Chapter 829: Xia Yu's advice

Time passed gradually, and on the 7th of July, a major event occurred in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government officially ordered that, in order to regulate Hong Kong's financial order and improve Hong Kong's financial development environment, it was decided to merge the four stock exchanges, and the new exchange would be named the Hong Kong United Exchange.

The announcement of this decision sent shockwaves through the entire city.

However, Xia Yu had known about it for a long time, and had ordered his subordinates at the banks and securities companies to pay close attention and wait for an opportunity to get involved, or at the very least to get a seat on the exchange committee.

Of course Xia Yu also knew that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was only on paper, with only a name, and that the committee had not even been established. The four stock exchanges would continue to operate until April 1986, when the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would officially go live and the other exchanges would all be shut down.

After careful calculation, there would be five years and nine months until then if he did not intervene and promote it, which was still early!

After reminding Xia Yu to pay attention to it, Xia Yu immediately forgot about it and continued to be busy in the United States.

Today, he followed up with Seattle Computer Products, tomorrow with Polaris Capital, the day after tomorrow with the American branch of Jiuding Newspaper, and the day after that with the Milky Way Fund branch...Xia Yu's days were quite full.

Before long, it was mid-July, and the Republican Party's presidential nominating convention arrived as scheduled.

Xia Yu watched the whole thing in front of the TV.

Yes, the Republican Party's convention was broadcast live on television to the whole of the United States, which was also a great opportunity to publicise the Republican presidential candidate to voters across the country.

During these ten-odd days, not only did George Bush withdraw, but many other candidates were also persuaded by the Republican Party leader, Benjamin Carr, to withdraw in the interest of the greater good.

However, the supporters of the candidates who had given up were persuaded to vote for Ronald Wilson Reagan in the primary.

So when Ronald Reagan took the stage as the first nominee to speak, the votes quickly topped 1,237, directly locking in his status as the Republican presidential candidate, with the others either looking regretful or with a self-righteous expression.

Although Ronald Reagan had secured victory, it did not mean that he would definitely represent the Republican Party in the national election. Other independent candidates also had a slight chance, and whether or not this chance was small would depend on whether Ronald Reagan could remain stable over the next four months.

According to past general elections, scandals and shoe-shining incidents would occur. If the Democratic Party later revealed a huge scandal about him, and if he was unable to recover, it would not be impossible for the Republican Party to change its support.

So after the Republican Party's primary election, two more people stood out and declared in front of the media that they would never give up until the last minute and would run in the presidential election as independent Republican candidates. One of them was Republican Congressman John B. Anderson and the other was Republican Senator Pock Kost.

Two days later, the Democratic Party's primary election was held in New York, and as expected, incumbent President Jimmy Carter was nominated as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and will represent the Democratic Party in the general election in the coming months.

Now that the candidates of both parties had been decided, the next priority was to quickly form the campaign teams.

These teams would be even bigger than the previous ones.

People who had not placed their bets would let go of their last shreds of modesty and choose to join the two teams.

The interviewers for these two teams were none other than Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.

The team member who needed to be decided upon most urgently was the vice-presidential candidate!

In Washington, Xia Yu met Ronald Reagan again. Reagan, who had already achieved a partial victory, was full of fighting spirit. Despite being 69 years old, he dyed his hair black and looked full of energy.

However, in the face of Xia Yu, his major financial backer, his attitude was the same as in the past: not arrogant, but quite enthusiastic.

'Mr. Xia, welcome, come on in!'

'Mr. President-to-be, it's good to see you again!'

'It's still too early, Jimmy Carter is the current President, I still have a long way to go if I want to win the election...'

'Mr. Reagan, I don't think Jimmy Carter will be your opponent,'

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ronald Reagan ushered Xia Yu and the others in.

'Good morning, boss!'

At this time, Ronald Reagan's financial advisor, Rhodes Saxon, spoke up to greet Xia Yu, and Xia Yu smiled and nodded in response to his subordinate.

'Good morning, Rhodes, you have worked hard this time!'

'It's not hard, it's what I should do...'

Soon, the group arrived in the living room, where they drank coffee and chatted. Of course, the conversation always revolved around the presidential campaign.

'Mr. Reagan, for the upcoming election, who do you plan to find to be your partner, such as the vice president?'

Xia Yu asked with a smile after taking a sip of coffee and setting the cup down.

Ronald Reagan's smile faded, his expression became serious, and he looked Xia Yu in the eye before shaking his head and saying, 'I haven't made a decision yet. I'm still considering the candidates. Mr. Xia, you should understand that although this position does not have specific powers stipulated in the constitution and even had no presence in the early days, in this day and age, this position is very important. A good vice president will affect the presidential campaign and the term of office after the campaign.'

Xia Yu nodded and said, 'I know what you mean. Although you have gained the resources of the Republican Party, the resources of the Republican Party are still limited. The United States is a country of capital, and you need to gain the support of enough consortia.'

Ronald Reagan said calmly, "Yes!'

After saying that, he asked in return, "Mr. Xia, do you have any suggestions?'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said with a slight nod, 'I do have a suggestion.'

Ronald Reagan's eyebrows shot up, intrigued, and he asked, 'I wonder which one of them has your approval?'

Xia Yu gave a faint smile and said the name, 'Your former rival, George Bush.'

Ronald Reagan was surprised. He didn't expect Xia Yu to recommend this person. He knew that George Bush had given up on the presidential campaign and had called him half a month ago.

And if nothing unexpected happened, George Bush was probably on holiday in Hawaii right now.

Half a month ago, after congratulating him, he casually asked George Bush, who at the time had also told him with relief that he had been under a lot of stress for so long and planned to take his wife to relax.

Ronald Reagan quickly flashed through several possibilities in his mind, staring at Xia Yu with burning eyes, wanting to know the reason: 'Mr Xia, why do you think he would be suitable? He previously ran for the presidential candidacy!'

Xia Yu smiled and asked in return, 'Mr Reagan, although he ran for president and lost to you, put yourself in his shoes. If there was a vice-presidential position for you, would you take it?'

Ronald Reagan thought for a moment and shrugged, saying, 'I don't think I would refuse. It would be a huge political asset, and there are quite a few precedents for vice-presidents becoming president.'

'Isn't that it?'

'Mr Reagan, among all the Republican presidential candidates this time, George Bush is the most suitable person to be your running mate.'

'His political views are most similar to yours, and because he has served as a diplomat in many countries, he has a broad international perspective. If you partner up with him, the two of you will be able to complement each other very well.'

'Most importantly, the Bush family not only has great political influence, but is also one of the core families of the Texas consortium. If you can get George Bush on your side, you will have a good chance of obtaining the resources of the Texas consortium!'

Ronald Reagan looked thoughtful, pondering Xia Yu's words. The more he pondered, the more sense he found in them.

Seeing Ronald Reagan's changing expression, Xia Yu's mouth curled up slightly.

Originally, the selection of the vice president was to be discussed within his team for a recommendation, and Ronald Reagan would finally decide who to use.

Unlike the presidential candidate, the choice of the vice presidential candidate was entirely in Ronald Reagan's hands, just like he was the boss, interviewing and hiring employees in general.

Of course, other people could also give suggestions, so Xia Yu's proposal now was not considered to be crossing the line at all.

After a long while, Ronald Reagan came back to his senses and looked at Xia Yu, who was smiling, and said with a solemn expression on his face, 'Mr Xia, your suggestion is very pertinent, I will consider it carefully.'

'By the way, Mr Xia, do you know George Bush?'

Xia Yu shook his head and said, "I don't know him at all, of course I look forward to getting to know him.'

Ronald Reagan nodded and didn't care whether Xia Yu was telling the truth or not, he said, "Okay, he and I are good friends, I think he would really like to get to know you.'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'I look forward to that day!'

After laughing, Xia Yu changed the subject: 'Mr Reagan, over the next four months, I will have my media company do its utmost to rally support for you. As for campaign funds, I will sponsor an additional ten million US dollars, which will be transferred to your campaign account in a reasonable manner within two months.'

Ronald Reagan was pleasantly surprised, and his impression of Xia Yu improved dramatically. He was indeed a generous boss, always giving without asking for anything in return, but someone who would support you from beginning to end, and the support was not only substantial, but also very forthcoming.

'Mr Xia, thank you for your strong support. I will never forget your help!' Ronald Reagan said gratefully.

'Mr Reagan, you deserve my support, and aren't we friends?' Xia Yu said with a faint smile.

Ronald Reagan nodded emphatically and said solemnly, 'Yes, you will always be my friend, one of the most important friends in my life!'

'Let's toast our friendship with coffee instead of alcohol!'

'Cheers! May our friendship last forever!'

Xia Yu smiled and raised his glass.

'Clink!'

...

'Rhodes, you will need to continue to diligently assist Mr. Reagan in the future,'

After the celebration, Xia Yu said to Rhodes Saxon, who had been listening nearby.

Xia Yu did not speak in an order-giving tone, although Rhodes Saxon was originally just a financial elite and is now just a member of Ronald Reagan's team.

But as the saying goes, when one person succeeds, his family and friends will also rise in the world. As long as Ronald Reagan ascends to power, Rhodes Saxon will leap into the White House and become a senior political figure, and will also be one of the president's trusted aides.

Rhodes Saxon also knew that his mission and future depended on Ronald Reagan, so he nodded emphatically and promised, 'Don't worry, boss, I'll fully support Mr Reagan.'

'Mr Xia, Mr Rhodes has always done a good job, and I'm very satisfied with his work.'

'That's great.'