Taking the Fall-You're Willing, Right?

Bovan then led Jerome toward Rothschild, greeting Rothschild warmly. "Hey, Nathan, it's great to see you here."

"Ah, Mr. Bovan, I think there is no banker in all of Europe who could resist your summons," Nathan Rothschild replied in an exaggerated tone.

"Well, Nathan, let me introduce you to a friend. This is Mr. Andrei Pizarro, the new supervisor of our Roman Bank," Bovan said to Rothschild.

Andrei Pizarro was, of course, an alias for Jerome. Neither Joseph nor Napoleon wanted him to travel freely under the surname "Bonaparte." Therefore, at the Roman Bank, very few people actually knew Jerome's true identity.

"Hello, Mr. Rothschild," Jerome said.

"Hello, Mr. Pizarro, you are truly young and accomplished." Although Nathan Rothschild did not know Jerome's specific identity, seeing that he was so young to become a supervisor of the Roman Bank, he figured that either he was truly outstanding or his family had a very powerful background. So, he naturally had to offer this free compliment.

"Nathan, if there's nothing else, let's go sit over there," Mr. Bovan said.

Nathan Rothschild knew that Bovan might want to discuss something important with him, so he nodded to the people around him and said, "Gentlemen, please excuse me for a moment." Then he said to his wife, who was following him, "Emma, please walk around here by yourself. Mr. Bovan and I have some things to discuss."

So the three of them left the back garden and went into a small living room. They sat down on the sofa, and Mr. Bovan reached out as if to grab something from the coffee table, but in the end he didn't take anything and withdrew his empty hand.

"Bovan is a heavy smoker, and there are cigars on his coffee table. He habitually reached for one, but then refrained. Mr. Bovan isn't one to be particularly considerate of others. So, this Pizarro's identity must be quite extraordinary," Nathan Rothschild thought.

"Nathan, what's your opinion on the current state of those railroad stocks?" Mr. Bovan asked bluntly.

This is not an easy question to answer. As a distinguished banker, Nathan Rothschild naturally knew that the stock prices of all railway companies, including the France Railway (SNCF), were clearly excessively high. In terms of price-to-earnings ratios, these companies' P/E ratios were generally ridiculously high. Even the stock of the least problematic French Railway Company), had a price per share divided by earnings per share of over two hundred. In other words, if you bought this stock and hoped to recoup your investment through dividends, you would have to wait at least two hundred years. With that kind of money, you could have simply deposited it in a bank. Therefore, railway stocks today are entirely a speculative bubble, a gamble to swindle money.

From this perspective, the question isn't difficult to answer. However, the meaning behind Mr. Bovan's raising this question at this juncture is worth pondering. Does Mr. Bovan indicate that he's preparing to take further action, such as shorting the stock market? This would be a major move. If Mr. Bovan —no, if the Roman Bank— starts shorting railways, a complete collapse of railway stocks throughout France and Europe would be almost certain. At that point, countless investors' corpses would likely fill the Seine River (Paris), the Main River, and the Rhine River (Frankfurt). Even the Thames River would likely be littered with bodies.

If Roman Bank were a bank like Rothschild Bank, Nathan Rothschild would have answered without hesitation, "Yes, the stock price is indeed too high, full of bubbles, and now is a good time to short it."

However, the Roman Bank is not an ordinary commercial bank; it is a central bank. This means it possesses enormous power that other banks do not have, but it also carries burdens that other banks do not have to worry about. It must be responsible for the overall economic situation of France.

If the entire railway stock market collapses, it might—no, it definitely will—affect other areas, and could potentially lead to a major depression. Wouldn't that create a huge problem?

So Rothschild thought for a moment, then said, "The hype surrounding railroad stocks is indeed too high, and it needs to be cooled down gradually. Otherwise, there is indeed a risk of a collapse. However, cooling it down gradually is very difficult to do."

Rothschild's meaning was relatively subtle, but he felt he had probably grasped the Roman Bank's intentions: the Roman Bank wanted him to join forces with Roman Bank to gradually bring the craze down.

Jerome couldn't understand a word Rothschild said; he could only try his best to write down what everyone was saying and then go back to Joseph to explain it to him.

"Mr. Rothschild, as you know, this bubble is very large, and it's almost impossible to make it deflate slowly, at least technically impossible," Mr. Bovan said, shaking his head.

Rothschild fell into thought. Clearly, judging from Mr. Bovan's remarks, he and the Roman Bank behind him did not intend to quietly resolve the crisis; they might even be planning to deliberately instigate it. But what benefit would they gain from instigating a crisis?

Thinking this, a tiny spark suddenly leaped out of Rothschild's head, just as a fully armed Athena leaped out of Zeus's head:

"Technically speaking, avoiding a collapse is indeed very difficult, almost impossible. Forcibly going against market rules will definitely result in losses and no gains. In that case, why not let the crisis erupt? As long as other countries suffer greater losses in the crisis than France, the outcome is not unacceptable. In fact, if handled well, although the problem is France's problem, the consequences can be borne by other countries... This is probably their real goal." Rothschild thought to himself, and then another question came to mind, "What is Bovan's purpose in telling me all this?"

Preventing the bubble from bursting and controlling its shrinkage certainly requires Rothschild's help. However, bursting the bubble is entirely effortless for the Roman Bank, requiring no cooperation whatsoever. In fact, in the current situation, the Rothschild Bank alone could easily detonate this massive bubble, let alone a behemoth like the Rothschild Bank Roman Bank. A major reason the Rothschilds hadn't acted before was uncertainty about the Roman Bank's stance. If the Roman Bank opposed this, Rothschild would become an enemy of the entire Roman Bank, and even the entire Military-Industrial Complex. Even if he gained considerable benefits from this storm, those benefits wouldn't compensate for the loss of alienating the entire Military-Industrial Complex.

"The Roman Bank doesn't want to act on its own? At least not the first one?" Rothschild had a vague idea. So he asked, "So, Mr. Bovan, do you mean that this crisis is inevitable, so it's better to let it happen sooner rather than later?"

"Yes," Mr. Bovan replied, "We hope this frenzy will end as soon as possible."

"So, you've come to me at this time hoping I can do something for you?" Rothschild asked.

"Our bank is special; there are some actions we cannot take on our own initiative. I think you can understand that," Mr. Bovan said. "Therefore, I hope your bank can take the initiative to burst this bubble first."

Rothschild paused for a moment before saying, "Is it inappropriate for the Roman Bank to do this, because it would damage its reputation? After all, the Roman Bank is, in a sense, almost another treasury of the France government. But whoever takes the initiative to burst this bubble will incur the resentment of many. So the Roman Bank can only follow suit, not lead the way. Right?"

"You're right," Mr. Bovan replied without changing his expression.

"But if we do it, our reputation will also be affected," Rothschild said.

"Excuse my bluntness," Mr. Bovan said, "Nathan, you should be well aware of your reputation to begin with. This incident won't make it any worse. In any case, your reputation is already as bad as it gets. On the other hand, the reputation that truly matters to you—I mean, being good at business and making money—that's the most important thing. Clients won't stop entrusting their money to you because of your bad social and moral reputation; however, they will stop investing in you because you lack foresight, are indecisive, and fail to seize opportunities to make money. Don't you agree?"

Rothschild chuckled, but did not answer.

"Besides, while being the first to strike might damage your reputation, it also brings tangible financial gains. Frankly, Nathan, there are plenty of people willing to do this besides you. And if we need to pin the blame on you, can't we? To be honest, we do intend to let you bear some of the bad reputation, but rest assured, under the protection of the Civil Code, a bad reputation won't really harm you. Moreover, the benefits you gain from being the first to strike are a kind of compensation. And since you've cooperated with us this time and become our friend, there will be benefits for you in the future."

Nathan Rothschild knew, of course, that the claim that "becoming our friend will bring future benefits" was pure deception. Without a written contract, Mr. Bovan could easily renege on his promise. But the situation was indeed as Mr. Bovan said: if the Roman Bank, or rather the Military-Industrial Complex, or even the France government, wanted to pin the blame on him, could he resist? Even if he did nothing, the Military-Industrial Complex, controlling so many media outlets, could still pin the blame on him and then trample him underfoot, ensuring he could never recover. So, instead of refusing a toast, he should obediently accept the blame and put it on his own head.

So Rothschild asked, "Then, how do we need to cooperate?"