Chapter Eleven: The Chang'an Plan

  The next day at work, Long Bao discovered that the group's stock had an unusually volatile trend throughout the day, with a slightly larger trading volume than in previous days and a wider fluctuation range.

  At noon, Yang Liyi invited Long Bao to a small restaurant outside and mysteriously said: "Ao Cheng, do you know what happened last night?"

  Long Bao shook his head, indicating he didn't know. Yang Liyi leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "I'll tell you, something big happened in Hong Kong yesterday! Qian Lao had a stroke! He's been in a coma with brain hemorrhage and can't get out of bed! The power is about to shift!"

  Long Bao immediately realized that this was a deliberately exaggerated rumor! Immediately after, he received a call from Zhou Jing and others in Huizhou asking about Lao Qian's illness.

  Rumors can kill! Rumors can deceive the masses! If group members are suspicious of rumors and secretly spread them, it will inevitably cause fluctuations in the morale of the troops!

  Long Bao reported to Xue Zong immediately after finishing his meal! Xue Zong also didn't expect that in just one night, it would become the current situation with rumors spreading everywhere. He secretly admired Qian Lao, who could act so realistically! This undoubtedly proved another point, that their opponent had already started making moves! However, he couldn't understand why Qian Lao wanted to hide it from Jin Kuangning, the CEO of the group.

  Xue Zong was convinced that Long Bao could be truly trusted, just like Qian Lao trusted himself. He decided to let this highly intelligent child participate in the formulation of the "Chang'an Plan", which would determine the life and death of Li Heng. He needed the most powerful helper, and Long Bao was the best candidate!

  Long Bing followed Xue's instructions and rented a taxi overnight to rush to Xue's home in Chang'an.

  Long Bang just entered the door, Xue Bingying happened to come out of the bathroom wearing a nightgown after taking a shower. Xue Bingying was startled and was about to scold Long Bang when she discovered that he only gave her a polite smile before directly knocking on her father's study door. She felt somewhat embarrassed and humiliated, couldn't she get his attention?

  Xue had thoroughly searched his study and found no signs of bugging devices. His opponent must have been well-prepared this time, he couldn't afford to be careless!

  Xue's expression was extremely solemn, his voice very low as he told Long Bao many secrets. Finally, he instructed: "Long Bao, you basically understand the situation now. The current situation is extremely urgent and we must quickly formulate the Chang'an plan. The Carp plan is just a personnel reform detail of the Chang'an plan. The Chang'an plan not only needs to reorganize the personnel structure but also the entire group's business combination, even how to defend against powerful and hidden external enemies! The entire plan involves a very wide range of aspects, with each link connected to the next, and cannot have any mistakes!"

  Xue's eyes were filled with sincere trust, his thick right hand tightly grasping Longbiao's strong shoulder, as if to give him the greatest confidence, saying: "Longbiao, I believe you won't let me and Qian Lao down! Here are some confidential documents about the group that I brought back for your use. I also wrote a draft of the Chang'an plan. You don't need to go to work at the shoe factory for the next two days. Use all your strength to finalize this plan, and Qian Lao will come to hold a high-level meeting in two days. This plan must be submitted to him on time. The whole thing is top secret, you only need to be responsible to me, I am directly responsible to Qian Lao."

  After reading all the materials, Long Bao already had a solid foundation in his heart.

  Yes, whether this Chang'an plan can be formulated and implemented perfectly is not only related to the life and death of all members of the Qian family, but also to how this vendetta will evolve in what form, and it is also related to the evolution of relationships between all internal and external stakeholders of Liheng Group.

  This is already a war! This is a war of life and death that concerns the happiness and safety of many people!

  Thinking of myself, Long Bao puffed out smoke, and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. It seems that fate is indeed a strange mystery, and it seems that curses are also a real mystery that follows oneself from above! Otherwise, why does something always happen wherever I go?

  Don't believe it? Take a look, and in an instant you'll find yourself caught between two whirlpools!

  The first whirlpool is about his own crime, almost involving all the people he knew in college; The second whirlpool will be a commercial revenge war that will unfold around the Long'an plan devised by this catfish!

  Xue's draft plan is too rough, and many places cannot withstand scrutiny. The broken chain between the rings is obvious, and it seems that it is only a makeshift repair for Li Heng. If the Chang'an plan is just building such a simple passive defense system, then it is no different from a wooden fence, which can't stop the opponent's iron cavalry lightning strike at all. It will be set on fire in an instant, and Li Heng will be slaughtered by others.

  The opponent is a formidable and cunning character, necessarily possessing corresponding aggressive attack capabilities. After years of planning and preparation, there must be a complete offensive plan in place. In short, Li Heng is now in a precarious situation with crises lurking everywhere, the situation is extremely perilous! It has reached a life-or-death juncture!

  ……

  Long Bao bowed his head to write, from time to time taking a puff of smoke to reason carefully and check the data, until 6 o'clock in the morning of the second day, finally finished writing the first draft. This first draft had more than 20,000 words.

  Xue Zong was still resting in the bedroom, Long Bao stood up and stretched his waist, only to find that the study room was filled with smoke! He quickly opened the door of the study room quietly, opened the window for ventilation, and then slipped into the bathroom to urinate and washed his face.

  At 6:45, Xue Bingying changed into her company uniform and came to the study room. She glared at Long Bao who was revising the plan and shouted, "Ao Cheng, remember this!" before turning around and leaving.

  Xue rushed to headquarters to arrange for the high-level meeting two days later, and he handed Long Bao two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes before leaving. The entire villa was left with only Long Bao and the maid.

  Long Feng locked himself in his study, undistracted and more meticulous than ever as he pondered the Chang'an plan.

  By two o'clock in the afternoon, he felt that the basic framework and basic analysis could be settled, and began to copy.

  Writing is the safest, Longbiao's writing speed is extremely fast, and can reach 2,500 words per hour. The final draft of the plan book has 14,000 words. By the time General Xue returned home, Longbiao had already finished copying everything.

  Xue looked through the thick plan book of over 40 pages, shocked by Long Bao's meticulous and bold thinking. He and Long Bao again carefully discussed the plan content until late at night, when they finally looked up from the plan book at 11 pm. Xue handed a cigarette to Long Bao: "Tonight, I'll trouble you once more to copy out the revised draft. Tomorrow, I have to rush to Hong Kong to report in person to Old Qian."

  His face showed no signs of fatigue, he nodded without hesitation, and the two of them simultaneously cast their eyes on the revised plan again, then looked at each other and smiled, smiling in mutual appreciation. They felt that they had convinced each other with logic and theory, and a surge of warmth rose up in both of their hearts, piercing through their physical bodies and space, colliding with each other, stirring up a turbulent wave, and the emotions of being moved and admired merged together, forming an indestructible beam of light that pierced through the darkness shrouding the world!

  The next morning, Xue woke up early and walked into the study, seeing Long Bao sleeping on the desk.

  The plan book has been copied and is written in standard running script, very clear and neat.

  Long Bao was a bit tired, after all, thirty-six hours of continuous brain consumption without interruption, indeed needed rest, he let out a soft snore.

  Xue Zong picked up the plan book and carefully checked it again, then called Long Bao to go to the guest room to rest, after which Xue Zong rushed to Hong Kong.

  In the south, October was still scorching hot, mercilessly baking the earth. The sky hung lazily with a few clouds, without a breeze, giving off a stifling feeling. Long Biao woke up at 4 pm, and after washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he hastily left Xue's villa and rushed back to his dormitory.

  The clothes haven't been washed for two or three days, so they must smell very sweaty. And now the whole body is full of smoke smell, I have to go back and take a refreshing shower!

  Zheng Xuecha lay comfortably on the bed in the luxurious room of a four-star hotel, his eyes closed as he savored the skillful fellatio from Dongdong, the little slut that Wang Ge had arranged for him to use. He puffed on the specially-made cigarette that the girl had lit for him, feeling like he was floating on air, every bone in his body melting with pleasure.

  This is the real enjoyment of life! It's not bad, it's just like this, only this kind of life is worthy of my identity as Zheng Xue! With so many beautiful women in the world, and so much wealth, I, Zheng Xue, can have whatever I want, and I'll have as much as I want! What about Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Hong Kong, Miss Asia? Aren't they all around me now, looking at my naked body with the same lustful eyes, aren't they still competing to suck and lick my treasure? I can play with them however I want, I am the most handsome man under the sky, the object of women's crazy pursuit!

  Money! It's all about money! US dollars, British pounds, Hong Kong dollars, haha, and even RMB. Oh yeah, there's a whole house full of euros in front! Rubles? No way! Yen? That's okay, I guess it has some value. Vietnamese dong? Thai baht? Don't let these things fly out and lose face! Alright, look, even the Song Dynasty's Jiaozi, Qing Dynasty's silver notes, Republic of China's gold and silver certificates are all flying out! Forget it, I'm too lazy to count them, just give me gold, platinum, and natural diamonds instead!

  ……

  Zheng Xue felt as if all his joints were coming apart, cells were cells, nose was nose, mouth was mouth, hands were hands, feet were feet, hair was hair, and everything was excited, thrilled, relaxed, and enjoying.

  Yeah, I remember the first time Dongdong gave me that special cigarette to try, I was feeling nauseous all over, but unexpectedly got used to it by the next day! Dongdong said this cigarette is made in India and contains some aphrodisiac herbs and a bit of marijuana. The aphrodisiac effect is great, no wonder Dongdong is so skilled in bed! As for the marijuana, what's the big deal about smoking a little? I, Zheng Xue, can't be looked down upon by women! Isn't marijuana openly sold in many states' pharmacies in America? Even President Bush openly admitted to having smoked marijuana in college, what's the fuss about?! I, Zheng Xue, am destined to be China's future president, so I must experience firsthand the mindset of President Bush when he smoked marijuana back then!

  What a refreshing feeling!

  Zheng Xue greatly enjoyed the pleasure of smoking this special cigarette, in his view, this was the real beautiful life.

  He unknowingly ejaculated into the mouth of a woman named Dongdong, and his whole body convulsed. Dongdong intensified her movements with even more skill and technique, amplifying this strange sensation for Zheng Xue. At the same time, she tightly wrapped her feminine limbs around Zheng Xue, who also reciprocated by embracing Dongdong.

  Zheng Xue felt extremely comfortable and gentle, continuing to float around. Brother Jin was indeed a good brother! Not only did he give me money, help me fight, but also gave me such a lovely female companion, far better than those shy college girls!

  Brother Jin is very satisfied with Dongdong's performance, secretly pleased: it seems that Dongdong has indeed carried out his own plan, Zheng Xue should have already become addicted to drugs. This *** cadre's son, apart from being good at playing with women and ***, can only get money from people who are in need of him, he doesn't understand anything else, a complete *** idiot. Hmm, this guy is not stupid, just a bit silly, his family has so much money, it's a big fish, won't touch him for now, will deal with him later.

  This official's son should have at least over a million in his hands, just getting him hooked on drugs isn't enough to control him, we need to trick him into gambling, get him to write an IOU for a large sum of money, only then can we truly control him and utilize his connections! Yuan Ze is nothing but a piece of trash! Does he think I'm still the fool I was last year?! Let me tell you, my way in with Miaozi in Guangdong is through knowing a group of friends! We've got old swindlers, professional hitmen, all sorts! You guys just watch and learn from me!

  He often wonders if his brother is not so simple, recalling the gloomy eyes staring at him with a seemingly passionate smile on his face. He can't help but feel a chill run down his spine, and he regrets getting into such a huge mess! Creating all these waves and whirlpools! Now it's impossible to stop even if he wants to, unless he gives up his studies and runs away to a foreign country.

  Can't help but think, is it really that simple? Things can't be settled just by leaving, and they're still getting worse. What reason would I use to explain myself to the elders of the Chang family? And what qualifications do I have to take on the responsibilities of the Chang family?

  After some deliberation, he decided to write a letter back to Longgui.

  Qian Lao and Xue Guo Wei sat in front of Mrs. Qian's grave.

  This is a feng shui treasure land that can see the distant blue sea, and the entire mountain shape is like an antique armchair. According to some Hong Kong and Taiwan feng shui masters, this is an excellent feng shui spirit hole, "Dragon True Hole" with sand ring surrounding water, and it is facing a direction without evil spirits, making it the top choice for many rich people in Hong Kong as their burial site.

  Qian Lao listened to Xue Zong's report on the Chang'an plan and felt that some parts of the scheme were too bold, while others were too conservative. However, after careful consideration, he found that this plan was indeed more reasonable than his own previous design, and it could withstand scrutiny better. Although there were still some places that lacked rigor, perhaps it was because they had limited knowledge after all.

  Qian Lao didn't say it was good or bad, he quietly looked at the place where the sea and sky intersected. That one horizontal line separated the blue sky from the emerald sea, separated the white clouds from the autumn sail. A strip of cloud floated and wandered, as if a dragon with its head lowered to drink water from the sea, agile and elusive.

  Money Lao's mind suddenly flashed out a passage: the dragon, which determines the agricultural harvest with its clouds and rain, is the representative of heaven. The images of the cow head, deer horn, python body, fish scales, carp whiskers, eagle claws, and tiger teeth became the majestic and powerful image of the dragon, a mysterious totem that ancient people filled with fear and awe. However, the physical totem of the dragon has already reflected its moral character: Cow - simple, honest, hardworking, diligent, and industrious; Carp - bringing good luck to people; Old Eagle - having a broad vision, soaring thousands of miles, iron claws like hooks, striking accurately; Snake - flexible, dynamic, not adhering to conventions; Deer - gentle, kind; Tiger - fierce, sharp, fighting to the death against enemies. The most important thing is to be able to bring clouds and rain to give the poor people a refreshing shower!

  Qian Lao gazed deeply, after a long time, "Long Bao, Long Bao, the successor of the dragon, the elite in steel... good name..." He secretly recited this name in his heart.

  It seems that I was wrong, how could I be so stubborn? Qian Lao seemed to have been deeply moved by the vast and boundless sea, his voice was a little sad but contained excitement: "Guo Wei, I'm old, my body is weak, but only now did I truly understand the meaning of 'Long De'! This Ao Cheng, haha, no, it's Long Bao, this young man Long Bao is not bad, we'll pack up and head to Chang'an soon, you call him over, I want to meet him!"

  When Xue Zongqian arrived at Chang'an, Long Bao was just arriving at the dormitory. It was already six o'clock in the evening. Long Bao's mobile phone was turned off. Xue Zongqian asked Xue Bingying to go and find Long Bao, so she stood angrily at the entrance of the dormitory waiting for him.

  Xue Bingying had been holding a grudge against Long Bao, and now she found the opportunity to vent her anger. She scolded him in Cantonese: "Ao Cheng! You damn bastard, I call you and your phone is off, I ask you and you just hum, are you awake or not?!"

  Long Bao was too lazy to explain to her, although Qiu Ya was also a bit saucy like her, but she would never be so boring and vulgar. Long Bao turned around and went upstairs, pushing open the dormitory door, where her roommate from the marketing department happened to be chatting with several other colleagues.

  Long Bing would normally just greet them and then take his change of clothes to the bathroom to shower.

  Xue Bingying stood in the stairwell, so angry that she was about to give birth to a Buddha and have another ascend to heaven. She couldn't believe that Long Bao actually dared to ignore her and swagger upstairs like that?!

  Long Bao didn't expect that he hadn't closed the bathroom door properly, and just as he was washing up enthusiastically, Xue Bingying kicked it open.

  Long Bao didn't show any tension or emotional disguise, and calmly maintained a still posture as he looked at this shameless girl; while Xue Bingying really didn't expect that she would kick open the door with just one kick! She was startled by Long Bao's naked body, but she quickly calmed down and actually used an appreciative gaze to scan Long Bao's athletic physique from head to toe, finally fixing her eyes on Long Bao's smooth buttocks.

  "What's with this woman and Shi Wei having the same moral character? Enjoy watching people? Long Bao's heart bitterly smiled, but his mouth calmly said: "Had enough of looking? If you've had enough, then please close the door."

  The colleagues in the dormitory were also stunned by Xue Bingying's frantic behavior, and immediately burst out laughing with excitement. Xue Bingying's face turned bright red, but she stubbornly shouted: "Look at you, you're not even as good-looking as a pig running down the street with its butt exposed!" After that, she muttered curses in Japanese and Italian, turned around and walked out the door to wait for him.

  At night, Qian Lao stayed at Xue Guowei's home. Long Bao also came. The three of them sat separately beside the tea table in Xue's study, with Xue brewing his signature Gongfu tea. The lighting in the study was soft and bright.

  Long Wan sat upright, without constraint, unease or tension.

  Qian Lao asked directly: "Ao Cheng, what's your view on the distant mountains in ancient landscape paintings? Tell me about it."

  Long Bao's voice was very calm, just like Qian Lao himself, and his expression was very respectful, just like Xue Zong's attitude towards Qian Lao. He replied: "Chairman Qian, I'm still a beginner in painting and don't dare to have any opinions on it. However, I remember that ancient people had discussions on this aspect. There is the saying of 'six far, twelve taboos, eight grids': Looking up at the mountain peak from the foot of the mountain is called 'high distance', peeking at the back of the mountain from the front of the mountain is called 'deep distance', looking at distant mountains from a nearby mountain is called 'flat distance', a broad river and vast sky with distant mountains in the distance is called 'broad distance', misty and hazy scenery where things are barely visible is called 'mysterious distance', and scenery that is extremely delicate and faintly visible is called 'secluded distance'. These are the six distances."

  "The twelve taboos in landscape painting are: forced composition, no distinction between near and far, mountains without vitality, water without source or flow, boundaries without danger, roads without entrance or exit, stones with only one side, trees with fewer than four branches, hunched figures, disordered buildings, dull and unrefined colors, and improper use of dots and dyes. A successful landscape painting should generally conform to the 'eight principles': 'old and broad stones', 'clear and calm water', ' rugged and majestic mountains', 'springs that flow down', 'clouds and mist that emerge and disappear', 'winding mountain paths', 'pines that twist like dragons and snakes', and 'bamboo that hides the wind and rain'. Mr. Qian, I'm just reciting ancient wisdom, but I think this 'six distances, twelve taboos, eight principles' already covers all the key points. I hope you won't laugh at me for saying this."

  Qian Lao nodded in satisfaction, not bad, said very well, it seems that there is real talent and learning. Qian Lao hinted to Xue Zong to take out the two exquisite things he brought with him, he wanted to observe and analyze the child's psychological state through Long Bao's appreciation of these two rare treasures!

  This is a jade cong carved from a piece of yellow jade. The jade has a pure and even color, with a bright yellow hue, and a thin cylindrical shape, approximately 10 cm high and 4 cm wide. The outer surface is divided into sections, each section having four cong corners as the central axis, with four dragon heads and beast faces carved on it, twisting and turning in a thousand ways. Each face has two protruding eyes as the center for multi-level carving, with fangs intersecting. What's strange is that through the light, you can see that there are faint striations of blood vessels on the surface of the jade cong, and at the center of the jade cong, there seems to be a misty dark object.

  Long Wan had never seen any antiques before, he only knew from books that this object should be a jade cong, at least a pre-Tang dynasty jade piece, especially as a ritual vessel popular during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. This yellow-colored jade was the most valuable type of jade, and it should have belonged to ancient emperors only. This jade cong even had blood veins, so it must be a top-quality jade.

  Long Bao gently put it down, and under the gaze of Qian Lao and Xue Zong, he picked up another object. This one looked quite different from the previous one. It was a small, delicate mouse with a clever appearance, vividly carved, although also bright and clean, but the material seemed to be gray stone, the only unusual thing being that the mouse's eyes were bright red, shining brightly under the light, this pair of small eyes The red color should come from the gray jade itself, not inlaid separately. The carving on the base was also very delicate and exquisite.

  Long Bao suddenly remembered a story he had read in the ancient book "Guest Window Idle Talk", which was about the origin of this small gray jade mouse! Could it be that the story was true? At the time, he thought it was purely a literary fabrication!

  Long Bao stared at the small gray jade mouse's eyes, he didn't notice Qian Lao's gaze sweeping across his expression, he seemed to be recalling the content of that article, he unconsciously took out a cigarette and lit it up, completely disregarding whether it was allowed to smoke in front of Qian Lao. His line of sight did not leave the mouse's red eyes, he calmly said: "I don't know if this is the thing recorded in the ancient book 'Guest Window Idle Talk', if so, then this little mouse should be a treasure from the Tang Dynasty Tianbao era, it is said to be carved from night-glowing jade, the wonder of these two mouse eyes lies in that every day at midnight they will emit light, ward off evil spirits and can keep books from being damaged by insects. I don't know if this legend is true."

  Long Bao pointed to the yellow jade chime and said, "I don't know its era, but I think its preciousness lies in its color, because this is a jade instrument that only emperors were allowed to use. According to the 'Zhou Li', 'six jade instruments are used to worship heaven and earth and the four directions: the green jade bi is used to worship heaven, the yellow jade chime is used to worship the earth, the blue jade gui is used to worship the east, the red jade zhang is used to worship the south, the white jade hu is used to worship the west, and the black jade huang is used to worship the north.' If we follow this explanation, then it should be the yellow chime specifically used for worshipping the earth among the six important jade ritual instruments."

  Long Wan raised his head, found Qian Lao was paying attention to him, and suddenly realized that he had been smoking, how rude! He quickly extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray and said apologetically: "Sorry, Chairman, I was lost in thought. Actually, I don't understand antiques at all, I was just talking nonsense, haha."

  Qian Lao's expression was very kind and peaceful, with a slight smile as he took over the conversation: "Then can you estimate the value of these two things? Let's hear it."

  This is indeed a difficult problem, Long Bao really doesn't understand this thing. He has never paid attention to the value of any cultural relics, and he hasn't even considered the monetary value of his own ancestral family tree. He has always thought that cultural relics are just witnesses to history, a transmission of years gone by.

  "This is the chairman's inquiry, and I must answer. Although I still can't understand the chairman's intention, he had to pause slightly and reply: "From a historical perspective, this jade ruyi may have a longer history and is also a national ritual vessel with great historical research value. However, from a mysterious perspective, this little mouse may be more distinctive because it was specially hidden in the Hanlin Academy to preserve ancient books. It's said that even ten thousand taels of gold can't buy such a treasure. I think this yellow jade ruyi is just an era's ritual vessel, serving as a symbol of etiquette and a decoration for the ancestral temple. This little mouse may not have its noble characteristics, but in my heart, it far surpasses that jade ruyi."

  "Jade is priceless, gold has a price. Gold is just a rare metal used as currency, but true jade is a rare treasure in the world. This jade cong should be a ritual vessel from ancient times, I think its value should be over 50 million Hong Kong dollars. That little mouse can't calculate it because whether it's physical research value or practical value, this jade cong can't be compared with it."

  Long Bao knew that Qian Lao was definitely testing him, but he felt that this question was a bit dull and meaningless. It seemed that Qian Lao didn't need to come and test his level of cultural relic identification at all, since he was already clueless about it anyway!

  Qian Lao's slightly narrowed eyes seemed to gaze at Long Bao's expression, and he was delighted to find that Long Bao was very calm in the face of such a rare treasure, without any hidden greed. He looked at the jade as if it were just a piece of history, studied the gray jade mouse with attention to its red eyes, smoked casually, chatted calmly, answered nonchalantly, and his answers made him extremely satisfied.

  With this child's extensive knowledge, he fully understands their value is worth a city, but he doesn't have any attachment or reluctance to part with them. Once he has seen them, he lets go of them in his heart. He doesn't possess that worldly greedy mentality! His facial expressions and eye movements are naturally pure and simple, completely without that kind of selfish inner desire, unlike some people who see something and then can't stop thinking about it.

  This is not something that can be achieved through psychological restraint! This is determined by his nature. No wonder Xue Guo Wei said that this child is very frugal, never wasting a single penny, this is a good kid who knows the difficulties and hardships, and is not moved by material desires! This is a good seedling with great potential! No wonder he can come up with such dignified and powerful ideas in the Chang'an plan draft!

  A true man's words are as he is! His writings are as he is! His speech is as he is!

  Now we can get to the point, and what follows is the real purpose of Qian Lao's request to see him.

  Qian Lao nodded slightly, and then suddenly turned to ask: "Ao Cheng, yes, Ao Cheng, what is the reason why you wrote the plan draft like this? Tell me, I want to hear."

  As expected! Long Bao secretly thought to himself, a hint of comfort rising up in his heart. He had finally caught the attention of the group leader with his true abilities and learning!

  Long Feng calmly replied, "The Art of War by Sun Tzu says: 'War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to safety or ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.' Therefore, we must examine it through five factors and seek out its true nature: first, the Way; second, Heaven; third, Earth; fourth, the General; fifth, Method. Commander Xue told me that this battle is too important, it's a matter of life and death, if the enemy doesn't defeat us to the point of death, they won't stop. Currently, the situation is that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, all our situations must be known to them, logically speaking, there may already be their spies within our ranks, our movements and actions can be said to be entirely under their control, while we know very little about them, this is one point."

  "Secondly, when the enemy attacks and we defend, if the opponent dares to send that painting to your birthday banquet, it is a challenge letter on the battlefield. It has been carefully planned for a long time, with a sharp systematic attack plan, while we don't even have a basic Macedonian defensive line, we are fighting hastily."

  "Thirdly, we are a listed company, a production enterprise, and a market entity. We are under tremendous pressure from the media and shareholders at all times. Our movements are clumsy and difficult to change direction, with many vulnerabilities to attack, while our opponents are agile and cunning, making it impossible for us to defend against them."

  "Fourthly, our commands are not unified, and there is a disconnect between the top and bottom. The crisis management system of the group is imperfect, and the countermeasures are oversimplified. On the other hand, the opponent is engaging in comprehensive warfare with consistent orders."

  "The fifth is that the opponent has not exposed his base, the opponent has no weaknesses, we have no way to launch a pre-emptive attack, and it is impossible to adopt the old trick of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao'."

  "Sixthly, our group has serious defects in personnel matters, with severe factional struggles, a lack of capable generals, and no clear plan for the special military funds that are supposed to be allocated. The sources of funding, management, and reserves need to be urgently addressed, but I'm sure the enemy must have already worked out a detailed plan."

  "To be precise, we have no generals, few methods, lost territory and lost the way. Our opponents are united in a coordinated attack, with everything ready, only needing to borrow from heaven and timing!"

  Long Wan drank all the tea in front of him, and habitually reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but immediately stopped, and smiled wryly.

  Qian Lao watched him while carefully savoring his words and analyzing them in conjunction with his own thoughts. Seeing Long Biao's actions, he couldn't help but smile slightly, indicating that it was okay for him to smoke freely, no problem.

  Long Biao was also very calm, thinking that in front of this wise old man, if he was too pretentious, it would be ignorance and foolishness. Showing his true colors might help the old man make a real judgment about him. Long Biao continued: "Wisely observing and analyzing the situation on both sides, for us, this war cannot be fought, but it must be fought. With external worries and internal troubles, we absolutely cannot simply fight an opposing war or a war of attrition. How can we avoid the consequences of 'a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep pool at midnight'? It's simple: to repel the external enemy, we must first stabilize the internal situation. What we need to do first is to solve our internal contradictions, and only then can we unite as one, store grain, train soldiers, select generals, eliminate traitors, build reasonable defensive lines, and absolutely not rush into war. The 'Fish Plan' has already shown initial results, but we don't have enough manpower, the actions are too secretive, and there is no backing from headquarters, so progress is still slow. Now it seems that the 'Fish Plan' can only be a branch action of the 'Long An Plan', and must be incorporated into the 'Long An Plan'."

  "So I think the second thing we need to do is to carry out a secret investigation within the group, and indirectly explore the opponent's attack direction. Based on the current situation of the group, from the perspective of war substitution thinking analysis, I personally feel that Jiao Senlin may adopt the "inner circle outer periphery strategic four major offensive plate" tactics."

  "The first step in the internal attack is to target the internal parts of the group. Firstly, since our group is mainly engaged in production and manufacturing, production and sales management are our lifeline and foundation, and the opponent will definitely make a thorough deployment here, it will make a big deal on raw material channels, front-line production departments, enterprise management departments, product sales channels and sales terminals."

  "Secondly, the company's finances are like blood, but currently there are too many impurities, pus, bacteria and viruses. The group's financial network is a circulatory system that has been severely damaged in many places, with serious leakage problems. We must be mindful of major issues such as idle funds, slow turnover of capital, difficulties in recovering accounts receivable, loan repayments and so on."

  "Thirdly, the other party interferes with personnel matters of our group, secretly plants moles, steals secrets, and spreads rumors to create problems and troubles. They control certain important departments, sow discord, cause high-level officials to become estranged from each other, and cannot unite as one to resist external enemies. I suspect that the commercial espionage case two years ago was their doing, and I believe there are still hidden moles lurking in different departments."

  "The second step of the internal attack is to target you, Director, and your family. You are the heart and soul of Li Heng, with a deep reputation in the business world, and many people who support you. This is what the opponent fears most, and he has lost out on this before. If you fall, Li Heng will lose its core and the support of its friends and allies. On the contrary, Li Heng will become a fat piece of meat, and many people will forget their moral principles and scramble to take a bite for personal gain."

  "He will lay hands on your family members, who are your blood relatives. I feel that this person will definitely take action against them and will use low-level and despicable means to control them, such as gambling, drugs, etc., which can cause great harm. He will push them to desperation or exert control over them through these means. I think he has already taken action! Otherwise, he wouldn't have written those words on that painting. Moreover, he will stir up trouble among the candidates for your inheritance and has already done so, achieving his goal."

  "Now that they have made their move on the group and your family, they will definitely expand their attack to the periphery. The first peripheral target of attack is undoubtedly your friends and acquaintances. They can only adopt the strategy of Zhang Yi of ancient times, who dissolved the six countries, using the current situation to distort your image and that of Li Heng in front of them, tempting them with interests, analyzing benefits and harms, or misleading them, making everyone doubt your physical condition on the one hand, and look bleakly at Li Heng's prospects on the other, giving up their support plans or having a slow intention or taking a wait-and-see attitude, striking at your possible reinforcements. I see that Mo Dong and He Dong's birthday gifts already have this tendency."

  "The second wave of attack on the periphery is this stock attack that Jiao Rong Sen is good at, it's his last resort. In my opinion, he will gather a huge amount of funds to launch a fierce attack at some point! This is when the overall market is about to plummet, it's when he uses various means to coordinate and trigger all the contradictions together, it's also when he spreads rumors and destroys people's confidence, and it's also when your body has problems again. But this time, it's the east wind that he needs! He wants to win in one battle, so he must wait for the arrival of this east wind!"

  Long Bao's expression was very solemn, and his tone was also very low. He had repeatedly reasoned out the Chang'an plan and even envisioned the scene of that fierce battle in his mind!

  Qian Lao and Xue Zong also had serious expressions, the three people did not notice that the tea in front of them had gone cold, Long Bao puffed on his cigarette, continuing to speak.

  "This man is undoubtedly very arrogant, narrow-minded and vengeful. He will double the pain he has suffered and inflict it on his enemies. He won't stop until he achieves his goal, and he thinks he has already won. Now he wants to provoke you, make you lose your normal working ability, judgment, and coping ability. He may not kill you, but he will constantly stimulate you spiritually, strike you, and force you to lose your sanity, lose your calm state of mind. He wants to take away your industry, make you witness the defeat with your own eyes, and personally taste the bitter fruit of losing loved ones."

  "He views himself as extremely high, not just to achieve the outcome of victory, but also to enjoy the process of a cat playing with an old mouse. Since he has a comprehensive attack strategy with a toxic system, he will basically follow the program, and his abnormal liking for admiring his precise calculation ability makes him unwilling to launch an attack easily, because in his opinion, profit is just something in his pocket. This is both his terrifying aspect and his fatal weakness!"

  Xue Zong completely agreed with Long Bao's analysis and turned his inquiring gaze towards Qian Lao.

  Qian Lao was lost in thought. Indeed, Long Bao had good reason to draft such a Chang'an plan, and even his analysis reminded him of many things!

  Qian Lao thought for a long time and then said: "You continue speaking."

  Long Bao knew that his views had been endorsed by Qian Lao, and he began to feel a little relieved. He said: "Actually, Jiao Rong Sen's attack is on our entire Li Heng system, attacking all our production relations and social relation chains. His appetite is too big, and his attempt is too sinister. He wants to thoroughly crush the flesh and bones of Li Heng. According to the current Hong Kong stock market trend and global stock market trend, it's not yet time for him to make a move. We still have time to fight back."

  "Our relationship chain has not yet shown severe necrosis and rupture, the chairman's attitude and physical condition have become the most critical link. I think his peripheral attacks are all dependent on the results of his inner circle attack, as long as there is no irreparable substantial harm to our business, our operation will not be broken, and his peripheral strategy will be difficult to produce a synergistic effect. Jiao Sen should have already calculated and estimated some strategies and reactions that the chairman must take, so we'd better make plans according to the situation."

  "On the battlefield, things are unpredictable and it's impossible to be fully prepared. There will definitely be many unexpected situations that we can't anticipate. Therefore, there must be a powerful secret command center directly responsible to you. I think we can only consider him as our most formidable opponent and make the worst-case scenario."

  "Chairman, Director Xue, there's an old saying: 'One must not offend the heavens and the earth with their heart and actions. If they do, they will be punished by the laws of nature!' Jiao Sen's misfortune is not Old Qian's fault; it's all his own doing. His greatest enemy is himself. When heaven inflicts a calamity, one can still find forgiveness; but when one brings calamity upon themselves, there's no escape. He will definitely come to a bad end."

  Qian Lao's face was as deep as the ocean, and Long Biao could only tell from Qian Lao's solemn expression that he was extremely anxious. However, Qian Lao remained calm in his tone: "Ao Cheng, no, I should call you Long Biao. Your personal situation has been told to me by Director Xue, and your fake identity issue has already been arranged for someone to help you resolve it. You don't need to worry about that for now. I can tell you that your analysis is reasonable, and Director Xue and your plan outline have been largely adopted by me. We'll find a time to discuss the operational details again. Currently, some evidence has verified your analysis, and in a few days, you will come into contact with some intelligence materials."

  Long Bao was exposed by the old man, although he thought that Mr. Xue would tell the old man this secret, but when Old Qian first called him 'Ao Cheng', he did not confess on the spot and felt a bit embarrassed.

  Qian Lao Wei smiled slightly and continued: "Long Bao, tomorrow's high-level meeting you will attend as a special representative of the shoe industry, just like that. You can go rest first!"

  Long Bao politely bid farewell and retreated. He had excellent hearing, and after closing the door, he faintly heard Xue Zong asking: "Qian Lao, what do you think of this child?"

  "Unparalleled in weighing profits!" It was as if Qian Lao had responded this way.