Chapter 660: Though Ten Thousand Men Stand Against Me, I Will Go Forward

In fact, many of the things he said, Boss Wang understood—he was worried about Huayi's depleted funds.

The operation was too sprawling, with funds severely dispersed.

If it's already known the bet will fail, and no new capital comes in, things will become very troublesome.

Although Yutu isn't doing well either, Yutu is ultimately under the Principal's sole control—he decides everything, unlike listed companies that must consider many factors and disclose financial reports every quarter.

Mainly because no one knows Yutu's actual situation: how much capital it has, how strong its capabilities are, and so on.

Yutu isn't burdened with much debt—its animated film Inside Out was a global smash, earning a final box office of 797 million dollars and 5.5 billion yuan.

Not even counting revenue from merchandise rights.

This animated film sadly didn't surpass 800 million dollars, falling short by tens of millions compared to its original version—it's normal, since the distributors were different.

"Boss Wang! Boss Wang! Jack Ma agrees to lend!" A short-haired, intellectual woman ran in.

Her name is Hu Ming, Huayi's CFO.

"Really?" Boss Wang shot upright from his single sofa.

Xiao Wang also looked delighted—they'd been searching for capital all this time.

"True—Jack Ma is lending 700 million through Ali Pictures, and multiple Zhejiang banks are willing to offer 2.5 billion in credit lines!" Hu Ming said.

Hearing this, Boss Wang and Xiao Wang exchanged glances, both eyes alight with excitement—Ma Baba is reliable, a timely rain indeed!

Just when we were short on cash, now that money's here, we can stabilize the situation.

3.3 billion! Then we won't fear Yutu—no matter how powerful Yutu is, it can't possibly have that much money.

"But there are conditions attached!" Hu Ming doused them with cold water.

"What conditions?" Boss Wang asked instinctively.

"Huayi must produce and release at least ten theatrically distributed films under its own control within five years; Ali Pictures holds first right of investment on Huayi's controlled projects. Also," Hu Ming hesitated.

"Speak!" Xiao Wang pointed.

"Huayi must pledge equity and revenue from multiple subsidiaries, and both of your wives must assume joint liability for the loan," Hu Ming said.

These words instantly chilled the joy and excitement on the faces of Boss Wang and Xiao Wang.

Meaning if the money can't be repaid, company equity gets seized; if that's not enough, their wives are on the hook too—they'll have to liquidate everything to pay back.

Ma Baba's money isn't easy to borrow—nor is any capital's money.

They only strike when you're down, but Jack Ma has already been generous to Huayi—right now, hardly any capital would lend, since the situation is unclear; only Jack Ma stepped in to help.

Fang Hong isn't doing well either—the entire internet is broadcasting his negatives; even if netizens speak up for him, it's useless.

Especially on Weibo, his negatives are posted 24/7, live-streamed without interruption.

It's almost as if they're shouting: "Principal, enjoying yourself?"

Everyone knows that the real backer behind Weibo is Jack Ma, and Alibaba wields powerful tools such as UC, Momo, Youku, and Dayu.

How powerful is UC now? Put it this way—it's the world's top mobile browser, with daily active users in China ranging from 100 million to 120 million.

Without any higher authority stepping in, Jack Ma could ruin him in a day—over 100 million people would see the Principal as a bloodthirsty capitalist.

Now you understand why higher authorities must control public opinion—it's this terrifying.

This is only part of Alibaba's online media power; there's also offline media power: South China Morning Post, Beijing Youth Community Daily, First Financial Daily, and others.

That's why Fang Hong is so vulnerable right now.

Jack Ma moved too fast—his media matrix was gradually built up over just the past one or two years.

Fang Hong is progressing, but others are progressing faster.

Even Tencent falls behind Alibaba's speed here—it's practically a younger brother; Tencent's threat to Fang Hong is comparatively minor.

Don't view the present through the lens of the future—the future's situation doesn't represent the present's.

But he deserves this—he thought he could crush a leading enterprise, but it's not that easy; even with TikTok's rise, it can only partially offset the negativity.

TikTok is now in its explosive phase—in just one month, its daily active users broke 10 million, like a rocket.

Mainly because its recommendation algorithm has matured and found its positioning.

"Have you figured out how to respond? If you don't act soon, we'll be nailed to the pillar of shame."

On a soft white bed, Liu Tianxian leaned against the headboard, with a man lying face-down on her belly.

"I originally planned to play one card, but a few days ago I heard Jack Ma had secured 3.3 billion for Huayi, and I hesitated," Fang Hong whispered, ear pressed to her belly.

Her belly was now noticeably bigger.

Fang Hong now holds many cards: besides the known fact that Huayi's bet is doomed—especially with Mango TV involved, the opponent's success is nearly impossible.

Also, will Mr. Six be released? Warner hasn't played its card yet—and there's one final, most important card: the Yin-Yang Contract.

If this last card is played, it becomes a mass attack—everyone, without exception, will have to line up at the State Taxation Administration.

Remember, it's not just celebrities who must pay back taxes—those studios, film and entertainment companies must pay too, since they've concealed actual costs and revenues.

The back taxes aren't limited to this year or the past few years—they cover all film and TV production costs from the past decade: whether costs were inflated, whether income was hidden, and so on.

Put it this way: this incident directly caused massive production cuts among mid- and small-sized film companies, thousands of shell companies were dissolved, and even giants like Youku faced funding problems.

Alibaba's entire entertainment division would be affected, because they have too many film and entertainment projects—Youku, Ali Pictures, plus all the agencies and production companies they've invested in—it's too many.

It's not targeting just celebrities—it's targeting the entire industry. That's why Fang Hong asked Chen Zhixi about BoNa earlier.

Once this card is played, the entire industry will plunge prematurely into winter, causing severe cash shortages across the board.

The 2018 scandal had this much power—not targeting celebrities, but curbing unregulated capital expansion; celebrities are nothing.

"Ah! So much?" Liu Tianxian exclaimed.

"Yes—if I can't deliver a killing blow, I dare not act rashly. He has capital backing him up; if I exhaust all my cards and still can't expose Huayi's collapse, it'll be disastrous—I might end up with no cards left, and fail completely," Fang Hong explained.

External factors can drastically alter the outcome here—there's no absolute certainty.

Besides, Huayi has its own cards—it can sell off some businesses, like selling shares of掌趣 to prop up performance, but that's not crucial; the real concern is still Jack Ma—if Jack Ma injects unlimited capital into Huayi, it'll be troublesome.

He can't view 2018 through today's lens—Alibaba was in chaos that year, Ant Financial was halted, and it was barely surviving itself—how could it possibly have helped Huayi?

But Alibaba is at its peak right now!

"Just do your best, don't stress," Liu Tianxian comfortingly patted his head.

These things are unpredictable—too many variables. It's like two armies clashing: even if one side is vastly stronger, the powerful side still can't claim absolute certainty of victory.

"I can't figure it out—why is Alibaba so good to Huayi? It's like a father." Fang Hong stood up and leaned against her side.

They didn't know the details of the deal between Big Wang and Jack Ma, only that there was a financing plan.

"You think Big Wang is just a CEO in the film industry with no connections? Big Wang came from a military family, dropped out of high school to join the army, and after discharge became a civil servant at the Materials General Administration.

With only an elementary school education, he went to the United States for university—how many families in the 80s and 90s could manage that? Even today, for an ordinary family, just sending a child abroad is extremely difficult," Liu Tianxian said.

Fang Hong had always believed Big Wang had powerful backing—there was no way he could have risen without it.

"Of course he didn't actually study—he only finished elementary school, went abroad just to drift—but when he returned, he casually started a business and landed advertising contracts from major banks, power companies, and oil giants, completing his initial capital accumulation right away."

Liu Tianxian turned to look at him: "If any ordinary person had his starting point, wouldn't they immediately take off?"

Fang Hong nodded—if he had Big Wang's family background, he wouldn't struggle at all; he'd sail smoothly through his layout.

"Big Wang isn't good at management, but he's great at making friends. Huayi had two minor crises: once in 2003, when Feng Kuzi left and partnered with Zhang Guo Li to start a business—Huayi lost its film directors, and it was Jack Ma who stabilized the situation.

With his silver tongue, he got Feng Kuzi to return to Big Wang's side, and even Zhang Guo Li himself ended up, cluelessly, becoming a Huayi employee."

Liu Tianxian spoke; Fang Hong listened.

Indeed, Zhang Guo Li himself had said: "I don't know what conditions Big Wang negotiated, but Feng Kuzi left me and joined Huayi, then pulled me in too. But now I'm still just an employee, living a hard life because I signed a Betting Agreement with Huayi."

Behind this was Jack Ma plotting for Huayi—this man was truly formidable.

"The second crisis was in 2005, when Wang Jing took over half the artists to defect. Jack Ma and other Shanghai-Zhejiang businessmen stepped in, again stabilizing Huayi—and turned crisis into opportunity by taking it public, making it the first film and television stock.

At that time, Xiaoma Pentium and Hai Run could match Huayi, but they fell behind due to limited capital.

And Wang Jing's defection had a massive impact—it reshaped the entertainment industry's trends and the artist landscape. Li Bailian, Fan Xiaopang, Young Master Zhou, Huang Jiaozhu, Deng Chao, and others rose precisely because of it."

As she spoke, Fang Hong thought about the events of that time—he hadn't lived through them, so he could only learn about them from Liu Tianxian.

After all, by then Liu Tianxian was already a top-tier star, far above Fang Hong's level when he was reborn.

Only after his rebirth and rise did he begin to encounter things ordinary people never touched.

That time, Wang Jing took many top-tier artists: Chen Daoming, Liu JiaLING, Liang Jiahui, Xia Yu, Hu Jun, Tong Dawei, and others.

Any one of them, pulled out at random, was a hugely powerful artist back then. With them in place, many resources were simply unavailable to others.

But once they left, Huayi's artist agency became a vacuum—and Huayi's resources naturally flowed to other stars.

And it just so happened that Huayi went public—literally at its zenith.

That's why Xia Yu, Tong Dawei, Hu Jun, and others dimmed in stardom. Xia Yu had once been the youngest international film emperor, surpassing the Four Young Kings—Chen Kun, Lu Yi, Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei, and others.

Because they kept choosing the wrong side, they later found almost no roles left, reduced to supporting actors.

"Before investing in Huayi, Jack Ma specifically set aside several days each month to chat with Big Wang, even lived with him—they were extremely close.

He did it to change Big Wang's thinking, to help him rebuild his business model. You know Big Wang didn't study much—even in the United States, he just drifted. Without guidance from a master, he couldn't have achieved this. This industry has always been competitive," Liu Tianxian said.

"He really is Ma Baba! The nickname really fits," Fang Hong sighed, so enthusiastic.

If someone had helped me like this, I'd have risen long ago—I wouldn't be waiting until today.

Of course, this was all due to his family power—without family power, he wouldn't have started as a civil servant, then gone to study in the United States.

And he could even enter Jack Ma's circle, giving money and resources, teaching how to run a company.

Without Jack Ma, those two brothers probably couldn't even run a company properly—a 1-billion-yuan company and a 10-billion-yuan company are completely different concepts.

Their organizational structure and business models differ: a 1-billion-yuan company just survives; a 10-billion-yuan company requires a systematic framework.

Later, Jack Ma became deeply disappointed in the two brothers and publicly criticized them, calling them the worst CEOs he'd ever met.

Even in disappointment, he still stepped forward again to save Huayi—he was part of the Shanghai-Zhejiang business circle.

Fang Hong recalled that in his past life, in 2018, when Xiao Cui launched his fiercest attack on Huayi, he posted Jack Ma's photo on Weibo—but it got zero attention.

Meanwhile, Dong Ge's incident in the United States was live-streamed 24/7; any rumor or development instantly landed him on the trending list, impossible to suppress.

It's just like what Fang Hong is experiencing now.

But scandals involving various artists always quietly vanished.

"This man truly has ability—but his enthusiasm? Don't believe it. He's got some other connection," Liu Tianxian said.

"You don't know what other connection?" Fang Hong asked.

"How would I know the details? I'm not a surveillance camera," Liu Tianxian joked.

"Oh, so you're not a surveillance camera! I thought you were." Fang Hong leaned close, sniffing her face.

"Don't play around—I'm pregnant."

Liu Tianxian slapped him and said again: "Now you know their past—how will you respond?"

"Of course, we all go in together. I didn't want this—but now I have no choice," Fang Hong resolved.

He resolved that everyone would contribute bricks to the nation's construction—even if cursed by millions, he'd go forward anyway!

Actually, he hadn't wanted this before—this impact was too huge, too huge. Everyone would be dragged in, including Yutu, which would have to audit every film and TV production's costs and revenues from 2010 to today.

For example, a film costs 100 million to produce, but they report it as 200 million—to offset profits and reduce taxable income.

As mentioned before, corporate tax is based on profit—so by inflating a film's production cost, the company's profit shrinks.

All artists' incomes must be audited too. Artists receive paychecks, equivalent to salaries—simple enough, counted as personal income.

But they didn't want to pay so much tax, so they used Yin-Yang Contracts, profit-shifting, and other tricks.

For example, a Yin-Yang Contract: one low-amount version submitted to regulators; another high-amount version for actual payment, hiding true income.

A 100-million-yuan paycheck was declared as only 30 million.

So this whole scheme implicates the entire industry—almost no one escapes.

Of course, the top players are hit first. Huayi has produced so many films since its founding—if all are audited, they'll be in deep trouble—there's no way they didn't falsify figures.

Ai, You, Teng, and Chang'e are the same!

(End of Chapter)