"Understood, I get it!" the representative said, hanging up the phone with a smile. It was an overseas call, from Europe, on the other side of the world. The representative had just informed him that everything was going smoothly, and Oumeng had decided to launch a relevant investigation, which would commence within a week.
With the entire matter now thoroughly concluded, the representative was quite pleased with himself.
"Mr. Bob, why are you using a Tianzhou terminal as well?" At this moment, on the other side, a few party workers saw the top-of-the-line luxury Tianzhou 3 terminal in the representative's hand and couldn't help but ask in a slightly mocking tone.
"What's so strange about that?" However, the representative showed no embarrassment, instead replying with a broad smile, "Not only am I using a Tianzhou terminal, but the television at my home is also a Los Gatos TV, my favorite game is Warcraft 4, and my favorite star… oh, no, I should call her an actress now, is the exceptionally beautiful Miss Leng Zhiwen!"
"My wife even owns the complete set of the Shui Liu Shang Qu Shui Cai Wei seasonal outfits, and they are all limited editions."
"It's no exaggeration to say that in every field that the Jiangnan Group is involved in, we use their products."
"Why? Because I love China?"
"Of course not. I never love any country; I only love life. Whoever can bring a better experience to my life, I will choose their products. Just like the Tianzhou terminal, it is indeed the best terminal currently available. Why wouldn't I use a Tianzhou terminal?"
"Gentlemen, we are all pragmatists. I don't need to explain such a simple principle, do I!" The representative's words drew a burst of laughter from the others. That's right, they were all the same. They all had Tianzhou terminals in their pockets. After all, Tianzhou terminals were indeed good to use, not to mention the software called WeChat within the Tianzhou terminal. Almost all of their partners had their own WeChat accounts and had to use WeChat for all sorts of daily communication, so they had to have their own WeChat as well.
"However, since we're on the subject, I can tell you a joke!" The representative's lips curved slightly upwards, and he then chuckled, "Actually, I managed to get two of the top-of-the-line Tianzhou 3s through various connections."
"I use one myself, the one in my hand. The other one, I gave to a gentleman in Europe who really wanted to own a top-of-the-line luxury Tianzhou 3 but had missed out on the opportunity."
"After he received that top-of-the-line Tianzhou 3 from me, he readily agreed to my request and played a significant role in pushing forward the investigation. There were several times when the European Parliament was on the verge of being swayed by the Jiangnan Group's lobbying team, and he helped me push it forward with all his might."
"If the Jiangnan Group knew that the very device that sent them to hell was the top-of-the-line luxury Tianzhou 3 they produced themselves, their reaction would undoubtedly be very amusing!" Representative Bob couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Reality will be very amusing!" The others present also joined in the uproarious laughter. It was indeed a very amusing story.
That evening, Mr. Bob hurried to another meeting venue without delay.
However, unlike the previous meeting where he chatted with party personnel, remained calm and composed, and even subtly held the upper hand and initiative, at this meeting, Mr. Bob was extremely humble. He didn't bring his top-of-the-line luxury Tianzhou 3 with him; instead, he switched to an Apple Cp2, also a high-end version. It was convenient as he only needed to change the SIM card.
Mr. Bob was so humble because the attendees of this meeting were no ordinary people; they were companies that could shake the entire United States.
These were the companies we mentioned earlier: Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Google, Qualcomm, and others. These companies eventually formed a terminal alliance, contributing their flagship products and core technologies, which allowed Apple and Google to produce products that were no less inferior to Tianzhou 3.
At this meeting, Mr. Bob reported his work very seriously and in detail, including how he navigated skillfully throughout Europe and ultimately pushed for the launch of the investigation plan.
In other words, this entire investigation plan targeting the Jiangnan Group was driven by Mr. Bob. He not only exerted considerable pressure in the United States but also in Europe, ultimately facilitating this matter, truly a laborious and meritorious achievement.
Of course, without the background and pressure of the aforementioned five companies, success would have been impossible. These individuals were the masterminds behind the scenes.
"You've done a good job this time. An additional $10 million will be donated to your foundation account!" said a Microsoft executive. Mr. Bob sincerely expressed his thanks.
"Gentlemen, how do you think the Jiangnan Group will respond this time?" Although the investigation was successfully launched, it did not necessarily mean ultimate success.
After all, this was only the initiation of an investigation. The crucial part was the outcome of the investigation, whether the Jiangnan Group would be ultimately found to have violated regulations, whether strict penalties would be imposed on the Jiangnan Group, and whether they would be required to dismantle the entire Tianzhou Group. It was also not impossible that they would be forced to give up their dominant European market share, or even be compelled to hand over the technology for the Tianzhou 3 terminal. This was what the major companies truly desired.
Otherwise, mere compensation would not cripple the Jiangnan Group, but the European Union would ultimately benefit, and what did that have to do with them?
Therefore, they were more concerned about the Jiangnan Group's subsequent actions and the final investigation results.
"What else can they do? It's nothing more than a few moves. On one hand, they will try every means to delay the process and time, and on the other hand, they will desperately bribe relevant personnel, or threaten and entice them, to try their best to achieve a favorable investigation result."
"Finally, they will definitely falsify market data, doing everything they can to reduce their market share, and most importantly, deliberately cultivate a competitor to tell the investigators, 'We are not monopolizing the market; look, there's a competitor here!'" an Apple executive said sarcastically, glancing at the Microsoft executive and then chuckling, "Mr. Smith, you Microsoft people are most familiar with these tactics. After all, you dragged out the entire investigation for a full 14 years. Such superb technical skill must mean you can discern all of the Jiangnan Group's moves!"
"Hmph!" The Microsoft executive, Smith, snorted. However, he could only snort, as what was said was the absolute truth. Microsoft indeed had extensive experience in dealing with such investigations.
So, the Microsoft executive said calmly, "These are the moves. As long as we counter these moves, we are guaranteed to win."
"First, regarding their delaying of the process and time, and the lobbying of the entire investigation team, these two tactics are essentially the same. The solution lies with people. As long as we win over the relevant personnel and let the forces behind us exert greater pressure, making these people dare not betray us, these issues will not be a problem."
"The only troublesome part is the third tactic, which is falsifying market data and cultivating competitors. For the former, we need to gather all the data and relevant evidence ourselves and then present it directly, which can effectively corner them."
"As for cultivating competitors, we Microsoft are not very adept at it. After all, we haven't successfully cultivated any competitors over the years. On the other hand, the gentlemen from Intel have consistently managed to keep AMD barely alive, dangling there. That's what true experts in cultivating competitors look like. Perhaps we should hear their opinions!" Microsoft passed the ball directly to Intel.
Intel couldn't refuse the ball, so the representative said expressionlessly, "The key to cultivating a competitor lies in choosing the right opponent. This opponent cannot be too weak, otherwise, they cannot be cultivated. But they cannot be too strong, otherwise, they will bite the hand that feeds them. That's why we chose those crazy guys from AMD among a host of opponents."
"As for the Jiangnan Group, I suspect they will most likely choose one of you two to cultivate, deliberately ceding market share, even providing technology, and then instigating a conflict between you. After you defeat your competitor, they will trickle down some scraps from their fingernails to keep you in a half-dead state, and that's pretty much it!" The Intel representative also spoke sarcastically to Apple and Google, indicating that their skills in sarcasm were equally high.
"In the end, neither of us can fall for their scheme and start competing with each other!" the Google executive concluded, "The two of us must maintain a unified stance, never accept any handouts from the Jiangnan Group, and if necessary, we can even voluntarily give up the entire European market. The Jiangnan Group's market share in Europe will become even more extreme, and thus the probability of success will be highest!"
Following this concluding remark, the atmosphere in the conference room seemed to become more amiable. Thus, these individuals spent the entire night discussing and drawing up a detailed plan, requiring multiple parties to sign it and strictly adhere to it. At almost the same time, their assistants walked in, their expressions somewhat strange as they placed a document in front of each of their bosses.
This document was from Tianzhou Company, a subsidiary of the Jiangnan Group. In fact, the document stated, "Greetings to friends all over the world. Over the past three years, Tianzhou terminals have achieved extremely successful results worldwide, benefiting countless users and enterprises. However, we have also realized that many traditional mobile phone companies have fallen into operational difficulties because of us. We are very sorry for this, and we also believe that our technology should not be enjoyed exclusively by us but should be shared with everyone else, so that we can all strengthen the entire terminal industry together."
"Therefore, we at Tianzhou Company hereby announce that starting next year, Tianzhou Company will completely cease the production and sales of all mass-produced Tianzhou terminals, retaining only the sales of our luxury and top-of-the-line luxury versions of Tianzhou terminals. Other versions will no longer be produced or sold."
"Concurrently, we are opening up all technologies related to Tianzhou terminals, parts supply, and system-related resources to the market. All enterprises can cooperate with us. We will sell all parts, chips, etc., required for Tianzhou terminals without any restrictions, as well as related technical training and system porting work."
"Although Tianzhou terminals will depart, in the future, countless new Tianzhou terminal children with completely different types, orientations, and unique characteristics will be born into this world, contributing to the beautiful lives of all humankind!"