Chapter 1323: Pressuring the Palace

Ma Xiaoyun sat across from Zhao Fusheng, unable to speak for a long time.

The tea on the table had already gone cold before he picked it up and took a gentle sip. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and looked at Zhao Fusheng. "Chairman Zhao, to be honest, I'm surprised. You seem to have great faith in Alibaba."

Zhao Fusheng remained impassive, shifting his body slightly to lean forward, crossing his hands on the table with a smile. "I not only have faith in Alibaba, but I have even more faith in you."

Ma Xiaoyun was taken aback, somewhat surprised, and looked at Zhao Fusheng with confusion.

Clearly, although he was confident, he didn't understand where Zhao Fusheng's confidence came from, that he thought so highly of him.

A smile appeared on Zhao Fusheng's face, looking quite sunny, and he said to Ma Xiaoyun, "I often say, those who know me worry for my heart; those who don't know me ask what I seek. People live not needing to be understood by others. I believe in your abilities and also have faith in the e-commerce industry you are now engaged in."

Frowning slightly, Ma Xiaoyun did not completely lose his composure because of Zhao Fusheng's words. He himself was an expert at persuasion. Although Zhao Fusheng's words were indeed moving, Ma Xiaoyun did not lose his rationality. Instead, he looked at Zhao Fusheng seriously and said, "Chairman Zhao, aren't you afraid that national policies might change?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed. "Mr. Ma, you know, I've always believed that people shouldn't be overly cautious when doing things. You can't stop eating meat just because you're afraid of getting fat. Sometimes, it's not necessarily the most talented who do things well, but those with the right approach."

E-commerce is a new thing. As long as we build a good platform, its strong vitality will drive things forward.

The true test of a person's ability is never at the beginning, but at the moment when things have developed to a certain extent. Just like now, you are a capable leader, and you have a group of people under you who can work diligently. So I think you and your company will reach a considerable height in the future. What do you think?"

Ma Xiaoyun remained silent for a long time.

He had to admit that Zhao Fusheng was practically an orator. Even he himself felt his heart surging with excitement after hearing his words.

Taking a deep look at Zhao Fusheng sitting across from him, Ma Xiaoyun knew that this time he had met his match.

Who's the best at spinning tales? In China, look to Ludong for Lanxiang?

Ahem...

Zhao Fusheng, of course, wasn't spinning tales for Ma Xiaoyun; he genuinely had faith in the guy.

To be honest, whatever Ma Xiaoyun came for today had nothing to do with Zhao Fusheng.

Because Zhao Fusheng knew very well that this future 'Father Ma' was a thoroughgoing businessman. Despite always having Jin Yong's martial arts spirit on his lips, he was ruthless when it came to fleecing consumers.

With someone like that, talking about morality was useless; you had to talk about money, about profit.

In life, you can't only deal with gentlemen or good people. More often than not, we're mired in the mundane world, with no say in who we befriend or work with.

Zhao Fusheng had come to understand this clearly long ago.

Emperor Taizong was right: 'It doesn't matter if it's a black cat or a white cat; as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.'

For Zhao Fusheng, anyone who could help him make money without breaking the law was a good person.

In this world, there are three types who talk about ideals: fools, liars, and Mi Meng.

Ma Xiaoyun, after his success, loved to dish out chicken soup for the soul and show off, always saying his least favorite thing was making money. But in truth, he was no idealist. A guy who, back in the day, would spin tales for a mere twenty or thirty thousand to sell expired China Yellow Pages—calling him a con artist who collected IQ taxes wasn't far off.

The thing is, with the growth of the TB shopping platform and Alibaba, he went from being a scholar, Ma Xiaoyun, to 'Father Ma' in everyone's mouth. As his wealth and status changed, his past misdeeds were selectively forgotten.

That's a common ailment in modern society: people always gravitate toward the powerful and prosperous.

"President Ma, Chairman, would you two like to join me for lunch?" Seeing that neither Zhao Fusheng nor Ma Xiaoyun seemed inclined to speak further, Dong Chenxi interjected at just the right moment.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded, saying nothing more.

As for the specific situation of Alibaba, to be honest, Zhao Fusheng had no intention of asking, and Ma Xiaoyun had no intention of telling, because both of them understood that the most taboo thing in doing business is for an outsider to instruct an insider.

It's not a big deal for a person to do bad things; the most terrifying thing is to do bad things with single-minded dedication. Even stepping back ten thousand steps, doing bad things with single-minded dedication is not the worst; even more terrifying is to do bad things under the guise of doing good, and to do it with righteous indignation, with overwhelming momentum, and with utter disregard for one's own safety.

Doing it with fervor and passion, making earth-shattering moves, wrong ideas coming one after another, knowing full well there's a rock ahead, yet still charging straight into it. If one collision doesn't kill you, do it again, until flesh and blood are mangled and corpses litter the field.

Isn't that ridiculous?

But that's exactly the reality.

For example, a certain world champion went into internet search engines and had quite a few criticisms of other domestic search companies. In an interview, he once said: 'Our Jike Search represents the nation, and you shouldn't compete with us. We're not here to make money. You should help us more and give us more advice, because we are fulfilling a national duty.'

Without even understanding the most basic rules of business, they charged in headfirst. Even if it was due to a business decision error and not embezzlement, the problem is that the state's two billion yuan was spent in two years without even a sound heard.

Can a clear conscience gloss over mistakes?

Heh...

So Zhao Fusheng had no intention of meddling in Ma Xiaoyun's affairs. In his previous life, without him, Ma had managed to push SoftBank out. Let alone now. Zhao might not agree with Ma's character, but he absolutely gave a thumbs-up to Ma Xiaoyun's ability to make money.

"Let's go. Since President Ma has come to the capital, I must fulfill my duties as host." Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Ma Xiaoyun.

Both were smart people. Regardless of Ma Xiaoyun's purpose in coming, the two would obviously continue their discussion.

Ma Xiaoyun naturally understood this as well. He nodded and said with a smile, "Alright, then I'll trouble Chairman Zhao and Miss Dong."

The group left the office side by side. Zhao Fusheng was well aware that the real confrontation would take place in the coming days.

He was extremely vigilant towards this President Ma, who had a long history of betraying his allies.

The original historical SoftBank was the best example.

When Ma Xiaoyun was short of money, he brought SoftBank into TB. But once the company developed, he immediately started anew and quickly became independent.

All kinds of fancy maneuvers during that period were simply dazzling.

For this reason alone, Zhao Fusheng absolutely dared not take Ma Xiaoyun lightly.

As it turned out, Zhao Fusheng's concerns were justified.

After a pleasant dinner, Ma Xiaoyun proposed at the table that Yahoo intended to exchange ten billion dollars in cash and all of Yahoo China's assets for 40% of Alibaba's shares and 35% of the voting rights.

"And their idea is to make me the chairman of Yahoo China's board," Ma Xiaoyun said slowly, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Clearly, this guy showing up in front of Zhao Fusheng today was a power play.

Narrowing his eyes, Zhao Fusheng looked at Ma Xiaoyun and suddenly laughed.

Dong Chenxi, on the other hand, frowned slightly and looked at Ma Xiaoyun with displeasure. She hadn't received any prior information about this matter, which showed how tight Ma Xiaoyun's secrecy was.

"President Ma, you've put me in a difficult position." Zhao Fusheng laughed, looking at Ma Xiaoyun.

Clearly, this President Ma's plan was working like a charm. If Future Investment didn't want its equity diluted, it would have to increase its investment. If it agreed to the dilution, Yahoo's entry would stir up a bloody storm on Alibaba's board.

And he, Ma Xiaoyun, would undoubtedly be the Jiang Taigong sitting firmly in the fishing boat, watching the tigers fight from the mountain.

It had to be admitted that Ma Xiaoyun really had a way with things.