As if the schedule was calculated, the tour to Michigan was just in time for the "alma mater" anniversary.

As a well-known Asian-American graduate, and right in Michigan, Lee Weimin naturally couldn't be absent. After participating in the celebrations, holding a small fundraiser, thanking "his alma mater for giving him the knowledge to hold several humanitarian positions now," he rushed back to Detroit to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

It is worth mentioning that the president, professors and alumni officially proposed to change the name of the university at the event.

Michigan University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences is about to become Michigan State University, and many of its professors' business cards have been changed, but if you want to officially change your name as a public university, you need to get approval from the Michigan State Assembly.

Just an undergraduate, neither a doctor nor a professor, and no need for a loud diploma to find a job, Li Weimin was not interested in changing the name of the school, and according to the previously drawn up list of people who must be visited, he rushed to the headquarters of Ford Motor Company with Liu Jiachang and Chen Shiguo.

The current president, Robert S. McNamara, has seen the "Freedom Road" movie, has been invited to the "Freedom Road" concert, and participated in the investment promotion meeting of Vietnam Industrial Estate Investment Company. I think movies and music are good, but investing in Vietnam is too risky, especially for a car manufacturer like Ford.

They have been invited three times, and now they can't help but receive them.

McNamara put down his work and personally went downstairs to invite the three of them into the reception room, and planned to personally accompany the Vietnamese guests to visit a factory closest to the headquarters.

Attracting investment is the same as pursuing the girl you like, you need a shameless, two, three or shameless spirit.

After thanking Ford for its hospitality, Li Weimin said straight to the point: "Mr. President, if you travel to Saigon once, you will find that the Vietnamese automobile market is not small. In fact, in addition to local demand, it is also able to radiate to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, just as South Africa radiates to the whole of Africa.

The young King of Cambodia and several princes of Laos all received primary or secondary education in Saigon and lived in Saigon for a long time. It's just that they received a French-style education, and most of the goods imported from Saigon in their country came from Europe, especially France. ”

Chen Shiguo took out a photo album of street photos from his bag, and while looking through it for him, he introduced: "Mr. President, the number of cars in Saigon exceeds 2,000,000, and if you count the cities of Hue, Da Nang, Vung Tau, Bien Hoa, Bak Lieu and Di Thi, it may exceed 5,000. With the national independence and industrial village plan rolled out, it is believed that the demand for automobiles from the government, companies and individuals will increase, and it is a very potential emerging market. ”

It's all French cars, and there are very few American cars.

McNamara crossed his arms and smiled and asked, "Gentlemen, does this mean that Ford should open a car dealership in Saigon?" ”

"If you want to."

Li Weimin smiled and said bluntly: "But we would prefer to get your company's help, such as in the procurement of auto parts." We have cheap labor and can train skilled workers, if you put some parts in our country for production, it will definitely greatly reduce your company's vehicle cost.

More importantly, China is rich in rubber, there are many rubber plantations, there are enough raw materials, and it is completely possible to produce car tires on the spot. If Mr. President is willing to invest in an automobile assembly plant in our country, we will be more welcome and grateful. ”

McNamara is a top student at the University of California, Berkeley, who participated in a two-year reserve officer training in school, and was later admitted to Harvard Business School.

In fact, he is indeed very smart.

During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Force grew rapidly, and when Germany launched the Blitzkrieg, the Army had a total of 1,800 planes and 500 pilots, and when Germany invaded France, President Roosevelt issued a call for the United States to produce at least 50,000 aircraft a year.

Overnight, they found out that they were trying to manage one of the largest and most complex "businesses" in the world. At a loss, I didn't know how to manage and arrange, so I had to reach out to Harvard for help.

Harvard Business School signed a contract with the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the team of "smart people" who included him quickly helped the Army establish an initial management system and at the same time help the Army train statistics and management officers.

Thanks to their efforts, it didn't take long for the staff stationed in the various units to record some basic information, no matter where the U.S. Army planes flew.

For example, the situation of aircraft such as preparation, maintenance, and breakdowns before battle, the type of training, casualties, supplementary needs and other personnel conditions, as well as the number and type of flight missions, attack targets, degree of success, and loss of personnel and equipment. The commander can immediately see an up-to-date chart that records the U.S. Army Air Corps' movements around the world and its weaknesses.

He first entered the War Department as a non-military adviser and was even appointed as an officer.

Henry Ford II admired his performance in the war very much, and as soon as World War II ended, he sent an invitation, and in just a few years as the president of Ford Company, he turned Ford into a profit, and was hailed as a "child prodigy".

McNamara was so smart that he didn't know that investing in Vietnam was a win-win situation, but as someone who had lived through the war, he knew better what political instability meant for investors.

"Gentlemen, this is undoubtedly a good piece of advice, and the key is how I can convince shareholders that it is safe to invest in Vietnam."

"I think Mr. President has made a guarantee."

"Domino?"

"During World War II, Japan occupied the entire Southeast Asian region in a very short period of time, and even endangered Australia and India at one point, and almost joined Germany in the Middle East. The situation is more severe now than it was during World War II, the Russian camp is stronger than the Axis powers, and as you know, the whole free world is helping us, and no one wants to see South Vietnam occupied by the Vietminh. ”

It was impossible for McNamara to make such a decision easily, so he pretended to weigh it and suddenly changed the topic and asked: "Mr. Lee, how many refugees has Operation Freedom Road saved?" ”

Li Weiminke is the executive chairman of the "Joint Conference on Refugee Relief", and he has first-hand data, and said with a solemn face: "As of 5 p.m. Saigon time yesterday, more than 1,486,000 people have been evacuated, and this figure does not include those who have evacuated to the south on their own and are still stranded in the Haiphong refugee camps. ”

"Does this mean that the population of the North and the South is equal, and the general election in two years will not be so easy to lose?"

It turned out that he was worried about this.

Li Weimin was happy and analyzed unprepared: "Mr. President, there are several main reasons why the North Vietnamese people fled south, one is that the Vietminh has controlled some rural areas in North Vietnam from 1946 to the present. They have massacred those who oppose them in the occupied territories, and many are terrified of their policies;

The second reason is well known, that the Catholic people living in North Vietnam feared that the Vietminh would force them to renounce their faith, and that such fears were justified; Third, the Viet Minh carried out a brutal land reform campaign in the occupied areas, carrying out frenzied persecution of many ordinary peasants at a rate of 1 in 1,000;

They even bloodily purged political opponents in opposition to French colonial rule, such as members of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party, the Dai Viet Party, the Restoration Army, and sect leaders of Hoa Hao and Cao Dai sects. Although, in theory, the Geneva Accords provided for general elections for reintegration between North and South Vietnam in 1956, it was clear to all that the possibility of reintegration was almost nil. ”

Liu Jiachang chimed in while the iron was hot: "Mr. President, the Viet Minh's understanding of the terms of the Geneva Accords is completely different from that of the free world. Although they agreed to these terms, they were completely incompatible with Stalin-esque totalitarian dogma. Even today, after the Geneva Accords, massacres continue in the northern countryside. ”

"It's terrible, more innocent people should be saved."

"We're working on it."

McNamara talked about him left and right, but did not mention the investment in Vietnam, and finally donated $100,000 on behalf of the Ford Foundation.

Liu Jiachang and Chen Shiguo were very disappointed, while Li Weimin thought today's meeting was a success.

It doesn't matter if you can get money or not, the important thing is to make a deep impression on the future US Secretary of Defense, and the next thing to do is to keep in touch, deepen the relationship, and preferably become friends.

Only by building good relations with John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and "rising stars" like him, and only by gaining their support, can the company better cope with the future situation.