Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 414, Section 412: Someone Wants to Steal Assets? Don't Even Think About It! A Plan to Establish a Footprint in Northern Myanmar.
Quan Yuncai held his teacup, sighed, and shook his head.

“Brother Fang, you’ve already built such a large fortune that even three generations couldn’t spend it all. Why bother with arms? If it were just civilian aviation, with my connections, no one would dare to mess with you. Even if you later formed an independent regiment, nothing would happen. But you insisted on making bombs, and even bombers. Isn’t that just making yourself a target?”

Fang Wenqi laughed.

"What? I did all this for the war effort, didn't I? You think I'm wrong!"

Seeing Fang Wen like this, Quan Yuncai comforted him, "You're not wrong, the world is wrong. You've seen all those filthy and disgusting things. Big shots are used to getting whatever they want, and your stuff just happens to catch their eye."

"But I haven't even gotten started yet, aren't they being a little too hasty?"

"It's not that they're in a hurry, it's that too many people want it. Do you know how impressive what you've done lately has been? Those napalm bombs that can cover a huge area when detonated, and bombers that can rival those of foreign countries—aren't they highly sought after? Doesn't that count as a success?"

Fang Wen did not answer the question posed by Quan Yuncai.

In his eyes, these were indeed just the beginning.

He still has many military technology ideas waiting to be realized.

The first-generation rocket launcher used for anti-tank purposes.

High-precision, long-range individual weapon.

Once semiconductor technology is perfected, we can also develop remote-controlled bombs, remote listening devices, and so on.

Even jet engines and infrared-guided missiles are not impossible to achieve.

He had the foundation and funds to achieve these goals, but he never expected that it would be his own people who were blocking him.

But as Quan Yuncai said, this is how the times are: many people who appear benevolent and moral are actually doing things recklessly for personal gain in private.

Over the years, I still vividly remember how much money he gave away, how many times he bribed officials, and how much profit he distributed.

Shaking off his dissatisfaction, Fang Wen restrained his emotions and calmly asked.

"Who is it?"

Quan Yuncai put down his teacup and looked at Fang Wen with regret.

"Haven't you understood yet? It's not just one person, it's many. They want to control your Taishan military industry."

Fang Wen said coldly, "Giving it to them might not be useful. But in my hands, it will definitely have an effect."

"Why?" Quan Yuncai asked, puzzled.

"The military industry needs a complete development path. Even if they acquire bomb and bomber manufacturing technology, it will be difficult for them to carry out subsequent development. Just like the air combat I conducted, others flew the same aircraft and used the same bombs, but they could not achieve the same effect as me."

This statement is full of confidence, and only Fang Wen could say it.

Quan Yuncai nodded subconsciously, as if making a decision.

He lowered his voice.

"They will find ways to control your personal freedom and then force you to comply. That's what I know. But how they do it, and when exactly, I don't know."

"Where are my family members? And the people from Taishan Airlines, will they make any moves?" Fang Wen asked.

"I don't know," Quan Yuncai shook his head, but his expression betrayed him.

Fang Wen understood.

It seems that in order to obtain aerial bombs and bombers, they will probably resort to some unconventional methods to deal with us.

He sneered inwardly, thinking that he wasn't a lamb to the slaughter either, and that they would just wait and see.

He then stood up and shook hands with Quan Yuncai.

"Thank you. I'm going back now. I just came to see an old friend today, we didn't talk about anything, and whatever happens in the future is none of your business."

After saying that, Fang Wen opened the door and left, going straight downstairs.

Sitting in the car, Fang Wen activated his mechanical senses to observe his surroundings.

The National Games talent upstairs was standing at the office door.

Everything else was normal, except for the left side of the office building, where a man in a suit was quietly peeking out to observe.

He is very good at hiding himself, because Fang Wen can't see him from this angle.

Has it already been taken action?

Fang Wen felt a pang of anxiety and started the car to leave.

The car drove out of the gate and turned right.

At the second intersection, a black Studebaker quietly turned the corner and followed behind.

Even after Fang Wen drove back to the headquarters of Taishan Airlines, the car still followed him. When Fang Wen drove into the company's courtyard, the car did not leave but parked on the side of the road.

At this point, Fang Wen realized that he had to take countermeasures.

He parked his car and quickly walked up to the top floor of the office building.

Inside the deputy general manager's office, Kuang Mingzhu looked at Fang Wen in surprise as he rushed in. She had never seen her husband like this before.

"what happened?"

"Have the telegraph office notify Sun Debiao, Fang Shun, Huo Duanyang, and Bai Zeshan to return and arrange for a connecting flight to pick them up," Fang Wen said.

These people were all Fang Wen's close confidants, and recalling them all at once meant that something major had happened.

Kuang Mingzhu didn't ask any questions and immediately left the office to go to the telegraph room to make arrangements.

Fang Wenze went downstairs to the financial management department by himself.

Manager Liu, the head of the finance department, was doing the accounting, his fingers clicking rapidly on the abacus.

Fang Wen couldn't help but think of the calculator he had commissioned from the research institute, which still hadn't yielded any results.

Shaking off his reverie, he said, "Old Liu, come upstairs, I have something to talk about."

Manager Liu stopped working, grabbed his coat, put it on, and followed Fang Wen out.

Then we went to the Administration Department on the 3rd floor and met Shang Fangshouxin and Shao Sishen from the Aviation Management Department.

In the general manager's office.

Fang Wen, Fang Shouxin, Manager Liu, and Shao Sishen had just entered.

Then, Kwong Ming-chu also pushed open the door and entered.

"The telegram has been sent. Sun Debiao is returning by sea transport plane. The Xiangxi Airport has already sent a special plane to pick up Fang Shun, Huo Duanyang, and Bai Zeshan."

Fang Wen nodded, had his wife sit next to him, and then explained the situation.

"We're in big trouble now, we're being watched."

"Who's targeting us? The Japanese?" Kuang Mingzhu asked.

"No, they're more troublesome than the Japanese; they're our own people."

Fang Wen explained the situation.

Everyone's expression immediately changed.

Fang Wen continued, "General Manager Sun, I would like to know about your current assets in China."

Manager Liu took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead: "We have invested $500 million in logistics projects in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. The assets of Taishan Airlines' domestic branches are all leased, and the actual equity is very small. In addition, there are two newly started factories at Xiangxi Airport, with an investment of $50."

Fang Wen nodded. These were the assets on the official books. In addition, there were nearly $3200 million in assets used for various material purchases, $400 million in cash, and about $300 million in various inventory and material assets at Xiangxi Airport. This was all Fang Wen had in China.

He said, "If anyone tries to harm me, they will get nothing and will have to get my creditors' approval."

Shao Sishen asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

The others, however, figured it out.

It turns out the general manager had planned everything all along, just like when he traded tung oil for airplanes.

Seeing that Shao Sichen didn't understand, Fang Shouxin explained, "The general manager has already taken precautions. The Huaxia branch is just an empty shell. As for the logistics project in the southwest, although we have invested a lot, most of the funds come from Americans. If someone takes over these things, we definitely won't be able to repay the loan, and in the end, it will be the Americans who suffer. What do you think the three American conglomerates will do if they find out?"

Now even Shao Sichen understood: "They must be very anxious. I heard that the three conglomerates have a lot of influence in the United States. They will definitely put pressure on the US government, right?"

Fang Wen nodded: "Yes. I will send a telegram to the United States about the situation here in a moment. But that alone is not enough. We need to be prepared for both possibilities."

Everyone looked at Fang Wen, wanting to know what the second plan was.

Fang Wen continued, "I plan to move the industry to the south, to a place they can't control. I've gathered everyone here not only to explain the current situation but also to prepare for this. Mingzhu, bring the map from the table."

Kuang Mingzhu got up and took the map from the desk behind her, handing it to her husband. Fang Wen unfolded the map and pointed to a spot: "This is it. The place is very large, but there are only some Tu people. I have dealt with them before, so it shouldn't take much effort. We can just buy the land ownership with money."

"How much land do you want to buy?" Manager Liu asked.

Fang Wen drew a circle around the northern Myanmar region. "We want this whole area."

Six pm.

Sun Debiao, Fang Shun, Bai Zeshan, and Huo Duanyang all returned.

Even Howard from the maintenance department, who wasn't very involved in company management, came.

Now, all of Fang Wen's original small group, except for Pan Jiafeng in Fuping, have arrived.

After learning about the current situation, these people had no objections to Fang Wen's arrangements.

Afterwards, Fang Wen went to the telegraph room and sent three telegrams with the same content to the United States.

Then comes the wait.

When will those people make their move?

the next day.

Fang Wen, who was in the general manager's office, received a phone call.

The voice on the phone was Quan Yuncai's.

"General Manager Fang, cough cough, I'm Quan Yuncai. I'd like to invite you to a dinner party."

That cough was clearly a reminder to Fang Wen.

Fang Wen replied, "I don't have time. I've been too busy lately and can't find the time."

Half an hour after the call ended, another call came in.

This time it was a stranger: "General Manager Fang, I'm from the military procurement department. I've come to discuss the supply of aerial bombs with you. Captain Gao told us that you've verbally agreed to provide us with a batch of aerial bombs for trial use."

"Yes, I agreed at the time. But producing bombs takes time, so we can't supply them yet."

"Could you show us around the production plant?"

The conversation up to this point seems perfectly normal.

If Fang Wen hadn't known the inside story, he probably would have happily taken the other party to inspect the factory and then dreamed about the future.

But now, Fang Wen was no longer in the mood.

We will absolutely not give bomb technology to these people!
He said coldly, "Sorry, that's a trade secret, it's not convenient."

"Okay, goodbye." The other party hung up the phone.

Things started to change after the phone call was rejected.

The major shareholder of Taishan Airlines' domestic branch has changed.

The original major shareholder, Quan Yuncai, transferred all the shares to a company called Hengrong.

Hengrong Company, which acquired a controlling stake, sent people to the headquarters of Taishan Airlines on the same day.

In mid-April, only ten days after the great victory at Taierzhuang, fighting was still fierce in various places.

Two cars drove into the headquarters of Taishan Airlines.

Five men who looked very capable got out of the car.

The leader took out a document and showed it to Fang Wen.

"This is the share transfer document. Hengrong is now the major shareholder of Taishan Airlines."

Fang Wen looked at the document and nodded: "It should be said that Hengrong is the major shareholder of Taishan Airlines' Huaxia subsidiary."

The man neither confirmed nor denied this, and continued, "I am acting on behalf of Hengrong to exercise the rights of a major shareholder and take over control of the company."

Fang Wen shook his head: "As I said, Hengrong is the major shareholder of Taishan Airlines' Huaxia subsidiary. This place belongs to Taishan Airlines' headquarters. You can take over control of the subsidiary, but the subsidiary has no office space."

The other party was stunned, not expecting this to happen.

The renowned Taishan Airlines China Branch doesn't even have an office space.

What's left after the takeover?
When he questioned this, Fang Wen called over Manager Liu to explain.

Manager Liu held up a large stack of lease agreements and explained them.

"These are the lease agreements for airports in various locations, these are the lease agreements for branch offices to lease seaplanes from the head office, and these are the lease agreements for employee dormitories and aircraft docks."

The documents were displayed one by one, leaving the visitors in disbelief.

"Are they all rented?"

Fang Wen laughed and said, "Yes, renting is better than buying. The company has no burden, and all the profits are distributed as dividends every year. Your predecessor, the major shareholder, received very substantial dividends every year."

At this point, his expression turned cold: "But now, I'm considering changing our business strategy. The rental fees for all aircraft leased to our branch offices will be increased by 30%. In addition, we will recall the dispatched personnel from our branch offices."

Fang Wen easily thwarted a farcical power struggle over equity ownership.

Just like when he traded tung oil for airplanes, Fang Wen had already set a trap at the Huaxia branch.

After relinquishing his position as the major shareholder of the branch company, Fang Wen considered the possibility that the major shareholder might regain control.

Therefore, the branch office adopts a light-asset operation model, and even its employees are dispatched to the branch office through labor dispatch.

The branch office appeared to be quite profitable, but in reality, it was just an empty shell.

Now that someone wants to control me through the branch office, this empty shell is obviously no longer useful.

Faced with this situation, the people from Hengrong Company demanded an audit.

Manager Liu had already made preparations.

Two full boxes of ledgers and lease agreements from previous years are all there.

These things prove that the branch office was just an empty shell.

The five people from Hengrong Company who had come with high hopes of forcing their way out left in disgrace.

Since they couldn't control Fang Wen directly, they resorted to underhanded tactics.

Logistics projects in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces have been hampered, and logistics stations in various regions are at a standstill.

If the investment of millions is stopped, not only will the goods in the logistics stations across the country rot and be damaged, but the established logistics credit system will also be destroyed.

Businessmen in the three regions may lose trust in Taishan Airlines' logistics projects as a result, making it difficult to regain their trust.

This really hurt Fang Wen.

But it wasn't him who came forward.

After all, his debtors are more worried about losing their principal.

Three American financial groups, through their consulates, strongly demanded the protection of assets belonging to the United States.

How did it become a US asset?
The people investigating the matter came to the headquarters of Taishan Airlines to learn about the situation.

They saw a complex set of contracts, and Taishan Airlines was not the investor, but merely an executor entrusted with making the investment.

The actual investor is Taishan International, a US-listed company, which is also the actual beneficiary of the $500 logistics project.

Therefore, the entire project is actually an investment asset of a US-listed company.

Given the Nationalist government's attitude toward the US government, continuing to suppress logistics projects would affect relations between the two countries, which is certainly not acceptable.

Subsequently, the logistics project in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan resumed operation.

After being targeted twice in a row, Fang Wen realized the truth.

Don't have any hope for this old society. When you think it's bad, it can actually get even worse.

This also made him determined not to place the military industry in any place that the Nationalist government could control, and to have enough power to protect everything he had created.

Only in this way can we develop more military products and end the war of aggression as soon as possible.

Therefore, after the logistics project resumed, Fang Wen immediately flew to Jinghong to find Zheng Hanlong, and then together they went to northern Myanmar to discuss the purchase of land with the local tribal chief.

(End of this chapter)