Chapter 801: Bo Xilai’s Gambit

— It’s Bo Xilai.

“Bo Xilai, this is Kim Mu-hyeok.”

— Ah, Boss Kim Mu-hyeok!

Ever since I gave him a harsh lesson, Bo Xilai had become extremely cautious when dealing with me.

“I heard you’re attending the Communist Party’s plenary session. You’re in Beijing right now, aren’t you?”

— Yes that’s right. But to be honest I have no idea what’s going on. Why isn’t Chairman Jiang saying anything…

Bo Xilai was very close to Jiang Zemin privately.

It was because his father, Bo Yibo, had been very close to Jiang Zemin.

The relationship between the two had become somewhat strained because of me, but it was still a fact that he was closer to Jiang Zemin than Hu Jintao.

“Bo Xilai, don’t pretend you don’t know. There’s no way you wouldn’t know the reason. I warned you before. I hate it when someone lies to my face.”

—… I don’t know exactly. My methods of obtaining information have been blocked. Beijing is in a quasi-state of emergency, so it wasn’t easy to move around.

“You’re still maintaining your wiretapping organization, aren’t you?”

— Good heavens. How much do you know?

Bo Xilai was shocked.

The organization Bo Xilai had created to obtain information through surveillance, infiltration and wiretapping was quite solid.

He had been using the organization to gather information since he was the mayor of Dalian.

When he was the mayor of Dalian, Jiang Zemin had visited Dalian City.

Without the approval of his superior party secretary, he had installed wiretapping devices in Jiang Zemin’s residence and vehicle to obtain information.

Using the information he obtained, he was able to read Jiang Zemin’s thoughts and immediately hung a large portrait of Jiang Zemin on the outer wall of the Dalian City Hall.

The Chinese Communist Party had strictly prohibited the production and display of portraits of current leaders since Mao Zedong.

However, Bo Xilai ignored the regulations and flattered Jiang Zemin in an attempt to win his favor.

Eventually, after Jiang Zemin returned to Beijing, he was able to oust his superior and rise to the position of Party Secretary.

—… The organization is still in place, but I don’t have the conditions to move. Now is the time to lie low.

Bo Xilai was a man who was obsessed with power and wealth.

That’s why I had chosen him, instead of Xi Jinping, as the next leader of China.

Being greedy was akin to being easy to handle.

As long as I could satisfy his greed, he wouldn’t deviate from my expectations.

Of course, that didn’t mean I trusted him completely.

I didn’t know how he would change once he seized power.

“Well, I understand. You’re working in Beijing right now, aren’t you?”

— Yes. I am working as the Minister of Commerce in the central government.

“How will you achieve your grand dream while working there? Did you take care of everything around you as I told you to?”

I had previously warned Bo Xilai to take care of everything around him.

No matter how much I pushed him, if he was removed from power later due to his personal corruption it would all be for naught.

—……

There was no reply.

Look at this, it seems he didn’t do as I said.

“Bo Xilai, you’re ignoring my warning.”

— Well… it’s not easy to sort things out right away.

“I see. Then I will have to withdraw my plan. I was thinking of sending you to be the Party Secretary of Shanghai after this plenary session.”

— What?

He replied blankly as if he couldn’t have imagined such a thing.

“I warned you. If you don’t clean up your surroundings, it will become a dagger that returns to stab you in the back.”

— Wait a minute. Party Secretary of Shanghai? What are you talking about? Are you saying that I would be going to Shanghai as a Secretary?

“That’s what I was planning. But seeing how you’re behaving, I think I should change my mind.”

If anyone other than me knew about Bo Xilai’s weakness, it was like a ticking time bomb.

The reason Bo Xilai in my past life was pushed out of the power struggle and removed from power on corruption charges, despite the support of the Chinese people, was the result of his father’s actions.

It was clear from the fact that Xi Jinping, who had no major enemies unlike Bo Xilai, who was a latecomer, had suddenly risen rapidly.

Bo Xilai’s father, Bo Yibo, was the person who had taken the lead in ousting Hu Yaobang, the Secretary-General, who could be said to be the founder of the Communist Youth League.

Hu Yaobang was the one who had scouted Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, so he was like a benefactor to them.

That was also the reason why I had advised Wen Jiabao to forget the past and recommend Bo Xilai.

If Wen Jiabao, who was an enemy, directly recommended Bo Xilai, Zheng Qinghong would welcome him with open arms, and Hu Jintao would be in an ambiguous position to oppose him.

— I’ll sort everything out immediately. It’s hard to get a divorce right away, but I’ll start preparing for it as soon as I go to Shanghai.

When I didn’t say anything, Bo Xilai continued urgently.

— I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, so please help me become the Party Secretary of Shanghai. If I can go to Shanghai, the next term is no longer just a dream.

In fact, Bo Xilai should have been half-resigned to his fate.

He had fallen out with Jiang Zemin once because of me, and he was not on good terms with Hu Jintao.

His relationship with Zheng Qinghong was good, but even if he tried to push him, it would be difficult for him to become a leader if both the current Chairman and the former Chairman opposed him.

However, it was different if he became the Party Secretary of Shanghai, China’s largest city.

Because that would give him the momentum to aim for the next term.

It was best to move to a local area and gather forces instead of being in the center but not being able to play a key role in central politics.

When I still didn’t reply, he called me more urgently.

— Boss Kim Mu-hyeok. I’ll do as you say. So…

I cut Bo Xilai off without listening any further.

“Can I trust you, Bo Xilai? I’m worried that I won’t feel rewarded for trusting you.”

— Please trust me. The weaknesses you know about me are enough to remove me from power, aren’t they?

There were still many things that had not happened. Could I remove Bo Xilai, who was slated to be the successor with just the cards I held?

After thinking for a moment, I recognized that I had no alternative.

“Alright. I’ll give you one more chance this time.”

— Thank you. Thank you.

“Don’t tell anyone that you’ve been designated. The moment the rumor spreads, it will be as if it never happened.”

-Of course, of course.

Bo Xilai’s trembling voice was filled with joy.

“For now, continue doing what you’ve been doing in the central government. Then good news will come. Finish the plenary session well, and let’s talk after it’s over. Don’t contact me first. Always be careful.”

— Yes, I will.

I ended the call with Bo Xilai. I let out a deep sigh as I looked at the disconnected phone.

“Haa… I don’t like this, but I don’t have another option…”

There were few candidates as suitable to exploit as Bo Xilai.

Some candidates came to mind, but they were not good choices for me.

Because of China’s unique characteristics where it’s hard to do business without connections, it was best that the next leader was someone I could easily control.

“Well, I’ll have to trust him for now.”

The die was cast. I had to maximize my gains instead of worrying.

I pressed the internal phone and connected to Manager Ma.

Then I asked him to bring the data on the KS Group’s governance structure.

A little later. Manager Ma came in with the KS Group data he had prepared in a day.

“Manager Ma, are there any separate reports about Chairman Choi Woo-sik and Director Yoon Hyun-joo?”

I put the data that Manager Ma had brought on the table and looked up at him.

“No. There are no separate special reports. We agreed to contact me immediately if there are any unusual developments.”

It hasn’t been long yet, so there wouldn’t be any particular issues.

I gave Yoon Hyun-joo a week. Only one day has passed so far, so she must still be considering it.

“What about Chairman Jo?”

Even though Yoon Hyun-joo might be the real owner, the title was under Chairman Jo.

“He also doesn’t have any special movements. He’s spending his time at nearby real estate agencies playing Go or chess, as usual.”

I was looking through the data with Chairman Jo’s itinerary as I heard those words.

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Just like an elder in an ordinary neighborhood. Would the people in that neighborhood ever think that he’s the richest land owner in Gangnam who pays the most in taxes?”

No one would know.

Even I didn’t know until my death in my past life that Chairman Jo was the person managing Director Yoon’s assets held under a false name.

“Keep a close watch on Chairman Jo’s movements. Yoon Hyun-joo will have no choice but to hand over the real estate to me. If Chairman Jo has different ideas at that time, things will get complicated. Director Yoon Hyun-joo will try not to get caught that they are her assets held under a false name.”

If Chairman Jo goes into hiding, everything will go wrong.

“Yes. I’ve already instructed everyone not to lose track of Chairman Jo.”

As expected, Manager Ma was competent. I nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Sit down for a moment. Let’s review the data and continue talking.”

After confirming that Manager Ma sat down, I began to read the data that detailed the ownership structure.

Starting with KS Co., Ltd. at the top of the governance structure, the share structure of all companies under the KS name including listed and unlisted companies was written there.

It’s only been a day since I gave the order, but he brought this much detailed data?

What kind of data was inside the Black Bear’s cabinets?

Where did you get such detailed and extensive data? Is Black Bear already aware of this and keeping it in their files?

“Black Bear regularly updates the governance structures and shareholder status of major Korean corporations.”

“What about the U.S.?”

“The headquarters in the U.S. handles that, and the Korean branch is in charge of Korea.”

“Everyone is doing so well on their own without me even asking them to. I’m very pleased.”

I was so satisfied that I thought that creating Black Bear and managing the information team was the best thing I had done in my business.

Thanks to Black Bear’s mercenaries, I was able to survive in the Middle East and North Korea, and thanks to Black Bear’s information team, I was able to utilize the memories of my past life more easily.

I finished reviewing the data and closed the documents.

“If we subtract our shares and the shares Sovereign Asset Management holds, Chairman Choi Woo-sik and Director Yoon Hyun-joo hold similar shares. Chairman Choi Woo-sik has about 2% more friendly shares?”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to confirm the detailed information.”

Manager Ma lowered his head with a troubled expression.

Manager Ma, who had been studying economics a lot since he became my secretary, was still not great with numbers.

I didn’t hire an economic expert as my secretary, and Eva or Han Gyeong-yeong could do that job, so it wasn’t a big problem.

It was enough for Manager Ma to be a reliable ally by my side, protecting my safety and watching over everything I do, but it still seemed to bother him a little.

I smiled gently as if it was okay and continued.

“Unless we make a tender offer, we will never be able to change this structure.”

It no longer made sense to secretly buy up stocks.

Now that Choi Woo-sik had found out about Yoon Hyun-joo secretly buying KS Group’s stocks under a false name, she needed the shares I held.

“I don’t really need the shares of Sovereign Asset Management, but if they side with Chairman Choi Woo-sik…”

The Chandler brothers who were the owners of Sovereign were more than capable of doing just that.

They would shake hands with the devil himself if there was money to be made.

“Eva is going to Monaco tomorrow, so I think we can just wait and see. I can’t believe that what I started to provoke Chairman Choi Woo-sik has led to this.”

I had never once considered joining hands with Yoon Hyun-joo.

“Do I have any other appointments today?”

“No, you don’t.”

“Then, don’t schedule anything for the next few days. I need to rest for a while. Connect me only with Director Yoon Hyun-joo and any contacts from China, and please handle everything else yourself, Manager Ma. If you can’t handle it, pass it on to me.”

“Yes. Understood. Will you be going to Pyeongchang-dong?”

“Of course. My house in Pyeongchang-dong is more comfortable than the hotel.”

As I watched Manager Ma go out to prepare the car, I got up.

* * *

My plan to rest for a few days ended in just two days.

“They contacted me earlier than I thought.”

Director Yoon Hyun-joo had contacted me to meet. I called her into my Myeong-dong office.

Manager Ma led her into my office.

Yoon Hyun-joo, who had arrived 30 minutes earlier than her appointment, had no color in her face.

Before I could even say hello, Yoon Hyun-joo dropped a bombshell.

“That crazy bastard Choi Woo-sik wants me to get a divorce.”