Chapter 980: Initiation
Chapter 980: Initiation
September 25, 2017
Half a month after Lu Hai Kong's forces recaptured the southern part of Bingzhou, just when everyone thought the dust had settled and resigned themselves to the situation, Bingzhou suddenly sent letters to the aristocratic families who had previously aided the region.
The content of the letter from Lu Hai Kong left almost all recipients in shock.
Unlike the previous letter filled with sarcasm, this one was formal and sincere. Lu Hai Kong expressed genuine gratitude to the aristocratic families for their humanitarian spirit during the locust plague in the southern part of Bingzhou, acknowledging the significant contribution of their donated supplies to disaster relief efforts.
Although the tone seemed sincere, it was laced with mockery between the lines. If the letter had ended here, the aristocratic families would have considered it normal.
They could easily decipher Lu Hai Kong's intention—that the resources were in his possession, and there was no point in trying to get them back.
Lu Hai Kong's justification for keeping the supplies made sense, as they were used for disaster relief, and this was the kind of letter they expected from him.
However, the letter did not end there. The following part was the real twist.
After expressing sincere gratitude and acknowledging their actions, Lu Hai Kong mentioned that the disaster relief process had been successful, and there was an excess of supplies that they couldn't use. He intended to return the surplus supplies to the aristocratic families and invited them to send representatives to Bingzhou to retrieve them.
Moreover, Lu Hai Kong almost explicitly stated that they had a list of all the resources provided by the aristocratic families and that they could reclaim the same amount they had sent.
Upon reading this, everyone holding the letter was dumbfounded.
The aristocratic families had never encountered such a move before and were utterly perplexed. They wondered if Lu Hai Kong had lost his mind. Why would he spit out the meat that was already in his mouth?
Some immediately thought that Lu Hai Kong might be concerned about public outrage and wanted to spit out the meat that was too hot to swallow.
However, they quickly dismissed this idea.
Although they were reluctant to admit it, Lu Hai Kong had no reason to fear them at this point. Even they lacked the confidence to form an alliance against him, so it was unlikely that he was worried about public backlash.
There was no rationale for Lu Hai Kong to take such an action, yet he did it anyway. There must be a reason behind his decision, and he must have had a purpose!
Nevertheless, they racked their brains but couldn't figure out Lu Hai Kong's intentions.
Faced with Lu Hai Kong's incomprehensible actions, the aristocratic families were conflicted about his letter.
It was evident that they were hesitant, and almost no one was willing to give up the supplies they had sent and ignore the letter.
This situation proved that the aristocratic families were indeed tempted, but they were torn between testing the waters and fearing Lu Hai Kong's schemes. Thus, they all remained silent.
In this situation, they waited for someone to take the bait, hoping someone else would eat the crab that Lu Hai Kong had offered.
They were waiting for someone else to confirm that the crab was indeed delicious before they would rush in.
Whether someone would take the bait was not a significant concern for either the aristocratic families or Lu Hai Kong. This time, hundreds of families had been deceived by Lu Hai Kong, and many had suffered significant losses. Faced with such temptation, those who were still managing to get by could resist, but those who were already struggling found it hard to endure.
The day after the letter was sent, several members of the aristocratic families entered Bingzhou.
Of course, those who entered at this time were not the direct descendants of the families but rather distant relatives or illegitimate children. This was because no one knew the exact situation in Bingzhou, and if something unfortunate happened, it would not be a significant loss for the aristocratic families.
Those who entered Bingzhou were also aware of their situation, so they proceeded with caution, fearing that they might be torn apart the moment they set foot in Bingzhou.
Although Lu Hai Kong claimed that their support for the southern Bingzhou region was for disaster relief, they were well aware of the true purpose of the funds. They knew that if they were to enter the area and be caught, they would not be surprised to find themselves in hot water.
However, what they did not anticipate was that upon entering Bingzhou, they did not encounter any hostility. Of course, expecting a warm welcome was out of the question.
After entering Bingzhou, they were escorted to the Beifeng City, where a designated team was waiting to receive them.
Lu Hai Kong attached great importance to this plan, so he specifically assembled a team to handle this matter.
The team consisted of three key members: Zhang He, who had just completed his undercover mission in southern Bingzhou, the beautiful negotiator Luo Luo, who was in charge of the Beifeng Oddities Market, and Li Xiong.
Among the three core members, two were foreigners, clearly indicating that Lu Hai Kong had started to heavily rely on foreigners.
This was a natural development, as Lu Hai Kong had previously been hesitant to utilize foreigners due to his lack of growth. Now, with his newfound maturity and confidence, he felt ready to take this step.
Moreover, for such commercial matters, it was evident that foreigners were more suitable for the task than NPCs.
Indeed, Lu Hai Kong's decision proved to be extremely wise. When he entrusted his plan to Zhang He and Luo Luo, they immediately sprang into action.
In a short time, they presented Lu Hai Kong with a detailed strategy.
To accommodate Lu Hai Kong, they wrote the plan in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner, ensuring that even someone like Lu Hai Kong, who was not well-versed in business, could grasp their intentions.
Lu Hai Kong reviewed the plan, then passed it on to Xi Zhi Cai and Wang Jun for a quick glance.
After receiving their approval, Lu Hai Kong officially assigned the task to them, along with the responsibility of executing it.
Their work began with the arrival of the first batch of aristocratic families. With Lu Hai Kong's absolute military might, he held complete control over the plan.
These aristocratic families dared not bargain or negotiate; whatever Zhang He and his team said was final.
The first batch consisted of five families, all from minor aristocratic backgrounds. As a result, the resources they brought to Bingzhou were relatively modest, totaling around several million. Zhang He's team had already conducted a thorough inventory and devised a comprehensive plan.
Upon the arrival of these families, Zhang He's team swiftly took care of the matter, efficiently returning their resources to them.
Not only did they return the resources, but Zhang He also offered a 50% premium on top of their original assets. This was considered a reward for being the first to take the plunge, but instead of cash, he provided them with cattle, sheep, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and various other goods.
The aristocratic families did not dare to complain about the lack of cash, and they obediently listened and accepted the arrangements.
Beifeng dispatched a transport team to deliver the goods to their respective families, with a certain fee deducted for transportation.
Upon returning to their families with millions of resources, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, cattle, sheep, and various other items, the aristocratic families were initially bewildered. They struggled to understand the situation but soon realized that they needed to sell these goods to turn them into cash.
Through this process, they discovered astonishing profits. Not only did they quickly liquidate the resources, but they also reaped substantial gains.
Some aristocratic families had initially sent only three to four million worth of resources to southern Bingzhou, but upon returning and liquidating their assets, they found that they had doubled their profits instead of incurring losses.
As soon as this situation became known, the observing aristocratic families could no longer sit still. They rushed to Beifeng in droves.
By this time, those with sharper minds had already figured out Lu Hai Kong's scheme. However, there was nothing they could do about it. Lu Hai Kong's plan was an open secret, and even if they saw through it, they had no choice but to retrieve their money from him, taking the opportunity to make a substantial profit.
Even if some managed to resist the temptation, they could not stop the tide.
It could be said that Lu Hai Kong's strategy was a perfect success. In the following period, Bingzhou would undoubtedly become the economic center of the northern provinces.
Whether this economic boom could be sustained would depend on Lu Hai Kong's capabilities...
(End of Chapter)
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