Chapter 270: Sword Points at the Bank! The Xinghan Empire Takes Shape!

In the Trading Room, Wang Yuyun's sobs were like a stone thrown into the lake's center, the ripples spreading quickly.

Li Zhi'an, the tough guy, turned their head away, swiped their eyes hard with the back of a hand, and their shoulders kept trembling. Even Ye Ning, who is usually calm and composed, could only turn their back to the crowd, stare at the traffic outside the window, and let the warmth in their eyes blur their sight.

They had all been scraping and rolling in the world of finance for years, accustomed to deceit and to cold numbers and ruthless deals. They had never imagined that one day someone would, in such a simple and brutal yet scorching‑warm way, treat these "financial elites" who were seen as tools as human beings, as family.

Bonus is respect.

A house is belonging.

At this moment, the last doubts and barriers in everyone's hearts completely vanished.

Liang Zhiwei stood at the back of the crowd; he neither cried nor shouted. He simply watched, watching the young man seated at the head, who had single‑handedly created this revelry. The phrase "our own courtyard" from the banquet kept echoing in his mind.

He now fully understands.

That was not a boastful declaration, but a promise.

What Lu Qingshan wants has never been a band of mercenaries who work for money, but a loyal force that can follow him to seize and guard the empire. And home is the most fortified camp of that force.

"Alright, no more crying," Lu Qingshan's voice broke the emotional atmosphere; he tapped the table, pulling everyone's attention back, "The money's been divided, the houses are secured, now it's time to get to work."

The crowd immediately restrained their emotions, each straightening their backs, their eyes filled with unprecedented resolve and fervor.

Lu Qingshan's gaze first fell on Liang Zhiwei.

"Mr. Liang."

"Boss." Liang Zhiwei stepped forward immediately, his expression solemn.

"Xinghan Bank, I want you to set up the framework as quickly as possible." Lu Qingshan tapped the tabletop lightly, each word landing with weight, "Systems, staff, structure… I don't care how you do it—whether poaching people from HSBC or leveraging Standard Chartered—within a month I want to see a prototype of a bank ready for official operation, and an efficient team. Money is not an issue."

Liang Zhiwei felt a surge of hot blood rush from his soles to his crown. At HSBC he was just a senior employee, every decision required layers of approval, constrained by the United Kingdom headquarters and the British Hong Kong Branch's regulations. Now, the man before him granted him near‑unlimited authority and trust.

"Boss, rest assured!" Liang Zhiwei's back was straight, his voice brimming with excitement, "In a month I'll build Xinghan Bank's skeleton! Only… the banking license—approval from the British Hong Kong Government is always stringent, I'm afraid…"

"I'll handle the license," Lu Qingshan cut him off, his tone even yet authoritative, "You just focus on getting things done."

"Yes!" Liang Zhiwei nodded heavily, no longer having any doubts.

Lu Qingshan immediately picked up the phone on the table and dialed out.

The phone rang once and was answered; Li Fuying's loud, slightly tipsy laugh came through: "Hello? Qing Shan! What, still not over last night's drink? Let me tell you, we old guys got together this morning for dim sum, and all we talked about was you! Thrilling! Or damn thrilling!"

"Uncle Li, good morning," Lu Qingshan smiled, "I have something to ask the senior members of the Chamber."

"Hey! You kid, why are you being so polite to Uncle Li!" Li Fuying raised his voice even higher, "After last night's drink, us old bones got it all clear! From now on, your affairs are the affairs of our entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce! Tell us what you need; even if it means making the Governor's Office give up the governorship, we old guys will stir things up with you!"

The words were half‑joking, yet carried an unprecedented confidence.

"It's not that exaggerated," Lu Qingshan said casually, "I've told you I want to set up a bank owned by our Chinese, called 'Xinghan Bank'. We need the Chamber, in a collective name, to submit an application to the British Hong Kong Government and give me a little push."

On the other end, Li Fuying's laughter abruptly stopped.

There was a full five‑second silence before his sharp intake of cold air was heard.

"Good! Good! Qing Shan! That move hits right in all our hearts! Conquering the world, but also defending the realm! Without our own bank, no matter how much we earn, it's still money in someone else's pocket, not solid!"

"I'll take care of it!" Li Fuying exclaimed, slamming the table so hard that Lu Qingshan on the phone could hear the "bang." "I'll summon the people right away—Character, Guo Dongying and the others; they were nagging me last night that we can't trust any bank with this money! Once Xinghan Bank opens, it'll be a tonic for us! Rest assured, this time we're not just giving a little push; we'll carry the license on an eight‑pole sedan chair back to you! If the British Hong Kong Government doesn't approve, we'll pull all the money out of HSBC and Standard Chartered; let's see whether they approve!"

Hanging up, Lu Qingshan turned to the stunned crowd, his expression unchanged, as if he had just handled a trivial matter.

His gaze finally rested on Ye Ning, Li Zhi'an, and Wang Yuyun.

If the plans for Liang Zhiwei and Li Fuying were about construction, then for them it was sharpening the knives.

"Ye Ning."

"Present."

"Your mission is to keep a close watch," Lu Qingshan's tone instantly chilled, the temperature in the Trading Room seeming to drop a few degrees, "Yihe, Taigu, HSBC, Shason Family… all the stocks, bonds, futures of the British Capital Consortium, and any move of affiliated companies; any abnormal capital flow I must know immediately. I need a net, a net that covers the entire Hong Kong Island financial market, not even a single fly can slip through."

"Understood." Ye Ning nodded heavily, eyes sharp as knives.

"Li Zhi'an, Wang Yuyun, you two, find people for me," Lu Qingshan continued, "I want the best traders on Hong Kong Island, regardless of which firm they're at or their background; if they're capable, bring them over. Money is no issue, position is no issue; tell them that if Xinghan Capital can't give it, no one on Hong Kong Island can."

"Yes!" Li Zhi'an and Wang Yuyun replied in unison, war intent blazing in their eyes.

"The final point, also the most important," Lu Qingshan leaned slightly forward, his gaze like a hawk scanning the three, "Above all, keep a close watch on the Faction."

Faction?

Li Zhi'an and Wang Yuyun were both stunned. Isn't that Li Jiasheng's company? He's Chinese too!

Lu Qingshan seemed to see through their thoughts, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"A foreigner's knife in plain sight is easy to avoid. Some people's knives hide behind a smiling face; when they strike, you don't even know how you died."

His voice was low, yet everyone in the Trading Room felt a chill rise up their spines.

"He's not our friend," Lu Qingshan said deliberately, "He's a shark that can thrive in both saltwater and freshwater. He's not moving now, just waiting, waiting for us and the foreigners to be mutually destroyed; when the sea's bloodiest scent is strongest, he'll come out to swallow everyone's bodies."

Those words, like a bucket of ice water, doused the newly kindled flames of victory in everyone's hearts, replacing them with a deeper vigilance and solemnity.

They then realized that crushing a Wilson and driving back a Li Jiasheng was only the beginning of this war. The true enemy is often not the one shouting the loudest, but the one smiling and clapping beside them.

"From today onward, Xinghan Capital enters wartime mode," Lu Qingshan slowly stood, his gaze fixed on the bustling Central outside the window, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Our journey has only just begun."

At that moment, a trader in charge of information gathering hurried in, his expression odd as he handed Ye Ning a freshly printed dispatch.

Ye Ning quickly glanced, his complexion slightly changing, and immediately handed it to Lu Qingshan.

"Boss, just received the news."

Lu Qingshan took the dispatch; its content was simple, only a few short lines.

"According to London Financial City reports, the Faction's wholly‑owned subsidiary 'Pansea Investment' this early morning, via a private agreement, increased its stake in Pan‑Euro Shipping Group by three percent. It is said that Pan‑Euro Shipping Group's biggest business partner is a trading company under the Shason Family…"

The Trading Room fell silent in an instant.

Everyone felt a chill surge from the soles of their feet straight to their heads.

Just when everyone thought the Shason Family was already a corpse lying on the ground, ready to be butchered, the shark they believed had retreated silently bit the first piece of flesh in the unseen depths of the sea.

Moreover, the bite was precise and ruthless.

Lu Qingshan stared at the dispatch, silent for a long while, his face gradually forming a chilling smile.

"Interesting."

"It seems someone is more impatient than us."