webnovelfull Chapter 387 Threats Don't Force Me to Be a Robber
Chapter 387 Threats Don't Force Me to Be a Robber
Su Zhengyang's arrogant attitude and cold tone instantly made Zart feel greatly insulted. As an ally of the Bird Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not considered a top military power in the world, but it was still one of the powerful countries in Europe.
As a member of the Austro-Hungarian royal family, Zalt had never been insulted like this. Zalt slammed the table in anger, stood up, glared at Su Zhengyang and said, "President Su, are you mocking the great Austro-Hungarian Empire as a thief?"
Su Zhengyang sneered without giving in: "Isn't it? At the end of the Shuiqing Empire, you Western powers formed the Eight-Nation Alliance and wantonly burned, killed and looted in Beilong City. In this century, China has become a synonym for backwardness in your eyes, and you can let you bully and humiliate it at will. But I, Su Zhengyang, will tell you today! From the moment I, Su Zhengyang, take the position of President of Northern Frontier, everything will change!"
"I will no longer grant you any privileges, nor will I allow you to act recklessly on this land. My rules are rules. If anyone dares to challenge my bottom line, I will use the machine guns and cannons in my hands to talk to you!"
Zart clenched his fists tightly, his face flushed, and his whole body trembled with anger.
Su Zhengyang insisted, "Sit down! You have no right to lose your temper here! I'll give you three seconds to stop looking like you've been humiliated. Otherwise, I'll send you to see God right away!"
Su Zhengyang exuded a murderous aura, and the murderous intent in his eyes almost solidified into reality, making Zart feel extremely humiliated and afraid at the same time. After two seconds of intense ideological struggle, Zart sat back in his chair with a look of resentment on his face. Obviously, facing Su Zhengyang's straightforward warnings and threats, Zart finally chose to surrender.
Seeing the consuls and business leaders present were all terrified and pale under his intimidation.
Su Zhengyang smiled slightly, sat down in his chair with a relaxed posture, and said slowly: "If you companies want to develop peacefully and do business in the future, you only need to agree to my three conditions."
"First! From now on, you are not allowed to sell arms and opium on Chinese territory!"
"Second! You must pay 40% of the business tax to the Northern Frontier Government Taxation Bureau every year!"
"Third! You must pay back all the taxes you haven't paid in recent years, not a penny less."
Su Zhengyang's unquestionable tone put great pressure on the people present. Of course, deep down, they were very resistant to the conditions proposed by Su Zhengyang. You know, the current commercial tax levied in the country is only 20%, and Su Zhengyang actually wants them to pay 40% tax. This is simply to kill them. Not only will they lose the privilege of not having to pay commercial taxes, but they will also lose a lot of profits. For these foreign companies that value money more than their life and only want to suck blood from China, this is more painful than killing them.
They could still barely accept the first condition, but the third condition was even more excessive than the second one. It required them to pay the commercial taxes that had not been paid in recent years. This was completely absurd. Take the French Commercial Bank as an example. Their headquarters in the French Concession in Beijing Port City has been established for thirteen years. If they want to pay the taxes for these thirteen years and pay them at a rate of 40%, then it means that they have to pay at least ten billion oceans to the Northern Frontier Government, which is totally unacceptable.
Sure enough, as soon as Su Zhengyang put forward his conditions, Dupont of the French Trading Company said anxiously: "This is impossible! President Su, you are forcing me to do something difficult. This is a joke! The Beijing-Hong Kong Treaty we signed with Northern Xinjiang has already stated that as long as the trading companies of our countries set up their headquarters in the concession, they do not have to pay any commercial taxes to Northern Xinjiang!"
"Mr. Dupont is right! President Su, your three conditions are more ridiculous than the last. Even if you point a gun at our heads, we will never agree to them."
"President Su, I am very disappointed with Northern Xinjiang. I never thought that Northern Xinjiang is such a treacherous regime that does not abide by the treaty. Your behavior is no different from that of a robber."
The heads of major business banks raised excited voices one after another, indignantly opposing the conditions proposed by Su Zhengyang.
Su Zhengyang put down the teacup with a cold expression, took out his pistol from his holster, and pulled the trigger towards the ceiling. With a dull gunshot, the business leaders finally shut their mouths in horror.
Su Zhengyang slammed his pistol heavily on the table. Outside the office, the soldiers who heard the gunshots rushed in quickly, staring at the consuls and business managers present with murderous eyes. As long as Su Zhengyang gave the order, they would open fire without hesitation and shoot all the foreigners present.
"President Su! You've gone too far! I don't believe you dare to risk the world's condemnation and kill us all! If you do this, you will become the public enemy of all Western countries! You can't afford this price!"
Su Zhengyang showed a hint of sarcasm in his smile and spoke again to express his attitude.
"Bandits? You are just like bandits, wantonly plundering our resources, constantly gaining benefits from our vast land, but unwilling to pay any price. You are the real bandits, right? You actually say that I, Su Zhengyang, am a bandit? This is simply ridiculous!"
"Now that we have come to this, I, Su Zhengyang, will tell you straight out. Even if we don't violate the so-called treaty, I, Su Zhengyang, have a thousand ways to kill you. For example, if I use our warships to block the waters near Binhai Port, I guarantee that none of your cargo ships will be able to dock at Binhai Port. For another example, there are many people in China who hate you foreigners. If some of them suddenly become desperate and bring machine guns and cannons to massacre your concession, what does that have to do with me, Su Zhengyang, and the Northern Frontier government?"
"Play tough, play tough! I, Su Zhengyang, am the ancestor of all you bandits! Whoever dares to go against me, Su Zhengyang, might as well give it a try. Sometimes, dying in a foreign land is another unique experience."
Su Zhengyang's devilish voice made the foreigners present fall into deep thought. Now that war was raging in Europe, the major powers were already unable to take care of themselves, and their deterrent power over the Far East was not as strong as before. Su Zhengyang rose rapidly at this time and became the leader of the entire Northern Frontier who had the final say and held great power. The key point was that Su Zhengyang's character was completely different from Yang Jiakai, whom they had met, who was kind at all and made concessions to the powers everywhere.
Instead, he seemed like a madman who could send you to hell or overturn the table at any time. This made them completely confused, lost their rhythm, and didn't know what to do.
"Within five days, you must give me a satisfactory answer. If anyone refuses my conditions, then congratulations, you will become the enemy of me, Su Zhengyang, and the entire Northern Frontier. I will ensure that there will be no soil for you to survive in the entire Northern Frontier. This meeting ends here."
"Xiao Jiang! Arrange for someone to send these distinguished guests back to Jinggang City!"
"Yes, President!"
Ye Bufan, who was specially invited to attend the meeting, clenched his fists, his body trembled slightly, his eyes were filled with excitement, and his blood was boiling. For nearly a century, China has not been so proud in front of these powers. Whether it was the Shuiqing Empire or the Northern Frontier Government in the Yang Jiakai era, when facing Western powers, they always had to be servile and make concessions.
Today's meeting allowed Ye Bufan to further feel the unique personal charm of Su Zhengyang, and also made him full of hope for the future of Northern Xinjiang and even the entire China.