Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 329 Who is the taken advantage of (first update, please subscribe)

Next, they did not continue to talk about the issue in Java. It seemed that the two sides had reached an agreement that when necessary, Nanyang would stand up to maintain regional stability.

In fact, the law of the jungle is the basic rule of this world.

This is especially true in this era. When the strong men of the past are declining, anyone will pounce on them and take a bite.

For Nanyang, who lacks strength, all he needs is... just hug his thighs tightly.

Although there were snowflakes outside the window, it was still warm in the Oval Office, the chairs were very comfortable, and they were drinking whiskey and chatting like all old friends reunited after a long separation.

"Now, the war is finally over."

Leaning on the large sofa, Truman said,

"In order to win this war, we produced too much material. As the war ended, millions of trucks and tanks became scrap metal from Europe to Asia and the mainland. A large number of ships were in the ports Waiting for dismantling, according to preliminary statistics, we need to dispose of more than 300 billion US dollars in materials. We will set up a special agency to dispose of these assets. I think you must be interested in those materials."

When Truman said the word "interest", he waved his hands to emphasize his tone.

"There's a lot of discussion now about what to do with these assets."

Truman went on to say,

"But what is certain is that if the government comes to purchase it, not only will the price be very low, but the United States will also provide corresponding loans, and the interest rates will also be very favorable. If you need it, you can set up an agency to be responsible for this. .”

The fat is coming!

The fat of the post-war surplus supplies has finally arrived. This is one of the purposes of Li Yi'an coming to the United States. One bite of this fat can save people decades of struggle!

"Well, I have several companies in New York that can handle this business."

After thinking about it, Li Yian said.

"If possible, I hope to buy a batch of cargo ships now. Well, 100 ships!"

Now Nanyang is in urgent need of a large number of ships. Not only does it need to speed up the transportation of immigrants, there are also millions of tons of equipment in Japan that need to be transported back to the country. All of these require ships!

Li Yian's answer made Truman smile.

"Really? Li, you know, you are giving me political achievements. If we reach an agreement today, tomorrow, all newspapers in the United States will praise me as a qualified salesman. God bless, if I had If he is so successful, perhaps he will remain a businessman instead of becoming a politician."

Truman was telling the truth. He turned to politics because he failed in business.

"In that case, the world would be missing a great statesman."

This sentence is both a compliment and a heartfelt statement, whether it is from the fire attack symbolized by the burning of Tokyo, to the "Operation Hunger" that blocked Japan with mines, or in the end, the use of atomic bombs against Japan against all opinions. He is worthy of this word.

Without him...killed enough little devils.

"There has never been a great statesman."

Truman leaned his head back against the back of the sofa and said.

"Each of us is just doing what we should do in our position. I believe you can also understand now that as president we must fulfill our responsibilities."

"Indeed."

Li Yian nodded.

"So, here's the buck, put the blame here, that's it, Harry, that's what I've been trying to do."

Hearing Li Yian's words, Truman laughed, and then they continued to chat. They chatted like this until the sky darkened, and then they ended the meeting at the urging of his assistant. In fact, they moved to another place. Just one occasion—a White House banquet.

It has to be said that Truman put a lot of thought into welcoming Li Yian's arrival. From individual meetings in the office to banquets at the White House, the standards were definitely far superior to Li Yian's treatment in London. In London, he only interacted with Li Yian. British Prime Minister Allied had only a brief meeting.

Now, as a guest of the White House, he is actually sending a signal to the outside world - Truman attaches great importance to Li Yian's visit, and at the banquet, Truman also announced good news, that is, Li Yian expressed his willingness to purchase no less than 100 million tons of idle Merchant ship, for a moment, the banquet hall was filled with surprise.

Just as Truman said, the next day, many newspapers, including the "Washington Post" and "The New York Times", used "the most successful salesman" to describe Truman. As for the description of Li Yi'an, it was a bit... Not satisfactory.

"This rich man who tricked Hedy Lamarr into going to Asia may have bought a country, but he is definitely not a successful businessman!"

In the hotel, with a smile on his face, Li Yian read the newspaper article with interest.

"...Although those "Freedom Ships" brought freedom to Europe, they were simple cargo ships built for war. The average construction period was less than 50 days, and the fastest construction even only took a few days. They were emergency products. , which is different from the ships slowly built during peacetime. Its life expectancy is only five years. It is not without reason that a large number of such merchant ships were idle in the port after the war... And the generous king Your Majesty, however, promised to purchase 100 million tons of Liberty Ships. I have to say that he is a generous and benevolent king..."

Li Yian gently put down the newspaper in his hand, with a faint smile on his lips.

"There is so much written in this newspaper, but in my opinion, what is written on it is just three words - 'taken advantage of'."

There was a hint of teasing in his tone.

"What do you think?" "This..."

Facing the inquiry, Li Guoren didn't know what to do.

People say you are being taken advantage of, but you still ask me for my opinion. You are a king, a president, and a billionaire!

What am I?

It's your subordinate!

Can I answer this kind of question?

I said you were taken advantage of... I'm so stupid!

"This, this... what the newspaper said seems to..."

Looking at Li Guoren's stammering look, Li Yian smiled.

"It makes some sense, right? During the war, the speed of manufacturing would inevitably affect the quality, and in order to reduce costs, the steel plates used were very thin. Because of this, these freewheelers now...well, almost all of them are idle in the port There are not many shipping companies interested in it.”

The president's words made Li Guoren feel helpless, you know.

Isn’t it all written in this newspaper?

Why are you idle? Because businessmen are not stupid either!

What is a free wheel?

Is that a ship?

Those are consumables!

From the initial design, not only was there no requirement for service life, the Liberty Ship was even regarded as a one-time use consumable. It was believed that as long as a Liberty Ship could complete a voyage across the Atlantic without being sunk by a German submarine, it would The mission has been completed once a full shipment has been delivered to the UK.

Who wants such a simple "emergency overcoming difficulty" type ship?

"If no shipping company is interested in it now, it doesn't mean there won't be in the future,"

Lighting a cigar, Li Yian's expression was full of pride. What is foresight? This is foresight.

"Actually, what they don't know is that although the steel plate of the "Freewheel" is relatively thin, this kind of ship is still very strong. It can even be said that it is so strong that it is beyond our imagination. Let alone five years, it even uses a four-year-old ship. Ten years will be no problem."

"How can this be?"

Li Guoren picked up the newspaper and said.

"The newspaper made it very clear that the freewheel has a simple structure and costs only US$180 million, which is a quarter of that of a freighter of the same tonnage built using traditional techniques, so its service life is worrying."

This is the information gap!

People of this era would never have imagined that the free wheel, known as the "one-time use ten thousand ton wheel", would be of such good quality and be so durable.

This is not an exaggeration. In another world, at the end of the 8s, China purchased a batch of free-type freighters from abroad for the transportation of coal. Later, in the 1980s and s, in order to develop the ocean shipping industry, eight Liberty ships were purchased in the name of "scrap steel ships" and continued to contribute to the construction of New China. It was not until the early s that they were gradually decommissioned and scrapped. In total, these originally The Freewheel, which was designed to have a life of five years, has been in service for almost forty years. .

But now... no one believes it. Not to mention that no one believes it now, in the 1950s, those shipowners felt that the "Liberty Ships" had exceeded their lifespan and were dangerous to use anymore and had to be eliminated. However, they never imagined that they had sailed safely on the sea for another twenty years. Year.

"Maybe it's impossible. You'll know after you buy it and use it."

Putting the cigar on the ashtray, Li Yian said.

"Right now, what we need is ships, to transport machinery and equipment dismantled from Japan, and to transport people from Tangshan, and Liberty Ship... is the only spot we can buy at the moment. As long as we have ships, we can In Germany, Italy, and even Japan, we can hire seamen to transport immigrants and machinery and equipment. In terms of cost, as long as we keep the price of buying ships low, we can almost pay back the cost by transporting them back and forth a few times."

With a smile on his face, Li Yian stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the crowded street below. Now he is very grateful to those media.

If they hadn't been so "outspoken", it would have cost at least twice as much to buy these boats, but now... it would be easier to deal with.

"Lower price? Sir..."

Li Guoren suddenly realized something.

"Newspapers, these news in newspapers are our bargaining chips to lower prices!"

"What do you say?"

Li Yian said after walking to the table again and picking up the cigar in the ashtray.

"They all think that I am the "big wronged person", but they don't know that the more they report this, the harder it will be to sell those Liberty Wheels. In order to make me, the "big wronged person", happily pay for it, they will even give us A very low offer.”

How low is it?

Li Yi'an didn't know it, but after the war, thousands of idle Liberty ships were really a headache for the US government. Although shipping from various countries in the war suffered huge losses during the war, they were only willing to rent Liberty ships. After all, no one wants to throw away "something with a five-year lifespan" in their hands.

"So, next, just negotiate with the United States. They will definitely be willing to bleed. As for who is the big grievance..."

Li Yian smiled.

"Time will tell."

By then the whole world will know who is the real "taken advantage of"!

(End of this chapter)