The Peninsula chaebol started by rescuing Samsung's little princess.

Chapter 145 A pit was dug, waiting for Han Jin to jump in.

When Cho Jung-hoon, the former chairman of the Hanjin Group, passed away in 02, he made a will that divided his estate among his four sons.

The eldest son, Cho Yang-ho, inherited the most valuable assets of the Hanjin Group—Korean Air and the entire Hanjin Group.

The second son, Cho Nam-ho, inherited "Hanjin Heavy Industries":

The third son, Cho Soo-ho, inherited Hanjin Shipping.

As for the fourth son, Cho Jung-ho, he could only eat the "leftovers," inheriting the marginalized Hanjin Investment & Securities and Oriental Fire & Marine Insurance Company from the group's assets.

This hierarchical method of dividing family property is actually a very traditional practice of conglomerates, but the heirs don't care about this or that.

No sooner had Old Master Zhao passed away than his four brothers staged a drama of fighting over the family property before his body was even cold!

The first one to jump out was the fourth son, Zhao Zhenghao!

After all, who told him to get the smallest share?

From verbal and physical battles to various private feuds, it all culminated in a final showdown in court.

He joined forces with his second brother, Zhao Nanhao, to sue his eldest brother, Zhao Lianghao, questioning the legality of the will.

During this process, the third brother, Zhao Xiuhao, sided with his eldest brother and cheered him on. This fierce battle for the family property ended with him and his second brother losing the case.

Seeing that he would not be able to inherit the estate, he officially left the Hanjin Group in 2005 and founded Meritz Financial Group with securities companies and insurance companies as its core businesses.

"Jung-ho, I've heard so much about you!"

At a private club in Jiangnan District, Li Haorong met the fourth son of the Zhao family.

Cho Jung-ho was born in 58 and is 49 years old this year. Logically speaking, he should belong to the same generation as Lee Kun-hee.

However, his wife, Koo Mi-jin, is the second daughter of Lee Sook-hee, the second daughter of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, and Koo Ja-hak, the third son of LG founder and chairman of Ae Mi-hong.

From this perspective, Goo Mi-jin and Lee Yoon-hyung are considered to be of the same generation.

Sometimes, Li Haorong is really grateful that his girlfriend is of a higher generation, so that he doesn't have to feel inferior to everyone else when he's out in public!

"Hello, Chairman Li!"

Zhao Zhenghao didn't expose Li Haorong's subtle intentions in addressing him, nor did he put on any airs of a senior.

As he shook hands with Li Haorong, he was also carefully observing the young man in front of him, who was not much older than his eldest daughter.

Last night, his own nephew died in a car accident. Of course, he heard about such a big thing.

Although the murderer has been caught, Zhao Zhenghao is well aware that Li Haorong is likely involved in this matter.

Such a shrewd and ruthless young man made Zhao Zhenghao somewhat curious about the purpose of his visit.

"Hey, Jung-ho, did you open a bottle of good wine especially to treat me?"

After letting go, Li Haorong looked at the open bottle of red wine on the coffee table and smiled.

"Château Latour's Grande Latour in Bordeaux—they're preparing to exit the en primeur market, making this wine highly collectible!"

Zhao Zhenghao echoed Li Haorong's words, and at the same time picked up a tall wine glass and poured a small half glass for Li Haorong.

Because he attended boarding schools in the United States from a young age, studied economics at the University of Southern California, and later earned an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, his hobbies have a distinctly Western flavor, such as fine wine, luxury cars, and golf.

"I don't understand these things. To me, drinking is simply a matter of whether I'm drinking when I'm happy or when I'm drinking when I'm unhappy!"

"So, which one do you belong to now?"

As he spoke, Zhao Zhenghao handed the wine glass to Li Haorong, while keeping his eyes fixed on Li Haorong's.

Li Haorong grinned, took the glass, and said, "Of course I'm happy. Wouldn't Brother Zhenghao be happy?"

"My nephew passed away, what is there for me to be happy about?"

"Jung-ho, you're overdoing it. You don't even fly Korean Air anymore. Everyone knows about the relationship between you brothers."

"hehe!"

Zhao Zhenghao smiled but didn't say anything. He simply picked up his glass and clinked it with Li Haorong's.

The two took a sip, and Li Haorong felt a mixture of sour, sweet, bitter, and astringent flavors in his mouth, but the taste was smooth and mellow, forming a unique balance.

"Excellent wine!"

"Oh? What's so good about it?"

"At least the price is good!"

"Ha ha ha ha----"

Upon hearing Li Haorong's answer, Zhao Zhenghao burst into laughter.

After laughing, Zhao Zhenghao examined the bright red liquid in his glass under the light and said leisurely, "Yeah, I have good wine to drink now, luxury cars to drive, and my own company to run. Why do you think I would still join you in targeting my older brother?"

Clearly, Zhao Zhenghao knew why Li Haorong had come, and even refused before Li Haorong could speak.

"Is Jung-ho just giving up like this?"

"I've fought for what I needed to fight for, so what can I do if I refuse to accept my fate?"

"I believe in Jung-ho's abilities, but don't you feel heartbroken watching your brothers squander the inheritance left by their father?"

Among the four sons of the Zhao family in the Hanjin Group, Zhao Zhenghao has the strongest management skills!

In his previous life, he started with the worst capital and, in less than ten years, made his net worth more than twice that of his older brother.

Even by 2025, he once ranked third on the list of richest people in the Korean Peninsula, second only to Lee Jae-yong.

Li Haorong didn't believe that someone like that would accept his fate!

"No matter how much they ruin it, what does it have to do with me? It's their stuff!"

"Even if the entire Hanjin Group falls into the hands of an outsider like me, it wouldn't matter, would it?"

"you?"

Li Haorong's words made Zhao Zhenghao scrutinize him, his eyes seeming to say: "You think you can swallow Hanjin Group whole?"

"Brother Zhenghao, to tell you the truth, whether you agree or not, I will take action against Hanjin Group."

It would probably take me ten years to take over the entire Hanjin Group on my own.

To be honest, I'm not very interested in Hanjin Group's business. It's not worth spending so much time acquiring these industries. But with you, Jung-ho, joining us, I can save a lot of effort and time. Maybe we can achieve it in just five years!

Besides, this is your property; you're simply taking back what's rightfully yours!

From Li Haorong's long speech, Zhao Zhenghao gleaned a key phrase: "Ten years to take down Han Jin!"

"What are you planning to do?"

Does Cho Jung-ho really not want to take over the Hanjin Group? Of course not!

The problem is, he doesn't think Li Haorong has that kind of ability!

Right now, Li Haorong and Hanjin Group are like ants and elephants. Do you really think an ant can trip an elephant?

Of course, Lee Kun-hee has the power to do so, but how could he possibly go to war with the Hanjin Group for the sake of a prospective son-in-law?

Seeing Li Haorong's confident demeanor, he was still curious. Even though he knew it was just empty promises from Li Haorong, he couldn't help but ask.

"Brother Jung-ho, what do you think is Hanjin Group's biggest problem right now?"

"That goes without saying, it's Hanjin Shipping, but it has now separated from the Hanjin Group and, strictly speaking, no longer belongs to the Hanjin Group!"

Zhao Zhenghao replied without hesitation.

After the Hanjin Group dissolved in 2005, Hanjin Heavy Industries, which was inherited by his second brother Cho Nam-ho, and Hanjin Shipping, which was inherited by his third brother Cho Soo-ho, also separated from the group.

However, in 2006, Cho Soo-ho passed away from lung cancer, and according to the custom of family businesses on the Korean Peninsula, the reins of Hanjin Shipping fell to his widow, Choi Eun-young.

This Choi Eun-young is no ordinary person; she is the niece of Shin Kyuk-ho, the chairman of the Lotte Group.

That's right, Cho Soo-ho is one of the few chaebol scions on the Korean Peninsula who have a marriage alliance with the Lotte Group.

However, Choi Eun-young has been a full-time housewife since getting married and knows nothing about shipping.

In the eyes of this pampered wife, everything in the company was fine, and the current booming shipping industry made her decide to renew the charter of the cargo ship at the original high price.

I heard that she recently signed a 10-year contract with a chartering company for almost twice the market price.

Therefore, Cho Jung-ho could foresee that in the next 10 years, Hanjin Group would face a tight cash flow problem if there were any disturbances.

Compared to Zhao Zhenghao's conservative predictions, Li Haorong was much more optimistic.

With Choi Eun-young's methods, how could it possibly take 10 years?

Hanjin Shipping will suffer losses next year when the financial crisis hits!

At that time, all I need to do is release some negative information, and Hanjin Shipping will face the crisis of banks cutting off its loans.

"If Hanjin Shipping runs into problems, who do you think Mrs. Choi will turn to for help?"

"Of course it's—Big Brother?"

As the only one among the brothers who did not sue his eldest brother, Cho Soo-ho, the only help Choi Eun-young could find after his death was Cho Yang-ho.

As for Choi Eun-young's family, Lotte, I'm afraid if she dares to speak up, the entire Hanjin Shipping will be swallowed up by Lotte!

"That's right. So, given your brother's character, do you think he would save Hanjin Shipping?"

"certainly!"

At this moment, Zhao Zhenghao's eyes lit up; he had already understood what Li Haorong meant.

Taking over Hanjin Shipping will definitely be tough for Hanjin Group. All they need to do is stir things up to make things even worse for Hanjin Group!

Thinking of this, Zhao Lianghao became excited, because he already had a complete outline of a plan in his mind.

"So? Can we cooperate now?"

Seeing the excited Zhao Lianghao, Li Haorong smiled.

"What's our first step?"

After calming down, Zhao Lianghao picked up his wine glass and asked.

"I'll create some minor troubles for him, making him think that's all I'm capable of. Then, all we need to do is dig the pit and quietly wait for Han Jin to jump in!"

After saying that, Li Haorong picked up his wine glass and clinked it against Zhao Lianghao's glass, making a crisp sound.

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