America: My Time

Chapter 1399 Calculation
Chapter 1389 Schemes

Even if he understands, what good is it? Everything has already happened, and Morgan is now powerless to do anything about it. He has to bear all the pressure, and most importantly, John is not in the United States, so he can't do anything he wants.

Faced with the current situation, there was no point in saying anything. Morgan knew in his heart that John would not compromise any further. If he were to bother him again, the relationship between the two sides would probably come to an end. He was not willing to let his interests be harmed for those guys, not to mention that Morgan himself also had problems this time.

Everything is for the United States, but that's just an excuse. To put it bluntly, everyone is after profit. The profits John holds are too great, making these guys incredibly greedy and crazy. It's just a pity that they didn't succeed. John didn't give them a chance, and their plans failed. Most importantly, now John can use this opportunity to make more arrangements.

If it were just the Asian financial crisis, if it were only John's asset consolidation at this time, or if it were only the changes caused by John's transactions with those guys in Japan, none of these would be enough to make Morgan and the White House worry. However, the fact that all three happened at the same time forced them to be cautious.

The situation in the United States is not good. Rockefeller and his group are targeting Gulfstream Aerospace and John's development in the military industry, which gives Gulfstream more excuses and pretexts to make further moves. Gulfstream Aerospace holds the right to export independently; without the support of the US military, it naturally has to take other paths, and Middle Eastern tycoons are its targets. Their actions are also pushing John to cooperate with Middle Eastern tycoons, even making their past conflicts disappear. After all, profit is paramount; John wants profit, and the Middle Eastern tycoons want power.

However, they are all waiting for the right opportunity to appear and are not in a hurry to act. Caution is the right way. At this time, they should not be impulsive or impatient, otherwise they will easily put themselves in danger.

If it weren't for the sabotage from those old guys like Rockefeller, John wouldn't have dared to be so reckless, wouldn't have dared to invest more funds or make more plans in China. After all, his previous investments had already made many people uneasy and attracted a lot of targeting. But this time, John had a good excuse.

While Rockefeller and his ilk weren't targeting Gulfstream Aerospace, John also slowed down his investments in auto parts. The White House had approached Bentley Motors more than once, unwilling to see the industry disappear, as it affected many people's livelihoods and numerous jobs. But now John no longer needed to pay attention to these guys; the situation at Gulfstream Aerospace was the perfect excuse.

Insufficient funds? No, that's not a problem. Although John's funds were tied up in the Asian financial crisis, his years of accumulation in China were enough to get those investments going. Most importantly, this time John wasn't just playing with cars, but also expanding into electronics and semiconductors, as if he wanted to move everything that could be produced in China, since the US was no longer producing in that area.

John didn't seem to directly confront them, but he was retaliating. Although the White House hadn't taken any action on this matter, John didn't believe that the U.S. military guys hadn't received the White House's tacit approval. Since these bastards were playing the "crossing the river and burning the bridge" game, John wouldn't sit idly by. He would naturally teach them a profound lesson and see who would give up first and who would suffer greater losses.

"Aren't you shocked and incredulous? I'm going to integrate all the auto parts needed in Asia into China?" John said with a calm smile when he saw Lee Boo-jin appear. John understood why she came, because South Korea was also completely abandoning the production of auto parts, and not only them, but Japan was doing the same.

However, the situation is even worse in South Korea than in Japan. Japan still has important production lines like engines, but South Korea is cutting back. The reason is simple: the South Korean market has been severely impacted. If all of this were done in South Korea, the pressure on companies would be too great, and it would directly drag them down. If they're going to do it, they might as well go all the way from the start.

“I’m not surprised at all. I just had to come here to give them an explanation. You should know the current situation in South Korea. They don’t want to see you make such changes. And this time you’re not just making auto parts, but also heavy industry parts. This has a huge impact on South Korea! Of course, they also have another idea. They want you to invest in metallurgy in South Korea, and they might even be willing to give you more tax breaks!”

"Heh, are these guys daydreaming? What good would those tax breaks do me? Businesses don't want those tax breaks. I can get all the same tax breaks they need here, maybe even more. Plus, labor costs are lower here. Most importantly, I don't trust those guys. They've been resisting my plans all along!"

John's answer made Lee Boo-jin sigh. The Korean market is only so big. John's current expansion in Korea is so aggressive. It would be strange if they didn't have any ideas. Moreover, with some people plotting against them, it's even easier for trouble to arise.

"They had no choice, after all, your integration has brought considerable impact and pressure to many Korean companies!"

"So they started to exclude me and tried to scheme against me. Since they did it, they have to pay the price for their actions. This is just a lesson. And you should know that I will not compromise on this arrangement. The production of parts in Asia will not change. We will supply parts to Asia, Europe, and even the United States. After all, those guys in Mexico have limited capabilities and are far inferior to us!"

John flatly refused Lee Boo-jin's persuasion, and his reasons were quite valid. He wouldn't be swayed by her when it came to interests; this kind of strategy was for long-term development, and the Koreans weren't suitable, no matter how many benefits they offered. Just like Er-mao, they also wanted to get John to invest, even offering to sell him their mines, but they all refused.

"Samsung wants to participate in the investment of network companies and wants to make an acquisition!"

John was taken aback when he heard Lee Boo-jin's words. When did Samsung of South Korea have such ideas? In the past, these guys didn't pay much attention to this kind of investment. Why did they have such ideas now?

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? Samsung wants to participate in the investment and acquisition of internet companies. This is no joke. Is Samsung doing this on its own, or are they acting as proxies for someone else?" John's first thought after regaining consciousness was that someone in the US wanted to use Samsung to complete the acquisition. Lee Boo-jin smiled bitterly, "I don't know if there are other people's schemes behind this, but it's not just Samsung that's interested. Others are too. You know how bad the situation is in South Korea right now. Some people don't plan to use their funds for South Korea's recovery; instead, they want to take shortcuts and invest in the US internet."

"The investment is probably just a pretense; they're really just acting as agents for others. I don't believe those guys have that kind of courage. Besides, if they really wanted to invest in this area, they could easily develop it themselves in South Korea. I also don't think they have the financial capacity. Given South Korea's current situation, could they possibly come up with that much money?"

John was well aware of the extent of the losses suffered by South Korea due to the financial crisis. To expect them to come up with a huge amount of money to invest in the US internet was a joke, an impossible thing. If they could come up with the funds, there was definitely something wrong with them. The most likely scenario was that they were just acting as proxies for those old guys in the US!

"I don't know either. I just came to give you a message!"

"Then we don't need to pay attention to them. I don't have the mind or energy to deal with them right now. We need to put the situation in Korea aside for the time being. I need to take care of things here. If you have time, please take care of the retail matters!"

Lee Boo-jin nodded upon hearing this. She chose to leave Korea to see John because she didn't want to be harassed by the Koreans. Besides, things on the Korean side were mostly settled, so leaving now was the best option.

Actually, there was one more thing Lee Boo-jin wanted to ask, but ultimately gave up. She wanted to inquire about John's work in the electronics and semiconductor industry, specifically on behalf of Samsung. However, she ultimately decided against it, given the impact John's aggressive expansion in China had already had on Samsung, especially given the immense pressure Samsung was facing at that time.

With the completion of semiconductor chip layout in China and the start of factory operations, it is only natural that South Korea will be affected. Not only semiconductor chips, but also electronics and home appliances will be affected. As John's factories in China operate and expand, both South Korea and Japan have been significantly impacted.

The reason is not only the issue of labor costs, but also the issue of retail. This is the benefit of controlling retail. In Europe and America, John has complete control over retail, which has had a significant impact on South Korea and Japan.

Although South Korea and Japan are eager to turn the tide and get rid of this influence, unfortunately they can't. The cost of building their own sales channels is too high for them to bear.

John showed no mercy to his enemies, nor did he abandon his suppression of Samsung because of Lee Boo-jin's existence, nor did he stop targeting Japan because of the Japanese beauties around him. With the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis, John went a step further in targeting the electronic semiconductor products of Japan and South Korea. If it weren't for those old guys in the United States repeatedly ruining his plans, the electronic products of South Korea and Japan would probably be in a different state and would be on the verge of bankruptcy.

John's original plan was to take advantage of the Asian financial crisis to deliver a fatal blow to the electronics and semiconductor industries of Japan and South Korea. Unfortunately, his plan did not succeed, or rather, it only succeeded a little. Those guys in the United States and Europe ruined his plans and gave South Korea and Japan a chance to breathe. Behind this were not only the figures of Rockefeller and his ilk, but also the figures of oil capital.

Through repeated strategic maneuvers, John had established a global sales network, which not only guaranteed his own sales but also served as a blow to his enemies, capable of delivering a fatal blow at crucial moments. Unfortunately, this time, the Europeans and Americans did not cooperate with him to crush the Korean and Japanese companies. Instead, they chose to side with these guys, causing John's attack to fail.

John had a perfectly valid reason to act; he believed that the Europeans and Americans would cooperate, as it was in their own interests. However, they did not, causing John's plan to fail.

Why is this happening? Is it a problem with John's plan, or is it due to the ignorance of the other side? No, neither. It's a matter of human nature. The old guys in the US are afraid of John's growth, and the Europeans naturally share this concern. Therefore, they are unwilling to see John grow stronger. They are all willing to target John, especially at this time. They want to sow discord between John and Japan and South Korea, making them enemies. As for whether South Korea and Japan can catch their breath, that's not in their consideration.

Now, the Japanese guys, tempted by John's 'benefits,' naturally have no complaints, after all, they got what they wanted. But the Koreans are different; they haven't gotten any benefits from John, which is why Lee Boo-jin has stepped in, repeatedly using her to extort benefits from John. It's safe to say they're overthinking it.

However, while he couldn't completely crush Japan, John wouldn't show any mercy or pity towards South Korea. Those Japanese were already in the game, and their fervor would only intensify over time. After all, with the dot-com bubble bursting, they couldn't resist the allure. As for South Korea, John had no intention of giving them a chance to breathe in the steel, shipbuilding, automobile, and semiconductor industries; he would continue with his decision. In short, John would relocate wherever possible, not just because of labor costs, but also due to other issues. South Korea was beyond his control.

John realized that his plan to target South Korea and Japan would be targeted by some people. The reason was simple: those guys didn't want to see South Korea and Japan grow, and they didn't want him to continue to grow and exert pressure on them!

(End of this chapter)