money player

By the time the ducklings were herded into the pond, the opening hours of the flower shop had passed. Sin Yiu-man moved to the Carlint Restaurant downstairs for coffee, which conveniently made it easier for him to contact Cheng Wai-han, who wanted to come to his home to look for him, since he couldn't reach her by phone.

Zheng Huixian brought news that he had received an urgent phone call from New Jersey.

His only connection in New Jersey was the Charlotte family, so Xie Zhanran drove around New York City aimlessly. Midway through, he quietly got out of the car and went into a public phone booth at a hotel near Broadway.

"Hi Leonard, I'm so sorry, I'm going to Broadway to pick up a telegram and I also need to go to the bookstore to buy the book you recommended last time. I'll call you back later."

After saying that, Sin Yiu-man hung up the phone, left the hotel, bought a copy of "The Hobbit" on the way, and then went to the national headquarters of Western Union at 60 Broadway.

He told the clerk his name, "Leonardo," and sat down in the customer lounge area, opened a book, and began to read quietly.

After reading only three pages, the teller called him over.

Fifteen minutes later, he sat at the bar counter in a bar, translating telegrams from a book.

“James Van Fleet’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth, needs a job. I recommend she come to you. Wait in New York and arrive within three days. Truman will not be running for office.”

After carefully putting away the telegram, Sin Yiu-man stroked his wine glass and fell into deep thought.

James Van Fleet was the commander of the Eighth Army who succeeded Matthew Ridgway a few months earlier. He was a four-star general in the Army, a fellow countryman of Edward Charlotte II and a classmate of West Point, as well as Eisenhower and Omar Bradley.

Edward had mentioned this classmate before, but hadn't brought up the alliance of interests. Now, he suddenly pushed the girl's daughter to him for a meal. Was he opening his heart to him further, or was a new alliance being formed, and Edward needed him to help solidify the transfer of benefits?
His cooperation with the Charlotte family is a two-way street, where neither side needs to reveal their hand. If one side reveals its hand, the other can follow suit if it wants, or watch from the sidelines if it can't. It's a loose alliance, not to the point where they share the same fate.

Now Edward has revealed Van Fleet, Ridgway's trump card. Ridgway was responsible for formulating the UN forces' strategy for the Korean War, while Van Fleet was responsible for the US military's tactical execution.

In the short term, changes in US military tactics will affect the revenue of the East Asia Chamber of Commerce. For example, fine-tuning soldiers' leave schedules will directly impact the sales of a range of products, including alcohol, stockings, and cosmetics.

To understand the long-term implications, we must first analyze why the United States sent Van Fleet to North Korea. Going back in time, Van Fleet was previously the head of the U.S. Military Assistance Mission in Greece. In Greece, he successfully implemented the Truman Doctrine, guided and armed the Greek government forces, defeated the Democratic Army led by the Communist Party of Greece, and thus prevented Greece from falling into the Soviet bloc.

His strategy was not simply military action, but rather always from a political perspective. In Greece, he not only won the war, but also managed it, using the war to win over the Greek government to the American camp and contain the Soviet Union.

He maximized American interests in Greece.

As for the Korean War, that fool MacArthur never grasped the key points, only considering the military aspect. He even proposed escalating the war in a way that was not in America's interest. Truman removed him, promoted Ridgway, and then sent Van Fleet to replace Ridgway, clearly to manage the war.

If history doesn't go astray, we should soon witness the extreme attrition tactic of "Van Fleet ammunition consumption," which uses unlimited shell consumption to reduce casualties and achieve results. It doesn't matter if you use reverse slope tactics, sniping, or night infiltration. Of the thirty-six stratagems, I only have one: the more it burns, the more explosive it becomes.

Thus, the nature of war underwent a dramatic change. Soldiers began to slack off and stopped doing what soldiers were supposed to do. Van Fleet first flattered the military-industrial complex, "Gentlemen, is my strategy any good?"

Then came a deluge of praise: the National Security Council, the National Defense Mobilization Office, the Economic Stabilization Bureau, the Defense Production Administration, and private industrial enterprises—"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm new here, let me perform a magic trick for you. This trick is one I learned from the Archmage Adam in the Garden of Eden, called Wartime Economy. Hey, let's go..."

Van Fleet had a clear head and knew that the key to the US military's victory was its powerful industrial capacity. No matter how many big brothers North Korea had backing it, if they dared to fight it out, they would all be worn down on the Korean Peninsula.

We will make up for the lack of manpower with ammunition, reduce our own casualties, fight every battle well, hold every line, and wear down every enemy.

On the other hand, taking advantage of the Pentagon's initial desire to prevent ground troops from being bogged down on the Korean Peninsula for an extended period, they replicated their strategy in Greece, lobbying Washington to provide the South Korean military with more and better equipment and training, building a strong South Korean army so that the US military could withdraw as soon as possible.

In this way, things returned to the right track of the containment policy, Van Fleet was able to complete his mission in a time of crisis and return home in glory, and might even be able to take advantage of the situation to run for president.

However, this is a conjecture based solely on maximizing interests. MacArthur's return home for Christmas, the quagmire of the war, and the continuous heavy casualties had left American soldiers generally confused and longing to go home.

They preferred MacArthur's advocacy of expanding the war, at least there was hope, they could count on their fingers how long they could hold out before going home, while Van Fleet's approach offered no glimpse of tomorrow.

The domestic situation in the United States is also changing. The proportion of people who believe that the United States' intervention in the Korean War was a mistake is increasing, and war-weariness is spreading. If you want to win the election next year, the wise thing to do is to seize this sentiment and make "ending the war" one of your campaign promises.

As a result, Van Fleet had no time to manage the Korean War according to his own plan. What awaited him was a transfer or dismissal, or, to save face, he would resign voluntarily knowing that things were hopeless.

What will VanVleet do after he leaves?
Enjoying a peaceful retirement?

A young man in his early sixties is at the age where he should be making his mark and probably doesn't want to just coast along.

From South Korea's perspective, how could an American who is "full of goodwill" towards South Korea be reduced to old age and deserted? No, absolutely not! We must not let our friend fall down. Friends, stand up! Stand up! For the Republic of Korea, keep playing music and keep partying!

In conclusion, whether in the short or long term, it is essential to maintain good relations with Van Fleet in order to safeguard and expand our interests in South Korea.

Sin Yiu-man stroked his chin. In order to win over Elizabeth, a multi-talented individual, he decided to offer her an annual salary in the millions of dollars, starting from 0.2, with bonuses paid out unplanned and irregularly. Perhaps one day he would meet a girl and, in a good mood, give out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses.

The message at the end of the cable, "Truman will not run for office," was not very meaningful to him. Although Truman had entered the election halfway through, he had now been re-elected for two terms. Probably not many people would support Truman nitpicking the wording and nominally returning the ambiguous previous term to Roosevelt.

Truman probably knew in his heart that it would be difficult to say that he had served two terms instead of three, so he wouldn't be thinking about next year's election and would choose to end his term gracefully.

However, Edward's "reminder" itself is worth pondering. Did the old man know all along that the CIA was watching him, or did Xie Zhanran let slip some information to Arrowwood?

He preferred the former, believing that the Japanese wouldn't inexplicably clean up their mess and launch a "de-MacArthur" campaign.

Perhaps due to pressure from Washington, Truman did not run for office and did not want to see MacArthur, who was opposed to him by both party and political views, elected.

Perhaps he received hints from the Democratic or Republican parties. Although MacArthur ran for the Republican Party last time, only the conservatives within the Republican Party liked his flamboyant personality.

As a result, Sin Yiu-man still had no way of figuring out whose interests the CIA was targeting, and he couldn't directly ask Edward. He and the Charlotte family were merely business partners. Although business inevitably involves politics, including the presidential election was bound to be seen as a futile effort.

Given the unclear situation, the best strategy is to avoid direct confrontation.

After having a cocktail, Sin Yiu-man took a bus to Juliet Brand Management Company.

……

Yuen Long.

The medicinal herb cultivation base under Baota Pharmaceutical.

The medicinal garden mainly provides raw materials for the drug production of Baota Pharmaceutical. It mainly purchases the raw materials and supplements the planting with its own cultivation. The planting base in Yuen Long was mainly cultivated for the introduction of Artemisia annua.

Tong Guangfu, the manager of the medicinal herb garden, squatted in the glass room of the herb garden, stroking the thriving Artemisia annua with a worried expression.

Hong Kong's climate is not suitable for growing Artemisia annua, and Tong Guangfu was well aware of this. So when he first took over Artemisia annua cultivation, he began to try various local climate simulation cultivation methods. His method can be said to be very successful, and the Artemisia annua survived smoothly. However, it also has a fatal weakness: the cost is too high.

Long Xuemei, holding a flatbread sandwich with a fried dough stick in her hand and chewing, approached Tong Guangfu and asked, "Manager Tong, do you have an answer?"

Tong Guangfu stood up and said helplessly, "Secretary Long, we can't reduce the costs, and the introduction of Artemisia annua has failed."

Long Xuemei nodded slightly, "Don't be discouraged. The master didn't have high hopes for the introduction of Artemisia annua in the first place, so failure is nothing to worry about. Now you need to do three things: First, contact Merck in the United States to import the raw material for Santonin."

I've been away for too long, and the production plan for the pagoda-shaped sugar has been put on hold for too long. We need to race against time to catch up.

Second, there is wild Artemisia annua in Balochistan province of Pakistan. We should send people there as soon as possible to purchase it and try to establish a planting base there.

Wild artemisia can also be found in the Anatolian Plateau of Türkiye. The French once cultivated it in Algeria and Morocco. You can visit all three places.

Third, send people to Dezhou, Shandong, to discuss cooperative planting with the local government.

Don't go directly to the government; go to the local medicinal herb merchants and let them negotiate with the government.

Tong Guangfu nodded. "How should we deal with the roundworms here?"

"We will continue planting without expanding the scale, summarize the planting experience, and study the changes in medicinal properties." Long Xuemei looked around and said calmly, "Bring the account book to Qingshan Road to find me this afternoon."

"Ok."

Long Xuemei wasted no time; after touring the planting base, she immediately rushed to the Hong Kong factory on Qingshan Road.

Although she was not in Hong Kong before, the factory's infrastructure construction was not delayed. On the contrary, it had several months of ventilation time, resulting in higher hygiene standards.

Baota Pharmaceutical's future development path mainly revolves around the production of traditional Chinese medicines, following a pharmaceutical path with Chinese characteristics. It emphasizes generic drug production over research and development, producing both proven traditional formulas and keeping a close eye on drugs whose patents have expired, resolutely avoiding detours and the hardships of research and development.

In terms of marketing, they cater to the Chinese perception of "respecting the ancient," often using gimmicks such as secret imperial recipes and the sentiment of being far ahead.

When Long Xuemei arrived at the Hong Kong factory's office, she sat in her executive chair, shoved her hand across the desk, tossed aside the fragment of the 3-nanometer chip from the Yongle Encyclopedia, and picked up a fragment of a Yuan Dynasty dietary therapy recipe that she had copied from the Toyo Bunko.

During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the original Yongle edition mysteriously disappeared, either destroyed by fire or buried with the Jiajing Emperor. The Jiajing copy, which was re-copied, was looted and burned during the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion, with only a small amount lost. Fortunately, there was no independent section on medicine; the medical content was scattered across various volumes, requiring retrieval by theme or rhyme, which increased the possibility of finding the remaining medical content.

Baota Pharmaceutical has been searching, not fixated on the original or a copy, but only seeking to copy the text on paper. To date, they have collected more than 20 words, as well as over a million words of worthless content.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, Long Xuemei circled a few nice-sounding place names from the tattered scroll, and then picked up a book describing Empress Xiao Chuo of the Liao Dynasty.

There are no detailed records of Empress Xiao's appearance in historical books, nor are there any portraits of her. Whether she was beautiful or not can be fabricated according to needs. If a few beauty-preserving recipes related to the Liao Dynasty were found, she would be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Well, she's already the most beautiful woman in the world. It would be best if we could find the recipe, but if not, we'll force a few on the Liao Dynasty.

The history of the Liao Dynasty is somewhat obscure, and not many people study it. In addition, the prescriptions are even more obscure, so there's no need to worry about anyone jumping out to say they're wrong.

"Her eyebrows soared to the sky, her full cheeks shone with radiance, her extraordinary bearing was a sign of wisdom, Empress Xiao Yanyan of the Liao Dynasty was the most beautiful woman in the six palaces, she was favored by three thousand, she was good at scheming and had a deep mind, her ambition was extraordinary, she ruled the world with a majestic and awe-inspiring presence, but who knew her sad heart."

Long Xuemei hummed a song, searching between the lines for an opportunity to slip the prescription in.

The prescription needed to appear at a historical moment, a crucial period, so that people would know that Xiao Chuo's success was inseparable from the prescription. Without the prescription enhancing her beauty, she wouldn't have become empress, let alone queen. (End of Chapter)