America: My Time

Chapter 1340 Panic
Chapter 1330 Panic
"Boss, HSBC wants to negotiate with us. How should I reply to them?" Yuan Tianfan was slightly surprised after receiving the call from the HSBC executive, after all, these guys surrendered too quickly.

"Negotiations? Do you think there's any need for us to negotiate with HSBC? We're on the defensive in this battle. They can start a war whenever they want, and negotiate whenever they want. They really think we're easy to talk to. In this battle, we're going to show our strength. Even if it costs us a lot, we'll cripple them. This time, you don't need to have any reservations. No one can plead for us. We won't give up in this battle."

When John decided to retaliate, he had no intention of tolerating any longer. Although the Asian financial crisis presented many opportunities and offered substantial profits, it didn't mean he would compromise for the sake of profit. Human nature is treacherous; if he yielded at this time, who would fear him anymore, who would take him seriously!

“If we stop now, we can still make a lot of profit. If we continue, we will have to pay a considerable price, which will have a huge impact on Standard Chartered’s profits.”

“I know we can withstand this loss. This time, we must cripple HSBC. Any loss is acceptable. We will fight to the end!” A cold glint appeared in John’s eyes. HSBC had provoked him time and time again, simply because the price they paid wasn’t high enough. This time, regardless of whether there were other people behind HSBC, he would not give up and would make HSBC pay a heavy price.

In fact, before launching his counterattack, John knew that HSBC would definitely seek peace and that someone would step in to mediate. However, this time he would not compromise with anyone and would make HSBC pay a heavy price. Now HSBC no longer had what he wanted, and even if it did, he would not be able to get it, since these guys were already on guard.

Now, it's a lie to say HSBC and British Capital have no regrets. They disposed of their assets at the wrong time, and these assets ended up in John's hands. It would be a lie to say they have no grudges or resentment. So, as long as someone is willing to offer them some benefits, HSBC will jump out to target Standard Chartered Bank. John is already a bit fed up and doesn't want to get entangled with them anymore. He's taking this opportunity to settle everything with them.

"I'm afraid that doing this will displease those bigwigs in Hong Kong. After all, if they intervene, we won't give them any face at all, which would be a bit too much and would affect our development in Hong Kong. Originally, many people were on HSBC's side, but if we do this, even more people will be on our side, and we will suffer considerable losses in Hong Kong!"

"So what? Hong Kong is not our focus, and people's hearts are unpredictable. What they decide is their own business, and their thoughts are none of our concern. We just need to do our own thing. As I said before, no one can persuade us to stay; we will not accept their help."

Upon hearing John's words, Yuan Tianfan sighed, understanding his boss's determination. He didn't even care about his own interests and was determined to teach HSBC a lesson. This was somewhat unacceptable to him. Everyone could compromise for the sake of interests, but his boss didn't have such thoughts and wanted to fight HSBC.

Soon, many people came to Yuan Tianfan to plead for him. After John's words, he pushed everything onto John, saying that since his own boss disagreed, he had no way to change anything.

After receiving replies from everyone, HSBC finally panicked and became afraid. In Hong Kong, Standard Chartered was no match for HSBC, but in Asia and globally, it was a completely different story. Standard Chartered could easily defeat HSBC. Now that the battle was outside of Hong Kong, no matter how many ideas they had, it was useless.

Ordinary people in Hong Kong don't feel the pressure, but the bigwigs in Hong Kong feel the immense pressure. The confrontation between the two major banks is something they can't withstand. Originally, many of Hong Kong's bigwigs looked down on Standard Chartered Bank, but after this battle, many have changed their minds. Standard Chartered Bank's strength far exceeds their imagination.

"The Governor rejected our proposal and refused to intervene on our behalf?" Upon receiving this information, HSBC's tycoon's expression turned extremely grave. They had originally planned to ask the Governor to intervene and resolve the issue, but now that he had refused, HSBC had lost another trump card. Standard Chartered Bank, with its full force, was relentlessly targeting HSBC, and the impact was terrifying. Years of planning had vanished into thin air; how could HSBC not be heartbroken? But all of this was their own doing.

"Yes, Standard Chartered Bank has now stated that it will not accept any mediation and will fight to the end. We have no way to deal with things in Hong Kong and can only go back to the UK to ask their people to mediate. If this continues, our branches in Asia will be wiped out, and it may even affect our branches in Europe and North America!"

"It seems he wants to use HSBC to establish his authority, so it's useless to talk to anyone else. We overestimated ourselves and underestimated John's determination. We thought that even if problems arose, he would choose to compromise in the face of interests. After all, there were plenty of opportunities during the Asian financial crisis, and he wouldn't waste his money on us. Now it seems we were wrong."

Unfortunately, it's too late to see through all this now. John has already made his move, and there's no turning back for them. To suffer such a huge loss for a little bit of profit, they've made a mistake again!
"He refused. So many people have stepped forward and been refused. It seems John is determined to fight HSBC. He's willing to disregard all interests to bring down HSBC. He's not targeting HSBC, he's targeting us. This guy is using HSBC to warn us." Rockefeller sighed as he spoke. To others, it was just a battle between HSBC and Standard Chartered, but to him, it was not.

"Yes, this is a warning to us that he's serious this time. He's not only given up Dreamworld and Nvidia, but he's even willing to sacrifice his interests in this financial war. This shows how determined he is. We can no longer look at him with the old eyes, or we will pay a heavy price."

"Indeed, the current situation in Hong Kong is enough to prove John's determination. HSBC is going to suffer a big loss this time. Facing a guy who doesn't care about money is a disaster. Moreover, we didn't expect that HSBC, which has been established in Asia for so long, would be so vulnerable. Standard Chartered Bank has too deep a foundation. More than ten years have given Standard Chartered Bank sufficient capital and no constraints overseas. Standard Chartered Bank's development is faster than that of Chengxin Bank!"

"However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for us. At least we've seen John's determination and the results of his work over the past decade. Standard Chartered's deep roots demonstrate the astonishing extent of its presence in Asia. Now we need to prevent trouble. There are some foolish individuals causing trouble again, and we can't let them continue, lest they divert John's attention back to the United States. I believe no one wants any unexpected events to occur at this time." "Give those guys a warning, tell them to behave, and put some pressure on those tabloids as well. Don't let them do this again. We need stability right now. No matter what, we cannot break our previous agreements. Whoever dares to damage our money will face an irreconcilable hatred."

"I'm afraid some people won't listen. Many of those tabloids have already been secretly acquired by those guys. They haven't made any moves openly, but they've made these moves in secret. For them, the cost is pitifully small. Even if those tabloids are all wiped out, it won't have much of an impact on them. I'm afraid our warnings won't have much effect!"

"They have no choice. If they dare to refuse, they shouldn't blame us for targeting them. If they can't even understand this basic difference in interests, they're not qualified to be our henchmen!"

"Gentlemen, this matter cannot be borne by us alone; Morgan should also do his part. We do have a conflict of interest with Morgan, but when it concerns Morgan's interests, they should also make a statement, and we should inform them."

"That's true, but I'm afraid Morgan won't pay attention to us, or might even doubt our intentions!"

“There are things we do, and things we don’t do. Do you think Morgan wouldn’t know what we all know? If Morgan didn’t even have this much vigilance, none of this would be what it is today. So we just need to remind Morgan. What they do is their own business!”

"Alright, I know everyone has their own ideas. In that case, let's contact Morgan directly and hear his thoughts." Seeing that these guys were wary of each other, Rockefeller had no choice but to make the decision.
“Good, that’s the best way. We can all rest assured!” Soon everyone accepted Rockefeller’s suggestion, and a sense of relief appeared in their eyes. They all knew that there must be a spy among them who would tell the other party the results of their discussion. In that case, it would be better to talk to Morgan directly.

Soon Rockefeller made a phone call in front of everyone and got in touch with Morgan shortly afterward. Morgan was a little surprised by Rockefeller's call, since there was nothing that would make them go to such lengths right now.

After Rockefeller explained the situation, Morgan smiled calmly and said, "I understand. If you want to take action, I, Morgan, will naturally cooperate fully. Those guys really need to be taught a lesson. They dare to interfere in everything. Moreover, I also know about the situation in Hong Kong this time. I believe you all know John's attitude. For the sake of our cooperation, it's best if we don't have any internal conflicts. Any conflicts are just our own business. If we anger John and cause the agreed-upon deal to fall through, then don't blame me for not doing my best."

Upon hearing Morgan's words, Rockefeller and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Morgan was relatively easy to talk to, at least he didn't intend to make things difficult for them. Given the relationship between Morgan and John, there was really no need to worry.

"We're also planning to make some moves with Donkeys, I wonder if Morgan is willing to cooperate!" Rockefeller suddenly brought up this topic again. He wasn't just testing Morgan; with his intelligence, he naturally knew that Morgan must have known about this for a long time, and even Donkeys probably knew. After all, their group was so large, and the interests of various parties were very complicated. Unless a strong order was given, the news would definitely spread everywhere!
"Sure, even if you don't intend to make a move, I will. They're not just slapping John's face, but the face of all our conglomerates. They're trampling on our dignity. These donkeys are too arrogant these days. They don't take us seriously. They really think we're easy to talk to and easy to use, making a fortune off each of us."

Hearing Morgan's blunt words, Rockefeller couldn't help but sigh and say, "Yes, their behavior is too ugly. If this continues, there will be no order, and we will be the ones who suffer in the end. John is not the same kid he used to be. If we continue to look at him with old eyes, we will only pay a heavy price. As long as Morgan is willing to cooperate, we can use force to solve this problem directly and avoid any further accidents."

Rockefeller didn't want any interaction with those guys, nor did he want to engage in any other schemes. Since these guys had already come forward, whatever their reasons, they would simply be eliminated. No one could undermine their interests. No one, no matter who.

"No problem. Since you are so confident, we will use the simplest and most direct method to deal with it. Let the guys below figure out the reasons themselves. It's impossible for them not to have any problems."

“Morgan, if John is involved, things will be much easier. I wonder if you could make some contact with him?”

"Rockefeller, are you joking? Do you think it's appropriate for John to be involved in something like this? I don't want to be the bad guy, I don't want to be hated. Whatever your schemes are, I'll pretend I didn't hear that!"

Morgan wouldn't be fooled by such a petty scheme. How could John be involved in something like this? If John's media attacked those guys, his credibility would be completely ruined, and John wouldn't agree to that. Besides, things hadn't gotten to that point yet!
If things really come to the point where John is willing to fight at all costs, it might not be this kind of media battle, but the most direct and violent method. After all, John's security company is not just for show. Without demonstrating some deterrence, some people still don't take it seriously. Having a private armed force and not having one are two completely different concepts.

(End of this chapter)