Chapter 340: 341. The Snake Swallows the Elephant

341. Chapter 341: The Snake Swallows the Elephant

"Hey, Martin, how did you manage to get here? You're several time zones away from here."

The United States reporter named Martin said with a smile: "No choice, this President of Brunei is an interesting person. Every time he appears in person, he brings a major event. I wouldn't want to miss his press conference."

Martin is a reporter for the Miami Herald and can be considered an old friend of Li Yaohua.

The last reporter to interview Li Yaohua, Randolph, has now won a Pulitzer Prize and been promoted to editor-in-chief.

It wasn't just United States reporters like Martin; reporters from other countries, especially those whose tourists were victims, also rushed over.

After everyone had more or less arrived, Li Yaohua rented a conference room in the hotel and held this press conference.

Standing on the stage, Li Yaohua glanced at all the reporters present and said in a deep voice: "I presume everyone is aware of the recent disappearance cases of tourists in Brunei?"

The reporters off-stage all nodded; this kind of opening didn't seem to have any novelty.

Li Yaohua continued: "This is a kidnapping case. All the tourists were kidnapped by a criminal organization called the 'Red Turbans.' After many days of search and rescue by our Brunei police and guard force, we finally rescued all the tourists. However..."

Speaking to this point, Li Yaohua paused.

The eyes of these reporters lit up, knowing the turning point was about to begin.

"However, this is not just a simple kidnapping case, but a long-planned terrorist activity. Furthermore, this 'Red Turbans' is not some criminal organization, but a terrorist organization raised by certain powerful figures." Li Yaohua's expression was solemn, his gaze sharp, and his crisp uniform set off his physique to be exceptionally upright, just like a pine tree.

Hearing Li Yaohua's words, the crowd of reporters immediately showed excited expressions on their faces.

The big news was coming; the massive scoop was about to arrive.

Li Yaohua continued: "I want to tell the person pulling the strings behind the scenes: your plan has fallen through. Brunei never accepts threats from others. We will use our own methods to crush every little move you ambitious people make."

Having said this, Li Yaohua's opening statement was finally over.

Next was the time for reporters to ask questions.

The reporters present raised their hands one by one, eager to ask their various tricky questions. After all, judging by Li Yaohua's implication, this kidnapping case didn't seem very simple.

"Mr. President, who are you referring to when you say 'certain powerful figures'?"

After a reporter was selected, they immediately asked loudly.

Li Yaohua said with a calm face: "Before the matter is clarified, I will not speak carelessly. I can only tell you that we already have a suspected target."

"Then is Brunei safe now?" another reporter followed up and asked.

Li Yaohua said seriously: "Brunei is always safe. It's just that I need to advise all tourists: when coming to Brunei for tourism, you must be accompanied by a local guide and do not leave the territory of Brunei. Only by doing this can Brunei guarantee the safety of everyone during their visit."

"Mr. President, do you mean by saying this that the Malay Government is behind this?"

"No, I did not say that."

"Then regarding this 'Red Turbans' organization, what are the investigation results from Brunei's side?"

Hearing a reporter ask about the key point, Li Yaohua smiled slightly and said: "Regarding this point, according to our investigation, this 'Red Turbans' organization comes from the local Witch Tribe. Although we don't know the reason yet, there is reason to suspect that this was done to stir up unnecessary conflict."

In fact, after Li Yaohua said this, his and Chen Jiajun's goal had already been achieved.

Now that the tourists had been rescued by people sent by Li Yaohua, and the kidnappers were from the Witch Tribe, you people from those countries should know who to go to for trouble, right?

These reporters were also very cooperative, and the next day, major newspapers began reporting on this matter.

Moreover, under Li Yaohua's subtle guidance, they almost aimed all their firepower at the Malay Government.

This made the Malay Government quite headache-stricken, and they vehemently denied the matter.

Furthermore, Li Yaohua also very insidiously incited the local ethnic Chinese merchants, recalling the riots by the Malay people a dozen years ago.

With both approaches combined, the Malay leader had an even worse headache.

Various protests broke out, and armed confrontations turned Kuala Lumpur into a mess.

Meanwhile, at the Genting Casino.

The Boss behind the scenes had a dark face, listening to his backer cursing him out.

No one expected that a single kidnapping incident would stir up such a huge storm, which made the Boss behind the scenes feel even more resentment toward Brunei.

After hanging up the phone, the Boss behind the scenes prepared to call his subordinates.

But after calling for a long time, no one responded to him.

This made the Boss behind the scenes immediately alert, and he reached into his desk drawer to grab a gun.

At this moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out: "If I were you, I wouldn't pick up such a useless thing."

"Who is it?" The Boss behind the scenes was greatly shocked and immediately aimed the gun at the window.

Only then did he discover that a man wearing a hooded robe was standing by the window in his office.

The Boss behind the scenes said vigilantly: "Who are you? Where are my bodyguards?"

"They were too nervous, so I asked them to rest for a while; they should wake up in a moment." The hooded man turned around and said to the Boss behind the scenes: "As for who I am, that is not important. You only need to know that we are from Brunei."

"What?" The Boss behind the scenes widened his eyes instantly.

The man chuckled, "No need to make such a surprised expression: we have long known that those 'Red Turbans' were raised by you and the people behind you."

"What do you want?" the Boss behind the scenes said with a gloomy face.

"A warning." The man continued in a low voice: "Whether it's the pressure from abroad or the riots of the local Chinese this time, both are a warning. In case you aren't impressed enough, our boss has sent you a big gift."

As he spoke, the office door was opened, and then two men wearing the same hooded robes walked in carrying a wooden box.

Just this attitude of ignoring everyone made the Boss behind the scenes think this was their territory.

"Is this the gift you mentioned?" the Boss behind the scenes said coldly.

"Open it and you'll know," the man said indifferently.

The Boss behind the scenes glanced at the other party, then carefully lifted the lid of the wooden box.

Then, a nauseating, bloody stench rushed toward his face, almost making the Boss behind the scenes stumble.

Looking closely, he realized that the wooden box was full of heads.

And they were the heads of those Red Turbans his subordinates had left in Kuala Lumpur.

The man continued: "Besides those guys who died causing trouble in Brunei, we also happened to visit the latest stronghold of the Red Turbans and gathered this big gift for you. The purpose of doing this is to tell you that we can easily find you and take your little lives."

"No matter where you are or what methods you use, it will be of no avail. This time it was just some low-class extremists; if there is a next time, the target will not be this trash, but you and the Sultan behind you."

The man spoke without any emotional fluctuation, as if he were talking about something as mundane as "Have you eaten today?"

But the Boss behind the scenes could feel the extremely pure killing intent emanating from the man in the hooded robe.

"For this period of time, that Sultan who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes should be quite a bit more well-behaved," Chen Jiajun said to Li Yaohua.

Li Yaohua nodded and said with a smile, "Malaysia has nine Sultans; they certainly won't let any one person run wild. This is something they use to keep each other in check anyway."

"Still, we need to investigate whether this guy acted on a whim or if there is someone else pulling the strings," Chen Jiajun said with a sharp gaze.

Boni is his base of operations, and more than half of his subordinates are left here to develop; Chen Jiajun does not want to end up with nothing to show for it in the end.

Just as Chen Jiajun and Li Yaohua were chatting in the office, Bai Lu walked in: "Boss, Ao En is back."

"Hmm, counting the time, he should be back," Chen Jiajun nodded.

A moment later, Ao En walked in with some people.

Nowadays, Ao En really does have the air of a mad scientist.

Wearing an ill-fitting white lab coat stained with machine oil and thick spectacle lenses over his eyes, his appearance was nothing short of comical.

But in Boni, Ao En is exceptionally well-respected.

Even more so than when he was in the Hong Kong triads, he is even more well-liked.

After all, because of Ao En's presence, the small electronic products in Boni are exceptionally abundant.

There are even many test products that Ao En throws directly to the local young people to play with, which can be considered a form of market research.

And besides products like the Walkman that are constantly iterating, Ao En has also come up with quite a few trendy gadgets.

"How is it, Ao En? Did you get any electronic product authorizations from Japan?" Chen Jiajun asked with some curiosity.

Ao En said quite excitedly, "Boss, I'm afraid we're going to make a big splash this time."

After Japan's bad luck, many industries that were previously good suffered heavy blows. With Chen Jiajun's wave of crazy spending, he obtained the proprietary technologies of quite a few companies.

For example, a product Chen Jiajun is very optimistic about: mobile phones.

This is a technology from the Sanyang Company. This company is quite interesting; previously, they worked with Mainland manufacturers to create the Waveguide brand, and in the end, Kyocera acquired it, but this time it was intercepted by Chen Jiajun first.

Although the technology for this brand is a bit rough, it is already enough for Ao En at the current stage.

As long as Ao En researches it for a period of time, he will definitely be able to iterate rapidly.

By then, it will certainly become another cash cow in Chen Jiajun's hands.

How profitable the mobile phone industry will be in the future is something Chen Jiajun doesn't even need to mention.

Besides this, Ao En also obtained some Japanese automotive parts technology.

This was spun off from a certain company.

With these technologies, Chen Jiajun's Tesla company can usher in another wave of technological iteration.

Not to mention punching Europe and America or kicking the United States and Japan, but at least there will be a target to chase.

Given time, creating his own car brand will be a piece of cake.

It's just that these things all need Ao En's team to digest them thoroughly.

Ao En said to Chen Jiajun with some embarrassment, "Boss, if these important projects are to be started, I estimate that my team will need to recruit more people."

Ao En is definitely not researching alone; he couldn't do it even if he worked himself to death.

So a long time ago, Ao En began to recruit his own team, and the team took in many scientific talents from the Soviet Union, as well as those frustrated scientific freaks.

These talents are all Chen Jiajun's treasures.

So regarding Ao En's request, Chen Jiajun waved his hand generously and said, "Approved. If you lack money, go directly to negotiate with Wei Li."

"Hehe, thank you, Boss." Ao En immediately grinned, showing his teeth.

For a scientific talent, having people, having projects, and having money is an extremely happy thing.

Not to mention the generous compensation provided by Ao En's team, which makes it impossible for others to poach even a single person.

After listening to Ao En's report, Chen Jiajun pondered for a while and asked Ao En's team to get a mobile phone model out first.

Although Hong Kong is still full of people walking around with "Big Brother" brick phones, many brands of mobile phones have already appeared.

Chen Jiajun will not easily let go of this time to seize the market.

However, if he wants to promote his own brand, he probably still has to start with the telecommunications operators.

And there is only one telecommunications operator in Hong Kong, and that is Hong Kong Telecom.

A gadget like a mobile phone certainly cannot be developed in a short time, even if there is ready-made technology.

If one uses someone else's patented technology, one will be held by the throat.

However, Chen Jiajun thinks he could try to get Hong Kong Telecom into his hands.

It's just that Hong Kong Telecom is different from the China Light and Power Company that Chen Jiajun picked up as a bargain before.

This is a company controlled by England's Cable and Wireless, which almost monopolizes all of Hong Kong's telecommunications, communication networks, telephone services, and so on.

Its market value is even more astonishing, reaching the hundred-billion level.

Wanting to acquire it completely is an impossible thing.

But that doesn't mean Chen Jiajun has no chance at all.

Because there has been a turning point in the sovereignty negotiations, many Gweilo from England are no longer optimistic about Hong Kong's future; otherwise, there wouldn't be that infamous Colonial Withdrawal plan.

If Hong Kong Telecom could be split up and acquired, this is not an impossible thing.

Once this idea took root, Chen Jiajun couldn't sit still. He didn't stay in Boni for long, returned directly to Hong Kong, and summoned Wei Li to discuss the acquisition matters.

Although Sima Xiang's business acumen is not bad, when it comes to planning acquisitions, Wei Li is more professional.

But this idea proposed by Chen Jiajun still shocked Wei Li.

"Boss, our Guojun Group has only just broken the hundred-billion scale in total; do you really have to play this big?" Wei Li said with a worried face.

Chen Jiajun said irritably, "Are you crazy? Who said I wanted to swallow all of Hong Kong Telecom in one bite? A snake swallowing an elephant doesn't work like that, does it? I intend to persuade the English Gweilo to split Hong Kong Telecom off; I don't intend to swallow Cable and Wireless as well."

Hearing Chen Jiajun say this, Wei Li finally breathed a sigh of relief: "If you put it that way, there is still a glimmer of a chance. It's just, Boss, given our relationship with the England Gweilo, I don't think it's very likely."

"Human effort can achieve anything," Chen Jiajun waved his hand dismissively and said: "Besides, those Gweilo capitalists aren't necessarily of one mind with the government. If we don't do anything at all, wouldn't it be even more impossible?"

Wei Li nodded and said: "Alright then, I'll go and make some inquiries. However, I've heard that those England Gweilo intend to sell Hong Kong Telecom to the Singaporean."

Chen Jiajun shook his head and said: "I think that's unlikely. After all, it's a company that has already monopolized the entire Hong Kong telecommunications industry. Even if it were to be split up and acquired, it certainly couldn't be sold to foreigners. Even if the England Gweilo agreed, the home country might not."

Wei Li said with a hint of amusement: "That wouldn't be our turn anyway. We have already been classified among the leftist businessmen; even if the Gweilo want to sell, they will certainly look for British-funded wealthy merchants."

"Tsk, there really are a lot of competitors," Chen Jiajun frowned and said: "You go investigate first and then we'll see."

Wei Li nodded and prepared to handle this matter.

Regarding some business matters, Chen Jiajun was still a bit too wishful in his thinking.

An impulsive idea, he hadn't expected there to be such great difficulties behind it.

Since there was no lead for the time being, Chen Jiajun stopped thinking about it.

For a gangster to have reached his current position was already astonishing enough; one can't hold all the benefits in one's own hands, right?

So Chen Jiajun simply gave himself two days off, specifically to accompany his several women.

From time to time, he would go to the film company to flirt with Sister Zhi and Qingxia.

Now that the early nineties had arrived, the Hong Kong film and television industry had entered a stage of "unsaturated competition."

The entire industry had entered a peak state, with all kinds of genre films blossoming.

And among the dozens of film and television companies, a situation of one superpower and many strong players had emerged.

And this one superpower was Hongxing Film.

Relying on his long-term vision, Chen Jiajun had recruited numerous talents before the initial period and cultivated quite a few superstars.

It occupied almost half of the entire Hong Kong film and television industry.

It could produce nearly over a hundred films a year.

Coupled with the cooperation with TVB, it could be said that the presence of Hongxing Film could be seen in both television and film.

Even under these circumstances, people still flocked to enter this circle.

Among them, quite a few triads were involved.

However, they didn't dare to mess with the people from Hongxing Film, so they set their sights on other film companies.

And the lives of those artists under them were quite difficult.

This also indirectly led to the unprecedented growth of the Artists Association in Hong Kong.

Hong Jingbao, the president of the Artists Association, had enough status in the underworld and a high enough seniority to provide a certain degree of protection to those persecuted artists, at least so things wouldn't get too ugly.

"Not bad, at least it's much better than I expected," Chen Jiajun said to himself after learning about the situation in the industry.

Only he knew what kind of chaos the Hong Kong film and television circle would have been in if Hongxing Film hadn't appeared.

Subsequently, Chen Jiajun also inspected the situation of companies like Tesla and Guojun Electronics.

It had to be said that these industries were carefully selected by Chen Jiajun, and they were all doing quite well.

They could bring a continuous stream of cash flow to the parent company, Guojun Group.

And they benefited many Hong Kong citizens.

Coupled with the fact that Chen Jiajun had been donating to schools and doing charity work over the years, this made many people forget Chen Jiajun's background as a gangster.

Everywhere he went, he was the kind of person who was respected.

After inspecting his companies, Wei Li had also clarified the issue of acquiring Hong Kong Telecom.

"Boss, let's just forget about this matter," Wei Li said very pessimistically.

Chen Jiajun said with a puzzled look: "Didn't you say we still had a chance to intervene? Why are we forgetting it again?"

Wei Li said with a wry smile: "Did we forget who is behind Cable & Wireless?"

"What? Have we had a conflict?" Chen Jiajun raised an eyebrow and said.

Wei Li nodded: "The leader of Cable & Wireless is the England telecommunications supplier Vodafone, which has intricate ties with HSBC."

"Damn, it's HSBC again," Chen Jiajun said with an annoyed look: "These capitalists really want to have a hand in everything."

Hearing Chen Jiajun's words, Wei Li looked at Chen Jiajun with a strange expression and said nothing.

Chen Jiajun immediately said unhappily: "You kid are asking for a beating, right? Why are you looking at me?"

Wei Li hurriedly waved his hand and said: "No, no."

Chen Jiajun sighed and said: "Since the timing isn't right, then let it be."

Chen Jiajun vaguely remembered that it was close to the millennium when Hong Kong Telecom changed hands.

That time period was already after the handover, so I'm afraid there were some political factors involved in this matter.

Since there was no way to get his hands on it in advance, Chen Jiajun gave up, but he still instructed Wei Li to keep an eye on Hong Kong Telecom from time to time and report to him immediately if there were any unusual movements. (End of chapter)