Meng Shaoyuan burned the check in front of Fabio.

Fabio was not surprised at all, it seemed that Meng Shao would have done this.

Citibank Manila branch will not be reopened for long.

Even when Manila was at its most glorious, which bank could immediately come up with a million dollars?

Besides, what kind of person is someone who can write a check for a million dollars casually?

If such a big shot suddenly appears, then it must not be for money.

But, to tell the person in charge here that your big customer, your food, clothing, and parents are here!

Therefore, Fabio is not worried about this million dollars at all.

"Dear Mr. Charles."

Fabio never called the other party "Colonel" because it meant that Meng Shaoyuan was their most distinguished customer: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Whose are those six rooms?" Meng Shaoyuan stopped talking in circles.

"Ah, are you talking about the six houses that were just built?" Fabio understood immediately: "Those belong to Mr. Cavelli Stanrockley."

Meng Shaoyuan frowned: "Who is that?"

He had never heard of this name.

"A very low-key man who few people in Manila have even heard of, but who has a lot of wealth and a lot of power."

Obviously, Fabio is very clear about this: "He doesn't like to be known to too many people, preferring to hide behind the scenes and control everything. You also know, Mr. Charles, there are many big families in the Philippines, and these big families in the Philippines

I think you also know the energy of the family. However, the Stan Rockley family is not among these big families.

However, this family has existed since the Spanish ruled the Philippines and maintained good relations with the Spanish. Later, when the Americans came, he quickly gained the favor of the Americans. Hiding behind the scenes, he

I have done a lot of things for Americans.

The land in Manila is very valuable, but no matter how valuable or rare the land is, the Stan Rockley family always has a way to get it. The smartest thing about them is that they never come forward directly, but use agents. Therefore, there is no way to get it.

How many people know that these lands belong to the Stan Rockley family.

Before the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Kaveri Stanrockley had already left the Philippines with his family members in advance. After the Japanese occupied the Philippines, the strange thing was that most of the Stanrockley family's properties in the Philippines were gone.

been destroyed."

"This is not surprising." Meng Shaoyuan said lightly: "There must be a secret deal between them and the Japanese, and the reward is that the Japanese will not touch the Stan Rockley family's industry."

"Yes." Fabio said, "We are in the banking industry. Every time we open a branch in a place, we always try to find out as much as possible about local things. We are the same in Manila."

of course.

In this era, the banking industry will always be the most powerful class in the local area.

Who wants to offend the banking industry?

Especially European and American banks.

This is a class that absolutely cannot afford to offend!

Therefore, others may not know about local things, but the banking industry must have a way to find out.

Fabio continued: "After the Japanese occupied the Philippines, they urgently needed to search for the local wealth. They must find out in the shortest possible time who controls the local wealth and where to start. If it is you

what will you do?"

Meng Shaoyuan smiled: "If it were me, of course I would send someone to find Kaveri and propose conditions to him to preserve the Stan Rockley family's properties across the Philippines in exchange for his cooperation. Since the Stan Rockley family has been operating in the Philippines for many years,

You must know the local situation well.

The Japanese gave up a Stan Rockley family, but they were able to get more wealth. As for the Stan Rockley family, they were able to preserve their own family's wealth, and the others had nothing to do with them. To be honest, it was a win-win situation.

Cooperation."

Fabio nodded: "Yes, Mr. Charles. A win-win situation. After the Japanese army was defeated, Cavelli sent people back to Manila as soon as possible to inspect and restore the family's property.

They still use an agent method, and they still maintain a low profile and secrecy. It is said that behind them, they are supported by the Detroit consortium."

Detroit Consortium?

Meng Shaoyuan curled his lips disdainfully.

In addition to the eight major consortiums, there are also some minor consortiums in the United States, such as the Dillon-Reed Consortium, the Brown Brothers-Harriman Consortium, and the Ford Consortium.

The Detroit Consortium is just a smaller local consortium.

Such a consortium, with Meng Shaoyuan's current strength, would not offend them unless necessary, but he really didn't put it in his eyes.

Of course, if you think about it again, the Stanrockley family can cling to the Detroit consortium and run away in the Philippines.

Fabio did not try to guess what Meng Shaoyuan was thinking: "Sir, Americans have privileges in the Philippines. Therefore, with the support of the Detroit Consortium, the Stan Rockley family has made very smooth progress in restoring the family industry.

President Osmina also showed great support to them. Not only did he unconditionally return all their previous properties to them, but he also handed over many ownerless properties to them. This was the case for the six houses.

Previously, the owners of these six houses belonged to the Girard family. However, before the Japanese colonized Manila, the Girard family had completely surrendered to the Japanese and became traitors. After the Battle of Manila broke out, the Girard family

The family was actually massacred by the Japanese.

The Girard family suffered a heavy blow. After the liberation of Manila, the remaining members of the Girard family were arrested. At this point, the family was destroyed. And the industries they left behind were all taken over by the Stan Rockley family.

."

Well, that's really something.

Meng Shaoyuan was pondering there.

I am basically not interested in business matters and leave everything to Peng Bilan and Coston to handle.

Therefore, he has basically no contacts with the Manila business community.

The Stan Rockley family has always been very low-key.

President Osimina supports the Stan Rockley family, but he will not report these matters to Meng Shaoyuan.

Perhaps the Stan Rockley family was very powerful in Manila, but that was before the Japanese army attacked the Philippines, and such a family was not even in Meng Shaoyuan's eyes.

Fabio suddenly smiled: "Sir, there are too many such families in the Philippines. They are intricate and complex. Even if you have lived in the Philippines for decades, you may not be able to know all of them. Therefore, you have not heard of them.

The Stan Rockley family is also very normal."

Meng Shaoyuan nodded.

With the spread of Confucian culture and Islamic civilization in the Philippines, the authority of Filipino parents has been enhanced with the support of these two cultures. Family networks have become increasingly dense, extending and penetrating into all areas of Philippine society through blood relationships and marriage relationships.

During more than three hundred years of Spanish colonial rule, the feudal landlord land ownership system in the Philippines began to prevail, cultivating a group of powerful families with political privileges and socially unequal master-slave dependency relationships. This laid the foundation.

After the Spanish-American War, the United States succeeded Spain in ruling the Philippines for nearly half a century. The so-called "Americanization" is to replace the Spanish feudal autocratic colonial system with an American-style democratic political system, and then fully control the Philippines politically, economically, and culturally.

In the electoral model designed by the United States for the Philippines, the right to vote is only enjoyed by a small number of Western-educated and property-owning privileged classes. Philippine elections have been dominated by a small number of landowning families from the beginning, forming a system that formally follows democratic procedures but essentially relies on nepotism.

Electoral System.

What is even more tragic is that the vast majority of ordinary people are completely excluded from this "Americanized" political system and do not even have the most basic right to vote.

In the Philippines, there are a total of 250 hereditary political families.

Who can figure out all these families?

"Citibank still has a lot of dealings with the Stan Rockley family." Fabio did not hide anything: "They have opened several accounts with us, and there is a large amount of funds exchanged every year.

Previously, representatives of Kaveri also visited me in person and stated their intention to continue to deepen cooperation. Just three days ago, Kaveri also returned to Manila and visited me. Although the conversation lasted

It was relatively short-lived, but still enjoyable.”

Meng Shaoyuan roughly understood: "Mr. Livingston, I have taken a fancy to those six houses."

"Ah, so that's it." Fabio finally understood Meng Shaoyuan's true purpose: "I think you can talk to Cavelli."

"Then I need to ask you to arrange a meeting between me and Kaveri, okay?"

"What's the problem?" Fabio said disapprovingly: "Don't forget, we are Americans. No matter how influential the Stan Rockley family is in Manila, they cannot do without the support of Americans. Please wait."

He walked out.

After waiting for a while, he came back again: "I called Kaveri, and he will come here to visit us in person in half an hour."

Taking advantage of this time, Fabio brought up a topic again.

At the end of the 19th century, with the rise of bourgeois revolutions in Europe and the United States and the awakening of national consciousness in the Philippines, the Philippine independence war movement reached a new climax. At that time, Bonifacio, who was born as an urban civilian, established the secret revolutionary organization "Carty".

Punan".

Afterwards, the "Katipunan" took the route of nationalization and absorbed leaders from local prominent families such as Aguinaldo.

By 1898, when the Spanish colonists were pressing forward militarily, a split occurred within the revolutionary camp. This split was caused by the internal struggle for the supreme leadership of the revolution within the "Katipunan". The focus of the struggle was whether to form another revolutionary camp.

Government replaces Katipunan leadership.

On one side is the anti-colonial "gentry" faction represented by Aguinaldo, who comes from a distinguished family, and on the other side is the anti-colonial "cold" faction such as Bonifacio, who is born in the city. At this time, Aguinaldo has already

Conspiracy began to reorganize the "Katipunan" as the prototype of the central government.

In 1897, the Spanish colonists who replaced the governor launched a more violent attack on Pola Vieja and Cavite. The Spanish general Lachabre keenly discovered the discord between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio, and he sent

A letter of surrender was issued, and was sent only to Aguinaldo.
To be continued...