America: My Time

Chapter 1426 Commitment
Chapter 1416 Promise

"Damn it, do these guys even know what they're doing? They've been stupidly manipulated. Now look what's happened, the Standard Chartered Bank run has affected the entire Hong Kong, and Soros and his cronies are overjoyed. Are these fools trying to push Standard Chartered Bank to the other side?"

"We can't entirely blame them. Standard Chartered Bank went too far, constantly tightening credit and refusing to support everyone. Some people who couldn't hold on inevitably harbored resentment. They didn't want Standard Chartered Bank to have an easy time and wanted to drag them down with them through the crisis!"

"They think they can drag Standard Chartered down with them? They're too arrogant. Even HSBC had to bow down back then. What right do they have to fight against Standard Chartered? And does Standard Chartered have any responsibility or obligation to help them? How did these guys treat Standard Chartered back then? And they don't know how difficult our situation is now. Now look what's happened, they've fallen out, making Soros and his ilk happy. Isn't this self-harm?"

"Don't be angry. Soros and his team are behind this too. Some people in Hong Kong have been bribed, and those guys at HSBC are also making their own moves. Otherwise, this big trouble wouldn't have happened."

"The issue now isn't whether it's troublesome or not, but that their actions will anger Standard Chartered Bank and provoke John. He's an American; it's already quite good that he's remained neutral. If they want to die, they shouldn't drag everyone down with them. Standard Chartered Bank isn't scary; what's scary is John's ability and influence in finance. If he sides with them, we're in danger!"

"It's too late to say all this now. Everything has already happened. We can only ask our comrades in the north to persuade them not to act rashly. Otherwise, the situation here will be extremely dangerous. Mr. John's influence in the financial world is far beyond what Soros can match. If he takes action, it will inevitably cause a terrifying impact!"

"This matter may not be so easy. Haven't you noticed that all his women have left Hong Kong? Those fools are trying to drag us all down with them. Now we can only hope that the worst won't happen!"

Not everyone was optimistic about the success of the persuasion. After all, they were the ones who provoked John, not the other way around. The nature of the situation was completely different. Although they all claimed to be innocent, it was hard to say how many of them were truly innocent.
The situation in Hong Kong is changing so rapidly. Is this merely the result of those people's calculations and arrangements? Are none of the people present involved? That's clearly impossible. Don't be fooled by their innocent appearances; they know the truth in their hearts. And no matter how discreetly they try to cover it up, it's useless. John's influence in Hong Kong is not just for show; a little investigation will reveal the truth.

No one is going to expose this now, because those involved don't want to be known, and those who aren't involved don't want to bother with these guys. Maybe they won't be bothered now, but that might not be the case in the future. Besides, they can't guarantee that John won't make a move at this time, so they have no intention of paying attention to these guys!

Do they regret it? Of course, some people do. Unfortunately, it's too late. They've already dug themselves into a hole, and they're doing it to the point of self-destruction. At this moment, many people are extremely worried, fearing that John might impulsively take action against them and cooperate with Soros's group.

"They're more trouble than they're worth. These guys are really stupid. Now we're all stuck with them. Even if we wanted to negotiate, we wouldn't have a chance. I really don't know what they're thinking!" After discussing the outcome, many people left, leaving only a few. Someone couldn't help but sigh again.

"Now we can only hope that Mr. John can understand our difficulties. They have clearly already remained neutral, so why do those guys have to cause trouble? They all think they are so great and want to use the will of the masses to threaten others. Don't they know their own strength? Don't they understand that Hong Kong is nothing to someone like Mr. John?"

"If these guys knew when to advance and retreat, we wouldn't be under so much pressure. Now we can only wait for the results. If something really goes wrong, there's nothing we can do. Standard Chartered Bank has a lot of funds in its hands, not to mention Hurricane Investment and funds from other banks."

"Yes, we don't know how many of these guys have betrayed us. They were used by Soros and HSBC. Many of them got loans from HSBC, as well as loans from other people. They really think they're so discreet, that we don't know anything. It's just that it's not easy to settle accounts with them now!"

Being betrayed is a terrible feeling, and it will also affect them. But right now they can't do anything about these guys. After all, they don't want to see Hong Kong become more chaotic, and they don't want to see the Hong Kong stock market collapse. They still need these guys to help stabilize the current situation. If they were to settle scores with these guys, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"These guys are worse than outsiders. They keep criticizing Standard Chartered Bank and Mr. John, but what have they done? Do they owe them anything? It's already quite difficult for Mr. John to remain neutral, given his status. Those guys just can't stand seeing others do well. They have no power of their own but still expect others to come and help them."

In fact, everyone present was well aware of those guys' schemes. They just wanted to force Standard Chartered Bank to provide them with assistance. They were overthinking it. After planning for so long, how could they possibly sacrifice their own interests to give them benefits and help them through their difficulties?

In Beijing, John's home also welcomed several people. Many people were extremely angry about the situation in Hong Kong, and they were also furious with those who were good for nothing but causing trouble. However, they had no choice but to face everything and step in to prevent the worst from happening.

“I know why you all came, but some people have been too arrogant this time. I can’t just sit idly by, or people will think I’m easy to bully. If everyone does that, how can I keep people in line? I’ll be in even more trouble!”

As soon as John finished speaking, the group of people who had come sighed. They were well aware of John's current situation, and even more so of the situation in the United States. Those incompetent and troublesome individuals had not only disrupted the situation in Hong Kong but also ruined John's plans, forcing him to step into the open. Just as John had said, if he did nothing, he would face even more trouble; there were quite a few people in the United States watching him!

“Mr. John, we understand your difficulties, but could you wait until the situation in Hong Kong stabilizes?” Upon hearing this, John shook his head and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to do this, but the current situation forces me to take action. Otherwise, I can’t protect my own interests. You all know the situation in the United States. How can you expect me to face their pressure? Regardless of whether there are other people’s schemes behind this, the deed has already been done, and I must retaliate.”

"Mr. John, don't you have any other options? You should know that Hong Kong's current situation cannot withstand any more shocks and could easily collapse, which is something we don't want to see!"

Hearing this, John smiled bitterly and said, "I don't want to see problems in Hong Kong either. After all, I have a lot of assets there. All I can do is remain neutral. But they insist on forcing me to take action. What can I do? If I had shorted Hong Kong like Soros, things would be different now! Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments wouldn't have targeted them or taken any financial action against them. But I can't do nothing. The consequences of that are something I can't afford. I will cut off their sales in Europe and America. That's the limit of what I can do!"

John controls a vast sales network. With over a decade of strategic planning, John's sales network spans the globe. Cutting off these people's sales in Europe and America is tantamount to cutting off their very foundation. If they lose their market share in Europe and America at this time, their fate will be dire. Even with assistance from here, they won't be able to hold out for long!

Some people wanted to persuade John further, but they were stopped. John had already shown the utmost restraint, and to continue to ask him to compromise would be to make things difficult for him. As John said, he also needed to give an explanation to the United States. At the very least, John could not allow his situation in the United States to be in crisis because of Hong Kong. If his enemies were to seize on this, John's plan could collapse completely.

Once those old guys seize the opportunity, the price John will have to pay will be staggering. Anyone with eyes can see John's current strategy, so asking John to compromise again is a bit unreasonable and would also affect John's confidence in this side. Compared to those traitors in Hong Kong, they would prefer a neutral party like John.

In many people's eyes, John was ready to buy at the bottom, which was to plunder Hong Kong. However, such plunder was also a help to Hong Kong to some extent. The massive influx of funds would directly cause Soros and international speculative capital's plans to fail. Being bought at the bottom at least ensured that the Hong Kong market would not collapse. No one knows what would happen if no one bought at the bottom, after all, everyone knows how terrifying the cash flow John controls is.

With the power of the state, it is still possible to find out how much money Standard Chartered Bank, Hurricane Investment, and even the banks under John's control hold, at least to get a general idea of ​​the amount.

"We understand your difficulties, and we appreciate your understanding. We have no objection to this!"

Hearing this, John breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Please rest assured, everyone. I will not do anything that harms others without benefiting myself, nor will I damage my own interests in Hong Kong. I just need to give some people an explanation and not give those enemies a reason to target me!"

Intelligent people naturally understood the meaning behind John's words. Those who came to see John were all intelligent people, so they all breathed a sigh of relief. At least the thing they had been worried about did not happen, and the worst situation did not occur. Many people were worried that this incident would displease John, or even cause him to withdraw his investment. If such a situation had occurred, the consequences would have been too serious.

Given John's global influence and numerous investments, the impact of withdrawing his funds would be unimaginable. Although everyone believes this scenario is unlikely, given the significant personal losses John would incur, no one is entirely certain it won't happen. After all, John is American, and the situation in the US is far from normal.

"Mr. John, do you have any other requests? If it's within our power, we will certainly fulfill them!"

John shook his head and said, “I have no other demands. I do business based on win-win situations. This matter has nothing to do with you all. It’s just a farce put on by those self-righteous guys. They’ve even been used as pawns. There’s a cause for every grievance, and a debtor for every debt. I won’t hold a grudge against others, nor will I let their stupidity and ignorance ruin the situation in Hong Kong and harm my own interests!”

When they heard John make that promise again, everyone was no longer worried, after all, John's reputation was guaranteed. To ruin one's reputation of more than ten years for those people, or even for the interests of Hong Kong, might bring considerable immediate benefits, but the damage caused by the lost reputation would be far greater, and the longer it went on, the greater the loss would be.

John wouldn't risk huge losses, even future ones, just to vent his anger. In fact, his actions this time are only targeting those who are most vocal in their criticism, not a comprehensive crackdown on the fools. Once the Asian financial crisis is over, he'll have plenty of time and opportunity to teach them a lesson they won't forget, to show them the consequences of offending him.

Even if these guys can get the support of those bastards behind them, they will still lose a lot of market share. After all, John's sales channels will not be open to them, and even John's allies will not cooperate with them. In more serious cases, these guys may even be attacked by their counterparts in Hong Kong. After all, they are traitors. These guys sold out Hong Kong's interests for their own benefit, so they will naturally be ostracized!

However, John had no intention of relying on others to take action. Killing the chicken to scare the monkey was the best choice, so that those treacherous and cunning guys would not dare to make any more rash moves. John understood the principle of striking once to avoid being struck a hundred times. At this time, John would not be soft-hearted and would not give the enemy a chance to target him!
(End of this chapter)