Chapter 153 All's Fair in War

Regardless of which side, Wangyi Company or Ren Qian, was in the right or wrong, it was ultimately of little consequence. Ren Qian would never allow Wangyi to take advantage of him, and Wangyi certainly would not let their own company suffer even the slightest loss.

They were merely partners—partners harboring their own hidden agendas.

Wangyi wanted to bring down Seeking Entertainment Media Company, while Ren Qian simply wanted Seeking to vanish entirely from the Empire, never having to lay eyes on that website's malicious smears against him ever again.

To this end, the two sides communicated via their phones.

The Wangyi side consistently emphasized that Seeking's actions had already infringed upon Ren Qian's personal legal rights, hoping that Ren Qian would gather evidence and take Seeking Entertainment Media Company to court.

Yet, Ren Qian refused to do so.

Sue Seeking?

Was he out of his mind?

If he really dragged Seeking into a legal battle, the lawsuit would drag on for at least two or three years before a verdict was reached. Ren Qian was neither an idle man nor strapped for cash, nor was he desperate enough to stare longingly at that paltry sum of compensation every single day.

Besides, he had far more important matters to attend to; why would he ever want to waste time entangling himself with Seeking?

Thus, he brushed it off once more, deflecting and talking about unrelated things.

"Your esteemed company expects me to sue Seeking, naively believing that this will drag Seeking down? If that is the level of intelligence your company possesses, then our cooperation might as well come to an end right here."

As soon as Ren Qian said this, a wave of awkwardness washed over the other party, leaving them momentarily speechless and choked for words.

"Nowadays, entertainment media outlets in the country are blossoming in full splendor, with the most famous ones being Seeking, Soohu, and Xinxun.

Our Wangyi has only recently risen to prominence.

Although those three giants dominate the field, you should also know that competition among such gossip-centric websites is exceptionally fierce.

Moreover, they frequently fail to retain netizens; in other words, websites with such high immediacy lack user stickiness.

Netizens might come here to read today and go there tomorrow.

Nothing is certain.

Because news portal websites like ours do not have high demands for reputation. As long as you publish attractive news, you become the darling of the netizens."

Ren Qian fell into speechless inner monologue: 'I am not an employee of your company, and I am a singer while you are website operations personnel. As the saying goes, different professions are worlds apart; there is no way I can cross boundaries and offer you tactical advice.'

"Saying all this to me is quite useless, nor can I make all netizens flock to your website to read the news. Acting as a spokesperson for your website is possible, however. But that would require endorsement fees. And my endorsement fees are not low."

"Mr. Ren misunderstands. Look at how fierce the competition is among websites. If they publish news that fails to cater to the audience's tastes for even a short period, or if they fail to publish news for a while... the audience will leave.

Suppose at this moment, our Wangyi steps in and takes advantage of the void..."

"Rest assured, our Wangyi website has already begun eliminating pop-up advertisements, and we are beautifying the page. Furthermore, we will analyze netizens' browsing histories to recommend news tailored to their preferences.

The user experience at Wangyi will undoubtedly be the best in the Empire. If you just give us a single chance... we can squeeze out Seeking, and even seize Seeking's revenue channels until we acquire them. By that time, there won't be any media outlets brazen enough to publicly slander you like this again!"

Ren Qian: "..."

This rhetoric was certainly impressive, but where on earth was Ren Qian supposed to find an opportunity for Wangyi to exploit this void?

"How should I address you?"

"My surname is Wang. Just call me Little Wang."

"Very well, Little Wang then. I am merely a singer with limited capability. Besides, I am well aware that Seeking's smearing can only be temporary. Once my album breaks forty million sales a year from now, they will naturally shut their mouths. Therefore, I don't care much about this matter."

Little Wang felt a splitting headache coming on.

What he feared most were people who had no desires and sought nothing. Such individuals were invariably the most impervious to persuasion and the hardest to manipulate.

"Mr. Ren... Our board of directors has discussed and decided to offer you a three percent stake. In return, our company will provide you with a dossier detailing Seeking's distortion of facts and spreading of rumors. The information inside is extremely detailed. As long as you deliver this dossier to the Director of the Provincial Department of Culture and offer a few persuasive words, I believe the Director will certainly no longer turn a blind eye to this matter."

Ah, well. Ren Qian finally understood.

The headquarters of Seeking Entertainment Media Company was located in Changsha.

In the Empire, whether a business could make money depended entirely on the whims of the market, and whether it could make money without interference sometimes depended on the whims of the mayor.

As for high-ranking officials like provincial governors and department directors, you—as a corporate leader—had to listen to them very carefully.

You simply could not afford to get on their bad sides.

Otherwise, if higher-ups sent people down to investigate you, even if your hands were clean and you were completely innocent so that they found nothing, the business would still suffer the fallout, wouldn't it?

The main reason a company could avoid investigations and even obtain internal information ahead of time before certain policies were rolled out so that they could prepare in advance was largely because they had ingratiated themselves with the person sitting in that high seat.

Seeking definitely had backing at the higher levels.

That was why they could spread rumors and still live so comfortably.

Yet, who was Ren Qian?

Ren Qian was a heavy hitter who conveniently held the nominal title of Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture.

If he exerted a little influence and persuaded the Director—prettifying it by calling it a way to boost the Director's political achievements and respond to the call of the relevant departments of the Central Committee—

The Director would certainly not refuse. After all, this matter only brought benefits to the Director.

So, after beating around the bush for so long, Little Wang's intention boiled down to this: since open competition wouldn't work, they would resort to underhanded tactics. Having the Director lead a team to investigate would be enough to give Seeking a taste of hardship.

"Ah, Little Wang, this matter is actually open for discussion!"

Hearing this, Little Wang felt a surge of covert delight.

"Really? Then let us wish each other a pleasant cooperation. I will make sure to send the materials to Mr. Ren's email shortly."

"Hold on! If I am to go and persuade the Director, you must also provide me with some leverage."

"The evidence in the documents is already sufficient..."

"No, no, I am not talking about that. I want to share a policy with you—a policy that only officials at the deputy director level and above are privy to."

Upon hearing this, Little Wang perked up. Whether a company could seize opportunities often depended on following the nation and keeping in step with its policies. Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately replied that he wanted to listen.

Ren Qian cleared his throat.

"It is like this. The Provincial Governor came to meet with me last time and spoke at length about the plan to develop and strengthen the cultural influence of Jiangnan Province.

Governor Wang spoke with grand vision: the plan is to build a culturally powerful province within three years, injecting one billion yuan into fields such as film, television, and the music industry.

Utilizing unique Jiangnan cultural charm and employing the most innovative talents of Jiangnan, the goal is to forge Jiangnan into the entertainment capital.

Governor Wang also put forward five key mandates:

First, to let the entire Empire feel the cultural charm of the great province of Jiangnan;

Second, to unswervingly follow the socialist path;

Third, to seek truth from facts and cultivate top-tier directors and top-tier musicians;

Fourth, to let Chinese culture march out into the world and spread across the globe;

Fifth, to let our culture stand proudly among the forest of nations.

The higher-ups are about to invest massive capital to support the development of culture and entertainment. How about it? Shouldn't your esteemed company ride this favorable wind, secure some financing, and respond to the government's call?

The more money your esteemed company provides, the more tempted the Director will become. Not to mention the Director, even the Governor might be moved. By then, your Wangyi will become a key enterprise heavily supported by the provincial government..."

Little Wang: "..."

Good grief, how did the conversation suddenly pivot to money?! How did leverage get brought up out of nowhere?! Clearly, this 'business negotiation' was already nearing its conclusion, wasn't it?!

He raised his head and looked at all the shareholders in the boardroom, as if silently asking: How on earth do we crack this?