1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 736 Is it possible that he could be...?
Yud immediately took the report from the secretary and began to read it.

After reading it, Youde handed the report to Shen Bi.

Shen Bi immediately began to examine it carefully, eager to know how Bao Zeyang had managed to do all this.

"He actually became a shareholder of SJM Holdings without anyone noticing?"

"He was the one who promoted the private room booking system at SJM Holdings, so he has a lot of influence at SJM Holdings. Many triads on Hong Kong Island have to give Bao Zeyang face if they want to book a private room at SJM Holdings."

Yud suddenly realized, "Oh, I see."

"Not only that, he also gave away the area around Times Square as a reward to those people. No wonder they took the initiative to help this young man."

Shen Bi also saw the inside story.

However, he then frowned slightly.

“Your Excellency Yude, I have a feeling that things are not so simple.”

"If what the intelligence says is true, Bao Zeyang is just a minor shareholder of SJM Holdings, he shouldn't have this much influence."

“I know a bit about Stanley Ho. He is actually a very exclusive person who likes to hold all the power. That’s why he values ​​SJM Holdings so much, considering it his own kingdom and not liking to let others interfere.”

"Moreover, having lived in Hong Kong for so many years, I actually have some understanding of the triad forces here. Although these people seem unscrupulous, they are actually quite sensible most of the time and won't go against us."

"Their audacity this time was somewhat beyond my expectations; it's definitely not just about a little bit of profit."

"Moreover, although it was the lower-level members who took action, the higher-ups of those gangs clearly tacitly approved of it."

"I always felt that there were some inside stories we didn't know about."

Shen Bi pondered for a moment before speaking.

The first secretary, standing to the side, said helplessly, "Mike, there's nothing we can do. We don't have enough manpower to get that much information. In this respect, we are different from the Chinese. Some of our intelligence personnel are only limited to Hong Kong Island."

"In fact, some of this information came from communication between the police department and people in the United States, and that's how they gave us some of it."

"The Americans keep a lot of information about Victor relatively secret. They are under orders from above and will not easily spread his information. It is difficult for our people, just from Hong Kong, to gather comprehensive intelligence about Victor."

Upon hearing this, Shen Bi sighed helplessly.

This may also be a shortcoming of Britain itself.

These areas surrounding Hong Kong Island are all Chinese communities, where it's easy for them to exchange goods and services. However, for the rulers of the three parties, they are three completely unrelated places.

Hong Kong Island is now under British jurisdiction, while Macau Island is nominally under Portuguese jurisdiction but has essentially become an autonomous region for the Chinese community. As for the islands, they have their own institutions on the surface, but are backed by the United States.

This raises a problem: Chinese people can move freely between the three places, but agents or officials from these three parties cannot.

Take Hong Kong and Macau as an example. Although the Portuguese government is not very powerful in Macau now, if the British dare to cross the border, they will dare to cause trouble on the international stage. The large Chinese community in Hong Kong is even more vigilant against such actions.

Therefore, that place also serves as a channel for communication between the mainland and this side.

The British may have some intelligence capabilities in Australia, but they certainly don't have the same ease and convenience to investigate things as they do in Hong Kong.

"That's why I said we must win over the Chinese families on Hong Kong Island. In many ways, we are restricted, while they have much more freedom of action than we do."

"Unfortunately, there are a lot of idiots in Downing Street who can't see this at all."

“I think we should report all these things truthfully. Victor has already made his demands, so we should just agree to his demands and win him over. But he had to do something stupid, and now he’s going against us at every turn.”

Shen Bi cursed a few times in frustration.

"Do you think it's possible that Victor's stance was initially biased towards the mainland?"

At this moment, Yud suddenly had a sudden burst of inspiration and said...

Everyone present looked at Youde in astonishment after hearing this.

Seeing everyone looking over, Yud smiled slightly: "I just suddenly had this idea!"

Shen Bi shook his head: "Judging from the current situation, he may be closer to the mainland than to us, but if we place him between the two major camps of Europe and the United States and the East, I think he is definitely on the side of Europe and the United States."

"Why do you say that?"

At this moment, Youde asked Shen Bi curiously.

Shen Bi then said seriously, "Your Excellency, you must have met many mainlanders, including their upper class. Have you noticed that their understanding is different from ours?"

Upon hearing Shen Bi's meaning, Youde immediately realized: "You mean, they pay more attention to their appearance?"

"Moreover, because they have been closed off for many years, there is a generational gap in their understanding. This gap is not only economic, but also reflects a very backward understanding of the development of the global society, especially the development of the West."

"Therefore, when we come into contact with them, we can easily tell that they are lagging behind in certain aspects of cognition. Even some of the diplomats they have deliberately trained, or some people who have been in Hong Kong or overseas for a long time, still have some kind of cognitive gap. We can feel it as long as we have a conversation."

"But I've talked to Victor many times, and his views on things and his global perspective, including his understanding of European and American finance and economics, are different from those on the mainland."

"This would not be possible without sufficient understanding of our world."

"The kind of understanding I'm talking about ranges from everyday life to the world at large. He reminds me a lot of those Chinese Americans in Europe and America, rather than the dispatched personnel from mainland China."

"To give you a simple example, the club that Victor runs, if it were people from the mainland, they would never dare to run such a thing. To them, it would be a serious mistake."

Yude nodded in agreement: "Yes, what you said makes a lot of sense. I talked to him that time and I also felt that he had a very broad vision and a very Western understanding, which is different from many of the Eastern diplomats I have met."

“I completely agree with your line of thinking on this point!”

"There's another point, Your Excellency. He has very close ties with the top U.S. officials, to the point that U.S. intelligence personnel are specifically protecting his information. I think this proves his position. After all, U.S. intelligence personnel will definitely investigate the background of a Chinese person who appears before the top U.S. officials."

At this moment, the first secretary, who had just entered, also took the initiative to speak to Youde.

Yud smiled and said, "That's true. It was a bit of an extreme consideration of me to think about personnel certified by the US intelligence system."

"So now you all think that Victor is actually Western in his ideology, but because of our mistakes, he sided with the mainland in terms of his position between the two sides, right?"

Sir Michael Sandberg nodded: "I think that on this point, because the Americans haven't expressed their opinion, or rather, haven't clearly supported us, Victor doesn't need to consider their opinions."

“The conditions Downing Street offered him did not meet his expectations, which led him to favor certain options.”

"As far as I know, many of his businesses, such as the clothing business of the Bosak Group, are located in the industrial zone across the street. For him, the conditions on the mainland also have their advantages."

"It's not just clothing, Mr. Michael, but also film studios and home appliance groups. Recently, his former secretary, Catherine, has been in charge of these things. We bribed people in her team to provide us with intelligence."

"In addition, it is said that he is also cooperating with ExxonMobil and mainland China to jointly build a petrochemical enterprise with a very large investment." "I think this can also explain his frequent overtures now."

"In comparison, he has almost no other large businesses on Hong Kong Island besides the companies under the Hongkong Land Group, let alone in London."

“He invested a lot of money in France, even buying Château Latour, but he didn’t invest anything in London, which I think was a mistake on our part.”

"In fact, he is now a British citizen, so London should have an advantage."

The secretary spoke earnestly to the governor and Sim Bi.

His position as First Secretary was not simply a secretary in the literal sense; it was actually an official position within the Governor-General's Office, similar to a deputy.

Therefore, he knew quite a bit about Victor, or even more than Yud.

After all, Youde's main focus was traveling between Beijing and Downing Street, which was his primary task. In comparison, his deputies were more focused on business in Hong Kong Island.

"Understood. I'll be returning to London in a few days, and I'll have a good talk with His Excellency the Prime Minister about Victor."

"In addition, Mike, I hope you can communicate with Victor again and tell him that we are trying our best to help him, but we hope that similar incidents will not happen again."

Yud said seriously.

At this point, Sir Michael Sandberg sighed: "I have already contacted him, but he has already left Hong Kong Island again. I suspect he is deliberately avoiding us."

"This guy says he doesn't understand what he's saying, but he actually understands things better than anyone else, and he's also more cunning than anyone else."

"However, I will continue to communicate with his uncle and convey our message."

"Thank you for your hard work, Sir!"

Youde offered a reassuring remark to Shen Bi, who then left.

After getting into the car, Shen Bi slowly closed his eyes.

I shouldn't have placed all my hopes on Downing Street, since, judging from the current situation, Downing Street doesn't have a complete advantage over the capital.

Perhaps I should consider what HSBC should do if Hong Kong Island really has to go back?

After all, HSBC is the Hong Kong branch, not the London branch, and so is Sir Michael Sandberg. He was first and foremost the taipan of HSBC, and only secondly a knighted by the Queen.

Without his status as the HSBC tycoon, his knighthood would be nothing but empty words.

In short, HSBC wouldn't exist without Hong Kong Island, and Sir Michael Sandberg's status is due to HSBC's existence.

Perhaps I should also consider a way out?
At the same time, Beijing.

Li Changhe was driving his car, visiting people's homes.

The main purpose was to visit some veteran comrades.

That's right, most of the people who are familiar with Li Changhe now are old comrades.

With the comprehensive implementation of the rejuvenation of cadres, a large number of people who had reached the required age for their posts have retired and become "old comrades".

For example, Zhang Guangnian, who is familiar with Li Changhe, and Director Lu in foreign trade have both retired this year. Although they still hold the title of consultant, their work has become much easier overall.

Li Changhe first visited Lao Zhang's house, but left after only a short while.

The main reason was that people from Lao Zhang's family, especially those in the literary world, kept coming to see him.

This reminded Li Changhe of the long manuscript that was kept at home.

I originally planned to finish writing it piecemeal over a year or two, but now, while it's in pieces, finishing it seems a long way off.

Looks like I'll have to pick it up again when I have time!
While thinking about this, Li Changhe drove to Director Lu's house.

Compared to Lao Zhang's place, Director Lu's place is a bit more relaxed.

"What you did on Hong Kong Island during this year's Lunar New Year was very daring!"

After they sat down, Director Lu first talked to him about the song from the Spring Festival.

Because Li Changhe acted on his own initiative, this incident shocked the capital, especially among those unaware of Li Changhe's identity, who felt that Bao Zeyang's statement was very important.

The Hong Kong newspapers immediately compiled the news and sent it back to Beijing, requesting closer attention and efforts to win over Bao Zeyang. To them, this was an unexpected windfall.

"It was an idea that came to me on the spur of the moment. I was thinking of putting on a fireworks show, and then I came up with this idea. I also wanted to test the attitude of the people on Hong Kong Island."

"And let's give Yud and his men a little show of force."

"Why are you provoking them for no reason?"

At this moment, Director Lu looked at Li Changhe with curiosity, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, I wanted to buy a car brand from the UK, but the products they provided were not good, so I took this opportunity to express my dissatisfaction with them."

"In March, I might go to London with Uncle Bao. The election there needs funding, and Uncle Bao is prepared to step in and provide some funds. We'll also see their attitude. I don't think they'll make a statement in the short term."

Li Changhe said softly.

Director Lu nodded: "Yes, that's why we gave them a two-year grace period, which took into account the election. If Downing Street changes leadership, we'll have enough time to continue the talks."

"Forget it, let's not talk about that anymore. Just do your job as [Bao Zeyang] for now."

"Changhe, do you think we can win Shao Yifu over to our side?"

At this moment, Director Lu asked Li Changhe seriously.

After listening, Li Changhe looked at Director Lu curiously: "What? Are the higher-ups planning to reposition him?"

Looking at it from a later perspective, Shaw Yifu had a very good reputation, especially online, after all, he donated so many libraries and did so much charity work, making him a philanthropic businessman.

However, from the current perspective, Shao Daheng doesn't really belong to the group of "AiG businessmen," which is why his name was rejected at the previous meeting with the White Swan Group.
Shao Daheng was a typical opportunist in his early days, or rather, a profit-driven individual. He was close to us in the early days, but later switched sides and cooperated closely with the island side, suppressing our people.

Moreover, he was quite stingy in the early days and rarely did charity work, which can be seen from his attitude towards TVB and Shaw Brothers employees. After all, he no longer believes in Buddhism!
His donation of the library came after the conclusion of the conflict between the two sides regarding Hong Kong Island. As for the amount he donated, opinions vary.

Upon hearing this, Director Lu smiled and brought Li Changhe some new information.

(End of this chapter)