stonecrandall Page 58
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"No, I'm going to put you back, and you can tell everyone what you've been through. We don't mind."
Rongbuqiu was surprised for a moment, then said knowingly, "That's right. You can come to our world at will, but we cannot go to your world. Based on this alone, you are already invincible against us."
"So we can be more open and establish mutually beneficial cooperation, such as in trade."
"Trade? That's a common means of international relations. What do you intend to sell us?"
"this."
Qin Shan took out a disposable lighter and demonstrated how to use the little thing to Rong Buqiu.
As a great mage who rose from the bottom, Rongbuqiu immediately recognized the value of this item.
Its ease of ignition makes it valuable not only in civilian life but also in the military.
While magicians can certainly use fire magic to light a fire for themselves or show off, it's much more complicated for ordinary people on the continent of Augu to start a fire. You know about tinderboxes, right? Those are relatively advanced luxuries. Most farmers still use flint and steel, which are used to start fires. And for the more primitive ones, the only way to start a fire is by rubbing sticks together.
The evolution of ignition methods can influence the development of an entire civilization. For example, simply making it easier to boil water can solve a great deal of problems.
This is only a small part of the trade. When lighters become popular, other industrial products from China will flood the market. It wouldn't be too easy for an industrial civilization to overwhelm an agricultural civilization with its production capacity.
Yes, yes, some magicians do live very modern lives, but the problem is that this kind of modernization is only for their own enjoyment. There are no standards or possibility of widespread adoption. Compared with cheap, mass-produced industrial products on Earth, it's practically suicide.
Qin Shan plans to act as a middleman, placing orders with countries around the world to build a brand-new cross-world trade system.
At that time, mountains of gold and silver will definitely roll in!
Chapter 123: A Storm
In many classic transmigration novels, the protagonist makes money and enjoys being a middleman by leveraging the powerful production capacity of modern society, which is also an important means of accumulating wealth in the early stages.
If Qin Shan were also a traditional dual-penetration type, he would have to follow this path for a while, developing himself cautiously first. But the system's assistance was heaven-defying, allowing him to directly bypass the early preparation stage and take off from the spot.
The next four worlds are as follows: the first is a wild, natural planet; the second is a post-Cold War world with a technological level better than Earth in the 21st century, and even has advanced technologies like tactical humanoids; and the third, needless to say, is an interstellar civilization, even if it is just a nascent interstellar civilization. Qin Shan's most powerful production building is still the industrial star system he obtained from the Resistance Moon, so Qin Shan is basically acting as a middleman, bringing the technology of advanced worlds to his own country.
Now, in the fourth world, Earth has finally surpassed the other side in terms of productivity.
Although both sides have their strengths and weaknesses in terms of combat power, with Earth being more resilient, the overall development level of the Augu Continent is not good, which is a loophole for dumping goods.
Compared to European colonization, Qin Shan only wanted to engage in export trade and was already very peace-loving. If he had even a fraction of the American imperialists' inhumanity, he could have used his high-level superhumans to wipe out all the superhumans above level one on the Augu Continent, then burned their culture and knowledge to ashes. Next, he could open a portal between the two worlds, allowing countries on Earth to directly colonize this place. Even the United States, which was in the midst of a civil war, would have seen such an opportunity, and Anglo-Saxon and Jewish capital would have shaken hands and made peace in the face of even greater profits, achieving a win-win situation.
After all, it was the temptation to develop an entire world. The amount of profit was not a question of how much it was, but rather a sum so enormous that it would excite and tremble the entire civilization of Earth.
At that time, whether it's colonial plunder or trade and development, there will be countless opportunities.
In fact, when Qin Shan appropriately opened up some world permissions before (the previous spaceship research was in World One), some countries took the initiative to approach Fairy Yunmeng to inquire about the possibility of large-scale development, but it was rejected.
With the teleportation authority in Qin Shan's hands and the threat of high-level superhumans, other countries could only watch with envy, even if they saw the huge potential benefits.
However, by now, Qin Shan has already dealt with most of the humanoid population on Earth. One of the two permanent members of the UN Security Council has been rendered useless, and the other is practically under his control. Russia, formerly the first permanent member of the UN Security Council and now one of the newly elected permanent members, is also destined to be completely controlled by Qin Shan. Once the Chinese and Russian regions have completed their internal integration, they can promote the merging of the two regions into a new major region. Of course, before that, both countries must first promote a wave of self-revolution. At that time, Qin Shan will thoroughly eliminate the problems discovered before that, allowing both countries to enter a new era with a brand-new attitude.
Of course, there will still be intense anti-corruption efforts, and the ever-present threat of unchecked greed. After all, corruption is like dust in your house; if you don't clean it, it will inevitably reappear.
Rong Buqiu was unaware of Qin Shan's many other plans. As an expert in the field of magic, knowledge of finance and economics was completely foreign and beyond his comprehension. However, the trade that Qin Shan proposed did attract his attention, and he did indeed come up with many ideas by extending the discussion from the commodities themselves.
Don't forget that humans excel at applying their research findings to military applications.
The same was true for the various countries on the continent of Augu, with the two great empires having a particularly strong demand for this.
In the ensuing exchange, Qin Shan provided a list of products and their specifications. None of them were weapons, but let's not forget that Laiyang steel pipes were not originally intended for use as rockets.
As long as you have a good grasp of materials science, even a logging machine can be called a Titan.
For example, Rong Buqiu was very interested in military boots, especially tactical boots.
Wait a minute, what the heck is this? Doesn't this person have any sense of propriety? Can't they look at something more sophisticated?
Hey, don't think they're ignorant. In fact, many things that change the combat effectiveness of the army are often used in our daily lives, such as a good pair of shoes.
Comrades who frequently go to the battlefield know the importance of a good pair of shoes to soldiers. Power originates from the feet. The difference between those wearing straw sandals and those wearing professional tactical boots is like night and day. Of course, you can use our Red Army soldiers as an example. They could fight all over the world with just a pair of straw sandals. But is it possible that if the Red Army had such equipment back then, the Kuomintang and the American army would have suffered even more?
Indeed, these things don't offer the same tangible improvements as upgrades to firearms, rocket launchers, and grenades. However, the military is a massive, disciplined entity, and even a slight improvement can have an unimaginable impact on a base of millions.
The same principle applies to military uniforms, and even more so to military rations. Good food greatly boosts the morale of the army. Otherwise, there would have been no incentive in ancient times to not sheath one's sword for three days after a city is captured. This is because the daily meals of the garrison in the city were not as good as those of the soldiers. After capturing a large city, they had to be well satisfied.
The exchanges between the two sides were only at a very basic level, and the details certainly couldn't be handled by Qin Shan and Rong Buqiu alone. Moreover, it was still uncertain whether the Dark Moon Empire had any intention to cooperate.
However, none of this mattered to Qin Shan. He had three worlds to manage right now, and if he were to meticulously develop each one, even if he recalled all the ship girls, it wouldn't be enough. Therefore, as the organization grew and expanded, Qin Shan had to face a very real problem—whether or not to establish a nation.
With the power he currently wields, even if he were to establish a new country directly in Antarctica, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council would collectively agree.
Of course, this might seem like he's looking for trouble. Besides, Qin Shan's ultimate goal is to unify the Earth and then use a complete human civilization to explore other worlds. In addition, his strength allows him to carry out the internal revolution of the two permanent members in a precise way in a complex environment. So there is no need for him to go out and act alone. He can be a behind-the-scenes operator or create a clone to take over. As long as he entrusts the key nodes in the national management process to the ship girls, 99% of the problems can be solved.
The biggest problem for leaders is that there are too few loyal and capable subordinates. You don't need many of these people; even just one or two around you can make your life as a leader very comfortable. Qin Shan has nearly five hundred ship girls, and they all start at the seventh tier online. This configuration would make top historical figures in any dynasty so jealous that they would commit suicide on the spot.
I'd rather play as a trader than face opponents at that level! I'm quitting the game!
And so, Rongbuqiu returned to the Dark Moon Empire with a special gift, for an industrial storm was about to engulf the entire continent of Augu.
Chapter 124: Mountains of Shit and Seas of Excrement
"Admiral, do you think the Dark Moon Empire will agree?" Pinghai asked.
"They have to agree, as long as there are smart people in their decision-making bodies."
Qin Shan's answer was very domineering, but could you please keep your hands to yourself? Also, Ping Hai was just standing next to you, how come he was suddenly in your arms? And this is still daytime! The world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be (laughs).
Of course, Qin Shan didn't care about any of that. What's wrong with me playing games with my ship girls at home? Besides, building small boats can increase the number of ship girls and effectively improve our combat power. How can that be called not doing anything important? I'm so busy doing important things that I'm practically overflowing with them.
Returning to the specific issue, although Rong Buqiu was not a professional, he was at least a learned intellectual who knew how to explain his experiences during this period and introduce the power of the Chinese civilization compiled by Qin Shan when he returned.
Even if the Dark Moon Empire had an emperor like Qianlong, they would still have to think carefully about whether the Holy Empire would cooperate with the Divine Continent Civilization if they didn't cooperate with it, and then the two sides would shake hands and come together to bully them.
With his ability to travel between worlds, Qin Shan is invincible in this matter. He always has absolutely safe rear resources to allocate, and then he can launch a devastating attack on any enemy without restraint. Previously, when the Shenzhou civilization was "collecting" books from various countries on the Augu Continent, it had already proven that terrifying and unsolvable power.
To be able to silently pack up and take away so many books, or to silently twist off a person's head, is certainly less difficult than robbing an entire library.
"Your Majesty, we actually have no choice on this issue."
Rong Buqiu's words silenced everyone at the cabinet meeting; indeed, they had no other choice.
They don't necessarily need the Darkmoon Empire, but the Holy Empire clearly finds it hard to resist this temptation.
Not to mention the Holy Empire, even the monarchs and ministers of the Dark Moon Empire were incredibly tempted after seeing the trade list and product descriptions; tangible benefits were the most attractive thing.
"The Imperial Advisor is right, we really have no other choice."
His Majesty the Emperor has set the tone on this issue, so the next question is how to cooperate with the Chinese civilization.
Even though it was the weaker party, the Dark Moon Empire hoped to establish a separate trade route with the Divine Continent Civilization, preferably one that it could exclusively use. But this was clearly impossible. Unless the Divine Continent Civilization was out of its mind, it would never agree to trade only with the Dark Moon Empire.
Therefore, this idea can only be considered as the "sky-high" in "asking for an exorbitant price." The real price to be made will inevitably be to secure more trade opportunities, such as priority supply and better prices. If the performance of those goods is really as described in the introduction, the strength of the Dark Moon Empire will increase significantly. Conversely, if they refuse, they will fall far behind the Holy Empire.
Even if it's just to avoid falling too far behind, this trade cooperation must be established. At the appointed time, Qin Shan, along with his wife and sister-in-law, appeared at the Dark Moon Empire's palace.
The two sides had only agreed on a time, not a place, because Qin Shan said that as long as he appeared, Rong Buqiu would definitely receive the news immediately.
Indeed, the fact that such a heavily guarded place as the palace could be entered silently is terrifying no matter how you look at it. I'm afraid the emperor isn't the only one who won't be able to sleep tonight.
The Dark Moon Empire was immediately on high alert, but Emperor Fast II of the Dark Moon ordered the palace guards back to their posts, instead of having them protect him in layers. This was partly a display of his magnanimity, and partly an acceptance of reality.
They can get right up to me like this, is it really that hard to kill me before you guys get here?
Since it's all the same anyway, I might as well go all out and show off my proud cave.
Perhaps this attitude will make the other party feel good and then reduce their friendship (Qin Shan: Get lost! I'm not gay!).
Judging from his personal judgment and attitude, this Fastish was indeed quite capable. He might have had some difficulty becoming a ruler like Zhu Di, but he would have been perfectly capable of maintaining the status quo.
The ensuing exchange was very pleasant for both host and guest. The Dark Moon Empire would use its unique minerals and magical artifacts as bargaining chips to trade for various goods provided by the Divine Continent civilization. To put it bluntly, it was exchanging unique resources for conventional resources to produce industrial goods, similar to how small African countries exchange resources for development.
Stop complaining. We went through the same thing back then. Even rare items had to be sold off because we were short of money. If you can't even get through the initial tribulation, how can you talk about the future?
In fact, Qin Shan could also make the various magical products manufactured by the Dark Moon Empire and the Holy Empire, and even better after integrating modern industrial production capacity. He had seen machines that used supernatural powers for processing in his previous life, but you always need people to have some good things to offer for high-value trade. Trade balance is also part of healthy trade.
Of course, they couldn't let the other side think they could be easily manipulated. If the other side had such thoughts, they would overwhelm them with industrial production capacity in their areas of expertise, forcing them to rely on purely manual methods to produce products that were currently unprofitable for industrial manufacturing but still in demand. The superhumans' refining capabilities were quite strong, and the Dark Moon Empire's refining capabilities were among its exportable commodities. Labor has always been a commodity, and the more sophisticated the technology, the higher the added value. Apart from officially imported goods, the requirements of the Divine Continent civilization for trade with the Dark Moon Empire would naturally be met. Qin Shan's idea was simple: to open several supermarkets here under the guise of cultural centers, just like the department stores of yesteryear.
It's not that Qin Shan wanted to use industrial capacity to impact the local small-scale agricultural economy and help them progress; it's just that once industrial civilization begins to intersect with agricultural civilization, the influence is mutual. After more advanced productive forces emerge, there will be people who want to change this situation. This is an objective reality that cannot be changed by people's subjective consciousness.
There are only two solutions: either eliminate the leaders of the revolution and turn the area into a commodity colony, or support the revolutionaries as representatives of advanced productive forces, while exerting one's own influence in the process, ultimately turning them into a member of one's own cultural system, just like the Greater China civilization sphere that radiated outwards in the past.
When we use the same language, the same script, and the same standards, we can become one family. Qin Shan wasn't sure if he could achieve that, but that didn't stop him from giving it a try. If all else failed, he could just send five hundred useless transmigrators over to cause trouble; they could at least produce some results.
Surely we can't have no results at all, right? Surely there aren't that many people who are all talk and no action (laughs).
That evening, Qin Shan and the beauties enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Dark Moon Empire. Although their culinary skills were not as advanced as the molecular gastronomy techniques of modern food industry, the abundance of human labor and the exploitation of the feudal system allowed them to maximize emotional value through personal dependence. After all the demands were met by highly skilled professionals, the dishes served were definitely not bad, and they could also benefit from the power of magic.
The continent of Augu is a world of extraordinary beings, and many of its extraordinary creations are worth learning from. For example, spices grown using extraordinary powers are unique in many ways. Qin Shan had already experienced farming with extraordinary powers in his previous life. There are quite a few professionals in China who have studied this project and have achieved considerable results.
Since that's the case, I can learn these things and use them for my own purposes.
The experience in the palace was quite good, but it was a bit lacking for Qin Shan to become obsessed with it. In particular, the beautiful women (ship girls) around Qin Shan were far superior to the other girls in terms of appearance and strength, so much so that the Dark Moon Empire, which originally planned to conduct physical diplomacy, directly nipped the idea in the bud.
Look at the quality of those girls, how could they possibly be interested in our vulgar beauties?
Of course, there were some daring guys who wanted to try and steal Qin Shan's girl, but the bond between ship girls and admirals can't be swayed by a few pretty faces. Besides, Qin Shan is quite handsome, and all the ship girls are high-level superhumans. If the other party even has the slightest idea of using underhanded tactics, his fists, as big as sandbags, will beat them so badly that they'll never be able to have an erection again.
After the reception, only four people remained with Qin Shan: the two little ones, Ping Hai, and Lexington. Indeed, the wife is the true ruler of the world (I'm certain).
"Let's go and see the magnificent landscape of the Dark Moon Empire."
Once you've decided to invest in this world, you must first have a sufficient understanding of it. Without writing a record of your on-site investigation, what right do you have to claim that you understand the local investment environment?
One of the most fundamental reasons why many investment institutions lose everything is that financial reports alone cannot reveal the main contradictions in a region, let alone ethnic conflicts. Only by going deep into the local area and communicating with the locals can one gain a deeper understanding.
To give a simple example, in the Balkans, a powder keg of the world, ethnic conflicts are not only openly manifested among the major ethnic groups, but also among the smaller local ethnic groups. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, various feuds and killings in the region escalated to the level of genocide, though they were not reported in the news. However, the deep-seated hatred has been left behind. In many places, hotels are restricted to one ethnic group, while hotels for another are restricted to another ethnic group. If you go to one place, you cannot go to other places, otherwise you may trigger the feud mechanism and suffer a terrible disaster.
Will these factors be reflected in financial statements?
Of course not. In order to make money, they will try to attract as many investors as possible, so they will write the most appealing information possible (for example, the Greek financial report during the European debt crisis was like a chocolate package of shit). Once you have been lured in and invested your money, there is no chance to regret it. At that point, you either have to quickly cut your losses and give the resources you invested to the locals, or grit your teeth and accept the sunk costs and local problems and continue to invest, hoping that tomorrow will be better.
India is particularly experienced in this area and has even developed a variety of techniques for overcharging tourists.
What, you're asking about national credibility?
In many small countries, people live day to day, so do you think they need to consider things like credibility? I'm about to lose my life, and you want me to consider credibility? To survive, I'm willing to give up my dignity. A man's knees are worth gold, and now is the time to cash in. Everything is for survival; survival is everything to us.
Fortunately, the United States on Earth has been completely thrown into chaos, and in the short term, let alone reaching out to foreign countries, their civil war will never end without Qin Shan's tacit approval. The flames of war will burn away many things, leaving behind a clean America.
Judging from the current trend, the results are very good.
I look forward to a future Earth where stars shine brightly.
"Holy crap, this smell is amazing!"
As soon as he left the capital of the Dark Moon Empire, Qin Shan smelled a pure, natural, fermented fragrance of excrement that had been aged for countless years, yet carried a fresh, aged aroma.
Got it, there's a huge septic tank nearby.
No, no, no, you're overthinking it. Look to the southwest. There's a mountain there, a mountain piled up with "fertilizer".
The legendary Nuggets of Paris, a mountain of filth even more filthy than ancient code, is something modern people certainly won't have the chance to witness firsthand (besides, Paris isn't exactly clean these days either; just thinking about Olympic athletes swimming in the Seine, which is practically a petri dish for bacteria... ugh! makes me nauseous). But the filthy mountain on the outskirts of the Darkmoon Empire, with its even more majestic form, showcases another kind of miracle created by humankind.
Rice-coated Mount Fuji!! (Groundhog screams)
Section 125: A Road Movie with Flavor
What is humanity's greatest invention?
Different people have different answers, but Qin Shan now feels there's only one: the sewer!
The sewers here are not only for drainage, but also for cleaning up excrement. As the saying goes, "The sewers are the conscience of the city."
Therefore, feudal empires lacked conscience, or even had no conscience at all (this is a fact).
Of course, it depends on the situation. The lords of the empire are very attentive to their own sewer system, and the city streets are very clean. With the extraordinary power of magic, the efficient sewer system is naturally not a problem. However, the Dark Moon Empire is, after all, just a feudal empire. So it's like draining the whole country to support a capital city. We only sacrificed Hebei province.
Oh, now Hebei won't be sacrificed. On the contrary, Beijing has voluntarily given up a lot of benefits, showing the willingness to share its losses, which is quite amazing.
It's nothing much. The main problem is that for a while, there were more avengers from Hebei, and the Beijing folks suffered a lot of losses. All the surrounding golf courses, and those connected to these golf courses, were wiped out of the household registration system.
Don't they know Hebei is short of water? They still use it like this. Let's play a game of "Nine Clans Elimination"! Now Hebei has been included in the capital development circle, and its economy is taking off.
Another point worth mentioning is that the national college entrance examination uses a unified test paper, and the high-efficiency admission score standards are the same in all regions, both internally and externally. There is no room for manipulation by local privileges. Colleges and universities truly only consider scores and not personal connections when admitting students. Because if you dare to look into it, Jinyan.com will definitely expose it, and then the avengers will immediately come to your house to greet you warmly.
What's wrong, bro? You think you have too many family members and want to close the account, right?
See, as long as enough people are killed, there are always more solutions than problems, and even bureaucrats can understand the plight of the people.
After all, bureaucrats just need to do their jobs honestly, while the Avengers have to consider many things when they're clearing out household registrations.
"What a waste, tsk tsk tsk."