Buckingham Palace in Westminster, London, looks very majestic under the lights at night.
Chu Huan arrived here in the same car as the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Geoffrey Howe.
"Chu, you should find a female companion. In this case, you will have less trouble after entering the banquet!"
After the two got off the car at the same time, Jeffrey Hao smiled and joked with Chu Huan.
Chu Huan asked: "Why?"
"You should know that the aesthetics of Easterners and Westerners are different, but this is only for ordinary people. As for a man like Chu who possesses both Eastern and Western aesthetics, coupled with your achievements and your temperament, I believe
Even the girls from the old aristocrats will definitely go crazy for you after seeing you!"
Jeffrey Hao smiled and praised Chu Huandao.
Chu Huan stretched out his left hand, revealing the wedding ring with Cao Yunshang on his ring finger, and said with a smile: "It's a pity that I'm already married!"
Geoffrey Howe laughed and said: "Although we British girls are a bit conservative compared to the French, I believe every girl hopes to have a romantic love. Love has nothing to do with marriage.
!”
Chu Huan chuckled and said, "This idea coincides with my own!"
Jeffrey Hao was stunned for a moment, then laughed again, and then walked into the banquet hall of Buckingham Palace with Chu Huan.
This dinner is a charity dinner hosted by the British royal family. Basically every year at the end of the year, Westerners will hold some such activities.
Everyone eats, drinks, chats, and then takes out some "memorable" things for auction, and then the proceeds from these auctions will go into the royal family's charity fund...
This is a typical British-style dinner. The men are wearing black and white tuxedos, and the women are wearing various luxurious evening dresses. The tables are arranged in an orderly manner in the banquet hall, and different people are sitting in different positions.
Chu Huan's identity is somewhat special. His coming to attend this dinner was also a temporary decision. However, this did not allow Chu Huan to sit in an ordinary position, but at the same table with Jeffrey Howe, Qiao Cole and others.
Yes, obviously this was arranged by Joe Cole in advance.
However, this kind of dinner party is relatively casual. For example, some people are not sitting down now, but are chatting with people they know well while holding champagne.
As the British Finance Minister, Geoffrey Howe also held a high position. His arrival immediately attracted the attention of many people. When these people noticed Chu Huan next to Geoffrey Howe, some people showed doubts.
Their expressions showed that they did not know Chu Huan, and they were very curious as to why there was an Asian man following Jeffrey Hao.
Some people showed happy expressions. These people were basically the British dignitaries that Chu Huan met when he came to London last time. Out of their concern for Chu Huan, they naturally knew that Chu Huan was coming this time.
It was about the acquisition of Jardine Matheson.
They didn't pay much attention to this matter, but one thing that made them smile was that since they cooperated with Chu Huan, these people's personal wallets have indeed become bulging.
However, these people did not take the initiative to greet Chu Huan on this occasion. It was still necessary to avoid suspicion.
Some people showed complicated expressions. The most representative of these people was naturally Henry Keswick. Although he already knew that Chu Huan would come to London and come to this dinner, when he saw Chu Huan coming, Henry
Keswick still had some mood swings.
But in the end, Henry Keswick put on a smile and walked towards Chu Huan and Jeffrey Hao.
If before, Henry Keswick only had a certain influence on Chu Huan in England, just out of hearsay, but when he found Jeffrey Hao, he learned that Jeffrey Hao and Chu Huan were also 'good friends'
After the relationship, it really surprised him.
However, Henry Keswick breathed a sigh of relief that Jeffrey Howe was still on his side and agreed to persuade Chu Huan to stop the acquisition of Jardine.
"Director Chu, I didn't expect us to meet so soon!"
Henry Keswick held up the champagne and made a gesture of clinking glasses with Chu Huan. Chu Huan, who had just entered the banquet hall, had already taken the champagne from the tray of the adaption students.
"It's true that we never meet again in life!" Chu Huan said with a smile after clinking glasses with Henry Keswick: "I didn't expect that I met Mr. Keswick in Xiangjiang before, and now I also meet him in London!"
Simon Keswick, who was next to Henry Keswick, frowned slightly. Why Chu Huan appeared here? It was tacitly understood by everyone that it was because of the acquisition of Jardine.
Now the two sides are still playing charades at this time, which is really unnecessary... At least that's what Simon Keswick thinks.
"Director Chu, I think Jeffrey has made it very clear to you. I hope that both of us can cooperate in a friendly manner in the future and achieve better results in Xiangjiang in the future!"
In Henry Keswick's view, since Jeffrey Howe has gone to find Chu Huan, the acquisition of Jardine should come to an end, and before that, he also told Simon Keswick the same thing.
"By the way, Director Chu, we hope that after a period of time, we can repurchase some shares of Jardine Matheson and Land from Director Chu. As for the price, how about it be calculated based on the stock prices of these two companies at that time?"
This is what Henry Keswick preached to Simon Keswick before.
But in terms of price, Henry Keswick will definitely suppress Chu Huan. Before Chinese Real Estate acquired Jardine, the stock prices of Jardine and Land were HK$18.8 and HK$14.7 per share respectively.
However, the purchase prices of Chinese Real Estate were HK$100 per share and HK$7 per share respectively.
It is clear that administrative power must be used to make Chu Huan lose everything.
But when Henry Keswick said it, it seemed like a matter of course.
Chu Huan, who was holding the champagne, had a relaxed smile on his face: "Mr. Keswick, have you misunderstood something? The acquisition of Jardine and Land in Xiangjiang will end tomorrow if there are no accidents.
At that time, we, Chinese Real Estate, had become the holding company of these two consortiums, so why should we sell our shares to you?"
At this point, Chu Huan looked stunned and continued to preach to Henry Keswick: "By the way, our group has made a decision. After completing the acquisition of Jardine Matheson and Land, we will
The management will conduct a screening, and then Ximen you may no longer be able to work in the company."
Henry Keswick and Simon Keswick showed the same surprised expression at the same time, and Henry Keswick looked at Geoffrey Howe immediately.
Jeffrey Hao spread his hands and looked helpless: "I'm very sorry, my friend, I have already discussed this matter with Director Chu. I personally think that Xiangjiang is a free, open and inclusive city."
Financial City, Chinese Real Estate's acquisition of Jardine and Land is a normal business behavior, I have no other choice!"
At this time, Jeffrey Hao was firmly on Chu Huan's side!
Geoffrey Howe's answer also made Henry Keswick feel like he was struck by lightning. He did not expect that something he thought was certain would unexpectedly happen.
"What a good idea, Director Chu. I have forced myself to overestimate your influence in England, but I didn't expect that I still underestimated it after all. But this matter does not end here. Jardine and Land can only be in our hands!"
"
After saying this, Henry Keswick turned and left without grace.
Then Chu Huan saw Henry Keswick walking up to an old white man, and the two of them didn't know what they were talking about.
Jeffrey Howe whispered to Chu Huan: "That is the Speaker of the House of Commons, George Thomas, who is a very good friend with Henry Keswick!"
Chu Huan nodded to express his understanding. In other words, whether he could get Yihe or not, this person was actually the most critical person.
Although in name, the Speaker of the British House of Commons has little power, in fact, as the most powerful House of Commons in Britain, the influence of Speaker George Thomas in British politics is conceivable.
By the way, friends who often watch TV and watch the news, you have seen on TV that the meetings of the British House of Commons are like quarrels between mothers buying vegetables at the vegetable market.
Standing in the middle, a small hammer kept hitting the table, shouting: order! order! order! This person is the speaker of the British House of Commons!
Chu Huan did not go to the old hammer-beater. Now that he had the advantage, they should come to him for negotiation instead of going to them himself.
So at this time, Chu Huan and Jeffrey Howe came to Qiao Cole's table.
"Chu, why did you come here with Jeffrey?" Qiao Cole had a bright smile on his face after seeing Chu Huan.
Hearing Qiao Cole's question, Jeffrey Hao was slightly embarrassed and went to see Chu Huan to talk about Yihe. Qiao Cole didn't know about it.
Chu Huan smiled and said: "I wanted to ask Jeffrey something before, so I called Jeffrey in advance!"
Seeing that Chu Huan did not mention Yihe's matter, Jeffrey Hao also breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how you talk about this kind of thing, it is always a bit disgraceful.
Qiao Keer nodded with a smile and did not ask anything about this statement. Instead, he introduced the person next to him to Chu Huan.
"Chu, let me introduce to you, this is Ferdinand, Chairman of the Monopoly and Mergers Commission of our Great British Empire!"
Chu Huan smiled. Although he did not need to deal with the other party for the time being for his business in England, there would definitely be a lot of dealings to do in the future.
"Hello Mr. Ferdinand, it's an honor to meet you!"
Although Ferdinand shook hands with Chu Huan in a standard manner, in fact, Ferdinand still looked at Chu Huan with deep doubts in his eyes.
Ferdinand was no stranger to Chu Huan. Although he had never been to Xiangjiang, he still knew the business situation in Xiangjiang very well.
And Chu Huan is the name he has heard the most in the past few years. It only took less than ten years for a Chinese in Hong Kong to become the most influential businessman in Hong Kong, and even the most influential businessman in Asia.
Strong businessman.
Such an achievement filled Ferdinand with curiosity.
What’s more, what’s happening now is that Ferdinand also learned today that a company called Chinese Real Estate owned by Chu Huan is going to acquire the largest private consortium in Hong Kong, Jardine Matheson!
This matter has spread in British political circles.
"Director Chu is young and promising. To be honest, when I saw Director Chu, I thought he was the successor of that consortium!"
Ferdinand greeted Chu Huan politely. Although he was proud of being an Englishman in his heart, he could only hide this pride from Chu Huan.
The Minister of Finance personally accompanied him here, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons personally introduced him. In fact, this has shown Chu Huan's influence in Hong Kong's political circles.
"By the way, Mr. Chu, Ferdinand is also a standard fan, and the team he loves is the Manchester United team you own!"
Joe Cole smiled and preached.
Ferdinand was surprised again. He knew that Manchester United had been sold to a North American sports consortium, but he did not expect that Chu Huan was the real boss behind Manchester United.
This also shows that Chu Huan's business is not only in Xiangjiang, but also has a large scale in North America.
"Really, there happens to be a home game of Manchester United tomorrow night. I wonder if Mr. Ferdinand is interested in going to the home court to cheer them on?"
Chu Huan extended an invitation to Ferdinand.
Ferdinand smiled and said: "Of course it's a great honor!"
Just as a few people were chatting, a young man of about thirty years old wearing a tuxedo suit came over. Next to him was a young girl wearing an evening dress with some baby fat on her face. She looked just like that.
A ten-year-old look.
Seeing these two people coming over, Qiao Keer and others stood up together, and Chu Huan also stood up.
Chu Huan had already recognized the identity of the other party, Charles, the British royal family, and Princess Diana, who had left a mark in British history.
Although the British royal family no longer has much real power, these people who should respect the British government will still respect them on such occasions!
Otherwise, I will be criticized verbally and verbally by the outside media!
"What are you talking about? Are you so happy?" Charles asked everyone with an elegant smile, but his attention was focused more on Chu Huan.
There is no way, among a group of ghosts, Chu Huan's image is too prominent.
"We were chatting for a while about what interesting things we should take pictures of." Joe Cole replied.
Charles smiled first, and then asked Chu Huan: "If I read correctly, you are Chu Huan from Jiaku, Xiangjiang, Director Chu, right?"
Chu Huan also responded with a smile: "I didn't expect Prince Charles to know Chu too!"
Although Charles acted very friendly at this time, Chu Huan knew that the longest-serving crown prince in British history was actually a very domineering person.
Charles smiled and said: "I did hear some things about Director Chu in Xiangjiang, but I didn't expect that Director Chu would be in the mood to come to our place for a dinner. If I had known that I should have personally sent the invitation letter to Director Chu, I wouldn't have
Let Director Chu come here without any identity!"
At the beginning, Qiao Cole and others listened to Charles' words with smiles on their faces. After all, Chu Huan was their guest, and Charles being able to show respect was also a kind of respect for them.
But when Charles finished speaking his last words, the smiles on the faces of Joe Cole and others disappeared.
Again, Chu Huan is their guest, and respecting Chu Huan means respecting them. And Charles' last words were obviously disrespectful to Chu Huan, so naturally he was also disrespectful to them.
Facing Charles like this, Chu Huan just smiled, but had already retracted the hand he had extended to shake hands with.
Seeing Chu Huan's action, Charles raised his eyebrows and showed his unhappiness.
Qiao Cole suddenly smiled and said: "Dr. Chu is the guest I invited, and I have already informed Her Majesty the Queen. Prince, you are busy with work and dating, so I guess Her Majesty the Queen did not tell you about this matter."
Bar!"
This time it was Charles's face with a look of dissatisfaction. Joe Cole's words were obviously telling him that he had a mother above him.
"As far as I know, the people we invited to this banquet were either government officials or the country's nobles. I don't know when President Chu became a noble of our Great British Empire. How could I not know?" Charles did not know him.
As politically sensitive as my mother is, she also doesn’t have much emotional intelligence.
Facing Chu Huan at this time was still at his home court, so he could not get any benefits, so Charles naturally showed it directly.
Diana, who was next to Charles, looked at Chu Huan's expression with curiosity. She was still immersed in the sweetness of her passionate love with Charles, and had no idea what the man she was going to marry would bring to her in the future.
of trauma.
At this time, Diana was only 19 years old. Although she could not be said to be a good-looking person, her resistance to handsome men was not that strong. The most important thing was that she was very curious about what kind of background this man from Xiangjiang was like.
These high-ranking British officials will embarrass Charles.
"I personally invited Director Chu to come and reported to Her Majesty the Queen. Is there any problem with Mr. Prince?"
At this moment, a woman's voice came.
Everyone followed the sound and looked over.
Another woman who left her name in history!
Margaret Thatcher!
The growth of the British economy in the 1980s was inseparable from Mrs. Thatcher, which also stemmed from Churchill's resignation. After the war, many people believed that Churchill, who led Britain out of trouble, could continue to be the British Prime Minister. Even The Times at the time
” also wrote specifically.
Winston Churchill is not only the embodiment of the British spirit, but also our strong leader. In addition to the British, the entire free world has great trust in him.
But the result was a slap in the face for everyone. The Conservative Party led by Churchill actually lost to the Labor Party led by Clement Attlee by a huge disadvantage of 197 votes to 393 votes, and lost the right to form the government.
After analysis, Mrs. Thatcher found that the reason why people abandoned the Conservative Party and Churchill was because of the poor domestic economic situation.
After graduating from college, Mrs. Thatcher met her husband, Sir Denis Thatcher, a wealthy British businessman.
After getting to know each other, falling in love, getting married, and with the financial support of her husband, Mrs. Thatcher re-entered the British political arena, finally allowing her to serve in the cabinet in 1961, becoming a rising star in the British political arena.
This year, Mrs Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister in British history.
For such a woman who is destined to be written into the history of England, how could Chu Huan miss making friends with her when he asked Ma Jizu to come to England.
What's more important is that Mrs. Thatcher's husband is also a wealthy businessman, and the two parties have a good basis for cooperation.
Therefore, in Hong Kong MacLehose believed that Chu Huan's most powerful assistant in London was Joe Cole, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, but in fact Chu Huan's best partner in London was actually Mrs. Thatcher.
When Charles saw Mrs. Thatcher arriving and saying the same thing as Joe Cole, his expression became even more ugly. This was a situation he had not expected, and more importantly, Mrs. Thatcher could not afford to offend her.
It was not just Charles who looked ugly. Henry Keswick, who was sitting with George Thomas, also looked increasingly ugly after seeing Mrs. Thatcher's behavior.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! I thought that after arriving in London, I could easily crush Chu Huan’s power in London, but in less than half an hour, Henry Keswick discovered
What I thought before was so ridiculous.
Unknowingly, Chu Huan's influence in England even surpassed that of many established British nobles.
Even his own influence began to seem insufficient in front of Chu Huan.
Such a discovery made Henry Keske feel more helpless than angry.
"Henry, it seems that it will be very difficult for you to keep Yihe!" George Thomas sat there, his expression not very good. After all, everyone in England knew about his relationship with Henry Keswick.
Now that Chu Huan is so powerful in England, this is not a good phenomenon.
"Peace has lasted for too long, making people forget the glory of the British Empire. Now everyone's goal is to see economic growth!"
George Thomas did not say this sentence, he just thought it silently in his heart, but its meaning was already obvious.
He did not believe that Chu Huan, a person who had just come to England, could have such deep friendships with so many powerful people in England. So the friendship they showed now actually showed one thing, that is, the interests of these people had long been
Already bound together.
Only the binding of interests can make these people become close friends in a short period of time.
On the other side, because of the arrival of Mrs. Thatcher, Charles also understood that he could not gain much benefit here. He left Chu Huan's table with a few words in the end and led Diana with a curious face.
"I'm sorry, Director Chu, because of our negligence, you have had some unpleasant experiences."
Mrs. Thatcher sat next to Chu Huan, talking to Chu Huan with a smile on her face.
Chu Huan chuckled softly and said: "It doesn't matter, it's not a big deal. Besides, I also want to thank you very much, madam. Thanks to your appearance just now."
Mrs. Thatcher smiled and said: "Yes, Mr. Chu, you are our friend in England. I also want to thank you on behalf of the women and children of England!"
The relationship between the two originated from a purposeful charity donation. When Mrs. Thatcher was the Minister of Education and Science, she made a decision that triggered public demonstrations and protests, which was to cancel the provision of free education to schools across the country.
Milk policy.
At that time, "The Sun" even publicly mocked her as "the one who snatches milk from students."
Later, after Ma Jizu met Mrs. Thatcher through Geoffrey Howe, he established a charity foundation and proposed to provide an annual donation of 1 million pounds to the British women and children.
Such donations naturally became her political achievements through Mrs. Thatcher's operation.
Chu Huan said with a smile: "Taking from the people and using them for the people. Our Jiaku has made some achievements in England, and naturally we have to feed them back to the people of England!"
Mrs. Thatcher smiled and said: "If all businessmen can be like you, Mr. Chu, it will really be a blessing for us in England!"
After the two parties exchanged pleasantries, Mrs. Thatcher got up and went to talk to other people. Chu Huan did not mention Yihe during the conversation with her.
One is because the occasion here is inappropriate.
Second, many things can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words.
Mrs. Thatcher came to Chu Huan as soon as she came to the dinner, which actually explained a lot of problems.
Next, Chu Huan only needs to find a time tomorrow to meet with Thatcher alone. The two parties will propose their own conditions to each other, and then after various negotiations, finally reach an agreement.
Not long after Mrs. Thatcher left, the on-site charity dinner began. Since it was a charity dinner, naturally some people took out their collections for auction.
Although Chu Huan did not auction any of his collections, he also spent one million pounds on an antique piece of jewelry at the auction.
Then there are all kinds of conversations.
After the dinner was over, Chu Huan returned to his residence.
However, Chu Huan did not fall asleep directly after returning to the villa. According to the time difference between Xiangjiang and London, the business acquisition in Xiangjiang will be over at two or three o'clock tomorrow morning.
So Chu Huan definitely won't have time to sleep tonight. He must be ready to answer calls from Xiangjiang at any time.
Not only was Chu Huan unable to sleep, Henry Keswick, who was in direct competition with Chu Huan on the other side, also had no intention of sleeping.
Although they are all in London now, in fact their thoughts are more in Hong Kong.
At one o'clock in the morning London time, Chu Huan was sitting on the sofa in the study, holding in his hand the information about Henry Keswick's relationship network in London that Ma Jizu had investigated.
Everyone on this network may have an impact on their completion of the acquisition of Jardine Matheson Land.
The door to the study room was pushed open and Ma Jizu walked in.
"Chairman, why don't you go up and take a rest first? I will notify you as soon as possible after the call comes from Xiangjiang!"
Chu Huan smiled and shook his head and said: "No, there are only two hours left. Compared to us, I think those people on the other side of Xiangjiang may be more nervous!"
Ma Jizu sat opposite Chu Huan, nodded and said: "I still remember that when Brother Feng and I first arrived in Xiangjiang, we heard people in the city say that Yihe can sometimes be equated with Xiangjiang.
Yes, I didn’t expect that in just a few years, we would be able to acquire Jardine!”
Chu Huan laughed and said: "At that time, you must have never thought that you would become a powerful figure in Europe, right?"
Ma Jizu said with a sneer: "This is all given to me by you, Chairman!"
The two of them were chatting like this, which was indeed more relaxed than the one in Xiangjiang.
But at this time, Xiangjiang Jiaku was already very busy!