A week had passed since Knickerbocker Bank was ordered to suspend operations.
During this week, the regulatory committee's investigation and the clearinghouse association's audit, like two relentless meat grinders, thoroughly crushed Sterling and his already rotten bank into fragments.
Friday morning.
Wall Street, Patriot Investment Company's office.
Tom Hayes placed the latest New York Daily in front of Felix Argyle.
The front page of the newspaper, in the most prominent typeface, announced the final outcome of the storm.
"Boss, Sterling has been formally indicted. Knickerbocker Bank has been declared completely bankrupt, and the state government has appointed attorney Thompson as the bank's bankruptcy trustee!"
Although Hayes's tone tried hard to appear calm, his excitement was still hard to conceal.
"At the same time, the exchange also issued a final announcement: Knickerbocker Bank's stock will resume trading at 10 AM today. Trading will only last for one hour, which is the last chance for all relevant parties to liquidate their positions. After one hour, its name will disappear from the exchange's blackboard forever."
"Very good." Felix Argyle, hearing the satisfactory news, nodded with a smile, "Notify our people to prepare to clean up the battlefield."
10 AM, New York Stock Exchange.
When the opening bell rang.
In the center of the trading floor, on the huge blackboard, the price next to Knickerbocker Bank's name was repeatedly written by the recorder with chalk, crossed out from the ten dollars before the suspension, and new, continuously falling numbers were written.
Until fifteen cents.
The entire hall erupted in an uproar.
"Shit, sell! Sell it quickly! Get back whatever you can."
"Who would buy? Who would buy something worse than waste paper now!"
"Fuck your mother Sterling, you son of a bitch, give me back my money!"
"Holy crap, I swear I'm going to take out Sterling with my Colt, that damned bastard!"
Just as the trading floor was in an uproar, the brokers Hayes had placed in the exchange began to act.
"I have a buy order for Knickerbocker Bank, fifteen cents, I'll take a thousand shares."
"We're buying here too, fourteen cents, however much you have."
They were like a flock of vultures, patiently waiting for the corpse to rot before swooping down to feast.
In the office, Hayes was continuously receiving battle reports from the front line via messenger.
"Boss," he reported to Felix Argyle.
"Everything is going smoothly; the market is frantically selling, and we are almost the only buyers. We are repurchasing the shares we borrowed earlier at a price almost equivalent to picking up trash."
An hour later, the closing bell rang again.
The name Knickerbocker Bank was completely erased from the exchange's blackboard.
An era ended.
And another new era was being born in Felix Argyle's office.
Catherine held a ledger that had just completed its final calculation; her hands were slightly trembling.
"Boss," her voice trembled due to excessive shock, "I... I'm done calculating."
"Oh? Tell me."
"Previously, as per your instructions, with a margin of three hundred thousand dollars, we borrowed a total of six hundred thousand dollars worth of stock. That's sixty thousand shares."
"We shorted them at an average price of ten dollars, obtaining six hundred thousand dollars in cash."
"And this morning," she continued, "we bought back the same quantity of sixty thousand shares in the market at an average price of seventeen cents. The total cost was ten thousand two hundred dollars."
"All interest and commissions paid to the brokerage firm totaled three thousand five hundred."
She looked at Felix Argyle, taking a deep breath.
"So, Boss, the final net profit of our operation..."
"Is five hundred eighty-six thousand three hundred dollars."
This figure was too shocking.
After a brief moment of surprise, Hayes added: "The bank and brokerage firm that held the pledged margin have also sent their final settlement statements. They deducted a total of thirty thousand dollars in high interest and risk fees from our three hundred thousand dollar margin. Interestingly, some brokers proactively approached us, allowing us to buy back the shares that should have been returned to them at current prices, which is why we completed the sixty thousand shares so quickly."
"Finally, they will refund us two hundred seventy thousand dollars."
Catherine wrote the last number in the ledger.
She looked up at Felix Argyle, announcing the final funds.
"Including the one hundred thousand dollars we retained, the refunded margin, and all the profit from this operation. The total available liquid funds in Patriot Investment Company's account are now..."
"Nine hundred fifty-six thousand three hundred dollars."
"If you include the funds from various companies, it can be said that your liquid capital has steadily surpassed one million dollars."
Millionaire.
In 1862 America, a status sufficient to make anyone turn their head and compel any power to take notice.
And it was liquid capital, not fixed assets.
Felix Argyle went from a poor boy with seventy-five dollars to today's magnate with over a million dollars in liquid capital.
He only took less than two years.
"Very good." Felix Argyle's face finally showed the most relaxed smile he had had in a while.
"A perfect victory."
He looked at his team.
"Everyone worked hard; the bonus for this month is one thousand dollars per person."
"Thank you, Boss!" Johnny was so excited he almost jumped.
After a brief moment of excitement, Hayes had already begun to think about the next step.
"Boss, what should we do next? Should we continue to look for the next Knickerbocker?"
Felix Argyle directly shook his head, rejecting Hayes's idea.
"We have enough money now, at least for the time being. Now, it's time to use this money to do something proper."
After all, earning over five hundred thousand dollars in one go was already quite eye-catching in this era.
He then looked at Catherine.
"Catherine, that Orianna Argyle Health Foundation. I need you to formally register it.
Take fifty thousand dollars from our profits as its initial funding, fulfilling our promise to the Peterson family.
Additionally, find two more respectable families in need of help, just like theirs. Our reputation must be as clean as our canned goods."
"I understand, Boss." Catherine nodded.
Felix Argyle then turned his gaze to Hayes, who was standing by, and gave him instructions.
"Tom, contact that bankruptcy trustee, attorney Thompson."
"Tell him. I, Felix Argyle, am very interested in what he has in his hands."
"I want to buy the legacy of Knickerbocker Bank."
"That banking license and the building on Wall Street, as well as the high-quality receivables that can still be honored."
Hayes was a bit hesitant; this wouldn't be easy. Private sales could easily lead to accusations, and the price would certainly not be as high as a public auction.
"Boss, he won't agree."
Felix Argyle smiled and patted the old man's shoulder, speaking with an indifferent tone.
"I know he will choose a public auction."
"But there's no harm in trying; we won't lose anything anyway. What if he agrees?"
Tom Hayes returned, a trace of anticipated helplessness on his face.
He walked into the Patriot Investment Company office, shook his head at Felix who was reading the newspaper, "Boss, as expected, our private acquisition offer was rejected."
"Oh?"
"That lawyer, Thompson, is a thoroughly old-fashioned man," Hayes said. "He said that after the announcement of the bank's assets for disposition was released, his office was practically overrun by vultures from all over Wall Street."
"He also said that to be responsible to those poor depositors, he must determine the final ownership of these assets through the most open and transparent public auction."
Catherine added from the side, "Thompson must do this to avoid any accusations of private dealings."
"Of course I know that's reasonable." Felix put down the newspaper and chuckled.
"Didn't I say that sending Hayes was just a test?"
"It's nothing, isn't this more interesting? A public competition is sometimes much more interesting than a private transaction."
Felix's eyes sparkled with the excitement of a chess player seeing a complex board.
He turned to look at Flynn, the head of intelligence, who had just rushed over from the factory.
"Flynn, how did your task go?"
"It's done, Boss."
Flynn placed a new intelligence report on Felix's desk.
"As you instructed, we utilized all our intelligence networks. We have basically identified the main opponents at this auction."
"Tell me, which greedy sharks have smelled blood?"
"There are two main forces," Flynn reported.
"The first is Silas Thorne."
Hayes snorted at the name.
"Thorne. That market vulture who has no faith other than money," he commented.
"I guess what he wants must be Knickerbocker Bank's loan portfolios. He likes to buy a ten-dollar bond for five dollars, then send his lawyers and thugs, who are fiercer than hellhounds, to collect that ten dollars with principal and interest. This is his specialty, a man-eating game."
"Exactly right." Flynn nodded. "Our informants have confirmed it. Thorne has organized a dedicated assessment team that is analyzing Knickerbocker's loan ledger. His objective is very clear."
"Very good," Felix said. "So, what about the second force? Who is it?"
"It's a young man, Boss." Flynn's tone became a bit lighter. "A young man who has recently emerged on Wall Street."
"His name is Morgan, John Pierpont Morgan."
Hayes paused at the name, searching his memory carefully.
"Morgan... Pierpont..." He suddenly remembered, "Oh! Is that Junius Morgan's kid? The young agent who looks after his New York business?"
"That's him, sir," Flynn confirmed. "He just opened his own small company under his father's name a year ago. He's always been very low-key."
"However," Flynn added, "our people got very reliable information from inside the New York Bank. Just three days ago, a huge sum of money, amounting to two hundred thousand dollars, was wired from 'George Peabody & Co.' in London to J.P. Morgan's account in New York."
Hayes said knowingly, "It seems Old Morgan in London smelled blood. He's sent his son with British capital to fish in our New York pond."
"What does he want?" Felix asked.
"What he wants should be different from Thorne," Flynn replied.
"His people have been evaluating Knickerbocker Bank's building in the heart of Wall Street these past few days, as well as that valuable banking license."
"An ambitious man," Catherine made her judgment.
"He wants to use this opportunity to establish a real base for himself and for the family behind him on Wall Street."
The office fell silent for a moment.
One was Wall Street's most ruthless local speculator.
The other was a young ambitious man representing European capital.
Felix's opponents had, for the first time, become so powerful and so clear.
"Interesting."
Felix finally spoke. There was no fear on his face, but rather an excitement, as if he had met his match.
"One wants the past. One wants the future. And I want the entire bank."
He stood up.
"Since the opponents' cards are on the table, our tactics should also be clear."
He looked at Hayes.
"Tom, at the auction, when those loan portfolios start to be auctioned, I need you to have a good time with Thorne."
"You mean?"
"Bid, compete fiercely with him. Drive the price up relentlessly."
A sly glint flashed in Felix's eyes.
"We will make him pay the price of a luxurious dinner for his lunch. We will deplete some of his valuable cash. But in the end, we will gracefully yield that lunch to him."
"I understand, Boss." Hayes smiled. "You want him to win face but lose substance."
"Exactly." Felix nodded. "All our funds and energy will be concentrated on the last two true spoils of war."
"That building and that license."
"We will engage in the most direct and pure capital competition with that young heir of the Morgan family."
Catherine raised one last crucial question.
"Boss, Mr. Hayes said that Morgan has London capital behind him. Do we really have a chance in a financial contest?"
Felix looked at her and smiled.
"My dear Catherine, it's true that Morgan has his father's money. But why wouldn't I have money? He only has two hundred thousand, but I hold nine hundred and fifty thousand in cash."
"Moreover, I also have a massive factory that generates thousands of dollars in profit for me every day."
"His money is static, wired across the Atlantic. But my money is alive, created by our own hands on this land."
Felix walked to the window, took a deep puff of his cigar, the smoke swirling in his mouth before he exhaled, making his handsome face appear hazy.
Looking at Wall Street in the distance, he mused to himself.
"He's as young as I am, very good."
"Let me see."
"Are you as formidable as you were in history?"
At the New York Merchants Exchange, in the old auction hall normally used only for commodity auctions, it was standing room only today.
Almost every prominent figure on Wall Street was there.
They weren't there for an ordinary auction, but rather a group of the most astute vultures, coming to feast on the carcass of a recently fallen whale.
"Look, it's Silas Thorne," a young reporter in the crowd whispered to his senior colleague beside him. "I heard he prepared at least one hundred thousand dollars in cash for today."
"Of course he would come," the old reporter scoffed, curling his lip. "Those loans Sterling left behind are like honey-coated poison. Only a guy like Thorne, who isn't afraid of a stomachache, would dare to swallow them."
"And over there," the young reporter pointed in another direction. "Who is that young man? He looks about my age."
"You don't even know him?" the old reporter lowered his voice. "That's J.P. Morgan, Junius Morgan's only son. London capital's spokesman in New York. Don't let his youth fool you; he's the real big buyer today."
Felix did not make a personal appearance.
He and Catherine were sitting in a private box on the second floor of the auction hall, overlooking the entire venue.
Tom Hayes was representing him.
"Boss," Hayes said calmly, before going down, "everyone is here. A good show is about to begin."
"Alright, Tom, you go first."
At ten in the morning, the auction began promptly.
The bankruptcy trustee, Attorney Thompson, personally served as the auctioneer.
"Gentlemen."
His voice, amplified by the excellent acoustics of the auction hall, reached everyone's ears.
"Today, we are auctioning all the remaining assets of the bankrupt Knickerbocker Bank. For fairness, we will conduct the auction in batches."
"The first batch is the bank's loan portfolio, with a total nominal value of two hundred thousand dollars, starting bid twenty thousand dollars."
"I bid twenty-five thousand!" Silas Thorne's agent was the first to raise his paddle.
"Thirty thousand," Hayes's voice rang out, unhurriedly.
"Thirty-five thousand!" Thorne's man immediately followed suit.
A fierce bidding war, long anticipated, had begun.
Hayes strictly followed Felix's instructions; he was like a spoiler.
Each time, just when Thorne was sure to win, he would nonchalantly add another thousand dollars.
He constantly provoked Thorne's anger, and also wore down his patience and cash.
Finally, when the price was driven up to fifty thousand dollars.
"Fifty thousand dollars! Mr. Thorne bids fifty thousand dollars!"
Hayes smiled and put down his paddle.
Thorne "won" the first batch of spoils at a price exceeding his expectations, but his face was still filled with the joy of victory.
In the box, Felix also showed a triumphant smile.
In the subsequent auctions of several minor assets, Hayes used the same trick.
He successfully made Thorne pay nearly twenty thousand dollars extra for a pile of office furniture and several problematic claims.
"Alright," Felix said, "the appetizers are done. Notify Hayes to prepare for the main course."
When Attorney Thompson announced the auction of the bank's headquarters building, located in the core of Wall Street, everyone in the auction hall began to rub their fists in anticipation.
"The Knickerbocker Bank headquarters building, including the ownership of the land beneath it. Starting bid, fifty thousand dollars."
"Seventy-five thousand dollars," an emotionless voice echoed through the auction hall.
That was J.P. Morgan's agent.
With that single bid, he immediately raised the price to a level that deterred all small players.
All eyes in the room focused on the other two potential buyers.
After the previous expenditures, Thorne's cash flow was already a bit tight. He hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head helplessly.
Now, only two people remained at the table.
Hayes and Morgan.
"Eighty thousand dollars," Hayes calmly raised his paddle.
"One hundred thousand."
"One hundred and eleven thousand."
"One hundred and twelve thousand."
The price steadily climbed between their bids, each increment like a silent probe.
In the box on the second floor.
"Felix," Catherine's voice was a bit tense, "Morgan seems determined to win. Are we going to fight a war of attrition with him?"
"No," Felix shook his head. "I'm going to fight a war of annihilation."
When the price climbed to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Morgan's agent raised his paddle again.
The entire auction hall waited for Hayes's next bid.
But this time, Hayes looked towards the box on the second floor.
Felix slowly made a pre-arranged gesture to him.
Hayes took a deep breath.
He stood up and said in a clear and resonant voice.
"Two hundred thousand dollars."
This figure exploded in everyone's ears like a bomb.
Everyone looked at Hayes with the eyes of someone seeing a madman.
This was no longer bidding.
This was a declaration of capital crushing, full of humiliation.
Morgan's agent was also stunned. He looked back at his young master, who had been sitting silently in the back row.
J.P. Morgan's still somewhat youthful face showed no expression.
He looked at Hayes, then glanced at the box Hayes had just looked towards.
Everyone on Wall Street now knew who Hayes belonged to.
The other party was showing him muscle.
Morgan was silent for a moment, then finally shook his head gently at his agent.
He was proud, true enough.
But he was not a foolish gambler.
"Bang!"
The auctioneer's gavel fell heavily.
"Sold!"
That evening, in Felix's hotel suite.
"Boss," Hayes's face was filled with the joy of victory, "we won, though the cost was considerable. That building and that license cost us a total of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars."
"The money was well spent, Tom," Felix said. "My bank will have a substantial base. And we've sent our first greeting to all of Wall Street."