I have a debt of 3 trillion, and my creditors are begging me not to die.

Chapter 236 The Bald Eagle Seeks Yang Chen's Help, Joining Forces to Set Up a Scheme in Europe
The world's netizens couldn't stand by and watch Sand Kingdom's actions.

A netizen from Bald Eagle commented: "People all over the world can see who did it, but no one dares to speak up. This is outrageous! Will our ships even be able to go out to sea anymore?"
A German netizen commented: "This series of actions is incredibly clever. Such wisdom could not have been achieved without thousands of years of accumulated experience."

A South Korean netizen commented: "We all know who did it, so why can't we unite to deal with them? It's your indifference and tolerance that emboldens them to continue violating our alliance. As the only developed country in Asia, our military strength is among the world's best. With the assistance of allies like the US, I think we can give it a try."

A netizen from India commented: "That's right, it's me. As the world's oldest country, we have indeed accumulated thousands of years of wisdom. This kind of childish operation may seem amazing to you, but it's just basic stuff for us."

A netizen from the Sand Kingdom commented: "South Korea and India are truly a pair of oddballs. I don't know where you get the courage to say such things. South Korea isn't even an independent and sovereign country, and India is even more bizarre. They don't even know where their own missiles are going, and they've been boasting about their Tejas fighter jet for decades without ever developing it. And you dare to claim to be the best in Asia and the third best in the world? With your intelligence, can you even understand this kind of charade?"
……

Everyone can clearly see whose work this is, but they can't say because they lack evidence.

BlackRock President Manny Pacquiao and Vanguard President Charles Barkley sent video requests to Yang Chen.

Pacquiao and Barkley both looked grim. They knew in their hearts that Yang Chen, as the mastermind behind the scenes, had once again won a great victory. He not only won over Europe but also got Europe to spend money to plant bionic fish produced by Sihai Intelligent in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and other sea areas. Nominally, these bionic fish belonged to Europe, but ultimately, the control was in Yang Chen's hands. In other words, Yang Chen controlled the discourse power of nearly half of the sea area while making money.

Given Yang Chen's style of doing things, if you want him to help mediate the conflict between the United States and Europe, the United States will definitely have to pay some price; he can't work for free.

Yang Chen laughed and said, "What's with those expressions on your faces? As presidents of a globally renowned asset management group, you wouldn't be like those ignorant netizens who suspect I'm pulling the strings behind the scenes, would you? Really? You don't really think that, do you?"

Although they knew that Yang Chen was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, they couldn't say it out loud at this moment, lest they embarrass Yang Chen and ruin their mission.

Pacquiao said with a smile, "We and Europe are in a dilemma now. Neither of us can back down, but we can't really go to war. I hope Mr. Yang can step in and mediate. After all, you have close ties with us and with them."

Barkley followed up, saying, "We are truly regretting how things have turned out this way because of our initial misunderstanding. We don't ask Mr. Yang for any special feelings for us, but we beg him to help us out, considering how much money we lent you."

Yang Chen shook his head with a troubled expression and refused, saying, "Stop making trouble. I'm just an ordinary citizen. How could I possibly mediate the conflict between you bald eagles and Europe? If I had that ability, how could I just stand by and watch you disregard the safety of all mankind and keep talking about fighting?"

Pacquiao gave an awkward laugh and said, "We won't let Mr. Yang help us for nothing. We can get close to Mr. Yang's new energy vehicles, and then Mr. Yang's cars can be sold in our market. How about that?"

Yang Chen laughed and said, "Stop joking. Everyone knows that your family has a different policy for every president, and the next president doesn't recognize the policies of the previous president. Today, this president lifts the ban on my new energy vehicles, but next year, when the new president comes in, he will dare to deny this policy and ban my new energy vehicles again. I'm not going to get involved in your mess for less than a year."

In capitalist countries, each president represents the interests of different industries. If the previous president advocated for new energy and environmental protection, and the current president receives support from the traditional energy and automotive industries, he will tear up environmental agreements, withdraw from environmental organizations, and do his best to repay the traditional energy giants who supported his rise to power.

This is one of the many drawbacks of capitalism: these countries never have a long-term, stable development plan.

Yang Chen understands capitalism too well; he certainly wouldn't accept such conditions.

Barkley asked, "So what do we need to do to get Mr. Yang to believe us?"

"Besides pandering to capitalists and fooling your own people, who in any good family would believe your capitalist system?" Yang Chen replied.

Pacquiao immediately said, "Mr. Yang, we are genuinely inviting you to mediate. How about this, we'll use Wall Street's investment in China as collateral. If, as you say, the new president breaks the contract and bans your new energy vehicles again, you will confiscate our Wall Street investment in China as compensation."

Barkley quickly added, "Yes, isn't that a very sincere offer?"

Yang Chen was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "You are indeed showing some sincerity, but that's not enough for me to mediate the conflict between your two families. I want White Eagle to fully lift the ban on products manufactured by companies I control, and I'll use all of White Eagle's investments in China as collateral. These are my conditions. You should discuss it with your families, and we'll talk again once we have a result."

Pacquiao and Barkley's mission was to find out Yang Chen's conditions. They immediately ended the video call and reported to the Bald Eagle's senior management.

Opening up the market is a huge risk for a country because it will impact its domestic industries, with foreigners making all the money while domestic companies go bankrupt due to lack of competition. Over time, the domestic market will be completely controlled by foreign capital.

Without sufficient wisdom to control the scale, and unless forced into a corner, no country is willing to open its market to foreign companies for unlimited operation. Under normal circumstances, they would exchange market access for technology, or simply impose taxes and raise prices on foreign products to induce ordinary people in their own country to buy domestic products.

"No! Absolutely not! If Yang Chen's new energy vehicles fully enter our market, our traditional automobile industry, including the oil industry, will all be finished. That's a matter of life and death for tens of millions of workers, and it could even shake the foundations of the nation."

“I absolutely cannot open the market to all of Yang Chen’s products. His products are of high quality, technologically advanced, and surprisingly cheap. Our local companies simply cannot compete with him. If he enters the market, all our companies will be finished. We cannot afford the consequences.”

"But times must progress. Traditional energy and the automotive industry are already outdated. If we keep clinging to the interests of a certain group and fail to make progress, it will not be conducive to the country's development. To be honest, sometimes I really envy China. Their national system allows them to develop very well. They only need to consider the overall interests, while we have to consider the interests of every industry, even every piece of capital. Open up then, give our domestic enterprises a sense of crisis, so they don't just think about government help all day long and fail to make progress."

"I also think we can't ignore the big picture just to protect the interests of backward industries. If controlled nuclear fusion becomes a reality in the future, should we stop using it to protect the interests of the oil and gasoline vehicle industries? There may be growing pains, but in the long run, it will definitely be more beneficial to the country."

Everyone can talk about grand principles, but when it comes to their own vital interests, industry leaders like those in the oil sector are unlikely to agree. A heated argument broke out between the new faction, represented by new energy vehicles, and the old faction, represented by oil, and they ultimately failed to reach a consensus.

Just as they were arguing, bad news came from the Red Sea: an Aegis-equipped ship had lost contact.

They say they've lost contact, but everyone knows what's really going on.

Two years ago, everyone present would have been enraged beyond measure. They would have felt that their authority as the strongest on Earth had been offended, and they would have been determined to retaliate.

But over the past two years, they've been hit by slippers countless times, and they've become somewhat numb to it, even taking it for granted.

"They've acquired hypersonic missiles, which we simply can't defend against. But if we were to actually engage in a full-scale war to eliminate them, it would be too risky for us. It's not that we can't win, but if we get bogged down in a war, we'll completely lose the competition with China."

"No, we absolutely cannot engage in a large-scale war against Slippers. The whole world is hoping we'll get caught up in another wrong war. Let's handle this quietly. Let's stop arguing about what we were just discussing. Accept Yang Chen's terms and get us to reconcile with Europe as soon as possible. We can't afford to drag this out any longer."

"If the country loses the competition, not only will traditional industries have no way to survive, but emerging industries will also suffer. Everyone should stop focusing on personal interests and prioritize the overall situation. Accept it."

The bigwigs representing traditional industries, who had just been vehemently opposed to accepting Yang Chen's conditions, wisely chose to remain silent.

That's just how people are; they won't give up their core interests unless they're forced into a situation where they have no other choice. You can understand the mentality of the bald eagles.

Slipper will become a pawn for Yang Chen. As long as Bald Eagle doesn't dare to make the decision to fight Slipper to the death, Yang Chen can pull out Slipper at any time to control Bald Eagle.

You can't blame Yang Chen for this; it's all because Yingzi was so useless.

Late at night, Yang Chen had just finished playing the "King Captures the Concubine" game with 10 beauties when Pacquiao and Barkley sent him video requests again.

Yang Chen chuckled and joked, "I heard one of your warships has gone missing?"

Pacquiao said awkwardly, "Mr. Yang is right, one Aegis ship has indeed gone missing. However, that's not what we need to discuss. We've reached a conclusion on the conditions Mr. Yang proposed last time. In principle, we can accept Mr. Yang's conditions, but Mr. Yang must guarantee that we can end this dispute with Europe in a dignified manner. Is that too much to ask?"

Yang Chen replied with a smile, "Not at all."

Pacquiao immediately asked, "So Mr. Yang has agreed?"

“I won’t agree,” Yang Chen replied.

Pacquiao was stunned. Are you kidding me?

Barkley asked excitedly, "Mr. Yang said it wasn't excessive, so why won't he agree?"

Yang Chen smiled and replied, "It's not an exaggeration for me to say that. There's no necessary causal relationship between me agreeing and you agreeing. No one in this world ever asks someone for a favor and expects them to do it. That's basic courtesy. You don't even understand basic courtesy, so why should I agree?"

That's the point. Nobody asks someone for a favor and then expects them to actually do it.

Pacquiao said, "Mr. Yang, please don't misunderstand. We didn't mean anything by it. We just thought that since we've paid the costs, we must get things done."

Barkley quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Yang Chen replied with a smile, "That's unreasonable. You ask someone for a favor and expect them to do it for you. You lack even basic human decency and manners. It seems you haven't learned your lesson. Don't make any conditions when negotiating with me. This is a fundamental premise you must understand. If you don't even understand this premise, what am I supposed to talk to you about?"

If they hadn't wanted Yang Chen to use his assets as collateral before lending money to Sihai Investment, how could things have developed to this point?
It all started with that mortgage loan.

They keep saying they know they're wrong, but when they actually do something, they still make the same old mistakes.

Yang Chen not only needs to cure Europe's fear of eagles, but also the bald eagle's habit of making demands on people at the drop of a hat.

Pacquiao quickly said, "We understand what Mr. Yang means. Please wait a moment while I ask him again. Barkley, you talk to Mr. Yang." Barkley nodded and continued chatting with Yang Chen.

Pacquiao quickly reported Yang Chen's intentions to the higher-ups. In fact, at this point, they had no other choice. They hated Yang Chen so much that if they had any other options, they would not have asked Yang Chen to mediate.

Therefore, whatever Yang Chen says goes.

After receiving instructions from his superiors, Pacquiao immediately returned to Yang Chen and said, "Mr. Yang, no problem, everything will be done as you said."

Yang Chen smiled and nodded, saying, "Then have all the heads of your country's companies that have invested more than ten million in China come over. We'll sign an agreement. Don't give me any other nonsense; the agreement has to be signed."

Pacquiao nodded and said, "Okay! Let's get there as soon as possible."

Three days later, Bald Eagle's business representative, Raventon, led a team comprised of well-known companies such as BlackRock, Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and StrongSound to Jiangcheng to meet Yang Chen.

The two parties signed an agreement stipulating that if the White Eagle dares to ban Yang Chen's products again, all of these companies' assets in China will be used to compensate Yang Chen for his losses, and these companies must also ensure that their assets in China can only increase and not decrease.

After the agreement was signed, Yang Chen explained his solution.

"Do you know what mistake you made in this matter?" Yang Chen asked.

Raventon shook his head with displeasure, and representatives from BlackRock and other companies also shook their heads.

Yang Chen replied, “Your mistake is militarizing non-military issues and politicizing non-political issues. It's just a normal financial and economic problem, yet you habitually resort to hegemonic tactics to solve it. Let's just discuss this issue: you feel unhappy that Europe has made money off you, that's easy to resolve. You can come to me and short-sell Europe to make your money back, right? I punch you, you punch me back, that's self-defense. If I punch you, you're going to bomb me with nuclear weapons, that means you've got something wrong with your brains.”

Reventon asked, "It's not like we haven't reaped the benefits of Europe before, and weren't we the ones who got reaped back by you on their behalf?"

Yang Chen replied, "Whose fault is that? I gave you a chance first, but you didn't want to cooperate. Now there's an opportunity to earn double the money right in front of you. It's up to you whether you listen to me or not. Investment bank representatives, please stay. Everyone else, please leave for now. Xiao Xi, take the others to the reception room to rest."

Chen Xi nodded and led Reventon and the other non-investment bank representatives to other reception rooms to wait.

Those who stayed with Yang Chen were all representatives from Wall Street investment banks.

BlackRock CEO Pacquiao quickly asked, "Mr. Yang, what did you mean by the opportunity to double your earnings that you just mentioned?"

"Same as always, let's talk about terms first. Helping you solve problems and helping you make money are two separate things. You can't give me one condition and expect me to do two things for you, can you?" Yang Chen said.

The foreigners were speechless for a moment. Yang Chen always had to negotiate terms before doing anything.

"Why is Mr. Yang trying to negotiate again?" Pacquiao said.

Yang Chen chuckled and asked, "What else is there to talk about if not conditions? Dating? If I'm willing to negotiate conditions, I'll cooperate with you. You should be happy about that. If I were to form cliques and exclude dissidents like you, you wouldn't even have the chance to cooperate with me."

Goldman Sachs President Winterkorn smiled and said, "Mr. Yang is right. It's good to be able to negotiate. So, what does Mr. Yang want?"

Yang Chen replied, "That depends on your sincerity. If I ask for it directly, it would be like extorting you."

Pacquiao said, "If Mr. Yang can really help us earn double back, we'll deduct 2000 billion Eagle Dollars from the 100 billion Eagle Dollars we lent him last time as compensation. Is that alright?"

Yang Chen laughed loudly and said, "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can get rid of me with a mere 100 billion Eagle Dollars? Do you know how much money you'll make by doubling that? 100 billion Eagle Dollars, how dare you even mention that?"

The investment bank presidents exchanged glances. If they could really double their earnings, giving Yang Chen only 100 billion Eagle Dollars as a kickback was indeed a bit too little.

After a brief discussion, the group decided to adopt an incentive-based approach to give Yang Chen a kickback.

If their earnings reach 500 billion Eagle Coins, they will forgive 100 billion Eagle Coins of the loan to Sihai Investment. For every additional 500 billion Eagle Coins on top of the 100 billion Eagle Coins, they will forgive 30 billion Eagle Coins of the debt owed to Sihai Investment.

Yang Chen smiled and nodded, saying, "See, it would have been better if you had shown your sincerity earlier. In the future, when you talk to me about things, remember to discuss what conditions you want for me first, so that we can talk faster."

Pacquiao smiled and said, "After this incident, we know how to deal with Mr. Yang. Now, Mr. Yang, could you tell us how you plan to resolve our conflict with Europe? We must be able to save face; that's the prerequisite for everything."

Yang Chen replied with a smile, "Things have come to this point, you've long lost your dignity. The whole world is laughing at you, so what dignity do you have left?"

Yang Chen really didn't give them any face at all; every word he said hit them where it hurt.

Goldman Sachs President Winterkorn said, "Mr. Yang, please don't say things like that to provoke us. Just tell us your solution."

Yang Chen nodded and went straight to his solution.

The first step was for the U.S. government to announce plans to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles to attack major European cities and to send the world's most powerful bomber, the B-2, to patrol the European coast.

This step must be carefully measured to ensure it serves as a strategic threat without being so severe as to give Europe an opportunity to retaliate in self-defense.

Capital is driven by profit and avoids loss. At this time, with Europe shrouded in the shadow of war, capital will be eager to flee the European stock market, leaving it in ruins and devastation.

The second step was for Bald Eagle Capital to buy up European stocks at rock-bottom prices, especially in the financial and technology sectors. They could buy blindly.

At this point, Europe will definitely turn to Yang Chen for help in stabilizing their stock markets. Yang Chen will take the opportunity to make a quick buck from them, while openly buying at the bottom and preparing for a price surge.

The third step is for the U.S. government to make a high-profile announcement about unfreezing funds in Europe, while using slightly more submissive language to make the world think they have conceded defeat.

This step is crucial; we must make the world believe that Europe has won, the bald eagle has lost, and Europe's future is bright.

At this time, global capital will be optimistic about Europe's future, and European stock markets will definitely surge.

The fourth step, which is also crucial, involves the US colluding with Europe to trick Yang Chen, giving him an excuse to retaliate against Europe.

At this point, Yang Chen will short-sell Europe in revenge, and the US will simultaneously short-sell as well.

With such a rise and fall, the bald eagle can make money twice, definitely making back all the money it lost before, and might even have a surplus.

As for Yang Chen, he's just earning a little money through hard work, nothing special to say about that.

The CEOs were stunned. They all said that capitalists were ruthless, but compared to Yang Chen, they were as green as green recruits.

Pacquiao, having thoroughly grasped Yang Chen's steps, immediately gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Mr. Yang's move of entering the game with his own body, gaining a decisive advantage over fate, is incredibly powerful!"

Goldman Sachs President Winterkorn was the second to figure out Yang Chen's tactics, and quickly said, "Mr. Yang has so many tricks up his sleeve, it's impossible not to admire him. As long as he can make money, he'll pretend to be timid for a while, it's no big deal. Real money in hand is what matters."

Vanguard President Barkley said, "After all this, Mr. Yang must have made quite a bit of money. To be honest, I really hate that Mr. Yang is always making money off us, but I also admire your abilities. You deserve to make this kind of money. They say being an ally of the Bald Eagle is fatal, and I think being an ally of Mr. Yang is just as fatal."

"Haha..." Everyone laughed.

Yang Chen shook his finger and said, "No, no, no, you're wrong. If someone is an ally I approve of, I will do my best to protect them. But like my country, I adhere to a policy of non-alignment. We only decide who to befriend based on our own needs. Today we may be adversaries, and tomorrow we may be partners. In international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. Only by not forming alliances can we operate flexibly."

The CEOs applauded, saying that this was the culmination of 5000 years of accumulated wisdom.

Yang Chen smiled and said, "Alright, things are clear now, let's stop here. Remember every step I said, especially the key steps I specifically reminded you of, you must not make any mistakes, otherwise we will not achieve the desired results."

Pacquiao immediately replied, "Mr. Yang, rest assured, we will strictly follow your instructions. I wish us both great success."

"Ha ha……"

(End of this chapter)