……

On March 12, the Bank of Baring, the world's second-oldest commercial bank, announced that it had accepted the acquisition of Olympus Group at a symbolic price of $1. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At the same time, Olympus Group announced that Bank of Bahrain has changed its name to "Bahrain Asset Management" and continues to gain a foothold in the financial industry as a member of the group.

This day is exactly two weeks after the Bank of Bahrain declared bankruptcy.

During this period, customers who are worried about their assets being wiped out, as well as employees who have temporarily stopped paying their salaries, can be described as panicking and living like a year; Now that the dust has finally settled, I can't help but feel a mixture of joy and sorrow.

The outside world was a little surprised by this, and it was possible for the old Bahrain family to find a "relation" to operate to protect their own interests to the greatest extent, rather than throwing themselves into the arms of the richest man and the Onassis family, who had no friendships to talk about.

It can only be said that in this investment failure disaster, which seems to be the culprit on the surface, the derelict Bahrain family committed public anger and lost trust.

The next day, another piece of news was revealed as if a congratulatory gift: Nick Leeson, who had been missing, was arrested in Thailand and was about to be extradited back to Singapore to face trial.

One has to sigh: it's all over, it's unbelievably dizzying!

Some British media muttered sourly - how rich is the richest man in Tang, who dares to fill such a big hole?

As a result, they became even more unbalanced.

In addition to his base camp in the United States, Tang has two major investments in the world - Qinhe Yijia in Asia and the Olympus Group in Europe.

The former was developed from the Jardine Matheson family, the first consortium in the British Far East; And the latter, the husband-and-wife shop of the richest man in the Tang Dynasty and the female ship king, has conquered cities in Britain - Durham Castle and Jaguar cars are all owned by others.

Calculated in this way, the industrial scale of Tang's richest man in the UK is really scary!

……

After Tang Huan assigned his capable subordinates to liquidate and dispose of Bahrain's assets, he came to Russia non-stop to meet with Karma Chin to talk about the aircraft carrier.

Everyone is familiar with each other, so there is no need to go around in circles.

Mr. The richest man said straight to the point: "Your Excellency, you must have lost patience with those three aircraft carriers that have been shelved for a long time, but you have not thought about the choice of who to sell them to. ”

"I've heard that your army is not going very well in Chechnya."

"Without modesty in speaking, with this deal, I can give you what you need most - dollars."

Tang Huan said it so directly, which made Karma Qin's expression a little unnatural. Gain, in the eyes of those who understand, to cover up and justify it will only add to the joke.

Among the complicated situations in Russia, there was another one last year -- the Chechen War, which broke out in December 1994 and has been going on for several months now. As a result, Russia suffered heavy losses, thousands of soldiers died, and even high-ranking generals like Major General Viktor Vorobyov were on the list of casualties.

Although Chechen is only a small place between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, its geographical location is very important, and it can be called the choke point in and out of the Caucasus. The pipeline from Central Asia to Europe will also have to pass through here, and once blocked, Russia's economic losses will be quite serious.

Therefore, firmly controlling Chechen will inevitably be a national policy that Russia has always attached importance to.

In other words, no matter how heavy the losses, Karma Chin must conquer Chechen; Otherwise, his prestige as president will be seriously challenged, even jeopardizing his next term.

There are many reasons why the small car is so difficult to fight.

First of all, from the military aspect, there are capable people on Chechen's side. Its leader, Dzhokhar Dudayev, served as a helicopter pilot after joining the army during the Soviet era, and rose all the way up to major general; In 1987, he was the commander of a long-range bomber division in Estonia.

Because Dzhokhar Dudayev had supported Karma Chin during the August 19 incident, his leadership in Chechen was recognized by Russia soon after. Even in the process of Russia's complete withdrawal from the various deployments in Chechen during the Soviet era, many things fell into the hands of Dzhokhar Dudayev and became his capital.

On the other hand, the Russian army, which already had many problems in terms of command structure, combat effectiveness, and morale, actually underestimated the enemy -- when the Russian army launched an attack on December 11, 1994, Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev threatened that "the war will end before December 20." As a result, the Russian army was mired in guerrilla warfare and street fighting in Chechen.

Political~political factors should also not be ignored -- the Chechen issue was used as a bargaining chip in Russia's internal power struggle.

Take Karma Chin as an example, he has met with Dzhokhar Dudayev several times, and he is gullible to the other party's so-called "we only want to establish our own democratic~autonomous republic, but we have no intention of establishing independence from Russia~, nor do we intend to turn our face with Russia, we intend to maintain peace and friendship with Russia."

In 1993, after the constitutional crisis in Russia, Karma Qin, who had successfully overthrown the parliament and monopolized power, finally had the strength to manage the gradually distant Chechen.

The differences between the military and the military, whether in parliament or in the military, have never really been resolved – for example, on January 4 of this year, Karma Chin had to order a halt to the bombing of Grozny, the capital of Chechen.

In this way, this round of Russia's military operation in Chechen has become a pot of raw rice; And in the end, among the factors that determine whether it can be cooked, money inevitably becomes an unavoidable problem.

The meaning of the richest man could not be more straightforward - can Russia and India do business more efficiently than me? Can you be more generous than me when doing business with South Korea?

Karma Chin's presidential throne, so to speak, is arched all the way by the army, and of course he will attach great importance to the issue of military spending.

It's just that the Russian president still has some doubts about the strength of the richest man, and hesitates: "Don, can you really afford it?" ”

"Of course - it will be clearer when the payment is made!" Tang Huan nodded proudly, "Both Novorossiysk and Minsk have been in service for more than ten years. Their value in my eyes is no different from the Kiev that was bought for $13 million before, and if it is not dismantled into scrap metal, then use the gimmick to build an aircraft carrier hotel. ”

"As for the Gorshkov, I am indeed willing and able to buy it for $1 billion."

"And don't forget that the successful acquisition of the Gorshkov is not the end, I also have to hire a considerable number of Russian professionals to follow up and guide, as well as the subsequent procurement of arms."

"Then it is better to leave the modification of the Gorshkov to us as well - the Severodvinsk shipyard is fully capable of this job." Karma Chin turned the subject to a glaring disagreement in the negotiation process.

"I can understand His Excellency the President's desire to increase employment opportunities, but as far as I know, the Severodvinsk shipyard should be best at submarines, not aircraft carriers. I think it would be better for the Gorshkov to return to the Black Sea Shipyard in Nikolaev, Ukraine, where the construction of the project began. Mr. The richest man gently insisted: "Of course, the Russian side will definitely get involved." ”

"In this way, if the Gorshkov can be refitted and put into service in one year as required, I will reward an additional $100 million to be shared by Russia and Ukraine."

Karma Chin still couldn't hold back, and was shocked by the arrogance of the richest man. He couldn't help but remind: "Tang, your letting the Funan Navy get the Gorshkov is tantamount to breaking the military balance in that area, and I am afraid it will cause a series of uneasy emotions." ”

Tang Huan stretched out his palm, looked at the five fingers, and asked lightly, "So, will Russia object?" ”

Karma Chin laughed and said, "We're just selling things. ”

"That's no objection." Tang Huan put down his hand, "I think, as a friend, Russia will also help to cover up, right?" ”

"I hope so." Karma Qin was silent for a moment before he said, "Don't forget, there are also bidders from South Korea and India. When they return disappointed, it is inevitable that they will not exaggerate it.

"Then it doesn't matter - I'll just buy mine." Tang Huan spread his hands indifferently.

"Don is really free-spirited." After Karma Qin sent a compliment, he asked curiously, "Tang, can you reveal how you positioned Funan, which you have carefully armed?" Like Annan once did, dominate the Indochina Peninsula? ”

"I'm not that stupid." Tang Huan laughed, "I'm just here to defend the results of my social experiments." ”

"Social experiments?" Karma Chin picked up the Russian version of "The Road to the Future" on the coffee table, "Is that what it mentions?" ”

Seeing the richest man smiling and churning, Karma Qin subconsciously flipped "The Road to the Future", and at the same time tasted the meaning of the words, but he still couldn't figure it out - it is not like saying that Tang Huan is a careerist who is keen on power and politics ~ governance; But although the Gorshkov cannot be compared with the American aircraft carrier, it costs a lot of money to even "buy" and "raise", so there must be a plan.

Shaking his head slightly, Karma Qin retracted his thoughts - he was still too busy with a large number of things, where could he take care of those influences that were thousands of miles away. Anyway, it doesn't threaten Russia yet!

Thinking of this, Karma Qin spoke: "Tang, I have to say that your personal charm is impressive - but you still have to show the strength and efficiency you are talking about. ”

"No problem." Tang Huan waved his hand briskly, "After signing the agreement, I will pay $300 million immediately, how about it?" ”

Karma Chin smiled with satisfaction: "Then I will send the representatives of South Korea, India, etc. away." ”

……

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be concealed, and it is difficult to hide it -- Mr. the richest man, who is preparing to build an aircraft carrier hotel with great fanfare, has actually arranged a deal for the Funan Navy to purchase a Russian aircraft carrier.

In the midst of all kinds of surprises, Southeast Asian countries cannot be calm.

First of all, Annan, the opponent with a history of aggression against Funan, has raised a loud voice of opposition -- and everyone has finally normalized relations.

Siam, the neighbor who once fought side by side with Funan, is not happy - even if you want to defend Phu Quoc, which is disputed with Annam, there is no need to get an aircraft carrier, right? Isn't the Gulf of Siam your bathtub?

Malaysia is also anxious – it's the equivalent of a big tiger in your backyard!

Indonesia is a little red-eyed - my boss doesn't have an aircraft carrier, but you got one, what do you mean?

Singapore, which guards the southern exit of the Straits of Malacca, has a rather ambiguous ~ ambiguous attitude -- 25 pirate incidents were registered in the waters off Malacca last year, and perhaps with an aircraft carrier, the deterrent effect will be enhanced.

The rest either echoed a few words, or remained silent on the sidelines.

No matter how noisy it is, can it still rise to the level of alarming the vote of the five permanent members of the United Nations?

Funan is going to decide on this aircraft carrier, and even the number has been determined, which is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia - Tonle Sap Lake.

In desperation, these noisy stakeholders with red faces and thick necks can only be sarcastic in the end -- Funan, whose domestic economy has only improved, actually seeks to own aircraft carriers without doing its best? Even if you can afford it, can you afford it? Sooner or later, there will be a day when you go bankrupt and go out of business!

Much of the outside world agrees with each other – and this may be another anecdote this year after the Bank of Bahrain was brought down by a small trader.

It's just that since the richest man has done it, does he still care what others say?

……

After finalizing the matter of the aircraft carrier for the first time, Tang Huan had the leisure to use the gimmick of promoting "The Road to the Future" to be accompanied by Neligin to gather and chat with the elites of the Russian sports and academic circles -- he was only responsible for retreat, and those "pragmatic" business and shady things were not touched at all.

One of the obvious manifestations of the Russian economy's "shock therapy" is the inadequacy of the state welfare system.

For example, retired Olympic champions often have a difficult life. Among them, there are many people who Tang Huan knew at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which cannot but make people sigh.

In this regard, the richest man asked Neligin to select some available people and hire him to work in the sports clubs he invested in the United States and other places, which is the best of both worlds, each taking what he needs.

In short, Tang Huan dressed himself up with a warm fragrance, which was very different from those businessmen who also came from the West, but were covered in copper stench—this has already formed a reputation.

Because he had plenty of time to come to Russia this time, after the richest man left Moscow, he came to the second stop, St. Petersburg, with a bookish atmosphere, and was warmly received by the mayor of the city, Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak, and the first deputy mayor, Vladimir Vladimirovich Lisboa.