Hong Kong: Rise of the Kings.

Chapter 939 0927 [Only the debt of favor is hard to repay]

"Really? You don't know him?"

Du Yongxiao looked at Li Zhaoheng and smiled, a strange smile.

Li Zhaoheng was stubborn, "What are you laughing at? No matter how much you laugh, I don't recognize him!"

"Mr. Li, you are so shameless. How dare you say you don't know me?" Lian Haodong said angrily.

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you? Why are you talking nonsense here? You know, I'm a celebrity in Hong Kong, and many people know me! Don't think you can slander me just because you've seen me on TV or in newspapers!" Li Zhaoheng pointed at Lian Haodong's nose while holding a cigar. "Mr. Du just said on the stage that although Hong Kong emphasizes freedom of speech, it is not a lawless place where you can slander and defame me! This is a crime!"

"Li, stop pretending to be innocent here! I recorded every conversation I had with you! Do you still want to quibble?"

"Recording? Really? Why don't I remember talking to you?" Li Zhaoheng's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm.

To reach his position, one must have developed the composure to remain calm even when faced with a catastrophe.

The surrounding media didn't care about this and kept taking pictures of him.

Li Tiansheng immediately stepped forward to stop them, "Don't take pictures! We at Li's reserve the right to sue you for violating our portrait rights!"

The media continued to take pictures crazily.

This is the big news of the century. You’d be stupid not to film it.

Da Tou Wen took the opportunity to step forward and walked in front of Li Zhaoheng: "Excuse me, Mr. Li, according to the regulations of our police force, we have to take the suspect to record a statement after receiving a report. Now someone accuses you of being behind the arson and murder, so please come back to the police station with us!"

Li Zhaoheng smiled slightly, biting his cigar and said, "I am a good citizen, and it is my duty to cooperate with you police in the investigation!"

After that, he turned to Li Tiansheng and said, "Call my lawyer. Remember, make more calls and ask more of those royal lawyers to come over, so that these sirs won't be able to hear clearly!"

"Yes, boss!"

"So can we leave now?" Datou Wen continued to ask.

"Of course!" Li Zhaoheng waved to the people around him, "Sorry, I have to excuse myself for a moment! As the saying goes, the innocent will be innocent! Please pay attention to my condition. By the way, if nothing happens, I will sue someone for defaming and slandering me! I have always believed that Hong Kong law is fair and just!"

After saying that, Li Zhaoheng waved his hand again, as if he was a head of state visiting, and left the venue with an arrogant attitude.

The venue exploded.

Countless media outlets chased after it, wanting to be the first to get the new revelations.

Du Yongxiao watched this scene coldly. At this time, Boss Li Jiacheng stepped forward and said, "Mr. Du, you don't have to go so far, right?"

"What about you?" Du Yongxiao asked Boss Li, "What would you do? If someone accuses you of murder and arson, smears your character, and smears the reputation of your company, I know what you would do?"

"Uh, this--" Boss Li was speechless.

Du Yongxiao looked at Boss Li and said the last words: "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you!"

……

As soon as the press conference ended, the whole of Hong Kong began to riot.

"Big news! Big news! Li Zhaoheng, general manager of Li's Group, was taken away by the police for questioning and suspected of arson and murder!"

"Li Zhaoheng is suspected of a major criminal case and is cooperating with the police investigation as a suspect!"

This kind of news was spreading across almost the entire Hong Kong, and the content of Ming Pao’s press conference became secondary.

But for many people who are concerned, they understand that Li Zhaoheng being taken away by the police is secondary, and Du Yongxiao’s entry into Ming Pao is fatal!

In this way, Du Yongxiao controls the three major media in Hong Kong, Sing Tao Daily, Oriental Daily, and Ming Pao, and together with his Golden Harvest Film Company, he has become the leader of public opinion.

Looking at the whole of Hong Kong, there are only a handful of people who can compete with Du Yongxiao in public opinion, and the Li family is one of them. Don’t forget that the Li family is a major shareholder of TVB and an old friend of Shaw Brothers tycoon!
Li's propaganda machine has not started yet, but if it does, it will be absolutely sharp.

……

Shaw Mansion——
Near noon, the now famous chairman of the Ritchie Group, Lee Hau-wo, and Shaw Brothers Film Company president, Run Run Shaw, were talking at the table in the study of Shaw's villa in the mid-levels of Victoria Peak.

"I know why you came here to find me, but I really don't want to get involved in the struggle between your Li family and Du Yongxiao." Shao Daheng took out a few documents from the neatly arranged files on the desk and handed them to Li Xiaohe.

"These are some of the projects that our Shaw Brothers has cooperated with the Du Group in recent years. Each project requires a huge investment. Even if I don't think about myself, I have to think about our Shaw Brothers. It's better to make friends than to make enemies."

Li Xiaohe did not show any surprise on his face. Instead, he smiled and picked up the already cold coffee and took a sip elegantly. "Uncle Six, I know what you mean. Of course, I also believe that you are the only successful businessman in Hong Kong who can make friends everywhere. But these cooperation documents are not important. Most Hong Kong people will not know who you cooperate with or who you are friends with. They don't care about these. What they care about is that Du Yongxiao is now the only one in the public opinion circle in Hong Kong. Now everyone knows that he is the real king of entertainment, the first entertainment tycoon and cinema tycoon in Hong Kong. As for Shaw Brothers, it has become second-rate stuff!"

"Are you trying to provoke me? Do you think I care about these false reputations?" Shao Daheng stood up from the desk and walked towards the bookshelf.

Soon, he found the book he needed, opened it, and murmured: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; like dew and lightning, they should be viewed in this way... If possible, I can lend you this book to read."

Shao Daheng walked back to the desk quickly with the book in his arms, handed it to Li Xiaohe and said, "It will only benefit you, not harm you." Li Xiaohe looked at Shao Daheng quietly, and did not take the book: "Diamond Sutra? I have read it many times. Indeed, every time I read it, I will have new experiences. But compared to Diamond Sutra, I like Li Zongwu's Thick Black Theory very much. There are no eternal friends in this world, only eternal interests. Besides, you owe me a favor, and it is the same now."

"Is it worth it? Are you going to use this favor so easily just to clean up your precious son's mess?"

When Shaw Brothers encountered financial difficulties in the final battle with Dianmao, Shaw tycoon had no choice but to seek help from the outside world.

Unfortunately, no one was optimistic about Shaw Brothers at that time, because Dianmao's Lu Yuntao had already beaten Shaw Brothers to a pulp. Shaw tycoon begged for help from everyone but to no avail, and did not get any help at all.

Just when he was about to despair and Shaw Brothers was about to be defeated and declare bankruptcy, only Li Xiaohe, the head of the Li family, lent him a helping hand. He took out all the cash of the Li family, 35 million Hong Kong dollars, and injected it into Shaw Brothers, which helped Shaw Brothers to overcome the difficulties.

It was also because of this that when Shaw Brothers established TVB, they took the initiative to invite Li Jia to invest and become a major shareholder.

It was also at that time that Shao Daheng made a promise to Li Xiaohe, "I owe your Li family a favor, and I will definitely pay it back as long as you ask for it in the future!"

"I can't help it." Li Xiaohe said with a wry smile, "I only have three sons, and the most successful one is the second one. Now he is in trouble. As a father, how can I sit back and do nothing?"

"Is that so..." Shao Daheng picked up a box of mint-flavored men's cigarettes from the table, struck a match, put the cigarette with very little nicotine in his mouth, and said in a weak tone: "Since you have helped me, I can't refuse you again, but I have to say it in advance. I can only do my best. As for whether I can help, I can only leave it to fate."

He had quit smoking for many years, and today he started smoking again for the first time and felt very uncomfortable.

"It's not as complicated as you think, Uncle Six..." Li Xiaohe looked at the troubled Shao Daheng and said, "To put it bluntly, isn't everything just a war of public opinion? When it comes to this kind of thing, you are familiar with it and have never been afraid of anyone! Although Du Yongxiao is powerful, he is still young and energetic. I think you can beat him."

"Don't make it sound so easy. Although Du Yongxiao is young, he is more cunning than many old foxes..." Shao Daheng paused here.

Li Xiaohe asked curiously, "Can he still beat Lu Yuntao?"

Dianmao boss Lu Yuntao is the person Shao Daheng admires the most in his life, and also the person he respects the most. Back then, Lu Yuntao almost forced Shao Daheng into bankruptcy. If the latter had not encountered a plane crash while on his way to Taiwan to attend a film ceremony, I'm afraid that the Hong Kong entertainment industry would now be dominated by Lu's family.

"No, not defeated, but a genius!" Shao Daheng showed a somewhat emotional expression on his face, but his tone was light: "I also thought I could beat him, thinking that he was young and energetic and lacked self-control, but after getting in touch with him, I found that it was absolutely a cognitive error! From a mere plainclothes policeman in Shixiawei, he turned into the first Chinese police chief and a super tycoon in the business world in just seven or eight years! And from starting out in the film industry to reaching my current position, it took me more than 20 years!"

At this point, Shao Daheng put down his cigarette and patted the back of Li Xiaohe's hand gently like an elder: "So I'm giving you a warning. If it's not necessary, don't make an enemy of them! Although the Li family is a big family in Hong Kong with huge power, the other party is really an unpredictable opponent. He will let you know what fear is!"

"Fear? I'm so old and frail. My only fear is having no successor!" Li Xiaohe suppressed the emotions that had just been revealed unconsciously and said to Shao Daheng with a smile.

Mr. Shao also laughed: "You are right. You and I are both at the age of knowing our destiny. Fear may be nothing to you and me. What we are most concerned about now is the successor, the same for the Li family and the Shao family."

When Shao Daheng said this, his expression turned gloomy.

Li Xiaohe knew that this hit the nail on the head of Shao Daheng's heart, because Shao Daheng had a very bad relationship with his children, and the main reason was because of his "close friend" Fang Yihua.

Fang Yihua was born in Shanghai in 1934. In 1952, she was a famous singing star in Southeast Asia. When they first met, Shao Daheng was moved by her beautiful voice. Fang Yihua's youth and independent spirit were very similar to himself back then, so the two got together.

At the same time, Huang Meizhen, Shao Daheng's first wife who had a conflict with him, found out about it. She was still waiting for Shao Daheng to change his mind, but what she heard was the news that he had found a new lover. In a fit of anger, she took her children and left Shao Daheng. She really met a new love and parted ways with her old love.

Shao Daheng's children did not grow up by his side, and when Huang Meizhen left, he did not make any attempt to keep her. The children had a weak emotional foundation with their father, and with the intervention of Fang Yihua and the departure of Huang Meizhen, the children did not have a good impression of their father. They only knew that their father was a cold-blooded man and they did not like to be close to him.

The trigger for the conflict between father and son was a kidnapping incident.

In 1964, Shao Daheng's eldest son Shao Weiming was kidnapped in Singapore. For any father, the first reaction to such a serious incident would be panic and anxiety. However, after receiving a call from the kidnappers and knowing the amount of money they demanded, Shao Daheng calmly put down the phone and continued his work of reviewing the sample film, which made others feel very confused.

However, Shao Daheng believed that since the terms had already been negotiated and the kidnappers would not threaten his son's life, he only needed to pay enough money and it was unnecessary to consider anything else.

Shao Daheng's overly rational "wolf-like training" made his son feel discouraged. Anyone else would think that his father did not pay enough attention to him and that he was an insignificant person.

Later, when his son tried to seek development in the Shaw Group, Fang Yihua became the "head of the family", leaving Shaw's son with nowhere to go.

His children eventually quit Shaw Brothers to pursue their own careers, and have cut off contact with him since then.

When Mr. Shao passed away, his sons and daughters had all developed very well overseas and became wealthy people. After all, after being "trained by the wolf nature" of a father like Mr. Shao, it was difficult for them not to be independent.

Therefore, when Mr. Shao passed away, everyone thought that his children would come back and stage a big drama to grab the family property. However, unexpectedly, none of his children wanted to inherit the estate. It was inevitable that people felt sad for Mr. Shao, the "philanthropist".

"Every family has its own problems." Li Xiaohe said, but his smile revealed an unspeakable distress about life and family.

Li Xiaohe enjoyed lunch in Shao Daheng's villa in an elegant and gentlemanly manner. After the meal, he admired Shao Daheng's bonsai skills for a while before politely saying goodbye and leaving.

After leaving Taiping Mountain, Li Xiaohe's previous elegance and calmness disappeared. He picked up his long gown, got into a private car, urged the driver to speed up, and drove towards the police station where his son was detained.

During lunch, Mr. Shao nodded and agreed to help. Based on Shaw's strong public opinion, Du Yongxiao would probably have a headache if he encountered this.

What he had to do now was to bail out his son Li Zhaoheng from the police station as soon as possible, to avoid wasting time and causing unpredictable variables.

at this time--
In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the whole of Hong Kong was reflected in the light, with every detail clearly visible!

In the study room of the villa, Shao Daheng looked outside through the window and sighed -
The world is full of thousands,

The debt of favor is the hardest to repay!

(End of this chapter)