Chapter 518

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Inside the Naval Headquarters, ancient trees towered toward the sky, and glazed tiles displayed noble elegance.

Several staff officers and heavyweight generals gathered together to jointly study the Southeast Fleet's strange documents.

"Could it be retreating to advance?" The Logistics Department's Major General, on the contrary, liked to consider problems from a strategic aspect.

The other officers used silence as a substitute.

"I think it looks a bit like it." Shao Hu, known as the "Advisor Fox," stroked the few fine hairs on his chin, scrutinizing the documents, and said with a straight face: "I used to often think in my dreams, when would our military discipline deteriorate completely, and would the Navy's bastards learn from ancient generals, provoking border incidents to enrich themselves. Unexpectedly, our realm was too low; using voluntary budget cuts to increase the budget — a brilliant move."

The Logistics Department's Major General naturally knew he was being sarcastic, and his anger instantly flared.

"Shao Hu." General Shi said authoritatively: "Don't speak nonsense."

He was the "Advisor Fox's" military academy Senior Brother, more than ten years apart in age, but had always valued and looked after Shao Hu; his words were also to defuse the situation.

"Then do we approve it or not?" Shao Hu switched direction and asked another Major General.

Xi Tan, the future helmsman of the Navy's Xi Family, the Jiangning He Family's biggest supporter and peripheral ally, had a strong Southeast Fleet background. It was precisely the oceanic signals actively sent out by the Xi Family that bound together the numerous forces in the Southeast Region — they could originally have been part of the Chen Family's power.

Although General Shi was rigid in person, his mind was very agile; seeing his Junior Brother's move, he immediately understood that the most difficult person in this matter was the Navy Political Department's Xi Tan, so why should he participate? He at once fell silent.

"We should listen to everyone's opinions first. Moreover, the Commander ultimately has to sign." Xi Tan deflected.

His forehead had a light, upward-swept fringe, fresh and sunny, like a Colonel officer sunbathing on deck during leave. He and Shao Hu graduated from the same military academy, mutually disliked each other, yet due to family background he had been promoted much faster than the "Advisor Fox."

Actually, if not for his resounding name, how could Shao Hu have been transferred into the Staff Department and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel?

The two's discord was known to everyone in headquarters; the Logistics Department's Major General disliked Shao Hu, and immediately said: "The Southeast Fleet's request has no precedent; let's study it a bit first."

"The budget is about to be made; what do we do if we just leave it?"

"When the boat reaches the bridge it will naturally straighten; their request is strange, so it's normal for us to audit it a bit slower." The Major General defended himself strenuously.

"General Xi isn't currently trying to buy ships? Now there's freed-up military funds; do you want them?" Shao Hu gloated and pushed again.

Xi Tan gritted his teeth in hatred.

After waiting half a minute with no one speaking, Xi Tan helplessly revealed a radiant smile and said: "Since they don't want it anymore, I'll impolitely take it; now the boss can't say there's no money, right? Everyone, don't fight me for it."

He went with the flow in his answer, as if the Southeast Fleet's voluntary budget reduction was his instigation, thereby completing the ship-purchase plan.

This was also a no-choice matter; with a fleet willing to save military funds, could headquarters refuse?

"Then count it as passed?" General Shi lightly noted it down.

After it ended, Xi Tan rushed out the door to find a phone.

The "beep beep beep" dialing tone kept sounding; no matter what he couldn't get through.

He dialed three numbers in a row and found no one; the thing Xi Tan feared most in his heart had happened.

"Defected? But why?" Right now he wanted to find someone to ask but couldn't reach anyone.

The next day.

The Southeast Fleet's own newspaper published a front-page headline: "Hard Struggle Saves National Coastal Defense Funds," in which it mentioned three times: "Put the money in more important places!"

When Chen Yi saw this news, Fu Polin quietly left Jiangning.

"The Cao Family and Xi Family have collided; the He Family seems to have moves too." Chen Ye had become the messenger from Xijing to Jiangning, always relaying the intelligence his father obtained.

This was indeed a new piece of intelligence, and an unfavorable one.

But Chen Yi didn't care in the slightest.

The blended Chen Clan — how could it be so easily breached?

Gold Bonds continued to be issued; the public opinion offensive came wave after wave, each tighter than the last.

When Fu Polin returned, his haggard eyes saw the numbers on the report forms, and he nearly couldn't catch his breath.

"Chen Yi expanded the bonds again?"

"Yes." The assistant following him was unlucky enough, stranded alone in Jiangning Bank like the last Robinson Crusoe on a desert island.

"Does he have that much gold? Does he have even more gold stored? This would... be another 500 tons?" Fu Polin grew anxious.

"No more has been deposited."

But this doesn't mean there's no gold.

Fu Polin would never forget the vanished 1,200 tons of gold; that would give Chen Yi unmatched combat power, while simultaneously bringing the Central Bank enormous net losses.

The only reason he hadn't left the Jiangning Bank President position was because no one was willing to continue carrying the black pot.

Unless he could establish a merit worth trillions of RMB, Fu Polin's early retirement was already destined.

"Where is Chen Yi?" Fu Polin could no longer sit still.

"Today seems to be the day the West River Association holds a meeting." Nowadays, Jiangning citizens could almost all remember the West River Association's meeting days. Because the West River Association's ever-expanding orders had already increasingly affected Jiangning citizens.

The prices of certain daily necessities, raw material prices, and stock market fluctuations would all change because of the West River Association's new orders.

Jeans are a very good example. Whenever the West River Association decides on large-scale procurement of jeans, during three weeks of each month large-scale procurement may occur; at this time, the market price of jeans rises, and it starts rising from the wholesale price, because every factory will first complete the West River Association's orders — the priority right of affiliated enterprises cannot be solved with banknotes — outside and foreign merchants must either wait or raise prices, hoping to better squeeze some surplus labor.

In the remaining one non-jeans-procurement week of each month, major factories that have prepared jeans raw materials will successively start production, preparing for the next week. Because styles are uncertain, they definitely cannot run at full capacity, so they prioritize selling jeans to wholesale merchants, and prices consequently fall back.

This three-quarters probability can either be a balanced occurrence or may not happen for six consecutive weeks; under such circumstances, wholesalers' speculative psychology relatively increases, and they are often happy to control market prices in hopes of gaining higher profits.

Without doubt, the West River Association's value was thereby fully embodied.

In the past, Fu Polin would have firmly opposed such physical price fluctuations, not stopping them but not participating either. Now he couldn't care about many things; he could only drive himself, and before the West River Association's meeting ended, he finally found the venue.

However, affiliated enterprises that had once suffered loan threats — how could they possibly answer his inquiries? Not only were there cold onlookers, there were also ones spouting crazy talk.

"I'm here to find Chen Yi." Fu Polin was blocked right at the first-floor small venue; he struggled desperately but couldn't break out of the encirclement.

The small business owners wanting to supply raw materials and OEM for affiliated enterprises — how would they recognize the bank's biggest financier? Hearing his words, they all laughed: "We're also here to find Chen Yi."

Fu Polin was trembling with rage.

With great difficulty, taking advantage of the moment when a batch of small business owners surged forward to watch after a tender bidding ended, Fu Polin found an employee elevator.

After many twists and turns, he finally met the star receptionist Shen Yuan on the 18th Floor.

"I am Jiangning Bank President Fu Polin, I want to see Chen Yi." Fu Polin finished in one breath, waiting for the other party to report it.

Shen Yuan covered her small mouth and said: "I've recorded it all down, but you don't have an appointment, right?"

"No." Fu Polin wanted to make an appointment, but Chen Yi didn't want to see him, so he had no choice but to come to the door himself.

"Then I also have no way."

"I am Jiangning Bank's President."

"But..."

"You tell him, just say Fu Polin has come, he will definitely be willing to see me." Fu Polin had no choice left, threw his briefcase aside, and went all in.

At this moment, the office door opened.

Only to see Chen Yi inside shaking hands with someone, then seeing that person to the door, before calling out: "Shen Yuan, help me see Mr. Li out."

Shen Yuan crisply said "Okay," neatly put away the items on the table, and went to see the guest off.

With no one blocking him, Fu Polin immediately stepped forward and called out: "Mr. Chen."

"Mr. Fu, we meet." Since the person had come, Chen Yi couldn't be too discourteous, but his tone kept people at arm's length: "It seems we have nothing to talk about, right?"

"There's always something to talk about." Fu Polin's complexion was slightly pale, yet his spirit was overly excited.

"Mr. Fu..."

"Mr. Chen, shall we speak inside the office?"

Chen Yi paused for a moment, then made a welcoming gesture.

Fu Polin rushed in swiftly.

The double doors slowly closed behind him.

Chen Yi had just sat down in the executive chair when he heard a "Thud"—Deputy Director of the Legal Department, current Jiangning Bank President Fu Polin, dropped to his knees on the ground and howled: "Mr. Chen, I have come bearing thorns to beg your forgiveness."

"What happened?"

"I was wrong. Mr. Chen, I was momentarily blinded, because of the President's position, I overestimated myself and fought you, no." He slapped himself, saying: "It was fighting your subordinates. I've realized it now."

Chen Yi stared dumbfounded at his performance and asked: "Realized what?"

Fu Polin gritted his teeth and said: "I've realized the Cao Family can't beat you, the Liu Family can't either, add the Xi Family and it's still no use."

He secretly met with representatives of several families; this was intelligence Chen Yi's uncle Chen Guoliang had gone to great lengths to obtain. Fu Polin just blurted it out; whether to gain sympathy or for other purposes, it seemed worth listening to.

Although Chen Yi despised his character, he still sighed and played along: "Good that you've realized it."

"Yes, please let Mr. Chen accept me as a disciple."

Since the moment he knelt on both knees, Fu Polin no longer cared about face—struggling hard for 40 years, attending the best schools, entering the best units, barely climbing to Deputy Director, then becoming President in an out-of-province post. The wonderful life hadn't even begun, yet Fu Polin's head was already branded with "meritorious service to atone for crimes."

He thought it over and over; defecting to Chen Yi was the only way to keep his position.

Compared to power and position, what did kneeling matter?

... (Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian. com) to vote Recommendation Tickets, Monthly Tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)