Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1750 Untitled
Lei Island in the South China Sea

Lei Island is named so because it is often rainy and has a lot of lightning. Even though it is November, the climate of Lei Island, located in the South Pacific, is still very warm and humid.

Meanwhile, in a small town in the northeast corner of Lei Island, Sun Teng, who had just finished fighting, was looking at the rain outside the window with some boredom. Inside the room, two local Tu women were slowly getting dressed and then started talking to Sun Teng in their native tongue.

Although Sun Teng had been doing business in Southeast Asia for many years, the region was vast and home to many ethnic groups, each with its own language. So, at this moment, Sun Teng didn't know what the two indigenous women were saying. However, this did not prevent him from understanding what they were trying to express.

Having calmed down and regained his composure, Sun Teng took out a few silver coins from his pocket and tossed them over, then impatiently threw them back. Upon seeing the silver coins, the two Tu women stopped chattering and left satisfied with the coins, leaving Sun Teng alone in the room, quietly watching the rain outside the window.

Looking at the continuous rain outside the window, Sun Teng felt an indescribable sense of irritation.

Since his father, Sun Wenheng, decided five years ago to raise an army on Lei Island and establish their own armed force, Sun Teng had traveled to Southeast Asia for business and had visited the island several times. However, perhaps because his stays were only short, he hadn't felt any ill will towards the continuous rain; he had even enjoyed watching the downpours...

But after living here for several months, Sun Teng no longer had the same appreciation for it as before. He was really driven to the brink of collapse by the weather here.

In order to avoid a complete breakdown, Sun Teng originally wanted to find some fun in the town, but unfortunately, it was just a small village, far less prosperous than the big cities of Jiangnan and Lin'an in the past, and there were not many entertainment activities in the village.

Therefore, Sun Teng could only set his sights on the most ancient game of mankind. However, although the skin color of the Tu ethnic women here was not as dark as that of the Kunlun slaves, it did not conform to Sun's aesthetic standards, just like their appearance.

For Young Master Sun, who was used to the gentle and beautiful women of Jiangnan, this was really hard to accept. But unfortunately, whether he wanted to accept it or not, he had to. After all, in this small village, eight or nine out of ten women looked like that. Even if he had money, he couldn't find a suitable woman!

So Sun Teng had no choice but to make do and put up with it. After all, something like this was better than nothing. That's why Sun Teng had just brought these two Tu women together to explore the origins of humankind.

When desire is present, Sun Teng can indulge in it without overthinking. However, when the tide of desire recedes, all that remains for Sun Teng is endless emptiness and loneliness.
Thinking of this, Sun Teng couldn't help but sigh. Although he had been here for two or three months, he still couldn't adapt to life here. He also felt some resentment towards his father, Sun Wenheng, for being so greedy. He had embezzled so much silver through the Wanfu Bank, only to be easily discovered, forcing the whole family to flee to Southeast Asia…
If my father had known to restrain himself and not been so ambitious, and had been less greedy at Wanfu Bank, he would still be the young master of Dadechang in Daqian, with fine wine and delicacies to serve him, and able to choose freely from a variety of beautiful women.

However, there are no "what ifs" in this world. At this moment, he could only get involved with the local village women in this remote and impoverished area of ​​Lei Island in the South Seas.

Just as Sun Teng was sighing and lamenting his unfair fate in his room, a guard entered and reported to him:

"Young Master, the Master is here! He requests your immediate presence!"

Upon hearing that his father had returned, Sun Teng, who had been somewhat dejected, immediately perked up. He quickly pulled up his trousers, put on his shoelaces, grabbed his umbrella, and walked out the door with the guards.

Half an incense stick later, Sun Teng met Sun Wenheng in a slightly larger courtyard. However, before he could understand what Sun Teng was saying, Sun Wenheng harshly rebuked him:

"I told you to lead these thousands of people in proper training! What have you been doing with them?! Why aren't they training?"

Faced with his father's question, Sun Teng felt a little guilty, but he quickly came up with a plan. Looking at the weather outside, he said with a somewhat aggrieved expression:

"Father, it's raining so hard outside, and the soldiers don't want to come out for training!"

When Sun Teng said this, he thought his father would forgive him this time because of the heavy rain outside. However, to his surprise, his words completely enraged Sun Wenheng, who roared angrily:
"Is this your first day on Thunder Island? It rains here most of the year. Does that mean we don't have to train when it rains? I'm asking you, if it's raining when the Great Qian Navy attacks, are you going to raise your hands and surrender?"

If it were any other time, Sun Teng would have lowered his head in shame and let his father scold and reprimand him, but at this moment, he did have a rebellious streak. He really wanted to ask his father, Sun Wenheng, why they were being hunted down by the Great Qian Dynasty!

It's all because you were too ambitious and wanted to be a local tyrant in Southeast Asia. So you misappropriated Wanfu Bank's money to train a private army in Southeast Asia, causing huge losses to Wanfu Bank. In the end, the second manager, Zhao Dahai, exposed it, so the whole family abandoned their home and business and ran away.

Just then, Sun Wenheng noticed the change in his son's expression and immediately spoke up:
"What are you thinking, kid?"

Although he was also full of complaints and wanted to vent, Sun Teng held back in front of his father and simply shook his head, saying:

"I wasn't thinking about anything! I'll start training properly tomorrow!"

However, perhaps due to immense pressure from the outside world, Sun Wenheng did not back down when faced with his son's restraint, but instead persisted, saying:
"Sun Teng, if you have any ideas, just say them! Say everything you want to say in front of me, then I'll consider you brave!"

Provoked by his father, Sun Teng couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out:
"Dad, what exactly do you want to do? Our family has already come to this point, can't you just shut up for once?"

Although it was Sun Wenheng who had given the order, he was momentarily stunned to see his eldest son, who had never dared to disobey him, now daring to question his decision.

Seeing his father standing there in a daze, Sun Teng decided to throw caution to the wind and said, "Dad! Although our family got rich because of you, we've ended up in this state because you were too ambitious. If you had just been more restrained, our family wouldn't have had to run to this godforsaken place!"

Hearing his son say this, Sun Wenheng was furious and immediately pointed at Sun Teng, saying:

"Have you been wanting to say these things for a long time?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Teng didn't hide anything and nodded directly into his father's eyes, saying:

“That’s right. I’ve been telling you this for a long time, Father. And you asked me to train those soldiers. Do I look like someone who can do this job well? You’ve been teaching me to do business since I was a child. It’s been decades. I’m still a businessman. I have no problem doing business. But now you’re asking me to lead troops into battle, to fight with a machete. Do you think I’m cut out for that?”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wenheng's hands trembled with anger, but he still roared furiously:
"Get out of here, you beast! Get out of here!"

Seeing that his father was quite angry with him, Sun Teng felt a little embarrassed and left hurriedly after saying "Dad, take care."

After Sun Teng left, Sun Wenheng slumped into a chair, feeling utterly dejected. His son's words had deeply wounded him. He never imagined his son would see him this way, that he would think it was all his fault…

Sun Wenheng has always believed that the business world is like a battlefield, and doing business is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. Therefore, in the ups and downs of the business world over the past few decades, he has always been ruthless in achieving his goals. This is his winning formula, which helped him go from a penniless young man to a well-known wealthy businessman in Jiangnan in just a few decades.

To ordinary people, Sun Wenheng was a man of considerable wealth, living in a mansion, with hundreds of servants and maids to serve him, thousands of acres of fertile land under his name, and his Dadechang Trading Company employing thousands of people. He was considered a big shot and a person of importance.

However, Sun Wenheng himself knew that in the politically oriented environment of the Great Qian Dynasty, he, a mere businessman, was nothing. His property, land, and houses made him feel like a beautiful woman walking into a room surrounded by wolves.

Without connections to protect you, you're truly at their mercy, like a fish on a chopping block. They can do whatever they want to you, even if someone defecates on your neck, you'd still have to smile and praise how fragrant their excrement smells.

That's why he goes to great lengths to build connections and find powerful backers for himself.

However, no matter how much they try to build connections or find powerful backers, it's all just a case of borrowing someone else's power. In the eyes of those government officials, businessmen have absolutely no standing. Some businessmen are even seen as nothing more than toilet paper—discarded after spitting and wiping their bottoms.

Having spent most of his life in business, Sun Wenheng had witnessed far too many such cases, which instilled in him a strong sense of crisis. Coming from a rural background, Sun Wenheng didn't believe in fate. He preferred to trust his own hands and his own efforts…

After learning from Murong Yuliang that His Majesty intended to establish Wanfu Bank, Sun Wenheng realized one thing: whether it was Wanfu Bank, Tongxin Bank, or Dadongsheng Bank of the Yijing court, these banks were all just a facade. On the surface, they were banks, businesses, and trade, but in reality, they were still the old ways of government offices.

This discovery, coupled with the resources controlled by Wanfu Bank, made Sun Wenheng realize the importance of Wanfu Bank, which prompted him to recommend himself to Murong Yuliang to serve as the general manager of Wanfu Bank!
On the surface, he said he wanted to become the general manager of Wanfu Bank, hoping to contribute his own strength to the prosperity of commerce in Jiangnan.

But his real purpose was to use the commercial resources controlled by Wanfu Piaohao to take his own Dadechang business to the next level.

At the same time, Sun Wenheng had an even bigger goal. After realizing that Wanfu Bank was not a real bank, but a government office disguised as a bank, Sun Wenheng also understood that the head of Wanfu Bank was actually a member of the Communist Party.

Therefore, Sun Wenheng went to great lengths to become the head manager, hoping to use this opportunity to lead the Sun family to the G market and enter the true top level of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Murong Yuliang, who promoted Sun Wenheng, naturally didn't truly believe that Sun Wenheng's desire to become the general manager of Wanfu Bank was a genuine contribution to the Jiangnan business community. He was well aware, if not entirely, of Sun Wenheng's ulterior motives…
However, for Murong Yuliang, Wanfu Bank had a pivotal influence on the commercial development of Jiangnan, and he was entrusted by Ye Mingsheng to promote the economic development of Jiangnan, so it was essential to ensure that Wanfu Bank could keep pace with him.

However, in order to ensure that Jiangnan would not become an independent economic kingdom, Ye Mingsheng handed over Wanfu Bank to the Ministry of Revenue. Therefore, in order to ensure that Wanfu Bank could be used by him, Murong Yuliang had to appoint his own people as the head manager of Wanfu Bank. However, he did not have many trustworthy people in Jiangnan who were capable of serving as the head manager of Wanfu Bank.

Therefore, taking all factors into consideration, Sun Wenheng, who has achieved great success in business and has had contact with Murong Lun, is a very suitable candidate.

Sun Wenheng, who became the general manager of Wanfu Bank under the recommendation of Murong Yuliang, originally thought that he could rise rapidly in his career and gain a place in the officialdom. However, in the eyes of Murong Yuliang and others, Sun Wenheng still had no status and was treated as a tool to be summoned and dismissed at will.

Having fully grasped the reality, Sun Wenheng also understood that merchants in the Great Qian Dynasty were ultimately just merchants, and could never become a true member of the ruling class like those GLs.

It was around that time that Sun Yongheng conceived the idea of ​​leaving the Great Qian Dynasty and seeking opportunities overseas.

Sun Wenheng had done business in Southeast Asia in his early years and had contact with many powerful figures there. He knew that Southeast Asia was a land full of opportunities. At that time, Ye Mingsheng was also encouraging businessmen to go out and explore. So Sun Wenheng came up with the idea of ​​using the power of Wanfu Bank to help him cultivate his own private power.

He believed that the reason why GLs had such a high status was because the emperor granted them Q power, and the emperor's Q power came from the violent machine of the army. Therefore, the army was the root of everything!