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

Chapter 288 Shorting Japan and South Korea

A series of new policies in Jiangcheng City quickly topped the list of trending topics on the internet, drawing envy and resentment from residents of other cities.

"I envy the people of Jiangcheng who are about to achieve socialism. When I was in college in Jiangcheng, I transferred my household registration there. Later, I transferred it back for my family's small plot of land. Looking back now, it was a really bad move. It's too difficult to transfer my household registration back to Jiangcheng now."

"I envy the people of Jiangcheng for having an entrepreneur like Mr. Yang. He single-handedly supports the entire city. If it weren't for his company paying two trillion yuan in taxes, Jiangcheng wouldn't have the money to provide these welfare benefits. Putting everything else aside, the 12-year compulsory education is incredibly attractive. After graduating from high school, you're an adult. Those who can get into university can continue their studies, those who can't can learn a trade, and those who don't even want to learn a trade can go straight to work."

"Although I haven't received the house I bought from Wang Sihai yet, I've already forgiven him because he somehow managed to get us Mr. Yang, our savior. In just three years, Jiangcheng has undergone earth-shattering changes. What if it takes another three years, or another thirty? I can't imagine what Jiangcheng will become. Everyone who can move their household registration to Jiangcheng should do so as soon as possible. I feel that Jiangcheng can really achieve socialism ahead of schedule."

……

Just as foreigners were discussing how Jiangcheng's GDP was three times that of New York, a new policy from the Jiangcheng municipal government swept in, completely overwhelming them.

A netizen from Japan commented: "I always thought socialism was just an unrealistic fantasy, but now it seems that socialism is the ultimate form of human society. Yang Chen only took three years to make Jiangcheng City so much better. If the entire country of China became like this, wouldn't that be the ultimate form of socialism? Education is free, medical care is almost free, and all kinds of public facilities are almost free. They can survive even if they just lie down and do nothing, while we can only wander the streets or even starve to death if we don't work."

A South Korean netizen commented: "This is outrageous! Yang Chen amasses wealth worldwide and then pays taxes to their governments to improve welfare for their citizens. Doesn't this mean that people in other countries are working hard to support the people of Jiangcheng? Other countries should join forces to restrict Yang Chen, prevent his products from being sold in our country, and stop him from making money to support the people of Jiangcheng."

A netizen commented: "It seems we made the wrong choice. We were the big brother of socialism, but we were deceived by the bald eagle and embarked on the capitalist road. Yang Chen proved to the world through his actions that socialism is not just a beautiful fantasy, but a achievable ultimate social form. I really like what Yang Chen said: technological development should benefit the people. As technology advances and controlled nuclear fusion becomes a reality, once humanity solves the energy problem, won't we be able to achieve socialism? I wonder if it's too late to return to a socialist country now."

A German netizen commented: "At this moment, Thomas More's reputation has suddenly skyrocketed. When he first proposed socialist ideas, he was called a utopian. Will anyone still say that now? Putting everything else aside, I'm confident that Jiangcheng will become the first city in the world to achieve the ultimate form of socialism. I can only envy the people of Jiangcheng from afar, while we still have to work like oxen and horses, continuing to toil for capitalists to make money."

……

This has greatly alarmed the leaders of Western countries. Isn't this tantamount to undermining the foundation of their capitalism?

If their people believe that socialism is the ultimate form of human society, how can these capitalist countries convince their people that their social system is the best?

Are these capitalists' concerns unnecessary?
Do not!
Their concerns are valid.

Sure enough, a news item quickly became a trending topic worldwide.

A march has taken place in the streets of New York, the home of the U.S. Bald Eagle. Anyone familiar with Western countries knows that such events are perfectly normal in these countries, and no one is surprised by them.

But this time it's different, because the slogan of this march is to carry out a "communist revolution" and to establish a political party.

Hundreds of people marched through New York's busiest streets, singing songs of the Communist International, attracting worldwide attention.

It's important to understand that the United States is a capitalist superpower, and such internal problems have a significant impact.

This will make people all over the world think that capitalism is really no good. Otherwise, why would the bald eagle, as the most powerful country, experience this situation?

This march was originally planned by them, but it happened to coincide with the new policy in Jiangcheng City, so everyone naturally connected the two events.

The White House Congress convened an emergency meeting, where members engaged in heated discussions.

“We must take stricter measures to restrain Yang Chen and not let him continue on this path. If he really leads Jiangcheng City to achieve socialism ahead of schedule, we will be finished. Who will still believe in capitalism in the future? Our people also want to take the socialist road, what will we do? Anyway, I am not willing to share the money I have worked so hard to earn with others.”

"We've been targeting Yang Chen, but we can't stop him at all. What else can we do? If we anger him, he'll short our stock market again, and we'll be in even worse shape. I don't know if Jiangcheng can achieve socialism ahead of schedule, but I do know we'll collapse first. We're a nation built on finance, after all. If the stock market crashes, who will trust us?"

"Either we eliminate him or we completely restrict him. In short, we can't let him make so much money. We can't afford the serious consequences of letting him continue to develop. In the past, Europe wasn't on our side because Yang Chen didn't infringe on our common interests. Now it's different. Yang Chen is going to undermine the foundation of capitalism, and Europe will also be affected. They will definitely be willing to join forces with us to restrict him."

“I agree with Jack. Europe will definitely be willing to join forces with us this time. We should contact European countries now to seek cooperation and introduce measures to restrict Yang Chen as soon as possible. No matter what the cost, we must completely suppress Yang Chen.”

After some discussion, they unanimously decided to join forces with Europe to deal with Yang Chen.

European countries were indeed somewhat panicked, but since no one in their families was openly advocating for socialism, they were not in a hurry to restrict Yang Chen's ideas.

Moreover, they knew what the consequences would be if they targeted Yang Chen. With so many cases before them, they didn't want to knowingly walk down a dead end.

The bald eagle first contacted traitorous countries like England and Italy. If they could persuade these countries to join forces with them, they could at least guarantee that a portion of the European market would reject Yang Chen's products.

At this moment, Yang Chen was meeting with the presidents of various European banks to discuss the specific steps for attacking Japan and South Korea.

“Our strategy is simple: everyone just needs to select representative companies to short-sell. You need to give me the list of companies you've chosen so I can successfully short-sell them. Sakura and Xiba will definitely resist. If they resist through the capital market, it's like giving them a free ride; we don't need to worry about them at all. If they resist through political means, we'll have to get the government to deal with them. Is that clear enough?” Yang Chen said.

Deutsche Bank CEO Horns immediately replied, "Understood! We know what to do."

Barclays President Boris Johnson quickly added, "This isn't the first time we've worked with Mr. Yang, so we naturally know your operating procedures. As for the resistance from Japan and South Korea, with so many countries working together, even if we gave them a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to act like scoundrels."

"Haha..." The big shots laughed heartily.

Yang Chen nodded and said, "Okay! Let's get started. Everyone can choose to short companies in Japan and South Korea. Oh, by the way, don't touch Samsung Group in South Korea. I have a very good relationship with the chairman of Samsung, so don't make me feel awkward."

When Lee Jae-young comes back crying and complaining that Yang Chen brought outsiders to bully her, Yang Chen will definitely be in a real bind. Anyway, there are many conglomerates in South Korea, so losing one Samsung Group won't make much of a difference.

Once the CEOs understood Yang Chen's meaning, they all wore gossipy smiles.

"Rumor has it that Mr. Yang helped Lee Jae-young seize control of Samsung, and Lee Jae-young reciprocated by offering himself to him. It seems the rumors are true," UBS President Punxter said with a smile.

Barry Bank President Matthews said with a smile, "Since ancient times, beauties have loved heroes. I, a man, can't help but admire a hero like Mr. Yang, let alone the chairman of Samsung. Don't worry, Mr. Yang, we will absolutely not touch the Samsung system."

Yang Chen said with a smile, "Alright, let's get started. Remember to give me the list of companies you're shorting, otherwise I can't guarantee your shorting will be successful."

The CEOs nodded in agreement and immediately instructed their traders to start shorting companies in Japan and South Korea.

Sihai Investments has also started shorting.

In Japan, short selling has targeted 10 companies, including Panasonic, Shu Yin, Toyota, Honda, Fast Retailing (the parent company of Uniqlo), Mitsubishi Bank, Nintendo, Tokyo Electronics, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Chugai Pharmaceutical, with a total market capitalization of approximately 850 billion US dollars.

In South Korea, short selling was conducted on 10 companies, including SK, LG, Hyundai Motor, POSCO, Bangjin Group, Lecten Holdings, Hansen, Korean Air, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Kakao, with a total market value of approximately 900 billion U.S. dollars.

Soon, European banks also completed their short selling and submitted their short-selling lists to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen handed the list to Zhao Jing, president of Sihai Investment, and instructed, "Add all the companies on the list that we haven't shorted yet."

Zhao Jing nodded and quickly asked, "How much should we short?"

"Whatever, just short it, any amount is fine, you decide for yourself," Yang Chen replied.

Zhao Jing nodded and quickly instructed the trader to fill in the missing items on the list.

Once the traders have completed the short-selling procedures, Yang Chen will be using Weibo for work.

Yang Chen posted a Weibo update.

"At the end of last year, some ill-intentioned countries suddenly tried to seize my assets. I selected a few countries and had a good confrontation with them. Later, most countries admitted that they had been deceived, and after investigation, it was confirmed that my company had no problems. Since it was a misunderstanding, and they also made clarifications, I didn't pursue it further, after all, harmony brings wealth. However, two countries had a very bad attitude, namely Japan and South Korea. These two countries have not lifted the ban on my investments to this day, nor have they made any public clarifications, nor have they even communicated with me privately."

"Everyone knows I'm someone who absolutely refuses to suffer losses. They illegally seized my assets, so naturally I have to fight back. I'm now officially announcing my short selling of Japan and South Korea. I'll stop when these two countries issue an official apology. Otherwise, we'll keep going like this, and I'll see how much wealth their shareholders and my European allies can harvest."

Yang Chen's Weibo post was immediately translated into dozens of languages ​​and reposted on foreign websites. Subsequently, major European banks such as Deutsche Bank, Barisan Nasional, and UBS forwarded and commented on it.

Deutsche Bank: We are very good friends with Mr. Yang Chen. To bully Mr. Yang is to bully Deutsche Bank. We will join forces with Mr. Yang to teach them a lesson. Other countries have already publicly clarified and proven that Mr. Yang's business is legal. Japan and South Korea's assertion that Mr. Yang's business is illegal is tantamount to denying the rights of other countries. Since they deny us, we will take concrete actions to make them understand who is right and who is wrong.

UBS: The whole world knows that Switzerland is a permanently neutral country. Although we have a good relationship with Mr. Yang Chen, we will not short Japan and South Korea for his sake. Our basis for shorting Japan and South Korea is that they will face retaliation from Mr. Yang, and their stock markets will definitely plummet, which is why we shorted them.

Barisan Bank: We are not as hypocritical as UBS. We are simply helping our ally, Mr. Yang Chen, teach Japan and South Korea a lesson. We will not stop until these two countries issue a public apology.

At this moment, the White House, the presidential office, is located in the Bald Eagle's territory.

"No wonder they all refused when we contacted the European side to join forces against Yang Chen. It turns out that Yang Chen started by leading them to make money off Japan and South Korea."

"Sigh... Originally, Yang Chen was going to lead Wall Street to short Japan and South Korea, but because we asked Wall Street to chase Yang Chen for debts, he abandoned Wall Street and pulled Europe into shorting Japan and South Korea instead. We should have made that money, but now Europe is profiting. Fuck!"

"No, Japan is our lifeblood. Their wealth can only be harvested by us, not by others. Our 35 trillion Eagle Dollar debt is too much, and we urgently need to harvest Japan to replenish our resources. If Japan is harvested by Yang Chen and Europe at this time, what will we harvest then?"

"That's true. They've taken over Japan, so who are we going to take over? Small countries are too small to take over effectively. Europe is difficult to take over, as it could easily put us in a passive position in international relations. China is simply impossible to take over. Only Japan and South Korea are the most suitable. We can reap considerable benefits from taking over them, and they won't dare to resist. We must stop them from taking over Japan and South Korea."

"Without delay, we should immediately notify the relevant countries to stop Yang Chen and his group from exploiting Japan and South Korea. If necessary, we can raise this issue at a regular UN meeting. Although short selling is legal, it's not a good thing after all, and we can always find some reasons to do so."

Soon, the presidents of Japan and South Korea received calls from the president of the United States, asking them to join the United States in issuing a statement condemning Yang Chen and Europe's financial robbery.

With their leader taking the lead, Japan and South Korea were naturally willing to follow.

Japan immediately held a press conference, where a spokesperson angrily stated in front of journalists from around the world: "We are a sovereign nation, and we have the right to investigate any company or individual, for as long as we wish, and no one may interfere. We did not say that Yang Chen's business was illegal; we simply needed time to investigate thoroughly. His shorting of our stock market based on this is utterly unreasonable. We strongly condemn this bullying behavior and hope that people around the world will stand up for us."

South Korea also held a press conference, with a spokesperson stating vehemently, "It's perfectly normal and legal for any country to investigate foreign investment within its borders. There's no set timeframe for such investigations, and no one should retaliate against us. Because the investigation isn't over, we haven't publicly announced the legality of Yang Chen's business dealings—isn't that perfectly normal? It's utterly unreasonable for Yang Chen to collude with Europe to short our stock market because of this. We hope the United Nations will intervene to stop this financial predation."

Then, at the Bald Eagle's regular press conference, the spokesperson also gave his opinion on the matter.

"We have taken note of the relevant news. I think Japan and South Korea are absolutely right. As sovereign nations, they have the right to investigate foreign companies with questionable practices. It's perfectly normal for them not to comment before the investigation is complete. For Yang Chen to use this as a reason for short selling is incredibly arrogant and domineering. His thuggish behavior should be resisted by people all over the world. We urge the relevant countries to immediately stop their bullying. At the same time, we will petition the UN General Assembly to impose sanctions on Yang Chen and the European banks, preventing them from bullying sovereign nations in this way. This is our stance; we will definitely take action, not just talk. Japan and South Korea, don't be afraid; we, the bald eagle, stand with you."

(End of this chapter)