Chapter 759: A Series of Fortunate Events
Chapter 759: A Series of Fortunate Events
2017-09-25
After returning from the grasslands, Lu Hai Kong wholeheartedly focused on establishing the Military Affairs Department.
Lu Hai Kong sought advice from Xi Zhi Cai and consulted with Loose Warriors who had a deep understanding of modern management through reading relevant books and discussions.
After a month of hard work, he finally established the framework for the Military Affairs Department.
Originally, Lu Hai Kong intended to entrust the department to Xun You, but as Xun You was still in the grasslands and would likely take some time to return, Lu Hai Kong had no choice but to take on the responsibility himself.
As soon as he assumed the role, Lu Hai Kong faced a significant financial burden.
Although the battle in the grasslands resulted in the deaths of NPC soldiers, Lu Hai Kong still had to provide compensation. The cost of compensating over 20,000 soldiers amounted to nearly ten million, which was not a small sum. However, the other two expenses were even more substantial.
During the grassland battle, Lu Hai Kong gained 2,500 Bloodied Knights, an elite cavalry force. While this was a welcome addition, equipping these 2,500 soldiers with elite gear would cost Lu Hai Kong at least one billion in funds.
Furthermore, despite Lu Hai Kong's minimal losses in the battle, his military operations and supply chain management during wartime required substantial resources. Although the infantry remained mostly inactive throughout the conflict, maintaining them during the war still required a significant financial commitment.
As Lu Hai Kong calculated these expenses, he realized that wars were not only a test of military might but also economic strength.
Fortunately, as the victor, Lu Hai Kong had reaped over ten billion in wealth from the grasslands. Without this 'war reparations,' his financial situation would have been dire.
However, Lu Hai Kong's ruthless exploitation of the Xianbei and Wuhuan clans came at a cost. After this extensive plundering, the tens of thousands of people Hu Yinwen had gathered were once again dispersed. In the grasslands, Hu Yinwen became synonymous with Lu Hai Kong's henchmen, and the foreigners who had their wealth taken by force both feared and resented Hu Yinwen. In the following period, if Hu Yinwen wanted to survive in the grasslands, he would likely have to resort to bloody means.
But Lu Hai Kong had little interest in Hu Yinwen's predicament, as it was largely a result of his own relentless pressure.
At this time, Lu Hai Kong's primary concern, aside from establishing the Military Affairs Department, was a matter close to his heart—the issue of finding a lifelong partner.
Lu Hai Kong had just conquered the grasslands when he sent messengers to Luoyang with good news. After receiving the first batch of 'war reparations' from Hu Yinwen, Lu Hai Kong immediately dispatched over a hundred carts of supplies worth at least one billion to Luoyang.
However, Lu Hai Kong did not receive a quick response from Luoyang. Through Zhang Ran, he learned that Emperor Ling's health was not in the best condition. Although Lu Hai Kong's impressive achievements delighted the emperor, he lacked the energy to bestow rewards immediately.
While Lu Hai Kong anxiously awaited news from Luoyang, Meng Qu unexpectedly brought him some excellent news.
Lu Hai Kong had previously tasked Meng Qu with investigating a map obtained from Wu Yanba, and in less than ten days, Meng Qu returned with positive results. Indeed, in the grasslands near the border of Bingzhou, in the vicinity of Yunzhong County, they discovered a massive mineral vein.
Upon receiving this news, Lu Hai Kong was overjoyed!
After all, for Lu Hai Kong, who controlled the Blacksmith Camp, mineral veins were as good as money.
With such a vast mineral vein, Lu Hai Kong no longer needed to purchase minerals from others. This significantly reduced his financial burden.
Initially, Lu Hai Kong estimated that equipping 2,500 Bloodied Knights would cost tens of millions, if not billions. However, with the availability of iron ore, he only needed to cover the labor costs of the Blacksmith Camp, reducing his expenses by a whopping eighty percent!
Therefore, upon learning the location of the iron ore, Lu Hai Kong immediately ordered the deployment of 10,000 troops from the three armies to secure the mineral vein. He also began organizing farmers and specialized mining teams in Bingzhou to prepare for the extraction process.
Just as Lu Hai Kong dispatched the mining and security teams, another piece of good news arrived.
After handing over the sweet potatoes to the Divine Farmer Bureau for research, Lu Hai Kong initially thought that it would take at least a few months to cultivate these two high-quality crops. However, he underestimated the bureau's enthusiasm for this task!
The Divine Farmer Bureau, established by Lu Hai Kong, is a special department where everyone is a Divine Farmer.
Initially, Lu Hai Kong set up the bureau to cultivate a team of capable tacticians for warfare, but the difficulty of training Divine Farmers exceeded his expectations. As a result, after half a year, the bureau had yet to produce any notable talents.
Now, Lu Hai Kong's territory has expanded significantly, and various departments have emerged. The seemingly ordinary Divine Farmer Bureau rarely caught his attention, and with Wang Jun's frugal nature, Lu Hai Kong didn't allocate much funding to them. Consequently, the bureau's finances were always tight.
This time, when Lu Hai Kong finally paid attention to them, they were determined not to let his focus shift away.
Chen Ping, who rarely advocated for the bureau, personally approached Wang Jun and managed to squeeze five million gold from him for sweet potato and potato research.
Using this funding, the bureau's Herbal Garden, with the help of the Divine Farmers' expertise, produced the best seedlings of these two crops in just over half a month.
According to the bureau's data, the potato yield per acre could reach 4,000 pounds, while sweet potatoes could even reach 7,500 pounds. Combining Daoist techniques with the Divine Farmers' mysterious powers, they presented Lu Hai Kong with a highly satisfactory report.
After submitting this report, Wang Jun, who was initially unhappy about Chen Ping taking five million gold, was stunned. He had been grumbling to Lu Hai Kong about it, but now he couldn't stop smiling for days.
As the one managing Lu Hai Kong's vast Bingzhou territory, Wang Jun was well aware of the significance of these highly productive crops.
Once potatoes and sweet potatoes were popularized throughout Bingzhou, the entire region would be free from famine, and their grain tax revenue could increase several-fold or even tenfold. They would no longer need to spend a fortune importing food from elsewhere.
The 1691 book bar has no errors!
It's no wonder that Wang Jun, who is currently struggling financially, can't stop smiling at the thought of having more money than he knows what to do with.
However, Wang Jun's dream is still some distance away. After all, Lu Hai Kong only obtained a limited number of potatoes, just a few hundred bags. It's already a challenge to plant them in one county, let alone the entire Bingzhou.
Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are double-cropping crops, suitable for planting in March and September. Before March arrives, Lu Hai Kong can use the bureau's Herbal Garden to cultivate as many high-yield seedlings as possible.
Through this incident, the Divine Farmer Bureau, once a neglected department, has directly become the most watched.
Lu Hai Kong not only assigned heavy protection but also, surprisingly, Wang Jun, known for his frugality, decided to invest his own money into the bureau. This is understandable; Wang Jun is always frugal with unnecessary expenses but is willing to spend generously on territory development, even if it means breaking the bank.
With the conclusion of the grassland war, the discovery of a massive mine, and the cultivation of the best potato and sweet potato seedlings, Bingzhou seems to have entered its optimal development phase.
All Lu Hai Kong needs to do now is to get ready for a rapid ascent.
However, just as Lu Hai Kong was feeling good, someone started causing trouble.
In Youzhou, Gongsun Zan had been clashing with the Wuhuan Clan for over half a year. Finally, with the arrival of winter, he drove the Wuhuan Clan into the grasslands, where they dared not venture out.
Without an opponent, Gongsun Zan instinctively turned his attention to the person who had driven his brother to his death. Upon learning that Lu Hai Kong had been purchasing large quantities of minerals and food from Youzhou, he immediately restricted his subordinates, the gentry, and merchants from doing business with Lu Hai Kong.
Initially, Lu Hai Kong didn't pay much attention to this situation. The disruption in food supply from Youzhou wasn't a significant issue, and he wasn't too concerned about iron ore either, as he was about to start mining a massive iron deposit himself.
However, just as Lu Hai Kong was about to put this matter aside, Gongsun Zan made a bold move. He dispatched troops to seize a shipment of iron ore that Lu Hai Kong had already paid for!
At this critical moment, the massive iron deposit also encountered problems. Lu Hai Kong's temper flared up!
(End of Chapter)
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