"Why?" Simon. Keswick's face suddenly turned ugly.

"Because now as long as Tang Huan is satisfied, the chaos in front of him can settle down. If you want to keep fighting, please limit the scope to the company. Youde finally stopped hiding his impatience.

"Without Jardine, how can the commercial interests of British merchants in Xiangjiang be guaranteed?" Simon. Keswick asked rhetorically with a blushing face.

"Then Jardine Matheson's more than 10 billion foreign debts, you have the ability to solve it immediately? This matter was poked out, and the company was almost unable to continue, and what was there to talk about safeguarding interests. Youde snorted.

The famous Fortune magazine in the United States once analyzed in an article that the powers of the United States are listed as Jockey Club, Jardine Matheson, HSBC and the Governor of Hong Kong.

Whether it makes sense or not, it is enough to prove how great the influence of Jardine Matheson in Xiangjiang is.

But Simon, who has clearly lost control of Jardine Matheson and has devalued his status. Keswick, who was still so commanding in front of him, naturally became more and more tired of this uninteresting fellow, so he asked again, "Are you going to greet him?" ”

"I don't have to go, soon, we'll meet at the boardroom." Sensing that the attitude of the new Governor of Hong Kong was becoming more and more cold, Simon. Keswick replied in a muffled voice.

"That's fine." Youde nodded indifferently.

This unwelcome atmosphere made Simon. Keswick couldn't talk any further, he got up and said goodbye, and before getting into the car, he snorted in the direction of the Governor's Mansion, "What a snob." ”

……

"You just used all this fragmented time to complete the master's course?" When the plane was about to arrive in Xiangjiang, Lin Qingbian helped to organize the manuscript. While looking at Tang Huan with bright eyes.

"Exactly. Wait until you get your Ph.D. in your hands. I can be a little more relaxed and free. Tang Huan bowed slightly, and quickly marked the date and version on the manuscript before putting away the golden pen.

"It's amazing." Lin Qingfang's admiration was vividly expressed in the admiration that rushed out of his mouth.

"I have a lot of great things, and you haven't learned it." Tang Huan smiled, making Lin Qingfang's cheeks hot.

"Don't talk about other people's hypocrisy in the future." Lin Qingbian punched Tang Huan twice and said threateningly.

"As long as you don't get into the nitty-gritty. Even if I wanted to say it, there's no chance it wouldn't. Tang Huan snorted, and then quickly changed the topic, "After you arrive in Xiangjiang, you will start to do some necessary training for kung fu films, and you must be mentally prepared to endure hardships." ”

"I understand, you don't have to worry about that." Lin Qingbian nodded.

……

When the plane landed, Lin Qingfang, who was following Tang Huan, just walked to the hatch and hurriedly retreated. "Why are so many people coming to pick you up? It seems that there are still reporters, so I'll go down later. ”

"Okay." Tang Huan agreed. At the same time, he carefully looked at the ground and found that there were dozens of people waiting for him, many of whom were unfamiliar faces.

This arrangement was not planned, and he was not notified in advance, so it seems that there should be a lot of information in it.

Fifty-eight-year-old Youde looked at the young man walking slowly on the gangway with a smile on his face, and he had to deal with the billionaire who had managed to control the largest conglomerate in Hong Kong, and if he could establish some degree of personal friendship between them, it would undoubtedly bring countless benefits.

To be appointed as the Governor of Hong Kong by the British, Youde naturally had to have the basic qualities of "China Expert", be familiar with the customs and cultural traditions of the Chinese, as well as treat people and people, so he wanted to make friends with Tang Huanpan in accordance with the local customs.

In fact, Youde, a diplomat by profession, knew China so well that in 1953 he was sent to Beijing as second secretary of the British Chargé d'Affaires in Beijing.

Thereafter, from 1956 to 1959, he was reassigned to the British Embassy in the United States as First Secretary, but from 1960 to 1962 he worked again as First Secretary at the British Chargé d'Affaires in Beijing.

When China began to restore formal diplomatic relations with the West, Youde served as British ambassador to China from 1974 to 1978.

It can be said that the reason why Youde was repeatedly commissioned by the British to deal with Far Eastern affairs was determined from the stage of his higher education.

In 1942, at the age of 18, Youde was admitted to the University of London and studied Chinese at the Institute of Oriental and African Studies, laying an early foundation for the language.

In 1943, Youde left the University of London to join the Royal Volunteer Reserve Navy, participated in World War II, and in 1945, he went to Chongqing to serve, passing through the Xiangjiang River on the way, a military career that ended in 1946.

Thereafter, Youde joined the British Foreign Office in 1947 and was sent to China in 1948 as Third Secretary at the British Embassies in Beijing and Beijing.

It was at this moment that the young Youde made a name for himself and made great contributions to Britain through his performance in crisis public relations in an important historical event, the Purple Quartz incident.

After the Opium War in the mid-19th century, Britain successively obtained colonial privileges from China such as coastal trade and inland navigation through a series of unequal treaties such as the Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing and the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin.

During the Second World War, the Chinese government and the British government signed the Sino-British New Treaty in January 1943, abolishing a series of British privileges in China, including coastal trade and inland navigation.

But there is one thing, the United States has received special preferential treatment.

Seeing this scene, the British Far East business interests, which had enjoyed privileges in China for more than 100 years and plundered the benefits for more than a century, were sour in their hearts and refused to give up, so they put pressure on their own governments.

In this way, the British government openly expressed its deep displeasure at its exclusion from the "free trade of inland waterways".

At the end of 1948, during the Huaihai Campaign, Britain once again sought navigation rights and military presence in China's inland waterways, and sailed on the Yangtze River from the sea to the south of Beijing, as well as stationed in Nanjing.

April 1949. It was the time when millions of heroes crossed the Yangtze River. The Chinese People's Liberation Army issued an announcement. Foreign ships were asked to withdraw from the fighting zone by 20 April. U.S. warships evacuated Nanjing. However, British warships continued to be stationed in Nanjing and maintained rotation.

In the early morning of 20 April, the frigate "Purple Quartz" of the British Far East Fleet, flying the British flag and the British Navy flag, sailed into the planned river-crossing operation area of the 10th Corps of the Third Field Army of the People's Liberation Army.

When the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the north shore fired a warning shot, the arrogant Purple Quartz unfurled a large British flag to identify itself, continued to sail upstream, and pointed its guns at the north shore.

In this way, the PLA artillery began to shoot at the Purple Quartz, and the Purple Quartz immediately fired back.

As a result, the bridge and engine room of the Purple Quartz were hit by multiple shells. The captain and co-captain were wounded and ran aground near a sandbar near the south shore out of control.

After receiving a radio call for help from the Purple Quartz, the destroyer "Mate" set out from Nanjing and tried to come to the rescue, which led to another exchange of fire between the two sides, and the Mate was injured and had to flee at high speed.

After discovering that the matter was serious, Vice Admiral Madden, deputy commander of the Far East Fleet of the British Navy, hurriedly personally commanded the heavy cruiser "London" and led the frigate "Black Swan" to come to the rescue for the second time.

So there was a Purple Quartz incident between the two sides. The largest artillery battle, the London was badly damaged. Realizing that a forced rescue of the Purple Quartz would only result in more serious casualties, Madden was defeated.

Seeing that it was impossible to forcibly rescue the Purple Quartz, the British side sought negotiations.

It was at this time that Youde stepped onto the stage of history, recommended himself to his superiors, participated in negotiations, and mediated many times with the PLA front-line commanders in Chinese, and the Purple Quartz, which had been repaired and respited, fled overnight at the end of July taking advantage of the typhoon to make the river tide.

The Purple Quartz incident caused a large number of casualties on both sides of the conflict, and it is conceivable that China's losses were even more serious.

Now China can only rely on cheap labor to obtain economic development opportunities, and more than 30 years ago, it could only rely on the fearless spirit of sacrifice to win dignity and liberation for itself.

In any case, the Purple Quartz incident marked the end of the "gunboat policy" of Western powers in China since the Opium War, and Britain had to change its "gunboat" mentality against China for more than 100 years.

Of course, Britain still had to save face, and at home promoted the successful escape of the "Purple Quartz" as a great adventure, and some even praised this incident as a miracle in naval history, comparing it to the Dunkirk evacuation.

However, the British government was also concerned about a possible hardline backlash from China, so it asked the relevant parties to lower the tone of propaganda, and in January 1950 announced that it recognized the government of the People's Republic of China.

As for Youde personally, he was awarded the MBE title by the British Court for meritorious service, which can be regarded as a combination of personal success and historical opportunity.

After taking office, Yude, who faced the major event of the fall of Jardine Matheson, could not help but study Tang Huan, who had a complex background.

Combined with decades of experience in dealing with Chinese since the Purple Quartz incident, he found that although Tang Huan enjoyed capitalism in the United States for many years, he still maintained some of the characteristics of his ancestors in his bones.

If someone offends me, I will be decisive in killing others - it is because of the interception of several assets that Tang Huan has fancied and the formation of personal grievances that Jardine has caused a catastrophe.

The fearless spirit of sacrifice - billions of funds, smashed over without blinking an eye, and directly crushed Jardine Matheson.

Although the courage of tens of millions of people - Jardine Matheson is definitely deep-rooted in Xiangjiang, but once Tang Huan makes a move, he is not afraid of any force and will not give up until he achieves his goal.

In the face of such Tang Huan, the scheming Youde decided to overcome rigidity with softness, play the emotional card, and come to greet the other party arriving in Hong Kong with a private identity.

You must know that after Youde took office, in addition to showing off his image of being close to the people in public, he was basically waiting for others to visit, and this time he came to the airport, which can definitely be called modest and low-key.

Zhou Mi quickly greeted the gangway and introduced in a low voice, "That old man is the new Hong Kong Governor Youde, and he suddenly asked to come to greet you in a private capacity, which surprised everyone, and it means to make friends, and he also brought media reporters, but you have to deal with it carefully." ”

Tang Huan bowed slightly, for the new Hong Kong governor sent by the British to Xiangjiang, he had naturally done his homework a long time ago, after all, according to the historical trajectory, he had to deal with the other party for several years.

With a slight wave of his hand, Zhou Mi immediately got out of the way, walked to Tang Huan, who walked to the front, quickened his pace and responded to Youde, and at the same time stretched out his hand early, and said in English with a smile: "Sir Youde, I am very frightened that you have come to greet you." ”

Youde was awarded the KCMG in 1977, and Tang Huan addressed him by this title rather than his position, which was a test of his intentions.

"Mr. Tang is polite, I have admired your name for a long time." Youde, the Chinese Tongzhen, is not false, and directly uses fluent Chinese to greet Tang Huan.

Tang Huan smiled loudly, cooperated with Youde, and asked the media reporters to take pictures, and it is estimated that the news that the new Hong Kong Governor has reached a consensus with himself on the matter of Jardine Matheson will soon be put in the newspaper for interpretation.

For the sake of Youde coming to greet him, Tang Huan gave this face happily.

Youde came to see Tang Huan in such a hurry, mainly to get to the bottom of it before Tang Huan and his subordinates in Xiangjiang met and exchanged resolutions on Jardine, and it was best to reach a consensus, if some kind of persuasion could be carried out, it would naturally be better.

Therefore, after boarding the business car that came to greet Tang Huan, Youde said frankly: "Mr. Tang should be in Xiangjiang this time mainly to deal with the follow-up affairs of the successful acquisition of Jardine Matheson, right?" ”

"That's true." Tang Huan told him calmly.

"I don't know, what is Mr. Tang's principle?" Youde looked at Tang Huan with a smile.

"As long as the British shareholders recognize the reality and do not deliberately cause trouble, I am willing to promise to protect their business interests in Jardine Matheson." Tang Huan made a clear statement.

It must be admitted that the leather of Jardine Matheson is still very useful, for example, it will always be more convenient to invest in Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth regions in its name.

Of course, the premise is that the British in Jardine are willing to contribute, and this can only rely on the use of power.

Speaking of this, Tang Huan accentuated his tone, "Originally, I didn't intend to master Jardine, the No. 1 consortium in Xiangjiang, but there was no turning back when I opened the bow, and the matter has come to this, and if I sit in this position, then I will not shirk the corresponding responsibility." ”

Tang Huan looked at Youde and smiled slightly, "For example, although Jardine Matheson owes more than 10 billion outside, the development plan of the Queen's Garden lot that it negotiated with the Hong Kong government will not skip the ticket, and I can transfer my own funds from the United States." ”

Hearing this, Youde couldn't help but perk up, and said in his heart that such a conversation atmosphere was enough to show that Tang Huan could still sit down and communicate well, otherwise he would be playing tricks on the development progress, and he really had nothing to do except be anxious.

"Mr. Tang's willingness to face up to his responsibilities as the head of the First Consortium in Hong Kong is really admirable." You Dehui gave a compliment without difficulty.

"It should." Tang Huan's smile was a little meaningful, only he knew what the meaning of this "responsibility of the first consortium in Xiangjiang" contained. (To be continued......)