A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Morgan's actions were fast, his energy was high, and his subordinates were also efficient. It didn't take long for him to investigate Tesla's financial trends.

No need to guess at all, sure enough all the money was spent on wireless power transfer experiments.

Morgan was really angry, and immediately cut off all financial support with Tesla.

Now Tesla is completely out of financial aid.

More importantly, one of his patents for an alternator will expire next year, and he will really run out of food by then.

Fortunately, Wodenclyffe Tower has not been taken back for the time being, because the real estate developer Woden has made money after all.

This tower temporarily became Tesla's spiritual pillar, but its time is numbered.

In addition, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel has a good personal relationship with him, and he still reserved the right to live in the hotel.

Li Yu originally wanted to have a good chat with him about the radio, but when he arrived at the laboratory, he found that Tesla was drunk with a bottle of whiskey.

Seeing this situation, Lu Bicheng asked: "A few days ago he was still in high spirits, how did he become like this today?"

Li Yu said helplessly: "It is estimated that he felt that the wireless power transmission experiment was hopeless, so he was extremely sad. After all, it was something he had spent many years of hard work on, and now he lost it suddenly, as if... as if he was broken in love."

"The feeling of being broken in love?" Lu Bicheng asked in surprise.

Li Yu nodded: "For him, technology is his lover."

It is indeed a reasonable guess that Tesla never married.

Lu Bicheng looked at Li Yu: "The technology is so attractive?"

Li Yu said, "Of course."

"then you……"

Before Lu Bicheng had time to ask, Spencer, Mr. Morgan's assistant, knocked on the door of the laboratory.

There was no discussion about "Women only affect my writing speed".

Li Yu opened the door, saw Spencer and asked, "Are you looking for Mr. Tesla?"

Spencer smiled and said, "No, I'm looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Li Yu asked.

Spencer said: "Mr. Morgan has been extremely disappointed with Mr. Tesla. He seems to have been unable to see the relationship between technology and the economy, and he always wants to do what he thinks."

Li Yu said: "This is his character. In Chinese, it is said that the country is easy to change, and the nature is hard to change, but this is also his attraction."

Spencer gave a thumbs up: "What a proverb! You are worthy of being the person who can write the best-selling science fiction novel today, and your literary talent is also so good."

This is a bit of an exaggeration, Li Yu said: "It's not elegant."

Spencer glanced at Tesla, and then said: "Mr. Morgan just appreciates your oriental character. As you said just now, your nature is hard to change. So Mr. Morgan wants to cooperate with you."

"Cooperate with me?" Li Yu asked in surprise.

"Mr. Morgan is on top of the latest policy developments, such as a bill that's about to be enacted, that concerns the vast wireless market," Spencer said.

Li Yu immediately understood the meaning of the other party's words: "Do you want to invest?"

Spencer smiled. "You don't have to worry. We're not asking for any control over your company. But Mr. Morgan, being a financier, would love for you to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange."

"IPO?!" Li Yu really hadn't thought of this joint so far.

Spencer said: "Yes, so you can raise the capital needed for the company to expand, and you can keep the company from being controlled by the equity contract."

Li Yu thought about it for a while, and Morgan's proposal was indeed of reference value, and it could also transfer risks.

Spencer continued: "You can go to Mr. Morgan's office to discuss this matter with him in detail. Recently, Mr. Morgan's most interested field is radio-related business."

Li Yu followed him to Morgan's office.

Morgan first said: "Mysterious Eastern scientist, we meet again. Recently, I have been reading your Star Wars novels, which are really fascinating. There are many imaginative and advanced things in it that make me salivate. If they can become reality, it will surely make you a Someone richer than me."

Li Yu said, "It's just science fiction."

Morgan picked up his pipe and changed the topic: "Then let's talk about reality. According to my reliable information, the governments of Europe and the United States have held an international conference on the application of radio."

Li Yu asked, "When did it happen?"

"Just a month or two ago," Morgan said. "It was called because Prince Heinrich of Germany wanted to use the radio to convey his thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt after leaving the United States, but couldn't. The signal was passed to the White House."

Li Yu understood the reason: "Could it be that the receiving station refused to forward it?"

Morgan said: "You are right. The coast station that refused to repost belonged to Marconi. They had previously signed a contract with Lloyd's and other companies, and one of the key requirements was to prohibit Marconi's Communications between the equipment and non-Marconi equipment. And the German prince is using equipment that is not Marconi equipment."

In fact, in the past two years, some radio equipment has also appeared in Europe, but because there is no such advanced technology as the triode, the power is generally not high, and the quality is not good enough.

Anyway, it can't be compared with Li Yu's stuff. The triode technology in Li Yu's hand is a big killer.

However, Marconi still wanted to establish a radio monopoly by virtue of his first-mover advantage and business acumen.

Li Yudao: "Radio waves are a shared resource, and it is not too difficult to understand and copy radio technology. Marconi has gone too far."

Morgan said: "I didn't know the details before, but after seeing the radio equipment you gave me, I was deeply shocked, so I did some deep learning. And I have seen some Marconi equipment used in base stations , they are big, expensive and unstable, so I think you are very competitive."

Although Morgan doesn't understand very profound technology, he is a graduate of a strong school of science and engineering such as the University of Göttingen in Germany, so he has a little understanding of it.

Moreover, his truly terrifying ability lies in his control over business judgments. This is his housekeeping skill, otherwise he would not be able to become a world creditor.

Li Yu said, "So you chose me between me and Marconi."

Morgan laughed and said: "Exactly. In fact, Marconi has provoked a lot of people. I really understand his monopoly strategy, but the actual operation is full of loopholes, because he can't eat such a big market at all. I want to use technical barriers to prevent others from using other companies' radio equipment."

Li Yu thought to himself, when it comes to understanding monopoly, no one really understands it better than the current super chaebols in the United States.

In addition, isn't technical barriers the thing that you Americans like to do most from now on.

Morgan continued: "Because he blindly wanted to prevent other people's information forwarding through contracts when he did not have enough market share, he offended Prince Heinrich of Germany. So Germany called the United States, Britain, France, Russia, Nine countries, including Italy and Spain, held a wireless telegraph preparatory meeting, demanding the establishment of a unified radio transmission and reception system."

This radio conference held in Berlin, Germany, can be regarded as the first large-scale international conference in history.

The reason turned out to be about the radio.

However, it is basically a discussion between governments, so there are no technical personnel or radio companies participating.

Li Yu said: "In fact, my appeal is also for civilian use. Open to everyone, radio has a future."

Morgan took a sip of his pipe and said, "Now I finally understand that your idea is correct. With a wide market, you don't have to worry about making money. Moreover, your technology is far superior to Marconi's. In the future, radio You will be the next super enterprise.”

Morgan is already one of the richest people in the United States, and there are not many things that can interest him, and radio is one of them.

Of course, Li Yu understood the meaning of the word "super enterprise". If one wanted to achieve large-scale wireless coverage, he needed to build countless base stations, and even ocean-going base stations. This kind of capital investment was huge.

Even if only the basics are guaranteed, the demand for cargo ships alone will be overwhelming.

Because the shipping industry is most necessary and wants to have radios. In this "age of great voyages", ship trade is the most important. They often drift at sea for more than a month, almost losing contact with the land.

So the shipping industry desperately wanted a reliable communication facility, just as it desperately wanted an accurate clock for measuring longitude years ago.

Li Yu pondered for a while, and basically agreed with Morgan's remarks.

After all, as a super financier, Morgan's vision and some views on business must be recognized and learned.

Li Yu said: "But with my current scale and conditions, I don't think it is enough to meet the listing standards."

In the early days, it was not easy to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Morgan said: "Do you think this matter can stump me? You just need to consider the listing procedures and draw up a good equity contract, otherwise you will be eaten by huge funds."

Li Yu guessed that his reminder was not entirely out of kindness, perhaps because of his ties to the Carnegie family, which made him scruples.

But even without the Carnegie family, Morgan only wanted to invest, and didn't want to eat up too many companies, otherwise he would become a failed Beiming magic skill, and the internal force he absorbed would only backfire on him.

He just wants to invest in stocks and make a lot of money. Simple and convenient is the goal of financiers.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped Li Yu go public.

Li Yu figured out the relationship behind it and said, "I will find a lawyer to prepare for the listing as soon as possible."

Morgan said, "Very well, I'll wait for your next visit."

-

Leaving Morgan's building, Li Yu immediately looked for the lawyer in his mind.

The United States has always respected doctors and lawyers very much. Being a doctor or lawyer in the United States is a very lucrative and very decent job.

But now Li Yu really doesn't know any lawyers, so he turned his head and suddenly thought of someone.

So I immediately set off to Chinatown in New York.

"Mr. Situ Meitang!" Li Yu found him at the newspaper office.

"Brother Li Yu!" Situ Meitang was also very happy to see Li Yu, "Unexpectedly, you came to New York again, and I didn't even have time to visit you."

Li Yu smiled and said, "I'm going to the door in person, it's more convenient."

Situ Meitang said: "The factory you run is really good. It has recruited nearly a hundred Chinese workers and solved the financial situation of hundreds of families at once. I really don't know how to be grateful for this kind of great kindness!"

Now most of the Chinese in the United States are basically related to Hongmen or its major branches, and they hold together to keep warm.

Situ Meitang also has a strong patriotism and cares about the country.

He had a close relationship with Mr. Sun Yat-sen and President Jiang, and he even climbed the Tiananmen Rostrum during the founding of the People's Republic of China.

As the later godfather of Hongmen, even when he opposed Jiang and resisted the Japanese, Principal Jiang would still treat him as a guest of honor.

But for the time being, Situ Meitang has not yet become the leader of Hongmen.

Li Yu said: "I am most happy to be able to help my parents and fellow villagers. That's why I did this. Mr. Situ doesn't need to thank me."

Situ Meitang praised: "It really is a big picture."

Li Yu said: "And with the expansion of enterprises and factories in the future, more Chinese workers will definitely be recruited."

Situ Meitang could barely sit still, and was about to bow when he got up: "I want to represent the whole of New York, no, all the Chinese in America thank you!"

Li Yu couldn't bear his courtesy, so he got up quickly and said, "Mr. Situ, it's still a vision, and we still need everyone's full cooperation."

Situ Meitang said: "If you have any questions, just tell me! If I, Situ Meitang, say no, I will become the ghost of Raven's gun."

Li Yu said with a smile: "I trust Mr. Situ. There is just one thing I want to ask you to handle. In order to expand the factory and raise funds, I want to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but a lot of legal work is required in the early stage."

"Law?" Situ Meitang thought for a while and said, "It happens that I have a friend who knows American law very well, but he is only a law graduate student and has not entered a law firm."

Li Yu smiled and said, "Graduate students are also fine."

Situ Meitang said: "In fact, it is not easy to find a law firm that is more concerned about Chinese affairs, because they all think that the Chinese have no legal status and cannot win a lawsuit. But this graduate student seems to have not much bias."

Li Yu said: "A company going public and going to court are two different things, as long as the terms can be clarified."

Situ Meitang said: "That's fine, I don't think he will object, because President Theodore Roosevelt once hosted a dinner for you at the White House, and he is the distant nephew of the current president, named Franklin Roosevelt."

Situ Meitang paused, and added: "He comes from a noble family, but he is not a dandy, so he is not comparable to those ordinary beauties and beiles in China. He is not famous now, and you have never heard of him, but his Very knowledgeable."

It seems that Situ Meitang has a good vision.

However, how could Li Yu have never heard of the dignified President of the United States during World War II. He is much more famous than his distant uncle, the current President Theodore Roosevelt.

Li Yu smiled and said, "Since I believe in Mr. Situ, I naturally believe in Roosevelt Jr. you recommended."

Situ Meitang suddenly said: "You trust me so much, otherwise how about we worship as brothers?"

Li Yu was still thinking about how to meet Roosevelt, and suddenly said in surprise: "Will you be the one?"

Situ Meitang said with a smile: "Although I have some achievements, I really appreciate your character, knowledge and ability, brother. Don't sell me this face, brother."

Li Yu didn't realize it for a while, because he knew that he would be with Mr. Zhongshan in the near future, so what will happen when the time comes...

Seeing that Li Yu didn't speak for a while, Situ Meitang said, "Brother doesn't think you despise me?"

Li Yu quickly regained his senses and said, "Of course not, my brother is on top, please be respected by my younger brother!"

Situ Meitang laughed out loud, bowed his head and bowed back.

"Today is really fun, let's not talk about the listing, let's have a few drinks together!"