Mediterranean hegemon

On the afternoon of June 21, the Genoa, fully replenished with provisions, slowly left the dock and headed for the trip's destination - New York, USA. The entire voyage is about 5,000 nautical miles, and including the ship's stopover in Spain, it will take at least 2 weeks to reach the destination, which is already very fast.

Although the Italian economy has recovered, there are still very few customers who can afford to fly first class to the United States. On the contrary, the bottom cabin is full of passengers who want to try their luck in the New World - the current salary of skilled Italian workers The salary remains at around US$500, while the equivalent salary in the United States is at least US$1,200-1,300, and housing in the United States is cheaper than in Italy. Many people want to go to the New World to realize their dreams of getting rich.

The United Group's construction of new workers' villages is a very attractive move for employees. In fact, the land and construction costs involved in building houses in the suburbs are not too high, but the key people live in society and there are no supporting facilities. What's the use of wandering around a house?

At this time, the power of the time traveler is revealed: because there is no need to worry about the original urban scene, the new village can be constructed according to the drawing plan, with a huge shopping mall and leisure square in the center, and then set up cultural and educational sections according to different functional blocks. In the medical and health sectors, art and religious beliefs sectors, etc., electricity, water, and gas are all provided by the United Group, and even the internal transportation facilities are also operated by the United Group. In addition to workers being able to work in the United Group, it is also relatively easy for their families to find a variety of supporting jobs: telecommunications and telegraph office attendants, convenience store clerks, teachers, public transportation drivers, etc. can all be recruited.

In the new village, the proportion of female employment is quite high, because there are many jobs suitable for women, and under the same conditions, the family members of United Group employees can be given priority in employment, which gives a lot of room for maneuver.

Contini vividly called this model enterprise-run society, but it is different from the all-encompassing state-owned system under the Soviet model. These commercial supporting infrastructure are provided by the United Group, and the daily management is also responsible for the United Group, but all operations Introduce other businesses, take responsibility for their own profits and losses, and carry out investment promotion and project development through promotion meetings. As the flow of people in the base continues to increase, the relevant business prospects continue to be promising. Although many plots are still deserted, after all the overall seven connections and one leveling are in place, it is expected that It has the potential to develop into a satellite city of Milan or Rome in the next 5-10 years.

When completed according to the plan, the two satellite cities will become the most modern and stylish new urban cities. Moreover, they will be connected to the old city by dedicated rail transit, making commuting not complicated. And the Workers' New Village, built from scratch and on a clean sheet of paper, has more convenient conditions than other residential areas.

For example, gas pipes, electric lines, hot water and even heating can be connected during construction, eliminating the trouble of temporary reconstruction. For example, relatively high-end telephone lines in Milan and Rome can be connected to each unit in the new village. One phone, 18-24 households share one phone, which is quite convenient. Another example is United Group's radios and newspapers, which naturally spread like never before in this atmosphere. The allocation of new workers' villages has also become a big weight to stimulate Italian workers to work hard. Houses are completed every month, and every month people from all walks of life can get the latest ranking according to the importance and contribution of the job - this ranking determines The order of your house selection, do you want to be cunning? Don’t even think about gaining the upper hand in the publicly announced rankings!

Moreover, all the property rights of the houses in Workers' New Village belong to the United Group. The group is only responsible for providing them and does not sell them to outsiders. Private transfers are not allowed. This puts an end to real estate speculation. If you want to speculate on real estate, you should speculate on the housing along the urban light rail. District to go!

United Group has invested heavily in these undertakings, and Contini is happy to create such a model base: it doesn't matter if you lose a little money, but after solving the problem of living and working in peace and contentment, the 100,000 employees and 300,000 family members will have centripetal force, so When the Union Group and the Social Democratic Party confronted each other, the workers stood firmly on the side of the president. In terms of popular support, the United Group is now a model of labor-management relations. With its reputation among workers, it has become easier and easier for the United Group to recruit workers.

That's why Contini said to Antonio passionately: "Collect accounts? Collect loans? Have they asked the 100,000 employees and 300,000 family members of United Group?"

Naturally, this situation aroused dissatisfaction among other consortiums. During Contini's visit, a conspiracy began to be cast against him...

"Father, this is the information we have collected about the financial part of the United Group..." Little Agnelli said, "According to the information we have, the United Group has received US$30 million in preferred shares from the Pope, and its own capital is 1 About 1.2 billion lire, which is equivalent to a total of 700 million lire in equity. Then Ciano received 1.2 billion lire in loans or credits from 16 domestic banks based on continuous and long-term credit, with a total capital of 1.9 billion lire; their The total investment amount is a mystery, I asked various financial experts and most of them estimated it to be between 1.2 and 1.4 billion liras.”

The old Agnelli shook his head: "Your estimation model is too complicated. In fact, it is a very simple calculation. The United Group started with a total of 35 million U.S. dollars. It spent 6 million U.S. dollars on two purchases of equipment from France. The most recent purchase of equipment was from Germany. He spent 6 million US dollars - of which the second tranche of 6 million US dollars will be delivered in 2 months, which is 18 million US dollars; the remaining 17 million US dollars, you can evaluate the speed at which he burns money..."

"The 17 million must have been burned, because last year the United Group suffered a loss of 200 million lire, and half a year has passed this year, and it will lose at least another 100 million lire, which is 15 million U.S. dollars... and the Pope needs 30 million U.S. dollars every year To pay 1.8 million lire in dividends, the 1.2 billion lire loan will cost more than 70 million lire in interest every year..."

"In that case, his principal must have been burned out. It depends on how much of the loan has been used up." Old Agnelli smiled slightly, "In this case, he still has to go to the United States for a large purchase. I don't know where he is. Come with confidence?”

"I don't know. If you don't know the inside story, it's easy to be intimidated by his posture."

"Perhaps the only one that United Group can really make money from is United Motorcycles. The ones that are barely profitable are probably Youth Daily and IBC. The rest are all industries that are losing money or in the investment stage... Of course United House is a good thing, United Airlines Not bad—although he didn’t get it right.”

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have to kill the United Group. After all, he is Mr. Ciano's son and Mussolini's favorite. It would be bad for everyone to break up. What's more, he has a reputation for being messy - Social Democratic Party It was ruined by this method." Old Agnelli smiled slightly, "I just want to remind him that it is good to be young and have dreams and passion, but the shop is too wide, and the image is to be greedy for perfection, to show off, and to spend a lot of money. The way of paying the bills is not suitable for the business world. As a senior, I need to remind him. What is the best way to remind him? "

Little Agnelli smiled. He understood his father's plan: This strategy is quite meaningful. He watched the United Group rush all the way on the road of desperate expansion, and then worked hard on the capital chain, by sniping at the other party's credit and turnover system. Forcing the other party to shrink or abandon some high-quality assets in exchange for a chance to survive - this tactic has always been unfavorable when attacking competitors in the past. The reason why he has not taken action against the United Group is because he is concerned about the strong capital of the United Group and has not put it on the agenda until today.

"And now that he has gone to the United States, old Antonio is also going with him. How can a mere Leo control the situation?" Old Agnelli smiled, "He mobilized so many people for a mere Ada, and he was afraid that others would not know about him. Loyalty to the leader?”

"this……"

"Has he received any funds recently?"

"There is a loan of 20 million lire that will be refinanced in August. According to common sense, it will be refinanced one month in advance. Then there will be 50 million in September, 100 million in October, 70 million in November, and about 400 million in February next year. …”

"This is a very important node. Let's wait for the first loan refinancing and see how he reacts!" said the old Agnelli. "If he has new funds or government financial resources injected into him, we will have to wait a little longer."

"What source of wealth can he have?"

"That's not necessarily true..." Old Agnelli smiled, "Have you ever dared to think that the Pope would support him with 30 million US dollars?"

"This is what I'm confused about."

"The Pope has smart people, and little Ciano is not stupid either..." Old Agnelli said with a smile, "The Pope has received so much compensation from Mussolini to solve the problems left over from history, you dare to say that he didn't To seek benefits for yourself? I’m afraid the 30 million has been negotiated a long time ago, right?”

"It's very possible!"

"So you have to test it out in an inconspicuous place first, be patient, and don't be impatient like him. You have to be the first to jump out and be the vanguard of everything - he is using Mussolini's brand. Why doesn’t Solini use him to do things that are inconvenient for the government?”

"Yes, I'll go arrange it right away."

"Wait a few more days, don't be in a hurry."

"Why?"

"He just left. If you push him too hard, he will turn around and come back."

"Turn around? He has a boatload of people! This boat is not sailed for him alone."

"But he brought guards, submachine guns and machine guns. In a critical moment, he could force the ship back - does the shipping company dare to take care of it? Do you dare to take care of it?"

"This..." Little Agnelli shook his head: With the style of a domineering president, it is really possible to do this.

"So the operation should be slow, and it won't be too late to start after half a month - isn't it closer to refinancing then?"

Agnelli Sr.'s estimate of Contini's capital is relatively accurate, and his estimate of United Group's foreign investment is also very good. As for the strategy, it is also very targeted. Unfortunately, Contini doesn't know this yet. He is still here. Spending time with Ada on the cruise...