Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 944 Forming a group? Anyone can do that!

Liu Qiangdong still had some doubts. He turned to Lei Jun and asked, "Why did Chen Mo only stop the core business of the other side? If it were me, I would simply stop all the companies I control, that would make a bigger splash."

“Stop it now,” Lei Jun chuckled. “If you really do that, it’s not a statement, it’s a strike.”

"Then we should unite even more to help the other side share the firepower. If the capital behind the ants can band together, why can't we? There's no reason for that!"

"The more companies participate in the shutdown and maintenance, the safer we are, and the clearer our stance will be."

"Mr. Lei's thinking is indeed far-sighted."

Lei Jun gave a mysterious smile, "Actually, we can also use this to test the attitudes of the other two companies."

Which two?

"Baidu and Tencent."

Liu Qiangdong's eyes lit up. "You mean to drag those two guys into this too?"

“How can you call it ‘dragging someone down’?” Lei Jun raised an eyebrow. “It’s called ‘persuading someone to come ashore’.”

"Yes, yes, we should persuade them to come ashore."

The two bigwigs exchanged a smile and then demonstrated their exceptional execution capabilities.

The two quickly divided the tasks and began making calls one by one.

Wang Wei, Wang Tao, and Yu Donglai agreed to join without any hesitation.

Finally, it was time to find someone to persuade Robin and Pony.

After some discussion, everyone decided that Lei Jun would personally contact Baidu; while Tencent's headquarters, which is located in Shenzhen and has frequent exchanges with SF Express and DJI, would be visited by Wang Wei and Wang Tao together.

Lei Jun proved to be "two men in one," and with his excellent eloquence and persuasiveness, Baidu delivered good news in less than two hours—agreeing to participate in the maintenance shutdown.

After all, the cooperation between the other side and Baidu in the field of AI technology has entered a deep phase, with their interests deeply intertwined and their fortunes mutually dependent.

At this level, everyone understands the seriousness of the matter; the interests are sought amidst danger.

Shenzhen, Tencent headquarters.

"I understand the reasoning, but please allow me to consider it further. Regardless of whether I ultimately participate or not, I will give you an answer before tonight."

After seeing Wang Wei and Wang Tao off, Brother Ma returned to his office and let out a long sigh.

Chen Mo really knows how to give him a tough time.

To stop or not to stop? This is not just a technical maintenance issue, but a choice of sides, a strategic decision concerning Tencent's future.

Tencent's success today is inseparable from its long-held survival philosophy: to keep a low profile, to be humble, and to act cautiously.

Even when they collaborated with Bi'an to plan for the ride-hailing market, it was largely based on their personal relationship with Chen Mo and a tacit understanding.

But he also clearly felt the positive changes brought about by the cooperation with the other side in recent years—whether it was the growth in performance, the morale of the company's employees, or the improvement in operational efficiency.

A storm raged in Pony Ma's mind as he couldn't help but recall the days when he was at odds with Alibaba and the other side of the strait.

The answer is obvious: he would rather continue to deal with Lao Ma than go back to the days of fighting with that "mad dog".

Even now, he still feels lingering fear when he thinks about it.

He looked at the report on the "Biten Esports World Cup" on the screen, and then thought about the possibility of further cooperation that Wang Wei and Wang Tao had hinted at in their words.
Finally, Little Ma gritted his teeth and couldn't help but mutter in Cantonese, "Damn it! That jerk Chen Mo really knows how to give me a hard time."

Internet companies with a market value of over 100 billion yuan can never remain unaffected; it's no secret that behind the other side lies the capital city.

If you can't beat them, join them.

In a market economy, survival and development are the only fundamental principles.

Between the other side and Alibaba, Pony Ma already had the answer in his heart.

Because Chen Mo is different.

Besides, it's only a one-hour shutdown, not a whole day. There will be some impact, but it's acceptable.

Moreover, given this relationship, Chen Mo will appreciate it.

Having made up his mind, he quickly picked up the internal phone and said decisively, "Pass the word down: all senior executives will have an emergency meeting in ten minutes!"

Hangzhou, September 14th, morning.

The news of Ant Group's IPO registration being approved seems to mark a significant end to the hard work of the past few days. In Jack Ma's view, the listing is a done deal, just waiting for the procedures to be completed.

A huge weight was finally lifted off his shoulders.

He then chaired several important meetings, focusing on further developments in areas such as mobile social networking, gaming, and cloud computing—planning ahead has always been his habit.

Once Ant Group goes public, the huge amount of funds raised must be efficiently transformed into market competitiveness, which is something he, as the helmsman of Alibaba, must plan ahead of time.

More importantly, the signal from the top leadership is very clear.

Next, in the direct confrontation with the other side, Ali will be caught in a pincer movement.

Even if Chen Mo is incredibly capable and goes against the tide, he will ultimately be swept into the dustbin of history.

He envisions the digital economy entering an unprecedented golden age, making Alibaba's 102-year history no longer a distant dream.
Therefore, in his eyes, the shutdown announcement issued by the other side was nothing more than a bluff by Chen Mo out of desperation.

"Shut down? Who are you trying to scare?" he thought to himself. "What can a mere hour do? If they dare to shut down for a whole day, I'll admire their audacity."

If we were to stop for even a day, it would be tantamount to handing over the market to them.

Unfortunately, it was only an hour, which was too short.

At this moment, he is focused on revising his speech for the upcoming Davos Forum.

In such international settings, although the content of guests' speeches needs to be reviewed, for veterans like Lao Ma who are good at improvisation and "preaching without a script," the script is always just a framework; what they really want to express is outside the framework.

He has always been known as a "dreamer" and "evangelist," and this time, he also wants to personally deliver a final blessing for Ant Group's IPO.

Just then, there was a rapid knock on the office door.

Old Ma frowned. "Go in!"

"Mr. Ma, something terrible has happened!" The assistant practically rushed in, his voice frantic. "Xiaomi... Xiaomi has issued an announcement!"

"What's the panic?" Old Ma interrupted impatiently. "What's wrong with Xiaomi? Are they going to go head-to-head with Apple again at next month's launch event?"

"No! They just released a system maintenance notice, and the time is exactly the same as the other side!"

Old Ma's eyes flashed with sarcasm, "Lei Jun and Chen Mo are like brothers, what's so strange about that?"

In times of great importance, one must remain calm. Why panic over such a minor disturbance? Get out of here, don't disturb my writing. Next time, remember to knock."

"Yes"

Half an hour later, there was another knock on the door.

Old Ma put down his pen in frustration, his train of thought interrupted once again, and his face showed displeasure: "What is it now?"

"JD.com, SF Express, DJI, and Pangdonglai have all just issued announcements that they will be performing maintenance at the same time!"

This news was important, which softened Old Ma's expression slightly. He snorted coldly, "They're all birds of a feather, not surprising. I understand, get out."

He was surprised by the follow-up from these companies, but he could understand it and it was still within an acceptable range. After all, these companies had long been a community of interests, which was no secret.

But just as he picked up his pen again, the door was pushed open once more.

"Is this never going to end? Going back and forth like this, do you think this is a city gate?" He looked up, suppressing his anger, only to see Cai Chongxin standing at the door.

"Why are you so angry?" Tsai Chung-hsin walked in with a smile.

"It's you. I thought it was Xiaoying. What brings you here?"

"Have you heard about them banding together for 'system maintenance'?"

"Yes, I just found out."

"What if Baidu and Tencent also want to join?" Joseph Tsai asked calmly.

"Baidu and Tencent?!"

Old Ma's pupils dilated, and the pen in his hand quietly fell onto the manuscript paper. He could understand the reason for this.

But Tencent? How is that possible?

How dare Xiao Ma?

(End of this chapter)