208: This batch of leeks is lush and green, ripe for the harvest!

Not until the very last second before being apprehended did Tian Wenjing dare to believe that the report alleging misuse of funds at Tesst Asia Pacific was Marshal's doing. As for everyone else, whether they believed it or not, it was not very important. In any case, Tian Wenjing had arrogantly declared in the meeting just now that the misappropriation of funds was his personal act and had nothing to do with anyone else. These words were recorded by the meeting cameras and the stenographers, making them impossible to refute or deny. Tian Wenjing was finished this time. On the very day Tian Wenjing was arrested, Tesst's CEO, Marshal, held a global press conference. Filled with righteous indignation, speaking with solemnity, and his face contorted with anger, he denounced Tian Wenjing's actions. "I condemn the act of Tian Wenjing, the head of the Asia Pacific region, for misappropriating over a billion in funds to purchase mechs from Huarong Technology..." "Regardless of his intentions, violating the Great Xia's regulations on fund supervision constitutes a crime, and we must severely condemn such behavior..." "Finally, I apologize to the public for my own inadequate supervision..." Good heavens. Marshal's acting skills truly outshone any Hollywood star. Originally, Tian Wenjing's actions, causing the outflow of over a billion in funds, had already triggered a minor upheaval in the capital market. Many opponents had begun to suspect that Marshal had privately authorized this and expressed doubts about Marshal's strategic vision. Just as Tesst's stock was about to slip again, Marshal's public speech, coupled with the massive paid online comments, instantly shifted the narrative. All of this became Tian Wenjing's personal act, with no relation whatsoever to the wise and mighty Marshal. This even caused the stock to rise instead. The over a billion in funds originally intended for Meng Hao, plus the guaranteed failure of the ten billion in the wager agreement, was actually recouped by Marshal from the stock market. Of course, the only unfortunate one was Tian Wenjing, the scapegoat. However, capital, from the moment of its birth, flowed through every pore with something foul. Entrepreneurs were no different. As long as a beautiful vision could be painted for investors, drawing in countless leeks to enter the market again, losing a few lives or scapegoating a few individuals was no big deal. For instance, Tian Wenjing, who was arrested and facing at least 10 years in prison... and before him, James, the former CEO of NG Company, who leaped from his 33-story mansion! The global sales rights for the Phantom power mechs would be fully transferred to Songzan of the Three-Indian nation after a one-year, ten-billion-total bet agreement. This meant that after completing a year of low-price deliveries, Meng Hao would only have to wait to share profits with Songzan's Tadar company. With a global market of around 30 billion annually, Meng Hao was already somewhat dissatisfied... Moreover, the real profits wouldn't come until Songzan completed its monopolization of the global mech sales market. Although lithography machines were considered major commodities, due to raw material issues, it would take some time before they could be officially launched. Furthermore, lithography machines could not be mass-produced; one unit per month would be considered fortunate. Even more so, for equipment with such strategic significance, Meng Hao had no intention of selling them worldwide, just as Western countries' lithography machines were only sold within a limited number of their allied nations. Therefore, the lithography machines produced by Huarong Technology would only be sold domestically within the Great Xia. In addition to mechs and lithography machines, Meng Hao had to seek another industry that could bring substantial profits. For example, new energy vehicles. After outsourcing battery production to various franchisees, Great Xia's domestic composite lithium batteries, equipped with Huarong Technology's core technology, were sold all over the world. Their low price and more than triple power reserve allowed Great Xia's batteries to quickly capture the market vacuum left by the collapse of NG Company and gradually erode the market share of other battery manufacturers. Meng Hao, who was contemplating this, saw the news on his computer screen of Marshal spouting venomous words against Tian Wenjing, the Asia Pacific president, for misappropriating funds to purchase Huarong Technology's mechs. Watching Marshal's self-righteous demeanor, Meng Hao felt like laughing. Damn it, this guy's acting was truly masterful. The problem was caused by him, yet the blame was shifted to Tian Wenjing. If Meng Hao wasn't the central figure involved, he might even have believed it. Marshal continued to spout nonsense on video. "Due to Tian Wenjing's grave mistakes, as the CEO of several companies, I have decided to withdraw from the mech industry... After all, it's only a small market of thirty billion, utterly insignificant to our group of companies with a market value in the trillions!" "We will focus more on Tesst's new energy vehicle research and development, manufacturing, and further expand our presence in this field with an annual market share of three hundred billion." "Of course, we aim to grow and strengthen this market, striving to double it within five years!" My goodness. Another grand vision being painted. Not only to deepen the focus on new energy vehicles but also to completely expand the pie. Wouldn't that be an implicit suggestion to the capital market and shareholders that Tesst's market capitalization would quadruple in five years? In plain language, "Everyone, our stocks are going to soar... hurry up and get in... it's money to be made!" This was nothing short of deceiving leeks into the market! And to actively withdraw from the mech market? Losing the ten-billion-dollar bet agreement meant that Songzan's Tadar company, with its superior marketing prowess, would sweep the global market with the help of Huarong Technology's Phantom mechs. At this point, if one didn't promptly exit the mech market, it would essentially mean a loss. Meng Hao increasingly admired capitalists like Marshal. Damn it, layoffs were called "graduation." Being fired was called "optimization"! Being eliminated was called "contributing high-quality talent to society." Being unable to continue in the mech sector was called "focusing on other core areas." My word, these entrepreneurs truly played with human language masterfully. Losses were called "planning for the bigger picture." Withdrawal of capital was called "seeking strategic opportunities." Being driven away was called "strategic relocation." The key was, there were indeed leeks who believed it! Look at Tesst's stock today. Marshal had made a strategic error, losing over two billion. Yet, with some packaging, it was completely transformed into his wise and mighty shift in strategic investment. Even more absurd was that those foreign leeks had pushed up Tesst's stock. It seemed this batch of leeks was so green and lush; it would be a shame not to harvest them given their vigorous growth!