Rise of the Argentine Empire

In the afternoon, Saint Herse was reading in the study of Morton Manor. The manor villa had a relatively trendy decoration style and looked good, with many modern facilities and household appliances.

He took out a bottle of glass-bottled Coca-Cola, the 'happy water,' from the refrigerator and gulped down a few mouthfuls, feeling refreshed.

"It would be nice to have air conditioning. The summers in America are also hot, even a bit hotter than in Argentina."

Saint Herse continued to read books and newspapers, arranging the development plans for these companies. New York's resources were too prosperous, and the prices weren't expensive. Saint Herse felt a sense of contentment, thinking it was much better than Argentina.

Morton Manor, despite being called a manor, was actually just a large villa, unlike Saint Herse's manor in Argentina.

After all, even in Queens, the price of a large manor was quite expensive, and he didn't want to spend too much money and be too high-profile. Blackwater security employees spent most of their time training at the training ground at 16 Christopher Street.

Anna helped him purchase hundreds of books, and he also moved his residence from the hotel to Morton Manor. Except for going to Boston to pass the time, Saint Herse would likely spend most of the next two to three months in New York.

Therefore, a good living environment was essential, not only needing to be comfortable but also ensuring safety.

Morton Manor wouldn't be too far from Manhattan. Whether it was dealing with futures or investment companies, he didn't plan to come forward personally, letting the new company and Sequoia handle it.

Now, Buda University in Argentina had already started classes. With Powell in charge of the New Youth League, everything was progressing steadily. He also wanted to see if the various companies in Argentina could operate normally without him for a few months.

If they proved to be incapable, then their abilities were indeed lacking. At that time, he would probably have to replace some people. Since coming to America and seeing these Americans, he had become somewhat dissatisfied with the personnel in Argentina. The companies in Argentina were too comfortable and lacked competition.

Saint Herse had witnessed the fierce competition in America just on Wall Street. No wonder American companies at this time were the most competitive in the world. They were desperately expanding and had already begun to globalize.

As for Saint Herse's companies, except for Prairie International and Thunder Mining, the others were flowers in a greenhouse, well-protected by him. He was considering whether to let them face foreign competition directly and give them greater autonomy, even though this might lead to them breaking away from his control in the future.

Companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola were developing very quickly this year, while Prairie Food's Mirinda soda, in fact, didn't achieve its expected goals this year. It wasn't a product problem but a lack of direct international competition. He believed Mirinda was no worse than Coca-Cola.

On October 2nd, Saint Herse, along with Anna and several Delta Force personnel, set off for Boston. While boarding the train at New York's train station, he was attracted by the Republican candidate Eisenhower's broadcast campaign speech. He had seen in the newspapers these days that Eisenhower was currently at a severe disadvantage, with far lower approval ratings than Adlai.

It made Saint Herse wonder if American history had inadvertently changed. Could Eisenhower fail? That would be troublesome. Could the little butterfly in Argentina be starting to affect the Americans?

Saint Herse momentarily felt a cold sweat. However, as he listened to Eisenhower's new speech, he caught some unusual things. It seemed Eisenhower was changing his campaign strategy, and everything should still be on time. There was still half the election time left.

Eisenhower's political path was actually a sudden change in style, but with a large number of financial groups supporting him, his public support was still very high. The Democratic Party was also very powerful, with not only Truman but also a group of big shots, as well as Adlai, a person with high prestige.

If he had to choose, he would still choose Eisenhower. This person's political level was relatively weak, and his basic policy direction for the next eight years was still very clear: prosperity in the first four years and some arrogance in the last four years.

This was also a baptism for him. Many famous American presidents had already begun to emerge in American politics, including Kennedy and Nixon, these future big figures in America.

The 28-year-old Bush was opening an oil company. He was already a famous young wealthy man. After retiring from the military, he studied at Yale University, and the oil company was currently doing well. In a few years, he might abandon business for politics and run for Congress.

The 41-year-old Reagan was currently a very famous movie star in Hollywood, California. In his acting career, he was already middle-aged, and there was no sign of him having political ambitions. There were many posters of Reagan on the road, and it had to be admitted that Reagan was indeed very handsome when he was young.

The 35-year-old Kennedy was already a famous rising political star in America. If there were no accidents, he would become the future President of the United States at the age of 43.

As for the 39-year-old Nixon, he was already running for Vice President, talking and laughing with Eisenhower. This guy indeed had a talent for political performance.

In this election, Eisenhower was initially at a disadvantage, with the vote gap with his opponent widening. Now, everyone thought he had no chance, and some people in his campaign team had even suggested abandoning the election.

Eisenhower remained unmoved. He was now adjusting his strategy in time, using his strength as a "World War II hero" to focus on attacking his opponent's weakness of "evading military service." The discussions in the next carriage were also very interesting.

New York State had many famous universities, with an open mind and a prevailing atmosphere of liberalism. It had always been a staunch follower of the Democratic Party, but now it was starting to support a Republican candidate, which surprised many people. It seemed Truman had indeed deeply hurt the economically developed areas. This damned war.

"Powerful historical inertia, but I like it. Eisenhower is still very promising."

The three debaters included a middle-aged man wearing a cowboy hat, an old man, and a young guy in a suit. Their debate and argument were very interesting.

"I've decided to vote for Eisenhower. We need to end the Korean War, we need tax cuts! We already participated in World War II, why do we still have to participate in a boring war? Even the Soviets are laughing at us. Truman should step down as soon as possible."

The cowboy hat man said excitedly. He came to New York from Dallas, Texas, but could only find a lousy job with a salary of less than $100. Now, he planned to try his luck in Boston.

He boasted and added. In fact, he was a freshman at Columbia University at the time and never shook hands with Eisenhower, but when arguing and debating with people, he certainly had to boast more to strengthen his position, especially young people.

"Let's forget about that. Wasn't he pushed up by the people from IBM? He didn't do anything!"

The old man dismissed it. He supported the Democratic Party, but Truman's policies were indeed disappointing.

"But he brought in a lot of sponsorships for Columbia University, and I was a student back then. He also liked to watch ball games. How could someone like that have bad intentions!"

The young man wasn't convinced and muttered, continuing to speak.

"Besides, he defeated the Germans! You Germans are just losers! I'm definitely voting for him! You Germans aren't qualified to talk about General Eisenhower, or President Eisenhower!"

The middle-aged man interjected,

"He's a war maniac and will definitely start other wars. You can tell from his memoirs."

"You're just jealous… Did you hear the broadcast just now? That guy Eisenhower never even served in the military. How can someone like that resist Stalin, that war maniac?"

"I think Nixon would be good as Vice President. That guy is against the Soviets and he's young. Young people have vigor. Stalin probably won't live for many more years, hopefully."

The old man then spoke about Nixon. He admired Nixon's opposition to the Soviets. The Red Soviets were too terrifying.

"Let me tell you a true story. When Lenin was about to pass away, he called Stalin over and said with concern, 'After I'm gone, you must treat the people well, or they won't follow you!' Stalin smiled and said, 'I've already come up with a solution. If they don't follow me, they'll follow you!'"

After the old man finished speaking, the car was silent. Seeing that no one else was talking, he continued.

Saint Hynes listened to these Soviet jokes, unsure what to think. But Stalin's prestige was indeed too high, putting a lot of pressure on people. And Eisenhower had great military achievements, so they believed that only someone like that could resist a Soviet invasion.

"Alright, then I'll vote for Eisenhower too. At least I don't like a softie who's afraid to serve in the military. I participated in World War I and fought the Germans. I'm also voting for Nixon. I like that guy."

"Old Will, then you're one of us."

"Haha…"

Saint Hynes watched these Americans debate about the president and found it quite interesting, but they soon got off the train, which was a bit of a shame.

Americans really like to discuss politics, and they're quite knowledgeable. After the Korean War ends, there'll be the Vietnam War, but that will be during Eisenhower's second term, right?

…

This year in July, at the Republican * * * * * *, Eisenhower was nominated as the presidential candidate. To win the election and appease the conservatives led by Taft, he nominated Nixon as the vice-presidential candidate. Nixon is the current US Senator, 39 years old this year, and has a good reputation for his strong opposition to the Soviet Union.

During World War II, Eisenhower's outstanding achievements and easy-going personality earned him great prestige in the military and among the American people.

A poll in 1947 showed that if he was willing, both parties would nominate him as their presidential candidate, but this year he finally chose the Republican Party.

While Eisenhower was serving in Europe, his supporters continued to create public opinion in the United States, using the newspapers, radio stations, and other propaganda tools they controlled to promote him.

Some capitalists with connections to international finance, especially those with close ties to Western Europe, were particularly active in supporting his movement.

Saint Hynes has always been most concerned about the United States, Argentina's strongest and most formidable opponent. He wasn't very familiar with presidential elections. Now, presidential elections in Argentina aren't very formal. Perón is, after all, a cunning boy, and the Radical Civic Union's failure last year was indeed normal.

This year, the domestic political and economic situation in the United States is not good. Because Truman plunged the United States into the quagmire of the Korean War, taxes increased, the cost of living soared, and the post-war economic boom no longer existed. The American people were dissatisfied with the government and pinned their hopes on the Republican Party. After several secret negotiations behind the scenes, Eisenhower finally joined the Republican Party.

On the Democratic side, due to Truman's second term, McCarthyism, the Korean War, and frequent scandals in the US government, Truman announced his abandonment of re-election this year and sought out his successor.

The person he found was Adlai Stevenson, the Governor of Illinois.

Initially, Adlai was unwilling to run, but the Democratic Party put a lot of effort into persuading him to come forward. The Democratic National Committee chose Chicago, an important city in Illinois, as the location for the National Convention. Adlai's speech at the opening ceremony of the convention was also praised by many people.

With Vice President Barkley announcing that he would not run, Adlai became the Democratic bigwigs' last hope. Under the continuous persuasion of Truman and several governors, Adlai announced his candidacy at the Democratic Convention and was successfully nominated. Adlai chose Senator Sparkman of Alabama as his running mate to avoid further division within the Democratic Party.

Eisenhower has now begun his vigorous campaign, and compared to Adlai, his advantage is not obvious, and may even be at a clear disadvantage.

His campaign started in the South, and the force supporting the campaign is very influential.

The Rockefeller, Morgan, Chesebrough, and Mellon consortia all favored him because his post-war policy proposals of expanding military preparations and expanding outwards were in line with the interests of the big consortia.

The first person to come out and recommend him was Thomas John Watson, the general manager of International Business Machines (IBM). This person was very influential in the American financial world and had served as a director of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company.

Also supporting him were Aldrich, the head of the Rockefeller consortium and chairman of Chase Bank, and Perkins, the chairman of Equitable Life Assurance Society.

Saint Hynes also casually looked at the campaign newspapers. The presidential election was almost halfway over. Presidential campaigns generally last about 8 weeks. Eisenhower announced his candidacy on September 2, but in terms of approval ratings, he was still not as good as Adlai's team.

But he was only watching how these Americans campaigned. The United States mainly has the Republican and Democratic parties, and other parties are not worth mentioning. This is completely different from Argentina.

Argentina has too many messy parties, and they are not strong.

"Anna, what do you think of this election?"

Saint Hynes intended to ask Anna for her opinion.

"I think it doesn't matter who comes to power. It's all about the same anyway. Our lives won't change much."

"Okay, then."

More than three hours later, Saint Hynes got off the train at South Station in Boston.

As soon as he arrived in Boston, he felt a completely different feeling from New York. Chaos, yes, it was chaos.

South Station in Boston is located at Dewey Square at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street. As soon as he got off the train, he saw several shootings and robberies, and the police department was late to clean up the aftermath.

Yes, gang warfare, in broad daylight. It can be seen that Boston's public security is far inferior to New York's, no wonder it is one of the strongholds of the Mafia.

"This is the real America, shootings every day."

Saint Hynes felt that his thoughts had finally become clear.

Boston is the capital and largest city of Massachusetts, and also the largest city in the New England region of northeastern United States.