Steve Jobs announced that he was leaving Apple completely to begin his retirement.
This was one of the hottest news stories of the last month of 2011.
According to interviews with some of Apple's executives, Jobs decided to leave Apple because his body could no longer withstand the high-intensity work.
Due to the immense workload, Jobs' condition had severely deteriorated in November, and he had a brush with death. Although he was saved, Jobs' health no longer allowed him to continue working, so he chose to retire and spend his remaining years peacefully at home.
This was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but many rumors circulated. Many insiders confidently stated online that Jobs was forced out by the Jiangnan Group.
Some might wonder how the Jiangnan Group could force out Apple's CEO.
However, according to these grapevine sources, Jobs, whose health had actually improved considerably, suddenly fell critically ill in November because he was infuriated by Apple's board of directors.
This was because the Apple board decided to completely abandon Apple CP and launch their own Apple Terminal. Although CP and Terminal were essentially the same thing, with the only difference being the name change, the underlying implication was immense. It meant that Apple had also conceded in the terminal war and was joining the Tianzhou Terminal alliance.
After all, Apple CP had gained a certain market recognition over a long period, and it wouldn't have changed its name simply for a type of terminal.
The reason he directly announced the name change to Apple Terminal was definitely because it was joining the Tianzhou Terminal platform. This was because all devices within the platform had to be called "terminal" and were not allowed to be called anything else, otherwise, they would not receive free licensing for various technologies within the platform.
Therefore, once Apple changed its name to Apple Terminal, it essentially meant that it was abandoning its original Apple system, using the Zixiao system of the Tianzhou Terminal platform instead, and ultimately becoming a member of the entire Tianzhou platform.
This decision was something the Apple board had long wanted to implement. After all, Apple CP had persevered for such a long time and had gone through three different versions, yet none of them had sold more than three million units.
Meanwhile, with Google joining the terminal market a step ahead, Apple needed to independently bear the R&D costs of the entire CP system, which inevitably consumed a large amount of Apple's capital. As a result, Apple had not made a profit for two consecutive years and had even incurred a small loss. This naturally led to a sharp decline in stock prices and a reduction in value, which the Apple board found unbearable.
The most fatal blow was that Apple CP currently had no future, or rather, its future was bleak, destined to be crushed by the entire Tianzhou Terminal. Who wouldn't have WeChat these days!
Therefore, the Apple board decided in their October meeting not to continue developing the next generation of Apple CP, but to switch to the Tianzhou platform and develop the first generation of Apple Terminal.
This decision was naturally met with strong opposition from Jobs. When the board invited Jobs back, they had signed a very strict agreement with him to win him over, handing over the entire company's operations to Jobs. If Jobs strongly opposed something, the Apple board truly had no way to reverse Jobs' decision, and they couldn't even fire Jobs.
Of course, if the board truly wanted to push something through, they weren't completely without means. For example, they could bypass Jobs and directly control all senior executives, rendering Jobs' orders completely irrelevant as no one would execute them.
After all, although the board did not have the right to fire Jobs, they had the right to directly fire other senior executives.
Of course, if Jobs used his authority to resist, it would almost mean the self-destruction of Apple as a whole.
Therefore, the Apple board had tolerated Jobs promoting Apple CP and even endured various losses, but now they could no longer bear it. They adopted an attitude of pushing for Apple Terminal even if it meant destroying half of Apple, directly engaging in internal conflict with Jobs. Half of the company's senior executives were fired due to the clash between these two titans.
But the most fatal blow did not come from the company's senior management, but from Apple's basic research institutions. In early November, the board suddenly ordered the direct dismantling of the Apple CP research and development department and the dismissal of all employees within it, even at the cost of hefty compensation, directly cutting off Jobs' ability to continue developing Apple CP.
This shock was too much for Jobs, and his cancer relapsed, almost costing him his life.
Meanwhile, the Apple board took advantage of Jobs' hospitalization due to illness to carry out an internal purge, expelling all of Jobs' confidants, thereby completing their complete control over Apple and beginning to apply for various authorizations from the Tianzhou Terminal platform.
Jobs, seemingly in seclusion at Peach Blossom Mountain, seemed to have come to many realizations. Facing a situation that could have killed him again, he remained remarkably calm and showed no reaction. Instead, he submitted his resignation to the board, announcing his departure from Apple.
The board was naturally overjoyed, but they shamelessly approached Jobs to communicate, hoping he would not reveal the specific reasons for his resignation, especially that he was driven to relapse by the board. They also requested that he maintain a good relationship with Apple in official statements.
After all, most of Apple's users were Jobs' fans, drawn to Apple by his personal charisma. Otherwise, who would normally buy Apple?
If Apple and Jobs fell out now, wouldn't they lose more than half of their existing user base?
Therefore, the Apple board shamelessly made such a request, and unexpectedly, Jobs agreed to all of them. At the same time, he made a small request: that the board acquire all of his Apple shares at a 20% premium.
Since Jobs didn't hold many Apple shares at this time, less than 0.5%, the board readily agreed to this request. Jobs then sold all his Apple stock, marking a complete severance of ties with the company he co-founded.
However, the news frenzy lasted less than a month. After all, the Steve Jobs of this era was not the Steve Jobs of another earth. He had lost his god-like status, and this was merely the departure of an ordinary executive.
But from the perspective of the entire industry, this marked an end, signifying that the terminal industry had been completely monopolized by the standards and supply chains set by the Jiangnan Group.
Although the Jiangnan Group no longer sold its products in the high-end and low-end markets, it held the entire supply chain firmly in its grasp. They controlled this massive market, which in 2011 exceeded 500 billion US dollars.
At the same time, they turned tens of millions of workers in the entire market into their employees.
As a result, the Jiangnan Group's position in the entire electronics industry rose again, becoming a top-tier monopolistic enterprise.
In the past, there were only two such monopolistic enterprises: Intel and Microsoft, who had achieved unique monopolistic positions in computer chips and computer systems, respectively.
Now, there were three such enterprises. The Jiangnan Group completely monopolized the entire terminal industry, prompting all observers to express their admiration.
Who could have imagined that this company, just ten years ago, was a leather goods seller that owed the bank 350 million and was on the verge of bankruptcy?
Such an opportunity made everyone sigh, and the name Huang He, with Steve Jobs' resignation, once again echoed in many ears.
Fortunately, the vast majority of ordinary Americans were blissfully unaware of this. They could not imagine that the departure of Apple's CEO represented the establishment of another company's dynasty. They were still immersed in the common understanding of America being number one.
Time slowly moved into 2012.
At the beginning of 2012, Boss Huang received news that his large aircraft project had been successful and requested him to inspect it.
When Boss Huang heard this news, he was silent for several minutes before asking Hu Jing, "When did our company have a large aircraft project?"
"..." Hu Jing rolled her eyes and said, "Boss, don't you remember that seven years ago, you spent 1 billion yuan to order our own private jet?"
"..." Boss Huang thought hard again and then asked, "Was there such a thing?"
"..." Hu Jing was completely speechless. Fortunately, after not too long, with Hu Jing's help, Boss Huang managed to recall the matter.
It turned out that after Boss Huang's adventurous return from the United States, he had immediately convened global private jet companies, stating his intention to purchase an absolutely safe private jet.
The bid was eventually won by a struggling collective enterprise in China. After hearing a motivational story, Boss Huang generously purchased the company. For the next seven years, Boss Huang never paid any attention to the matter again.
After all, Boss Huang was now so cautious that he was afraid to even go abroad. He had only been traveling domestically. The only time he went abroad this year was for a trip to Russia, so his demand for a private jet was not high. He had simply commissioned domestic manufacturers to modify a Boeing 747.
Therefore, Boss Huang had almost forgotten about the Chinese aircraft company that had won the bid. Thus, the company's financial data could still be seen in the annual reports, but it was only a few hundred million yuan expenditure, which Boss Huang didn't even bother to look at, completely ignoring it.
Now, they were joyfully reporting to the parent company that they had completed the private jet and hoping Boss Huang would come to inspect their product, which left Boss Huang somewhat bewildered.