Chen Yizhou, agitated, opened Weibo, then Renrenwang, only to find that his own Xiaonei.com was trending on the hot searches.
Ranked first: A department of Xiaonei.com collectively resigned, protesting the company's inaction.
Ranked second: Renrenwang stated that it had arranged for relevant employees to onboard, and everything was currently fine.
Ranked third: Lawyer Luo Xiang stated that former Xiaonei.com employees might be able to apply for arbitration.
Ranked fourth: Insiders revealed that a considerable number of Xiaonei.com employees were dissatisfied with Chen Yizhou's actions.
Ranked fifth: Chen Yizhou published an open letter on the internal network: "Fight to the end, never retreat."
Now the traffic was truly there, but Chen Yizhou felt he couldn't be happy.
Because the entire internet was filled with condemnation.
Regarding this, five-star General MacArthur would have to give a thumbs-up.
Public figures really can't look at the comment section at times like these, as it would break their spirit.
These hot searches were a mix of truth and falsehood, and in the end, Chen Yizhou himself couldn't distinguish them.
What was more infuriating was that as soon as he sent out an internal letter, it was immediately leaked online, and he couldn't find out who did it.
"People are not united, and the team is difficult to lead."
Chen Yizhou said silently.
"If Weibo belonged to another company, at most I'd spend some money to have them take it down. But now, this is really..."
The negative impact of the entire department's resignation must be mitigated as soon as possible.
Chen Yizhou didn't care about external rumors; the key was the internal situation.
Many people, seeing the "Thirteen Righteous Ones" resign, also began to stir restlessly.
Staying at Xiaonei.com for work, getting scolded and eye-rolled every day... if they left, they could be called heroes, and perhaps even work at Renrenwang, killing two birds with one stone.
After sending a WeChat message to his subordinate, Chen Yizhou paused, a feeling of disgust rising as he looked at the WeChat icon on his phone screen.
Fighting to the point of bloodshed, yet he was still using the opponent's company's product, and there was no alternative.
It was truly a great absurdity.
"Mr. Jia, I can't hold on much longer."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Yizhou still sent a message.
After a while, the other side replied:
"Brother, you have to bear it even if you can't, otherwise Xiaonei.com won't have any chance. They say the internet has memory, but netizens don't. After this storm passes, everything will be calm. Mr. Ma and I will support you to the end."
Then the other side sent another message:
"Here's a tip for you. Contact a few media outlets to release a press release, implying that Renrenwang is using unscrupulous means to poach people, accuse them, and muddy the waters. Mr. Ma and I will see if we can find another event to promote and hype up to divert public attention."
Looking at the message on his phone, Chen Yizhou felt slightly better.
Chen Pingjiang and Renrenwang's momentum was too terrifying; it was too uncomfortable to constantly be on the hot searches like this.
......
When Chen Pingjiang saw the press release, he was certain that Chen Yizhou would no longer repent and reform, but intended to go all the way down a dark path.
"This is talking nonsense with open eyes, Chairman Chen. Do we need to arrange for Liu Yue and his group to hold a press conference to explain?"
Li Xi was also quite angry when he saw the press release.
The people clearly left on their own, and Renrenwang hired them afterward, but now it was being twisted, saying Renrenwang poached them.
Those in the know were dismissive, but those who weren't truly believed that Renrenwang, as a big platform, was bullying its users.
"Explain? No need to explain."
Chen Pingjiang adjusted his posture:
"Those who know what happened don't need an explanation; for those who don't, an explanation is useless. This is deliberately muddying the waters."
"So we just let them do that?"
"Of course not! If we don't act, Chen Yizhou will really think Renrenwang is easy to bully."
Saying this, Chen Pingjiang turned to Miao Bingwei:
"Is it feasible for all our products to block Xiaonei.com?"
Miao Bingwei frowned:
"It's possible, but it would be better to directly block all external links to prevent Xiaonei.com from exploiting legal loopholes and suing us. But if we block all of them, we can explain it as a technical adjustment to the public."
"Let's do that then."
Chen Pingjiang nodded.
"Are you sure? This is a nuclear-level move; the internet industry hasn't seen such fierce conflict before."
Everyone present was a little moved; this was almost a battle of life and death.
Blocking links like this wasn't unheard of in business warfare before, but mostly it was 1V1.
But this time, Renrenwang was coming out collectively, with its several software products, which had the most users and daily active users in the industry, exerting force simultaneously.
Xiaonei.com would be severely damaged even if it didn't die.
Who knew that before Chen Pingjiang finished speaking, he looked at Li Xi again:
"I'll give you one day to contact all cross-platform bloggers and demand they choose one of two options: either honestly delete their Xiaonei.com accounts, or delete their Renrenwang and Weibo accounts."
On the other side, Lin Bin also received a task:
"The Orange Phone app store will remove the Xiaonei.com APP."
Chen Pingjiang continued to ask:
"Besides removing it from the app store, can the Orange Phone itself block downloads from other channels?"
Downloads from other channels refer to users downloading and installing through mobile browsers, Wandoujia, 91 Zhushou, or WeChat QR code scans.
Lin Bin nodded:
"Yes, it can be done by setting up multi-factor authentication. Regardless of the channel from which users download, installation will be denied on the grounds of not passing security risk detection."
"Good, let's do that."
Chen Pingjiang's words resonated powerfully.
Everyone who saw this had to feel nervous for Chen Yizhou and Xiaonei.com.
The combination of companies under Chen Pingjiang possessed leading dominance in the industry.
With such a move, Xiaonei.com was in trouble.
Seeing the hesitant expressions of everyone present, Chen Pingjiang smiled easily and said,
"I know what you're worried about – public opinion and policy pressure?"
"Don't worry, we are on the side of justice, at least in the eyes of the public. We are purifying the online environment, and we have repeatedly faced provocations from Xiaonei.com. When it's time to fight back, we must fight back, otherwise we'll be pushed around."
Miao Bingwei also chimed in, cooperating:
"What are we worried about? We're not worried. You're the boss, the major shareholder; we all trust that you have a sense of proportion."
The 3Q War hadn't even started yet, but a war between Renrenwang and Xiaonei.com was on the verge of breaking out.
......
Two days later, as more and more information emerged, even a fool could sense something unusual.
First, the large army marching against Xiaonei.com discovered that whether it was Weibo, Renrenwang, or WeChat, they could no longer share Xiaonei.com posts, and then someone exposed this online.
However, they found that other websites couldn't share either.
When they called Renrenwang for consultation, Renrenwang explained the action as a technical adjustment.
Just as curiosity faded, someone else revealed that Orange Phone could not download the Xiaonei.com APP.
The most disgusting thing was that no matter which channel was used, as long as it was a third-party channel, a risk warning would appear after download, recommending downloading from the Orange App Store, otherwise it wouldn't install no matter what.
When people went to the Orange App Store to look for Xiaonei.com, they found no app.
The veil was slowly lifted.
Until...
A blogger exposed an audio recording.
This blogger had been quite popular before, but in the past two days, she noticed that several Weibo posts she uploaded mysteriously began to lose traffic significantly.
Previously, any random Weibo post would have over a thousand comments, but now the number of comments was less than a meager hundred.
What was funnier was that she used another phone that followed her account to browse Weibo, but no matter how she refreshed, she couldn't see her own posts, unless she found her account on the "Following" page and entered through it.
The blogger, realizing things weren't that simple, tried with four or five different phones, and without exception, couldn't find her own posts.
After checking a lot of information, she realized that her traffic was being restricted.
With questions in mind, the female blogger called Renrenwang customer service.
In the recording, after talking in circles, the Renrenwang customer service representative revealed a key piece of information: they had found users with the same username and content on other websites, so they suspected whether this female blogger was the actual person.
And to avoid potential infringement liability, the platform reluctantly decided to "slightly control" it.
When the female blogger asked how to lift the traffic restriction, after all, the traffic on Weibo and Renrenwang was much larger than on Xiaonei.com.
The customer service representative said that it only required proving that the Weibo account and the Xiaonei.com account belonged to the same person.
In other words, you have to prove that you are you.
If one were to be truly serious about it, this would be almost an impossible task.
From what dimension do you prove that you are you?
Account password? Post content? Home address?
None of them would work.
At this point, the blogger finally figured it out: either delete the Xiaonei.com account, or say goodbye to Renrenwang.
Even a blind person could calculate this.
Xiaonei.com's traffic was less than one-tenth of the total traffic of all platforms under Renrenwang.
One was declining, the other was rising like the morning sun; was there even a choice?
She merely wanted to post on a few more platforms and earn a bit more money.
So, when she sent Renrenwang the video and screenshots of her deleting her Xiaonei.com account, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her Weibo traffic had returned.
What was more bizarre was that after the blogger exposed the entire incident on Weibo, Renrenwang not only did not delete the post but generously boosted its traffic.
In less than half a day, it mysteriously made it to the hot searches, as if Renrenwang intended to publicize it through the blogger.
As attention grew, more and more people joined the discussion.
More and more poor little bloggers also discovered that, damn it, their traffic was also being restricted.
"It's confirmed, I also posted works on Xiaonei.com, but I'm an ally; I was fighting against unhealthy trends. After deleting my Xiaonei.com account, the traffic restriction was lifted."
"No wonder I said traffic has been so low recently, so this is the root cause!"
"I'm curious, what is Renrenwang's purpose in doing this?"
"Brothers, after my meticulous observation, searching for various clues, and connecting all the dots, I discovered an astonishing fact. V me 50 [RMB] and I'll reveal it."
"Believe him or believe I am Qin Shi Huang?"
"Hehe, playing games, any clear-headed person would know. Renrenwang and Chen Pingjiang have started targeting Xiaonei.com. Think about it: first, WeChat and Weibo blocked external links; then Orange Phone couldn't download the Xiaonei.com APP; now all cross-platform bloggers are being restricted, indirectly forcing them to choose one. Isn't it obvious?"
"Damn, you're right when you put it like that."
"I'm siding with Chen Pingjiang on this one. Well done, Xiaonei.com deserves a taste of its own medicine for using unscrupulous means for traffic and attention. Anyone who uses Weibo knows what happened with Liu Yue and his entire department resigning, but who knew Xiaonei.com would shamelessly accuse Renrenwang of poaching?"
"Mr. Chen is truly tough, a real iron man. My butt is trembling."
"Although I'm not a blogger, I don't think this is right. As a user, do I not even have the freedom to choose software?"
"Upstairs, what do you mean 'no freedom'? That's a big accusation. Supporters of Xiaonei.com and supporters of Renrenwang are inherently not the same group; their values are different."
"..."
Chen Yizhou next door was dumbfounded, reportedly having smashed three cups.
"How dare he? How dare he! This is simply bullying too much."
His subordinate shook his head helplessly:
"Chen Pingjiang is too vicious. He not only forces bloggers to choose one, but also forces users to choose one, completely cutting off our traffic."
"Renrenwang's actions are utterly rogue, showing an attitude that they won't stop until we're dead. Can we sue them for this kind of behavior?"
"Yes, we can, but by the time a judgment is rendered and enforced, it might be too late."
"Do we have any other options?"
Chen Yizhou asked.
"There are options. We can play the victim card, make a big fuss, spread it across the entire network, portray Renrenwang as evil, and attract regulatory attention from above."
Chen Yizhou sighed:
"Let's do that then. This time, don't issue any statements. Just send an open letter directly to all users, find more media outlets to write press releases, and make a big scene."
His subordinates watched Chen Yizhou's departing back and shook their heads.
They seemed to see the big ship of Xiaonei.com and Qianxiang Group gradually sinking.
Racing wildly down the wrong path, ultimately with no way to turn back.
Although playing the victim card was a last resort, it depended on the situation. Xiaonei.com's current reputation was just making people laugh.
Back in his office, Chen Yizhou smashed another fountain pen.
Because he called Jia Yueting, who said there were no good solutions and they could only take things one step at a time.
"Damn it, boasting so happily earlier, saying there's someone behind them, but when it comes to the crunch, they still cower in the back."
Chen Yizhou didn't feel exploited, after all, he wanted to take a gamble himself, he just didn't expect Chen Pingjiang to be so ruthless.
But Jia Yueting was undoubtedly a big swindler and unreliable.
In fact, Jia Yueting also felt wronged.
It was true that he had powerful backing, but they were unwilling to get involved in this messy situation.
In the words of the important figures, why offend a large enterprise that was just inspected and highly regarded by Future No. 1, all for the sake of a company with no value whatsoever?
Chen Pingjiang's arrogance would be dealt with by heaven; there was no need for them to rush.
There was no substantial conflict between the two parties anyway; it was better to avoid trouble.
If Xiaonei.com wanted to court death, then let it die.
This attitude from the important figures made Jia Yueting feel a bit disheartened and scared afterward.
Fortunately, his LeEco was just a video website and couldn't get involved in this internet public opinion incident.
Therefore, at most, they could beat around the bush and make some odd comments, but not directly confront Chen Pingjiang.
Otherwise, if Chen Pingjiang hit them like that, it would be unbearable.
Perhaps even newly listed stocks would shrink dramatically.
"This Chen Pingjiang kid is formidable. If it were 1V1, Xiaonei.com wouldn't be so miserable, but an entire group dealing with one Xiaonei.com is too easy. So this is how the internet ecosystem is played, an eye-opener. The mobile end choked off Xiaonei.com's lifeline. It seems I also need to make phones and TVs, control my own terminals, so I won't be held back in the future."
Jia Yueting thought to himself.
If Chen Pingjiang knew that his unintentional actions had inversely prompted Jia Yueting to make LeEco TVs and LeEco phones, he wondered what he would think.
......
Industry insiders who were merely observing also had different insights from this.
Pony Ma was quite excited after seeing this:
"It takes Chen Pingjiang's operations to be reliable. Next, we'll follow suit with our dispute with 360. If 360 dares to jump around, we'll force users to choose one or the other."
Ali's Mr. Ma also frowned considerably, thinking Chen Pingjiang's playstyle was too ugly, like a madman.
He wondered whether to laugh or cry after provoking such a person.
Some gloated, while others felt sympathetic.
"Chen Yizhou was too jumpy, did he really think the number one person in the internet industry was a bodhisattva who wouldn't get angry? Turns out the other person is a wrathful vajra, haha. Now starting to play a tragic role, don't you think it's too late?"
"This trend must be curbed. The internet landscape Chen Pingjiang controls is too vast. Basically, he has as many users as there are internet users in China. If this isn't controlled, who would dare to compete with him in the future? If he finds someone disagreeable and hits them like this, they'll be half-crippled even if they don't die. As long as Chen Pingjiang sets his sights on a particular track, how can others compete with him? Investors might not even dare to invest anymore."
"I think you're overthinking it. Has Mr. Chen had few rivals throughout his journey? Wasn't it all peaceful competition before? This time, Xiaonei.com went too far, didn't it? Did you see him use this trick against Renren Weibo and Sina Weibo? Did you see him use this trick in the group-buying war? Although Meituan's Wang Xing is having a tough time now, at least he's not dead yet."
Wang Xing didn't know how other internet bigwigs mentioned him in their WeChat Moments, and immediately posted an update:
"My life has been like walking on thin ice. Do you think I can reach the other shore?"
Regardless of what others thought, Chen Pingjiang, at the eye of the storm, remained unshaken.
He certainly knew that this matter itself set a bad precedent.
He didn't expect to miss the 360 War but fire the first shot himself.
However, Xiaonei.com's demise this time was not unwarranted.
He read "A Letter to All Users" that Chen Yizhou had sent out.
Throughout the letter, he portrayed himself as a weakling, even subtly implying surrender.
To quote a phrase: "You just know you're going to die."
As soon as "A Letter to All Users" was issued, it ultimately pushed the entire incident to a grand climax.
The half-month-long public opinion war finally reached its peak.
For half a month, starting from the "gold digger incident," it led to Chen Pingjiang purifying the internet environment, then Xiaonei.com seeking attention and wanting to make a comeback, to Chen Pingjiang comprehensively blocking Renrenwang, and finally Chen Yizhou issuing an open letter.
It was truly a grand drama: when one side finished singing, the other took the stage, but only Chen Pingjiang remained on stage throughout.
It wasn't that there was no pressure from higher-ups.
Chen Pingjiang merely explained kindly:
"We were forced to do this. You also know that Xiaonei.com has now gathered a group of highly aggressive users who, propelled by certain ambitious individuals, have severely harmed public sentiment and gone against the positive energy and socialist values promoted by our country. As a socially responsible entrepreneur, one must act decisively. This is the voice of the vast number of internet users."
Ultimately, the people didn't say much, just told Chen Pingjiang to know when to stop.
There was nothing they could do; Chen Pingjiang held the moral high ground, and his initial intentions were good.
One could only blame Xiaonei.com for being too troublesome.
Three days after that phone call ended.
A piece of news suddenly appeared on the headlines.
Beijing Police: Following public tip-offs, a person surnamed Zhu, during a nominal romantic relationship, used psychological manipulation and other means to defraud her boyfriend of over 500,000 RMB for personal extravagance.
After the matter came to light, she immediately attempted to evade responsibility by using a breakup as an excuse, ultimately leading to her boyfriend's suicide.
Upon receiving the report, our bureau immediately launched an investigation, collected evidence, and legally summoned Zhu for questioning.
Currently, Zhu has been criminally detained according to law, and the case is still under further investigation.
At the same time, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a statement:
"Any platform has the responsibility to maintain social ethics, promote positive energy, and eliminate unhealthy values."
One stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Both the Beijing Police and the Cyberspace Administration of China practically had their attitudes written all over their faces.
Unanimously supporting Chen Pingjiang and Renrenwang.
The multi-day storm was finally coming to an end.
The shoe had dropped.
(End of Chapter)