Chapter 471 The Skinny Old Man
[Breaking news! Shocking! The chairman of the Kinmen Group is naked?! ]
[Shi Dong, chairman of the Kinmen Group, died in a car accident and turned into a pile of bones in a sea of fire! ]
[The Kinmen Group is caught in a dispute over the chairmanship, and various forces are ready to make a move. Who will be the final winner? Pay attention to XXX newspaper to bring you the latest news. ]
Various newspapers were placed in front of him. Li Zhongjiu picked up one, flipped through it twice, and then slammed it heavily on the table, angrily saying, "Xiba Road! Do these newspapers and media really think we are all fools? A bunch of bastards!"
In terms of appearance, Li Zhongjiu can actually be considered a handsome guy, but his usual style of doing things can only be described in four words: arrogant and domineering, which makes his face always look fierce.
This is closely related to his childhood without family warmth and being treated like a dog by his adoptive father.
If a person is suppressed for too long, his personality will always be more or less distorted.
Faced with the content of these newspapers, other members of the Tiger Faction also cursed and agreed with Li Zhongjiu's remarks.
Because the leader of the Tiger faction, Seok Dong, died in a car accident, the position of chairman was vacant. Lee Jong-gu, the second-in-command of the faction, convened an internal meeting, which led to this gathering.
The huge conference room was decorated in a luxurious and tacky style, with gold elements everywhere. It was a bit dazzling under the sunlight, but it was very consistent with the identities of this group of people.
"President Shi's death was definitely not caused by a car accident. We all know this. I have asked someone to investigate the truth of the matter. I believe there will be results soon."
"However, as the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a family cannot be without a master for a day. I can't pretend that the position of chairman slips away from the hands of the Tiger Clan and let that bastard Ding Qing grab it!"
"I am going to compete for the position of president. What is your attitude?"
Li Zhongjiu has always been an arrogant person, in other words, he is extremely confident and has no intention of hiding anything.
"Of course we support you. You've always been the second-in-command of the Tiger Clan. We couldn't be happier that you've become the guild leader!"
"That's right! You must take the position of the guild president, otherwise none of us will accept it!"
"That bastard Ding Qing is an ungrateful bastard. If we hand over the management of the group to him, I'm afraid we will all have to retire early!"
No one in the Tiger Faction opposed supporting Li Zhongjiu to take the position. This was what they had always wanted. Looking at the entire Kinmen Group, there were only two people who were qualified to compete for the position of chairman. One was Ding Qing from the Peking University Faction, and the other was Li Zhongjiu from the Tiger Faction.
Even if they think with their butts, they will choose their own people.
"Okay, now that we have reached a consensus, let's go all out to attack Ding Qing and clear all obstacles for the position of president!"
Li Zhongjiu clenched his fist and slammed it heavily on the table, a cruel smile appeared on his ferocious face.
……
When the Tiger Faction took action, Ding Qing was naturally not idle either. After he expressed his intention to compete for the position of president, the forces of the Peking University faction also went into full force.
As everyone went about their duties, only Ding Qing and Li Zicheng were left in the office.
"Brother, what on earth is going on? How did the president die?"
Li Zicheng has a neat hairstyle and a calm temperament. The suit makes him look more restrained. The corners of his mouth are tight and his eyes are full of suspicion.
That day, he saw with his own eyes Shi Dongchu and Ding Qing being taken away by a group of people with Asian faces, and then there was news that the president had been in a car accident. How could he not be suspicious of such a strange thing?
He is not only Ding Qing's right-hand man, but also his most trusted brother. The two have known each other since childhood and have a deep relationship till now.
Unfortunately, what Ding Qing didn't know was that Li Zicheng, whom he regarded as a good brother, was actually an undercover agent sent by the Korean Police Department.
"Brother, what are you talking about? The president was in a car accident, and his body has been taken away by the police. Even the TV and the media know about it. Is this true?"
Ding Qing's pupils shrank slightly, and he immediately thought of what Brother Hao had said.
"Li Zicheng is an undercover agent of the police department. He will definitely keep asking about the cause of Shi Dongchu's death."
Upon hearing the news, Ding Qing’s first reaction was that it was impossible!
He had known Li Zicheng since he was just a small gangster. The two had gone through many hardships together. They had risked their lives countless times and shed countless liters of blood. He had never done anything wrong to him. How could he be an undercover agent of the police department?
Especially when they were fighting for territory, Ding Qing and Li Zicheng fought against a room full of opponents. They were stabbed countless times. Afterwards, they wanted to light a cigarette, but their lighter wouldn't light it no matter what.
Scenes like this are still vivid in his mind. Now he is suddenly told that Li Zicheng is an undercover agent. How can he accept this?
However, the person who spoke was Lin Zehao. Would such a well-connected person tell lies?
"Brother, I was also at the scene when President Shi had a conflict with a group of people. Are you still planning to hide it from me?"
Li Zicheng was actually very conflicted. If he had wanted to wipe out the Kinmen Group when he first became an undercover agent, after going through so much with Ding Qing, he really regarded him as a brother.
Unfortunately, the development of the situation will not be affected by the thoughts of this undercover agent. Under the aggressive and high-pressure situation of his boss, he can only choose to obey orders.
Many thoughts flashed through Ding Qing's mind, but his expression remained the same, without showing any abnormality. He smiled casually and said, "Oh, I thought it was something."
"That group of people are businessmen from Hong Kong Island. I heard that they were invited by the Blue House. They are very powerful."
"But we at the Kinmen Group are no pushovers. It's just some minor misunderstandings. We can say that we got to know each other better after a fight."
Li Zicheng was able to remain undercover for such a long time because of his sharp wit. Naturally, he did not believe this explanation, but if he continued to ask, the purpose would be too obvious. He could only choose to let it go for now.
"Okay, brother, logically I shouldn't say this, but I still hope that no matter what happens, you won't hide it from me."
"As brothers, we should face it together."
Ding Qing waved his hand and said jokingly, "Ah Xi, when is it your turn to teach Big Brother a lesson? Go and do your work."
When Li Zicheng walked to the door, Ding Qing suddenly spoke, still in broken Chinese, "Hey, skinny old man, be careful."
Li Zicheng didn't even turn his head, just waved and left his back.
Ding Qing was the only one left in the huge office. He stared at the ceiling with unfocused eyes and murmured, "Brother, I hope you are not an undercover agent of the police department. Otherwise, even if I can tolerate you, Brother Hao will not tolerate you..."
……
Lee family mansion in Hannam-dong, Seoul.
As the top wealthy residential area in Goryeo, it is far from comparable to Gangnam-dong, which is more widely known in later generations.
More than 30 years later, the annual holding tax for this mansion, which covers an area of more than 1,200 square meters, is as high as billion won!
A mansion of this level is absolutely unrivaled in Goryeo, even the presidents are far from it.
The walls of the entire mansion are paved with Italian Carrara marble. The texture of each stone needs to be manually spliced and aligned, and the cost is over three million US dollars. The floors are a mix of Brazil's top black gold marble and Burmese teak floors. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, and are non-slip and quiet.
The dome of the main hall imitates the Baroque gilded relief dome of the Palace of Versailles, and the area of 24K gold foil inlay reaches 50 square meters.
All the glass in the house is custom-made by Germany's SCHOTT company. It is up to 12 centimeters thick and can withstand sniper rifle shooting. Even the door frames are made of African ebony with family totems carved on them. A single door costs more than 800,000 US dollars.
It is no exaggeration to say that everything in this house, whether it is conspicuous or inconspicuous, is made of top-quality materials. The cost of decoration alone is an astronomical figure.
Not to mention ordinary people, even the wealthy can't afford it.
Lee Byung-chul, the current founder and head of Samsung Group, sat in a wheelchair with his eyes slightly narrowed, enjoying the perfect sunlight. Two young and beautiful maids stood on both sides, ready to respond to any requests of their master at any time.
Although he is already seventy years old with a head full of white hair, suffers from illness, and is uncomfortably thin, his mental state is still good thanks to his ability to make money.
After all, even if they both suffer from cancer, ordinary people can only wait to die after spending all their money, but rich people can use various means to prolong their lives.
There is no such thing as fairness in this world.
At a glance from Lee Kun-hee, the two maids respectfully retreated, leaving the space to the two generations of the Lee family's leaders.
"Father, there's something wrong with the stock price of our group recently. It seems like someone is deliberately raising our stock price."
Lee Kun-hee has a square appearance and a square face that exudes a sense of intimidation without even getting angry. His hair is combed neatly behind his head, and his calmness reveals decisiveness.
Lee Byung-chul has three sons, the youngest of whom is Lee Kun-hee, who is also the designated next head of Samsung.
As we all know, Goryeo was deeply influenced by Confucian culture, and large families also adhered to the principle of establishing the eldest son as the heir. Under such circumstances, Lee Kun-hee, the youngest son, was able to squeeze out his two older brothers and become the head of the Samsung Group, which shows his means.
When Samsung was first established, it was just a small business selling fruits and flour. After the liberation of Goryeo in 1948, it began to flourish. It first established the "Samsung Trading Company" and started to engage in international trade, exporting locally produced products to Taiwan or Southeast Asia.
It continued to flourish and after the Joseon War, Samsung had become a considerable enterprise, but it was still not considered a "chaebol".
So when did Samsung Group become a chaebol? The opportunity was in the hands of Lee Kun-hee, the youngest son.
In 1970, because of Park Chung-hee's governing principles and with strong policy support, Lee Kun-hee decided to start a "second business" and established "Samsung Electronics" with the support of his family, and began to focus on the semiconductor industry.
In the 1970s, the semiconductor industry was still the island country's strong point, and the island country had a complete monopoly in semiconductor manufacturing.
However, with the vigorous development of the Samsung Group, it finally achieved overtaking and became the only one in the semiconductor field. Combined with the profits brought by semiconductors, the Samsung Group made a lot of money and allowed the company to expand in a diversified manner. The Lee family began to extend its tentacles to all aspects of the lives of the Goryeo people, and the group expanded infinitely.
From then on, chaebols were formed, and even Lee Kun-hee was called the "economic president" during his peak period, which shows the influence of Samsung Group in Korea.
At this moment, Samsung Group is not yet the behemoth it will be decades later, but it is already a chaebol. Although it is immature, it has already formed an unstoppable trend. This is why Quan Douhuan invited Lin Zehao.
Lee Byung-chul's emotions did not fluctuate at all. He was still in a dozing state, and his eyelids were too lazy to move. As soon as he opened his mouth, he could feel the taste of time. "Jianxi, I am old and will not live long. You still have to make the decision on family affairs."
"You've been doing well these years, haven't you?" "Keep your mind firm and move forward. The future of the family is in your hands. I believe Samsung will flourish in your hands."
Lee Byung-chul knew his physical condition. In the advanced stage of lung cancer, every extra second he lived was a gift from God. Now he is still the head of Samsung Group in name, but in fact, Samsung's business has been completely handed over to Lee Kun-hee.
Looking back on his life, Lee Byung-chul believed that he had given 200% of his effort. As the saying goes, children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and future matters will be accomplished by the next generation.
Now, he just wants to enjoy the rare leisure time.
“Father, I suspect someone is shorting Samsung’s stock, and I need your opinion.”
Lee Kun-hee spoke respectfully, but he had his own persistence.
He graduated from Waseda University, one of the two largest private universities in the island country, and then studied for an MBA and mass media at George Washington University.
The keen sense of smell developed through elite education always reminds him that this stock price fluctuation is definitely abnormal!
Lee Byung-chul remained unmoved and simply said, "Doing business is nothing more than buying low and selling high. It seems to be won by intelligence, but in fact, it is done by all means. No matter what means are used, as long as satisfactory results can be achieved, it's fine."
"There are no friends in the business world. At most, there are only temporary allies. It's nothing more than I mess with you today and you mess with me tomorrow. The stocks are there. As long as someone wants to short sell, who can stop them? Can you stop them?"
“Instead of thinking about who your opponent is, you should be prepared to swallow up all enemies. This way you can always be invincible.”
To be fair, Lee Kun-hee is indeed an outstanding younger generation who is capable and smart. Lee Byung-chul is relieved to leave the family's future in his hands.
However, what the youngest son lacks most is decisiveness. He wants to think everything through. This seems to be an advantage, but sometimes he seems too slow.
Unfortunately, Lee Byung-chul no longer had time to teach him more.
"I understand father. I will be ready."
Lee Kun-hee bowed, turned and left, walking into the shadows, leaving the sunshine for his father to enjoy alone.
……
Songpa-gu, Seoul.
An office building that looks ordinary and inconspicuous from the outside, but is heavily guarded inside.
This office building has been bought by Lin Zehao, and the core members of Hutchison Financial, led by Fang Zhanbo, have begun short-selling Samsung Group in the stock market.
Since they are planning to take over Samsung Group in one fell swoop, they have to attack from many aspects.
The operations in the stock market only distract the Li family's attention on the surface. The real killer is naturally not here.
When dealing with a chaebol of the size of the Li family, physical means are more effective and intuitive.
Lee Young-ae pushed open the door of the lounge and found that it was completely covered in smoke. It looked fairy-like and the air was filled with the smell of nicotine.
She subconsciously frowned and wanted to open the window for some fresh air, but was stopped by the security guard, who said very politely: "Sister-in-law, you can't open the window, otherwise you will be at risk of being targeted by snipers."
Lee Young-ae was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded and thanked him, indicating that she did not mean it. After whispering a few words to Lin Zehao, she walked out of the lounge slowly, leaving behind only a charming back.
"Brother Hao, will this plan really work?"
"Is this how business wars should be? Why do I feel like something is wrong?"
Li Wenbin was confused after hearing what Brother Hao said, and he began to doubt his life.
In his impression, this kind of operation should be seen in the underworld rather than in the business world.
Lin Zehao smiled slightly and said, "It seems that your many years of career as a lawyer have made you subconsciously want to follow the rules, but you have forgotten how we got to where we are today."
"From a certain perspective, doing business is similar to dealing with underworld matters. All you need to do is get rid of the most critical person, and then everything will be solved."
"Sometimes I don't want to resort to this method, but the wind blows even when the tree wants to be still."
Fake business wars, financial market intrigues, and commercial espionage.
A real business war, he was shot thirteen times in the back and it was determined to be suicide.
In fact, high-end business wars often use the simplest means.
"But will Lee Kun-hee really surrender just because of a child?"
Lin Zehao put out his cigarette in the ashtray and smiled meaningfully, "Do you know why I always win? Because I always have two plans."
At this moment, time seemed to stand still, the curling smoke covered his face, and everything became like a dream.
……
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Harvard Business School.
"Li, see you tomorrow."
"Linda, Journey to the West special cat meat."
Lee Jae-yong, who is not even 20 years old yet, finished today's classes, walked out of the school gate chatting and laughing with his classmates, and got into the car of his family bodyguards.
"Master, where are we going now?"
As the only son of Lee Kun-hee, Lee Jae-yong is known as the "eldest grandson of Samsung" by the outside world, and everyone believes that he will definitely be the third-generation head of the Samsung family in the future.
Under such high expectations, he also worked very hard. He first graduated from the Department of East Asian History at Seoul National University, then went to Keio University on the island country to pursue an MBA, and now he is studying for a doctorate at Harvard Business School.
Lee Jae-yong glanced at the Jaeger-LeCoultre watch on his wrist and said, "Let's go to the bar we went to yesterday."
He didn't dare to be too presumptuous in Goryeo. After all, there were too many eyes staring at him, making his life very depressing.
Now that we have come to America, thousands of miles away, it is natural that we can let the sky be high and the birds fly freely. It is inevitable that we will be a little indulgent, which is also human nature.
"Okay, Master."
A few black men in the distance watched the target walk away and immediately started their motorcycles to chase after him.
"Bro, are you sure that if we catch that Korean bastard, we can get $10,000?"
"Of course! He promised me personally, and he has already paid one thousand dollars in advance. Otherwise, how do you think I could afford to treat you to Jenny and Lisa yesterday?"
"Stop talking nonsense, bro. We need to work harder and not let this son of a bitch get away!"
Several black people were talking quickly, sounding no different from the hip-hop singers on TV.
Three motorcycles quickly approached the Cadillac and showed signs of surrounding it, causing the bodyguards in the car to immediately become alert.
Lee Jae-yong in the back seat just glanced and then looked away. His mind was now completely focused on the bar trip that was coming up. They were just a few black guys, not as attractive as a foreign horse.
The bodyguard on the passenger seat immediately rolled down the window, raised the pistol in his hand, and warned loudly: "Hey, stay away, be careful of accidental discharge!"
They have encountered this situation many times since coming to America. These black people seem to be synonymous with chaos, and their eyes are full of greed when they stare at them.
Past experience told him that this approach was almost always successful.
Unfortunately, this method is destined to fail today.
The black men on both sides of the bike suddenly started riding with one hand, while they reached into their arms with the other hand and took out an Uzi submachine gun.
Da da da da da!
These blacks held down the triggers and would not let go. Considering the theoretical firing rate of the Uzi submachine gun, which was 1,500 rounds per minute, the magazine was emptied in just the blink of an eye.
This Cadillac is a bulletproof car. Under normal circumstances, even if these blacks fired a few more magazines, they would not be able to penetrate the bulletproof glass that is 20 mm thick.
Unfortunately, because the bodyguard on the passenger seat mistakenly lowered the car window, the bulletproof glass was completely useless, and all the bullets poured onto him, causing his entire face to be blown up in an instant.
Even the driver in the driving seat was implicated. A bullet went into his temple and came out covered in blood and brain matter, with the remaining force still imprinted on the left window.
"what!!!"
Witnessing two familiar lives completely disappearing before his eyes, Lee Jae-yong subconsciously hugged his head and cried out in surprise.
Although he came from a top chaebol family, he was well protected by his family. In addition, he had always been stuck in an ivory tower, so he had never seen any big storms. Although he was definitely better than most of his peers, when faced with such a situation, he was still just a young man under 20 years old.
"Quick, Smith, bring the man out!"
Amid the black people's excited shouting, the car door was finally opened.
Lee Jae-yong only had time to take a look before he was knocked unconscious. His whole body was put in a woven bag and placed on the back seat of a motorcycle like a cargo.
(End of this chapter)
