The Tyrant Billionaire

Hardy and Princess Margaret left Cayman and returned to Miami, where Hardy's private jet was already waiting.

In fact, Margaret also had a private plane belonging to the British royal family.

However, Hardy enthusiastically invited Margaret to take his plane. Margaret smiled and agreed, saying, "Just right, I can chat with Baron Hardy about economic issues."

In the bedroom of Hardy's private jet, Margaret nestled in Hardy's arms. Parting was imminent, and once in Britain, it might be difficult for them to find another opportunity, so they cherished this moment deeply. Hardy made sure Margaret experienced a sense of boundless exhilaration.

The plane landed at London Airport in the United Kingdom.

Representatives from the British government and the royal family came to receive them. Margaret bid farewell to Hardy and boarded the royal convoy sent for her. Before leaving, she rolled down the car window to look at Hardy.

"Baron Hardy, thank you for your hospitality in America. If I have the chance, I will invite you to tour Britain as a gesture of return," Margaret said.

"It would be my honor, whenever I have time," Hardy replied with a smile.

Margaret's car departed, while Hardy boarded a vehicle sent by the British government and checked into the hotel they arranged.

After arriving at the hotel, a diplomatic official respectfully asked, "Baron Hardy, the Prime Minister hopes to meet with you as soon as possible. When would you find it convenient? Do you need a day or two to rest from your journey?"

"No need, tomorrow will be fine," Hardy replied.@@novelbin@@

"Very well, shall we arrange it for tomorrow afternoon?"

"That works for me."

After the diplomat left, Hardy did not rest but instead pulled out a stack of documents and began reading.

These were materials provided by Henry.

Over a year ago, Hardy had already set his sights on Malaisie. There were two military bases there, and he had sent a large number of intelligence personnel to gather information.

At the same time, he had also sent people to establish contacts with certain communities in Malaisie.

As a result, Hardy's understanding of Malaisie was no less comprehensive than the British, possibly even more thorough.

In addition, Hardy drew upon memories from his later life.

He knew that Britain's control over Malaisie was already precarious. Since the independence of India and Burma, Malaisie had become Britain's last colony in Asia. They desperately wanted to retain it, so they made considerable efforts. However, internal opposition was significant, and coupled with Britain's post-war weakness, they were unable to maintain control and ultimately had to relinquish their interests in Southeast Asia, allowing Malaisie to achieve independence.

Of course, the United States played a role in this.

The United States had a penchant for promoting freedom in other countries.

Having been at the top of the food chain in the United States for so long, Hardy understood the country's policies. They not only strove to become powerful themselves, but they also aimed to weaken others. If others were weak, their relative strength increased.

Sometimes people thought they didn't benefit from a certain situation.

Not true. They targeted any country that posed a potential threat to their existence.

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As long as they weakened you, their dominance would be secure. Then they implemented financial colonialism, which was far more insidious and potent than geographical colonialism.

Currently, Britain was trying to preserve its last shred of dignity.

But the United States was not about to let that happen and continued to stir up trouble.

Eventually, Britain was reduced from an empire to an island nation, losing its former glory, and the United States played a significant role in this.

At 10 Downing Street.

This was Hardy's third visit here, and he was already familiar with the routine. In the reception room, Hardy met with Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

The focus of this negotiation was Singapore. Britain was willing to sell Penang and Malacca to Hardy but was unwilling to relinquish control of Singapore.

"Baron Hardy, I understand your company is mainly interested in acquiring a port. We can sell you a piece of land where you can build your own port," Prime Minister Attlee proposed.

As he spoke, an aide brought over a map of Singapore. It was clear they had come prepared. Using a pencil, Attlee circled an area near the harbor on the map. "Baron Hardy, what do you think of this location? It's also a deep-water port with approximately 50 square kilometers of space. After acquiring this land, you can construct a second terminal."

In the future, Singapore would have six terminals, but currently, there was only one—Singapore Port—and plenty of available land.

Hardy could see that Britain was determined not to sell him Singapore. They still wanted to retain Malaisie as a colony.

Initially, Hardy only aimed to acquire Penang, Malacca, or Singapore, any one of which would give him a foothold in Malaisie.

However, as events unfolded, his ambitions grew.

Now, obtaining Penang and Malacca alone already exceeded his initial expectations.

Hardy said, "It seems this is the best we can do. Since it's a land purchase for port construction, the price of this land will naturally be much lower. Even in Singapore, the value of this land is likely just a few million dollars."

"Prime Minister, I am willing to invest $200 million in British long-term bonds. What do you think?"

Since the offer was limited, Hardy mercilessly drove a hard bargain.

Prime Minister Attlee immediately shook his head. "Two hundred million is too little. Penang and Malacca are two big cities. You're only offering $200 million to purchase bonds, which the British government will have to repay sooner or later."

Hardy disagreed with this reasoning. "How much wealth can Penang and Malacca generate for Britain annually?"

"This..."

Prime Minister Attlee was momentarily at a loss for words.

These two locations were underdeveloped and contributed little to Britain's wealth. The real prize was Singapore, and both sides knew it.

Hardy continued, "That place is not like the Cayman Islands. Cayman has only about 2,000 people, and I could relocate them. But Penang has over 300,000 people, and Malacca over 200,000. Most of the land is already occupied. I cannot displace these people. If I acquire these two places, what will I have apart from some useless wasteland, mountains, forests, and coastlines?"

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