"Do the Hua Xia people also know how to brag?" This was the first thing Professor Parkinson said after receiving this news. However, after he obtained the detailed report, his expression became somewhat unsmiling.
This was the detailed transcript of the press conference held two hours ago by Hua Xia High-Speed Rail Development Co., Ltd., the identities behind each guest who attended the meeting, and all the collected intelligence related to this company. It was very thorough.
It was evident that Goldman Sachs' intelligence capabilities were still formidable; such information would take at least a month for an ordinary person to compile, but their intelligence department completed the entire organization in just about two to three hours.
However, the more detailed the compilation, the more unsightly Professor Parkinson's expression became.
First was the content of this press conference. At the conference, Hua Xia High-Speed Rail Development Co., Ltd. announced that they intended to build a high-speed vacuum maglev train pipeline connecting Harbin to Kunming.
The entire pipeline would span an impressive 6,000 kilometers, connecting a total of 14 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities throughout Hua Xia. It would link the relatively economically underdeveloped Northeast and Southwest regions with the more economically developed South China and North China regions.
This figure alone seemed terrifying. Firstly, its length exceeded that of the United States' pipeline by a full 2,000 kilometers. This single point alone overshadowed the pipeline railway their own country had announced not long ago.
Because the entire report was exceptionally thick, Professor Parkinson estimated that it would take him an entire night to finish reading it all. Furthermore, upon seeing that the length of this pipeline was longer than their own, Professor Parkinson lost some of his desire to read. He then very directly asked his secretary, "What kind of enterprise is this Hua Xia High-Speed Rail Development Co., Ltd.? Is it a subsidiary of Jiangnan Group? I recall that high-speed rail in Hua Xia has always been managed by Jiangnan Group, hasn't it?"
"No, Hua Xia High-Speed Rail Development Co., Ltd. is an enterprise predominantly controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, though Jiangnan Group holds a certain percentage of shares. The exact percentage is not known, as Hua Xia has not released such data."
"We investigated all the information on this company and found that the company was established precisely at the time we purchased the technology from Jiangnan Group. Coupled with the fact that Jiangnan Group retained the rights to construct railways within Hua Xia, this should be an enterprise established by Hua Xia authorities after selling the technical data."
"In other words, this company is simply a state-owned enterprise in Hua Xia specifically established to construct new pipeline railways domestically!" Professor Parkinson quickly formed a general impression of this company.
"Does this company truly possess the technical capabilities to build a high-speed vacuum maglev pipeline train?" Professor Parkinson asked.
"This... we cannot provide an accurate answer, but based on the existing data analysis, as this is a state-owned enterprise, it would not lack excellent high-skilled workers. Moreover, this technology itself was purchased from Jiangnan Group. Jiangnan Group has always possessed detailed research materials on this technology, so it is highly probable that they completed the entire technology development work ahead of us."
"Coupled with the numerous railways Hua Xia has manufactured over the years, we have reason to believe they possess the technical expertise to research, develop, and manufacture high-speed vacuum maglev pipeline trains!" the secretary replied cautiously.
"So, is this the other party releasing a smokescreen, or have they already decided to go ahead with it?" Professor Parkinson was clearly not entirely convinced. He very much hoped that this was merely Hua Xia people bluffing.
Unfortunately, the secretary soon shattered his illusions by stating, "Many heavyweight figures attended this press conference, including Huang Heben, along with relevant leaders of this company. Even [redacted number] from Hua Xia appeared and delivered a speech lasting half an hour. In his address, he referred to this project as the great artery for Hua Xia's revitalization over the next 50 years!"
"He even directly used the phrase 'the strength of the entire nation' in his speech. Based on our past experience with Hua Xia, when they use these four words, it almost signifies that Hua Xia intends to achieve it at all costs. The importance of this project is likely comparable to Hua Xia's lunar landing project."
"It truly is a case of 'be careful what you wish for!'" After all his wishful thinking was extinguished, Professor Parkinson quickly made corresponding arrangements. He immediately ordered his secretary, "Send people to leak information to the media, revealing to the world that when we purchased the vacuum high-speed pipeline technology from Jiangnan Group, the other party only possessed the authorization to construct within Hua Xia and not in other countries!"
Professor Parkinson's order was indeed timely. It immediately asserted the ownership of the high-speed vacuum maglev pipeline technology globally. Most importantly, it informed everyone that only their company was qualified to build it in their respective countries, preventing them from seeking construction from Hua Xia, thereby monopolizing the entire technology's ownership.
"Wait!" Dr. Cooper, who had not spoken until then, suddenly interjected, "Do not disclose this information under our company's official name, but rather through other channels. At the same time, the leaked information must absolutely not mention that we purchased the technology from Jiangnan Group, but rather that Jiangnan Group received technology authorization from us!"
"Yes..." the secretary instinctively replied, then quickly reacted and looked at Professor Parkinson somewhat nervously.
Professor Parkinson's expression was indeed displeased at that moment, but he still nodded and said, "Doctor Cooper's point is very valid. Proceed as he suggested!"
"Yes!" The secretary nodded and immediately left to arrange the information leak.
"Did you already anticipate this?" Professor Parkinson asked unhappily after the secretary left.
"I anticipated part of it. The Hua Xia people's rise has been very rapid recently, and they have been making various preparations for this high-speed vacuum maglev pipeline. Therefore, their construction of this pipeline is inevitable. However, I did not expect them to deliberately choose this timing to release the news; clearly, they intend to compete with us!"
"These damned Hua Xia people! I never paid much attention to them before, and to think these impoverished individuals could also produce such advanced things!" To this day, Professor Parkinson still found it hard to believe that the Hua Xia people possessed the capability to build a high-speed vacuum maglev pipeline train.
"Professor, in fact, about 10 years ago, my thoughts were the same as yours. I believed Hua Xia was merely a backward and ignorant country, not worth mentioning."
"However, after repeated encounters with Jiangnan Group in recent years, I began to dedicate a significant amount of time to studying this country. I then discovered that this country is not something that can be defined by our timeframe."
"We currently live our lives year by year, and every ten years is considered an era. So, in your view, Hua Xia has been in a position of being a backward country for nearly twenty to thirty eras, making it very normal for you to look down on it."
"But if you extend the time dimension to historical epochs, from 1000 BC to the present, with a century for each millennium, totaling 30 centuries."
"For at least 20 of these centuries, Hua Xia has stood at the pinnacle of world civilization, looking down upon all other civilizations globally. What's most frightening is that these 20 centuries were not continuous but were constantly interrupted and reconnected."
"In other words, over the past 30 centuries, Hua Xia has suffered immense hardships at least 7 times, becoming the most tragic civilization globally. Yet, Hua Xia has ultimately persevered through them all. Each period of decline is inevitably followed by another rise, leading to new peaks and heights."
"Take the Han, Tang, Song, as well as the Ming and Qing dynasties... at least for the first 200 years of the Qing Dynasty, it was a world-leading nation and civilization."
"Now, consider other civilizations. Let's not even mention the Americas and Africa. Looking at Europe and Central Asia, the once-Hebrew civilization no longer exists, ancient Babylon has completely turned into ruins, and Egyptian civilization has had its people directly replaced. The most tragic are the Indians; all ancient Indians are now willingly serving as slaves, praying to become masters in their next life."
"These civilizations, once they fail and weaken, never rise again."
"To put it bluntly, even considering our own ethnicity, at the moment the great Jesus was born, we lost our homeland and became wanderers across the world."
"Only after 2,000 years did we return to our ancestral land and re-establish our own country."
"In this instance of decline, we took 2,000 years to stand up again. When compared to Hua Xia civilization, we should feel utterly ashamed."
"There was also another period, perhaps the longest period of decline for the Hua Xia people, lasting nearly two centuries, or 200 years. Hua Xia civilization is like a spring; the harder you press it, the more it will bounce back. There are only two outcomes for this spring: either it snaps completely and becomes scrap, or the force with which you press it will determine the force with which it bounces back, and it's possible we ourselves could be broken."
"Therefore, my dear Professor, I implore you to never underestimate this country, or rather, this civilization. Otherwise, we will face eternal damnation!"
After Dr. Cooper finished speaking, Professor Parkinson fell silent. After a long pause, Professor Parkinson finally stood up and said, "I thank you for your speech today! However, I want to tell you that we are the greatest civilization in the world because we could stand up after being suppressed for 2,000 years, whereas they merely lack sufficient pressure. If we add more pressure, they will completely collapse!"