The Tyrant Billionaire

"Then will Hong Kong be safe if the Communist Party win?"

Hardy smiled.

"That’s where the gamble comes in. It’s possible they might attack Hong Kong directly, but I’m leaning toward the other possibility: the Communist Party is very likely to crumble under the pressure from Britain and the Western world. I believe Hong Kong will remain a British colony for a long time to come."

"The shareholders of HSBC aren’t willing to take that gamble. Those with investments in Hong Kong are scared. If the gamble pays off, the returns could be a hundredfold."

"Like when you invested in President Johnson?" David asked, looking at Hardy.

"Haha, something like that," Hardy laughed.

David wasn’t a gambler by nature. He preferred steady investments, and as part of the Rockefeller family, now a super financial group, they didn’t need to take aggressive risks. Steady progress was the priority.

Hardy, who had clawed his way up from the bottom, was more willing to make bold investments to rapidly accumulate capital.

David had already been leaning toward walking away from the HSBC investment after understanding the risks, but Hardy’s enthusiasm was infectious.

Hardy had told him about his many investments, most of which had a gambling element, including his investment in President Johnson. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

And Hardy had won every time.

This time, David wanted to see if Hardy could win again.

This game seemed like it would be quite fun.

Even if this investment failed, both Rockefeller and Manhattan Bank could afford the loss. David finally made up his mind.

He would join Hardy in this game.

A business deal involving tens of millions of dollars is a huge transaction at any time. Such a big deal cannot be rushed, so the HSBC side wasn’t in a hurry either.

But within two days, whether in Hong Kong, Britain, or the U.S., numerous news reports about the Hong Kong crisis began to surface, causing many investors in Hong Kong to feel uneasy.

Hong Kong.

Global Times.

"Latest developments in the Chinese civil war... what’s the future of Hong Kong?!"

"Since the second half of last year, China has been engulfed in a large-scale civil war involving over 3 million troops, with hundreds of thousands dead. Several provinces have been devastated, and millions of Chinese families are at risk of dying from starvation. Where does the future of China lie?"

"Last year, the Chinese government blatently interfered with the U.S. elections by bribing Dewey, the opponent of President Johnson, and this has made the U.S. extremly desatisfied with China’s actions. At the start of this year, the U.S. published a white paper, labeling the Chinese government as highly corrupt and inevitably doomed, With no further aid to be provided, will the U.S.

go back on its decision to aid the starving Chinese out of humanitarianism."

"The Communist Party is approaching Hong Kong. If they win the next battle, will they march on the city to loot and resupply? The possibility is very high. After all, the Communist Party has already violated international law numerous times during this conflict, and property confiscation is common. What will happen to Hong Kong then?"

To be honest, anyone who reads this would be scared.

After experiencing the Japanese occupation, and then the civil war, many people understood the horrors of war.

The newspaper reports immediately sparked discussions among Hong Kong citizens, even causing a certain level of panic. Families, already anxious, began making plans to leave Hong Kong in hopes of escaping the impending disaster.

International firms, too, grew increasingly concerned as the war approached. Many started considering how to manage their businesses, with a growing number of individuals selling off their assets, further fueling widespread unease.

The British Global Times published similar articles, primarily focusing on the question of whether Hong Kong would be lost if the Communists were to win.

The Global Times even invited several commentators.

They debated on the newspaper—one side argued that the Communists wouldn’t dare to touch Hong Kong, while the other side insisted that Hong Kong would inevitably be lost. Both sides presented their arguments passionately.

At first, the debate was evenly matched, but gradually, the narrative that the Communists would reclaim Hong Kong began to gain the upper hand, making many British investors in Hong Kong nervous. They started sending telegrams to their agents in Hong Kong, urging them to quickly liquidate their assets and bring the money back to Britain.

In the U.S. similar articles about Hong Kong also appeared in some newspapers.

The tone was essentially pessimistic.

In fact, the U.S. wasn’t the main focus, but rather to reinforce the message.

Public opinion influences people’s minds.

Many who saw these statements were subconsciously influenced in their judgment. Historically, there was indeed a wave of panic in Hong Kong later, but this time, the report from Global Times acted like a match lighting a firecracker, igniting the issue all at once.

As emotions erupted, Hong Kong witnessed a wave of people fleeing and panic driven asset sell offs.

Among many enterprises, HSBC naturally suffered significant impact. After all, it was an investment bank. If businesses left, no one would invest, and the value of mortgaged land would drop. There was a general pessimism, which caused HSBC’s assets to shrink rapidly.

The shareholders of HSBC had been feeling increasingly uneasy recently, sensing that time was running out.

Because once the Communists won the battle, it would be the beginning of a massive snow ball, after that it was just a matter of time before they reach Hong Kong. By then, selling off assets might not even be possible.

David Sassoon contacted David Rockefeller, hoping to talk again, but David replied that they should wait, as he was currently negotiating with other companies and had no time.

The more anxious the other party became, the more he needed to stay calm.

...

A few days earlier, a plane carrying Victor and several intelligence-gathering agents from HD landed in Hong Kong. The group didn’t attract much attention and gradually dispersed into the British residential areas.