What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 523 Planting the Seeds of a Financial Bubble
In reality, the clash with US Online was just an accident, but it ultimately became the fuse for the IAA's intervention.

Tang Wen carefully reviewed the situation and recalled that the IAA had previously expressed a willingness to continue in-depth contact with him, but he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

It now appears that the IAA's objective has always been to maintain Geykin's significant influence over the domestic leadership, especially given its close relationship with the Navy, and this influence is something they naturally want to keep in their grasp.

Although Gaikin Corporation does not accept external financing, Tang Wen himself frequently invests hundreds of millions of dollars in the stock market, so he is not considered to be resistant to foreign capital. In the IAA's view, the deal should be reached smoothly.

While the IAA wasn't directly involved in AOL's machinations, it certainly played a significant role in fueling the fire. They've become quite adept at using the tactic of applying maximum pressure followed by offering a few scraps, and they believe it has been successful.

……

"Case, you've gone too far."

"I don't care about an outsider!"

AOL CEO Steve Case is engaged in a heated debate with shareholder representative Odin, who is criticizing Steve's reckless actions.

But Odin himself wasn't a good person either; the real reason he blamed Steve was because the operation had failed.

Steve Jobs is very capable. In the two years since he took over, AOL has captured nearly half of the domestic social networking market share. Since acquiring Netscape last year, it has expanded into e-commerce and even issued its own VISA credit card. Whether it's online shopping, chat rooms, or online advertising, everything is booming and expanding at a rapid pace.

According to Steve's own prediction, AOL's market value would at least triple by 2000 (in reality it was 7 times), making it the largest internet service provider in the country.

Investors don't think this is a pipe dream, because Netscape's stock price surged 108% on its first day of trading last year, and Steve's ability and vision are beyond doubt.

But it was precisely because of this that he instantly realized the crisis when the King BBS swept in:

At that time, internet companies around the world were still clueless. Many entrepreneurs had hundreds of thousands of users but didn't know how to make money. Apart from the old-fashioned paid subscriptions and a pitiful amount of advertising revenue, they couldn't think of any other tricks. So Steve, who successfully found a way to make money, just went on a killing spree.

But Gaijin Network is different. Backed by an oil giant, it has plenty of money and its operating model is obviously more advanced, and its community ecosystem is more well maintained.

If BBS only made Steve frown, Twitter was the biggest factor that made him apprehensive:
Twitter (TianTian Chat Room) is actually designed to be the next QQ, and it's not just a dry chat room. Tang Wen added a bunch of small features such as LV levels, emoticons, bubble styles, and space effects, making it as powerful as possible within the current mainstream PC performance level.

These fancy little tricks that don't affect the core functionality are actually a killer feature. Foreigners who initially registered out of curiosity are now calculating how many hours they spend online to earn a little star, and they're leveling up by leaving their accounts online 24 hours a day.

Tang Wen occasionally posts updates, and those who reply and forward can receive a limited-edition bubble skin. Each time, tens of thousands of people follow the trend, and the user stickiness far surpasses that of competing products.

Steve felt like Tang Wen was already in the next version. The free model was already so attractive, what would happen if online shopping and paid services were introduced later?
After considering various options, AOL's top management realized they couldn't compete on product fronts, so they resorted to underhanded tactics.

A newly arrived domestic company with no established foundation has plenty of reasons to find fault.

The guys who carried out the attack assumed that Tang Wen's residence was well-defended, so they specifically targeted mealtimes when there was a risk of oversight, but they still missed.

With only one chance to act, the previously hesitant shareholders immediately turned against Steve and then joined forces with the Virginia FIB to suppress public opinion.

"You caused this trouble, but you expect the investors to clean up your mess!"

After Odin gave Steve a dressing-down, he prepared to leave, but ran into an acquaintance as soon as he stepped outside:
FIB senior detective Jim, who is also their collaborator and protector, has extensive connections within the Bureau.

After meeting, he went straight to Steve and said:

"Now, resign from the CEO position immediately to recuperate, and return to the company in six months."

Steve and Odin both realized something was wrong, and then Jim continued with a dark expression:
"The people sent by the lottery commission were interrogated by the California authorities and confessed to a bribery deal with AOL, which was then shown on television!"

Odin was startled:
"Impossible. They know how much trouble it would cause if they told anyone. Even if they didn't, we would get them out. This is just a matter of breaking the rules, a simple matter of giving them a heads-up!"

Jim: "All I can say is that those nasty guys from the IAA have made their move. They must have used truth serum. This isn't going to be easy to resolve."

Upon hearing the name IAA, the two were instantly terrified, realizing that Tang Wen had actually made contact with the intelligence agency. This was truly a battle of the gods!

But Jim quickly comforted them:

"Tang is still useful to the Empire and keeps securing big orders, so detaining him is indeed not a good decision. However, this is the United States after all. Steve can just lay low for a while. The FIB still controls the mainland, and the higher-ups won't let them run wild!"

Steve is still hesitant. He says he's laying low to avoid the limelight, but who knows if he'll be back in six months? There are plenty of people who want to replace him.

Jim glanced at him, then hurried away.

The IAA and FIB have both conflicts and unclear connections, and in this case, Jones's demand is that a price must be paid to appease Tang Wen.

Besides the value of the gold, the more important reason is that the president is also putting pressure on them. It's not honorable to have this mess happen when the WTO accession negotiations are almost over.

After all, these are all minor players, and aside from the FIB, they can all be sacrificed as a "price".

……

Without the covert pressure, the revelation that AOL had instructed the lottery commission to make arrests caused a huge uproar across the United States.

Citibank first released the contract, stating that all financial operations for dividing the Victory Fund were entrusted to them, that they were fully qualified and risk-free, and that they had nothing to do with the lottery. The claim of financial fraud is completely unfounded; otherwise, it would be questioning Citibank.

With Tang Wen's six-figure legal fees, Boyce directly assembled a large group of litigators, forming a legal team of more than 30 people to collect evidence and witnesses, preparing to file a sensational lawsuit.

The media, in particular, flocked to these shady dealings, and in the long-standing atmosphere of conspiracy theories, all voices were critical of AOL.

Just one day after the incident, U.S. Online announced an internal investigation, and the following day it revealed that the incident was orchestrated by a vice president and department head, who were promptly dismissed and handed over to the police.

Steve Case also issued a public apology later, apologizing to Tang Wen for his lack of discipline, and stating that "there was no malicious competition" and "welcomes peers to enrich the market," and that he would pay a substantial sum of money as compensation.

He also reiterated that it was a personal act and had nothing to do with the company, and hoped that Tang Wen would withdraw the lawsuit.

But Boyce refused to accept this, and for the sake of six-figure legal fees, he urged Tang Wen to resolutely refuse to settle, and then filed a lawsuit against AOL on more than 40 charges, including financial fraud, malicious competition, and false accusation.

Riding the wave of public opinion, Tang Wen's Berkeley advisor, whom he had never met, also published an article criticizing AOL, praising "Tang as an innovator who brings change to the world" and saying that he should not be wronged in this way.

After that, Tang Wen accelerated his pace of action. After reaching an agreement with Qualcomm, he visited Texas Instruments, Bandai Semiconductor (which has nothing to do with Bandai Gundam), Motorola and other companies. Although no more deals were reached, they agreed to discuss further cooperation after returning to China, leaving a good impression.

His schedule was getting increasingly tight, but as the person at the center of public attention, he still needed to make a statement, so he gave an exclusive interview to a Forbes reporter:

“In fact, Gaijin is a newcomer to the internet industry, having only been in the industry for a year. I think there are many things I need to learn from veterans like AOL. I also came here with the mindset of having an American dream.”

Tang Wen appeared cautious and humble in front of reporters, even with a hint of optimism:
"The spirit of the internet is inclusivity and sharing. I have believed this in the past and I still believe it now. I also believe that a fair United States will make those who break the rules pay the price."

I apologize for the public relations crisis this has caused. I announce an additional ten million US dollars to the Victory Fund, and this time it's for all users worldwide, anyone in the community…

Tang Wen's speech was almost cinematic in its emotional impact and inclusiveness, perfectly portraying the image of an entrepreneur who came here for the American dream and persevered despite setbacks.

At this time, the American public and mainstream opinion were exactly drawn to this approach, which perfectly hit their sweet spot.

Reporter: "However, as far as I know, DaWang BBS and Twitter have not launched any paid programs, so they are purely operating at a loss."

"That's because my original intention in starting the internet industry was to provide everyone with groundbreaking services without making money!"

The Empire, a cornerstone of the Allied forces, is still fighting on the front lines; everyone, regardless of region, should support it!

Tang Wen's compassionate demeanor moved the female reporter to tears, who thought he was too naive, still clinging to his dreams even after being tricked by the evil AOL. She then offered to come to Tang Wen's room to comfort him.

The latter declined the offer and instead gave $10 for travel expenses.

The following day, Forbes magazine published a major article:

Who ruined the American dream?

……

Following the Forbes news release, DaWang BBS announced that it would share the Allied Victory Fund with users worldwide, with no limit on the number of participants, and the fund would be distributed equally among all registered users one month later.

To address the current issues of many netizens not having bank card numbers and the inconvenience of cross-border transfers, BBS thoughtfully stated that bonuses can be stored permanently in the account wallet and can be withdrawn at any time.

Without making a sound, Tang Wen quietly laid the groundwork for mobile payment.

But for ordinary people, the choice is obvious: on one side is a simple-minded tycoon who loses money to give to everyone in order to achieve the American Dream and fight against the axis of evil, and on the other side is a classic villainous CEO of a large corporation.

By the fourth day of the incident, Tang Wen was still visiting companies and appearing at celebrity banquets, but Steve had been targeted by the media and the shareholders had to ask him to resign in order to quell the storm.

After failing to get a response to Tang Wen's repeated requests for a private settlement, Steve Case resigned as CEO, citing the need for rest due to heart disease, and booked a flight to Italy.

Because the lottery commission and some people within the company held their ground, even though Boyce accused Steve, the authorities did not have enough evidence to prevent him from leaving the country.

……

Orlando, early morning
Nock, the former FIB agent who was with the lottery commission to arrest Tang Wen, said goodbye to his mistress and whistled casually as he walked toward his car.

That stupid woman kept thinking about marrying him so that he could pay off her credit card bills, or at the very least, get a large sum of money in a divorce.

Because they had spent a long time together, she had learned a lot about Nok's illicit dealings, which left him with no choice but to maintain the relationship.

But things are different now. Because he got into trouble working for Inspector Jim, headquarters forced him to go to the border and deal with flour merchants. But he turned out to be lucky and was willing to wipe the slate clean to appease him.

After all, where can you find a clean agent? It's just that right now, good deeds and bad deeds cancel each other out, so as long as no one is involved in murder or important figures, it doesn't matter.

Even if he reported the mistress, there would be no evidence, and no one would care. He only paused briefly as he got into the car, looked around to make sure nothing was amiss, and then drove off in a beat-up pickup truck.

As soon as he left the community, he floored the accelerator and sped onto the highway against traffic. Sure enough, two headlights flashed behind him—the roar of a V8 engine. His pickup truck simply couldn't outrun it.

Shortly after a thrilling chase on the midnight road, Pikachu lay smoking in a roadside ditch. The blood flowing down made it difficult for Nok to make out two people standing on the road, but he knew one of them was Jim.

"Sorry, buddy, it would be very difficult if the IAA used this as leverage against us."

Jim silently said this to himself until Knok breathed his last, then turned to the newbie next to him and said:

"Former employee Guy Knox died during a manhunt after his vehicle went out of control while he was on the run for accepting huge bribes and participating in money laundering."

"Master, what should we do next?"

"Go back and have a look."

The two drove back to the community and saw the raging fire from afar.

Wooden structures burn very quickly; by the time the person arrives, the building has already collapsed and nothing remains.

The newbie looked shocked:
"Nork is such a bastard, he just burned her to death!"

……

Meanwhile, a seaside villa
Late at night, Steve watched the footage of Tang Wen in Peanut Village on TV, which meant that the latter was about to return to China.

The situation in the United States remains a major topic of discussion. In addition to its involvement with the United States Online, the United States has indeed signed another $10 billion order, involving 16 manufacturers. This includes the introduction of a modern final assembly line from Chrysler, the purchase of 12 more Sikorsky S76 helicopters, and a $6 million letter of intent with Boeing to introduce CH-47 helicopter manufacturing technology.

The reason it's only an intention is that neither side is sure whether it can actually go through with it; the source of the information is a former Prism Building official.

As Tang Wen had predicted, the empire did not decisively reject his proposal this time, but instead gave an ambiguous "can be considered" opinion, which was indeed a plan to put pressure on the Third Brother.

But Steve didn't care about any of that; he muttered to himself:
"Tang has left, and I am leaving too."

The children were all placed in childcare facilities. He specifically booked a flight for the night so that he could leave in the early hours of the morning without attracting attention, and the seaside villa was so secluded that paparazzi wouldn't find him.

After packing his luggage, Steve was already thinking about whether he should start another business in Europe. Even if he couldn't return to AOL, he could still make a name for himself.

There was some sudden, sputtering noise outside.
Steve, who was about to leave, didn't pay attention, but froze as soon as he opened the door:

What is that car that's as tall as a mountain and rushing down from the mountain?
Steve felt like his son's toy truck had been magnified countless times, enough to induce megalophobia at first glance.

The few trees, rocks, and other obstacles on the hillside were of no use to this mining truck; the roar of the turbo diesel engine made him feel the ground vibrating.

The probability of a beach house in Virginia being smashed by a 200-ton mining truck is extremely low, but certainly not zero.

Perhaps because everything before him was too absurd and bizarre, Steve stood frozen in place until the truck got close before he hurriedly dodged, but it was too late.

This Liebherr T262 truck, fully loaded with 233 tons, uses diesel generators and electric motors, boasting a horsepower of 2500. As it came down from the mountain, it destroyed everything in its path. By the time it reached the road, its speed had exceeded 100 kilometers per hour, and it arrived in front of the villa in the blink of an eye. The iron fence was easily torn apart like paper.

The dull thuds, the crackling and splintering of the collapsing wooden structure, and the mingling of fire alarms all blended together, turning what was once the most exquisite and private villa estate next to a local golf course into a desolate ruin.

The behemoth truck, larger than a house, crushed everything before hurtling towards the seabed, disappearing after creating a huge splash.

Several minutes later, Jones carefully drove a pickup truck to the ruins and stopped. The air was still filled with the strong smell of exhaust fumes from the super-displacement 12-cylinder diesel engine.

He stood in the tire tracks, which were as wide as a person, and a chill ran down his spine.

He did give out Steve's schedule and considered countless possibilities, but he never received any action from Tang Wen.

Only God knows how to hide a 150-ton empty mining truck in the mountains behind the golf estate, but at this moment he only felt a chill down his spine.

Is this really the timid, naive young tycoon?
The fact that someone could be eliminated so violently without the IAA's knowledge is enough to prove that their resentment had reached an extreme level.

What if the target of revenge is yourself...

Jones suddenly felt a pang of regret. After all, it was the military's front man, and if it got serious, it could easily take care of some minor figures.

……

Gaijin Networks is still in action.

Following the announcement of the Victory Fund to users worldwide, Gekin Networks announced the establishment of a US branch to independently operate overseas BBS and Twitter.

Furthermore, Tang Wen has for the first time called for the use of a local team, recruiting top students from Silicon Valley, and decided to prepare for an IPO in a year. Now he is raising funds from investors.

The First Aircraft Factory formed a joint venture with McDonnell Douglas because of the introduction of MD.11 technology, but Gaijin Network is a direct and independent enterprise of Tang Wen.

What's even more outrageous is that, although the new US branch is called a "branch," it is directly renamed "X" company, with independent personnel authority below the manager level and separate financial reporting. After the establishment, the domestic business will be separated and handed over to the overseas team for independent operation.

This performance greatly satisfied investors across the US, and Prism Building also publicly praised it. Company X had just been established and hadn't even rented an office building yet, but Citibank was already prepared to invest $5000 million, and other venture capital firms were scrambling to offer their money.

The industry's expectations for X are incredibly high:
With its superior technology compared to AOL, extensive network of connections, and backing by Gaikin, a giant with three major assets: oil, shipbuilding, and aircraft, it's practically blessed with maximum buffs. You can just invest blindly and wait to make money.

Tang Wen was generous, allocating 33% of his shares for financing in the first round, and promising to further reduce Gai Jin's shareholding to around 30% to 40% after the development period. Even the Grand President had to give him a thumbs up.

Zhao Hande from Peanut Village also praised it as "the first step taken by a leading domestic Internet company," and it seemed that all three parties were happy, with a constant stream of praise.

The American public is also happy about this. After all, AOL's exposure of information security issues involving a non-domestic company did raise concerns. However, being built in the country and operated by a local team and controlled by capital instantly increases tolerance, and industry protectionism dissipates accordingly.

After establishing X, Tang Wen immediately contacted numerous companies in Silicon Valley, strengthening ties through share exchanges and investments, and personally contributed $2 million from China to continue investing, injecting another dose of excitement into the internet industry.

While doing all this, Tang Wen was still shouting slogans, claiming that the Internet era had arrived and that promoting the development of the Internet would improve people's quality of life a thousandfold.

Those who had just received the Victory Fund naturally nodded in approval, but Tang Wen was still not satisfied and announced that he would hold a "Future Press Conference".

……

Zhao Hande witnessed Tang Wen's actions over the past few days. At his busiest, Tang Wen took four flights to seven companies in a single day and stayed up all night writing development plans.

This is the first time Lao Zhao has ever seen such a hardworking entrepreneurial figure. How did Tang Wen suddenly become so ambitious and hardworking?

"Has something happened in Southeast Asia?"

After thinking for a long time, he only had one plausible guess, which Tang Wen smiled upon hearing:
"Unexpected changes? Believe it or not, if you want, I can get you F-14s right now."

When did you go to Grumman?

"I never said it was imported from Grumman."

Zhao Hande instantly recalled the process of introducing the BMW 740 and immediately panicked.

Copying a car is nothing compared to copying the Tomcat; it would likely cause a breakdown in negotiations with the US, making WTO accession an extremely difficult task.

However, he quickly realized that Tang Wen was just joking... or so?

"Let's not talk about that anymore... Look at this."

Tang Wen held up a handheld computer and waved it at Zhao Hande:
"Do you believe I can use this thing to take 10 billion dollars from the United States?"

"A handheld computer?"

Zhao Hande looked skeptical.

"Ten billion US dollars, that's more than all the handheld computers sold in the entire United States combined."

"That's because you haven't met me yet. What I'm selling isn't handheld computers, but a concept, a unique lifestyle philosophy, the future!"

After listening for a while, Zhao Hande finally asked uncertainly:
"You mean you're going to hold a press conference and sell it before it's even finished?"

"That's it."

"Isn't this a scam?"

"What are you talking about? This is called crowdfunding! This is called investing in the future!"

Tang Wen pursed his lips; in fact, he already knew that the local area network handheld computer project was doomed to fail.

Shanghai Semiconductor and Gaijin Networks conducted a very detailed technical evaluation and ultimately found that the technology for interconnecting urban local area networks is still very advanced and very difficult.

It's not that it's impossible; even with the most optimistic estimates, the cost of rollout would be astronomical. The most important issue is the time frame.

Tang Wen estimated that by the time they properly developed the local area network handheld computer, their technical capabilities would be close enough to directly compete with the iPhone, so forcing it wouldn't make much sense.

But... what if we package it up and hype it up using the concepts of the mobile internet from later generations?

Is it possible to create an enormous pie in the mobile internet market, rely solely on conceptual marketing to continuously attract investment, drain the cash flow of internet investors, and prematurely trigger a financial bubble?
(End of this chapter)