Rebirth: My 80s

Chapter 1206 Silent Shooting
Li Jiankun was not clear about the specific process of our purchase of the Varyag in the previous life. I think only those who participated in it knew it. He only knew that it was shipped back to China after it was purchased, which can be said to be a ship with a tragic fate.

During the few days he spent in Ukraine, Li Jiankun stayed in a hotel in Kiev, keeping a low profile and had no intention of "showing up". Considering that the Americans were also involved, his showing up would definitely not be a good thing.

There is no doubt that Americans are now gnashing their teeth in hatred of him.

Li Jiankun did ask whether we had sent anyone over, but he didn't hear any news.

No allies.

He couldn't even show up.

Mou Qizhong had already told him about the two big troubles and asked him what plans he had. Li Jiankun's plan was... no plan.

At least for the time being.

Without knowing the historical details, I cannot use them as a reference. I can only take one step at a time and respond to each situation as it arises.

It is worth mentioning that this auction is different from the auction format that many people are familiar with. It is not the kind of auction where participants bid on the same stage in a venue and the final bid is made.

The pace will be much slower.

Don't think that the price won't go up if the pace slows down and there's no competition. It depends on what's being auctioned. If the item is something that all bidders think is in high demand, the competition will be even more intense because the timeline will be longer and the number of bids will increase.

The Ukrainian side obviously knew that even though it was something they had discarded, there were still people who would fight to the death for it, and they had grasped this mentality very well. The Ukrainian side did give a few explanations, such as saying that the auction items were special and needed to be treated with caution.

Ultimately, they just wanted to sell the Varyag at a higher price.

This is their main and even only purpose.

In theory, the most effective way to make a deal is to satisfy the seller's wishes.

Ukraine today is different from what it was later. Its military power ranks among the best in the world. If the United States wants them to destroy their weapons of mass destruction, it has to use both coaxing and deception.

The economy is a bit worse.

To be exact, it's a bit hard to make sense.

This is a common shortcoming faced by Eastern European countries at present.

As it happens, the thing Li Jiankun has the most is money, especially in this kind of matter, for two reasons:

1. The richest people in the world, in terms of identity, are still businessmen. Businessmen generally do not get involved in such matters, unless they have other purposes like him.

What would you do with an aircraft carrier? Do you dare to resell it openly?
It does more harm than good to yourself.

2. Although the government can come up with huge funds, those who understand the official process understand it. There is a budget for spending money, and this budget is more in line with the actual situation and is estimated by professionals. If the premium is too large, it will usually be shut down because no one person can make the final decision. There are too many voices and too many concerns.

So Li Jiankun just has an idea now, not a plan.

That is to make the seller, the Ukrainian side, extremely satisfied with the price and eager to buy it immediately and settle the payment.

By then, theoretically speaking, no matter who tries to trip it up, Ukraine won't need to worry about it. The Ukrainian side will be unhappy and will try every possible means to resolve the problem.

So why bother yourself with trouble?

No one knows where Li Jiankun's bottom line is, not even Mou Qizhong. The factors that determine Li Jiankun's bottom line come from the Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian in later generations, and from our increasingly powerful maritime military forces. They guard our vast sea areas and defend the dignity of the country and the people, so that the humiliation of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 will never happen again.

Is this something that can be measured by money?!

If we could capture the Varyag now, it would be ten years earlier than in the previous life. Li Jiankun often thought with anticipation, what kind of naval military power would he see when he returned to the 2020s?

Longing.

Therefore, this matter must not be allowed to go wrong!
Otherwise, it would be a case of doing good with bad intentions and harming the country.

Although the cat was in the hotel and could hardly be described as never going out of the door, Li Jiankun was not idle. After a few days, through Mou Qizhong and his connections in Russia, Li Jiankun had found out everything he needed to know.

It is worth mentioning that he actually has considerable connections in Ukraine. Didn’t several parties come to him specifically to do big ruble business with him?

Ukraine is one of them.

It is true that a tall tree attracts the wind. If the Ukrainian side knew that he was involved in this matter, it would be difficult to hide it from the Americans.

This time he came here, he even took the highway, and the name on his passport was not Jack Lee.

The reason I decided to come here is because I attach great importance to this matter, and also to avoid being bothered by others while staying in Russia.

Compared with ordinary auctions, the number of buyers participating in this auction is actually not that many and can be counted on one's fingers. Li Jiankun has analyzed them one by one and found that among these competitors, the biggest threat comes from the Indian side.

First of all, we must admit that India is a big country and the distance is not far.

Secondly, this country is so crazy about aircraft carriers that it would not be news in the future.

The first reason is the geographical conditions, as it is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the second reason is ambition.

What many people don’t know is that India has been dreaming of building an aircraft carrier and has been committed to developing the aircraft carrier industry, which can be said to be the originator. However, it has no foundation and cannot figure it out on its own. So as early as the 1950s, India bought a "Dignity" class light aircraft carrier from the United Kingdom, and later renamed it "Vikramadity", which means "to completely defeat those who dare to fight me."

Still in service till now.

In 1986, India purchased the retired aircraft carrier HMS Hermes from the United Kingdom and converted it into the INS Viraat, which means "only the strong can dominate the oceans."

Li Jiankun was not surprised at all that the Asan came here this time. It would be strange if they didn't come here happily when there was a chance to buy an aircraft carrier. When they first wanted to buy an aircraft carrier, no one paid any attention to them.

And that’s the problem, and it’s a huge competitive advantage for India.

Because other bidders, even official forces, do not have aircraft carriers now.

As the world policeman that intimidates the world with its maritime hegemony, it naturally does not want any other forces to threaten it in terms of maritime military power, and does not want to give it even the slightest possibility.

The Indians are different. They already have it. From the 1950s to now, no one has come up with anything with any technical content. These Americans must know it very well.

Furthermore, now that the Americans have turned their spearheads toward the ancient country in the East, the trick that the Americans are best at is to win over the surrounding areas, encircle them, and engage in group fights.

So between us and the Indians, Americans will definitely support the Indians, without a doubt.

India is also willing to spend money on aircraft carriers. After purchasing the retired aircraft carrier "HMS Hermes" from the UK, it spent 50 million pounds, or over 100 million US dollars, on the transformation alone.

That was in 1986, and my country's foreign exchange reserves were only 2 billion US dollars.

In the evening, in the more elegant Western restaurant of the Kiev Hotel.

In a corner of the restaurant, Li Jiankun was enjoying his dinner alone. Fugui and several retired special forces soldiers who came from Russia were sitting a few tables away. They had been like this for a while, deliberately keeping a distance to avoid more eyes falling on Li Jiankun. For example, now, the restaurant was full and very lively. Who would pay attention to him, a single dog?
Li Jiankun seemed to be eating, but his eyes behind his sunglasses were always looking at the nine o'clock direction.

A few Indians were gathered around a dining table, toasting each other, as if they were celebrating in advance.

These people are the ones sent by India to participate in the auction. There is a team and these are the main members.

"…It's really hilarious that there's actually someone else participating in this auction, a businessman." "And he's a Chinese businessman."

"I think he's thinking."

"Let alone a Chinese businessman, even if they send an official team, they are just a toad wanting to eat swan meat."

"Do you think they don't want to? Their strength doesn't allow it."

"For a place so poor that people are almost eating dirt, they actually dare to dream of such a thing. It's simply a daydream."

"Sooner or later, Asia will be ours."

"certain."

...

Li Jiankun matched the person who was the leader on the Asan side according to the name in his mind.

Dirang.

A middle-aged man of a high caste with oiled hair and a neat 3:7 split hair. His skin color is hard to describe. It is not the yellow of Asians. It is as if he was thrown into light ink and then quickly fished out. It is black but not completely black. His face is thin and his scapula appears very high.

Mou Qizhong said that he was very angry with Di Rang today.

Isn't the auction going to be held soon? All the parties who have registered to participate have arrived. Early this morning, the Ukrainian side organized the bidders to go to the Black Sea Shipyard to visit the Varyag, the main body of which has been built. To put it bluntly, they came to see the goods.

Mou Qizhong knew that he was weak, so he hired a few followers, including translators, secretaries, and bodyguards. Despite all the pomp and circumstance, he was still not taken seriously.

At that time, Di Rang deliberately talked to him, and his remarks were all sarcastic, both overtly and covertly, and not just directed at him.

These people hate us from the bottom of their hearts.

Mou Qizhong also said that this Di Rang did not even take other forces into consideration and was determined to win, so he must have a considerable amount of funds in his hands.

Li Jiankun suddenly remembered something.

I guess Ah San does have some spare money now.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, India owed the Soviet Union more than 10 billion rubles. As a result, the Soviet economy encountered problems in recent years, and it began to carry out economic reforms and implement a dual exchange rate system, which caused the ruble to plummet against foreign currencies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ruble plummeted even more. These debts of India have accumulated over the years. Some time ago, they suddenly became very particular and paid off all the debts at once, taking advantage of the fact that the ruble had plummeted nearly 200 times against the US dollar.

You know, the ruble-to-dollar ratio has been 0.6:1 for many years.

As a result, such a huge debt was paid off by Asan with just a fraction of the US dollars.

The Russian side suffered a loss and was very angry.

Li Jiankun thought that this matter might bring some help. In any case, the Soviet Union had just collapsed, and as an Axis power, Russia still had some influence on the surrounding areas.

But I won’t move unless the enemy moves, because if he moves I will easily be exposed.

The day after tomorrow is the first auction day. Let’s see if there are any unexpected problems after it’s over.

In a serious auction, let alone one Indian, even a hundred Indians are scum. How much foreign exchange reserves do they have now? These guys, they are not good at anything else, but they think they are the best in the world.

----

Early in the morning, in Li Jiankun's ordinary double room, there was a big man standing by the bed.

Mou Qizhong handed over a document and said, "According to the auction rules, the Ukrainian account at UBS will receive the deposit on the same day after the silent bid is submitted in the morning..."

There is also a benefit in that no one takes Mou Qizhong seriously, as at least their meetings don't have to seem like underground work.

Li Jiankun, who was lying on the bed, took the information, glanced at it casually, put it aside, nodded and said, "Don't worry about the money, just show up."

Mou Qizhong nodded and asked, "How much money should I pay later?"

The rules were set by the Ukrainian side. The first round was a silent auction. The Ukrainian side probably had no idea themselves. They didn't know how much the Varyag, which they considered to be a lump of scrap metal, was worth in the eyes of those who coveted it. So they wanted to find out the bottom line first. They might be so desperate for money that they would be overjoyed if someone offered $300,000 or $500,000, but in fact there were people willing to pay ten times the price.

The so-called silent shooting means exactly what it says.

All bidders, please give a price that you think is reasonable and submit it to the Ukrainian side in written form. The deposit must be one-tenth of the bid amount. Only when the deposit is seen will your bid be counted. The Ukrainian side will finally calculate the price and announce the highest price.

So onto the next round.

If you think about it and grit your teeth, you can offer a higher price than this. Ukraine warmly welcomes you to continue bidding.

The cycle will continue like this until no one offers a higher price. Then the latest highest price announced by the Ukrainian side will be the winning price. The bidder can successfully take away the Varyag if he pays the balance within the specified time limit.

If not, the deposit will not be refunded.

The longest waiting period for bidding is three days, that is, if you want to bid, you must complete it within three days. If no one bids again within three days, the current highest bidder will win the bid.

"Fill it in casually." Li Jiankun said.

Mou Qizhong's jaw dropped, and he asked in surprise, "Whatever?"

Although I know you are not short of money.

Although you and I both know the significance of aircraft carriers to our country.

But is it really necessary to do so at all costs?

After seeing Li Jiankun nod, Mou Qizhong glared and asked, "What if I fill in 1 billion US dollars?"

Li Jiankun said unhappily: "Are you sick? Why are you filling in so much..."

"Hey, hey, hey, you just said it casually." Mu Qizhong pointed at him.

Li Jiankun rolled his eyes and said, "I'm telling you to estimate it yourself and try to fill in as little as possible."

Mou Qizhong: “Ah?”

But in a moment, he understood the truth. Since this form of auction means that as long as you want to bid, you will have no worries about not having a chance, why should you show off at the beginning?

There is no benefit at all.

Apart from anything else, if he really did what he said and filled in 1 billion US dollars, he would be pushed to the forefront and it would be difficult for him to meet with Li Jiankun in the future. Mou Qizhong now also understood some of the grievances between Li Jiankun and the West.

Li Jiankun's plan was obviously to let the other bidders fight it out first, and then he would deal with the strongest one among them.

It's a good idea.

But Mu Qizhong couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had thought that he could finally hold his head high today, but now he was afraid that he would be despised to death. Although the Ukrainian side would only announce the highest price, there is no such thing as a wall without airtightness in the world, and it is not a secret.

(End of this chapter)