Chapter 444: Iron Lady Sent to Hospital, Now It

In the handset, Allen's panicked screams and chaotic footfalls mingled with a woman's wailing, like a pot of boiling thick porridge gurgling on the top floor of Saint Remo Apartment.

That cacophony became the only movement in the room.

David Cohen's eyes rolled, his body sagging like a sausage stripped of its gut, slipping softly onto the carpet, his mouth opening and closing without producing a sound.

Li Junjie and Zhang Qianru froze in place, like two stone statues instantly weathered, their brains refusing to process the information they had just received.

Prime Minister… knocked out by anger?

Lu Qingjun's limbs went numb; watching his elder brother's silhouette, he felt as if he were not in a Manhattan luxury apartment but in a commander's tent on an ancient battlefield, watching the commander hand over a war letter and the opposing king spew blood and collapse.

Lu Qingshan listened to the chaos on the phone, not a single extra expression crossing his face.

He simply listened quietly for a few seconds, then reached out and gently pressed the hang-up button.

The shrill busy tone cut like a pair of scissors, severing the last thread linking the two worlds.

"She's down, not dead."

Lu Qingshan turned, looking at his now disheartened team, his tone as calm as commenting on the weather.

"We, continue."

Those four words poured over everyone like a bucket of ice water.

Li Junjie jolted awake from his petrified state, looking at Lu Qingshan, his voice trembling with tears: "Boss! That's the United Kingdom Prime Minister! We… we drove her into the hospital! This… this will spark an international dispute!"

"International dispute?" Lu Qingshan stepped in front of him, patting his face, "When did you start believing there was no dispute between us and them?"

He scanned the circle, his gaze sweeping over each person's stunned face.

"She's now lying in the hospital, Downing Street leaderless, the entire British Cabinet in chaos. Tell me, when is this?"

Zhang Qianru answered subconsciously: "It's… it's when they are at their weakest."

"Exactly." Lu Qingshan snapped his fingers, "They're at their weakest, and it's precisely when we should raise the stakes!"

"Ye Ning!"

"Boss!" Ye Ning straightened his back sharply.

"Issue new orders to Li Zhi'an and Wilson! Activate the entire London trading team of Unit 81." Lu Qingshan's voice rose sharply, carrying undeniable force, "Increase buying pressure! I want Barclays Bank's stock to rise another twenty percent before London opens tomorrow!"

"I don't care what accounts they use, whatever methods! I'll make the whole London market see that even if the Prime Minister ends up in the ICU, it won't stop our resolve to buy Barclays!"

"Yes!" Ye Ning's eyes reignited with fire, she rushed back to the computer, the sound of her fingers on the keyboard like rapid war drums.

"David!"

On the floor, David Cohen did a sudden flip like a carp, leaping up, any trace of despondency gone, replaced by a reckless, break‑the‑vase kind of madness.

"Boss! Your command! Even if you want me to streak at the front of Buckingham Palace, I'll do it!"

"Go, take the Morgan Stanley Asia‑Pacific Business acquisition agreement we just received, signed by John Mc, and scan it in the highest resolution."

"Then send it to the inboxes of all the world's top‑hundred news outlets!"

"The email subject should read: Xinghan Capital and Morgan Stanley Reach Historic Settlement, the former to acquire the latter's Asia‑Pacific business for one US Dollar!"

David was stunned: "Boss, you're…"

"I want the whole world to know that Wall Street has already knelt down." Lu Qingshan's voice was utterly cold, "Now it's London's turn. I'll make those hesitant European Bankers see clearly whether to follow an Iron Lady who's in the hospital into a sinking ship, or follow me, the victor who just absorbed Morgan Stanley, to carve up the British Empire's inheritance!"

"My God!" David shrieked, his face showing extreme excitement, "You're killing a chicken to warn the monkeys! No, you killed the Monkey King and are using his skin for war drums! I'll handle it right away!"

The entire apartment once again shifted from a morgue‑like stillness to a high‑speed war command center.

At that moment, the dedicated line belonging to the US Treasury Department rang sharply.

This time, without waiting for Ye Ning, Lu Qingshan walked over, answered the call, and pressed speakerphone.

"Lu Qingshan!" on the other end, US Treasury Secretary Bowles roared furiously, "What on earth are you doing?! Do you even realize what you've done?! Thatcher has just been sent to St Thomas Hospital! The entire NATO is shaking! Are you trying to spark World War III?!"

"Mr. Bowles, calm down." Lu Qingshan took a bottle of mineral water from the bar, unscrewed it, and took a sip, "Anger solves nothing."

"Calm? How am I supposed to stay calm!" Bowles's voice sounded as if he wanted to devour someone, "We asked you to clean up the gateway, not to send our allies to the graveyard as well!"

"Allies?" Lu Qingshan laughed, "An ally who disobeys and tries to stab us in the back—does that still count as an ally?"

Bowles choked instantly.

"Mr. Bowles, I think you're mistaken." Lu Qingshan's tone turned playful, "I'm not toppling the United Kingdom government. I'm performing a necessary surgical operation on your ally. She won't cooperate, so I had to increase the anesthetic dosage. Now she's asleep, and the surgery can proceed more smoothly."

"You…" Bowles was left speechless by that twisted logic.

"Moreover, what I'm doing also benefits you, the United States." Lu Qingshan continued, "A weaker, more US‑dependent United Kingdom, a Britain that must bow to you on every international matter— isn't that exactly what you've always wanted?"

"I'm merely helping you achieve that goal ahead of schedule. You should thank me."

On the other end, only Bowles's heavy breathing remained.

He realized he could not refute Lu Qingshan's words.

Because what Lu Qingshan said was the truth.

A strong, independent United Kingdom does not serve American interests.

A United Kingdom crippled by financial crisis and forced to rely on the United States is exactly what Washington wants to see.

Lu Qingshan, this devil from the East, used the most barbaric means to achieve the goal American politicians most desire yet dare not voice.

"Mr. Lu…" After a long pause, Bowles's voice sounded again, this time the anger gone, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness, "What do you need?"

He compromised.

"It's simple," Lu Qingshan said, "Keep your people in check, don't let them bother me. Also, deliver a message to Downing Street."

"What message?"

Lu Qingshan looked out at the city illuminated by countless lights, and said slowly, "Tell them the Prime Minister's health is paramount; let her recuperate fully. As for the London Financial City matters, for now I'll make the decisions on her behalf."

Having said that, Lu Qingshan hung up the phone.

The apartment fell into silence.

Li Junjie and Zhang Qianru looked at Lu Qingshan, no longer admiration but a reverence bordering on worship.

First he drove Wall Street mad, then knocked the Iron Lady down, and now even the US Treasury Secretary has become his mouthpiece.

What is there in this world that he cannot do?

At that moment, a bold red news flash popped up again on Ye Ning's computer.

She glanced at it, and her whole body froze; on that eternally unchanged ice‑mountain face, a pure, incomprehensible bewilderment appeared for the first time.

"Boss…"

Her voice was as light as a dream whisper.

"Downing Street has just issued an emergency statement…"

"What statement?" Lu Qingshan asked.

Ye Ning swallowed hard and read word by word: "The statement says… due to the Prime Minister's health reasons, he is unable to handle state affairs. Authorized by Her Majesty the Queen, by Vice Prime Minister James Reed, to temporarily assume the Prime Minister's duties."

"And…" Ye Ning lifted her head, looking at Lu Qingshan, her expression as if she were looking at a newly enthroned Emperor.

"And, the UK Government officially hires Xinghan Capital Chief Executive Officer Mr. Lu Qingshan to serve… the UK Government's response to this Global Financial Crisis… Chief Economic Advisor."