America: My Time

Chapter 1229 Attitude
Chapter 1219 Attitude
John paid no heed to the internal debates in Japan. To him, as long as he stirred up trouble and gained something from it, that was enough. Unless Japan was really stubborn, they would inevitably compromise. The temptation of the benefits that were out in the open was something they couldn't resist. After all, they were a bunch of greedy guys. In the face of profit, they would inevitably bow down. Energy security was all a lie; profit was the only real thing.

Bringing out the Koreans was meant to put pressure on Japan and the likes of Japan. With the improvement of deep-sea mining technology and the full-scale explosion of Asian energy resources, Sakhalin Island's energy extraction would be operating at full capacity. Every penny earned was precious—that was John's plan. Although John had made numerous preparations regarding Asian energy resources, no one knew whether Asian energy would still be able to control Sakhalin Island's energy resources when war broke out.

In John's plan, Sakhalin Island's energy exports are the mainstay of Asia's energy supply, and Russia will likely compromise for a long time, which presents him with his best opportunity. Even if Japan compromises, John will not give up on cooperating with South Korea. As long as South Korea shows enough sincerity, everything is negotiable.

They've made their stance clear; what Japan does is their own business. Now the pressure is entirely on Japan. John has successfully withdrawn, and for a long time, no one will bring up 'New Bank' again. Moreover, these guys in Japan will have to adopt a humble attitude for a long time. Now the balance of power has shifted.

"John, are you really at a loss? This matter is no simple one; it involves the interests of too many people. One wrong move and your reputation will be ruined!" The old man, Akio Morita, couldn't hold back any longer and asked John. In his opinion, there should still be a chance for things to turn around, and things couldn't possibly be this crazy.

"There is certainly a turning point, but the price to pay would be much higher, and I don't think they would be willing to accept it. I can pull strings with Russia, but do you think I can persuade those guys in the US? And as for the Middle Eastern tycoons, I don't need to say more. Even if they give up their cooperation with me, I doubt they will break off their cooperation with the Middle Eastern tycoons. I'm not deceiving them; I'm stating the facts. I'm afraid I can't hold out in South Korea for long. The Lee family of Samsung has approached me more than once, and they've even obtained a considerable sum of money from me. I need to stabilize the situation in South Korea, at least to prevent my companies from suffering severe damage. I need someone to help me with this!"

Upon hearing John's words, Akio Morita sighed. He knew about Lee Boo-jin's identity and abilities; after all, the old man had thoroughly studied everything about John and was well aware of the women around him. Not only did Akio Morita know, but the Japanese conglomerates were also aware, and even the Japanese government was aware of it.

In the eyes of these Japanese guys, John is a visionary with exceptional foresight. They need to know everything about John, hoping to find the secrets within. These Japanese guys have always coveted John's secrets, especially his so-called big data. They want to control this power and witness the explosive growth of quantum mining. How could the Japanese not be tempted? After all, Japan is even more lacking in resources. However, they haven't found anything.

Not only those guys in Japan, but even the American conglomerates were eyeing John's big data, but they all came up empty-handed. Many didn't even believe it existed, yet they couldn't explain how quantum mining and Western energy had grown so powerful. Without the analysis of big data, how could such astonishing results have been achieved? Most importantly, it was the farce John orchestrated back then that led to the leak of the big data. This is something many people know, and many even possess this data, just in varying amounts.

It's hard to say whether the Japanese have this information or not. After all, it's common knowledge how greedy the Japanese are. If they wanted to, they could get it. Since many people know about it, it's not exactly a secret.

“John, I’ve always had a question. Why do you value heavy industry so much? Do you think it has a bigger future? You’ve invested huge sums of money in South Korea and acquired heavy industry companies. You also have them in Taiwan and in Russia!”

Hearing this, John gave a faint, bitter smile, shook his head, and said, "It's not that I think heavy industry has a great future, but I need to transform mining resources into products. I don't want to be held hostage. Just like Japan, which is unwilling to accept my conditions because they're worried I'll hold them hostage at a crucial moment, causing an energy crisis, they also don't want to be held hostage or schemed against. Only by controlling the upstream and downstream product chains can we avoid such situations. You'll see, many will follow my path; it's an inevitable trend." Mining giants will also face difficulties in the future, so diversification is the best choice, and upstream and downstream integration is the best choice. Once the market fluctuates, they can make timely arrangements. Just like this time, many Asian conglomerates were impacted, but John's conglomerates withstood the impact because they controlled the upstream and downstream industries, allowing them to be self-sufficient and not have to depend on others.

Without control of these industries, it would be impossible to complete all preparations in a short period of time. There's also something John didn't tell Akio Morita: heavy industry is promising and profitable. South Korea and Taiwan aren't like Japan; they don't bear such heavy cost pressures. If he didn't own shipbuilding and automobile companies, what would happen to his steel mills, and how could he stabilize the mining industry?

The reason why the British are no longer daring to cause trouble for him is simple: he controls their heavy industry and naturally has the confidence to confront them head-on. Looking at the changes in the Netherlands, the British are naturally more cautious. Although John paid a considerable price for the relocation, it was insignificant compared to the losses suffered by the Netherlands.

Without John's involvement, the British would have lost the very foundation for their heavy industry, instead of being in its current state where it could bring them profits. Anyone with common sense wouldn't oppose John or force him to leave; both automobile and large aircraft manufacturing are crucial to the British.

Although he knew John's words were problematic, Akio Morita couldn't find a reason to refute them. John had presented facts, and all of John's businesses were structured in the same way, whether light industry, heavy industry, or even high technology. It was the same result, not just for Akio Morita, but for anyone else.

“Mr. Morita, don’t keep your eyes on me. You should spend more time keeping an eye on Sony. The successor you chose isn’t very good. If they keep messing things up, Sony will be severely weakened and might even go downhill. To be honest, I don’t have a very good opinion of their plans!” John didn’t want that old man Akio Morita to keep staring at him. Although he didn’t think Morita could see anything from it, being watched all the time meant he had to be careful.

“John, I understand what you’re saying. Otherwise, why do you think I would give up my retirement and take on all this again? It’s because I want Sony to be able to catch its breath and get everyone’s help. I don’t have much energy left now, so I hope you can consider my feelings and not hold it against them.”

"Mr. Morita, it's not that I want to hold a grudge against them, but they themselves have let go of all their burdens and are continuing to target me. A large part of the obstacles Phoenix Group faces in Japan comes from Sony. If it weren't for your sake, I would have already retaliated. I might have some reservations in Japan, but I don't have that many reservations in the US. Instead of targeting me, you should try to persuade them. That's the right way!"

John had no intention of giving Akio Morita any more face. The reason he wasn't making a move now was because the old man still had influence. He would wait until the old man was gone before he could retaliate, and then Sony would pay a heavy price for its foolishness!
Akio Morita was unaware of John's scheme; he couldn't see through it. He was perfectly aware of it, but utterly helpless, only able to hope for a turn of events. After all, favors were finite, and his relationship with John had long since run out. Making further demands would only cause him to lose face. Even the Japanese themselves understood this; John maintaining their current 'relationship' was already a great favor, so Akio Morita needed to know when to back down!

Last time, Akio Morita had exhausted all his favors. This time, hoping to gain some face from John was simply wishful thinking. Faced with John's response, Morita could only sigh, shake his head, and say nothing more. In this situation, further words were useless. How could he possibly sway this cunning John without offering sufficient benefits? How could he possibly get John to give Sony face and allow Sony to turn things around? There's no gain without pain; if you're unwilling to bear any cost, you'll naturally gain nothing. In the face of profit, sentimentality takes a backseat. Even if John is targeting Sony now, no one will say it's his fault—Morita knew this perfectly well!
(End of this chapter)