Starting with a fully invested A-share portfolio to become a capital...

Chapter 264 Instigating conflict among the three major telecom operators to reap the benefits
Those born into humble circumstances must learn to leverage external forces. Trying to fight against capital on one's own is like throwing an egg against a rock or an ant trying to shake a tree.

How to take advantage of the situation?

There are two main points.

1. Identify the other party's competitors or potential conflict of interest.

2. Utilize existing conditions to guide them to collide with each other, thereby reaping the benefits.

For example, suppose you have a conflict of interest with the head of your department, and you happen to have something on him that he has dirt on. In this case, you have three options.

One option is to announce it under one's real name. The advantage is that it can quickly escalate the situation and completely break off relations. The second and third-in-commands of the department, as beneficiaries who want to climb the ranks, will most likely use their connections to "join the group."

Faced with public opinion within the department, and with some people fueling the flames, the company basically only has two options: transfer to an existing position or dismissal, but the cost is that you will also be dismissed.

Another option is to anonymously hand it over to the second or third-in-command of the department and let them handle it. Since the first, second, and third-in-command are in a competitive relationship, as long as they are not related or have other interests tied to each other, they can basically achieve their goals. However, the disadvantage is also obvious: there is a risk that they may have private interests tied to each other, thus wasting the opportunity.

The second and third option is to swallow one's anger, which is self-evident.

It's clear from the three options that as long as you're determined to fight fire with fire, exposing someone by name can quickly escalate the situation. Even if the second or third-ranking officials in a department have a conflict of interest with the top official, they will still ruthlessly attack the one who's down when public opinion erupts.

The Records of the Grand Historian, in its chapter on "Biographies of Merchants," records a saying: "All the world's hustle and bustle is for profit; all the world's comings and goings are for profit."

This sentence roughly means: People all over the world flock together or go their separate ways for the sake of profit, and they are happy to do so.

Although the ancients had relatively backward technology and productivity, their understanding of human nature was remarkably advanced.

In the face of absolute interests, there are no friends, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

China Unicom is a genuine giant with a market capitalization of over 4000 billion yuan in both A-shares and Hong Kong stocks. It is impossible to shake its stock price with Zhang Yang alone, and even if Xu Xiang and Ge Weidong were added, it would still not be able to shake it.

However, even the mighty China Unicom is not invincible, as China Mobile and China Telecom are also eyeing it covetously.

How can we leverage China Mobile and China Telecom to launch a strangulation operation against China Unicom?

It's very simple: first, expose China Unicom's "scars" to attract potential competitors to enter the fray.

It's like bleeding someone in shark-infested waters; the sharks will immediately become agitated upon smelling the blood.

China Unicom signed an "Exclusive Agency Agreement" with Apple Inc., aiming to break through the existing market structure by using the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS. This will definitely affect the actual interests of China Mobile and China Telecom, and the latter two have every reason and motivation to get involved.

Seeing that terms like "Is the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS overpriced and underpowered?" and "A large-scale wave of returns for the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS" reappeared on Weibo's trending topics list, Zhang Yang knew that his judgment had not been wrong.

China Mobile or China Telecom, or rather, both of them have already entered the fray.

Zhang Yang, the mastermind behind the scenes, was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, holding a cup of iced Americano personally ground by Lin Guangchang, calmly and leisurely admiring the sunset glow on the horizon.

In financial games, he rarely loses.

Especially after his rebirth, his understanding of human nature has reached a new level, and his ability to play games has also improved accordingly.

……

And on the other side.

China Unicom Headquarters Building.

As negative public opinion intensified, He Jingxing, then chairman of China Unicom, urgently convened senior executives from various departments to discuss public relations strategies.

"Yesterday, the news of the 'mysterious visit to Hong Kong to short-sell' caused quite a stir. I knew that someone had already set their sights on our stock price. This battle is inevitable, and we must win it. Please feel free to suggest any countermeasures you may have."

He Jingxing scanned the entire room.

At this moment, Ji Shuheng, the public relations manager, spoke first: "President He, I think the most urgent task is to invest funds to reduce the exposure of negative public opinion, especially the trending topics on Weibo. If we don't deal with it as soon as possible, it may snowball and cause a public opinion avalanche."

No sooner had the words been spoken than someone objected, saying, "I think we don't need to pay attention to trending topics online. Instead of investing a lot of money to suppress them and trying to cover up the truth, we should invest the money in the offline market and use that to confuse the public."

How to use the method of misleading the public?

He Jingxing quickly pressed for more information.

The man who made the "misleading" claim was Jiang Tianyou, the head of China Unicom's marketing department, who was just one step away from becoming a vice president.

"It's simple. Find some people, find some media outlets, create coincidences, and broadcast the content we want," Jiang Tianyou said, revealing his idea.

"Manager Jiang is right. Public opinion can't be suppressed. And if I'm not mistaken, the two opponents are the real rivals. In terms of financial resources, we are no match for either of them."

"Indeed, you can't compete on capital."

"It's definitely not appropriate to reduce the popularity of the entry. I'm afraid the other side will take advantage of the situation and create new topics that will trap us in a self-justification trap."

"It's good to confuse the public; let's fight fire with fire."

Other department heads and managers echoed this sentiment, clearly unable to come up with a better solution.

If you want to get by in a large company, the first essential skill is to read people's expressions and be opportunistic; in short, you need to learn to be a weather vane.

"Confusing the public is indeed a good strategy, but that doesn't mean reducing the popularity of the topic is a bad one. Because information on the internet updates very quickly, if we don't reduce the impact in time, netizens may develop a stereotype that the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS is overpriced and underpowered."

As a professional crisis public relations expert, Ji Shuheng clearly understands the importance of timely clarification and dispelling rumors, or reducing the heat of the situation. This is related to the netizens' first impression of the incident. Secondly, the internet updates information too quickly, and many netizens can't wait for the truth before their attention is drawn to other news events.

Take, for example, celebrity scandals. Anyone who follows the news knows that the celebrity's studio will immediately deny the rumors as soon as paparazzi break the story, regardless of whether the rumors are true or not.

Why was the rumor refuted immediately?

The reason is simple: it can suppress the fermentation of public opinion and prevent negative trends from becoming uncontrollable.

Even if the evidence is later proven true, they can still control the situation to some extent.

Now that China Unicom is slow to take action to reduce the popularity of the keyword, Ji Shuheng is already extremely anxious. He advocates investing funds to reduce the popularity of the keyword as soon as possible, but unfortunately He Jingxing insists on holding a meeting first.

Seeing that Ji Shuheng seemed to have some merit, the "fence-sitters" all chimed in.

"Manager Ji is a professional. She did the right thing by lowering the trending topic, which minimized the impact."

"Why not just have the Ministry of Justice take action, sue Weibo directly, and force them to delete the relevant content? That would solve everything once and for all."

"This is a good idea, I agree."

"The combination of iron rod and sweet dates has always worked well since ancient times, and I agree with it."

As the "fence-sitters" echoed this sentiment, Wei Mo, the head of the business department, also expressed his opinion: "There is no option to reconcile this matter. The best strategy now is to respond directly and subtly, and we can contact Apple to issue a joint statement."

How should it be declared?

He Jingxing looked at Wei Modao.

"Respond directly to the issue of high price and low configuration, allow users to return and refund within 7 days without reason, and characterize this incident as malicious smear by competitors."

As soon as Wei Mo finished speaking, Jiang Tianyou and Ji Shuheng became a little unsettled. The former directly questioned, "What is the connection between the 7-day no-reason return and refund policy and the malicious smear campaign?"

Ji Shuheng narrowed his eyes slightly and echoed, "That's right. There are still some restrictions now. If we open up 7-day no-reason return and refund, the risk factor for returns will increase sharply."

“Broaden your perspective a bit; this is called going against the grain.” Wei Mo smiled faintly and explained, “The more the other side creates a wave of returns for the domestically sold iPhone 3GS, the more we need to emphasize that we have no trouble selling them.”

"It seems to make sense."

He Jingxing murmured to himself.

The meeting continued for another ten minutes or so, and the sunset outside the window became increasingly visible.

"All right."

After considering all the opinions, He Jingxing made the final decision: "We will do as you say, fund the reduction of negative keywords, respond positively to online public opinion in conjunction with Apple, and finally confuse the public through offline media and online trolls."

If one remedy doesn't work, then we need to take drastic measures. We must revive the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS; this is the most crucial and essential step.

Just as China Unicom was discussing countermeasures, its competitor, China Telecom, couldn't wait any longer and took the lead in announcing its entry into the fray.

At 5:22 PM, China Telecom's official Weibo account and the official Weibo account of the Yanjing Business Daily published an article titled "Play with 3G, China Telecom is the First Choice".

Want a smooth 3G experience without loading times and signal drops? China Telecom's Tianyi service has you covered for all your smooth needs!
1. Fast and smooth: Web pages open instantly, videos play smoothly, download a high-definition song in just a few seconds, watch dramas and work without any lag, and enjoy full 3G speeds.

2. Reliable and stable: Whether in urban business districts, suburban towns, high-speed trains, or basements, China Telecom's signal is always online, connecting you wherever you go.

3. User-friendly: It is fully compatible with mobile navigation, online calls, and mobile office, and there are also flexible packages to choose from. Students and office workers can find a "cost-effective option" and enjoy high-quality 3G services at a low cost.

what?
Still unsure which 3G phone to choose?

The Dopod S900C features Windows Mobile 6.1, a 2.8-inch VGA screen with an optical touchpad, supports CDMA2000 EVDO networks, has built-in GPS navigation and 4GB of storage, and is priced at 5980 yuan on the official website and 4980 yuan on China Telecom.

No gimmicks, no bundled plans, enjoy the 3G life with China Telecom 3G phones.
Below the article is a picture of a phone plan, showing a 300MB data package for only 10 yuan.

The post entered the top ten of Weibo's trending topics list in less than half an hour, which is obviously due to paid traffic promotion.

As more and more netizens flocked in, countless comments followed.

[Don't like watermelon]: 300MB of data for 10 yuan? Wow, China Telecom is ambitious! How will they ever use up all that data?
[Missed Life]: Haha, is China Telecom implying that China Unicom is using tricks and bundling packages? By the way, does anyone know anything about the Dopod S900C phone? [High School Single Ponytail]: Dopod is a smartphone brand jointly established in July 2002 by Taiwan's Hungda Electronics and VIA Technologies. Its core positioning is to be an exclusive authorized brand for expanding the mainland China and Asia-Pacific markets. The quality is undoubtedly top-notch.

[Most Hurtful Past Experience]: What level is considered top-notch? Which is better, the Dopod S900c or the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS?
[High school girl with a single ponytail]: The iPhone 3GS is a bit better. The only phone that can rival the iPhone 3GS is Samsung's flagship phone.

The sudden exit of China Telecom has filled the entire internet with a sense of impending conflict.

China Unicom, acting as the "defender," reacted swiftly, not only lowering the ranking of the negative trending topics as planned, but also urgently launching a 3G unlimited data plan.

China Telecom charges 10 yuan for 300M, right?

China Unicom: 500MB for 10 yuan!

In response, China Unicom's marketing department worked overtime overnight and finally released an article titled "Wo 3G, Start Your High-Speed ​​Mobile Life!" at 8 p.m.

Want to enjoy high-speed 3G but worried about expensive data plans? China Unicom's Wo 3G breaks the misconception that "high speed means high price," allowing you to enjoy a smooth mobile experience on a budget!

1. Choose according to your needs to avoid waste and avoid gritting your teeth to pay high prices. Wo 3G packages are "affordable and down-to-earth". You can enjoy 100M of super large data for 9 yuan. There is also a commuter package with a monthly fee of 19 yuan, which not only has 300M of large data, but also comes with 30 minutes of free calls.

2. Don't assume that a low price means "downgrades"! Wo 3G still maintains the strength of the mainstream international WCDMA network, downloading a high-definition song in 10 seconds and loading pictures in real time.

3. From shopping malls in the city to streets in towns and villages, from subways to the courtyards of old homes, the Wo 3G signal is basically uninterrupted. Even when traveling to neighboring countries, international roaming can be continued with low-priced data packages, without the need to temporarily change SIM cards, making it cheap and worry-free.

Wo3G focuses on mobile internet networks, allowing you to enjoy a quality 3G experience at a low price.
China Telecom subtly criticized China Unicom for using deceptive tactics, such as bundling packages, while China Unicom implied that China Telecom's main business is broadband and that it doesn't understand mobile internet.

When the two operators started fighting, netizens applauded.

[Favorite Black Leather Pants]: Let's fight! Let's fight! Whoever has the cheapest plan, I'll get their phone card, haha!
[Apprentice's Heart]: Those damn telecom operators have finally decided to increase the data allowance for the packages, 30MB for 5 yuan. I'm afraid that if I forget to turn off the network when I buy a 3G phone, the operators will come to my door and auction off my house the next day.

[I am the one who floods the seven armies]: Data charges are really expensive, but I don't understand, so I'm asking why China Mobile hasn't made any changes yet. Do they think they have too many users and don't care about them at all?
[Big Radish]: If it's still 5 yuan for 30M, I really can't afford to use China Mobile anymore. Now, I run out of data just by sending a few emojis.

Just as the battle between China Telecom and China Unicom was intensifying, China Mobile remained silent. At that time, China Mobile's executives were still in a meeting, carefully considering the concessions offered on 3G packages.

It's important to know that out of China's 13 billion population, nearly 70% of those with mobile phones are China Mobile customers.

Any decision could lead to the collapse of the user base.

……

For the next few days, China Unicom and China Telecom continued their battle, until November 7th, the beginning of winter, when China Mobile finally finalized the data allowance and pricing for its 3G packages and released a promotional article titled "Mobile 3G: A True 3G Experience Without 'Additional Conditions'!"

Want to use 3G but worried about barriers or diminished enjoyment? China Mobile's 3G service, with its straightforward, fully compatible, and truly smooth experience, helps you avoid the "hidden troubles" of using the network!
1. No need to worry about changing your phone. Most models can connect. You don't need to specifically choose "exclusive models". Whether it's an old or new smartphone, you can use it as long as you insert a China Mobile 3G SIM card.

2. Mobile 3G base stations provide full coverage, ensuring smooth network speeds regardless of location, providing genuine network speeds that can withstand verification.

3. The packages are free of "bundled tricks". You only pay for what you need and don't have to sign up for a bunch of services you don't use just for the sake of "low price". For students, the mobile 3G packages offer pure data with no wasted call charges, while for working professionals, the combination of data and calls is more precise.

what?
Don't have a 3G phone yet?

Nokia N97, a flagship touchscreen phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, features a 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen and a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard. It supports up to 48GB of expandable storage (32GB internal storage + 16GB microSD card), a 500-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens, and DVD-quality video recording. For a limited time, enjoy a China Mobile 3G discount: pre-deposit 6999 yuan in phone credit to get the phone for free.

Choose China Mobile 3G, enjoy true 3G, and have peace of mind for your daily internet use.
China Mobile's fate has clearly offended both China Unicom and China Telecom, because it emphasizes that it has a genuine 3G network, meaning that its two competitors have fake 3G networks.

But then again, China Mobile's advertising strategy is actually quite correct.

China Unicom and China Telecom are notoriously bad network signals. Once you leave the city center and go to a corner in an urban village, your mobile phone may lose network access.

In promoting "true 3G", China Mobile changed its 5 yuan for 30MB data plan to 10 yuan for 200MB. Although this is less than China Unicom and China Telecom, China Mobile executives believe that 200MB is sufficient for ordinary internet access needs, unless customers need to watch online videos.

The competition among the three network operators is most gratifying for users, as the issue of 3G network traffic seems to have been resolved, and now is the time to choose a 3G phone.

Shortly after China Mobile withdrew from the fray, an audio recording circulated online. It was an excerpt from a meeting held by China Unicom on November 3rd, in which the main content was about using offline media and online trolls to confuse the public and cover up the wave of returns of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS.

In an instant.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

[Rampaging Idiot]: No way! Holy crap? The Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS is artificially creating a scarcity marketing tactic? I guess I've been scammed. I even stayed up all night to buy a phone.

[Big Stupid Pig]: Fuck you, give me my money back! I knew the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS was so hard to use, why are so few people returning it for a refund? Turns out it's China Unicom spreading misinformation!

[She said it was from sun exposure]: The iPhone 3GS is really bad, the network signal is terrible, you should just buy a Nokia N97 from China Mobile.

The moment the story gained momentum, multiple authoritative media outlets immediately followed up, and the trending topics on Weibo were also dominated.

By 7 p.m., the evening news program "Xinwen Lianbo" (News Broadcast) specifically named China Unicom and reported that the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS was misleading and involved conditions for purchasing the phone, indicating that the behind-the-scenes capital game had clearly intensified.

The overwhelming negative public opinion left He Jingxing, chairman of China Unicom, feeling extremely overwhelmed. He hadn't expected the meeting content to be leaked; he had underestimated the infiltration capabilities of his two competitors into his senior management.

After careful consideration, He Jingxing dialed the phone number of Dong Yankun, the chairman of China Mobile.

"Dududu-"

After a few busy tones, the call was connected.

"Hello, Mr. He."

Hearing the other party's voice, He Jingxing suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, saying, "President Dong, you have some tricks up your sleeve. You even planted a spy next to me."

"Each each other."

Dong Yankun smiled faintly.

For large corporations, it's perfectly normal to plant spies among themselves.

Some informants, if they keep doing this, might just end up as vice presidents.

Seeing that the other party seemed to understand that they also had spies on their side, He Jingxing didn't dwell on the topic anymore, but instead asked, "When do you plan to end this farce?"

"Can this situation be salvaged?"

Dong Yankun countered with a question.

The moment China Unicom signed the "Exclusive Agency Agreement" with Apple, it showed that it intended to use this to open up the market and seize market share from China Mobile and China Telecom.

"No need to talk?"

Do you have any other bargaining chips?

"Why bother? When will this cycle of revenge end?"

"When you signed the agreement, did you ever think about how long this cycle of revenge would go on?"

"Hehe, I think you're just flying off the plane, mysteriously heading to Hong Kong to become an air passenger."

"You're all so old, don't make baseless accusations without evidence. I don't know him, but his appearance really allowed me to find a weakness in your China Unicom. Maybe it's divine intervention."

"Dududu-"

He Jingxing hung up the phone immediately.

"Hold!"

He couldn't help but swear.

China Unicom is currently in a very passive position, caught in the crossfire between China Telecom and China Mobile. The most critical issue is that fewer and fewer users are willing to pay 6999 yuan for the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS.

He Jingxing read the online feedback, and users were saying that the results were far below expectations.

The reason for the rush to buy on October 30th is that the overseas version of the iPhone 3GS has accumulated a good reputation, and many people are eager to try it out.

However, as time goes by, these 3G phones, which lack supporting features and are flashy but impractical, are destined to be abandoned by the market.

Most importantly, the Hong Kong version of the iPhone 3GS only costs HK$5000, which is equivalent to RMB 4400. It is nearly RMB 2600 cheaper than the mainland China version of the iPhone 3GS. Even if there are true fans of the iPhone 3GS, why would they buy the mainland China version, which is a stripped-down version, instead of the Hong Kong version?

Sales of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS are declining day by day, but China Unicom dares not lower the price, because if the price is lowered, the customers who sold the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS earlier will probably come knocking on the door. Both Unicom and Apple are in a dilemma.

The struggle between the three major telecom operators was witnessed by everyone. As an observer and an insider, Bao Xingwei couldn't help but sigh, "Zhang Yang really has a thorough understanding of game theory. He stirred up the fight between the three major telecom operators and then reaped the benefits himself."

"Yes, he seized the key moment in the transformation of 3G networks. At this time, the battle between China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom was about to ignite." Cheng Hongfa had to admit that Zhang Yang's judgment on the key moment was truly terrifying.

"China Unicom's stock price is likely to fluctuate significantly next week."

Bao Xingwei whispered.

He checked China Unicom's intraday chart a couple of days ago and noticed that some funds were withdrawing, but others were supporting the market.

Recalling Zhang Yang's words from five days ago, Bao Xingwei murmured to himself, "With this round of profit-taking, the 'Securities Sales License' should be his for the taking, right?"

As a senior member of the financial think tank, he already knew in advance that Xueyu Securities was the only one with a securities sales license.

Its public auction was a result of the higher authorities taking into account that Xueyu Securities had suffered losses for years and was no longer able to sustain its operations, in addition to recognizing the huge potential of internet finance.

(End of this chapter)