Lilith said nothing; such thoughts were known only to those like them who stood at such a height.
To anyone else, it would be no more than a humblebrag.
After all, to stand at the peak of the pyramid, holding supreme power, was what the great majority dreamed of all their lives.
"All right, once you've arranged the schedule for what comes next, just let me know," Zhao Chen said, looking at Lilith with a smile.
It meant he was about to get busy again.
But all this was for the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire too.
Everyone else was busy working for the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's growth and strength; how could he, the Owl Dragon Emperor, hold things back at such a time as this?
Next,
the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's leadership held a small meeting in haste.
And Lilith, as secretary-officer, contacted people on many sides in haste.
Very soon a matter originally to be pushed forward three months later was handed down three months early.
But it was done in secret,
for Zhao Chen and the others still had to carry it out.
Owl Dragon Star System · Chang'an City
In an old-fashioned room, the sound of lovely classical music could be heard all around.
There was no table in the room, only old-style chairs set against the walls.
On three sides were two chairs each, with something like a low table between them, on which drinks and sweets were laid out.
In the middle of the room there was also an incense burner; a thread of white smoke could be seen rising slowly, and the air was filled with a soothing fragrance.
All six chairs were taken.
Zhao Chen sat in the host's seat, with Lilith at his right hand.
On either side before him sat four people.
The two on his left were the Empire's Minister of Commerce, Li Yaqi, and the vice-minister, the succubus Bessie.
The two on his right were Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group.
The Bailan Interstellar Trade Group had originally been an interstellar trade group within the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes.
The Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes were an interstellar race chiefly engaged in the interstellar trade, and so were also called the interstellar trader race.
The Bailan Interstellar Trade Group had once been in decline within the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, but through its contact with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, and with the Owl Dragon Emperor's backing,
the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group had gradually grown strong.
In a very short time it had become the strongest interstellar trader in the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes.
And the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's share of the known universe's market had now reached over sixty percent of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' whole, and was still growing.
So within the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, the attitude to the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's present partnership with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire was one of tacit acceptance.
Nor could they do anything but accept it.
For the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group was too vast now, no longer something they could control.
The two Flower-Fairy young ladies could even have had the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group set up a Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes of its own.
So, as things stood now, the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes had chosen tacit acceptance.
They even worked with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire of their own accord, seeking greater profit.
So the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's and the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' universe trading map had now spread to a quite astonishing extent.
And mind you, in the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, though on the surface Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini were the managers,
the major shareholder behind the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group was the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire!
That was also why the two of them were here now.
For a coming development plan of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's needed their help.
And because this was a simple get-together, not a formal meeting, they had chosen such a relaxed place.
"At present our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has a large shortfall in resources and funds. Everyone here knows about the oath-duel with the Devourer Civilization. And lately our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has developed a second mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship. But building it on a large scale needs a great many resources and funds. And to open new sources in a short time, the best way is universe trade! As things stand, our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has goods that are good enough. Whether it's the most basic food, or civilian goods, or military supplies, our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire can by and large meet needs on every side. So what we need to do is build a sales channel."
Lilith began setting it out now, and looked at the two flower fairies of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group to one side.
"Before this, our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's interstellar trade with other universe civilizations has basically been each fighting on its own, sharing a few channels at most. That has brought our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire no small income. But it isn't the greatest return. For among the known universe's civilizations, there are many interstellar universe markets we haven't opened up yet. And if we could build a trade circle, couldn't we speed up our universe trade channels?" When Secretary Lilith had got this far, she stopped and looked at the Empire's Minister of Commerce, Li Yaqi.
This project was chiefly Minister Li Yaqi's responsibility; she, Secretary Lilith, mainly played the part of go-between in it.
Minister Li Yaqi took up the thread and said, "What Secretary Lilith said just now is right. For those of us in business, one crucial factor is efficiency. For instance, one person can earn ten crystal coins in a minute, but another can earn a hundred crystal coins in a minute. Plainly the latter earns money fastest. And now we're going to build a trade circle. What is a trade circle? It's very simple. It's bringing in as many interstellar civilizations' universes or interstellar powers as possible to form a trade alliance; within this alliance circle, any goods within the terms laid down can be traded directly. Best of all, we should also build a central network hub. For now, provisionally, it's a star system in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's universe. There we form a universe trade network hub especially, with universe star gates that can reach most interstellar universes. And there trade can be free; every kind of goods can be shown there and contracts signed. And our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire and a few other interstellar civilizations of strong military power, such as the Holy Elf Empire, can all take on the duty of overseeing this universe trade. We can set up a Universe Trade Commission; if any dispute arises, the commission can try it. Whoever breaks a contract or the rules will pay for it. At the lightest, they'll bear the penalty for breach of contract and be expelled from the trade alliance. At the heaviest, the several military powers within the trade alliance will send interstellar legion fleets against the obstinate interstellar civilization's power and make them pay what they owe by way of a military expedition. That way, with everyone under one set of rules and system together, a highly efficient interstellar trade environment can be built. Before this, the few hard problems in universe trade came down to nothing more than trust; we set the rules precisely so that everyone can have 'trust' in one another. Next, there's universe navigation: some interstellar civilizations' universes may have had certain military disputes in history, so they can't sail directly between them. Or else there's no direct universe star-gate network. All of that can be taken care of by the universe star-gate network our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire builds. That way everyone can carry out cross-universe transport more efficiently."
Hearing what Minister Li Yaqi said,
Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini both nodded in agreement.
Huaya Lanlan said, "Because we're the ones leading this trade alliance, we'll be as good as holding all the threads of interstellar trade, and have more advantages than anyone else. And we already have plenty of goods tempting enough to lure these interstellar civilizations' powers in. The biggest of them, naturally, is Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships. If we can bring out some sufficiently tempting interstellar warship, for instance the right to buy T6-grade interstellar warships, I'm sure the great majority of interstellar civilizations' powers won't refuse to join this alliance."
Zhao Chen nodded.
Sales of Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships had always been a sugar-coated bullet in Zhao Chen's hand.
Few could refuse the temptation.
Even the Holy Elf Empire, faced with one of Zhao Chen's quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnoughts, had come over all strange, had it not?
If one wasn't enough, two would be.
Everyone's body is very honest.
But to return to the matter.
Huaya Nini's eyes lit up too just then, and she said,[1] "On the surface it looks as if we're only building a platform and getting some trade channels. But in fact there's still a lot of room for profit in it. Interstellar transport, for instance. Mind you, the five largest interstellar transport outfits in the known universe now are all under our control. Because the most advanced interstellar transport ships at present are all Owl Dragon-line. The T6 Star-Sea-Great-Whale-class Super-Heavy Interstellar Transport needs no mention, naturally, and below it there are the T5 Star-Kun-class Super-Heavy Interstellar Transport, the T4 Great-Whale-class Heavy Interstellar Transport and the T3 Great White Whale-class Heavy Interstellar Transport Ship. Having so complete a range of interstellar transport ships means we can manage long-haul transport, short-haul transport and special-goods transport alike, no problem. And with the Owl Dragon-line universe star-gate system steadily filling out now, we'll soon have a universe star-gate network covering the whole interstellar universe!"
As Huaya Nini described all this, her eyes shone.
It was as if a seed she had planted were about to grow into a fearsome, towering tree.
Zhao Chen nodded now, and did not forget to share a piece of good news: "Speaking of which, our research departments have had good news lately. To meet our plan to roll out the universe star-gate network as fast as possible, they've developed a quick-assembly simple permanent star gate. The star gate isn't large, and the shipping volume it can handle isn't high, but it's just right for some interstellar universes whose trade volume is only small to medium. After all, not every interstellar universe needs a medium or large interstellar universe star gate built. And this simple star gate falls short in nothing, in quality or efficiency. Most of all, its building time is very short; it's built by assembly: ninety percent of the parts can be produced first in our factories, then shipped to the destination for assembly. The whole job can be finished in three months! Most of all, the design structure leaves room for future upgrades; if needed in future, it can be upgraded and converted on this very foundation! And such a permanent simple universe star gate costs only five hundred trillion star coins!"
Hearing this good news,
everyone present but Lilith was very glad.
But Lilith shrugged helplessly and said, "Reckoned up that way, that's another very large sum of funds for us to put into universe star gates. That's nice: the new sources haven't even opened yet, and here's another expense. Still, it's a step that has to be taken; whatever happens, these things must be built, and however hard it is, they must be built."
Hearing Lilith's words, everyone knew very well how frightening the cost behind it was.
But it was crucial to the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's growth, and to the plan for the trade alliance.
"About how much is needed on this front?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith thought a moment and answered, "If we're to build a complete universe star-gate network, we'll most likely need to put 50,000 trillion star coins into it."
50,000 trillion star coins?
Zhao Chen put his hand to his forehead; the spending now was truly huge.
They were reckoning in tens of thousands of trillions here, all of it.
Mind you, before that, a few trillion star coins had seemed a very large figure to Zhao Chen.
"The need for building that batch of quasi-T7 Golden-Holy-Angel-class Light Interstellar Cruisers before hasn't been met yet. And now another lot like this crops up." Zhao Chen held his head helplessly.
"Then does this mean our shortfall will be very large?" Huaya Nini asked without thinking.
Lilith said helplessly, "It's hard to call it merely very large. It's enormous. By our estimate we now have a shortfall of nearly 300,000 trillion star coins. And mind you, our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's income for a year is now not even 100,000 trillion star coins, which means the shortfall is more than three years of our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's income, reckoned in full!"
Hearing the figure, even Zhao Chen's heart sank.
The pressure of it was truly great.
"Actually, I think this outlay doesn't necessarily have to be borne by the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire itself," Huaya Nini said.
Hearing this, Zhao Chen felt as if a thought had been switched on in his head.
Huaya Nini said, "Actually, those who hold power in an interstellar universe civilization mostly don't want a universe star gate in their own universe that they don't control. Of course, some weak interstellar civilizations will mostly accept it tacitly, wary of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's great strength. But what if we let them choose for themselves?"
Everyone's eyes now fell on Huaya Nini.
Huaya Nini went on, "Our plan for building universe star gates can offer three types. The first: we're entirely responsible for building it, running it, and so on. The second: we can accept others' building it with us as a joint venture; say, in building a universe star gate, both sides put in half each. Then we can accept the other side's appointing some of the managing staff of this star gate too, so that they can know how this universe star gate runs day to day. The third: the other side pays for it all. If it's done this way, we're responsible for building it, and in the first three years we send the necessary staff to teach its use; after three years this universe star gate is handed entirely to the other side's control. Considering the third way: even the cheapest simple permanent universe star gate costs five hundred trillion star coins, which some small and medium interstellar universe civilizations probably can't afford. They can pay it off with so many years' mining rights in certain local resource zones. And as for the building cost of the star gates in the last two: isn't that for us to say?"
The last remark plainly gave away Huaya Nini's little game as an interstellar trader.
But it was not wrong either.
As things looked, this simple universe star gate cost five hundred trillion star coins to build; the profit margin on such large equipment could not be too high,
but raising it two or three times, quoting 1,000 trillion or 2,000 trillion star coins: that was not going too far, was it?
That way, so long as someone agreed to the third plan, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire could use the profit earned from it for other things.
The flower fairies, that race of interstellar merchants, lived up to their name.
They truly had a great many ways of raking in money.
Huaya Lanlan said now too, "Speaking of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's present shortfall in funds: you're going to set up a trade alliance in future. I wonder whether you've thought of issuing imperial bonds."
Imperial bonds?
Hearing the term, Zhao Chen found it somewhat familiar and somewhat strange.
For such a thing existed among some interstellar powers.
But mostly among interstellar powers that were growing steadily and tending toward peace.
After all, such a thing needs a peaceful environment to be born.
"I know imperial bonds don't look suited to the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's present situation. But for some investors, the greater the risk, the greater the return. We can put out imperial bonds offering three, five, even ten times the returns on the market. It means the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire will have to pay out some for it in future. But it can also bring in a good deal in a short time. And as things look now: if, in the oath-duel later, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire were defeated… allow me to make that supposition… these bonds would naturally be void then. And if the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire beats the Devourer Civilization, then by the oath-duel the Devourer Civilization's universe will belong to you. The Devourer Civilization's home universe holds very great value. With that, you'll be fully able to repay these imperial bonds. And those investors will naturally see the signs as well; some of them will naturally take the risk and choose now to invest in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's future!"
Hearing this argument,
while Zhao Chen was still thinking, Lilith beside him clapped first in praise and said, "That idea works. And it can draw in the people's wealth too. These years, a good deal of wealth has built up among the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's people. Because many lords' powers no longer have military spending, they have a great deal of surplus wealth. And in issuing imperial bonds we can add some little clauses too. For instance, within the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's borders, some of the biggest buyers of imperial bonds may hope to attend the New Year's banquet every year. And so on…"
Hearing this,
the phrase that popped into Zhao Chen's head was: Isn't this just "collecting money reasonably"?
For such things, families and lords with spare money in hand would naturally be willing to make the investment.
Even if it came to nothing in the end, at least they could cut a fine figure for a while now.
"Then this… how much can we raise?" Zhao Chen asked.
If in the end it really could not meet the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's needs, there was no need to go to the trouble.
Lilith put on a thoughtful look.
This would need a reckoning of the wealth held among the middle and upper ranks of the people.
This time, before Lilith could speak,
Minister Li Yaqi of the Ministry of Commerce spoke first: "It's not only our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire; there's other interstellar civilizations' powers investing in us too. In this period, while carrying on trade with other interstellar civilizations' universes, I've also been gathering intelligence on every side. I think if we push this imperial bond, we can take in at least 300,000 trillion in funds and resources. Of course, there's one precondition: we have to let those people see our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's potential and investment value. That is, we have to let them see our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's military strength growing, and our resolve to win the oath-duel with the Devourer Civilization in future. That way, those people will be willing to invest in our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire."
Zhao Chen and Lilith both nodded.
To put it bluntly, an imperial bond was an investment in a nation.
And only when a nation truly has great strength and potential will you invest in it.
And here the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's advantage was how fast it kept bringing out new interstellar warships.
"Seen that way, our task of building the second quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship must be sped up as well. Then, if we can take hundreds or thousands of quasi-T7 Golden-Holy-Angel-class Light Interstellar Cruisers on a tour of every interstellar civilization's power, we're sure to show off our military strength!" Zhao Chen said.
Lilith nodded.
Minister Li Yaqi said now too, "But the most pressing thing is still to settle the framework of this universe trade alliance our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is to lead."
Zhao Chen looked at Li Yaqi and Huaya Lanlan. "You two have been in charge of this matter all along. Now I'll do as you two say. Just tell me now how I need to work with you. We have to set up this universe trade alliance framework in the shortest possible time!"