Chapter 528: Smash the Landlords, Divide the Land

The audience heard the two men exchanging words, seemingly calm, but with intense undercurrents of hostility.

This back-and-forth bickering, this mutual slashing, was more thrilling than watching a blockbuster—simply because both parties held such high status.

As for this debate, the Principal was more pragmatic, and much of what he said was sensible.

Jack Ma liked to speak in lofty, abstract terms, from a great height, sounding reasonable at first glance, but upon closer thought, utterly nonsense.

He constantly talks about helping others and supporting the industry, but in reality, he wants to dip his hands into everything and control everything.

The foreign guests on stage listened in silence, none knowing whether they understood a word, yet their eyes never stopped moving.

Zhang Chaoyang still wore his usual grim, expressionless face; Dong Ge carried a faint air of disdain—disdain for Jack Ma.

After all, they were rivals, and he could not stand Jack Ma's boasting.

Lei Bus still wore his usual smiling, innocent look; he had been rebuked by Jack Ma for a long while and lost his spirit, but now he had regained his confidence.

Their levels differed, so their tone and confidence naturally differed—Jack Ma was always more dominant.

Whether in speech or action, Jack Ma was indeed powerful, radiating an aura of vigor.

Lei Bus couldn't compare with Fang Hong; Fang Hong carried the advantage of reincarnation, born with an uncommon confidence that ordinary people lacked, knowing each person's future fate.

Unlike the big bosses who saw only broad directions, he knew exactly what would happen to each individual and how things would change.

So while others might feel insecure facing Jack Ma, he never did.

As for Li Yanhong, let him go to hell.

Jack Ma still wore that detached expression—he had seen too many storms; the Principal's level of challenge had no effect on him.

He simply hadn't expected the Principal to be naturally unafraid of him, which was abnormal for an ordinary person.

Except for political heavyweights, whether merchant or anyone else, all who met him showed at least some reverence.

"Their clash has been intense. Honestly, I think Alibaba has Alibaba's strengths, and Chang'e Technology has Chang'e's strengths—you both contribute to the internet and to making people's lives more convenient," said host Li Fangfei, stepping in to defuse the tension.

If this keeps up, tempers will flare!

She brought forward someone with a slightly gentler temperament: "I just noticed Mr. Lei Bus was looking at his phone—could you tell us what you were searching for online?"

The implication was: let Lei Bus speak, and let the other two pause for a moment.

"I support both their viewpoints, but they've overlooked one basic truth: while we enjoy mobile internet today, it's made possible by smartphones—so both Jack Ma and the Principal are so passionate."

Alibaba's Double Eleven transaction volume of 57.1 billion yuan saw 40% come from mobile shopping; Chang'e Technology also has 50% of its users on mobile devices.

What I'm saying is, no matter how beautiful our ideals, we must stay grounded."

Lei Bus's words attributed all the achievements of the other two to his own smartphone terminal.

Jack Ma and Fang Hong both smiled, but neither spoke—they fell silent in unspoken agreement, for this wasn't about showing off bravado.

Lei Bus kept talking, still extolling the smartphone as humanity's "intimate companion."

"So far, eight guests have participated in the discussion to varying degrees, but one guest hasn't spoken much at all—Mr. Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD. com."

"I'd like to ask: Jack Ma is also in e-commerce, but some say Jack Ma runs internet real estate—just selling storefronts."

As the host said this, Jack Ma frowned—this gave the Principal more ammunition to attack him.

The host noticed and quickly corrected herself: "Sorry, I phrased that too colloquially—Alibaba provides space for merchants, but JD is different; JD operates directly, and still shows losses on paper."

"I'd like to ask: if you went back five years, would you have chosen internet real estate, or your current business model?"

Liu Qiangdong straightened his suit and spoke: "Before answering, I must compliment the Principal—we both are operating at a loss."

To openly challenge Jack Ma while running such heavy losses does deserve praise—he's powerful, and now they're on the same side.

Jack Ma propped his chin on one hand, expressionless.

Qiang Zi continued: "Our two companies are both in e-commerce; everyone says we compete, and yes, some competition is unavoidable."

"Jack Ma just said Alibaba helps aspiring entrepreneurs grow, but since we started e-commerce, JD has focused on solving business, cost, and efficiency problems."

His accent was thick; if you didn't listen carefully, you'd easily miss what he was saying.

He recounted his entrepreneurial journey, explained his business model, then began speaking of his dream: "Every year, I drive into the desert and lie there, sometimes thinking all night."

"What did you think about this year?" asked the host.

"This year, I thought most about intelligence. In March, I went to the desert, lay there all night, and got excited thinking about it—the future seemed so beautiful."

"I imagined every product connected—even linked to our brains. Perhaps one day, the internet won't exist at all, no smartphones, no TV shows."

"You won't need phones or TVs to watch—you'll see everything directly in your mind. So, who wins or loses decades from now will be meaningless."

Liu Qiangdong's words made everyone in the room laugh.

He meant: all the bickering between the Principal, Jack Ma, and Lei Bus will soon be pointless—soon, everyone will link directly to their brains.

These big bosses still had vision; after all, Fang Hong, as a man from the future, knew about brain-computer interfaces. But seeing something and actually achieving it are two different things.

Because you have no idea how to achieve it—you need money, concepts, talent, technological development—you need the science to have advanced enough to build brain-computer interfaces.

Many technologies remain unlit—you can only stare at them helplessly.

For example, an AI Chip sits right before you—you still might not be able to replicate it exactly, because your technological level isn't there.

"You just poured a whole bottle of cold water on their earlier clash."

The host spoke again: "Mr. Jack Ma, what do you think?"

"Before answering, let me have a little fun—pure entertainment," Jack Ma said again.

Meaning: he hadn't finished arguing with the Principal and Lei Bus—he wanted another round.

"Lei Jun just said I should be happy that 40% of users shop on mobile—I'm not happy at all. The reason is simple: that's something a CEO should be happy about."

"I'm happy about hundreds of billions in daily transactions—because behind them lies trust: sending goods to strangers, buying from strangers, entrusting delivery to strangers—this is what makes me happy."

"I already knew the 50-billion figure three days ago—I knew roughly what it would be. If that number surprised me, then I'd be in deep trouble."

As Jack Ma spoke, he still wore that look of disdain—calm, arrogant, showing off.

Lei Bus smiled, but it was a forced smile.

He was putting on another show again—Fang Hong couldn't stand his ridiculous act.

After mocking Lei Bus, Jack Ma turned on Li Yanhong: "Just now the Principal interrupted me, but when Li Yanhong said there are many opportunities, I wanted to say: figure out what you want and what you're willing to give up—actually, for companies our size, opportunities aren't many; you must solve future problems."

"Hahaha!" Laughter erupted in the room.

"Most people just can't figure it out!" Li Yanhong was nowhere near Jack Ma's level—this was a statement he shouldn't have made.

If you can't figure it out, it proves you're not on the same level as Jack Ma.

Li Yanhong realized he'd spoken wrongly; his expression grew slightly awkward, but Jack Ma didn't let him off—he kept pressing: "You're not looking at opportunities—you're looking at the future."

This made Li Yanhong's expression turn ugly.

Just now he was shut down by the Principal, now he's been shut down again by Jack Ma for lacking vision, lacking vision.

"Let's have a verbal sparring match with Liu Qiangdong," Jack Ma shifted his focus to Liu Qiangdong.

Everyone in the room chuckled slightly—Jack Ma was going to take on everyone single-handedly, of course excluding those few foreigners and Zhang Chaoyang, who was invisible.

"What he said is right—we must solve the entire cost of logistics and operations; that's what e-commerce must do. But what is Alibaba supposed to do? Alibaba is supposed to cultivate more JD. coms."

"Hahahaha!"

As soon as Jack Ma said this, the room burst into roaring laughter—he'd pulled off another showy move.

It felt like a show—full of laughter and passion.

"Second, we help merchants make money—we never sell goods, never stock inventory, never deliver goods. We want others to sell goods more easily and more efficiently."

Listening to Jack Ma, Liu Qiangdong's expression turned ugly—he didn't know how to refute him.

Any rebuttal felt weak, because his own business model indeed had many small merchants on Taobao who stocked their own goods and sold to others.

Of course, which business model was better was a matter of opinion—later, Alibaba did learn from JD. com.

Building logistics, setting up warehouses, and so on.

After mocking Liu Qiangdong, Jack Ma turned to the Principal: "Just now I had a fierce verbal battle with the Principal, and I still want to spar with him. The Principal just said Alibaba moved wealth that belonged offline to online, concentrating most wealth into the hands of a few—I disagree."

I'm furious at retailers—why do they set prices so high? The store's decoration, the channel fees, the dark gray income in the middle—too expensive.

This money must be returned to consumers, returned to manufacturing.

I want to tell everyone: it's not us who defeated brick-and-mortar stores—it's new consumption habits. If a few retail companies have problems, maybe we're partly to blame; but if most companies have problems, it's certainly not my fault.

Even if we didn't do it, someone else would. The tide of the times will come anyway. Hating me won't help them—kill the landlords, and they still won't necessarily get rich."

These words sounded reasonable—and they were indeed reasonable. Even without him, someone else would have done it—it was the era that made it happen.

Like Pinduoduo and TikTok e-commerce later on.

And his direct, unyielding rebuttal was: those traditional brick-and-mortar stores? It's your own fault—you drove away your own customers.

He completely ignored the high rents brought by real estate—but that had nothing to do with him anyway.

"Killing the landlords won't necessarily make you rich, but it will surely bring fairness—because everyone will be the same, and there won't be anyone rich or poor. As the old saying goes: it's not scarcity we fear, but inequality," Fang Hong interjected at the right moment.

Everyone in the room knew the two were about to start again—some perked up, sat straighter, eager to watch how they'd tear into each other.

They loved watching these two—everyone else was useless.

Fang Hong continued: "Seizing the rich and distributing land is our tradition. If you kill off all the small vendors, everyone will be broke—who else will you attack?"

(End of Chapter)