Chapter 532: The Drama Begins
Although there are many people in the Korean Peninsula who pray day and night for the kidnapped members of the Spring Water Church.
But in fact
It seems that praying to God has no effect on the Muslims in Afghanistan.
Before July 30, the negotiations were not going smoothly.
Although the Korean Peninsula can meet the Taliban's conditions for releasing hostages and agreeing to withdraw troops by the end of the year.
However, the local interim government stated that the arrested Taliban militias were not under their control but under the jurisdiction of the coalition forces.
However, the United States refused to release the hostages, and the situation quickly became deadlocked.
So on July 30, the Taliban killed a second hostage.
The body of the young male believer was found along the road where the kidnapping took place.
"This is the price! Pagan!" The bearded man in a white robe and holding a gun on TV stared at the camera.
Li You looked at the video released by the Taliban and thought that this video would once again inflame the emotions of the people.
During this period, Li Lianchang did not dare to make the decision to send Kinmen security to support and carry out the rescue mission.
There is no need for Li You to curry favor with others. Politicians pursue stability while also hoping that those people can survive as much as possible.
Otherwise, public opinion would first attack President Li Lianchang and this team.
Pastor Li acted quickly, and the disorderly gatherings and prayers disappeared a lot, mainly because he was leading the church members under him to make efforts.
With the intention of praying for the people of the Spring Water Church, Pastor Li is also taking the opportunity to expand his influence.
This huge influence is temporary. After all, many people do not believe in religion and may only participate in the event because they want to pray for the kidnapped people.
Once things are over, most people still do what they need to do.
None of this affected the fact that during this period, Pastor Li was called the "national pastor."
On the Korean Peninsula, there are all kinds of people who are called "National XX". This label is still relatively advantageous. As long as you can maintain a good personality, it is a title that can be maintained for a long time and enhance your popularity.
Li You is now on his way to prison. He is going to visit Zhu Mengyong, the chairman of Daying Group.
Perhaps Li You was directly responsible for Zhu Mengyong's imprisonment. However, when Zhu Mengyong heard from the prison warden who was trying to please him that Li You called to visit him, he simply snorted coldly and agreed to the meeting.
The sunlight shines through the barbed wire on the high wall and shines warmly on the ground.
At the prison gate, the warden in uniform had a gentle smile on his face.
Li You didn't know the warden of this prison, but that didn't stop the warden from trying to get close to him with a smile.
"President Li, nim," the warden said after greeting him, then bent down and pointed to another way, "Let's go this way."
It is clearly a prison, but this road is incompatible with the seriousness of the prison.
There were hardly any guards, and even the roads were kept clean.
"This is a special prison," the warden said as he led the way with a smile and pushed open the heavy iron gate himself. "President Li, please come in."
The iron door was slowly opened, making a slightly harsh sound.
Li You brought Quan Jae-jun and followed the warden to a cell quickly?
In short, Li You, who was well-dressed, did not look out of place when he walked in here.
On the contrary, Zhu Mengyong here, although he was sitting leisurely at the table, was wearing simple prisoner uniform, which was out of tune with the luxury here.
This is what a legitimate chaebol chairman gets when he goes to jail.
As for the haggard appearance he showed in front of reporters and the public later.
We will find a way when the time comes.
Zhu Mengyong looked up at Li You, who could not hide his calm demeanor, and after thinking for two seconds, he stood up to greet him.
"Welcome our President Li," Zhu Mengyong forced a smile, "Come and have something to eat with me?"
Li You shook hands with him and said, "Then I'll be sorry to refuse."
After the two sat down, Quan Zaijun and Zhu Mengyong's secretary stood outside.
Exquisite dishes were placed on the simple wooden table, the tableware was shiny and reflected the light, and a bottle of top-grade red wine stood quietly beside it, with its label clearly printed with the rare year.
Zhu Mengyong, who was in prison, smiled lightly, poured a glass of red wine for Li You, and raised his glass to signal.
There was a hint of hidden pride in his smile, "Life must have some quality, no matter where it is."
"Of course," Li You clinked glasses with him, and the wine went down his throat like silky satin.
Li You didn't eat much, but he could taste that these were all top-quality ingredients.
There is no doubt that all of them were sent in from outside.
"It seems that President Zhu has not forgotten how to enjoy himself," Li You took a sip of red wine, "I feel relieved."
Zhu Mengyong raised his eyebrows, "Here, I am still the president."
"You don't know," Zhu Mengyong laughed, "I gained a few pounds in here."
The two chatted for a while with a smile, as if they were relatives and friends.
"President Li should be very busy recently. How can he spare the time to come here and see me, his defeated opponent?"
Zhu Mengyong had a smile on his face, but he would never forget Li You, who was in front of him, and was the direct reason for his imprisonment.
"Do you have something to ask me?" Zhu Mengyong laughed and said, "You see, I'm in prison now, and I can't help President Li."
"Indeed, there is something wrong," Li You chuckled, "but from what President Zhu said, does he still have any grudge against me?"
Zhu Mengyong's drinking action was paused, and he put away the fake smile on his face, "There are not many people in the Korean Peninsula who don't have resentment towards Chairman Li now."
He didn't even drink the red wine, but put down the glass and said something sharper, "How many middle and upper-class people on the Korean Peninsula have you touched in the past few years, Chairman Li?"
"I admit," Zhu Mengyong glanced out the window, "I do have a grudge against President Li. After all, it's not a pleasant feeling to lose my freedom now.
But it was indeed me who started the trouble. Now that you're retaliating, we're even.
But if President Li doesn't get to the point, then this matter has nothing to do with me. President Li, please tell me what you want to say as soon as possible and don't keep me in suspense."
Li You smiled and said, "I didn't realize that President Zhu has such a strong sense of gangsterism."
Zhu Mengyong is very much like his father Zhu Rongyi. Although he lacks ability, this style of doing things with a strong sense of the underworld is really in his blood.
Li You did not wait any longer. He called out, took the briefcase from Quan Zaijun's hand, and pulled out a document from it. "I don't have any advantages, it's just..."
"It's very fair, and it's about tit-for-tat."
Li You handed the document to Zhu Mengyong, "President Zhu, why don't you take a closer look?"
Zhu Mengyong opened the first page and was stunned for a moment.
He flipped through the document and was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "How much does President Li have?"
He looked up at Li You and said, "This document is just a little bit. I don't believe that Chairman Li only has this little bit."
Although the document was a bit disjointed, Zhu Mengyong only needed to read this to know that it was just extracted from the entire document. As for why he was so clear about it,
Because that's how he got in.
This document is almost identical to those forged documents involved in the case by Daying Group.
so.
Zhu Mengyong narrowed his eyes. The Tianxia car bombing some time ago was done by Li You.
And the bombing was just a cover-up?
Before he was imprisoned, prosecutors from the Daying Group faction were also investigating Tianxia Auto's falsification of accounts and other issues.
For Daying Motors and Tianxia Motors, it is impossible not to do this; it is part of their business.
It is said that the Tianxia car bombing destroyed documents that could serve as key evidence.
At that time, he thought it was Jin Jianying who did it.
Originally, the documents of the camp could have been destroyed smoothly, but they were unexpectedly intercepted by Li You midway.
When Zhu Mengyong thought of this, he felt a little more relaxed.
"A lot," Li You answered his question, "even some miscellaneous documents, but they are useless."
Zhu Mengyong was stunned and burst out laughing.
He laughed loudly, "That old man Jin Jianying really keeps the information well-protected."
"So many people thought he blew it up himself, but they didn't expect that the thing had already been in President Li's hands."
He grinned, unable to hide the smile on his face, "How is Jin Jianying's energy recently? Is there any news about President Li?"
"It's impossible that he will be healthy as soon as I come in?"
According to Zhu Mengyong's idea, it would be best if this old man fell seriously ill and passed away early.
Li You smiled but said nothing. He did not tell Zhu Mengyong that Jin Jianying was suffering from a terminal illness.
He reached out and pointed at the documents in Zhu Mengyong's hand. "President Zhu, what do you think of doing with these documents?"
"Ask me?"
Zhu Mengyong was stunned.
He paused for two seconds to make sure there was no trap in his words.
"It depends on my idea." Zhu Mengyong touched his chin and took a sip of red wine happily.
Only then did he realize that his imagination was a bit wishful thinking.
This thing can't be released casually.
According to the current situation, whoever reveals the news will be held responsible for all car bombings in the world.
No wonder Li You came to find me.
Zhu Mengyong coughed and said, "It's hard for me to say."
"Is that so?" Li You glanced at Zhu Mengyong with a smile.
"Why not report anonymously?" Zhu Mengyong smiled. "As long as the documents appear in the Supreme Procuratorate, it will be fine."
When Li You took out the document, the situation between the two was slightly reversed.
Li You is not here to be a peacemaker.
"I can submit these documents there on behalf of Chairman Zhu," Li You reached out and took the documents and threw them to Quan Jae-jun.
Before he could say anything, Zhu Mengyong understood, "President Li, this is really..."
Although he could command the cars outside from inside the prison, it was still somewhat inconvenient.
Having this thing would be a good thing if it could trip up the Tianxia Group.
I can also relax a lot.
What's more, because of this incident, both he and Tianxia Auto are in a reputation crisis and have a crisis of national trust.
We have to drag Tianxia Auto into this as well. Tianxia Auto has just started to capture the domestic market and its reputation will be ruined much faster than that of Daying Auto.
Judging from Li You's attitude, he is obviously here to ask for benefits.
"President Li, please make a condition," Zhu Mengyong said with a wry smile.
"But President Li, don't think too much," Zhu Mengyong sighed, "Daying Group may not be able to satisfy President Li's appetite."
"President Zhu has grasped the business opportunities very accurately," Li You said calmly, "Beijing Camp?"
Zhu Mengyong was stunned for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head, "President Li is interested?"
He explained, "Those were all plans made by our predecessors, and I was just following the plans."
"As the first joint venture automobile company there, Chairman Zhu is still increasing his investment even at this time," Li You exposed his incompetence.
"This is not something that is done according to plan. The profits made by Daying Automobile over there will probably make Daying Automobile a lot of money."
"The total production is now approaching one million vehicles?"
Li You glanced at Zhu Mengyong and said, "They even started to invest continuously, trying to build an industrial system there including vehicle manufacturing, parts production and sales, steel, logistics, construction, etc."
"It's a vague plan, but you can't give credit to your predecessors."
Zhu Mengyong didn't quite understand why Li You understood so well. He coughed and said ambiguously, "I didn't expect that President Li also had ideas about that market?"
He smiled and said, "Excuse me, if Chairman Li wants to enter there, he doesn't need to deal with me at all. After all, they have only joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) for a few years, and the vast market is far beyond the capacity of a few companies."
"What's more, I am making further investments to strengthen our competition with the world's automobile market."
In fact, what Daying Motors and Tianxia Motors compete for on the Korean Peninsula has never been the small domestic market, but the five words "the leading brand of Korean cars."
What they want is that when consumers mention the three words "Korean cars", the first thing they think of is that large-scale cars are better.
"I know," Li You nodded. "In 2002, your group decided to challenge the top five car companies in the world, so of course the international market is very important."
“If Tianxia Auto hadn’t held us back, maybe we would have almost achieved our goal by now.”
Zhu Mengyong narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.
"I need the current reputation of Beijing Camp," Li You said calmly, "The next generation of mobile phones will be released soon. This will be another epoch-making mobile phone. The market over there is particularly important to us."
"Bundled promotion?" Zhu Mengyong frowned and thought carefully for a long time. "It's possible, but is President Li's spending so big this time?"
"Very big," Li You nodded.
This year is the fourth year of the release of Future Mobile phones, and the new generation of Future Four will be the top priority.
Thanks to Li You's leadership, the development of smartphones has been more than five years faster than in normal times. In this era, they need more popularity so that more people will spend money on this thing.
Especially after Li Lianchang signs the agreement in September, he will most likely visit.
The cooperation between the two parties is bound to go further, and they have to be faster than Apple.
Zhu Mengyong touched his chin and said, "Of course you can, but this is a business cooperation and it definitely can't be done unconditionally."
Li You smiled and said, "I didn't intend to exploit Chairman Zhu like this."
"Both parties are following our promotional methods, and the normal cooperation is mutually beneficial," Li You said calmly, "Mobile phones are still considered high-end consumer products nowadays, and we are cooperating with Chairman Zhu because most people who buy cars have good financial conditions."
Zhu Mengyong laughed, "I was judging others by my own standards. Then let the departments under my command conduct normal cooperation and exchanges?"
Having said that, Zhu Mengyong was still very wary in his heart.
Li You smiled and said, "Okay, let's do it this way."
"As for this," Li You pointed to the document, which, along with other documents, will appear in the Supreme Prosecutor's Office on time.
"President Zhu must find a good person to take over, so as not to be caught by the prosecutors who are on Tianxia's side."
After finishing the serious conversation, the conversation between the two gradually turned to small talk.
Especially the "small talk" with Tianxia Group.
"What does President Li think of Jin Jianying's two sons?" Zhu Mengyong asked with interest, "I have met these two young men. They..."
Li You remained calm, "I think they have the ability."
"We have the ability, but we lack experience," Zhu Mengyong said deliberately, "We need a guide."
"Leader?" Li You raised his eyebrows. "Then President Zhu's plan will fail."
Zhu Mengyong was stunned.
"As far as I know," Li You said with a smile, "Kim Jianying's eldest son, Kim Yongjun, is very close to Zhao Taixie."
"." Zhu Mengyong narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, then he remembered who this Zhao Taixie was, "How can a congressman be so bold?"
In Zhu Mengyong's words, he did not care about Zhao Taixie, a member of parliament.
"Not only is he brave, he's also very capable," Li You said with a smile.
"That means they have other intentions," Zhu Mengyong said firmly, "Politicians who dare to get involved in succession issues are mostly thinking of turning the chaebols into their own weapons. They are not good people."
He stroked his chin, "What about the other son?"
Zhu Mengyong said, and waved his hand again, "Forget it... Jin Jianying is not dying, there is still plenty of time, I will go back and take a look myself."
If they, as enemies, want to get close to the heir, they have to wait until Jin Jianying dies. If they get close now, it will definitely drive Jin Jianying crazy.
"If Jin Jianying hears what you said, he will fight with President Zhu to the death," Li You shook his head.
The two talked about all sorts of things, but the bottom line was that they were all about making that deal.
When Li You walked out of the prison, he already felt that an extremely vast market was closing in on them.
"Let the mainland experience the charm of full-screen smartphones."
Nokia and Motorola are still the most popular in the mainland market, but they still use the outdated Symbian system, which will be completely outclassed by future mobile phones.
In the past, Future mobile phones have not been sold in mainland China, but now is a new opportunity.
Li You encouraged Li Lianchang to further visit and cooperate, of course he had his own calculations.
On August 10, Korean officials held their first face-to-face talks with the Taliban.
Li Lianchang did not dare to use force to rescue the hostages. Domestic public opinion had already been so serious after only two people died. He could not take the risk of causing a large number of hostage deaths.
What's more, the people are already dissatisfied with the deployment of troops in Afghanistan.
The delegation he sent to Afghanistan this time had a full quota of 70 million US dollars. In addition to managing various relationships and communicating with senior coalition forces, the rest could be used as ransom.
His approach also paid off.
The Taliban released two seriously ill women the next day in exchange for paying part of the ransom.
Hard to say.
At the garrison base, in Yoon Gil-jun's office, Yoo Shi-jin was complaining.
He is still young and far from being as steady and solid as he will be in the future.
"Why did you choose this?" Liu Shizhen was a little unbelievable, "You would rather pay to buy someone than let us rescue him?"
Yoon Gil-jun didn't even look up, "The rescue will fail."
“We will not fail!”
"You won't fail. Can you split yourself into six groups to save six places at once?" Yin Jijun threw down his pen. "They were already divided into six groups before, and now I don't know how many groups the hostages are divided into. How can you save them?"
“Take a look for yourself,” Yoon Ji-jun threw a report at him and stormed out.
Liu Shizhen then picked it up and was silent.
This is the whole process of those people being kidnapped.
On the road to Kandahar, church members stopped their car and went to the toilet.
At this time, the driver asked two passers-by to pay for the ride without the team's permission, which brought disaster upon himself.
Since this situation is so common in Afghanistan, church members are dissatisfied but there is nothing they can do.
Moreover, the two people who came up just sat on the ground without taking up any seats, and they did not make any fuss about it.
As the buses continued south, the Taliban shot through their windshields.
The violent shattering of glass woke everyone up.
And then later.
Liu Shizhen sighed, and after reading on, he realized how difficult the task was.
In fact, he was just looking at the miserable state of the two female church members and became a little angry.
He glanced at Yoon Ji-jun who was smoking outside and could only go over and apologize.
Yin Jijun just waved his hand and told him to disappear from his sight.
“You don’t know,” Yin Jijun said while smoking and talking on the phone with Li You, “I was so angry at that time.”
"When I heard that the rescue was impossible, I almost kicked the diplomat in the face with the sole of my shoe," Yoon Gil-jun said angrily. "This incident has brought shame to our Republic of Korea military."
He described the statements of the two released members.
"They said that an armed Taliban man smashed the bus' windshield with a gun in front of them. Later, when the bus was forced to stop on the side of the road, two Taliban members who had been waiting there got on the bus, threatened the driver, took away valuables such as mobile phones and telephones, and demanded that the bus be driven to a nearby village."
Yin Jijun was actually anxious, but the orders from his superiors were orders, especially since they were still under the jurisdiction of the Joint Forces Headquarters and had no right to launch a rescue operation on their own.
"After the property was confiscated, all the people in the car, including the driver and the two people who got on the car during the journey, were taken to the village. It was only then that these idiots realized that the two were also Taliban."
Yin Jijun scolded without mercy, "If you ask me, these people have preached to the point of making themselves stupid."
"That group of people can shout Allah and come to blow us up with bombs strapped to their bodies. How can we be moved by their preaching?"
"When we asked them if they were Muslims, they dared to say they were Christians helping us."
Li You also found it a little funny. These people were used to cheating people, but they dared to talk like this to the true believers.
"What happened next?"
"What happened next?" Yin Jijun snorted coldly, "It was then that we were unable to rescue him."
After the hostages were kidnapped, all the church members were together at first, but at that time the president was hesitant to let us cooperate in the rescue, which delayed the matter. ”
Li You also sighed in his heart.
It's indeed a bit stupid.
If they had held a meeting at that time, they could clearly have implemented the rescue plan.
But this is not bad either, and Li You had a smile on his face.
The coalition command, led by the US military commander, was unwilling to release the captured Taliban militiamen and was unwilling to exchange for the kidnapped church members, which led to the deaths of two people.
The domestic emotions and psychology are very sensitive now, and it only takes a little provocation to promote sentiment against the US military.
It plays an important role in promoting his next business plan.
After all, the market in the United States is basically occupied by Apple, and mobile phones will need another larger market in the future.
Yin Jijun was still chattering on the other end of the phone.
The hostages traveled day and night, and after taking a truck for a short distance, they began to walk along the mountain road. After a long journey, they arrived at the Taliban's hiding place in the mountains with hunger, thirst and extreme fatigue.
The Taliban then split the team of 23 people into six groups, which were managed in different locations.
It is impossible to rescue them by force.
The living and sanitary conditions were very poor during the kidnapping, and the mountain area is about two thousand meters above sea level, with a huge temperature difference between day and night.
There are still various mosquito bites in the mountains in summer.
Most of the church members suffer from various diseases. The Taliban does not provide medicine, so they can only survive by praying.
Li You learned about these things from Yin Jijun and did not contact Li Lianchang directly.
Things still need to be done slowly. Pushing the current president Li Lianchang further away from the United States does not mean that Li You himself will distance himself from the United States.
Business is different from politics.
He wanted to gain greater benefits through different relationships.
On September 2, after departing from Kabul Airport and transferring at Dubai Airport, all the survivors of the Spring Water Church team finally arrived at Incheon International Airport.
The arrival hall of Incheon International Airport was crowded with people, and media reporters had been waiting here patiently since early morning.
Cameras and guns were aimed at every possible figure that might appear.
This is the media's nose and desire for headlines.
This time it was not Zhu Mengyong who pushed public opinion to divert the topic, but Li You who was paving the way for the future.
There are many people waiting here in the crowd, and their emotions are completely different.
When the church group came out, some of the people inside supported them and welcomed them back with loud shouts and applause.
But the further he walked out, the more boos he received.
Although they were pitiful, there was still dissatisfaction and doubt in their voices.
There are even more emotional people who want to use eggs as the most primitive tool of protest.
However, after the first few shots failed to hit the target, they were firmly controlled by the police who were maintaining order.
Inside the Kinmen Group, An Shangjiu, who had rushed back from the United States, came to Li You and said, "President."
Li You specifically asked him to come back from the United States the day before yesterday. He needed to explain some things in person regarding the research institute in Los Angeles.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
