Vanderbilt was indeed a towering figure in America at this time, and the Vanderbilt Family was indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Yet before Franz, he was still nothing but stinking fish and rotten shrimp. Franz had no interest in ridding America of this menace.
But this time, Vanderbilt had come looking for trouble with Franz himself. If Franz did not strike back, it would be hard to justify—after all, his allies were watching.
If Franz did not retaliate, people might praise him for his magnanimity, but he would never win his allies' hearts, much less earn his opponent's respect.
So Franz had to respond with a powerful counterattack, even if the other side was merely an ant.
However, Franz was not about to play the overbearing tycoon's game and crush his opponent with money.
Setting aside America's history of seizing foreign capital, why should Franz invest the funds he had painstakingly accumulated in America? Wouldn't it be better to keep them and develop Austria itself?
Besides, choosing the method his opponent was best at on the opponent's own turf, putting himself in danger and binding himself within the other party's rules—that was practically announcing to everyone that he was a foolish idiot, weak yet reckless.
Physically eliminating an opponent was the most direct and effective form of deterrence, but that would be far too brutal and did not suit Franz's persona.
Besides, it would not solve the problem at its root. What Franz wanted was to pull the firewood from beneath the cauldron—to kill the man and strike at his heart.
New York, Newport Manor.
This was one of Vanderbilt's favorite estates. Though it was nowhere near as immense as the Vanderbilt Family's future Biltmore Estate, Newport Manor already covered 300 acres at this time—the equivalent of 170