Chapter 187 Total Victory
On May 5, Youde's plane arrived at Kai Tak Airport and he officially took office in Hong Kong.

As a representative of Hong Kong's business community, Liu Zhicheng attended the welcome banquet held for him by people from all walks of life in Hong Kong.

Now, Liu Zhicheng's business empire in Hong Kong is large enough and is at its peak, so he will naturally be invited to such events.

In addition, the negotiations are about to begin, and in order to unite the wealthy in Hong Kong, the British Hong Kong government will certainly invite all the wealthy people in the city.

For the development of Hong Kong and the continuous improvement of the status of Chinese people, Liu Zhicheng also responded positively and attended the event with Yang Minli in formal attire.

Before serving as the Governor of Hong Kong, Youde worked in the British Foreign Office for 30 years and had rich diplomatic experience.

Not only did he serve as ambassador to China, but he also married a Chinese wife. He can be said to be an expert on Chinese people.

Therefore, I am more familiar with the affairs of Hong Kong and the Mainland.

In order to win over the hearts of the people in Hong Kong, after coming to power, Youde attached more importance to education and vigorously developed higher education in Hong Kong.

Before he came to Hong Kong, only about 2% of high school students in Hong Kong could receive higher education locally.

Apart from other aspects, Youde at least made some contributions to Hong Kong's education.

This is not only a good thing for the welfare of all Hong Kong citizens, but also a good thing to solve the talent shortage in Hong Kong. Liu Zhicheng intends to cooperate more with him in this regard.

Youde has the advantage of long-term diplomatic work. He was very good at dancing at the dinner and chatting and laughing with people from all walks of life, appearing to be very familiar with them.

Shortly after the dinner began, Youde took the initiative to find Liu Zhicheng to talk. After a few polite words, Liu Zhicheng began to lead the topic to education.

Sure enough, Youde was very interested in this topic. He had just arrived and in order to increase his influence and win over the citizens of Hong Kong, he definitely needed to make some political achievements of his own.

Therefore, the topic of education that Liu Zhicheng took the initiative to talk about was exactly what Youde wanted.

"The Governor is interested in developing higher education in Hong Kong, which is a good thing for Hong Kong and its people. As a member of Hong Kong, I have an obligation to help."

In the past, City Polytechnic and Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts were established within two years of Youde taking office.

However, due to his eagerness to achieve results, time constraints and lack of funds, the conditions for running the school were relatively simple.

Even the campus of City Polytechnic University is housed in the old building of the Trade and Industry Department.

Therefore, Liu Zhicheng believed that his proposal would definitely be welcomed by Youde.

Youde was overjoyed. Since receiving the appointment from the British Empire, he has been thinking about his plans after taking office in Hong Kong.

After much thought, education became his top priority in governing Hong Kong.

Now that he has the support of Hong Kong's richest man, other Hong Kong businessmen will surely follow suit, and running a school will be a natural outcome, and his first political achievement will be secure.

"Then thank you for your support, Mr. Liu." Youde smiled and asked, "What kind of educational resources do you think Hong Kong lacks?"

Liu Zhicheng smiled knowingly and said, "The Governor should also know that I have an electronics company that needs a large number of electronics talents.

Since its establishment, I have found that Hong Kong lacks scientific and technological talents. For the long-term development of Hong Kong, I suggest building a science and technology university to solve the talent shortage in this area in Hong Kong.

In addition, Hong Kong is known as the Oriental Hollywood, so it is necessary to have specialized performing arts schools, which is also a support for Hong Kong's literary and art circles.

To this end, I hereby promise to the Governor that for every university I build, I will donate its main teaching building and computers for teaching. "

"Mr. Liu is not kidding?"

"The Governor is the commander-in-chief of Hong Kong. Even if I were given a hundred courages, I would not dare to joke about it. My promise is never empty." Liu Zhicheng said with a smile.

"Okay, come to the Hong Kong government for tea when you have time. I also want to hear the opinions of Hong Kong citizens on how to govern Hong Kong." Youde said with a smile.

"Of course, of course. As long as the Governor is free, I can come and visit you anytime." Liu Zhicheng also replied with a smile.

Today is a public occasion and the two sides cannot chat for long. Seeing that his goal has been achieved, Liu Zhicheng no longer takes up Youde's time.

Liu Zhicheng knew that Youde was attracted to her, so he arranged a time to talk in detail.

Today, Liu Zhicheng is humble and subservient, just for scientific and technological talents.

Of course, there is another benefit to making friends with Youde. With the support of the Hong Kong government, it would be a sure thing to take over Tin Shui Wai.

A few days after the dinner, Liu Zhicheng received an invitation from the Hong Kong government and happily went.

Liu Zhicheng was also very straightforward and quickly finalized the donation intentions to the University of Science and Technology and the Academy of Performing Arts.

The University of Science and Technology donated HK$2000 million and the Academy of Performing Arts donated HK$ million. The specific donations were carried out by the Yanxin Zhicheng Charity Foundation.

Of course, Liu Zhicheng will not take the money now, because Western pseudo-charity has a set of procedures.

Under normal circumstances, when the work of preparing donations for school construction reaches a certain stage, the Hong Kong government will announce the news to the public and invite relevant donors to hold a charity dinner.

Then, various wealthy people generously donated money to join in the feast in the presence of reporters.

They will also nominate several school directors and have the opportunity to name the teaching building after themselves. This is the standard procedure of pseudo-charity in the West.

Building a school now is just an intention. It is impossible for Liu Zhicheng to come up with cash. If things fail, all his money will be in vain.

Although Liu Zhicheng has selfish motives, for the sake of talent, he would not become a sucker.

"Then thank you Mr. Liu for your generosity."

"For the development of education in Hong Kong and for the benefit of Hong Kong citizens, this should be done sooner rather than later. And I believe the governor will implement this as soon as possible."

Youde thought for a moment and said, "In that case, thank you Mr. Liu for your kindness. I will arrange for the Education Bureau to implement it as soon as possible."

It is true that Liu Zhicheng worked for the welfare of Hong Kong citizens, but he was more selfish.

Spending 5000 million Hong Kong dollars to support Youde's first political achievement will definitely pay off.

During Youde's tenure, Liu Zhicheng cared about several things. The first of course was education, which was for the sake of talents.

The second is land, including the conversion of land in Tin Shui Wai and Cha Kwo Ling into commercial land. This provides him with ammunition for the charge.

The third reason is for banking resources. After the crisis, a large number of banks in Hong Kong will go bankrupt, and Liu Zhicheng needs to take over one or two of them.

.........

A war is taking place in the Falkland Islands far away in South America. This is the largest naval battle in the world since World War II and also the highlight of the British Empire after World War II.

On June 6, with the support of Western countries led by the United States, the British Empire retook the Falkland Islands and declared victory in the war.

When the news reached Hong Kong, the British Empire in Hong Kong also felt proud, believing that Hong Kong's governance plan was secure.

In order to celebrate this victory, Youde shared it with the citizens of Hong Kong and proposed a school-building plan to win over the hearts of the people.

Liu Zhicheng couldn't help but sneer. The happier he is now, the more painful he will be in the future.

Of course he wouldn't care, because no one can change the course of history.

.........

On September 9, the old woman visited the city of Beijing to negotiate on the Xiangjiang issue.

This negotiation has attracted the attention of Chinese people all over the world, especially those in Hong Kong. The negotiation between the two sides was held at the Great Hall of the People on the 24th.

After the talks began, the old woman adopted a tough and aggressive stance, and talked about exchanging sovereignty for governance according to a pre-designed plan.

It is claimed that maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity is inseparable from the British Empire, and if Hong Kong is forcibly taken back, it will only bring disastrous consequences to Hong Kong.

If we want to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, we cannot do without the management of the British Empire.

Faced with the old woman's aggressiveness, the old man pointed out that sovereignty must be taken back and that there is no such thing as governing power.

There is a serious shortage of fresh water resources in Hong Kong. All water used in Hong Kong is supplied by the mainland. The supply of meat and vegetables is even more heavily dependent on the mainland.

Moreover, Hong Kong's prosperity is largely dependent on re-export trade from the mainland.

If the mainland blocks the Hong Kong River, it will become a stinky and dead port.

The old woman, who recognized the situation, was no longer as aggressive as when she came. Faced with the strength of the mainland, she had no choice but to let go.

After the meeting, the old woman looked lonely and serious.

And when she was walking out of the Great Hall of the People, her high heels got caught on the steps and she fell down.

This moment was captured by media from all over the world and quickly spread around the world, becoming a classic in history and being talked about with great relish.

When the news reached Hong Kong, it was a complete change of circumstances for the people in Hong Kong where the sun never sets.

For those Chinese in Hong Kong whose stance is not firm, they are also in a state of panic and are selling off their assets and preparing to relocate their registration.

Hong Kong's property and stock markets began to plummet, and the Hong Kong dollar also began to depreciate.

The stock market plummeted from a high of 1810 points to more than 600 points, and remained volatile at a low level in the following two years.

Industrial land on the Kowloon Peninsula has seen a sharp drop in value, with a drop of 70%.

Similarly, residential land also began to plummet, with a drop of 40%.

With the plummeting land prices and the massive selling of properties by those who have relocated, residential prices in Hong Kong have fallen by at least 30%.

In a word, the people of Hong Kong are in a state of constant fear.

As house prices fell, transaction volumes also shrank.

Without exception, all real estate developers in Hong Kong have encountered difficulties, facing insolvency and the risk of bankruptcy.

Other major real estate developers such as Hang Lung, Hong Kong Land and Yida are all facing crises.

Moreover, the subway station real estate project developed by Hang Lung was won in the form of a consortium with New World and Cheung Kong Company.

The collapse of Yida Group brought out the century’s biggest fraudster, Chen Songqing’s Jianing Group.

The collapse of a large number of real estate groups has put the banks that lent them money into trouble.

After the real estate crisis, the banking crisis also occurred.

Seeing the mess in Hong Kong's real estate market, Lu Zhihe of Daya Group and Hao Qingwen of Whampoa Group all admired Liu Zhicheng's vision and judgment.

Liu Zhicheng was watching the situation with a smile on his face, like a hungry wolf, staring at the target, ready to attack at any time.

But there is one thing that has been flapped by the wings of a butterfly and has gone beyond the scope of Liu Zhicheng's "prophecy", and that is the Tin Shui Wai site.

In the past, in order to curry favor with the mainland government, the Hong Kong government spent HK$7 billion to reclaim the Tin Shui Wai land in July before the negotiations.

This had never happened before in his life. Liu Zhicheng was completely confused at the time and couldn't figure out the reason.

Fortunately, Hao Qingwen kept sending people to follow up and finally found out clearly: since the Changjiang Company no longer had Hutchison Whampoa, Li Chaoren had been working hard on this project and delayed the crisis of Weicheng Company.

.........

Now it is October, the Sailboat Tower.

As soon as Liu Zhicheng arrived at the office, he saw Hao Qingwen waiting at the door of the office to report on his work.

When Hao Qingwen arrived in a hurry, Liu Zhicheng knew that he must have an important work report.

"Mr. Liu, today Wheelock and Dabao Real Estate have agreed to our offer and are willing to transfer their equity."

"I won't give up until I reach the Yellow River!" Liu Zhicheng sat in the big chair and tapped the desk with his fingers involuntarily.

Seeing that Liu Zhicheng had no instructions, Hao Qingwen continued, "I heard that Huarun Company is already communicating with the Hong Kong government."

Although there was a butterfly effect in this incident, the course of history cannot be changed.

At present, Liu Zhicheng is not sure whether the Hong Kong government will reclaim the land in Tin Shui Wai like it did in the previous life.

Tin Shui Wai is related to Liu Zhicheng’s layout in Hong Kong. Liu Zhicheng dare not gamble or wait.

After a while, Liu Zhicheng slowly said: "According to the predetermined strategy, we must immediately intervene in the acquisition with all our strength. We cannot afford to make any mistakes."

Liu Zhicheng's words were firm and decisive, and his words carried weight.

It was the first time that Hao Qingwen heard Liu Zhicheng so determined, and he replied: "Okay, I will go and negotiate in person and sign an agreement with Wheelock and Dabao first.

We will also send a negotiation team to acquire the shares of Changjiang and Huarun as quickly as possible."

"Well," Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "Don't worry about the gains and losses at the moment, winning is victory!"

"Please rest assured, Mr. Liu, I will definitely get it. At worst, I will ask for a high price."

Hao Qingwen now controls the Whampoa Group and is also a respectable figure in Hong Kong. If he personally takes action, most of the wealthy people in Hong Kong have to give him face.

Huarun Company, the major shareholder of Weicheng Company, was asked by the mainland to support the development of Pengcheng, and now it is facing the Hong Kong real estate crisis.

Weicheng Company is in crisis, and Huarun Company certainly wants to get rid of the burden.

As expected, with the strong intervention of the Whampoa Group and under the coordination of the Hong Kong government, Weicheng Company was finally transferred as a whole for HK$21 billion.

After receiving the news, although the price was 1.58 million Hong Kong dollars lower than the previous life, Liu Zhicheng just smiled indifferently.

The funds used by Whampoa Group to acquire Tin Shui Wai were entirely from its own cash reserves, and there was no need for any bank loans at all.

Liu Zhicheng didn't want this to happen either, mainly because all the major banks had begun to tighten their money supply and were not willing to lend easily.

Even if a loan is available, the approval time will be longer than usual. Transactions in Tin Shui Wai are faster, and Liu Zhicheng will never let a cooked duck fly away!

Therefore, Liu Zhicheng instructed that the transaction should be done in full in cash, and that it should be resolved quickly and without any delay.

When the major real estate developers in Hong Kong that were in crisis received the news, they were all stunned.

The Whampoa Group has become a 'god'-like presence in Hong Kong, standing tall in the city.

(End of this chapter)