United States, Chicago.
At this time, Chicago was no more than a desolate little town.
Then a young man from continental Europe came along and, with a single stroke, spent $200,000 to buy half the town, along with the wasteland surrounding it.
The young man was immediately elected mayor of the town. He was at a loss. He was an official of the Austrian Empire, sent by Baron Bruck to purchase property for the empire.
Yet somehow, he had ended up mayor of an American town. He had no choice but to write to Baron Bruck in Austria and ask him to decide what to do.
At the same time, Austrian special envoys tasked with buying land appeared in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and other places, drawing people's attention.
Someone recognized the young man who had splashed out $1.5 million on land in New York. He was the nephew of Baron Bruck, special adviser to the Emperor of Austria.
They said Baron Bruck was the real hand guiding the finances of the Austrian Empire. More and more information came to light, and the affair's influence grew.
As the affair continued to grow in influence, the identities of the other people buying up land were revealed one after another.
Some were descendants of great European aristocrats, others of major bankers, and still others were heirs of the Sina family, which had once rivaled the Rothschild family.
This was exactly the effect Baron Bruck wanted. He was buying land to drum up a frenzy.
Almost every banker knew that American land prices were rising too fast, but they were still bullish on the American land market.
It was just that no one wanted to lift the veil. Baron Bruck meant to tear it away and let the wind blow in.
Just as he had expected, after the affair, Americans also began to recognize the value of land and stopped selling theirs so readily.
A wave of copycats followed. First came the Americans, then the news crossed back to Europe, and capitalists flocked over at the first sign of opportunity.
Meanwhile, the American government was fanning the flames, introducing a series of policies to attract foreign investment while issuing large amounts of paper money amid an overheated economy.
Banks issued vast quantities of loans, and the capitalists speculating in land used their property as collateral to borrow still more money from the banks and buy more land. Land prices naturally soared to the heavens.
Although the inflow of precious metals into the United States had indeed increased, the amount of paper money being issued still far exceeded what the country could redeem.
Philadelphia, headquarters of the Second Bank of the United States.
"Damn it! Andrew Jackson is a short-sighted fool, a bandit with a gun. We need to print more banknotes so that more Europeans will come invest. When he's faced with a colossal fiscal surplus, let's see what that bandit has to say!"
The speaker was Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States. The man he had called a bandit, Andrew Jackson, was the seventh president of the United States.
Andrew Jackson had been a soldier and had made his name by seizing Native American lands, so the name bandit was well earned.
Biddle's resentment stemmed from Andrew Jackson's refusal to renew the Second Bank of the United States' federal charter and his plan to shut it down.
Andrew Jackson had once told then-Vice President Martin Van Buren, "That damned bank is trying to destroy me and the United States, but I'll destroy it first!"
To cut off a man's road to riches was like killing his parents. That was a blood feud, so naturally Biddle had no kind words for Andrew Jackson.
In truth, Andrew Jackson was right. The Second Bank of the United States was indeed affecting the American economy, and it was barreling toward a point of no return.
In the early nineteenth century, the federal government had no central bank of its own and therefore issued no paper money.
The federal government's money supply was limited to various coins, while banknotes were issued by thousands of state-chartered banks.
These banks were a mixed bag, ranging from completely reliable institutions with sterling reputations to outright swindlers.
Although the Second Bank of the United States was performing the functions of a central bank, it believed in so-called free economics and recklessly issued paper money. In just two years, its issuance had increased the total amount of paper money by nearly fifty percent.
Yet this reckless behavior was only the beginning of its road to ruin.
The headquarters of the Second Bank of the United States had been completed in 1824. It was modeled after the Parthenon and meant to symbolize a temple to the god of finance.
Yet this very temple would bear witness to America's first true economic crisis.
In 1834, more than thirty million mu of land was sold—compared with 27.92 million mu in the corresponding historical period. There was no doubt this would greatly ease America's debt burden.
And at this rate, the United States would run a massive fiscal surplus. Then Andrew Jackson would have to apologize to Biddle for the things he had said.
Biddle smoked a cigar and drank red wine as he watched the busy crowds outside, then gave a derisive laugh.
"What a bunch of fools. Why don't they come to me to invest? Unless I can guarantee a hundred percent profit, I'm almost embarrassed to charge them a brokerage fee. Don't you agree, Mr. Martin?"
"Mr. Biddle, you're right. Your predictions are uncannily accurate. The land you told me to buy in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, has doubled in price in just one week," Martin Van Buren answered carefully.
The only reason he was speaking so deferentially to a speculator was that he had loftier ambitions.
Martin Van Buren didn't want money. He wanted to become the next president of the United States.
But Andrew Jackson was a hero of war. Those who smeared heroes were usually scoundrels, and scoundrels could never become president of the United States.
So there could be no better scoundrel for the job than the genius before him, who had earned a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania at thirteen and taken control of the nation's largest bank before turning thirty.
Biddle and Andrew Jackson would attack each other and bring each other down. Then Martin would be that much closer to becoming the next president of the United States.
Biddle blew a smoke ring, making Martin Van Buren cough repeatedly. Then, all at once, he said something that left Martin on his feet in shock.
"Mr. Martin, what do you think of me running for president of the United States?"
But before Martin Van Buren could answer, Biddle went on without waiting.
"That would be terribly dull, wouldn't it, Mr. Martin?"
Martin Van Buren broke out in a cold sweat, but kept his expression unchanged as he reminded him, "Andrew has never given up on the idea of shutting down the Second Bank of the United States. If it closes, it will be a disaster for every American who cherishes freedom."
"Don't worry. I'll make him admit with his own lips that the Second Bank of the United States is America's pride."
Martin Van Buren raised his glass.
"To freedom!"
Biddle stubbed out his cigar on the table and picked up his glass.
"To freedom!"
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Thalia was looking at Franz with hopeful eyes. Franz knew what she wanted. French cuisine, of course.
Franz took out a bag and pulled a tin of foie gras from it, handing it to Thalia.
"Foie gras."
"Thank you, Archduke Franz. This is my first time trying foie gras." Thalia could hardly hide her delight.
Franz didn't like foie gras at all. It was too rich.
Truthfully, Franz knew Thalia wasn't necessarily that greedy. It was just her idle vanity acting up.
So he had simply brought back everything he could, letting her eat her fill.
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