Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

Liu Jianguo tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a regular "tap, tap" sound.

"In other words, while Hong Kong may appear to have expanded its territory, it has essentially reached a bottleneck."

Unable to undergo qualitative change, unable to achieve anything significant, unable to form a truly unified core of power, right?

Xu Wenqiang nodded without hesitation, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of helplessness as he said:

"That's exactly right."

My Lord, even if we miraculously unify all the triad forces in Hong Kong at a great cost, so what?

It remains a criminal organization, a force in the shadows, and an object of vigilance and suppression by the Hong Kong British government, the mainland, and even the international community.

It cannot acquire political rights openly and honestly, cannot participate in rule-making, and even its enormous wealth could be wiped out at any time due to a crackdown.

We lack a legitimate, influential, and legitimate platform and a pathway to advancement.

This bottleneck is even more suffocating than the military ceiling that General Zhou faced.

His words revealed the ultimate dilemma in the development of underground forces.

Liu Jianguo pondered for a moment, a sharp glint in his eyes, and said to Xu Wenqiang:

"Hong Kong's predicament requires a change in thinking."

Since integrating within Hong Kong is too risky, we should extend our reach outwards.

Don't always focus on Hong Kong's small territory.

He drew a circle in the air with his finger and said:

"Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and even other Chinese communities in Southeast Asia."

Select capable and trustworthy henchmen, carrying funds and experience, under the guise of investment, immigration, or business expansion,

Infiltrate in a dispersed manner. Don't aim to quickly expand and form a large force in a single region.

Instead, it should be like sowing seeds: cast a wide net and let the flowers bloom in many places.

Establish small, well-organized, and highly concealed contact points, intelligence stations, and small factions.

The initial goal was not to dominate, but to exist, observe, establish roots, and build a secret network of connections among themselves.

He looked at Xu Wenqiang and said in a tone of expectation and trust:

"Don't be afraid of the initial dispersion of forces, and don't be afraid that our people in different places may have internal competition due to overlapping tasks."

As long as a proper internal reporting and coordination mechanism is established, this competition can be healthy.

At this stage, what we need is presence and coverage, rather than pursuing unrealistic uniformity in a particular place.

A network of sparks is far more strategically valuable than a solitary lamp burning alone.

As for Hong Kong itself,

He paused, looked at Xu Wenqiang with certainty, and continued:

"I believe in your ability to maintain the current situation, seek change while maintaining stability, and find an opportunity to turn to legality or combine with legitimate forces."

Your mission has shifted from unifying Hong Kong's triads to managing Hong Kong as a base and extending your influence throughout the Asian region.

A glint flashed in Xu Wenqiang's eyes; clearly, Liu Jianguo's ideas had opened a new window for him.

He nodded seriously, sat back down, and began to rapidly consider the feasibility of this new strategy.

Liu Jianguo then turned his gaze to Liu Jianming, who sat on the other side with a reserved and composed demeanor.

"Jianming, it's your turn."

On the Hong Kong police side.

With Wenqiang secretly creating achievements for you and embellishing your resume,

"And with Isabel providing protection and support at the higher levels, please tell me more about your situation."

Liu Jianming's path to power is different from Zhou Weiguo and Xu Wenqiang's infiltration and rise to power. So where is his bottleneck?

Liu Jianming stood up, and his report, like himself, was clear, organized, calm, and objective:

"My lord, thanks to the crucial support of Director Isabel..."

And... thanks to Brother Wenqiang's covert cooperation, our infiltration plan is progressing smoothly.

Currently, there are over two hundred brothers who have been screened, have reliable backgrounds, and possess outstanding abilities.

They successfully entered the police force and were distributed to key departments such as criminal investigation, major crimes, anti-triad, drug investigation, and even the Special Branch.

Some of these people, through their abilities and opportunities,

He has already assumed mid-level positions such as team leader and detective.

It has gained considerable influence at the level of concrete actions.

However, his tone immediately became flat and stern as he continued:

"However, the bottleneck is equally obvious and almost insurmountable—the racial ceiling."

The upper echelons of the Hong Kong Police Force and even the entire British Hong Kong government were firmly controlled by British officials.

No matter how capable, how clean, or how great the achievements of Chinese police officers...

Under the current system, it is almost impossible to be promoted to the core decision-making level, such as superintendent, senior superintendent, or even commissioner.

Those high-ranking officials who truly wield power, set rules, and allocate resources are all foreigners.

Director Isabelle can provide us with shelter and break some of the usual practices to promote us, but she cannot change the fundamental rules of the entire colonial system.

No matter how well our people perform, they are ultimately just advanced tools and cannot enter the true core of power.

Our influence has always been limited to the execution level, and has been unable to reach the decision-making level.

The current level of personnel penetration and promotions is nearing the limit achievable under the current system.

His analysis reveals the invisible shackles imposed by institutional discrimination.

Liu Jianguo slowly exhaled, his gaze becoming deep and unfathomable.

"In other words, in the foreseeable future, unless Hong Kong's sky..."

The color has changed; otherwise, your career advancement within the police force would essentially be over.

We can continue to consolidate our existing positions and place more middle and lower-level personnel there.

However, it is almost impossible to climb further up the power pyramid and occupy a truly high position.

Right?

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Jianming frankly acknowledged this disheartening yet undeniably realistic conclusion, saying:

"Yes, my lord."

At least under the current political structure, this is certainly the case.

We can become a powerful faction or group, but we cannot become the dominant force.

Liu Jianguo nodded, gesturing for Liu Jianming to sit down.

The situation was clearer than he had anticipated; almost all parties had hit a ceiling, whether tangible or intangible.

His gaze turned to the last core member in charge of specific expansion matters—Qi Jiguang.

"Jiguang, how about you? What's the situation in Japan?"

Qi Jiguang suddenly stood up, his posture as imposing as a mountain, exuding the awe-inspiring aura of a fierce general on the battlefield.

This is completely different from Zhou Weiguo's meticulousness, Xu Wenqiang's shrewdness, and Liu Jianming's introverted nature.

His voice boomed like thunder, filled with barely suppressed fighting spirit:

"My lord! The fighting on the Japanese side is exhilarating!"

The Yamaguchi-gumi, those Japanese thieves, have repeatedly provoked us Chinese because they think we are weak.

Recently, they launched four seemingly legitimate attacks, but we managed to repel them all by relying on the terrain and the bravery of our men!

His eyes gleamed, and he continued:

"We didn't just stand there and take the beatings. Every time we drove them back, I led my brothers to charge back."

They wiped out the strongholds held by the four level-two leaders and killed many of their men.

They've seized a lot of territory and business!

The Yamaguchi-gumi must be furious now. I reckon an even bigger retaliation is just around the corner.

My Lord, this is the perfect opportunity!

If they dare to come again, I'm prepared to gather my strength and stop with the small-scale skirmishes. I'll seize the opportunity and take a big bite out of them, maybe even...

"Give us the chance to cripple them and completely wipe out their influence in Kansai!"

His report was full of expansionist vigor and wildness, a stark contrast to the stagnation faced by the others.