Chapter 84: A big gift

'I really didn't expect it! I thought the Finance Class was just a name. Although China is such a big country with so many people, it's not impossible to find more than 20 geniuses, but I never thought they could complete the design and calculation of an investment model in such a short time. This is partly a matter of ability, but more importantly, it is how to integrate their abilities that is more important.'

In the elevator of the Sky Tower, Irbedov spoke with emotion to Tong Gang and Li Cheng.

It was already 7:30 pm. They had listened to Zhou Ming and Chen Shu talk about investment models in the conference room of Wharton, and then had dinner together before saying their goodbyes.

In the face of Irbedov's feelings, Li Cheng tentatively asked in return, 'Mr. Irbedov is trying to say that geniuses all have their own pride and will not be so willing to listen to others, especially since they are still young and the ones manipulating them are also people of the same age as them, right?'

Il'yashin nodded and said yes. Li Cheng continued, 'Maybe this is the case in Northern Russia or Western countries, but it may not be the case in China. I think Mr. Il'yashin should know that twenty years ago, a large group of world-class scientists returned to China and led the development of nuclear weapons and aerospace engineering in the country. But now those people have been replaced by the financial class, and in fact, there is still nothing fundamentally wrong with it.'

'It seems that our Mr Zhou Ming is like the father of the atomic bomb in the United States and the former Soviet Union. He is a genius leader,' praised Irbedov.

Tong Gang, who had not spoken up until then, said, 'I don't know if Zhou Ming is a genius, but I can tell that his judgment and determination are unparalleled, and he is also very confident. Just like today's meeting, it is obvious that Zhou Ming and Chen Shu are not much different in age, but the difference in their performances is like night and day, which is really unbelievable.'

Afterwards, Tong Gang let out a breath and said, 'But more than that, there is one thing that I find a little strange.'

Tong Gang paused here, and only after Li Cheng and Ildar Beidorf had cast him doubtful looks did he continue, 'You should remember that at the previous meeting, Chen Shu said that the reason why General Motors and Phoenix were favoured was because of the missile weapons they provided. Although I understand the consumable nature of ammunition, if we conclude that they will receive large orders because of this, isn't that a bit too arbitrary?'

Li Chenghe and Il'yadov thought for a moment and said, 'This is indeed a bit strange. Logically speaking, preparing for a war should be more about shells and bombs, and judging from the Falklands War, fighter jets and aircraft carriers are also essential. Why did he single out missiles?'

'Could it be that he learned about the US tactical deployment from some source?'

Tong Gang, Li Chenghe and Il'yadov almost simultaneously blurted out this sentence.

However, they were not the only ones to ask this question. In the conference room of Wharton upstairs, Chen Shu also asked Zhou Ming this question.

'Teacher, do you know the American tactical plan? Otherwise, why do you place so much emphasis on missiles? Although I don't know much about the military, from what I know, tanks, planes and cannons are the main forces in war, right? And aircraft carriers, but aren't these the strengths of Martin and Grumman? Grumman in particular, they are the manufacturers of aircraft carriers!' Chen Shu asked.

'Chen Shu, what you are talking about is World War II military theory. It is true that tanks, planes and cannons are needed in any war, and finally infantry will go up and occupy the territory. But before that, there are still many other means that can be used, such as using cruise missiles to carry out focused strikes, destroy the enemy's important military installations, and paralyse the enemy's command and communication. When the enemy becomes deaf and blind, and their hands and feet don't listen to commands, it will be much easier to charge up and beat them up, won't it?'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment and then continued, 'As I said, the United States will definitely want to win this war cleanly, so he will definitely put his high-tech combat theory into practice in this war.'

'Teacher, do you mean the three-dimensional strike theory that was published in military journals a long time ago?' Chen Shu asked.

'Yes, it seems that Chen Shu has also done a lot of preparation for this Gulf project,' Zhou Ming praised.

Zhou Ming's praise for Chen Shu was sincere. Although it was normal to read some military books because of the Gulf War, it was still very simple to remember some of the important theories of military reform.

After all, this was still in the 1990s, when everyone was still advocating the Soviet-style flood of steel, an era dominated by tanks, planes, artillery and other iron weapons and mechanised troops. At most, there was a bit of mutual nuclear threat and blackmail. It was nothing like later generations, when even elementary school students know that in team battles, you have to first demolish the towers from afar, because blindly killing people beyond the towers will easily backfire.

'Teacher, you're embarrassing me,' Chen Shu said. 'Although I remember this three-dimensional strike theory, I haven't figured out how to apply it, how to use it to determine the US's combat methods and the direction of the war, and then how they will use weapons in the war, and which companies will get the biggest orders in such a transformation. I'm really far behind you.'

Zhou Ming was stunned for a moment. To be honest, what Chen Shu said really made Zhou Ming feel a little ashamed, because he did not connect the dots through those tiny bits of information as he said, but directly through his memories from his previous life.

The Gulf War in 1990 was too famous. Not only did the United States use various high-tech weapons, it even directly led the transformation of warfare in the 21st century, so much so that it is hard for people not to remember it. Not to mention that Zhou Ming came from this era, even people born a little later probably wouldn't know nothing about this war.

However, Zhou Ming couldn't tell Chen Shu this, and all he could say was, 'This is a necessary skill for every investor, because if you can't find the news you need from the sea of news, how can you ensure that your investment is correct? And if you can't use the news to determine the correctness of your investment direction, then you're not investing, you're gambling.'

Zhou Ming sighed and said, 'Chen Shu, we didn't come to Harvard Business School to learn the tricks to winning at the casinos in Las Vegas, but rather the business skills of how to analyse information to achieve profitable investments. Do you understand?'

Yes, Zhou Ming was undoubtedly being pretentious, but in order to protect his biggest secret, Zhou Ming could only pretend to be pretentious.

But I have to say that Zhou Ming's b-acting is really beautiful, because as soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, Chen Shu sighed and nodded, saying, 'I understand. The gap between me and my teacher is too big. I will work hard to enrich myself in the future, and I will be able to proudly say in front of others that I am your student!'

'That's the way to do it!' Zhou Ming praised Chen Shu, and then asked, 'If you have to give a speech in front of Tong Gang and Li Cheng in the future, will you still be nervous?'

Chen Shu understood what Zhou Ming meant when he said that, and he immediately said, 'Never again, teacher. I may have been a bit nervous today because it was the first time I was speaking in front of such big shots as you and Tong Gang Li Cheng, but as long as I have this experience, I will be fine.'

Zhou Ming patted Chen Shu on the shoulder and said, 'It's actually normal to be nervous. I don't blame you for anything, but you just have to work harder in the future.'

Zhou Ming's encouragement for Chen Shu also came from the bottom of his heart. After all, speaking in front of a crowd was not as simple as one might think, especially in front of people like himself, Tong Gang Li Cheng, and Yilbedov, who were all leaders in their respective fields. Facing them, no matter who it was, there would still be some pressure. Even when he first met Li Cheng, it was no exception.

From this point of view, then, the fact that Chen Shu was able to clearly express what he wanted to say the first time, without any stuttering in the middle, was already very impressive, and he deserved to be the monitor of the finance class.

Since Tong Gang, Li Cheng and Yerbedov had already left, Zhou Ming and Chen Shu also left after completing the final data analysis and statistics at Wharton.

The car first took Chen Shu back to his Harvard dormitory, and then Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing returned to the hotel together. However, upon returning to the hotel, Zhou Ming did not rush to do the things that lovers do with Lin Muqing, but instead picked up the phone and dialed a long-distance call to China.

The call was quickly connected, and a long-lost voice came from the receiver: 'Hello, who are you looking for?'

Zhou Ming laughed and scolded, "Whoever you're looking for, I'll find Du Peng!'

There was a moment of confusion on the other end, but they quickly recovered and said happily, "Are you Zhou Ming? Damn you, you're living it up in the US, aren't you? You didn't even call me once in such a long time.'

Zhou Ming's phone call was to Du Peng, the chairman's grandson. Although his grandfather was not the core of the leadership in this generation, he was still a very remarkable figure to become the president of the country. Perhaps they had not known each other for long, but their relationship was very good. Not only did he have to rely on him for help with many things when they were in the country before, but even after they went to Northern Russia and now that they are in the United States, he is still in control of tens of trillions of dollars in assets and the domestic industry still needs his help.

Just thinking about it, I haven't called him for a while. But on the one hand, I've been busy with various things here in the United States, and on the other hand, there's no need to. These two grown men really don't know what to talk about.

'Hurry up and tell me, do you want to find out Su Han's sister's position through me? But I'll tell you, I won't say anything if there's no benefit!' Du Peng pressed Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming laughed at this, saying, 'Du Peng, you've just confessed. I don't need to guess the answer when you say something like that.'

Zhou Ming then added, 'But I didn't really call you about that this time. I have another very important matter to discuss with you. You know the current situation in the Middle East, right?'

Hearing that the topic was getting to the point, Du Peng also put away his cynical attitude and said seriously, 'Zhou Ming, are you talking about the current situation between Iraq and Kuwait? There is also a lot of noise in the country right now, with discussions taking place from the central to the local levels. So, Zhou Ming, you suddenly called me now, is the United States preparing to intervene? But Operation Desert Shield should only be a defensive operation, the Americans are not that arrogant as to use their current troop strength to fight against Iraq, are they?'

'Of course not. Even with the power of the United States, it would take at least a few months to deploy troops. I'm calling you because it's related to the situation in the Middle East.' Zhou Ming then asked, 'Du Peng, does your family have any influence in the military?'

Du Peng's mind was a little slow to catch up with Zhou Ming's sudden change of topic, but he was used to Zhou Ming's way of doing things, so he answered without hesitation: 'My father is from the military, and he does have some students in the military. I also have a few uncles who hold the rank of major general. However, with the disarmament five years ago, the influence on the military has gradually weakened. What do you want to do by asking this?'

'Very simple, I'm going to give you a big gift!' Zhou Ming said.

'What's the big gift?' Du Peng felt confused and a little at a loss.

'It's the impact of high-tech weapons being put into actual combat, as well as the future mode of combat in the Gulf War and the future trend of warfare,' said Zhou Ming.