What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 599 Please Cease Infringement

The Prism Building underestimated the Malta's appeal to the UK and became even more convinced that a significant deal existed between the Lost Empire and the UK:

The aircraft carrier was brand new, with ample supplies, and even the storage compartments were filled with genuine Indian tea and Mediterranean coffee. The service was excessively good!

When Ramsay relayed the message to the two men that "another Royal Navy ship was being given as a gift," Johnson immediately rebuked them:

"I don't believe a single word of it, unless Ernest Joseph King comes looking for me with the Lexington one day!"

HMS Malta not only filled the gaps in HMS Ark Royal's services but also significantly enhanced them. Moreover, its role in taking the British "captured warships" had an unexpected positive effect:

When many realized that there might be some kind of collusion between the British and the lost empire, one possibility had to be considered:
If the two form a secret alliance, will the rebellion against Britain in the future be retaliated against by the Lost Empire?
The key point is that Blair was also incredibly cunning. When the outside world expressed questions about whether a secret peace treaty had been reached with the lost empire after the war, he stated unequivocally that the four warships were acquired thanks to the bravery of the Royal Air Force and the loyalty of the Queen, but he did not answer the question about the secret treaty.

This seemingly noncommittal response only fueled suspicion, causing many who were already eager to act within the traditional sphere of influence of the British to hesitate, fearing that the British might use the power of the lost empire to strike them down.

With the added victory of capturing warships, HSBC's assets recovered to 95% of their pre-war level in just half a month.

During this period, a subtle incident occurred: someone noticed that one of the names in Lütjens' telegrams unexpectedly overlapped with the Warhammer cultural IP released in 84, sparking further speculation and association.

Dai Ying turned a blind eye to this and even fueled it, adopting an attitude of "you guys can guess what's going on."

The Prism Building, having realized what was happening, was powerless against Blair—even if Yingzhen and the Lost Empire had reached a secret agreement, they couldn't let the latter succeed!

Originally, the most injured Dai Ying suddenly reversed its ecological niche and became a favorite to both sides. When the Empire realized something was wrong, it hurriedly tried to make amends.

Under the covert instigation of the Prism Building, the bald chicken, which couldn't even get G3, made a move, demanding that the British advance the Allied compensation and dispatch costs, and pressuring them to force Hans to pay.

This terrible idea was originally Blair's, but when Prism Building and the Chicken came knocking, he was stumped.

"As far as we know, Hans is heavily influenced by the Third Fleet!"

Wilson stayed a few more days after the deal was finalized, bringing Blair more accurate intelligence:
"Although the Third Fleet ultimately failed, it was only after withstanding an unprecedented blow that it was annihilated. The strength it displayed this time was already very strong, and it even almost actually landed in Sugonan... Many Hans believe that the Fourth Fleet will come again, and will be even stronger than the Third Fleet. Many people are already clamoring to welcome the Emperor!"
Asking them to pay at this point would likely provoke a strong resistance!

"Cole wouldn't want to pay that huge sum either; it would make him a laughingstock."

Secretary Robin added that he actually understood as well:

From Hans's perspective, regardless of whether they welcomed the Third Fleet, they had always been bystanders. Being suddenly asked to pay reparations on behalf of the Third Fleet was bound to cause them trouble.

That's a stupid idea.

However, after the two finished speaking, Blair gave a cold laugh:
"It's fine if only Hans pays the money... but what if the chicken also has to contribute?"

……

In mid-January, Britain launched an extremely shameless proposal within the EU:

The "Christmas Campaign" was recognized as a counterattack launched by the entire European continent to prevent the invasion of the Third Fleet, and it played a role in protecting the interests of all allies.

Therefore, the European participants in the Christmas campaign were responsible for sending troops, but the cost/compensation funds could be shared according to the actual effort and the extent of the losses.

For example, the UK estimates that the total cost/losses of the coalition forces in this operation amounted to approximately $140 billion, of which about $100 billion was military aid advanced by Prism Building.

The division of responsibilities should be complex and precise, taking into account factors such as the extent of relevant interests, whether the party is a member of the Atlantic Treaty, and whether there are any agreements to assist in combat operations.

Members, including those not participating in the war, are required to contribute, and the military aid provided by the Empire and the forces that participate in the war will require additional payments as repayment of the EU's overall debt.

Blair himself divided the shares as follows: 30% for the British, 25% for the Germans, 25% for the Hans, and the remaining allies together make up 20%.

The cost borne by the UK should have been $12 billion, but after calculation, the losses of the Ark Royal, the loss of fighter jets, the cost of ammunition, compensation, and other expenses amounted to as much as $90 billion. In other words, the EU actually owes the UK $78 billion.

But Blair waved his hand and said that he didn't need everyone to give him money. He would take the loss and dismantle the three captured dilapidated old ships to pay off $1 billion in debt. He would just have to accept the rest of the debt himself.

至于棱角大楼开给带英的军援账单是100亿美元，同样按比例带英该承担30%也就是30亿美元，但因为米联储弄丢了带英托管的400吨皇家价值46.4亿美元，最终帝国倒欠带英16.4亿美元！
After this series of actions, the US military was burdened with a $35 billion debt ($17.5 billion in military spending and $17.5 billion in military aid loans). After deducting its own losses, weapons costs, logistics, etc., it barely managed to pay $20 billion, leaving it with $15 billion in foreign debt!
Hans thus naturally incurred a debt of $35 billion, all of which he was required to repay to the European Union.

The proposal caused an uproar throughout the entire alliance.

They were actually prepared for the UK to share some of the costs with its allies, but they never expected it to be this outrageous!
The combined burden of the two, including the Fryer and Hans, is 50%, supposedly because the British islands blocked the Third Fleet and provided protection?
Lionel Rosfan, who had only been in office for six months, was getting restless. If he approved the proposal, the people would immediately throw him out of the Horseshoe Palace.

After firmly rejecting the proposal, Lionel put forward new allocation demands:
The cost is split 50% to the British, 40% to the Hans, and the remaining costs are to be compensated.
However, this played right into Blair's scheme, and Hans, who had been keeping quiet and playing the honest man, finally couldn't hold back any longer:
Although the proposal from the British was exaggerated, it was still somewhat plausible. This was a blatant demand for compensation from Hans!
The focus then shifted to the hairdresser, and another war of words erupted.

……

Old Money's 98 New Year was spent amidst a lot of noise and the smell of gunpowder, but it was foreseeable that such a complicated agreement would not be settled for at least half a year.

Prism Building doesn't have time to get involved in muddying waters right now; they're busy with two things: -
The 'flood' plan is to inundate the Amazon;
-
And to find a way to teach my arrogant third brother a lesson.

It must be emphasized that the latter has a very deep connection with Dai Ying, and is still inevitably affected at this time.

After acquiring the warship, the British, acting as a figurehead, attempted to assert their power and tacitly approved of India's machinations regarding the nuclear weapons program, even secretly encouraging it.

The old trick of offshore balancing continues to work, but it's very effective.

Encouraged by the former sect leader, the Third Brother chose to ignore the repeated warnings from the Prism Building.

After all, it has been almost two months since December, and the previous sanctions imposed by the Empire have not been very effective. They even had to reluctantly release the Varyag after detaining it, which was seen as a sign of their incompetence.

Although various economic bans have been issued, it will take time for them to take effect. India and the outside world believe that as long as they hold out until the nuclear test results are released, the bans will lose their meaning and naturally become ineffective.

Since conventional methods are ineffective, what about unconventional methods?

Needless to say, international observers firmly believe that the Empire will not personally intervene and that the possibility of carrying out surgical bombing is very low.

Indeed, this was the case. When the Air Force proposed using MQ-1 Predators or B-1Bs for precision strikes, the proposals were rejected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Firstly, it wasn't worthwhile; secondly, the targets were of complex status, and there was simply no justification for action. It was never considered unless absolutely necessary.

Finally, after the Empire realized that its own fate would be dirty and have too great an impact, the plan to use another force against another naturally emerged.

……

Devil
"Hello, Mr. Tang."

Louis R., Global Vice President of General Motors (GM), sat opposite Tang Wen, with a bustling river view right outside the window.

In early January, with the strong interference of Dai Ying, Geekin's plan to acquire Rover Motors basically failed, and even BMW's best efforts to smooth things over were futile.

After all, it's truly astonishing that China is buying up European automotive assets in this era. This isn't just buying a production line; it's buying out an entire brand, including its technical staff!
The deal between Gaijin, BMW, and Phoenix regarding Rover is still being discussed intermittently, but everyone knows that it has fallen through due to numerous difficulties.

But this high-profile acquisition brought the benefit of boosting its reputation, and GM didn't mind selling the technology at all—after all, it was Saab that was being sold.

Because of the decline of the American auto industry at this time, GM began to focus on overseas markets, and the reason for acquiring Saab was to expand its market to Europe.

In order to save costs, after acquiring Saab, GM put Saab's skins on its own models, hoping to use the latter's local brand influence to promote them.

However, things didn't go as planned. The sophisticated old money didn't care about the rugged American-style ship at all, so Saab has been losing money ever since it was bought.

According to the original timeline, Universal would have held onto this unprofitable IP for almost 10 years, but after many setbacks, it was eventually abandoned and allowed to go bankrupt.

When the big gold (victim) Gaijin appeared, GM weighed the options and found that it was too difficult to help Sabo, so they decided to sell him and make a profit. Moreover, they were very "generous" and only asked for $9 million.

In reality, Saab's valuation at this time was no more than $5 to $6 million, and an acquisition of just over $2 million would have been enough—but now it's a buyer's market.

“This is not a cheap number, but I think there is a possibility of cooperation.”

Tang Wen initially thought it was a bit expensive, but when he thought about how the money he spent was also taken from them, he became indifferent. Besides, Bumblebee had already set off for Third Brother twice to find the treasure, so money was hardly a problem for him.

This answer thrilled Louis, who thought to himself that the reputation of being a tycoon was indeed well-deserved, and in his excitement, he blurted out:

"Tang, perhaps we can cooperate further and have GM and Geigin form a joint venture factory."

"But didn't you just form a joint venture with SAIC six months ago?"

Louis waved his hand dismissively:
"We work hand in hand with any capable partner. SAIC GM introduces Buick, while Feiyue GM can introduce Cadillac and Chevrolet."

With China's accession to the WTO, the opening up of the civilian vehicle sector was also brought forward. Companies that developed earlier, such as GW and Geely, have already been registered and established, but the prestige of Feiyue Auto remains unshaken.

In the latter half of 97, the popularity of the Hanma S9 also brought a lot of trouble: many domestic car dealers and manufacturers found that although online, telephone ordering and direct sales seemed cumbersome, they actually won a very good reputation because of their transparent pricing and excellent service.

At one point, large-scale dealers in the industry simultaneously filed complaints and caused minor troubles, but as the trainees launched their attack with ten large trucks fully loaded with sailors, Hanma has firmly established itself.

So when Tang Wen was willing to take a loss, Louis also extended an olive branch in order to gain assistance in the domestic market:

"If the Saab deal goes through, the joint venture between GM and Geigin can be the same size as BMW, but the overall price will be reduced by 20%, and we can move everything from Saab to Dongda."

He felt no guilt about selling out Saab's car brand, especially since Saab's product strength posed no threat to GM.

"That's good."

Without hesitation, Tang Wen reached out and shook hands with him, and the two launched a vicious backstabbing at the unsuspecting SAIC.

The joint venture factory with BMW has a total investment of up to 80 billion yuan, with an expected annual production capacity of over 30 vehicles and room for further improvement.

With the addition of GM, the annual joint venture production capacity exceeded 60 vehicles from 2000 to 2002, aiming to completely dominate the domestic market.

However... Tang Wen had his own plans, and increasing production capacity wouldn't hurt.

After his first meeting with Louis, he signed a memorandum of understanding, and Louis immediately organized a legal team to prepare the contract, eager to finalize the cooperation.

Tang Wen stayed in Shanghai for a few more days to keep an eye on the progress of GS1, but was instead approached by Boeing representatives.

The latter approached him not to cooperate, but with an unusually tough stance:

"Tang, you need to stop infringing on Boeing's intellectual property rights!"

Tang Wen: "..."

Just as he was confused, the other party took out several photos of a Chinook that looked dilapidated and covered in patches.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the different colored blocks resembling pudding are actually unpainted skin, and while the helicopter also bears a striking resemblance to the CH-47, it appears much slimmer upon closer inspection, with significant differences in detail.

"what is this?"

"This is irrefutable evidence of Gaijin's patent infringement!"

The Boeing visitor was somewhat taken aback by the question, then said with slight annoyance:

“We sold a batch of CH47, but you shouldn’t have copied it. This would have damaged Geigin’s cooperation with Imperial Enterprises, and the consequences would have been severe.”

"You wait!"

Tang Wen finally understood what had happened and immediately called Chang Busi. As soon as the call was answered, he heard the other party's ecstatic voice:
"Mr. Tang, I have some good news for you! Our first domestically produced Chinook technology demonstrator has successfully completed its test flight!"
However, the current completion rate is only 80%, and it's still far from meeting the specifications, but progress is going smoothly. The prototype by the end of this year will definitely reach the level of the CH47C!

(End of this chapter)