In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 368: The Hongmen Banquet, the British financial groups jointly forced the emperor to abdicate!

At 6:30 in the afternoon, Lin Haoran left home accompanied by his bodyguards, and arrived outside the Governor's Mansion in just about ten minutes.

Under the guidance of the staff, Lin Haoran walked into an elaborately decorated courtyard in the Governor's Mansion.

It is obvious that everyone in the Governor's Office has attached great importance to the upcoming visit of Prince Charles of the United Kingdom.

Lin Haoran thought he was the first to arrive, but he didn't expect that Niu Bijian and Shen Bi had already arrived in the courtyard.

"Mr. Lin, long time no see!" Shen Bi greeted warmly.

"Yes, it's been a while since I last saw Mr. Shen Bi." Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

It seemed that Shen Bi was still on good terms with him as before.

However, he knew very well in his heart that friendship was nothing but a passing cloud to Shen Bi. As long as it was beneficial to Huifeng Bank, he would abandon anyone with whom he had a friendship without hesitation, and even support others to serve him.

Everything is based on the interests of Huifeng Bank!

For example, Li Jiacheng was originally very strong, but with Shen Bi's intentional training, he acquired Hutchison Whampoa, one of the four major trading companies, at a very small cost, thus reaching the level of one of the richest people in Hong Kong in one fell swoop. This was because he was worried that the future of Hong Kong would be uncertain, so he wanted to give sufficient help to Huifeng Bank one day in the future.

For example, Bao Yugang is also deeply tied to Huifeng Bank.

In fact, Shen Bi had previously thought about training Lin Haoran.

However, Lin Haoran's personal development was completely beyond Shen Bi's control, so Shen Bi finally gave up this idea.

As the time got closer to seven o'clock in the evening, more and more guests came to the Governor's Mansion.

Finally, Lin Haoran met Prince Charles in this courtyard.

According to Lin Haoran's impression, this prince had been the crown prince for 64 years. It was not until 2022 that he finally ascended the British throne.

However, Prince Charles was already 73 years old at that time.

This banquet was indeed a small banquet, and the number of people actually invited was less than twenty.

There were several guests that Lin Haoran had never even seen before.

He guessed that these people should be from the Rothschild family.

"Mr. Lin, I haven't seen you for two or three months. Your business achievements have reached new heights! Even though I am in the UK, I often hear about your outstanding achievements. It is really admirable." Prince Charles said to Lin Haoran with a smile.

Recalling that in August, Lin Haoran had the honor of being personally received by the Queen, and Prince Charles, as the Crown Prince, also participated in the meeting.

"Hello, Your Royal Highness Prince Charles! It's an honor to see you again!" Lin Haoran responded respectfully.

Prince Charles continued, "Her Majesty the Queen has praised Mr. Lin's outstanding achievements. I have come to Hong Kong on behalf of the royal family. After the banquet, I will personally present you with the CBE medal. I hope that Mr. Lin will make more contributions to the common development between Hong Kong and the UK in the future!"

Then, after the two exchanged a few brief greetings, Prince Charles turned around and talked to other people.

"This must be Mr. Lin Haoran. I have heard of him for a long time. Seeing him today, I find that he is indeed as promising as his reputation. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is James Rothschild and I am from the Rothschild family. On behalf of the Rothschild family, I very much hope to establish friendship with you." After Lin Haoran finished greeting Prince Charles, a middle-aged foreign man came up to Lin Haoran and said enthusiastically.

"Hello, Mr. James Rothschild! I am also very honored to meet you!" Lin Haoran responded in the same polite manner.

Everything seemed to be going on in a very harmonious atmosphere.

One by one, the top bosses in Hong Kong greeted Lin Haoran.

Even if some people came here for some purpose, they were ultimately impressed by Lin Haoran's strength, and this was an unchangeable fact.

The strong will be respected in any field, and the business world is no exception.

During dinner time, many people toasted Lin Haoran frequently, and he drank several glasses of red wine.

Buffet style is a popular dining experience among the British, and the same is true for tonight's dinner at the Governor's Mansion.

At eight o'clock in the evening, after Lin Haoran had eaten half full, the dinner came to an end.

"Everyone, my name is Charles. I am here to announce something to you. This time I come to Hong Kong, I will represent the royal family to present the CBE medal to Mr. Lin Haoran. Let us express our warm congratulations to Mr. Lin Haoran!" As Charles spoke, nearly twenty people at the scene gathered together.

After Prince Charles announced the news, there was warm applause in the entire banquet hall.

The guests cast their congratulatory glances towards Lin Haoran, and many even came forward to shake hands or hug Lin Haoran again to express their respect and blessings.

Lin Haoran accepted everyone's congratulations with a smile, humbly and gracefully, but he remained alert in his heart.

He is well aware that there may be more complex motives behind the awarding of this CBE medal.

After all, a small medal does not seem to be enough to make the Crown Prince travel thousands of miles to Hong Kong, let alone attract core members of the Rothschild family to be present in person.

Although he was full of doubts, Lin Haoran still maintained a calm attitude on the surface. He knew that at this moment he could only take one step at a time and wait and see what would happen.

"I am very grateful for the congratulations from Prince Charles and all the guests," said Lin Haoran. "This honor means a lot to me. It is not only a recognition of my past efforts, but also an encouragement for me to move forward in the future. I will cherish this honor, continue to work hard, and continue to make due contributions to Hong Kong."

With Prince Charles' signal, the award ceremony officially began.

A solemn, elegant and commemorative piece of music was also played at the scene.

A staff member slowly walked towards Lin Haoran, holding an exquisite CBE medal box in his hand.

Prince Charles personally took the medal out of the box and put it on Lin Haoran's chest.

After wearing the jewelry, the two shook hands again, and Prince Charles patted Lin Haoran gently on the shoulder to show encouragement and congratulations.

The professional photography team in the Governor's House has captured the precious scene of Lin Haoran receiving the CBE medal.

In the photo, Lin Haoran is wearing a medal, holding the medal in his left hand, and shaking hands with Prince Charles with his right hand. Both of them have smiles on their faces.

After the award ceremony came to a successful conclusion, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became increasingly tense.

The guests raised their glasses to pay their most sincere respects to Lin Haoran. They chatted and laughed happily over the wine and delicious food.

Tonight, Lin Haoran seemed to have become the most dazzling star in the Governor's Mansion.

"Mr. Lin, don't go back after the banquet. There is something I want to talk to you about!" Prince Charles said to Lin Haoran after the award ceremony.

"Okay, Your Highness!" Lin Haoran nodded.

At this moment, he had already guessed, and perhaps he would know the real purpose soon.

If it is a blessing, it will not be a disaster. If it is a disaster, you cannot avoid it, so you can only face it positively.

At 8:30 in the evening, Lin Haoran followed Prince Charles to a conference room in the Governor's Palace.

To his surprise, Governor MacLehose, Shen Bi, Niu Bijian, James Rothschild and others were also there.

There were more than a dozen foreign bosses at the scene, and he was the only Chinese. He stood out and seemed a little out of place among the crowd.

It seemed as if all these people knew what was going to happen, except for him, who was still being kept in the dark.

It feels like tonight's banquet is a Hongmen Banquet, and something bad is about to happen.

"Your Highness Prince Charles, could you please tell me directly why you are here?" After sitting down, Lin Haoran asked straight to the point.

"Mr. Lin, I must clarify that this matter has no direct connection with our royal family. I am only acting as your client and playing the role of mediator. I hope you can consider giving up the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson and let it return to the arms of the British financial group.

Of course, as compensation, the representatives of these British financial groups will offer reasonable conditions. After all, since its establishment, Jardine Matheson has always been a symbol of British enterprises in Hong Kong, and we don’t want to see the British financial group lose control of it. "Prince Charles finally revealed the real purpose of this meeting.

Jardine Matheson, a company with a market value approaching HK$8 billion and an actual value far exceeding this number, has undoubtedly become the focus of the joint actions of these forces.

The most important thing is that Jardine Matheson has already affected the reputation of their entire British financial group.

Prior to this, Lin Haoran successively took control of the Jardine Matheson Group and Jardine Matheson, but this was equivalent to a hard slap in the face of these British financial groups.

"On behalf of Huifeng Bank, I also hope that Mr. Lin can return the controlling rights of Jardine Matheson to the British financial consortium!" Shen Bi also spoke at this time.

"On behalf of Swire Group, I also hope that Mr. Lin can hand over the controlling stake of Jardine Matheson & Co. back to the British financial consortium!" The head of the Schwab family also spoke up.

"On behalf of the Rothschild family, I also hope that Mr. Lin can hand over the controlling rights of Jardine Matheson back to the British financial consortium!" James Rothschild also spoke at this time.

Soon after, several British financial giants in Hong Kong spoke out one after another. Without a doubt, they were all representing their respective forces to persuade Lin Haoran to give up his controlling stake in Jardine Matheson.

This is not just simple persuasion, this is simply forcing the emperor to abdicate!
Lin Haoran suddenly realized that these people were here tonight for this purpose.

It is obvious that so many British financial groups came here to put pressure on Lin Haoran!

What does it mean if Lin Haoran disagrees?
This means that he has offended all the British financial groups.

In this case, no matter how strong Lin Haoran is, he has to consider how to break the deadlock.

Lin Haoran frowned and began tapping his fingers on the conference table.

The only sound in the entire conference room was Lin Haoran's knocking.

It seemed as if he was facing a great pressure.

(End of this chapter)