What do you mean by quitting the business? I'm not a big shot.

Chapter 589 Shameless

"The Royal Police sign has long been taken down; they're just police officers, do you understand what a Chinese police officer is!" Youde said. "Before asking him how he dared to do it, ask yourself where you got the guts!"

Zhai Kecheng felt fear and knew that he was at a critical moment of life and death. He gritted his teeth and said, "Have the ICAC do something. Have each foreign firm send a vice chairman to quell the police's anger first."

"Afterwards, we'll have the ICAC do something, arrest a few Chinese constitutional committee members to establish our authority."

Yud laughed angrily, scoffed, and waved his hand, saying, "Fine, go do it."

Zhai Kecheng stood at attention and saluted, his expression solemn: "Yes, sir."

Seeing that he was standing still without moving, Yude narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Zhai Kecheng's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, his expression timid as he said, "Sir, I'd like to apply for VIP protection."

"Hehe, call the ICAC." Youde turned away, admiring the garden view. Zhai Kecheng, his face beaming, shouted, "Thank you, sir!"

Yude still felt a pang of pity for his trusted confidant, whom he had personally promoted. He did not tell him that even the ICAC had jointly signed an investigation letter accusing the Financial Secretary of manipulating stock trading and requesting the Governor's Office to approve the initiation of a top-level investigation.

Instead, give Zhai Kecheng another chance to win over the ICAC. If he can win over the ICAC, then perhaps his plan can still be implemented.

Otherwise, the ICAC's protection team would thoroughly investigate Zhai Kecheng.

At that time, Youde could only send Zhai Kecheng away to appease public anger. After all, there were many people who could be the Financial Secretary, but the chairmen of British trading companies were all descendants of old nobles and gentry.

After this failed capital counterattack, it is foreseeable that foreign firms will suffer a severe blow.

It's no longer a matter of evenly matched strength or equal footing; it has deteriorated to a situation where the enemy is stronger and we are weaker, with a huge disparity in strength.

In this situation, the most important thing for Youde was to ensure that the British-owned legacy could earn as much as it could for his family, and to squeeze every last drop of blood out of them, even if it meant damaging the prestige of the Hong Kong government, rather than handing over the Jockey Club's chairmen.

After all, Hong Kong Island no longer enjoys much popular support or prestige. To focus on the big picture and retreat to a small corner of the island is a good option.

The following day, Hong Kong stocks continued to fall. After the Far East Society was physically eliminated, the British trading company became an effective operator.

Those foreign brokers and white managers can buy and sell stocks and securities for foreign companies without any problem, but don't even think about extending your reach to the neighborhood and spreading your influence throughout the streets and alleys.

If he can't influence the market, then the market will be influenced by others. Chen Jinfen won the trust of investors with her performance on the first day of market intervention, and quickly replaced Far East Group as the new major player.

In finance, everything revolves around information. When information flows through Chen Jinfen's hands, she gains the status of a Hang Seng Index manipulator. Under the guidance of the Kowloon Club, news of shorting British stocks frequently emerged, and various insider trading scandals and corruption involving officials and businessmen were exposed as if they had been brewing for a long time.

And they all had detailed accounts, making the rumors seem incredibly plausible. When the afternoon session opened, major banks involved in the scandals, such as HSBC, CLP, Citibank, and Swire, were the first to be affected, and their stock prices fell rapidly.

The funds withdrawn from British-owned stocks flowed into Chinese-owned stocks, significantly mitigating their decline. The capital market has already provided the answer to who won and who lost.

On the third day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stopped falling, and several major brokerage firms in Chinatown released their investigation reports. They attributed the stock market crash to the panic effect caused by "program trading," the same explanation given by Yin Zhaotang.

Hong Kong's Chinese-owned businesses have seen a surge in confidence, especially listed company owners who are no longer afraid of risks and are increasing their share buybacks. Many speculative investors are also taking advantage of the situation to buy up Chinese-owned stocks at bargain prices.

In just half a month, Chinese-funded stocks reversed their downward trend, with four real estate stocks—CK Asset Holdings, Henderson Land Development, Sun Hung Kai Properties, and New World Development—leading a series of rebounds. Within a month, the Hang Seng Index stabilized, hovering around 3100 points, down 1000 points from its peak. It is 1223.82 points higher than its historical low of 1876.18, making it the first Asian market to emerge from the shadow of the stock market crash, which will undoubtedly attract another wave of international investors.

There will certainly be fluctuations in the coming months, but investors' money has indeed been preserved. Those who bought into Huazi early on and held on for several months will have made substantial profits.

Before Zhai Kecheng could finalize the handover plan with the chairmen of the foreign firms, the ICAC had already uncovered most of his crimes and submitted another joint signature from more than 600 investigators.

Forced by circumstances, Youde had no choice but to approve the launch of an investigation. On the night of signing the document, the ICAC took Zhai Kecheng away.

The following day, the Governor-General's Office held a press conference, announcing that Zhai Kecheng had voluntarily resigned from his position as Financial Secretary. Various rumors circulated in the market, with speculations beginning to circulate that Zhai Kecheng had been arrested.

With Li Fuzhao and the others dead, there was no one left to shield Zhai Kecheng from further attacks. Zhai Kecheng became the sacrificial lamb, and even the prospect of being allowed to "resign" was out of the question.

After a week-long investigation, Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) Secretary for Financial Integrity, John Wesley, announced to the public that the former Financial Secretary was involved in insider trading, illegally shutting down the stock market, and money laundering. He has been sent to Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre and will be prosecuted in accordance with procedures.

This was the first Chief Executive to be sent to jail, and he was the second most important person after the Governor. The whole of Hong Kong was shocked, and British stocks plummeted.

It's worth noting that there were over a dozen protests of varying sizes in Central, Kowloon, and Tsim Sha Tsui recently. These protests were either against shutting down the stock market or against insider trading.

At that time, British-owned stock prices had already begun to recover and gradually rose. This was due to three factors: firstly, British capital's efforts to rescue the market; secondly, the market had stabilized and long-term confidence had accumulated; and thirdly, there was belief in the Hong Kong government's political protection.

Even if there are protests, it won't stop the influx of funds.

However, with Zhai Kecheng's arrest and imprisonment, his three powerful supports were all destroyed.

Police chief Yu Shaoze personally hosted a banquet at the Regent Hotel for underworld figures such as Yin Zhaotang, Ge Zhixiong, Tai Po Niu, and Si Yanlong.

Originally, given their different statuses, they shouldn't have met privately, but the grand spectacle they put on was clearly intended to help the Hong Kong government settle the matter.

After Yin Zhaotang took his seat, all the key figures had arrived.

Yu Shaoze, with the demeanor of a big shot, raised his glass without any hesitation, stood up, looked around, and said loudly, "Everyone, we're all acquaintances, so let's not waste any more words."

"The shooting incident in Hung Hom Tunnel is now left to the police force to handle. If the police force fails to handle it well, they will be punished with three drinks."

In a suit and tie, Yu Sir downed three glasses of red wine, his lean and weathered face now flushed red: "Besides, the Hong Kong government has already handed over Zhai Kecheng, so it's not good to investigate further. I hope everyone will stop here and not make things difficult for the brothers any further."

Yin Zhaotang remained silent, letting out a long sigh in his heart, utterly disappointed.

What's the big deal about paying respects to a financial official?
The Financial Secretary's life is precious, but the life of a member of the Return Committee is worthless!

Four-Eyed Dragon, Happy, Tiger and the others all smiled and said they were satisfied, as if they really hadn't expected the Hong Kong government to hand over the Financial Secretary.

That's the Financial Secretary! The Hong Kong government is willing to hand him over, so what more could they ask for?
While Ge Zhixiong and his companion were observing Yin Sheng's attitude at Tai Po Niu, Yu Shaoze also focused his attention on Yin Zhaotang and raised his glass again to toast him: "Yin Sheng, give me some face."

Yin Zhaotang picked up the wine glass, slowly stood up, and before clinking glasses with Yu Shaoze, she suddenly turned around and spilled the wine on the ground, saying coldly, "I've already given it to you. If you don't want it, there's nothing I can do."

(End of this chapter)