Hong Kong Film Intelligence King

Chapter 345 The Explosive Ximen

"Lord Governor!"

boom!
The door to the top-floor VIP box of the Cultural Grand Hotel was suddenly pushed open, and Ximen barged in with a dark expression.

The governor was taken aback for a moment, then smiled:
"My friend, did you come in like this to thank me?"

Ximen laughed, clenched his fist, and asked:
"Thank u?"

The governor said matter-of-factly:
"Of course you should thank me."

"I've taken care of the matter you entrusted to me."

"I have completed the transaction with us Westerners."

Simon and the Eunuch had a deal.

If the Eunuch helps Simon facilitate the acquisition of HSBC by Wangdao, he will receive a promise from Simon: if the Eunuch does not make any further progress after his term ends, he will be placed in a company as a senior executive under Simon's arrangement and receive substantial financial benefits.

This is the most famous revolving door between politics and business.

Once such conditions are agreed upon, no one will fail to comply.

This is the most foolish thing to do.

This is the unspoken agreement in Western politics and business; it's the foundation, the unspoken rule.

No one would think of breaking the agreement.

Once this is violated, the foundation of trust is shattered.

If either Simon or the Duye breaks their promise, they will suffer the consequences of the rules.

No one in the entire fog will forgive the traitor.

Simon's face turned red with anger:

Do you know why I asked you to push for Wangdao to acquire HSBC?

The governor thought for a moment and replied:

"They're probably going to take back the land, right?!"

Ximen shouted:
"Since you knew that, why did you offer Wang Dao two billion Hong Kong dollars in free aid during your live broadcast?!"

The governor said in astonishment:
"Your expression...did I do something wrong?"

Simon screamed in alarm:

"Of course not!"

At that moment, he threw all his gentlemanly pride to the winds!
Are you kidding me?!
Who needs you to do this?

Simon's face contorted, and he clenched his fists, roaring:

"You should know why I asked you to facilitate HSBC's acquisition."

The governor asked in bewilderment:
"Wouldn't this make it easier for you to buy back the land?"

Simon could no longer contain himself and shouted:
"You already know about this, yet you still want to upset me?"

"Once Wangdao acquires HSBC, the most important thing will be to quell the current bank run crisis."

"He will inevitably face a cash shortage."

"Only in this way will Landsea return to my hands."

"A person needs to have weaknesses in order to negotiate effectively."

"I can use this as a basis to negotiate and bargain with him!"

“I could even buy back Hongkong Land without spending HK$2.2 billion.”

At this point, he raised his voice again, his angry face contorted.

"But what about you?!"

"You actually offered to lend him money for free during your live stream!!"

Simon said angrily,

Are we standing together?

Simon was truly enraged.

I've seen unreliable people before, but I've never seen anything this unreliable.

Who are actually allies?

Are you standing with me?
You wouldn't happen to be an undercover agent, would you?

The governor cried out that he was wronged:

"Ximen, are you here to interrogate me?"

Simon's face was contorted in pain:

"Did I come here to invite you to dinner?"

The governor smiled wryly:
“Simon, it is true that I am the governor, but I am a civil servant of the Fog City.”

"We must prioritize the overall situation."

Simon looked at the Governor with a look of utter disbelief—you, a foreigner, are you trying to talk to me about the big picture? Do you think you're some kind of civil servant from your hometown?

What a fool!

The governor really had something to say:
"You also know the true state of our diplomacy."

"We are no longer the sun that never sets in our early days."

"In the current state of diodes, you should know who we're following."

Ximen angrily said:

"so what?"

The governor shouted:
"so what?"

"We must maintain good relations with the United States."

Simon sneered:
"What does this have to do with you, the governor of Hong Kong?"

The governor said earnestly:
"Simon, don't let anger control your emotions."

"Didn't they already say that during the live broadcast?"

“Citibank and Citibank both provided loans to Wang, and both were long-term, interest-free loans.”

"You should understand what this means."

How could Simon so easily regain his composure? He shouted:
"They're just two American banks, and you expect me to lick their boots?"

The governor showed no anger, and looked at Ximen with a hint of pity:

"Simon, you really can't think things through anymore."

"Or rather, you haven't even gathered any information about the other side."

"Go and find out."

"Remember you owe me a favor!"

Ximen shouted angrily:

"You piece of shit, you expect me to owe you a favor?"

The governor wasn't angry at all:

"Yes, you should go back quickly!"

Simon gritted his teeth and glared at the Governor, but in the end, he stormed off in a huff.

The butler stood beside the governor and asked softly:
"Your Excellency, Master Simon is furious."

"Is it really not going to be detrimental to you?"

"If we want to gain a foothold in Hong Kong, we must get their support."

The governor smiled faintly:

"Of course, of course."

"However, if I want to secure my position as governor, the most important thing is to have someone's support."

The butler was taken aback:
"Simon is already the business leader of Chongqing. Who else could it be but him?"

The governor was very happy.

I like it when you say that.

"But the reality is that Chinese businessmen have already risen to prominence."

"Especially the king!"

"If I want to secure my position, I must gain his support."

The butler frowned and said:
"Sir, in the end, Wang is a Chinese merchant, not a native of Chongqing..."

The governor shook his head:

"No, you don't understand the key."

“Wang is of course a Chinese businessman, and he has a good relationship with his hometown. He even donated tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to help students.”

The butler frowned even more deeply:

"If that's the case, shouldn't we be even more vigilant?"

The governor nodded and then shook his head:
"There's nothing wrong with thinking that way."

"But...you don't understand the key point."

The butler raised an eyebrow; there must be some information here that he couldn't possibly know.

“Wang is certainly a philanthropic Chinese businessman, but he is also the richest Chinese in Hong Kong and a major capitalist.”

"This is the most important."

"The king and the ugly kingdom have a close relationship that none of us know about."

The butler said incredulously:
"what?"

"Sir, please don't be deceived."

The governor sighed softly:

"To tell you the truth, the king has a very close relationship with the chief ruler of the Ugly Kingdom."

The butler's eyes widened.

"What?" Simon exclaimed, "Wang Sheng has a close relationship with the Grand Commander of the Ugly Kingdom? You're not lying to me!"

James said irritably:
"It's only you I wouldn't tell anyone else about this."

"However, even if it's you, you can't skimp on the intelligence fee."

"Is it no problem for me to pay 500,000 Hong Kong dollars for this intelligence?"

Simon quickly said:
"Of course, tell me the specifics."

After Simon stormed out of the Cultural Hotel, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

The Dude is a competent politician.

Western politicians are certainly adept at swaying between opposing sides, but they are also prime examples of opportunists who will follow whoever offers the best benefits.

Since the cooperation between me and the other party didn't start now, he wouldn't treat me so badly just for a small gain; there must be sufficient mutual benefit to back it up.

There must be a secret here.

So Simon called James, and the answer he received shattered his worldview.

"Commissioner Smith represents the President of the United States."

"I don't know the specifics, but I do know..."

"Whether it's Citibank or Citibank, they are all connected to the President."

Simon exclaimed:
"Commander?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Didn't the Grand Commander advocate for smaller government offices?"

James couldn't help but roll his eyes on the other end of the phone:

"Just listen to these kinds of things and don't believe them!"

"By the way, according to the information I've received, what's called an interest-free loan is actually..."

Simon was horrified and deeply moved:

"I'll give you one million Hong Kong dollars for this intelligence!!"

James sighed:
“Simon, as a friend, I have a suggestion for you: don’t mess with Brother Dao.”

"You didn't see what happened today."

"Good heavens, I've been with Huang for two hours straight without a single word to Dao-ge," Simon said suspiciously.
"You don't meet his standards?"

James chuckled:
"If you're going to chat like this, then we don't need to chat anymore."

He sighed.

"The gap between my status and Brother Dao's is greater than the gap between you and me, but Brother Dao is not a snob."

"His phone hasn't stopped ringing all day."

"I had no choice but to come back earlier."

At this point, James suddenly realized,

"You didn't call to congratulate Brother Dao, did you?"

Simon: “…”

He really didn't call Wang Dao.

James said incredulously:
“Those people don’t have good intelligence, but they all know one thing: Brother Dao is already firmly among the top three in Hong Kong’s business circle.”

"No matter what, we must build a good relationship with him."

"Brother Dao doesn't have many business partners, and you are one of the most important ones. Why didn't you call him?"

Simon: “…”

What could he say?
He said he was furious after watching the live broadcast and spent the whole day thinking about how to settle accounts with the Eunuch.
"I know I can't get through on the phone, so I'm planning to invite him to dinner tonight."

James shrugs:

"That would be for the best, otherwise I wouldn't dare to get too close to you."

Simon suddenly realized:

What are you doing with Huang?

James countered:

"Do I need to report to you what I do?"

That being said, I still need to give an answer.

"This is something Smith asked me to do; he thinks it's best to assign G4 to Dao Ge."

Simon exclaimed:
"This is impossible."

G4 is the VIP protection group, which is usually responsible for the security of visiting foreign dignitaries.

At that time, G4 was under the jurisdiction of the Political Department.

James shrugs:

"It was Smith's request, of course, which Daoge did not accept."

"But I can't just not make the arrangements."

Simon took a deep breath:
"Understood!"

James is trying to curry favor with Wang Dao, which is normal; it's only natural for people to follow the lead of the powerful.

Everyone now knows that the rise of the Wangdao faction is unstoppable.

At this time, it would naturally be beneficial to establish an alliance with the Kingly Way in advance.

Simon understands this better than we do.

They all have "star civil servant training programs" or similar programs run by companies.

Simon composed himself and said:
"James, come to my office later, I owe you a favor."

After hanging up the phone, Simon rubbed his face vigorously, realizing he had made a mistake!

Things are not looking good!
Ximen quickly dialed Wang Dao's number, and the call actually went through!

He felt even more uneasy.

"Ximen, why are you calling me too?" Wang Dao's voice sounded weak and listless.

Simon lies without batting an eye:

"I called you from the beginning, but the line was always busy... I'm sure a lot of people are congratulating you today, so I won't argue with them. I'll just say congratulations now, I hope I didn't miss the time?"

Wang Dao coughed lightly twice:
"Of course, no problem. I've been talking all day, and my voice is hoarse."

Ximen chuckled dryly:
"Wang, are you free today? Let's have dinner together."

Wang Dao sighed:

"Let's skip the meal. When we're together, we'll definitely be talking business."

"I really don't have time today."

"I have a ton of things to do right now."

Ximen was taken aback and asked cautiously:

"Your Majesty, what are you doing today?"

The Way of Kings is straightforward:
"I was going to take over HSBC, but I didn't expect HSBC's board of directors to be so stubborn and actually refuse my takeover."

“They united against me, the major shareholder.”

"That's really bold."

Simon's premonition became even worse:
"so……"

The Way of the King does not understand the Way:
"Why?"

"I handed them all over to the ICAC!"

"The mess that Shen Daban made is not just his fault alone; every single one of these directors is implicated."

"The governor also told me to give them some face..."

"I was going to give the governor some face, but they didn't want to."

Simon asked in bewilderment:
"Weren't the three ICAC commissioners arrested?"

He meant that the three ICAC commissioners, including William, had committed suicide, and now the ICAC was leaderless and could no longer handle cases.
Is it another case targeting HSBC management?

The kingly way disagrees:

“The ICAC’s operations are not much different with just three commissioners. There’s also the Chief Investigator, so it’s easy to investigate cases of collective corruption among management.”

Simon could only manage a wry smile.

Is that what he meant?!
HSBC's board of directors are all from Chongqing!
When can the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigate people from Chongqing?
That can't be right!
But after thinking about it for a moment, Simon immediately understood why the ICAC had taken on this case.

Logically speaking, this case shouldn't have been handed over to the ICAC at all.

Why?

The three commissioners of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) committed suicide because of the HSBC corruption case, so they should at least recuse themselves.

It would be better to hand this case over to the police station.

Are we abandoning the principle of avoidance?!
There must be something he doesn't understand.

Simon said Duang:
"Wang, when can we meet? Shouldn't we talk about the land deal?"

Wang Dao sighed:
"I'm sorry, Simon, I need to consider privatizing HSBC for the next period of time."

"In addition to that, we also need to quell the HSBC exchange rate crisis."

"I need your understanding on this point."

Simon was speechless for a moment. He could only force a smile and offer his blessings before hanging up the phone, looking rather unhappy.

Then he suddenly woke up.

Privatizing HSBC?!

This is about turning HSBC into his own bank.

So confident?
Ximen tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and didn't know how he finally drifted off.

When he woke up in the morning, his wife brought him bread and milk, her anger written all over her face.

Ximen felt a chill creep down his spine.

He knew perfectly well that his wife was throwing a tantrum at him, complaining that he hadn't paid his dues the day before.

But he had no such thoughts.
He was so burdened by company affairs that he had absolutely no interest in sex.

However, family discord is a major taboo, and Simon immediately had an idea:

"Madam, once we've finished our business these past few days, let's go on vacation to the Maldives."

The lady immediately became interested, but she was very dissatisfied with the vacation location suggested by Simon:

What are some fun things to do in the Maldives?

Let's go to Hawaii!

Simon exclaimed in admiration:
"Madam is so thoughtful. Hawaii has heat waves, beaches, and modern life. We'll listen to Madam."

Offer a suggestion, and then let the wife offer suggestions for improvement.

This is a little trick he learned from his long married life, which greatly satisfies his wife's sense of accomplishment.

The lady immediately beamed with joy:

"That `s a deal."

Simon breathed a sigh of relief.

After finishing breakfast, the driver said, "I'll be at work on time."

"Sir, it's much quieter than usual today."

Ximen asked, puzzled:
"Quiet?!"

The driver laughed:

"Yes, the roads are usually packed with traffic."

"The run on HSBC caused widespread panic in Hong Kong, with almost everyone thinking about getting their money back."

“People protest around HSBC every day.”

"A vast expanse of dark clouds."

"The roads in Hong Kong are narrow, and traffic jams can cause large areas to be blocked."

"Although there are still people like that now, there are clearly far fewer than half!"

Simon's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly turned his head to look over.

really! !
Although there were still queues outside HSBC, stretching for a whole street, it was a far cry from the five-street phenomenon of a few days ago... It was much better.

Simon unconsciously clenched his hands.

"how come?"

"How can this be?"

"Even if everyone watched the live broadcast, wouldn't most people want their money back as soon as possible?"

"Why are there fewer people in line than before?"

Ximen had a bad feeling.

Upon arriving at the executive office, he immediately sought out the beautiful secretary:

"Go and find out why there are fewer people at HSBC?"

The capable and beautiful secretary returned half an hour later:

"Sir, we've found out."

“The media started publishing an announcement in a very prominent place last night.”

"It was stated that HSBC had been acquired by Wang Dao and others."

"The funds will be in place soon."

"Normal business activities have resumed today."

Ximen looked up in astonishment.

The beautiful secretary added:
“I checked, and the funds from Citibank, Citibank, and the Governor’s Mansion have been received.”

"They started processing applications at 7:30 a.m.

Simon exclaimed:
"7:30!!"

The beautiful woman nodded:
"Yes, almost everyone mentioned their savings, but a significant portion of them deposited their money back into HSBC."

Ximen gritted his teeth and said:
"Aren't they afraid of HSBC going bankrupt?"

The beautiful secretary lowered her head and said:
"With the Duchess's endorsement, two payments made via live broadcast, and cash support from Hutchison Whampoa... anyone would know that HSBC won't collapse!"

Simon stared blankly at his beautiful secretary. If HSBC could be saved without selling Jardine Matheson, could Jardine Matheson even be redeemed?!

(End of this chapter)