America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 353 American Gunpowder Association

1883, late December, New York.

A snowstorm suddenly came, and the entire New York City was covered in heavy snow, and it was completely white.

Snowflakes were flying in the sky, and there were very few people walking on the road.

At this time, everyone would rather stay indoors and warm themselves by the fire than have their noses blown off by the cold outside.

"Jingle bell."

A luxuriously decorated carriage stopped at the door of a building, and behind the carriage, followed a group of men in black riding horses.

"Master, we are here."

The driver of the car gently knocked on the window of the carriage and said into the car.

There were several slight coughs in the carriage.

Then, the carriage door was opened.

An old man wearing a coat stepped out of the car.

Although it can be seen from his white beard that merged with the heavy snow around him, he is already very old.

But the old man still tried to straighten his waist.

Ten years after he founded the National Gunpowder Association, Henry Dupont came to New York for his first meeting.

The association set up its headquarters in New York at that time to facilitate the handling of some business matters.

But everyone in the industry knows that the real headquarters is in Delaware.

In the past ten years, every decision of the association has come from Henry Dupont's office.

But this year is different.

In the past year, DuPont and Henry DuPont have experienced too many things.

The explosion on the Delaware River destroyed the future of DuPont and also had many consequences for it.

First of all, a group of outstanding technical personnel were wiped out and killed in this accident.

Secondly, the accident caused extremely serious pollution to the lower reaches of the Delaware River.

Local residents are suing the ash-shred "Repano" explosives factory and its parent company for this reason.

In addition, the collapse of American businessmen in the international saltpeter market has caused costs to rise significantly.

Coupled with the impact of smokeless gunpowder and yellow explosives on the market.

There is an undercurrent surging in the seemingly unbreakable Gunpowder Association.

And this meeting held in New York is an example.

Henry Dupont originally did not want to come to New York.

Meetings of the Gunpowder Association are convened and can only be convened by the Dupont family.

A meeting without his participation is meaningless; a resolution without his approval is nothing but a piece of paper.

But the old man thought about it later and decided to give it a try.

Because he wanted to see what kind of farce these clowns were causing, and then use thunderous force to dispel their thoughts and stabilize the situation.

Henry Dupont is not dead yet!

The old man walked up the steps surrounded by everyone.

But when he walked to the gate, he suddenly thought of what he had seen when he got off the car.

He stopped, turned his head, and looked across the street.

"What are these?" He pointed to the two statues at the gate of the building opposite.

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

"This, it seems, is some kind of oriental animal." One person said.

The statue is carved from stone, with curled hair, grinning teeth, and angry eyes, full of domineering power.

"Hi~ These are two stone lions, carved in the Chinese style." A follower who had been to China said disapprovingly.

Henry Dupont had an ominous premonition.

"When did you move here?"

The followers shook their heads. Most of them usually stayed in Delaware and rarely came to New York.

"Master, let's go up first." A follower said beside him, "It's too cold outside, and you are still sick."

"I'm fine!" The old man looked unhappy.

He straightened his back even more, turned around and walked into the building.

The people from DuPont came to the conference hall under the leadership of Henry.

It was very warm in the conference hall.

Because this building uses the latest steam heating equipment instead of fireplaces.

The attendant beside him took off Henry Dupont's thick woolen coat, revealing the black suit underneath.

The old man's sharp eyes swept towards the hall, showing no anger or authority.

The round table was almost full of people, and representatives from all the member companies of the Gunpowder Association were here.

Among them are the other two of the "Big Three" of the Gunpowder Association - the Hazard Company and the California Gunpowder Company on the West Coast.

Henry Dupont said nothing and walked directly to the main seat facing the door.

This position has always been his.

However, when he sat down, he found that there was an empty seat opposite him.

The old man waved his hand and signaled to his men to close the door and then remove the chairs in that position.

Old Hadzer, the boss of Hazard Company, shook his cheeks, but didn't say anything.

"The first of our topics today is to consider inviting the Roswell Gunpowder Company to join the association."

The chairman of the association handed a document to the table in front of Henry.

The old man found that the same document was placed in front of everyone on the table.

He snorted and did not look at the document. Instead, he looked around at everyone and spoke:

"I said that the door of the association is always open to them, as long as they are willing to accept the association's resolutions and arrangements."

"Each of your companies has voting rights with different weights, which is fair to me, isn't it?"

Old Henry showed his generosity.

The bidding rights of the Gunpowder Association are based on the three giants of DuPont. Each company has 10 votes, and the remaining 14 votes are divided among the remaining companies.

But in fact, the shares of the California Gunpowder Company had been secretly acquired by Henry DuPont; and the Hazard Company had always worn the same pants as the old Henry.

As for those small companies, even if they want to rebel, regardless of whether they get the votes or not, they can physically destroy the traitors if they turn around.

This is also the source of his confidence.

Everyone in the hall, look at me and I look at you.

The chairman was a little embarrassed, and he winked hard at the entourage behind Old Henry.

The attendant understood what the chairman meant.

He walked to the old man's side and opened the documents on the table for him.

Henry Dupont glanced at the entourage beside him.

He was dissatisfied with this man's self-assertion.

But when he glanced at the contents of the document, he frowned:

Roswell Gunpowder Company gained 10 votes after joining the association

"Who planned this?" Old Henry picked up the documents on the table and asked everyone in the conference hall.

The voice was not loud, but there was a hint of anger.

He looked at the chairman: "Did you plan it?"

The chairman shook his head like a rattle.

Even if I beat him to death, I wouldn’t dare to do this!

"I made it up."

Old Hadzer bowed, looked at Henry Dupont, and said.

The conference hall instantly became very quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Old Henry stared at his old partner.

If looks could kill, old Hadzer would be dead by now.

He never expected that this person who usually seemed submissive would stab him in the back.

Hadzer was not at all afraid of the murderous gaze opposite him, he said slowly:

"You are also acquiring the equity of my company privately, right?"

Henry Dupont is irrefutable because he actually did it.

But can I keep a company on an equal footing with myself? Isn’t it normal for the weak to prey on the strong?

Hudser's eyes continued to meet old Henry's eyes.

He continued:

"Henry, black powder is about to be eliminated. The saltpeter market is monopolized by the British, and two-thirds of the goods from them have to be peeled off by Rockefeller's Mobil Company. Our profits have been reduced to nothing.

Down!"

Among the representatives of other companies in the hall, some were discussing, while others were silent and seemed to remain neutral.

This is a rebellion!

Old Henry didn't have much flesh left, and his cheeks, which had no elasticity, began to tremble.

"Then let's vote on the bids!"

What future? What saltpeter? So high-sounding! You obviously want to bring someone into the game to rebel! Does that Chinese businessman have the qualifications?

"Then let's vote!"

He stood up:

"If you agree with this proposal, please raise your hands!"

Old Hadzer raised his hand.

Several small companies also slowly raised their hands.

The representative of the California company remained motionless;

Other small companies are still hesitant.

"three!"

"two!"

Old Henry hadn't said the last "one" yet.

The door of the conference hall was suddenly pushed open.

A man walked in, and with him came his hearty laughter: