Free Web NovelI left the hotel and arrived at the Myeongdong office. After dealing with some urgent matters, I immediately called Bo Xilai.
— This is Bo Xilai.
“Bo Xilai. This is Kim Muhyuk.”
— Ah, President Kim Muhyuk!
Ever since I thoroughly scolded him before, Bo Xilai had been extremely cautious whenever dealing with me.
“I heard you’re attending the Communist Party plenary meeting. You’re in Beijing right now, correct?”
— Yes, that’s right. But honestly... I have no idea what’s going on. I can’t understand why Chairman Jiang isn’t saying anything...
Bo Xilai was personally very close with Jiang Zemin.
That was because his father, Bo Yibo, had been extremely close with Jiang Zemin.
My interference had strained their relationship somewhat, but it was still true that he was closer to Jiang Zemin than to Hu Jintao.
“Bo Xilai, don’t pretend you don’t know. There’s no way you don’t understand the reason. I clearly warned you before. I hate people lying to my face more than anything.”
— ...I don’t know the exact details. All my information channels have been blocked. Beijing is practically under quasi-martial conditions, so it’s difficult to move around.
“You’re still maintaining your wiretapping organization, aren’t you?”
— My god... just how much do you know? ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Bo Xilai sounded horrified.
The organization he had built to gather information through surveillance, infiltration, and wiretapping was quite solid.
He had been using that organization since his time as mayor of Dalian.
When he was mayor, Jiang Zemin once visited Dalian during an inspection tour.
Without even obtaining approval from the party secretary above him, Bo Xilai installed wiretapping devices in Jiang Zemin’s lodging and vehicles to gather information.
Using what he learned, he read Jiang Zemin’s intentions and immediately hung a massive portrait of Jiang Zemin on the outer wall of Dalian City Hall.
After Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist Party had strictly forbidden producing and displaying portraits of a sitting leader.
But Bo Xilai ignored that rule and flattered Jiang Zemin in order to win his favor.
In the end, after Jiang Zemin returned to Beijing, Bo Xilai managed to force out his superior and take the position of party secretary.
— ...The organization still exists, but we can’t operate right now. This is a time to lie low.
Bo Xilai was a man obsessed with power and wealth.
That was precisely why I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) had chosen him instead of Xi Jinping as the next leader of China.
A man with great ambition was easier to control.
As long as I could feed that ambition, he wouldn’t act outside my expectations.
Of course, that didn’t mean I trusted him completely.
After all, once he gained power, who knew how he might change.
“Alright. So you’re currently working in Beijing?”
— Yes. I’m serving as Minister of Commerce in the central government.
“And how exactly do you plan to achieve your grand ambitions staying there? Did you clean up your surroundings like I told you?”
I had previously warned Bo Xilai to thoroughly clean up the mess around him.
No matter how much I supported him, if he later fell because of his personal corruption, everything would be pointless.
— ...
No answer came.
Well, well. Looks like he didn’t follow my instructions.
“Bo Xilai. You’re ignoring my warning.”
— That’s... it’s not easy to clean everything up immediately.
“I see. Then I suppose we’ll have to cancel the plan. I was planning to send you to become the Shanghai Party Secretary once this plenary meeting ends.”
— What?
He responded stupidly, clearly having never imagined such a possibility.
“I clearly warned you. If you didn’t clean up your surroundings, it would come back to stab you later.”
— W-wait a moment. Shanghai Party Secretary? What are you talking about? Are you saying I’m going to Shanghai as party secretary?
“That was the plan. But seeing how you’ve been acting, I may need to reconsider.”
If someone other than me knew about Bo Xilai’s weaknesses, they were essentially ticking time bombs.
In my previous life, Bo Xilai had fallen from power on corruption charges despite strong public support.
That downfall had roots going back to his father’s generation.
You could see that clearly from how Xi Jinping—who had far fewer enemies—rose rapidly afterward despite being a latecomer.
Bo Xilai’s father, Bo Yibo, had been one of the leading figures in removing Hu Yaobang, the founding figure of the Communist Youth League faction.
Hu Yaobang was the one who had discovered Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.
To them, he was practically a benefactor.
That was precisely why I had advised Wen Jiabao to forget the past and recommend Bo Xilai.
If Wen Jiabao personally recommended Bo Xilai—the son of a political enemy—Zeng Qinghong would welcome it enthusiastically, and Hu Jintao would find it difficult to oppose.
— I’ll clean everything up immediately. It may be difficult to divorce right away, but once I move to Shanghai I’ll start preparing immediately.
When I remained silent, Bo Xilai hurriedly continued.
— I’ll do whatever you say. Just please help me become Shanghai Party Secretary. If I can go to Shanghai, the next step will no longer be a dream.
In truth, Bo Xilai had probably already half given up.
Because of me, his relationship with Jiang Zemin had already fractured once.
And he could never work with Hu Jintao.
His only remaining connection was Zeng Qinghong.
But if both the current and former leaders opposed him, even Zeng Qinghong couldn’t push him into leadership.
However, if he became party secretary of Shanghai—the largest city in China—the situation would be completely different.
It would give him momentum to aim for the next step.
If he remained in the central government but failed to become part of the political core, it was better to move to the provinces and build his own power base.
When I still didn’t respond, he became even more desperate.
— President Kim Muhyuk. I’ll do whatever you say. So please—
I cut him off before he could finish.
“Can I really trust you, Bo Xilai? I’m worried that trusting you might turn out to be a mistake.”
— Please trust me. The weaknesses you hold over me alone are enough to destroy me, aren’t they?
There were still many things that hadn’t even happened yet.
Could the cards I held alone really bring down Bo Xilai once he was nominated as successor?
After a moment of thought, I realized there was no alternative.
“Very well. I’ll give you one more chance.”
— Thank you. Thank you.
“Do not tell anyone that you’ve been nominated. The moment rumors spread, everything will disappear.” freewebnovel.cσ๓
— Of course. Absolutely.
His voice trembled with excitement.
“For now, continue your work in the central government. Good news will come soon. Finish the plenary meeting well, and contact me afterward. Don’t contact me first. Always watch your surroundings carefully.”
— Yes. I will.
I ended the call with Bo Xilai.
Staring at the disconnected phone, I let out a deep sigh.
“Ha... I really don’t like this, but there’s no alternative.”
Candidates as convenient to use as Bo Xilai were rare.
A few other candidates came to mind, but none of them were good options for me.
In China, doing business without connections was nearly impossible.
That meant the next leader had to be someone I could easily control.
“Well... I guess I just have to trust him.”
The die had already been cast.
Instead of worrying, I needed to extract as much benefit as possible.
I pressed the internal line and called Director Ma.
Then I asked him to bring the report investigating the ownership structure of KS Group.
A little while later, Director Ma entered with the KS Group report he had compiled over the past day.
“Director Ma, was there any separate report about Chairman Choi Woosik and Director Yoon Hyunju?”
I placed the documents on the table and looked up at him.
“No. There hasn’t been any special report. If anything unusual appears, they’ll contact us immediately.”
Not much time had passed yet, so nothing unusual would have appeared.
I had given Yoon Hyunju one week.
Only one day had passed so far.
She was probably still thinking it over.
“And Chairman Cho?”
Even if the real owner was Yoon Hyunju, the assets were under Chairman Cho’s name.
“There’s been no unusual movement from him either. As usual, he visits nearby real estate offices and spends his time playing baduk and janggi.”
Hearing that, I flipped through the report listing Chairman Cho’s movements.
A chuckle escaped me without realizing it.
“He looks like an ordinary old man in the neighborhood, doesn’t he? Would anyone in that neighborhood imagine he’s the largest landowner in Gangnam and pays the highest taxes?”
No one would.
Even in my previous life, I hadn’t known until the day I died that Chairman Cho managed Minister Yoon’s hidden assets.
“Keep a close eye on Chairman Cho’s movements. Yoon Hyunju will have no choice but to hand over the real estate to me eventually. If Chairman Cho starts having other ideas at that moment, things will get complicated. Director Yoon will want to avoid revealing that the assets are under borrowed names.”
If Chairman Cho suddenly disappeared, everything would fall apart.
“Yes. I’ve already instructed them not to lose track of him under any circumstances.”
As expected, Director Ma was capable.
I nodded with satisfaction.
“For now, have a seat. Let’s review the documents and talk further.”
After confirming Director Ma had sat down, I began reading the materials summarizing the shareholding structure.
Starting from KS Holdings at the top of the structure, the documents listed not only the listed companies but also the unlisted ones.
Every company bearing the KS name had its share structure detailed.
It had only been one day since I gave the order, yet they had already produced such detailed data.
What exactly was inside Black Bear’s cabinets?
“Where did you get such detailed and massive data? Does Black Bear collect and store this kind of information in advance?”
“Black Bear regularly updates the ownership structures and shareholder statuses of Korea’s major conglomerates.”
“What about the United States?”
“The headquarters handles the U.S., and the Korean branch handles Korea.”
“They’re doing their jobs without even being told. I like it.”
Creating Black Bear and establishing its intelligence team was easily one of the best business decisions I had ever made.
Thanks to the Black Bear mercenaries, I had survived in the Middle East and North Korea.
And thanks to the intelligence team, I could gather vast amounts of information that made using my memories of the past life much easier.
I finished reviewing the documents and closed the folder.
“Excluding the shares we hold and the shares held by Sovereign Asset Management, Chairman Choi Woosik and Director Yoon Hyunju hold almost the same amount. Chairman Choi only has about 2% more friendly shares?”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to confirm the fine details.”
Director Ma lowered his head awkwardly.
Since becoming my secretary, he had been studying economics diligently, but he was still weak with numbers.
Of course, I hadn’t hired an economic expert as my secretary.
Eva or Han Kyungyeong could handle those roles.
Director Ma’s job was to stand beside me and protect my safety while supporting everything I did.
Still, it seemed to bother him slightly.
I smiled gently and continued.
“Unless we launch a public tender offer, this structure will never change.”
Secretly buying more shares was meaningless now.
Now that Choi Woosik knew Yoon Hyunju had been secretly purchasing KS Group stock under borrowed names, the shares I held had become absolutely necessary for her.
“We don’t really need Sovereign Asset Management’s shares, but if they side with Chairman Choi...”
The Chandler brothers who controlled Sovereign were exactly the kind of people who would do that.
If money was involved, they would even shake hands with the devil.
“Eva said she’s flying to Monaco tomorrow, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Who would’ve thought that provoking Chairman Choi would spiral into something like this.”
I had never intended to join hands with Yoon Hyunju.
“Any other schedule today?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Then don’t schedule anything for the next few days. I need some rest. Just connect calls from Director Yoon and China. Handle everything else yourself, Director Ma. If something can’t be handled, pass it to me.”
“Yes, understood. Are you going to Pyeongchang-dong?”
“Of course. It’s more comfortable than the hotel.”
Watching Director Ma leave to prepare the car, I stood up as well.
* * *
My plan to rest for several days ended after only two.
“She contacted me earlier than I expected.”
Yoon Hyunju had asked to meet.
I called her to the Myeongdong office.
Director Ma brought her into my office.
Yoon Hyunju had arrived thirty minutes earlier than our appointment time.
Her face was pale.
Before I could even greet her, she dropped a bombshell.
“That crazy bastard Choi Woosik told me to divorce him.”
