LRAB Chapter 6: A £3 sell-off – is this considered an unequal status?
Chapter 6: A £3 sell-off – is this considered an unequal status?
"Chen! Are you crazy?! What are you doing?!"
Bardon pointed angrily at Chen Zijun, who stood at the door like a demon, his anger burning.
"This is a serious diplomatic incident! How dare you lead troops to surround the British consulate! This is a provocation against the British Empire! I will immediately send a note to the Beijing government, and I will join forces with the ministers of various countries to demand your dismissal!"
He screamed hysterically, his facial muscles contorted.
Chen Zijun didn't bother to utter a single word of nonsense in the face of this ignorant and impotent rage of a foreigner who had never seen the world.
He strolled leisurely to the expensive solid wood desk in front of Baldon and slammed the black leather suitcase he was carrying heavily on it.
boom!
The loud impact caused Baldon to involuntarily take a half step back.
With a click, the suitcase was opened.
A thick stack of special financial promissory notes, bearing the highest security watermarks of several internationally renowned banks such as the Bank of England, HSBC, Citibank, and Morgan Stanley, lay quietly inside.
Chen Zijun randomly picked out a specially made pay-on-delivery voucher from among them.
That was a huge amount of legally binding financial checks that Mo Huixin, as a top-notch financial manager, had obtained through the most rigorous and impeccable underground channels, using the system's spare change to launder money bit by bit.
Snapped!
Chen Zijun slapped the receipt hard across Baldun's face!
Sir Barton,
Chen Zijun spoke in a cold voice, each word as heavy and powerful as if struck on a bronze bell, "Please open those eyes on the top of your head and see the numbers clearly."
The voucher slipped from Baldon's hand, which he caught in a panic.
Bardon was still roaring angrily, his face as red as a ripe tomato.
But when his gaze fell upon the watermark on the check, especially the long string of numbers at the end.
His voice abruptly stopped.
It felt like an invisible iron clamp was tightly gripping my throat.
"This...this...Oh God! How is this possible!"
Baldun's hands were trembling violently; he even wondered if he was hallucinating from being so angry.
He hurriedly pulled out his monocle from his pocket and put it on, almost pressing his face completely against the thin piece of paper to see.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million!
A full thirty-one million pounds!
Some promissory notes are even stamped with the highest-ranking red seal of the Royal HSBC Bank of the Bank of England! This is a cash-on-demand document that can be redeemed at any time without any conditions attached!
What does this mean?!
What did this figure represent in 1924?
This means that the young man in front of him, whom he had just called a "local warlord," was holding a super nuclear bomb that could directly destroy the economic lifeline of the British Empire in the Far East!
Even if all the foreign banks in Shanghai combined their total liquidity, it wouldn't amount to as much as Chen Zijun's!
How much would it cost to build a Dreadnought-class battleship on the entire British Empire?!
"You just said,"
Chen Zijun braced his hands on the hard rosewood tabletop, leaning slightly forward, looking down at Baldun, whose legs were beginning to weaken.
"Wh...what?" Bardon stammered, cold sweat dripping down his chin.
"You just said we're not on equal footing?"
Chen Zijun tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Now, are the 300,000 soldiers from the four provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui, plus this 30 million pounds, truly equal?!"
Chen Zijun suddenly raised his voice for the last few words.
An absolute pressure unique to decisive and ruthless superiors, accompanied by the ultimate suppression of financial power, instantly enveloped the entire hall.
thump!
Bardon could no longer hold on; his legs trembled, and he slid down to the ground.
"Yes, yes, yes, perfectly equal! Completely equal! Oh God, General Chen, please forgive my foolish rudeness just now!"
The British Consul General in Shanghai, who was arrogant and domineering just a moment ago, has now completely degenerated into a groveling dog.
In the Western logic dominated by capital, money is the only truth, and those who possess the power to influence national finances are the gods who rule over everything!
And Chen Zijun is now Balton's God!
"Now that we're on equal footing, we can sit down and have a proper business talk."
Chen Zijun walked to the sofa, leaned back comfortably, and crossed his legs.
That was the seat he had just sat in, but hadn't even had a sip of water.
Upon hearing the word "big business," Baldon practically scrambled to his feet.
Completely disregarding the dust on his tailcoat, a symbol of the British Empire's prestige, he strode over with the most obsequious smile in the world on his face.
He personally picked up the exquisite silver coffee pot, his hands trembling as he brewed a steaming cup of premium Blue Mountain coffee for Chen Zijun, then bent down slightly to hand it over.
"Mr. Chen, please enjoy your meal. Anything the British Empire can do, we will do our utmost to serve you! You are our most valued friend!"
Watching this disgusting face-changing drama, Chen Zijun sneered inwardly.
This is the true face of the imperialist powers.
When you try to reason with them politely, they act like thugs; but when you hold guns to their heads and smash their pride with gold and silver, they become more obedient than grandsons.
Chen Zijun took a sip of coffee, and sure enough, the coffee brewed with the power of truth tasted quite good.
"Very good, Sir Barton, I like your efficiency."
Chen Zijun put down his cup and held up one finger: "First, I need to purchase the complete set of the latest production line equipment from the Krupp arms factory. Don't tell me you British can't get German goods."
"Yes! Absolutely! After Germany's defeat in World War I, we have a large amount of seized materials as collateral. We can bring you as many production lines as you need!" Baldon nodded vigorously.
Chen Zijun raised his second finger: "Secondly, I need various special steel smelting equipment, shipyard supporting crane clusters, and the latest internal combustion engine machining lathes."
Baldon, who was frantically taking notes in his notebook, gasped in shock.
This is hardly the procurement of light weapons!
This is clearly an attempt to create a massive military-industrial complex out of thin air in Shanghai!
"Mr. Chen, this...this order is incredibly large! This is an unprecedented total transaction amount!" Bardon's voice trembled.
"Ten million pounds as a down payment!"
Chen Zijun bent his knuckles and slammed them heavily on the table, the sound deafening.
"The remaining amount will be deposited in your HSBC personal vault as a margin deposit in the form of interest-free savings."
boom!
Baldon's mind was instantly ignited.
A massive purchase order worth ten million!
A long-term, interest-free deposit of 20 million!
If this leads to such a huge profit, let alone becoming a consul general, he could easily be granted a count's title back home! He could even run for the next finance minister!
"Deal! Deal! I'll make the decision on behalf of the British Empire right away! No! I'll personally send a telegram to the London Cabinet!" Barton was so excited that tears streamed down his face.
But then he suddenly remembered something, and his expression of ecstasy slightly contracted.
"However... Mr. Chen," Bardon wiped the sweat from his brow, which had been beading on his forehead from excitement, and said cautiously, "procuring supplies is no problem, but the industrial complex infrastructure materials and ultra-large processing equipment you requested require an extremely large and specialized heavy shipping capability."
"Just say it."
"In the Far East, especially in Shanghai, the Sassoon family controls more than 70% of heavy deep-water shipping resources."
Bardon lowered his voice, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
"Those are real Jewish exploitative tycoons, incredibly greedy. If they knew you were going to undertake such a large independent infrastructure project in Shanghai, they would definitely be green with envy and try to obstruct it, even finding excuses to block the Huangpu River shipping route and demand exorbitant 'tolls'."
Jewish tycoons?
Are you trying to strangle me, Chen Zijun? Or are you trying to collect tolls from me, the young marshal Chen?
These vampires who made their fortunes by reselling opium don't deserve it!
Chen Zijun slammed the coffee cup in his hand heavily onto the silver tray.
He stood up, his eyes revealing unparalleled cruelty and domineering power.
"Let him be," Chen Zijun said coldly. "If he has the guts, let him come find me!"
After saying that, Chen Zijun picked up the black leather suitcase full of money receipts and left without looking back.
Bardon was left alone, staring blankly at the draft of the letter of intent for the transaction on the table for a long time.
Barton knew about the delicate balance that had been maintained in Shanghai for more than a decade.
The world is about to change drastically.