I changed the world.

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Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 887 Wen Zaide

Most of these southern nobles lived in the secondary capital, Jiangling. Later, when Songjiang's economy took off and gradually became the most economically developed city in the empire, comparable to Jiangling, many of these nobles also moved there.

In fact, if Emperor Huanzong had not been a member of the imperial clan, the current Zhao Dynasty could easily be considered a new dynasty with a tripartite balance of power. Therefore, in the current court, the nobles who rose to power after the Jia Shen year actually wield far more influence.

Therefore, it was inevitable that the imperial nobility would be divided into northern and southern factions. Of course, this was not absolute. In fact, it was quite common for the old-school nobility to reside in the south and for the Jia Shen nobility to reside in the north. The so-called regional division was only a general observation.

Of course, the empire must treat both groups of nobles equally. However, where there are people, there is a world of intrigue. The nobles were ennobled for their military achievements, and their influence in the military was deeply entrenched. As a result, friction was inevitable.

Of course, after nearly 300 years, the two groups of nobles were not irreconcilable enemies, but gradually began to intermarry. However, overall, the factional distribution still could not escape this general trend.

An Zhengquan walked towards the young master Wen, with Zeng Yuxuan walking beside him, half a step behind. The young master of the Changping Marquis family obviously saw him walking towards him, and then turned to them with a smile on his face.

Zeng Yuxuan quickly took two steps forward, walked up to the young lord, his face beaming with a warm smile, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Young lord, you are surrounded by distinguished guests tonight. This banquet is truly magnificent. Mr. An was just telling me that he wanted to come and toast you, the host, with a glass of wine..."

"I dare not accept such praise, I dare not accept such praise. There is no landlord here... The landlord here is the Great Master of Yunxiao Mountain. I am merely taking this opportunity to invite all of you guests to gather together and to get to know some new and old friends." Although this "young master" mentioned by Zeng Yuxuan was called "young," he looked to be about thirty years old. Judging from his manners, he was not as eccentric and arrogant as those in many fantasy novels Zhang Jing had read in his previous life. On the contrary, he was quite humble.

"Chairman An, it's an honor to meet you!" After replying to Zeng Yuxuan, the young master looked at An Zhengquan standing to the side, his smile widening: "Chairman An, you are one of the most prominent business tycoons in the South. The Qianluo Group's business spans both domestic and international markets. I have long admired you, and I never expected to have the honor of meeting you today. Just for that alone, this banquet is well worth the effort!"

"Young Master Wen, you flatter me. I am not worthy of such praise," An Zhengquan said modestly, bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.

Although they didn't know each other before, An Zhengquan had a general understanding of the man before him. The Changping Earl's family was a noble family that rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Huanzong. They had lived in Jiangling for generations, and their surname was Wen. The family had intermarried with many noble families in the south, making them quite powerful. Even in Jiangling, which was a secondary capital, they were a prestigious noble family. The direct descendants of the Changping Earl had a tradition of serving in the military. The current Changping Earl held the rank of Major General in the Marine Corps and served in the Aerospace Force. He had a bright future. This young master Wen was named Wen Zaide, courtesy name Jingde. It was said that he had retired due to injuries sustained in an accident during an exercise, but he still held the rank of captain. His second younger brother was also currently serving in the military with their father.

The two immediately began to chat, with Zeng Yuxuan acting as a comedian to liven up the atmosphere, making the two, who were meeting for the first time, quickly become acquainted. However, with An Zhengquan's experience, he could naturally tell from the interaction and even some of the body language between Zeng Yuxuan and the young master Wen that their relationship was not as it seemed. He thought of what Zeng Yuxuan had said to him earlier and had some vague guesses. Could it be that the young master Wen in front of him was the person behind Zeng Yuxuan?

"I didn't expect to meet Chairman An here this time. I had heard that the Buddhist religion was quite popular in Jian'an..." After chatting for a while, the topic of religion inevitably came up. After all, everyone who came here this time was here to participate in the abdication ceremony, and they all had some connection with Yunxiao Temple.

An Zhengquan didn't offer much explanation, after all, he had indeed come with a purpose, and the matter of investing in the bank was too sensitive, so he couldn't go around talking about it before things were settled.

“There are indeed many Buddhists along the coast of Jian’an since ancient times, but my family has always revered the Heavenly Venerable, and we even built a family temple to worship him.” An Zhengquan said this, feeling somewhat uneasy. After all, if it weren’t for his daughter, his family originally worshipped Buddhism. It was only after his daughter recovered from her illness that he switched to worshipping the Heavenly Venerable. Even so, he himself had not entered any temples or monasteries to become a lay Buddhist.

The practice of "lay Buddhists" is quite common in the upper echelons of Zhao society. Many people would register their names with a large temple or monastery, donate some money, and claim to be practicing at home. Temples and monasteries were usually happy to accept these lay disciples, since these people were generally generous donors and had a certain amount of influence.

“My daughter fell ill a few years ago, but after becoming a disciple of Yunxiao’s master, she is now in good health. That is how we became acquainted. This time, upon hearing that Master Li was abdicating the position of abbot, I thought I had to come and witness the ceremony, and also pay my respects to the Heavenly Venerable within the temple,” An Zhengquan said.

"I see, then she truly has a connection with the Celestial Venerable..." Wen Zaide exclaimed in admiration, "I wonder, which monk in the temple does your daughter worship?"

“My daughter’s master, though from the Yunxiao Sect, is not a monk within the temple, but rather from the same lineage.” An Zhengquan didn’t explain much. In fact, he really didn’t know the specific relationship between his daughter’s master and the Yunxiao Temple. After all, the seniority and kinship within the Xuanmen sects were too complicated, especially for a large sect like Yunxiao that had lasted for 2000 years. Outsiders could only see things in the dark.

"I see, then it's quite a coincidence..." Wen Zaide nodded upon hearing this and didn't ask any further questions. After all, in his view, things were already quite clear; An Zhengquan and the Yunxiao lineage didn't actually have any deep relationship.

Generally speaking, the seniority of Eastern religious sects is determined according to the generational naming system. This is because Eastern religions are based on the master-disciple lineage. Some long-established sects have disciples all over the world, making it difficult to verify the relationships between them. Therefore, they determine the seniority based on the generational naming system.

Logically, the higher one's seniority, the more prestigious one's status, due to the emphasis on seniority, filial piety, and humility in Eastern culture. However, this is not the case in reality. Generally speaking, the ranking within a sect depends not only on seniority but also, and perhaps more importantly, on the closeness or distance between the member and the main sect.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 888 Foundation

For example, taking Yunxiao Mountain as an example, the Yunxiao lineage is a major sect in the country, and its disciples are also spread all over the world. There are many branch academies and separate temples in various places, including many disciples of high seniority.

However, when it comes to true influence on the sect, the lineage that truly holds sway is that of the abbot of the ancestral temple, Yunxiao Temple, on Yunxiao Mountain, from Cao Taishan to Xiao Daoguang, and from Xiao Daoguang to Li Jingxin. As for those from other branches that are not affiliated with the ancestral temple, Yunxiao Temple, their influence on the sect is generally limited, no matter how high their seniority.

Wen Zaide intentionally or unintentionally began to mention his family. The Changping Earl's family had been donating to Yunxiao Temple since the previous generation of Changping Earl. In particular, the previous generation of Changping Earl himself believed in Taoism and even became a lay Buddhist at Yunxiao Temple in his old age. He was a disciple of the lay community and his teacher was Xiao Daoguang's junior brother. Therefore, strictly speaking, Wen Zaide could call Li Jingxin his senior brother.

It must be said that this relationship would not have been mentioned by anyone ten years ago. However, now, many high-ranking officials in the empire have realized that behind the seemingly normal world, there seems to be a bottomless fog. No one knows what secrets these sects, which have existed for thousands of years, have. However, even what has been revealed so far is enough to make people not dare to underestimate them.

Therefore, when Wen Zaide chats with people, especially those of certain status and position, he often intentionally or unintentionally brings up his family's relationship with Yunxiao Mountain to highlight his family's background.

An Zhengquan naturally offered another round of praise. The two chatted about the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) for a while. It must be said that this young master Wen came from a family with a long history of learning. Despite having served in the military before, he was quite knowledgeable about Xuanmen anecdotes. Fortunately, since his daughter recovered from her illness, An Zhengquan had been reading some books about Xuanmen doctrines and history, so he was not completely clueless and unable to respond to questions.

Generally speaking, people in high positions have high emotional intelligence. If such people make you feel unapproachable, then it can only be said that you are not worth their effort. At this moment, both An Zhengquan and Wen Zaide are clearly skilled conversationalists, and with Zeng Yuxuan occasionally adding a few words of support, the atmosphere has been quite pleasant, at least both sides agree that it has been.

Gradually, the topic shifted to the current economic situation, and naturally, both sides began to sigh and lament about the current economic climate.

"Judging from the current trend, the deep space concept might be in serious trouble. It's obvious that many large funds have already withdrawn in advance. It can only be said that the previous speculation on the deep space concept was too crazy, and many people even bet everything on it. Faced with this stampede, many who used leverage are likely to be liquidated." Wen Zaide sighed, but there was not much sadness on his face. On the contrary, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

“Many companies in the industry have deep space-related investments, and quite a few have likely been affected this time. The current industry and financial sector are too closely linked, and a stock market crash will indeed have a significant impact on the entire industry.” An Zhengquan nodded and sighed as well. He was genuinely a little scared, after all, he himself had almost fallen into the trap.

"Deep space concept stocks have been hitting the daily limit down for several days. I heard yesterday that two fund companies in Songjiang had their bosses jump off buildings because of margin calls," Zeng Yuxuan added at the opportune moment.

“I saw a news report a while ago saying that Chairman An was preparing to acquire shares in Genesis Aerospace. I wonder if some media outlets are just making things up?” Wen Zaide picked up his wine glass, gestured to An Zhengquan, took a sip, and then casually said, “I also heard that Haishang Bank is brokering this investment?”

"There were indeed some related intentions and contacts within the group before, but those were all intentional contacts, and there is still a considerable distance between them and actual operation. The media, well, they always release the news first and then talk about it." An Zhengquan smiled faintly, without any intention of explaining further.

“I see. Genesis Aerospace’s shares even rose during that time. It’s fortunate that Chairman An didn’t make a move, otherwise, given the current situation, it would not have been a good investment.” Wen Zaide said with a smile, and then hinted intentionally or unintentionally, “I thought that Chairman An withdrew from the acquisition because he had some kind of conflict with the Wei family of Haishang Bank.”

An Zhengquan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. It was clear that Wen Zaide had investigated him. However, he knew that his acquisition of Genesis Aerospace was not a secret, since both Genesis Aerospace and Qianluo Group were listed companies. The two parties had even issued a statement of intent. Of course, the acquisition eventually fell through, and this matter could not be kept secret. The media followed up on it, but due to a series of events, especially the major news from the Truth Reporting website, the media's attention was completely diverted, making the acquisition less conspicuous.

However, the entanglement and grudges between himself and the Wei family are not so easy to investigate unless one is deliberately looking for a solution. Clearly, this young master Wen did not invite him on a whim.

"Qianluo and Haishang Bank are just normal business dealings. I wonder where Young Master Wen heard this news from?" An Zhengquan asked tentatively.

Wen Zaide chuckled, not answering directly, but continued, "Chairman An, don't you think there's been a lot more negative publicity about Qianluo lately? As far as I know, the Ministry of Commerce is currently drafting some regulations to standardize market competition, and there will probably be another round of inspections afterward..."

An Zhengquan's heart sank upon hearing this. This was something he was unaware of. The person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce was none other than the cabinet minister from the Wei family. Although they couldn't legislate directly like the anti-monopoly law to completely shake the foundation of the Qianluo Group, as the department in charge of commerce, it was entirely possible for them to create some obstacles for the Qianluo Group.

After all, although Qianluo Group started with social networks, its other investments are also extremely extensive. If the business department finds one or two points to start with, then it's like a thief who can only do what he's told, not someone who can defend himself against a thief. In this asymmetrical game, Qianluo will definitely suffer losses, because the arm can't twist the thigh.

"The Wei family of Haishang Bank? By the way, I heard that Chairman Wei of Haishang Bank just passed away, just in the last couple of days?" Zeng Yuxuan suddenly mentioned, then looked at An Zhengquan, seemingly to confirm whether he knew any inside information. After all, the timing of Wei Feng's death was too coincidental, inevitably leading others to speculate.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 889 Shares

“I know Chairman Wei well. In fact, we are usually quite good friends. It’s just that there may have been some misunderstandings recently…” An Zhengquan sighed, controlling his emotions. As a business tycoon, he was long past the age of showing his emotions. At least, no expression of like or dislike could be seen on his face.

He sighed: "To be honest, I was quite surprised by his passing."

“Actually, I wasn’t specifically following Chairman An’s business. It’s just that before this, I happened to hear that Hai Shang Bank was borrowing short-term loans from several banks, and then I heard that Qian Luo had withdrawn a huge amount of cash from Hai Shang Bank…” Wen Zaide seemed to want An Zhengquan to think too much, and explained, “Then I heard that Chairman Wei passed away… Oh, right, my third brother even went there to express his condolences.”

"Chairman An probably doesn't know that after I was discharged from the army due to injury, I've been managing the family business at home. Therefore, I always need to know about these kinds of economic rumors. To be honest, there's been a lot of news about Qianluo lately..."

An Zhengquan silently observed the young master Wen's expression and attitude. He didn't believe that the other party was merely saying, "Let's get to know each other," as he had claimed. However, he knew that most sons of noble families fell into two categories: either spoiled brats or extremely shrewd, and many were both. In many cases, their apparent spoiled nature was simply because the people they associated with weren't worth their shrewdness.

However, regardless of what this young master Wen was actually thinking, he had at least shown a willingness to back down, so both morally and logically, An Zhengquan could only pretend not to investigate further. After all, given the current situation, although the An family was wealthy, it was truly inappropriate for them to offend any new political opponents.

"These are turbulent times..." An Zhengquan sighed. "To be honest, there was indeed some misunderstanding with Chairman Wei before, but it wasn't anything serious. I thought that since we live in the same city, we could resolve the misunderstanding, but I didn't expect..."

As he spoke, he looked at Wen Zaide and said, "I am not satisfied with Young Master Wen. Qianluo is indeed facing some constraints in some aspects. I wonder if you have any advice for me?"

As the saying goes, one can understand the subtle meaning behind a song. An Zhengquan had already figured it out. The unspoken meaning behind the words of the young master Wen was to remind him of the difficulties Qian Luo was currently facing. So he didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

Wen Zaide smiled slightly and gestured to the side, "Chairman An, why don't we talk somewhere else?"

An Zhengquan nodded upon hearing this, and the two of them exited the banquet hall through a side door and went to a lounge next to the banquet hall. Zeng Yuxuan, however, wisely did not follow and left with an excuse...

About half an hour after the two entered the lounge, the second son of the Marquis of Runan also entered the lounge...

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The banquet lasted until 21:00 PM. An Zhengquan returned to his room with a heavy heart. After dismissing his assistant and bodyguards, he lay alone in the bathtub, soaking in hot water while closing his eyes to think about his conversation with Wen Zaide.

He was now certain that this young master Wen had done this intentionally. Perhaps the main purpose of this banquet was to create an opportunity for him to "bump into" him.

To put it bluntly, this young master Wen's purpose was not complicated, and it could even be said that it was not unexpected by An Zhengquan: they hoped to acquire shares in Qianluo Group. Of course, "they" here does not refer to the Changping Marquis's family alone, but to several other noble families in the south, including them. Perhaps to increase their persuasiveness, after they talked for a while, Wang Ling, the second son of the Marquis of Runan, also came in for a chat.

Of course, since today's meeting was only the initial contact, the two sides did not discuss things in great depth. However, judging from the hints given by this young master Wen, An Zhengquan could guess that their asking price would not be low, and that they would probably need to cut at least 20% of Qianluo's shares.

While 20% of the shares may not seem like a high percentage, Qianluo Company is a listed company with a relatively dispersed shareholding structure, including a large number of small and medium-sized investors and investment institutions. In addition, there are also shares held by senior executives and employees. Under these circumstances, the shareholding of An Zhengquan and his wife is only 28.8%, and even if the shareholding of An Xuqing's family is included, it will not exceed 40%.

Given the size of Qianluo, it is already extremely difficult for An Zhengquan to maintain this proportion of shares. If he were to sell 20% at once, even if he could persuade some shareholders to dilute their shares, it would still result in the Qianluo Group's de facto largest shareholder changing hands.

Therefore, even though that young master Wen clearly stated that they had no designs on Qianluo's control and that it was purely a financial investment because they were "optimistic about the development of Qianluo Group," and indicated that they would definitely side with Director An in subsequent board votes, in reality, once such a powerful major shareholder entered the picture, it would be a very troublesome matter.

Therefore, although An Zhengquan did not refuse at the time, he was actually unwilling to give up such a large shareholding.

In particular, Wang Ling, the second son of the Marquis of Runan, appeared quite self-important after joining the conversation. While not exactly arrogant, he certainly seemed to want to be in charge. Furthermore, during the subsequent chat, this man hinted at Qian Luo's unfavorable situation, especially by repeatedly mentioning the ongoing debates within the Grand Council regarding the anti-monopoly case and certain voices in the public sphere. It must be said that while this was a reminder, it also carried a hint of threat.

An Zhengquan wasn't sure if these two young masters had planned to play good cop and bad cop, but both Wen Zaide, who appeared polite, and Wang Ling, who seemed quite imposing, were wearing masks and were not as simple as they appeared.

As someone who has been in the business world for a long time, he has a certain degree of accuracy in judging people.

During tonight's exchange, he also gained some additional information. He was certain that many high-ranking nobles in the empire were indeed observing the situation. In fact, although the two people present tonight represented considerable power, they were not among the empire's truly top nobles. In other words, An Zhengquan actually had doubts about their ability to "settle matters." Therefore, he had already rejected the cooperation in his mind. Even if a large group like Qianluo were to be sold, it would have to be sold to someone who could resolve the matter and was willing to pay the price.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 890 The Beijing Liaison Office

Of course, the ideal scenario would be for his daughter's plan to proceed smoothly. After all, Qianluo is his foundation, and he would not touch Qianluo's shares unless absolutely necessary. On the contrary, he would repurchase them if given the opportunity.

In fact, if it weren't for the antitrust issue, given the current situation and Qianluo's current state, it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Because of the previous acquisition of Genesis Aerospace, Qianluo Group had actually raised a large amount of funds. Although the acquisition failed, Qianluo, with its vast amount of working capital, was in a very advantageous position, able to both attack and defend, especially in the current stock market crash.

According to An Zhengquan's own thinking, the current situation makes the deep space concept unsuitable to pursue. This doesn't mean the deep space concept is doomed, but rather that the stock market decline requires a process, which usually doesn't occur in the short term. In fact, even after learning about the Fengsuibao incident, An Zhengquan remained interested in the future of deep space exploration. After all, the Earth's surface is limited, and humanity's desire to advance further and venture into space is unavoidable. The Fengsuibao incident only meant that deep space exploration couldn't be immediately conducted, but insightful individuals can see that with the advancement of technology and industry, human exploration of the universe is inevitable. The difference lies in needing a more long-term perspective; what's not possible now doesn't mean it won't be possible in the future.

Therefore, once the deep space concept stock price falls to a certain level, he is still willing to appropriately enter the industry at a low price.

Beyond that, and more importantly, he had been considering using the panic during the economic crisis to buy back shares of Qianluo Group, further increasing his own stake. After all, he had built the company from scratch, and during Qianluo Group's growth and listing, too many shares had been dispersed. These dispersed shares, now that Qianluo had reached its current size, no longer provided much benefit. Therefore, if he had the opportunity to buy them back, it would not only allow investors to receive real returns, but also give him a more concentrated shareholding, increasing his control over the group.

After all, with concentrated shareholding, there will be much less resistance when pushing the group to carry out certain projects, and the returns and risks will also increase proportionally.

However, the current policies...

An Zhengquan recalled a piece of information that the young master Wang Ling had intentionally or unintentionally revealed earlier: the current Empress Wang's third brother, Congressman Wang Shuqing, had expressed his support for the anti-monopoly bill in both public and private settings over the past two days.

This is a very bad sign. After all, many people see Empress Wang's third brother as a reflection of the Empress's own attitude. Even though the Zhao Dynasty has a tradition of the empress not interfering in politics, she is still the Empress, the mother of the nation, and no one can truly disregard her.

To some extent, the empress's attitude could even be seen as a barometer of the emperor's attitude, which was extremely dangerous.

Given the current situation, many bigwigs have not yet made a direct statement, clearly observing the situation. As for Qianluo, it doesn't have any major projects in the capital, only some scattered investments. After all, the capital is the largest city in the north of the empire, the political and economic center, and the core of imperial power. However, because of this, it is, as the saying goes, "very deep water." Therefore, An Zhengquan, who started his business in the south of the empire, originally did not intend to get involved in this deep water. Even so, Qianluo still has an investment office in the capital, and its level within the group is not low. This is to handle some political and business relationships. For such a large group, such relationships are unavoidable, whether they like it or not.

This time, the office had already been operating for some time, so An Zhengquan had heard about many things inside the capital. In fact, under his instructions, the office had already made contact with some powerful figures, but the situation was not optimistic.

From An Zhengquan's perspective, his greatest wish is actually to spend money to avoid trouble. He's willing to spend some money to settle things. If Qianluo Group is split up, that would be the worst outcome. However, if a new major shareholder is introduced to avoid this outcome, it's hard to say what a good result would be, as the introduction of such a powerful shareholder could easily lead to trouble.

However, as things stand, the Beijing liaison office is not entirely without effect, but it mostly plays a supporting role, while the truly influential and decisive roles remain ambiguous.