Borrowing Money 3

Wilhelm's fingers lightly tapped the table as he looked at the envelope in front of him, unable to help but sigh.

The envelope contained forty bank drafts, each worth 5 million dollars, totaling a whopping 200 million dollars.

This was indeed a substantial sum of money, but Wilhelm still felt somewhat melancholic, considering it fell far short of his planned 500 million.

What to do? It was impossible for Kaiser Wilhelm II to contribute any more money, so where could he gather the remaining 300 million?

Wilhelm also couldn't possibly disclose the 1929 financial crisis that struck the United States to Kaiser Wilhelm II. If he did, there was a chance that Wilhelm II would consider him delusional, and not only would he demand the return of the 200 million dollars, but also sending him to a Mental hospital!

It's worth noting that during this period, the method of treating mental illness in Germany's medical field involved injecting insulin.

Yes, the same insulin used in the future to treat diabetes.

The insulin discovered in 1922 could hardly have imagined being used as a treatment for mental illness. After receiving high doses of insulin, psychiatric patients would usually become quiet and enter a coma. Isn't this just simple hypoglycemic shock? But in the eyes of the German doctor Manfred Sak, who invented this treatment, it meant the disappearance of psychiatric symptoms! This treatment method was even adopted by the most respected academic institutions in the United States and continued until the 1950s.

Wilhelm didn't want to be locked up in a mental institution, enduring a treatment that had a high mortality rate (10% fatality rate).

Should he just proceed with the 200 million? But he couldn't bear to waste this rare opportunity. If he acted wisely during this financial crisis, he could easily earn two or three times the profit. In other words, if he couldn't come up with the remaining 300 million, he would lose out on several billion dollars of guaranteed profit.

That's several billion dollars! Not just a few bucks or a few tens of bucks! With that several billion dollars, many of the plans he intended to implement would become much easier.

Moreover, if he missed this financial crisis, he would have to wait at least half a century for the next one. If history changed because of him, who knows when that would be?

Regardless of the method, he had to gather the full 500 million!!

After much thought, Wilhelm could only turn to his few trusted friends.

*****

When several playboys gathered together, they began to chat excitedly. "Damn, last time I thought there were only two secretaries, didn't expect you to have four." "Wow, you really hide beauties in your golden house." "Hey hey, those four are pretty, how about taking them out for a drink?"

Wilhelm couldn't help but roll his eyes at this group of rascals. "Shut up, I brought you here for an important matter. Are we not brothers?" All of them had been Wilhelm's childhood friends, although their backgrounds were quite interesting. Some came from ordinary capitalist families, while others were lower-level nobility in the Junker class.

The high-ranking nobles among the Junkers were all handled by Wilhelm's older brother, the former Crown Prince, and Wilhelm couldn't be bothered with those matters.

All six of them nodded without hesitation. "Of course."

Wilhelm pressed further. "If brothers are in trouble, will you help?"

Once again, they all responded in unison. "Of course we will!"

"Alright, I need a large sum of money right now."

As soon as money was mentioned, the group exchanged glances. They were all currently receiving allowances from their families and didn't have much money on hand. "Uh, how much?"

Wilhelm extended a finger. "At least 10 million dollars each."

As soon as the words left his mouth, they all exclaimed, "Holy shit."

10 million dollars is not a small amount, and their reaction was as expected. However, Fatty Baon remained silent, munching on an apple. Wilhelm couldn't help but wonder, "Baon, why don't you say something ?"

Baon swallowed the apple in his mouth and asked in return, "Uh, is 10 million dollars a lot?"

Wilhelm couldn't help but facepalm. He had forgotten that Baon wasn't particularly quick-witted. Baon's lack of reaction wasn't because 10 million dollars was a small amount to him; he simply had no concept of what 10 million dollars meant. Anton, who was nearby, explained, "Of course, it's a lot. Your dad bought that luxury car a few days ago for a little over ten thousand dollars. With 10 million dollars, you could buy a thousand of those cars."

"What?!" Baon nearly jumped up. "My dad hesitated for so long to buy just one car!"

Everyone fell silent, their faces expressing resignation. "If we remove those extra zeros, maybe we can help you out. But, Wilhelm, why do you need so much money?"

Wilhelm shook his head. He couldn't even tell his own grandfather, let alone them, about his plans. "Just gather as much as you can. I will repay this money by early 1930, with a minimum 10% profit."

Baon asked again, "What is the 10% profit on 10 million dollars?"

Wilhelm replied casually, "1 million."

Baon pondered for a moment and nodded. "Sounds pretty good. But I don't have that much money. I'll have to ask my dad."

Baon's last sentence seemed to awaken everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.

Back at Baon's home, he happened to see his father sitting on the living room sofa, reading a newspaper. He couldn't wait and asked, "Dad, do we have money?"

Mr. Baon didn't even lift his head and bluntly replied, "No."

"Oh." Baon grabbed a cookie from the coffee table and started munching on it.

After waiting for a while and not seeing any further response from his son, Mr. Baon became curious. "Why are you asking? Ran out of money?"

Baon mumbled with a mouthful of cookies, "Nothing much. Wilhelm called us over earlier and wanted to borrow some money."

The Crown Prince wanting to borrow money? That was something new. Mr. Baon set aside the newspaper and asked, "How much does he want to borrow?"

"At least 10 million dollars."

10 million dollars? Mr. Baon couldn't help but gasp. "What does he need so much money for?" He knew his son's behavior very well. Baon and his friends, including the Crown Prince, were usually just spending money recklessly. But after the incident they had experienced, he didn't know what the Crown Prince was thinking. Last time, he even acquired several companies on the verge of bankruptcy, and now he wants to borrow 10 million dollars?

Baon shook his head in confusion. "I don't know. Wilhelm didn't say. But he mentioned that he would repay the money by early 1930, with a 10% profit."

Mr. Baon pondered for a while and asked, "When does His Highness need the money?"

"In the next few days."

Mr. Baon nodded. "Alright, I got it. You can go to sleep."

"Oh, good night, Dad."

After Baon returned to his bedroom, Mr. Baon picked up a cigar from the coffee table, lit it, and sank into deep contemplation.