Chapter 275: Openly Using Firearms

Fanghuan Investment, Chairman's Office.
"Chairman Su, the situation is bad! The French are targeting us this time!"
The news from France came like a thunderbolt.
Newly elected President Cameron announced an ambitious economic reform plan, claiming to create a "New France" through environmental protection and energy transition.
The slogan sounded better than it was sung.
But Fanghuan's people sensed a strong smell of gunpowder in the thick policy document.
It not only contained provisions for tax cuts for the wealthy and significant increases in fuel taxes—provisions highly likely to incite social conflict—but more importantly:
It contained a large amount of highly targeted "personal agenda," seemingly tailor-made for Fanghuan!
"When they announced the policy, the Minister of Economy even named each of our subsidiaries one by one, enunciating clearly, as if afraid someone would misunderstand!"
"Did we evade taxes?" Su Hao asked calmly.
"Of course not! Like all multinational corporations, we've done compliant tax planning, and we haven't missed a single tax payment.
But now the French government's stance is that for every one payment others make, Fanghuan will have to pay ten!
The problem is, we have too many businesses, and each sector has different tax laws. Adding it all up, the amount...
is astronomical. It'll be a huge financial drain."
Even worse, they've announced new cryptocurrency regulations, and Fanghuan Exchange will be the first to suffer a severe blow.
"Although France has its own exchanges, most users use Fanghuan.
Although we don't officially operate in France, they can access us through our European servers..."
"They're going to ban us outright?"
"Not exactly. They're nominally regulating Bitcoin, but in reality, our exchange's business will inevitably be severely impacted."
In short, for other foreign companies, the French might just give a symbolic warning.
But for the Fanghuan Group, this is a blatant attempt to wield a big stick and destroy this powerful force!
“We suspect it might be the Renault incident that angered the French government?”
“The policy hasn’t been officially implemented yet, right?” Su Hao’s voice remained calm.
“Yes, only a draft has been released so far. They plan to pass and implement it as quickly as possible through an internal meeting.”
There is still time.
A response is necessary, and it must be… an extremely precise response!
“Chairman Su, if we make a mistake on this step, France will become a breakthrough point.
Following that, a regulatory storm will sweep across Europe against us, and the company’s losses will be incalculable!”
But the problem is, how can you defend against a sovereign nation specifically naming and sanctioning a single company?
This is simply a devastating blow.
Su Hao’s finger traced the word “France” written on his notebook. The instant his fingertip touched those two words—
“!!!”
In an instant, incredibly clear, immersive images unfolded before his eyes like a movie!
Fire! Thick smoke!
The entire streets of Paris were engulfed in flames!
Countless people in yellow vests surged into a torrent of anger, smashing shops, setting cars on fire, and hysterically chanting:
"Kmaron, step down!"
The scene was chaotic, violent, and filled with apocalyptic madness!
It flashed like lightning, then vanished just as quickly.
The shocking image still left a burning imprint on his mind.
"Chairman Su? What's wrong?"
Su Hao abruptly snapped out of the illusion, feeling as if he had personally experienced a catastrophe in that brief moment.
His eyes changed.
"Go, investigate immediately!" Su Hao's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.
"Dig up every detail of all the policies the French government is going to implement this time!
Especially… the real reactions of the French people to these policies! I need the most detailed data!"
His extraordinary intuition had just shown him a "preview" of the future.
The nationwide riots, the roar of hundreds of thousands of people, were definitely inextricably linked to this new policy.
It was definitely this policy that ignited the public's anger.
He almost forgot.
What kind of country is France?
It's a place that talks about "liberty, equality, and fraternity," but has "revolution" etched into its very bones!
***
A new policy from France, like a bombshell, exploded in the boardrooms of major multinational corporations in the country.
Instantly, everyone was on edge, and chaos reigned.
This was no longer just a business dispute; it was tantamount to the newly appointed French President Cameron firing a shot directly at the heads of these overseas companies!
And in this indiscriminate barrage, Fanghuan Investment, no more, no less, stood precisely in the core area of ​​the most concentrated bullet trajectory.
Fanghuan Group, Chairman's Office.
"Chairman Huang, that President Cameron and his party actually touched on the fuel tax once at the beginning of the year, so they have a history of doing so."
A senior executive said urgently, his face pale.
"And then?" Huang Fengwen, the head of Fanghuan Investment, frowned deeply.
"And then? Then they want to fleece the people again, but they're afraid the public will smash their windows.
So, they simply drag us 'foreign forces' out into the streets for a public spectacle, staging a grand drama of 'beating the capitalists, speaking out for the people.'
Firstly, it diverts attention from the problem; secondly… they can also squeeze some money out of us—killing two birds with one stone."
This tactic is obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.
The French policy this time, every word is a euphemism for "providing welfare to their wealthy domestic population."
And then? Using the politically correct guise of "environmental protection" as a pretext, they righteously raise fuel taxes to replenish their nearly depleted national treasury.
But the people will definitely not agree to this.
Thus began a meticulously planned propaganda war:
Fang Huan Investment and similar overseas giants were portrayed as octopuses frantically sucking the lifeblood of France.
A wave of xenophobic sentiment was stirred up, and once the public's spittle was flying towards them, their exorbitant taxes would naturally be imposed.
"Which country's politicians, wanting to boost their approval ratings, don't they always have to find an unlucky scapegoat from abroad to sacrifice?"
"Stirring up topics, diverting attention—it's the same old tricks, nothing new under the sun."
"A bunch of shameless scoundrels!" Huang Fengwen cursed.
"Chairman Huang, don't you know? The French have a glorious tradition in this regard, nicknamed 'European old rogues.'"
"Why does Europe seem to be full of thugs? First, there was Britain stirring up trouble, now France is acting like a rogue."
"But the most crucial issue is… this time, their rogue behavior seems to be precision-guided, their cannons fixed on our Fanghuan Investment."
"Why?! Did we desecrate their ancestral graves?!"
"Chairman Huang, from the French government's perspective, our Fanghuan Investment… is indeed attracting a lot of attention.
In their eyes, we're like a tiger barging into a china shop.
Think about it, didn't we just take down Denmark's biggest shipping giant?
And we even swallowed it whole."
And that's not all. Social media, cryptocurrency, new energy vehicles, semiconductors…
Our reach has become too far-reaching, our influence spreading everywhere. Others are seeing this and getting envious and uneasy. They need this opportunity to give us a good talking-to and set some rules for us.”
At this point, only one solution remains:
Find the powerful figures within France's current ruling party and turn them from enemies into allies.
To put it nicely, it's called “political lobbying”;
To put it bluntly, it's about stuffing money into their bottomless pockets.
"I heard other companies are throwing money around quite a bit over there."
"Yeah, Mr. Huang, those established multinational corporations have been able to thrive in Europe thanks to this.
Their annual spending on 'lobbying' is astronomical.
But don't be fooled by the sheer amount; compared to being brought down by their policies, this money is just a drop in the ocean."
"You mean we have to do that too?
But the problem is… we've never done anything like this before!"
Huang Fengwen, having built Fanghuan Investment from a fledgling operation to its current size, relied on ruthless courage and cunning. When had he ever engaged in such underhanded practices?
He wouldn't even bother with the social niceties back home, let alone now, having to travel overseas to bribe a bunch of foreign bureaucrats?
What kind of nonsense is this!
"Mr. Huang, at this stage of the company's development, this isn't a question of whether we want to or not, but… a mandatory course."
The executive cautiously advised.
The bigger a company grows, the more open and covert attacks it will inevitably attract.
Especially the "special attention" from the authorities—it feels like you're spending money just to breathe.
But the good news is, those who wield power always have their pockets wide open.
As long as you're shrewd enough to fill their pockets, that so-called "special attention" can immediately become a "symbolic inspection," easily swept away.
After a while, when their pockets are lighter again, they find another excuse to give them a nudge, and then they're filled up again…
The whole system is a cyclical, artfully crafted closed loop.
But the problem circled back: how could they possibly connect with a group of completely unrelated French politicians when they couldn't even get through to them domestically?
They didn't even have a middleman to act as a go-between; they were utterly clueless.
"What about Su Hao? What's the situation with Su Hao?" Huang Fengwen suddenly asked.
"Well… Chairman Su… he's… he's taking back all the money he invested before."
"Taking it back?!" Huang Fengwen's voice suddenly rose.
"Yes, Fang Huan Investment has a total of 100 billion yuan at its disposal.
Before, to keep the money from sitting idle, they diversified it into some stable, safe-haven assets…"
"And then?!"
"Then… he just ordered that every single penny of that 100 billion yuan be withdrawn."
Hearing this, Huang Fengwen's heart skipped a beat. A chilling thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
"…Why?" His voice was somewhat hoarse.
"The specific reasons... we don't know either.
But according to people over there, Chairman Su... has already opened a new account on the French stock market."