting on October 7. The funds raised by this company's IPO are the bargaining chips I prepared for bottom-hunting expansion after the bubble burst. Therefore, if the new technology bubble bursts early, it will only be good for us. , because many potential competitors will lose their strength and even have to withdraw from this field completely.”
James scanned the list of words on the whiteboard again, turned to Simon again, his eyes bright: "So, you think these recent things are nothing?"
"Of course not, we still have to take it seriously and handle these things very carefully. There has never been a shortage of various black swan events in human history. Sometimes, maybe just some very inconspicuous things can brew into a big disaster. It is a big storm that is irreversible. Therefore, I will only say to you what I just said. In front of other people, my attitude must be as if I am facing a powerful enemy."
When James heard what Simon said, he smiled with relief, and couldn't help but said: "Simon, many times I'm curious, what kind of experience can make you so mature?"
Simon smiled and said, "Jim, let's talk about the next topic."
James just asked casually, not expecting an answer.
The two continued to discuss some specific details of the follow-up response until six o'clock in the afternoon, when they got off work.
Speaking of which, Simon is actually happy to see the outcome of the recent turmoil and even some of the things that can be expected in the future.
Because the technology stock market is indeed rising a little too fast.
Simon would be happy to see the growth of Ygritte and other Westerosi technology stocks slow down.
Only thin water can flow long.
Therefore, even without these things, Simon is planning to start reducing his holdings of Westeros system technology stocks early next year. On the one hand, he will cash out funds for investment in other fields, and on the other hand, he will suppress the overheated rise of technology stocks.
Now it's a two-pronged approach.
Of course, Simon will not let this go.
Just like the sudden strike by truck drivers at the Wisconsin Logistics Distribution Center contractor, in order to avoid similar unprepared situations in the future, Simon's handling this time will definitely be unforgettable for some people.
There was no work scheduled for the weekend, and Veronica was still in Los Angeles and couldn't go back to the West Coast.
In the past few days, I occasionally glanced at the map in the apartment on Fifth Avenue. I casually decided to go to the Alaskan wilderness where the snow had begun to fall. I wanted to go racing, hunt, hike, and relax.
When ordinary people see rich people wearing ordinary clothes, driving ordinary cars and eating ordinary food, they often think that rich people are nothing more than that, and may even develop some weird sense of superiority. In fact, the biggest advantage that wealth brings to people is freedom and choice. Rich people can wear ordinary clothes, but they can also buy luxury goods in a shopping street at any time. This is something that ordinary people who have to save and live frugally for more than half a year just for a bag cannot do it.
Simon wants to go to Alaska over the weekend, and just give me instructions and everything will be arranged.
Fashion Week has just passed, and many models have rushed to New York to rest and prepare for the Victoria's Secret show at the end of the year. Simon originally planned to bring a few large vases with him to have dinner with Irene Lauder on Wednesday. After casual conversation, the girl snatched the trap.
Obviously there can only be one.
On Friday night, I excitedly came to meet Simon and spent the night at a manor in the northern suburbs of Greenwich, Connecticut. At dawn the next morning, the two boarded Simon's private Boeing 767 and flew to Alaska, a six-hour flight. Itinerary, we arrived in Anchorage. Due to the time difference, the time was still around nine o'clock on local Saturday.
After the plane landed, we left Anchorage directly and drove more than 100 kilometers eastward to a wilderness hunting ground.
The snowfall season has already arrived in Alaska in October. Fortunately, not all areas are covered with snow. This is the hunting ground selected by Simon and his team. When they arrive at the destination and look around, the most direct feeling is that the sea is vast and the sky is vast. .
Irene Lauder, who had been a good girl for many years and had never had such an experience, was even more excited. After getting off the car, she looked around and quickly couldn't help but spread her arms and screamed out.
It's already noon.
A group of bodyguards and two guides, a man and a woman, who accompanied Simon began to prepare lunch. Naturally, Simon did not need to pay attention to these things. After Irene Lauder finished venting, he looked at the girl's red face and asked with a smile: "How do you feel? "
Feeling Simon's smile, Irene Lauder suddenly felt shy and stepped forward to hold the man's arm: "Where's the gun? Aren't we going to hunt? Let me tell you, in my whole life, I have never touched a gun. I must try it later, um, I don’t know how to hunt any animals, can I use a blank gun?”
"certainly."
Simon nodded and led the girl to an off-road vehicle at the back. A bodyguard was already arranging guns, because this was a large animal hunting ground where moose and brown bears roamed, and the trunks were filled with rifles equipped with scopes.
Seeing Simon walking over with Irene Lauder, the bodyguard said hello, but did not pick out the rifles. Instead, he dragged an obviously heavy box. After opening it, he looked at an exaggeratedly shaped large box. Gun, Irene Lauder's eyes suddenly widened slightly.
The middle-aged bodyguard with a calm personality picked up a big gun and handed it to Simon. He couldn't help but persuade: "Boss, do you have to play this?"
Simon easily took the famous Barrett anti-material sniper rifle with one hand, posed a little, and gestured towards the barrel: "Remove the bracket, it doesn't look good."
The middle-aged bodyguard was helpless, but he skillfully helped Simon remove the front bracket of the big gun. He already understood what his boss planned to do. However, considering his boss' extraordinary strength, this fifteen kilogram gun is nothing in his hands. He handed over the magazine again, thinking that if his boss was injured, he would definitely not be able to carry it around, so he made a last effort: "Boss, if you hunt with this gun, even a brown bear will be broken into pieces."
Simon took the magazine and loaded it, and said: "I didn't plan to shoot the brown bear, just hit the rocks. However, I was negligent this time. Next time I can bring some small drones to use as moving targets."
After speaking, he held the big gun in one hand and hugged Eileen Lauder, who was still a little dazed next to him, with the other hand: "Baby, let's go, let's try this big toy together."
Irene Lauder followed Simon's strength and walked not far outside the camp. She stood beside the man and watched him carry the heavy-looking gun.
Then.
boom…
At a certain moment, looking at the tall figure next to her and the wild gun, there was a roar in her ears. Irene Lauder felt that she seemed to have become a prey of someone. , or the kind that just throws itself into a trap without the need to chase and hunt.
Connecticut, an estate in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.
The weekend is over.
This is the early morning of October 23rd.
She personally cooked breakfast and waited for the man who had changed into a formal suit after morning exercise to sit across from the dining table. Irene Lauder thoughtfully took the initiative to share the breakfast and sat down at the dining table, but did not immediately pick up the tableware. He held his hand on his face, which still had a certain alluring blush after this weekend. He looked at the guy opposite him with bright eyes for a while, and suddenly asked: "Simon, did you do this on purpose?"