Free Web NovelI went back up to Beijing to meet Zhou Yongkang.
Since it was not an official meeting, we agreed to meet at the VIP-only bar owned by Hao Xun.
It was a place where high-ranking Communist Party officials met in secret.
“I did not know there was a place like this in Beijing. It feels like the secret courtesan houses our country used to have.”
The bar I entered, following the staff’s guidance after getting out of the car, felt exactly like that.
“Companions will have to wait here.”
Manager Ma bowed slightly to me. I nodded, and Manager Ma followed another staff member away.
I went deeper inside with the staff.
It was surprising enough that a Qing Dynasty–style building still remained in the middle of Beijing, but what shocked me more was how thoroughly it was cut off from the outside.
“Please leave your mobile devices here. And may I take a look at the bag you brought?”
As I took out my phone and handed it to the staff member, I asked.
“The bag too?”
“I am sorry. It is the rule of this bar. We just need to do a simple inspection to see if there is any device that can record videos or audio.”
Picky bastard. I frowned without realizing it.
But there was no need to nitpick someone who was just following the rules.
I silently handed him my bag.
He said it was a simple inspection, and without opening the briefcase, he checked it with an X-ray machine.
After confirming there were no listening devices, the staff member handed the bag back to me.
“Thank you very much for your cooperation.”
The staff who returned the bag bowed. If you are going to apologize, it almost feels better if you do not, but I supposed this was a kind of performance too.
“If it is a rule, it should be followed. I do not care as long as you do the same with Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang.”
“Yes. We treat everyone exactly the same. Even if it were President Hu Jintao. That is the reason why members of the Communist Party’s Standing Committee visit our establishment.”
So this was this bar’s business weapon.
Well, if they maintained security this thoroughly, even suspicious types would have no choice but to feel at ease.
“I will guide you in.”
Once all the necessary procedures for entry were done, the staff began guiding me again.
Soon, we arrived in front of a door, and the staff politely opened it.
“Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang has not arrived yet. Shall we bring in the drinks?”
“No. Bring them in when he comes.”
“Then I will bring some hot tea first.”
The staff bowed and left after closing the door.
Inside, there was only a large round table and two chairs.
Unlike the flashy interior of the bar, the room itself was empty. The contrast was so stark it felt bizarre.
“This really is different from those courtesan houses.”
I sat down in the chair and looked around the bleak room.
Not long after, a server came in with pu’er tea.
“Please enjoy. We have been informed he will be arriving shortly.”
I did not expect a Chinese person to be on time. I just nodded and lifted the teacup.
Right around the time I finished my cup of tea, the door opened.
Zhou Yongkang came in and sat down in front of me without even a word of apology.
His face was exactly as in the photos, smeared all over with greed.
“Hey! Bring the drinks in. What is this, drinking tea when two men are talking.”
“Yes. We will prepare it and bring it in right away.”
“Hurry, hurry. You know I am a busy man, right? If I get treated like this, I might just rip this place apart once. You better behave yourselves.”
“We will prepare it at once.”
His attitude could not have been ruder, but the staff, as if immune, only replied politely.
Once the staff left, Zhou Yongkang finally acknowledged me.
“To think I would get to meet President Kim Muhyuk like this, it is an honor. I have heard your name in so many places that you feel quite familiar.”
Zhou Yongkang greeted me first in a relaxed tone.
“I was also curious when I heard someone who shot up like a rocket into the Public Security Minister’s seat had taken that chair.”
“What did you say? Hahaha!”
Zhou Yongkang burst into loud laughter. But his eyes glinted viciously.
“You are an amusing man. But President Kim Muhyuk, do not forget you are in China.”
“It is exactly because this is China that I am sitting here talking with you, the Public Security Minister, is it not?”
“Heh! I cannot tell if you are fearless or if your nerve is just that big. Well, fine. Shooting up like a rocket is, admittedly, true.”
He pretended to be hearty, but I could see his plump cheek flesh trembling ever so slightly.
They said he had a hot temper; it seemed that was true.
“Anyway, why did you want to meet me? Do we have any reason to meet? I do not meet people who have no crimes on them.”
“Is that so? I did not know that.”
I raised one corner of my mouth.
For the man with the biggest crimes to say something like that. It was pretty funny.
Right then, there was a knock at the door. We paused our conversation.
The staff began placing food on the round table.
They put several bottles of Maotai on the table as well and left.
“Then, let us have a drink first.”
Zhou Yongkang opened a bottle of Maotai and poured it into his glass.
I picked up another bottle and poured into my glass, following his lead.
We glared at each other as we brought the glasses to our lips.
“As expected, Maotai is the king of liquor, is it not? There is no alcohol like this in Korea, right?”
“I do not know. I drink any liquor just fine. But for some strange reason, Chinese liquor does not sit well with me.”
“Haha, that is because you still do not know the taste of alcohol.”
Maybe annoyed that his subtle attempt to belittle me failed, Zhou Yongkang twisted his lips.
He picked up the long chopsticks and shoveled snacks into his mouth greedily.
Every time he chewed the food that filled his mouth, bits of foreign matter flew out.
What the hell is this disgusting bastard doing. It completely killed my appetite.
“Why not try some? The food here is good.”
Zhou Yongkang tried to offer, but I did not touch the snacks and just had another glass of liquor.
“I am fine. Just eat while you listen. There are several reasons why I asked to meet you today.”
“Several, you say? Oh, I am curious what they are.” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Smacking his lips, Zhou Yongkang kept talking.
Every time he spoke, food flew from his mouth. Truly a filthy bastard.
I barely held back the urge to grimace and continued.
“First of all, I cannot tolerate anyone sticking their spoon into a company I own.”
“Me? What do you mean by that······. Ah, Tencent? Why is that your company? It is clearly a Chinese company. Why does a Korean like you call yourself the owner?”
“Do not play with words. You know everything, so do not pretend you are just trying to flex your aura.”
“President Kim Muhyuk, do I look like I am joking? I am the Public Security Minister. If I feel like it, I can make it so you can no longer do business in China.”
Zhou Yongkang tried to intimidate me.
Well, he was in a position that could do that.
This was not the United States or Europe; this was China.
They were carrying out market-opening policies, but China was clearly still a communist country.
“Is that so? Go ahead and try.”
But you should choose your target before you threaten. I put my glass down and continued.
“If Dreamhigh gets disadvantaged by the Chinese government, do you really not know what will happen next? Every last bit of foreign capital that has come into China will pull out at once.”
“You are overflowing with confidence. President Kim Muhyuk, can you really guarantee those words?”
I silently poured Maotai into my glass.
“Sitting in the Public Security Minister’s seat, there is no way you do not know what kind of influence Dreamhigh has. Why do you think Chinese government Standing Committee members come to see James every night? They beg, practically on their knees, asking him to invest in their power bases however he can.”
“······.”
I deliberately drank slowly. After finishing the glass, I set it down with a loud clink.
“Go ahead and try. Watching the Chinese economy get smashed to pieces because of one man like you would be entertaining.”
“I can have you arrested.”
“Who is scared of threats made only with words? Besides, I am sure you looked into everything before coming here. You did not find a single charge you could use to put me inside, did you.”
Zhou Yongkang slammed his chopsticks down and knocked back his drink.
“What is this. Did you ask to meet me just to pick a fight?”
“If you cannot even tell whether this is picking a fight or sincerity, why are you trying to stick your spoon in? I will warn you again. Do not covet Tencent, or any other company I have invested in. And do not play useless little tricks either. That will be better for the Chinese economy too.”
“This is not something I can settle at my level. It is not something I can just say ‘all right’ to on my own.”
Of course not. I knew full well he had to do what Jiang Zemin ordered.
But I did not like the way he was putting on airs, so I stabbed hard.
“I know. I know Chairman Jiang Zemin is the one who gave the order. And that you are his treasurer. But that is your problem to figure out.”
“And you say this even knowing that? Are you insane? Do you think Chairman Jiang Zemin will just leave you alone if he finds out about this?”
I opened my briefcase and threw a file folder in front of him as he raised his voice.
The thick file knocked over a glass, sending it crashing to the floor, but neither I nor Zhou Yongkang spared it a glance.
“Lower your voice. My ears hurt. Look at the documents first. We can talk again after you finish reading them all.”
“What is this?”
“Just read it. Then you will realize I am giving you an opportunity.”
I did not say anything more and poured myself another drink. After staring at me for quite some time, Zhou Yongkang picked up the file.
With every page he turned, his expression changed.
Watching his greasy face shift from moment to moment made me want to laugh for no reason.
By the time I had drunk another two glasses, Zhou Yongkang threw the file to the floor and shouted.
“What the hell do you think you are doing! You want to go to war? Do you want me to strip you clean?!”
Zhou Yongkang roared like an enraged wild boar.
“Calm down. Even after seeing how I am acting, is that really all you can make of it? I brought that file not to Jiang Zemin, but to you. If I had wanted you dead, do you really think I would have come to meet you?”
“······.”
“The thing on your neck is there to be used. It is not just decoration.”
In the documents I had handed over, the accounts and amounts of money Zhou Yongkang had siphoned off behind Jiang Zemin’s back were all written down.
It was only natural he was so worked up.
If that landed in Jiang Zemin’s hands, he was a dead man.
On top of that, it contained all the dirty things his eldest son had done in collusion with the Triad.
Zhou Yongkang filled his glass and downed two drinks in a row.
Maybe the alcohol helped calm him down a bit, because his voice became steady again.
“What do you want? Why are you doing this to me? It was not my greed for Tencent. It was his order. I do not care about such a company.”
Now he was finally being obedient. Listening to his suddenly very polite tone, I lifted one eyebrow.
“I know. I got a call from South Africa not long ago saying Tencent turned down their investment.”
I had received that call while I was dealing with Cheon Jiyoung’s situation.
The founders of Tencent had united their will and rejected Naspers’s investment.
Jiang Zemin was not an idiot, so he would not contact them directly. Naturally, Naspers would have told his treasurer, Zhou Yongkang, about it.
“Phew······. That is right. Naspers contacted me. I have not reported it to him yet. I am going to report it when I see him tomorrow.”
“Let us delay that report a bit. I know a better investment target. A chance to swallow an even bigger company whole.” freёwebnovel.com
“······What do you mean.”
Leaving hostile feelings about Tencent in them would not do me any good.
To prevent that, I had to turn their eyes toward another company.
“Take Wanda Group for yourselves.”
“What did you say? Are you insane? Do you even know who the chairman of Wanda Group is?”
I took another file folder from my briefcase and pushed it in front of Zhou Yongkang.
“And what is this.”
“Just read it. It will be very entertaining.”
With an uneasy expression, Zhou Yongkang opened the file again.
As he turned the pages one by one, his face cooled, but it did not turn as deathly pale as before.
Naturally. That file contained evidence that Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin had sent his assets overseas.
“······Is all of this true?”
In China, illegal outflow of foreign currency was a serious crime. I nodded.
“This is as far as I have investigated. I am sure the Public Security Ministry or the Ministry of State Security also has dirt on Wanda Group.”
“······.”
“Do not tell me there is none.”
“There is. But we cannot use it. The moment we use it, the central political scene will turn into a battlefield.”
Seriously, these bastards and those bastards, they are all the same.
I let out a small sigh. Did he really think I was making this proposal because I did not know that.
“I know. But what if the Taizidang decides to throw Wang Jianlin away?”
“······That will never happen. He is the right-hand man of Bo Xilai, one of the heads of the Taizidang. Bo Xilai will never abandon that man. And even if such a thing happened, the Party elders would never sit still.”
I took out the last file folder from my briefcase.
“This will be the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} main headline tomorrow in the American and British press.”
For the last time, I tossed it to Zhou Yongkang.
