Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

Western money is not easy to get. If you cheat them, these people may take your life.

Take a simple example.

2010年，惠普希望从硬件生产商转型为软件和服务提供商，因此看中了绅士国软件公司Autonomy。2011年10月，惠普以54.4亿英镑（约103亿美元）收购了Autonomy 87.34%的股份。

After the acquisition, HP discovered signs of creative accounting practices at Autonomy, such as selling low-end hardware at a loss and recording these transactions as licensing revenue for Autonomy's IDOL software. This discovery forced HP to slash Autonomy's value by more than $50 billion and triggered a wave of shareholder lawsuits, which, crucially, have remained unsuccessful after 13 years.

In the early morning of August 2024, 8, the luxury yacht Bayes, carrying Autonomy boss Mike Lynch, sank off the coast of Sicily and Lynch died.

That same day, Lynch's vice president of finance was killed in a car accident while out for a run.

This series of bizarre deaths has sparked a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories, but there is currently no conclusive evidence to show a direct causal relationship between them and the HP acquisition.

However, many truths are often hidden in the mist of history.

In order to avoid future risks, Hu Zhenhua decided to provide some compensation to these investors.

The first compensation was porcelain. Hu Zhenhua gave them a long-term agency contract of more than 20 years. No matter what price they sold in the West, Hu Zhenhua's factory price was only doubled based on the cost. This price was quite "generous".

The second compensation was that Lao Hu asked them to stock up on arms and other supplies, and promised them a minimum guarantee.

The third compensation is a large number of purchase orders. Although the annual purchase amount is not large, the cycle is as long as twenty years.

With these three tricks, I believe that even if something happens in the future, these guys will not fight to the death.

The banquet lasted from noon to night, but many guests were still not interested.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, Hu Zhenhua had just returned to the gate of his residence when he saw two cars parked at the door. Judging from the license plates, they should belong to the consulate.

Hu Zhenhua got out of the car and walked over in person.

Carter said with a sour face,

"boarding!"

The car Carter was riding in was a Chrysler, which could accommodate 2+2+3 people. Carter and a white man sat in the middle. After Lao Hu got in the car, he sat in the last row, leaning forward slightly to make it easier to talk.

Zhuge Lin wanted to get on the bus, but was stopped because Carter was fluent in Chinese and could act as an interpreter. Moreover, Hu Zhenhua could also speak some English.

There wasn't even a driver in the car, and no one was allowed to approach within 50 meters of the car, which shows how seriously and cautiously Carter took this meeting.

Hu Zhenhua had just sat down when the white man said coldly,

"Hu Zhenhua, I want you to give me an explanation as to why you're spending so much effort raising funds!"

The tone was as cold as the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, without a trace of emotion.

Hu Zhenhua looked at Carter, hoping that he could introduce who the person in front of him was, but Carter looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, like an old monk in meditation, and did not say a word.

This attitude made Lao Hu's heart tremble slightly.

This is a test!

If you can't pass, you're doomed!

Hu Zhenhua calmed down and said,

"Before answering this question, I would like to talk about my views on the situation in the next few years!"

Lao Hu leaned back on the leather seat, took out a cigarette, lit it slowly, and then started to fool people.

"A country is like a giant ship; it's hard to turn around. Take the Red Party's foreign policy, for example. It's not something that can be decided by any one person on a whim, but rather the result of the collective cognition of the Red leadership. If we want to change its foreign policy, there are two options: first, a conflict between the Russians and the Reds. Second, we can change the Reds' understanding of the free world, letting them know that capitalism is not a scourge."

Hu Zhenhua paused for a moment, took a breath, and continued,

"Neither of these two options will bear fruit in a short period of time. Currently, China is negotiating with Russia, and my judgment is that they will inevitably have major disagreements, but will ultimately compromise. This is because they are facing pressure from the free world. Peace benefits both sides, while conflict will lead to both sides losing!"

After hearing this, the white man finally spoke and asked,

"How do you think the United States will respond?"

"We'll deal with it as we must. I guess the United States will once again show goodwill to the Reds and give the Russians some cold shoulder."

“Is this why you’re raising funds?”

Hu Zhenhua shook his head.

"Of course not! I just said that the two countries will definitely compromise with each other. Moreover, using such a large sum of money to show goodwill is too costly."

The white man was confused and asked,

"What's your reason?"

Hu Zhenhua did not answer, but said with a smile,

"Please keep me in suspense for a moment. Let's continue discussing the current situation. After these two major socialist countries unite, their momentum will surge, and they will inevitably embark on an expansionist mode. Inspired by them, other colonies around the world will inevitably launch national liberation movements. In this situation, the free world will be on the defensive! How should we respond?"

Carter thought for a moment and said,

"Is it possible that we are going to start a war?"

Hu Zhenhua nodded slightly and said firmly,

"That's right! Fighting one or two proxy wars is an inevitable option. However, since the proxy wars are too weak, the United States may have to intervene personally to save the situation."

"However, I must remind you that the scale of the war must be controlled. Otherwise, if the Soviet Union and the Red Army are forced to retreat, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Carter laughed and asked,

"I understand you're talking about avoiding conflict with the Russians, but as for the red side, haha!"

Hu Zhenhua said very seriously,

"We must control the scale of the war!"

Carter still had a contemptuous smile on his face.

"Their weapons and equipment are one or two generations behind those of the United States. If they think they can defeat us, they're dreaming!"

Hu Zhenhua's tone remained serious.

"We must control the scale of the war!"

"Can you please stop saying this?"

"We must control the scale of the war!"

Important things must be said three times!

Hu Zhenhua has fulfilled his obligation to remind you. Good advice cannot persuade a damned ghost. When you are embarrassed in the future, you will know how far-sighted we, old Hu, are.

"Hu, please stop saying that all the time!"

Hu Zhenhua shrugged and said helplessly,

"Okay, I've already anticipated the outcome. One of these two countries will definitely be dragged into this. Especially China, which borders South Korea, Southeast Asia, and several other countries. If the United States touches upon the interests of the Red Army, they will inevitably send troops. Once a war breaks out, the relationship between the two countries will be irreparable for at least ten years. At this time, it's up to my service area to play a role!"

"What does it do?"

Hu Zhenhua grinned and said,

"My over 400 service areas house high-end shopping malls, entertainment centers, cinemas, and a dazzling array of merchandise. With such a high-end commercial center nestled amidst widespread poverty, what do you think will happen?"

The white man exclaimed and shouted,

"Wait, aren't you building a service area? How is it related to a commercial center?"

“Who says a service area can’t be a commercial center?”

White man: ￥%……

It made so much sense that he couldn't refute it.

Hu Zhenhua suddenly realized that the US top brass did not seem to be very clear about his idea of ​​the service area. He really didn't know what the intelligence agency was doing. They didn't even collect such important intelligence. You know, Lao Hu had talked about the service area plan with hundreds of people.

No, there’s no way the Intelligence Bureau didn’t know about this. Maybe they just didn’t report it at all!

Old Hu has wronged Jimla. That guy did report it, but the General Administration was busy with more important things, so minor information like this would often be suppressed.

Information gap exists at all times!

Hu Zhenhua didn't expect such a big mistake to happen. He had to spend more time and energy to elaborate on his idea of ​​the service area.