What I had placed the greatest importance on, above all else, was Shanghai.
China’s central governnt was powerful, but local governnts—especially the Shanghai Party Secretary—also wielded imnse power.
There had even been an incident where Chen Liangyu, the Shanghai Party Secretary, openly pointed his finger and criticized Premier Wen Jiabao, who was officially ranked third.
Of course, it was only possible with Jiang Zemin’s tacit approval, but it still demonstrated the authority of the Shanghai Party Secretary.
In my previous life, after Chen Liangyu fell from power, Xi Jinping was appointed to the vacant position of Shanghai Party Secretary, leading him straight into the center of power.
That beca the mont Xi Jinping—who had not been widely known—made his na known across China, and using that as montum, he ultimately rose to a seat on the Standing Committee at the Party Congress held that sa year.
From my perspective, allowing soone like Xi Jinping—who had strong control and a clear boss-like temperant—to seize power was not a good move.
“So Chen Liangyu will be arrested imdiately?”
—First, we plan to replace the commanders of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau and the Shanghai Ard Police tomorrow. After that, before Chen Liangyu can retaliate, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will launch an imdiate audit of the Shanghai Party Secretary.
“The Ard Police are still in play, I see. As far as I know, Chen Liangyu has complete control over them—it could get quite noisy.”
Though called the Ard Police, in reality, they were closer to the military than to the police.
And their superior organization was not the Central Military Commission or the People’s Liberation Army, but the Ministry # Nоvеlight # of Public Security.
It was a peculiar structure—a paramilitary force outside the influence of the Central Military Commission.
The Ard Police alone numbered over 1.6 million across the country.
And they operated under different nas by region, pledging loyalty to the local Party Secretary.
—If we fail to take control of the Ard Police, it could lead to civil war—that was the Vice President’s judgnt. Fortunately, it seems we can carry out the replacent before Chen Liangyu realizes what’s happening.
And the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who oversaw them, was not soone friendly to Hu Jintao.
Even Luo Gan—who had just declared neutrality during this plenary session—was like that.
Not part of the Shanghai faction, but still categorized as pro-Shanghai.
“That’s a relief. Civil war would be sothing President Hu Jintao would find difficult to accept.”
—If that had happened, he might have deployed all nearby People’s Liberation Army units into Shanghai. Since President Hu Jintao has now fully secured control of the Central Military Commission, it would have been a realistic solution.
That stability-oriented Hu Jintao was prepared to risk civil war?
Or... had he secured sothing even greater?
“He’s fully secured control of the Central Military Commission?”
—It was agreed that the Vice Chairman would be soone recomnded by President Hu Jintao. And we expect to fill most of the other key military positions with our people.
It was a bigger gain than expected. But Jiang Zemin wasn’t the kind of man to step back so easily.
“Jiang Zemin agreed to all of that?”
—What choice does he have if he doesn’t? Jia Qinglin’s mouth has been sealed, and Huang Ju... I personally shut him up. No matter how powerful Chairman Jiang is behind the scenes, if those currently in office don’t support him, he can do nothing.
They used the cards I gave them better than I expected. It was a result that could be called a landslide victory.
“At this point, wouldn’t it practically be Hu Jintao’s sole governnt?”
—Not quite. Power has been shared with the Vice President. It’s more accurate to call it an alliance between the Communist Youth League and the Princelings.
They had achieved the result they wanted.
Now it was my turn.
“Then are the import-export restrictions on Korea over? And what about relations with North Korea?”
—Ah, Jiang Zemin is not yielding on that matter. And two of the Standing Committee mbers who declared neutrality are siding with him on that issue. So it will take so ti.
“Then nothing I wanted has been resolved, and only good things have happened for President Hu. Does that an the pressure on companies related to will continue like this?”
What I wanted was simple.
Lift the pressure placed on .
Yet none of that had been resolved, and they had spent all this effort solely strengthening Hu Jintao’s power.
—...If you give us more ti, we can achieve even better results than before. Please trust and wait.
“Ha...”
Hearing my hollow laugh, Wen Jiabao let out a quiet cough.
“Premier. Do you not understand why I’m helping President Hu Jintao and Vice President Zeng Qinghong? Even if you had to compromise on other things, that should have been resolved first. Am I wrong?”
—I apologize. But it won’t take long. The Vice President is persuading the elders, and once President Hu Jintao’s power becos more solid over ti, we’ll be able to offer you even greater benefits.
Even if greater benefits were promised later, in a situation where there was no certainty when that would happen, I couldn’t simply accept it and move on.
“When will it be possible?”
—At the latest, by next spring, we will lift the sanctions. Please trust us a little longer.
“So if it’s delayed, it won’t happen until next year.”
—However, regarding North Korea, we have agreed to adopt a sowhat conciliatory policy. For now, we will pull back troops engaged in military exercises, and I will personally visit North Korea.
Amid all the bad news, that was at least one piece of good news.
“Then Chairman Yoo Seongjin will be released, correct?”
—That will be resolved once Bo Xilai takes office as Party Secretary. Since it was handled at the Shanghai level, it can be resolved there. There’s no need for the central governnt to step in.
That ant I would have to contact Bo Xilai myself.
It was troubleso having to make moves twice.
“Please tell President Hu Jintao that I’m quite disappointed. If things continue like this, I may have to rethink my position.”
—Chairman Jiang Zemin is maintaining an extrely hardline stance toward you, President Kim. President Hu dismissed it outright as nonsense, but I heard there were even demands to cut ties with you. It seems his pride has been deeply hurt. He’s especially unwilling to make concessions when it cos to you.
Well, of course.
All that man had left now was his pride.
Relying solely on this side felt... uneasy.
I deliberately remained silent for a long ti.
The one uncomfortable with that silence, naturally, was Wen Jiabao.
—President Kim. I promise you this. If President Hu Jintao steps back again this ti, I will personally step in to ensure that our promise is kept. The Vice President seems to think the sa.
“Alright. Then I’ll trust you, Premier. Let’s speak again.”
—Yes. I’ll contact you next ti with better news.
It was ti for my next appointnt, so I ended the call with Wen Jiabao.
I turned to Manager Ma, who had been listening beside .
“Politicians are all the sa—always taking care of their own interests first. Tsk.”
As I clicked my tongue and shook my head, Manager Ma spoke cautiously.
“Boss. Are you planning to just leave Jiang Zemin alone? At this rate, it seems he’ll interfere with your affairs at every turn.”
I raised an eyebrow. I understood what he was implying.
“Physically harming Jiang Zemin is absolutely out of the question. If anything like that were to happen, China would unite to kill . No matter that he’s a political enemy.”
“...My thinking was short-sighted. I understand.”
“Let’s wait for now. Premier Wen Jiabao spoke confidently, so even if it takes so ti, it should be resolved. And for now, relations with North Korea are improving. Let’s observe the situation. At least the imdiate crisis seems to have been extinguished.”
The risk factors hadn’t been completely resolved yet.
Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin could join hands to check Zeng Qinghong, or Zeng Qinghong could align with Jiang Zemin again to check Hu Jintao.
China was a place where people were ant to be used, not trusted.
I decided not to let my guard down.
“Let’s keep monitoring the situation. Since Bo Xilai has been designated as Shanghai Party Secretary, we’ll start by targeting that side.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare.”
I checked the watch on my wrist.
“Director Yoon Hyunju should be arriving soon. Have the car ready as soon as she gets here, and bring all the related docunts.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Right on ti, Yoon Hyunju arrived.
Her face had grown noticeably gaunt over the past few days.
“You don’t look well. Are you sick?”
“...Is it that obvious? My insomnia has gotten worse again. The hospital says it’s due to stress and tells to relax—but is that really so easy?”
After shaking hands with her weakly, I took my seat.
As soon as she sat down, a staff mber brought tea.
“I’ve reviewed all the properties you handed over. They’re all better than expected. How on earth did you acquire them? Since they were held under multiple nas—not just Chairman Jo’s—there were quite a few properties even we couldn’t track.”
“My father distributed them that way. I used to wonder why he made things so complicated... but now I understand. He didn’t trust anyone.”
Yoon Hyunju murmured as she traced the rim of her teacup. It seed Chairman Jo’s case had taught her quite a lesson.
“Even after a rough calculation based on yesterday’s closing prices, the value of those lands exceeds all the KS shares and affiliated companies we hold combined. Do you still wish to proceed with the exchange?”
“Yes. Please proceed. Securing the shares you hold will be far more advantageous in the long run. I’m planning to completely convert into a holding company through this opportunity. So that no one can ever threaten our group again.”
That was an unexpected response.
I thought she trusted quite a bit—but this ant she was drawing a clear line now.
It seed she believed we could continue to shake KS Group using the shares we held.
Still, I quite liked how decisively Yoon Hyunju made her choice—far more than Choi Woosik.
“Well, fine. It’s not a bad deal for us either. We’ll accept. We’ll exchange all the real estate for all KS Group shares.”
“Thank you. But I’d like to draft the contract now and delay the actual transfer of shares for a bit.”
“So you want us to hold the shares temporarily.”
Yoon Hyunju nodded slightly, her eyes turning cold.
“I hope that man, Choi Woosik, still doesn’t know.”
“In that case, it would be better to sign the contract not with Dream High Korea, but with Mirae Investnt. CEO Eva returned to Korea yesterday—shall I call her now?”
“It doesn’t matter who I sign with. But if CEO Eva is back, does that an you’ve secured Sovereign’s shares?”
“Yes. Fortunately. Once we offered a premium, they sold imdiately. It didn’t seem like they knew about the managent dispute yet. If they had, they wouldn’t have sold so easily.”
Yoon Hyunju visibly let out a sigh of relief.
Sovereign’s stake had been her final obstacle, so her reaction was understandable.
“I’ll call CEO Eva first.”
I imdiately picked up my phone and called Eva.
—Boss!
“Eva, I know you haven’t adjusted to the ti difference yet, but I need you to co to Myeongdong right away.”
—No, it’s fine. If I get ready and head out, I can be there within an hour.
“Alright. Take your ti.”
I lowered my phone and looked at Yoon Hyunju.
“Then while we wait... shall I tell you about Chairman Jo?”
After a brief hesitation, Yoon Hyunju nodded.
As I relayed everything Chairman Jo had said, she listened silently without asking a single question.
“...That’s how it happened. The most reasonable conclusion is that Choi Woosik already knew Chairman Jo’s identity beforehand.”
Yoon Hyunju’s already pale complexion turned even whiter.
“So that’s why Jo Pandeuk betrayed . Now I’m afraid of Choi Woosik. Since when has he been investigating ? Even the divorce... was it planned in advance?”
“Most likely. Not everyone who has a mistress plans for divorce, but I suspect he started preparing after noticing sothing strange as the child grew up. Otherwise, he couldn’t have t Chairman Jo before we did.”
Yoon Hyunju bit her lip. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had changed.
“Have you decided to divorce?”
“Yes. I have no intention of living with him anymore. I will drag that man into hell.”
They say that when a woman harbors resentnt, frost falls even in the height of sumr.
The venom in her eyes and her voice was enough to send chills even down my spine.
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