Chapter 751: Let’s Force Their Hand to Retreat

The sun had set and the moon had risen.

I was in Han Gyeong-yeong’s penthouse, sipping liquor while taking in the night view of Wall Street.

Just then, I heard the door open and turned to see who it was.

Han Gyeong-yeong entered the living room, his face weary, and roughly tore off his tie.

“Ha! That greedy old geezer.”

Han Gyeong-yeong slumped onto the sofa with a sigh.

I went over and sat next to him. I added ice to a fresh glass, poured him a drink, and slid it over to him.

“Was it that rough?”

Han Gyeong-yeong grabbed the glass, downed it in one go before the ice could even melt, and slammed it back down.

Despite the high proof, he didn’t hesitate; he completely emptied his glass.

His face grim, Han Gyeong-yeong grabbed some appetizers and began to eat.

“I hate this kind of thing.”

He must really hate it. I chuckled watching Han Gyeong-yeong grumble.

“So what’s the result?”

“He said he’ll contact me in a few days.”

Since George Soros couldn’t give an immediate answer, it was inevitable that it would take some time.

I patted his shoulder to express my appreciation for his hard work.

“You did great. He probably won’t be able to refuse.”

Han Gyeong-yeong seemed to think so too and nodded.

“If Valtiche doesn’t want to reveal itself publicly, they’ll accept your proposal. Oh, Mu-hyeok is also countering by threatening to expose your identity, just as you predicted. It’s ridiculous.”

“Tell me more.”

I refilled Han Gyeong-yeong’s glass as I spoke.

“So, the moment I walked in, the old man said…”

Han Gyeong-yeong summarized his conversation with George Soros.

“He kept denying it to the very end.”

“Of course he would. He knows the moment it’s spoken, they could disappear without a trace.”

“For someone as shrewd as George Soros to be afraid of them, just who is this group and why are they hostile to you?”

It was obvious. I shrugged and retorted.

“They probably don’t like that we’re causing chaos in their game. Especially with China’s growth so certain, and us having already invested in most of the good companies. This must have been their only option.”

It was the natural course for them to join hands with the Chinese Government and exclude me so they could squeeze their way into the market.

“Even so, I don’t understand the Chinese Government. How much did we help them when they were struggling? And now they’re switching sides?”

“That’s just how the Chinese are. Aren’t there quite a few companies we’ve invested in asking us to pull out?”

Han Gyeong-yeong nodded ruefully.

“They can’t withstand the pressure from the Communist Party. We’ve received requests to resell our shares to them. But since the founders can’t afford to buy them back, it’s the same as them trying to pass our shares on to someone else.”

Han Gyeong-yeong took a sip of his diluted liquor and asked again.

“You don’t plan to hand them over, right?”

“What do you think, Brother?”

“I wouldn’t give them up even if it was out of spite. We invested when they were struggling, and now they want to pull out? Absolutely not.”

Han Gyeong-yeong gritted his teeth, seemingly quite resentful.

“Once this is over, I’ll make them regret it.”

“Then for now, just sort out the companies that made the request. We’ll need to extract our due later. What about Alibaba and Tencent?”

“There’s no contact from them yet.”

I nodded. Even so, some companies would actually benefit from this incident.

“Keep a close eye, if it seems like they need help, provide funding through other channels.”

“Okay.”

Han Gyeong-yeong held out his glass, and I reached out and clinked it against his.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Well, since I plan to limit the battlefield to China, I’ll make a decision after hearing their response.”

The reason I came all the way to the U.S. to meet with President Bush was to prevent the U.S. Government from interfering with me at their behest.

Having achieved what I wanted, it was time to move to the next stage.

That’s why I conveyed our thoughts to them through George Soros.

Whether we’ll go all the way or end it with a fight in China.

My true intention was for them to fight only in China. The game was too small right now to go all the way with them.

But a few years later, a massive game that no one could avoid would unfold.

Wouldn’t it be possible to cut off their heads then?

Especially since this was a group based in Europe, they would never be able to avoid that chaos.

“That’s surprising. I thought you would go all the way.”

Han Gyeong-yeong murmured, as if puzzled. I chuckled at his reaction.

“Not yet. Right now, we’re too busy cleaning up what happened in China. If we wait, the opportunity will come eventually.”

“Well, if that’s how you want it, it’s fine with me.”

“Since Murdoch is actively exposing them, the Chinese Government must be in a difficult spot.”

Murdoch was using the newspapers he owned to continuously expose the corruption of the Chinese Communist Party.

Not stopping there, he was also interviewing defectors who had left China after the Tiananmen Square incident and releasing their stories.

The Chinese Government was likely having quite the headache. The Tiananmen Square incident was a sore point.

“Once we’ve dealt with China, we’ll have to prepare for a full-scale war with them. You’ll probably be the busiest then, so be prepared.”

“Ha. I don’t know what it is, but seeing your eyes, I feel sorry for your enemies.”

“Don’t you think we might lose?”

At my playful question, Han Gyeong-yeong answered in an absurd tone.

“You? You’d fight a losing battle?”

As if saying that was nonsense, Han Gyeong-yeong glared at me.

“I don’t know about others, but you never fight a losing battle. You might take some losses, but you won’t lose.”

“Even when dealing with the Chinese Government?”

“So are you scared? Are you thinking of surrendering?”

He was poking at my pride. I chuckled at Han Gyeong-yeong’s provocative question.

“Of course not. I was just curious.”

“Do you think I don’t know you? You’re already planning several steps ahead and laying down your groundwork. Using Murdoch’s media to continually undermine the Chinese Government’s morality must be to make the factions within the Chinese Government fight each other.”

“Time flies, Brother. You catch on quickly now.”

The naive Han Gyeong-yeong now immediately understood my plans.

“Stop the useless talk and tell me exactly what I need to do moving forward.”

“First, create untraceable funds. About $100 million.”

“Hmm… you’re telling me to cut all ties with us?”

“Yeah. Plan on getting rid of one of our shell companies and prepare it.”

Han Gyeong-yeong frowned at my words.

“You’re telling me to completely get rid of one? What are you planning to do?”

“It’s just a plan in my head for now. Once it’s solid, I’ll tell you.”

“What other scheme is it this time…”

“And keep monitoring Wall Street’s movements too. Aside from George Soros, there will be many of their underlings spread out on Wall Street.”

“That’s something we always do, so don’t worry. But how long do you think this fight will last?”

It was a casual question, but it contained a subtle worry.

It was natural to worry, as the longer the fight dragged on, the greater the impact would be.

“We need to end it quickly. If it drags on too long, the Chinese Government won’t have a chance to back down. We have to force them to retreat all at once.”

We needed to create an exit for the Chinese Government to retreat without damaging their pride.

“Let’s finish this first.”

“Do we really need to shake up the New York Times?”

“Why? Do you want to go easy on them?”

“No, I’m just wondering if there’s a reason to make enemies of them when we’ve already broken ties with George Soros.”

“Brother, we paid $1.5 billion extra to acquire something we could have gotten for $6 billion. If George Soros hadn’t interfered, there wouldn’t have been a reason to do that right? It was the value of the New York Times name that was the problem.”

At my words, Han Gyeong-yeong nodded as if he had realized something.

“We can’t just let them get away with hitting us once. Moreover, damaging the credibility of the New York Times is a good card to block the Neocons’ movements, we should use it for sure.”

As I chuckled and said that, Han Gyeong-yeong clicked his tongue.

“You’re a scary bastard.”

“Anyway, have you scheduled a meeting with the Sulzberger family yet?”

“Yeah. I’m scheduled to meet with Sulzberger Jr. in a few days.”

“Then…”

I explained the second method to shake up the New York Times to Han Gyeong-yeong.

* * *

A few days later, Han Gyeong-yeong and I arrived at the New York Times headquarters in Manhattan to meet with Sulzberger Jr.

We were led inside the headquarters by Sulzberger Jr.’s secretary, who was waiting for us at the entrance.

After passing through a lobby bustling with people, we took the elevator to Sulzberger Jr.’s office.

“He’s waiting inside. I’ll leave you here.”

The secretary guided us and disappeared, then Han Gyeong-yeong and I opened the door and went in.

Sulzberger Jr. was staring intently at his computer monitor.

Without getting up from his seat, he spoke.

“Oh, please come in. I’m still finishing something up so, would you mind waiting?”

Then, without waiting for a response, he looked back at his monitor and continued typing on his keyboard.

Looks like he’s trying to establish dominance. Han Gyeong-yeong and I exchanged glances, chuckling silently at his transparent attempt.

Pretending to play along with his intentions, we went and sat on the sofa silently. After about 30 minutes, Sulzberger Jr. turned off his computer and walked over to us.

“I’m sorry. I had something urgent to take care of, so I kept you waiting.”

Sulzberger Jr. bowed slightly in apology but there was no hint of genuine remorse on his face.

Han Gyeong-yeong answered in a nonchalant voice.

“It’s fine. Please, have a seat.”

Han Gyeong-yeong casually extended his hand, telling him to sit, as if he were the one in charge.

Sulzberger Jr. paused for a moment, looking down at Han Gyeong-yeong and me, before taking a seat, perhaps not expecting such a reaction.

“What brings you here? The owner and CEO of Dream High.”

This guy knew who I was too.

“So you know who I am?”

“In New York, no newspaper can match the New York Times’ reporting power. Dream High Investment, that emerged like a comet, and the veiled owner of Dream High. An investigative reporter would never forgive themself if they didn’t look into these.”

His words were full of pride in the New York Times.

“And yet, you didn’t publish a story?”

“For a story, all I had were circumstances, and no solid evidence, it was like chasing a ghost. I couldn’t get anything beyond that Dream High’s owner is that person.”

To say so much, he must have dug quite deeply into me.

“Even when I tried to dig deeper through the Korean branch, I kept getting blocked. No one would talk about who you were. That made me even more eager to find out.”

“Well, keep trying. See if you can find out.”

Sulzberger Jr. narrowed his eyes at my confident tone.

I turned my eyes away from him and glanced at Han Gyeong-yeong.

Han Gyeong-yeong, having received my signal, opened his mouth.

“Let’s stop the small talk and get to the point.”

Sulzberger Jr. cleared his throat and turned to Han Gyeong-yeong.

“What’s the reason you wanted to meet today?”

“I heard that George Soros and his followers are withdrawing their investment funds from the New York Times, along with their advertising. That’s why we came here to help you.”

“Came here to help us? Is the Wall Street Journal not enough that you are now eyeing our New York Times?”

“Are you going to sell? If you’re willing to sell, we might consider acquiring it.”

Han Gyeong-yeong’s ambiguous words made Sulzberger’s expression darken even further.

“There is absolutely no intention to sell the New York Times.”

“The New York Times’ debt is quite substantial for you to be so confident.”

“… We can handle it.”

“Surely, that solution isn’t getting investment from Carlos Slim, is it?”

Sulzberger Jr. was shocked and asked.

“How did you…”

“How we know is not important. The conclusion we came to is that if that’s true, it would definitely not be a good choice.”

“…”

“It seems like you’re planning to receive $250 million of investment in the form of convertible bonds. Is that correct?”

Sulzberger Jr. frowned and replied.

“It’s still under negotiation. I can’t disclose that.”

If Carlos Slim exercised the warrant for $250 million, he would immediately rise to become the largest shareholder of the New York Times.

However, since the Sulzberger family holds class B shares they can not have their management rights taken away, this must be his best option.

“Carlos Slim is a very greedy person. Can you trust him?”

Morgan Stanley, who owned 7% of the New York Times shares, publicly criticized the Sulzberger family for appointing 9 out of 13 board members and demanded an improvement in the governing structure.

That’s why he partnered with George Soros to receive investment, but they have broken ties with him.

Moreover, Soros was making moves to block investments in the New York Times.

In the end, the option Sulzberger Jr. chose was the Mexican telecom conglomerate owner Carlos Slim.

“Whether I trust him or not is not important. No one can threaten our control over the New York Times.”

I listened quietly to their conversation and then spoke.

“Do you know that the chairman of AIG, Maurice Greenberg, will be retiring soon? And at the same time, he plans to buy shares of the New York Times. Do I need to explain why?”

A deep smile spread across my lips.