Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2742 Even the wicked need the wicked to grind them down (Second update, please subscribe)
Will Chang'an back down like Washington did?

Actually, everyone knows the answer!
"Chang'an has never backed down."

In a restaurant in Jing'an District, Lieutenant Colonel Claude, the military attaché of the U.S. Consulate General in Chang'an, enjoyed his steak while saying:
"Tehran believes the SEA is waging two wars, so as long as they seize the platform in the name of 'students,' it won't provoke a counterattack from Chang'an—because they have a way out: a peaceful takeover by the students. You see, it's non-violent..."

When talking about nonviolence, Claude's face even carried a strong sense of sarcasm, as if he were mocking Iran's naiveté.

"They've made a mistake, haven't they?"

The speaker was Lieutenant Colonel Harrison, a British military attaché. It was not unusual for the two to have a meal together, after all, Jing'an District was an embassy district.

Embassies in Europe and the United States often hold balls and banquets, and they also frequently exchange ideas in private.

"Yes, their methods work for America. Carter is a good man, so it works very well, but... this is the SEA! He's dealing with Your Excellency!"

When the word "good guy" was mentioned, Lieutenant Colonel Claude's face was full of contempt. In fact, throughout the United States, almost everyone's opinion of him was that he was a good guy, but that was all.

Of course, there were also some who bluntly called him "useless," including Lieutenant Colonel Claude. When he finally addressed him as "Your Excellency," he even emphasized it, his expression revealing undisguised admiration.

After all, Americans like tough guys, and Li Yi'an's toughness has been evident for many years. Moreover, he personally went to the battlefield and won the most crucial battle that determined the entire Western European theater with inferior forces.

This has resulted in Li Yi'an having a large following within the Pentagon and the military over the years. This explains why, despite the coldness between the White House and the presidential residence, the Pentagon has maintained a good relationship with him.

"Indeed, they are facing SEA, and Your Excellency. This dooms their plot to fail."

Nodding slightly, Lieutenant Colonel Harrison said while cutting his steak:
"After all, for many years, SEA has stood on the international stage as a 'rule defender,' and for this reason, almost no country has ever 'nationalized' SEA's investments."

It's not because they didn't "nationalize" their assets, but because the SEA would actually resort to violence if someone else "nationalized" their assets.

Harrison spoke with a smile, but the smile carried a hint of helplessness, because Britain would not—even now, when it came to the nationalization of British investment in Iran—the Iranian oil company, Downing Street's stance was—"We oppose it!"
But that's all there is to it.

Opposed.

Who cares about verbal opposition?
"Therefore, under these circumstances, countries that want to 'nationalize' SEA have to adopt an extremely cautious attitude and try their best not to touch SEA's pie, so as not to get burned."

This also creates an advantage: SEA's protection of overseas investments directly attracts an influx of capital from Europe and the United States. These investors, while investing in SEA, also use SEA companies to conduct overseas investments, thereby gaining SEA's protection.

Although he is not a businessman, Claude still has a basic understanding of economic rules.

"Yes, capital is selective. Where capital can be protected, it will naturally go. This is also one of the reasons why the SEA has replaced the United States as the world's largest foreign investor."

Harrison paused slightly, then said:

"Given these conditions, how could SEA possibly back down? The only problem is..." Harrison said in an extremely serious tone, looking at Claude:
"How would you respond if the Iranians actually seized the platform? Would they go to war with Iran? What do you think, Claude?"

Faced with this question, Claude pondered for a moment, and then he said:
"They have no chance to seize the platform. If nothing unexpected happens, when those people try to approach it, they'll be met with bullets..."

Claude paused briefly, then raised an eyebrow:
"They won't be like those guys in Tehran, who tie their own hands and let themselves be slaughtered!"

Just as the world's attention was once again drawn to the Persian Gulf, Li Yi'an was quite relaxed at his official residence in Chang'an, fishing in a small lake.

While he was leisurely fishing, Li Yixuan was also fishing nearby, and his three grandsons were fishing not far away. As the eldest grandson, Li Hanyu was now twelve years old and naturally took on the responsibility of taking care of his two younger brothers.

Fishing is a man's activity; the girls didn't come here.

And so, it seems that three generations of the family were fishing there.

“Father, their so-called protest is just a cover. They may very well take the opportunity to seize our drilling platform in the Persian Gulf.”

Legally speaking, those offshore drilling platforms belong to Iran, as they are located in Iran's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

Furthermore, the SEA supported this and collaborated with Iran on maritime development. However, after the change of government, the SEA refused to recognize the interim government.

However, this did not prevent Li Yixuan from referring to the oil drilling platform as his own when he spoke; after all, sometimes habits are hard to change.

"Yes, it's not just possible, it's certain."

Li Yi'an looked at the buoy on the water and said.

“They will not only send people, but they will do it like they did when they occupied the American embassy. They will send a group of students to lead the charge, and even women to lead the charge.”

This is what those people are best at—just a bunch of actors. With a cold laugh to himself, Li Yi'an said:

"I don't like labeling any country a rogue state! Because such a label is completely meaningless."

Li Yixuan immediately expressed his agreement.

"Yes. What's the point of accusing a rogue of being a rogue? Just like Iran now, they used civilians to occupy the US embassy. Under normal circumstances, a normal country would send a commando team to rescue the hostages."

But what did Iran do?
They directly protected the embassy, ​​dispatched troops to protect the terrorists, and officially refused to engage in dialogue.

What's the point of international sanctions and the warden's duties when faced with such thuggery?

"so……"

With a slight smile, Li Yi'an turned his gaze to the lake and said in an extremely calm tone:
"Evil people need to be dealt with by other evil people, and hooligans need to be dealt with using hooligans' methods. They have clearly forgotten one thing: what is a rules-based international order!"

When talking about "rules," Li Yi'an emphasized the word:

"Rules, on the surface, the creation of the United Nations after World War II established a new international order, but in fact, this international order broke the rules precisely—just as they can hide behind the so-called 'national sovereignty' and arbitrarily nationalize and confiscate the legitimate investments of other countries."

Countries whose assets are confiscated often have no choice but to accept it, because the so-called "international order" cannot be violated, but what about the rules?

Li Yi'an gave a cold laugh:
“We have seen that in the post-war world, no country abides by the basic rules anymore. They often confiscate the legitimate investments of other countries under the pretext of imperialist economic invasion. International business rules have been severely trampled on. Under such circumstances, how can we protect our overseas investments? You know, we are now the world’s largest overseas investor.”

Under the guiding principle of "trade-based nation", SEA's overseas investment has been rising steadily. As early as five years ago, it surpassed the United States to become the world's largest in terms of overseas investment.

“Under these circumstances, we naturally have a strong sense of ‘rules’ – there’s no other way, after all, those overseas investments are the hard-earned money of all the people, and not a single penny can be confiscated for no reason.”

Li Yixuan nodded and said:

"That's why we need to freeze the shares of Iran's offshore oil company as compensation for its confiscation of our investments in Iran."

A few months ago, when Iran announced the nationalization of SEA's investments in Iran, one of the most important countermeasures, in addition to further escalating sanctions, was to freeze the Iranian-held shares in Iran's offshore oil company.

After the freeze, a portion of the profits generated will be used to compensate SEA investors.

Iran naturally lodged a strong protest, but what good is empty talk? Besides, the SEA is the only force that can deal with all kinds of empty rhetoric.

Li Yi'an nodded and said:

"Yes, so there can be absolutely no compromise on the issue of oil platforms."

Li Yixuan had expected his father's decision.
"Father……"

Li Yixuan looked at his father and asked:

"So what are our countermeasures?"

"It's not a retaliation, but a direct warning—if they dare to attack our platform, we will consider it an act of war..."

After a brief pause, Li Yi'an said:
"To launch a full-scale military strike against Iran."

Li Yixuan was taken aback by his father's answer. After a moment's hesitation, he said:
"But Iran says they will kill the hostages if we take military action, and Washington certainly won't support us doing that."

"To hesitate to act for fear of harming the innocent..."

Shaking his head, Li Yi'an said directly.

"This is precisely the root cause of Tehran's reckless behavior; they think they can act with impunity just because they have hostages in their hands. They even think they can hide behind the border and act like thugs, but they've forgotten one thing..."

After a slight pause, Li Yi'an smiled and said:
"We're best at dealing with these thugs. Besides, what do we care about the safety of American hostages?"

Li Yixuan was completely stunned by his father's answer.

This statement sounds incredibly unbelievable, yet—it makes perfect sense.

Yes, what do we care about the lives of Americans?

(End of this chapter)