113: Chapter 113 The Most Powerful Transnational Pig Butchering Scam in History
"Souka! Kato-kun is truly a top-tier diplomatic talent that our Great Empire of Japan only sees once in a century! To think he actually managed to latch onto a towering giant like the Rothschild Family!"
A Tokyo banker slapped the table and praised excitedly.
"Exactly! Not only is this investment a guaranteed profit, but the political benefits behind it are simply immeasurable!" An industrial tycoon nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Of course, amidst the frenzy, some still maintained a shred of rationality.
A mining tycoon asked hesitantly,
"But gentlemen, please think about it. For a colossus of the Rothschild Family's caliber, if they really needed money, why would it be our turn to lend it to them? Could there be something fishy about that Young Master Nathan's identity..."
Before he could finish, he was immediately subjected to a barrage of verbal attacks from the crowd.
"Yoshikawa-kun, has your brain rotted? That Mr. Nathan Rothschild was personally endorsed by President Harrison of the USA and introduced to the ministers of various countries in public at The White House dinner!"
"And he explained it very clearly. They saw the potential of our Empire's soaring economy and wanted to use this loan relationship to make a long-term political investment in us!"
The objector even pointed mockingly at his own temple. "Yoshikawa-kun, if you are going to doubt even the credibility of the President of the USA, then I can only suspect if there is a serious problem with your IQ!"
The meaning behind these words couldn't be simpler: anyone with a brain shouldn't nitpick at this absolute "great opportunity."
Shut down like this, the mining tycoon named Yoshikawa instantly chickened out, obediently shutting his mouth and not daring to court further bad luck.
At this moment, the white-haired head of the Mitsui Zaibatsu, sitting at the head of the table, slowly opened his cloudy yet sharp eyes and made the final decision:
"Gentlemen, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our national fortune bestowed upon us by Amaterasu! We absolutely cannot afford to lose it! Our Mitsui Zaibatsu will, in the name of Mitsui Bank, exclusively claim a share of ten million dollars!"
Hearing the old fox declare his stance, the other tycoons, terrified that all the meat would be snatched away, instantly grew red-eyed with greed.
"Our Sumitomo Zaibatsu will follow suit and claim five million dollars!"
"The Mitsubishi Chamber of Commerce will absolutely not lag behind; we claim three million dollars!"
...
In the span of a single meeting, these capital oligarchs standing at the pinnacle of power in Japan had carved up over eighty percent of the thirty million dollar loan quota.
As for the remaining crumbs, they planned to raise the funds by issuing high-interest bonds to the public.
In the end, even the historically stingy Emperor Meiji, persuaded by the Empress, gritted his teeth and took out five hundred thousand dollars from his private treasury to join in.
In short, although this astronomical sum of thirty million dollars was miraculously raised in an extremely short period, it also nearly drained the cash flow of the major zaibatsus and emptied Japan's coffers.
This was a massive gamble, a literal "all-in" on the nation's fortune.
Once this huge sum of money went down the drain, even if the entire nation of Japan tightened its belt, they would absolutely not be able to recover for the next ten years!
But what did that have to do with Lin Tian?
At this moment, he was lying on a rattan chair in his manor, sipping tea.
From beginning to end, he had never even met any bullshit "Young Nathan Rothschild."
...
A month later, this massive sum of thirty million dollars, laden with Japan's national fortune, was safely and accurately wired into a secret Citibank account under Rockefeller.
Everything was settled; the plan had concluded flawlessly!
"Cheers!"
To celebrate the successful scam, George Parker specially chose a luxurious high-end entertainment venue to host the biggest contributor, Kato Tomoya.
The two leaned back comfortably on the soft sofa, raising their glasses in celebration while enjoying the hot song and dance of the glamorous socialites on stage.
"To be able to obtain this startup capital so smoothly this time is all thanks to Minister Kato's full support!"
George Parker raised his glass, smiling hypocritically.
"No, no, no. It should be said that it is our Great Empire of Japan's supreme honor that you, Mr. Rothschild, were willing to condescend and choose us as your partner!"
Kato Tomoya waved his hands repeatedly, flattered, and then inquired with curiosity:
"By the way, Mr. Nathan. I wonder when the USA government plans to officially sell those canal bonds?"
Lately, he had been scanning the newspapers every day for news. The pages were filled with hype articles about developing the Nicaragua Canal, but the government had been slow to announce the specific date for the bond sale.
"This is top secret! According to reliable sources I've received, the USA government has already secretly sent a top-level survey team to Nicaragua for a field study. I believe there will be an official announcement in a few days!"
George Parker lied through his teeth without batting an eye.
"Excellent! I believe this monumental investment will surely allow you, Mr. Rothschild, to recreate the immortal glory of your ancestors at the Battle of Waterloo!" Kato Tomoya beamed from ear to ear, flattering him loudly.
Now that the loan contract had been signed and sealed in black and white,
the strategic partnership between Japan and the Rothschild Family was completely set in stone!
Consequently, as the number one contributor who brokered this deal, his status in domestic politics would definitely skyrocket like a rocket.
Landing a cabinet minister role upon returning home was practically a sure thing.
At the thought of soon joining the core of power and standing on equal footing with big shots like Ito Hirobumi,
Kato Tomoya's face flushed with excitement, and he couldn't suppress the grin on his face.
However, immersed in his dream of promotion and wealth, Kato Tomoya failed to notice that George Parker, sitting opposite him, occasionally looked at him with a trace of deep pity.
To be honest, even George Parker himself felt it was somewhat surreal.
As America's top con artist, he had pulled off countless monumental scams in his life.
But he never dreamed that one day, he would actually bamboozle a country's minister so thoroughly, and even swindle an entire nation into bankruptcy!
In the final analysis, this was all because information dissemination in this era was extremely restricted.
Coupled with the fact that the European Rothschild Family had always acted mysteriously and kept a low profile,
no one in the outside world had ever seen their core members except for those at the very pinnacle of the social pyramid.
Of course, the most crucial part was that Lin Tian had laid a dragnet behind the scenes, even cleverly leveraging the endorsement of the USA President to completely dispel Kato Tomoya's last shred of doubt.
Only then did they successfully deceive the cunning Japanese.
...
The two indulged in pleasures at the entertainment venue, partying until late into the night.
To make the act complete, George Parker even generously shelled out money to call two flirtatious Mexican girls for Kato Tomoya.
It wasn't until dawn that a completely drained Kato Tomoya climbed into the embassy carriage with satisfaction and swayed away.
However, the moment he left,
a young man wearing an eye-catching red suit, with eyes as sharp as a leopard's, slowly stepped out from the deep shadows of the street corner.
George Parker also tidied his clothes and walked over to the young man.
"I have more than completed the task assigned by the boss. Next, I can take the money, change my name, and live a peaceful life, right?"
"Of course. Mr. Bruce has always been a man of his word. He has already arranged a way out for you, ensuring you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life."
The young man in the red suit smiled faintly, his tone so calm it made one's skin crawl.
He turned his head to look at the departing embassy carriage, a playful cold light flashing in his eyes.
"The stage is set. Next, it's time to send this clown off!"
...
More than half an hour later.
Kato Tomoya, reeking of alcohol, swayed back to the Japanese Legation in Washington.
He burped from the alcohol, pushed open his bedroom door, and turned on the electric light.
However, the sight before him instantly sobered him up by half, breaking him out in a cold sweat.
On the office chair that should have been empty, a strange man in a red suit was sitting there in a domineering posture!
"Hi, good evening, Mr. Minister."
The man was not flustered at all, even smilingly raising his hand to him.
"Baka! Who are you? How did you get in?!"
Kato Tomoya was pale with fright. He opened his mouth, wanting to shout loudly for the guards.
But the young man in the red suit sprang from the chair like a ghost, moving so fast that his movements were a blur.
In an instant, he closed in on Kato Tomoya and struck him hard on the chest with a palm.
"Bang!"
Without even uttering a scream, Kato Tomoya collapsed onto the ground like a boneless heap of mud, his body convulsing, unable to move even a single finger.
The young man bent down, grabbing Kato Tomoya by the neck with one hand like picking up a chick, and lifted him up.
Then, he fished out a small glass bottle painted with a pale skull from his jacket.
Under Kato Tomoya's terrified gaze, his eyeballs nearly bulging out of their sockets, the young man roughly pried open his jaw and poured the pungent poison from the bottle down his throat.
Throughout the process, Kato Tomoya could only be manipulated like a puppet, unable to even struggle.
He watched in despair as the poison flowed down his throat into his stomach, instantly turning his internal organs upside down, as if they were being scorched by fire.
"W-Why..."
Spewing white foam mixed with poisonous blood, Kato Tomoya stared with dead eyes, squeezing out a few words with great difficulty from the depths of his throat.
"Don't ask me, I'm just an errand boy. Our boss's exact words were: 'Dead men tell no tales. Some blame must be pinned on a perfect corpse.'"
The young man replied expressionlessly.
No sooner had he spoken than Kato Tomoya convulsed violently a few times and went completely still, his face quickly turning a horrifying pale green.
Like throwing away trash, the young man in the red suit dragged the poisoned corpse back onto the office chair and sat it upright.
Then, he pulled out a prepared envelope from his inner pocket and carefully placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the desk.
Having done all this, the young man erased any traces he left behind.
He then walked to the window, leapt down from the three-meter-high window like a falcon spreading its wings, and landed steadily in the darkness of the alley behind the embassy.
Deep in the alley, a black car had already been waiting for a long time.
The young man opened the car door and slipped inside. The car, with its headlights off, vanished silently into the night like a ghost.