Manhattan Reborn 1978

(It’s not finished yet, there is still a paragraph to write.)

new York.

Wall Street, Stanley [-]th Floor.

David lay half-back on the sofa in the office and sighed to Mag Ludwig.

"I didn't expect that the gossip in Georgetown is no less than the anecdotes about celebrities in Hollywood~"

"It's just... so messy!"

"They have never thought...that the human heart and desires can never be satisfied?"

Mag looked at David in shock, as if he was a little disbelieving of what this young man said.

"you.."

"Haha~ Am I wrong?"

"No... you are right!"

"In Washington and Georgetown, there is something called power~"

"It will make people addicted and intoxicated, and bring them unprecedented pleasure~"

"Anyone who has tried its taste will be addicted and unable to extricate themselves~"

David shook his head in amusement: "The kind of person who loses himself in pursuit of short-term pleasure, completely abandons the bottom line, and has no integrity at all... can no longer be regarded as a normal human being..."

"There is no difference between it and drugs!"

"So I will never touch it in my life~"

"..."

Just now, Mag was chatting with David about the "Watergate Incident" that occurred during the Nixon presidency~

Now, David uses abnormal human beings to reflect the rebellious President Nixon. . ?

Emm. .

Seeing that Mag pursed his lips and remained silent, David asked, "What was it like when you first arrived in Washington?"

"Is it because you are obsessed with power that you chose to join politics?"

When Mag was asked this question by David, he remembered that more than ten years ago, he used passion as the fuel for his struggle. Now that he thought about it, he was really stupid. .

There was a self-deprecating smile on his lips: "When I was in college, by chance, I was elected as a class representative by my classmates, and I went to meet the chairman of the National Committee of the Elephant Party, a college student."

"That meeting made me suddenly enlightened and obsessed with the feeling that I could control the situation."

“Later, my family helped me get a summer internship in a senator’s office in Washington.”

“That short internship experience allowed me to really see another side of Washington.”

“People’s view of Washington is that there are guards everywhere, everyone is wearing a suit and walking in a hurry~”

"If you meet an acquaintance on the street or in a restaurant, they will talk about politics-related hanging ladders and never tire of it."

"Furthermore, I also found that many journalists active in Washington and Georgetown have very average political literacy and political sensitivity."

"As long as you can become friends with them, they are usually willing to help you express whatever you want to say~"

"So, before my summer internship was about to end, I found a journalist friend and published an article in the Greenville News to beautify my resume in a made-up name. Ended with an expression of support for Nixon..."

David tilted his head, his eyes widened, and said in surprise: "You...haven't you cheated?"

"Haha~ No! Instead, it fulfilled me..."

"After Nixon saw that article, he found someone to contact me and asked me to work in his office after graduating from college."

"...Haha~ Is this your luck?"

Mag shook his head and was silent for a few seconds before continuing: "After I entered Nixon's office and worked for him, just like every ordinary person who wants to get ahead in Washington, there is no shortcut except working hard~!"

"In my spare time, I will learn from my colleagues who are naturally gifted with political sensitivity how to make something out of nothing, manipulate people's hearts, and influence the direction of public opinion to achieve my political intentions."

"From those bullshit politicians that everyone despised, I summarized their shortcomings and discovered their advantages, corrected my consciousness and thinking mode, and made myself more adaptable to political life in Washington."

"In 1968, after Nixon officially announced his candidacy for president, I put forward a list called the "Swing State Ballot Difficulty Ranking" to help Nixon seize several of the most critical swing states, carry out key research, and finally win them. Their votes..."

"In 69, Nixon was sworn in as the 37th president of the United States."

"This makes his dream of becoming president come true."

"He readily gave me my first official position in politics, the fourth-in-command in the President's Office, and I entered the white house in Washington that everyone aspires to work in..."

David's eyes flashed slightly with an expression on his face, and he asked pretending to be unintentional: "President Nixon, did you ever serve as a House of Representatives and a Senator in California?"

"Yes~"

"He was elected to the California House of Representatives in 46 and officially entered Washington politics."

“In 50, he ran for California Senate and won.”

"In 52, he participated in the election for vice president of the United States. At the age of 40, he took up the position of vice president in President Eisenhower's administration, and won re-election with President Eisenhower."

"In 60 years..."

"Nixon and Kennedy, start competing for the presidency!"

"He seemed completely out of tune in the four televised public debates with Kennedy."

"President Kennedy, who has always lived in the spotlight, fully demonstrated his on-the-spot reaction ability when facing the media, completely defeated Nixon's poor performance, and won many votes that were not optimistic about him before."

"That's why Nixon, after experiencing that disastrous defeat, chose to reorganize his team and absorb a lot of fresh blood like me into it."

When Mag said this, he stopped, turned to face David, and asked seriously.

"Whatever you want to ask, just ask directly~"

"I once said that if you have any questions, you can ask me~"

David thought back to the last time the two met, Mag seemed to have said something similar, and shrugged with a smile.

"Okay~"

"Mr. Parker brought me two pieces of news today, which forced me to change my plan and choose to cooperate more deeply with the Morgan family."

"In-depth cooperation?"

"Yes~ It's almost like... binding!"

Mag Ludwig frowned.

He looked at the door and was silent for a while before saying, "For you now, this kind of in-depth cooperation will do more good than harm!"

"You made the right choice!"

"I know~"

"Well...then what? What are you worried about?"

David crossed his arms in front of his chest, rubbed the stubble on his chin with his hands, and sighed: "Before I heard you talk about the gossip and nonsense in Washington politics, I hated getting involved with politics. . . ”

"But now, the plan has changed and the situation doesn't allow it~"

"If I want to rely on the Morgan consortium to continue to succeed in New York and Wall Street, without the support of my own government news channel, it will be difficult to determine the important time points for each investment."

"But, it's just like you said~"

"Those people in Washington...are addicted to the game of truth, lies, and interests first every day~"

"Their bottom line seems to have been thrown into the bottom of the Atlantic as early as when they chose to join politics, and will never see the light of day."

"Who can I trust?"

"I... can I trust you 100%? Mag!"

Mag Ludwig looked at David quietly, his various situations in recent years quickly flashed through his eyes, and a ray of light seemed to shine into the darkened corner of his heart.

He took a few deep breaths, did not answer David's question directly, and whispered with a very complicated expression.

"I have read quickly since I was a child, loved reading, and read a lot of history books and biographies."

"I was in Washington, in that... white house, and I used the most despicable means, stepping on countless people's shoulders and heads, and carving out a crack for myself in the solidified class ceiling..."

"Then... I used my own experiences to prove a new fable to people..."

"The despicable means I used to win have never been forgotten by people~"

"It was like hitting a wall that bounced back, and it all came back to me."

"Last Christmas, I was drunk alone in the alley behind the bar and almost froze to death..."

"Afterwards, I asked myself countless questions."

"Am I the unluckiest person?"

"After reading so many books, have I found the meaning of all this (tragic encounter)?"

"Hehe~"

"I understand the truth, but I just can't figure it out..."

"I was trapped in the siege I built, unable to extricate myself. I could only use alcohol to anesthetize myself and wait for death."

"You ask me...if you can come to me~"

"No!"

"Maybe God can answer your question."

"I can't~"

"Because I don't even believe in myself anymore..."

David looked up and down, frowned and tilted his head to look at Mag Ludwig, who was consumed by his own spirit and almost died. He shook his head speechlessly and said.

"About God... I will talk to him when I go to bed tonight~"

"Do you... have any family or friends?"

"Have you never thought about where you fall and where you have to get up?"

"Perhaps those people who have been hurt by you don't want to see you appear in front of them again~"

"Some people will even settle old scores with you and knock you down again~"

"But, isn't that what life is like?"

"Someone asked: Where is heaven and where is hell~"

"I said: Heaven is the world, and hell is also the world~!"

"When all the people who used to surround you disperse~"

"Can't you stand up straight on your own?"

"Hehe~"

David stood up, pulled Mag to the window, pointed at Wall Street downstairs and said loudly.

"Wall Street is a new track in your life!"

"Here, no one cares what kind of person you were~"

"They are more pure than those in Washington!"

"As JP Morgan said, what drives history is money, and only money!"

“Money comes first~Money never sleeps!”

David put his arm around Mag's shoulders, and his voice changed from high pitch to low pitch: "The Cuban missile crisis more than ten years ago did not evolve into World War III..."

"Do you think there will ever be another war in this world that affects the United States?"

"There won't be any~"

"After experiencing the oil crisis in the Middle East a few years ago, will the United States still only use force to resolve foreign wars in the future?"

"Mag, you said that the only way out for every ordinary person in Washington is to work hard...Wall Street, isn't it?"

"If we were to randomly find someone on the street and ask him what the American dream is, what would he say?"

"Be president? Be a scientist?"

"I bet that more than half of New Yorkers will answer that their American dream is to become a billionaire with free wealth."

"So, when you and I are both billionaires and tens of billions, those so-called upper-class drinking parties and social circles in Georgetown..."

"Will you be the most popular and flattering guest?"

"Hehe~"

"Is there anything in this world that money can't buy in the United States? Tell me!"

The look on Mag's face keeps changing~

After a long while, he turned red and smiled bitterly, and said to David: "Money can't buy trust!"

"Hmm... you understand!?"

Mag took a deep breath, opened his arms to David and said, "Thank you!"

"Hahaha~ I should thank you, my friend!"

Men's hugs can be polite and end at the touch of a button, or they can be a slap in the face between friends until each other vomits blood. .

. . .

After David and Mag sat down again.

Mag Ludwig untied his tie, threw it on the desk, imitated David's lazy look just now, stretched out his hand and said.

"Give me one hundred thousand dollars, and I'll make some very important arrangements!"

David took a breath and said with a grimace: "Can...in installments?"

"fxxxyou!"

"no~fxxxyou!"

"Hahahaha~"

. . .

Mag Ludwig is gone~

With a check from David. .

Of course not $[-].

David would give him as much as he asked for?

The money in David’s pocket is not that rich yet~

However, both David and Mag knew it in their hearts.

The last barrier between the two people was broken.

The rest, just let time prove it~

Money or trust, which one is more important to Mag Ludwigs.

----

Time passed slowly.

It's approaching evening.

The cold autumn wind in New York seems to have softened a bit.

Wall Street.

Mikhail Friedliman and his friend Bernard Madoff got out of the car and stood in front of the Stanley Building.

ten minutes later.

The two knocked on David's office door and looked at the quarreling people with a little surprise.

Bernard Madoff reacted quickly. He took half a step forward and smiled at David: "Your secretary was not there when we came, so we took the liberty of pushing the door open."

David rubbed his temples vigorously, waved to Madoff and said, "It's okay, you came to see me...?"

Madoff smiled and turned sideways, giving up half a seat and said: "We heard about your plan, and Il wants to come and support you and sponsor an advertising space."

"Stop!"

David grimaced, spread his hands to the two of them and said, "No, it's all gone!"

"Sorry guys, you...are late~"

"what?"