Volume 2: Empire Chapter 205 Investment
The inauguration ceremony of the Holy Mountain City Militia Wolf Battalion officially began, and all the more than 1,000 people in the battalion gathered on the training ground.
A squad consists of twenty people, and a company consists of two hundred people.
All the soldiers followed the orders of their instructors and lined up to enter the arena, and then formed a large square formation. The orders were strictly enforced and the discipline was strict. The neat footsteps rumbled and the dust on the ground was raised to form a rolling dust cloud.
The officers of the Wolf Battalion stood collectively on the podium, and Baron Sergei invited the Duke's special envoy Rammutu to speak first.
There is a microphone in the middle of the podium.
Count Rammutu walked forward and looked at the fully armed human soldiers below the stage, and all kinds of worries arose in his heart.
The people of Tedejia Hills have mixed with the barbarians, so most of them have some barbarian blood. Therefore, the people of Tedejia Hills are generally tall. Although their physical fitness is not as good as that of the barbarians, they are much taller than the people in other places.
Looking at these human soldiers armed with steel, the Barbarian Count couldn't help but think of the elite Imperial Army.
The Duke plans to recruit humans to form an army to fill the manpower gap on the front lines. Is there really no hidden danger?
No one can predict the future until it happens.
I only hope that the human merchants who have been favored by the Duke will be loyal to the Celtic Duke from generation to generation as they swore.
Count Rammutu's congratulatory message from the Duke of Celtic was greeted with warm applause from the Wolf Brigade after a brief speech.
Then, the captain of the Wolf Battalion, Baron Sergei, led the soldiers of the Wolf Battalion and read the oath of loyalty to the Celtic Duke to the Duke's envoy.
Finally, the officers of each department were formally appointed.
The first is the Inspector General: Luke.
When the name was read out, the entire training ground was filled with cheers, and the neat formation suddenly became chaotic. The instructors hired from outside blew their whistles and tried their best to stop them, but as outsiders, they had no idea what an invincible human strongman meant to the human race of Tedejia Hill.
Baron Sergei's appointment was announced to have to be terminated. He ignored Count Rammutu's unpleasant look and invited Luke to come forward and say something to these admirers.
Although he was unprepared, Luke walked up to the microphone.
"Quiet! Soldiers!" Luke's voice was full of energy, and it spread throughout the training ground with a mighty momentum over the speakers. All the soldiers immediately quieted down and quickly returned to their positions and stood at attention.
"Very good! As you all know, I am an adventurer. I have been to many places and have seen armies from many places. Some armies are invincible; some armies are just scattered bandits.
In you, I see the prototype of an elite army. You are physically strong and are the best source of soldiers anywhere in the world; you have excellent instructors who are dedicated to their duties; and you have donors who are willing to spend a lot of money to buy advanced weapons from all over the world.
You are an army that carries the hopes of countless people!
I hope you will practice every training subject well and be ready for the real battlefield as soon as possible.
I have already proved in the Holy Mountain Strongman Arena that the human race can train excellent strongmen. The next person to prove that the human race can train excellent soldiers... is you! "
After Luke finished his brief speech, the situation became uncontrollable again.
The instructors even used sticks to beat the overly excited soldiers before they gradually realigned the formation.
The military inauguration ceremony continued.
Baron Sergei continued to read out the appointments of officers, while Count Rammutu, who was standing beside him, had a gloomy face throughout.
The only thing that made him feel fortunate was that Luke would not continue to win in the final showdown at the Duke's Castle.
50 million Reichsmarks was totally worth it!
After the Wolf Brigade's formation ceremony was over and Baron Sergei sent away the Barbarian Count, he invited Luke to his office alone.
Close the door, set up restrictions, and activate various anti-eavesdropping detection magic mechanisms in the room.
After making sure that this conversation would never be leaked, Baron Sergei sat back at his desk, and Luke sat opposite him.
Seeing Baron Sergei being so cautious, Luke asked, "Baron, what important matter do you want to discuss with me? You actually sealed off the entire room, and you're just short of exiling me to the subspace."
"The magic circle for exiling to the subspace is too complicated. Although I have learned magic, I am not proficient in it. I am afraid that I will not be able to return after being exiled." Sergei started with a humorous tone, and then asked solemnly: "Mr. Luke, who are you?"
"An adventurer... The Adventurer's Association has my file. It's all public information. The Baron should be able to check it out."
Sergei looked at Luke and said, "I checked, but the Holy Mountain Adventurer's Association does not have your complete file. Your adventurer registration place is in Raging Wave City. The Holy Mountain Adventurer's Association needs to retrieve the information from the Raging Wave City Adventurer's Association, which takes time.
But...if someone tampered with the Adventurer's Guild in Raging Wave City, there would definitely be no problem even if the files were transferred."
Luke knew that Sergei had doubted his identity, so he said helplessly: "If you think so, I can't help you. No matter what evidence I produce, you have reason to doubt me."
Sergei watched Luke, trying to find any flaws, but he could see nothing.
"I have come into contact with many adventurers due to business needs, and you are different from them. You have a certain aura, especially in your speech just now. You are more like a leader than I am."
Luke smiled and said, "It seems that I should form a team of adventurers. Being a boss is much easier and safer than adventuring alone."
Luke's jokes made it difficult for Sergei to determine the origins of the man in front of him.
He had no choice but to say, "Whether I am overthinking or not, I just want to know if you have any connections with the upper echelons of the city of Raging Tide."
"Yes..." Luke thought for a moment and added, "A little bit. As an adventurer, it is inevitable that I will receive commissions from some powerful people. Some people are familiar with me and will give the tasks directly to me without going through the Adventurer's Association, so that the association will not earn the agency fee."
Luke's answer was flawless, so Sergei could only bite the bullet and speak out his demands: "Raging Waves City is now the world's trade center. Many things are cheaper and more convenient to pick up from Raging Waves City than from their place of origin. It's just that because of the war between Tedejia Hills and the Empire, Raging Waves City has also joined the blockade of Tedejia Hills.
Some of the things we purchased will be transferred through Raging Tide City. We also want to purchase machinery directly from the factories in Raging Tide City, and we also want to sell the goods from Tedega Hills.
Sir, among the dignitaries in Nutao City that you know, is there anyone who can provide us with some help?"
Luke pretended to think about it for a moment, then answered, "I actually know someone. This friend of mine was originally a member of a gang at the port in the Cape District of Raging Waves City. Later, he was lucky enough to follow Governor Meteorite and join the Cape District Secret Affairs Bureau. He is now in charge of the Cape Port Customs.
Cape Harbor used to be a smuggling port, but now smuggling has been legalized, and everything can be done as long as you pay money."
The new Cape Port is now under the management of the Yan Yang Group and belongs to Luke's private treasury.
Part of the collected taxes must be handed over to the city government hall, but the tolls from smuggling are all their own.
Sergei's request is easy to handle. We can just find a dock gang to handle it.
Sergei didn't expect that Luke actually had such a powerful friend in Cape Port Customs. If this route is opened, not only will it save a lot of money to purchase factory equipment now, but the products produced in the future can also be sold all over the world through Raging Waves City.
"Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem!" Sergei said to Luke, "When you return to Raging Tide City this time, can you ask your friend to help us?"
Luke replied, "I can talk to him. But how do you get your goods into Tedega Hills after they pass through the customs of Raging Wave City? I just walked through the southern passage, which can only transport small items. Large items must pass through the Empire's blockade area."
"Don't worry about how the goods get in. Fighting is fighting, making money is making money. As long as the goods can be smoothly transported in and out of Raging Waves City, there are plenty of ways to deliver them to Tedejia Hills.
All the equipment I bought for the Canglang Brigade was shipped in this way."
By visiting the barracks of the Gray Wolf Battalion, Luke discovered that the sources of procurement of weapons and facilities here were very diverse, even more so than those of the Indians.
This shows that these human merchants from the Holy Mountain are actively exploring the world market.
Luke was originally thinking about how to tie the emerging factory owners in Tedega Hill to the front of the car in Fury City, but he didn't expect that these factory owners had already opened up a way themselves and handed the rope up.
Only when you get on the car of Nutao City will you know how good it is. When the upstream and downstream channels of the factory are controlled, won't these emerging factory owners be trapped?
Luke said cheerfully, "Leave this to me. Does the Baron have someone in charge in Raging Waves City? I will only build the bridge, and the rest of the talks are up to you."
"Yes!" Baron Sergei took out a piece of paper from the drawer, wrote down the contact's address and name with a quill pen, and handed it to Luke: "Just find him when you get to Raging Waves City, he will take care of the follow-up matters.
in addition……"
Sergei hesitated for a moment and asked again, "I know that for merchants in Raging Waves City, investing in factories here during wartime is very risky. But we still have a huge funding gap. There are too many things that need to be built, and the suppliers all require us to pay in cash.
And the Duke's Castle had no money to offer us.
Can you help us find some businessmen or institutions willing to invest in Tedejia Hills when you go back this time? The land and labor here are very cheap!"
Despite this request, Baron Sergei did not hold out much hope.
Businessmen invest to make money.
However, Tedega Hills was in the middle of a war and was at a disadvantage on the battlefield. If something went wrong with the foreign investment, all the capital and profits might be lost.
Therefore, it is very difficult to attract investment.
However, Luke said, "It is impossible for you to ask merchants from Raging Waves City to invest in building factories in Tedega Hills, but there is hope for other investments."
"Other investments? What investments?" asked Baron Sergei.
Luke replied: "There are many non-profit charities in Raging Waves that accept charitable donations and use the money to help those in need.
If it is to build hospitals, schools, roads, electricity, water, agriculture... these are public welfare investments that provide convenience for the lower-class people, they will definitely be willing to invest their money. "
Baron Sergey couldn't believe his ears. He asked in surprise, "These are investments that will not make any profit in the short term, or even at all. Will anyone really invest in these projects that don't make any money at all?"
Luke smiled and said, "In Raging Waves City, money is just a . The rich people in Raging Waves City love to host charity receptions, which not only allow them to discuss business, but also earn a good reputation as a 'philanthropist'.
They would feel bad if they built a factory and it didn't make money.
But they don’t care that building a hospital doesn’t make money, because they’ve already got what they wanted.”
Baron Sergei could not understand the train of thought of the wealthy people in Raging Wave City, but building a factory would definitely require a large number of workers to live in. Medical care, education, transportation... were all issues that needed to be solved.
If these non-profit charities are willing to invest in these unprofitable projects, can't businessmen like us focus on investing in profitable projects?
The philanthropists in Nutao City really do charity!
Sergey asked anxiously, “How can I contact these charities?”
Luke shook the paper in his hand and said, "I happen to know several heads of charities. I'd better contact them first and use my on-the-ground experience to introduce the current difficult situation in Tedega Hills. Then your people can submit applications.
However, there are still many conditions to obtain investment approval.”
Sergey asked: "What are the conditions?"
Luke thought for a moment and said, “The charity will send people to Tedega Hill to conduct a census, and based on the population size and density, make an overall plan on what projects to invest in and how much to invest.
This is to prevent someone from falsely reporting local conditions to defraud investment funds.”
"This..." Baron Sergei said awkwardly, "There are not many big cities in the Tedega Hills. Most of the population lives in the mountains, and the barbarian tribes don't like outsiders to get close."
Luke replied: "Of course not a census of the entire territory. That would probably take several years. Only the larger towns will be censused, and if the barbarians don't cooperate, they will be skipped.
Anyway, investment is based on population and demand, so if there are fewer people in the census, the investment received may be less.”
Hearing that the investment would be reduced, Baron Sergei felt worse than losing money in his own business.
"Please help with charitable investments, Mr. Luke. I will do my best to persuade the barbarians, but I promise that the human race will definitely cooperate with the census.
There are so many people in Tedega Hill who need help!"
Luke said sincerely: "It is also my wish to help those in need. Due to wrong policies, Tedejia Hill has fallen far behind the mainstream world, and the civilians at the bottom live in extreme poverty.
I will do my best to connect with more non-profit charities and bring more philanthropic investment to Tedega Hills.”
