Minister Li Yaqi, standing beside Zhao Chen, spoke up just then, looking at him: "Besides that, our Ministry of Commerce is preparing to take the lead in setting up a batch of new interstellar transport fleets, dedicated to these cross-universe transport tasks. As things stand, our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire will set up ten wholly owned interstellar transport groups, and set up fifty joint-venture interstellar transport groups with other interstellar powers. These interstellar transport groups will all use our Owl Dragon-line interstellar ships, and on average every interstellar transport group will have at least a hundred thousand interstellar transport ships. When our universe trade alliance is set up, these interstellar transport fleets of ours can all pounce, and be first to seize this cake of interstellar trade transport. Mind you, in trade, transport has always been no small slice of cake. A single interstellar shipment doesn't look like much profit, but an interstellar transport network spread over dozens of universes: the market built up from it could bring in as much as tens of thousands of trillions of star coins!"
When Minister Li Yaqi got to this figure, even she showed a somewhat hungry look.
Even Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini beside her looked tempted.
One could see that they were truly very interested in this, and all held it to be a huge market in future.
And as Zhao Chen understood it, Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini had each already set up an interstellar transport group as a joint venture with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
That was enough to show how far ahead the two of them were looking on this front.
"I know all this, and Lilith has approved it all too. I've already passed down orders on building interstellar transport ships. We'll meet your needs as fast as we possibly can. But this batch of interstellar transport ship orders of yours is really too large, above all the orders for T5 and T6-grade interstellar transport ships. There's no way all your needs can be met in a short time. But I can promise it'll be as soon as possible. And the orders for interstellar transport ships of T4 and T3 grade and below have all been passed down to the manufacturers below, the Northern Goose Group included. They'll all work overtime building them to meet your needs on this front as soon as possible. Put these interstellar transport ships in first; where quality's lacking, make do with numbers for now. Besides, these interstellar transport ships aren't of poor quality either. When the T6 Star-Sea-Great-Whale-class Super-Heavy Interstellar Transports and T5 Star-Kun-class Super-Heavy Interstellar Transports fill this gap in future, you can sell off the surplus lower-grade interstellar transport ships too. After all, these interstellar transport ships of ours have always sold very well, even better than our combat interstellar warships."
The reason Minister Li Yaqi had brought up these interstellar transport ships at this point was in fact that she wanted Zhao Chen, the Owl Dragon Emperor, to hurry up the output on that side.
For this time they had brought forward the founding of the universe trade alliance, which had also sped up their need for interstellar transport ships.
Bringing forward the founding of the universe trade alliance meant this cake would be served up early.
Mind you, by then it would not only be they who had their eyes on this market.
Other interstellar civilizations' powers would have their eyes on this market too.
And then it would come down to who took market share first.
They had the edge of Owl Dragon-line interstellar transport ships, but spreading into this market earlier meant seizing the advantage in less time and avoiding head-on clashes with "rivals."
And it meant making a good profit in the shortest time.
That was what Minister Li Yaqi had in mind.
She was the Empire's Minister of Commerce now, but the blood of an interstellar trader still flowed in her veins, and much of her way of doing things still bore its marks.
So she had played this little game before Zhao Chen.
It was no ill intent.
But Zhao Chen had no way of doing this well either.
Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.
The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's industrial strength was just what it was for now; there was no way to produce so many interstellar ships in a short time.
"But we're not wholly without a way. Our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has no spare production capacity now, but that doesn't mean there's none outside, does it?" Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Minister Li Yaqi naturally caught the Owl Dragon Emperor's meaning.
After all, the destinations of their journey this time were not the Holy Elf Empire alone.
……
Holy Elf Empire
Unlike the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, most of whose star regions and star systems changed enormously every so often,
however many times Zhao Chen came to the Holy Elf Empire, the Holy Elf Empire had basically not changed much.
Because of the ever closer relations between the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire and the Holy Elf Empire,
Zhao Chen's flagship and fleet, on reaching the Holy Elf Empire this time, went almost without hindrance to the Sacred Tree System, and berthed at the starport outside Moon-God Planet.
The moment Zhao Chen's flagship stopped and joined the starport's gangway,
Zhao Chen saw a few figures already waiting early on the gangway.
Zhao Chen, all smiles, led Minister Li Yaqi, Huaya Lanlan and the others off the starship, stood on the gangway's lift, and was carried across to the gangway opposite.
And standing here waiting were Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, and Gustav, the Radiant Elf King.
"His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor in person; forgive us for not coming farther to meet you." Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, said with a bow.
The Owl Dragon Emperor's standing was now plainly on a par with theirs, so before Zhao Chen, the Owl Dragon Emperor,
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, would not put on airs.
"What's this, coming all of a sudden without a word? I'd have gone to the star gate to meet you." Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, was much more offhand; she walked straight up to Zhao Chen and looked him up and down.
"Not at all; I really did come unannounced this time, and the abruptness is mine. But because this matter is rather special, I had no choice but to come without notice," Zhao Chen said, bowing to Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, in turn.
"Please. We've had a welcome banquet got ready. Whatever the matter, we can talk it over at the banquet. I hear the Owl Dragon Emperor has always liked to talk business at the dinner table." Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, did not ask outright about the purpose of Zhao Chen's visit, but put forward the welcome banquet first.
Plainly he did not want to raise the matter himself.
That was the style of an old high elf like the Radiant Elf King: better one thing less than one thing more.
Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, looked at Gustav, the Radiant Elf King's back as he led the way ahead, and frowned slightly.
But she still looked at Zhao Chen and said, "Rest first and have something to eat; whatever it is, we can talk it over slowly."
As she spoke, she winked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen nodded, understanding.
Then Zhao Chen's party came to the welcome banquet Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, had laid on; it was somewhat hasty, but it was an Elf King who had arranged it after all.
Nothing that ought to be there was missing; besides, this was no public ball or banquet of that kind,
only a private welcome banquet for Zhao Chen and his few companions, with fewer than ten people all told.
So getting it ready was nothing especially troublesome.
"Please sit." Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, pulled out the seat beside his own.
Zhao Chen did not stand on ceremony, but sat straight down.
Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, sat on Zhao Chen's other side.
In fact, by seating etiquette, Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, ought properly not to have sat in this place.
So Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, gave a glance, but said nothing.
For, as everyone knew, Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, was on good private terms with this Owl Dragon Emperor; this was no grand welcome banquet but a private one, so such details need not be minded too much.
"Come, come, come. Owl Dragon Emperor, and all our guests from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, come and taste our Holy Elf Empire's dishes; a good many of them are new dishes, prepared especially for our guests from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire," Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, said happily by way of introduction.
Zhao Chen and the others did not stand on ceremony either, but took up their chopsticks to enjoy the delicious meal.
Meanwhile the two sides opened with some small talk.
What they talked of most was no more than the earlier fighting with the Devourer Civilization.
"How's that Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought? How come I didn't see you have it berthed here?" When the wine had gone round some way, Zhao Chen looked at Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, beside him and opened a topic first.
Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, shrugged helplessly and said, "That interstellar warship of yours is really too big; after makeshift alterations the docks here can berth it, but in other respects there's no room to do anything. You have no idea: once that Emerald Elf King of ours, Mansfield, saw this quasi-T7 interstellar warship of yours, he simply couldn't tear himself away. Now he's in the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought nearly every day, studying and observing everywhere. So for convenience I've berthed the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought at a simple large starport at the edge of the Sacred Tree System, where an extra-large dock has been put up especially for it, big enough to berth the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought. When I need to use it, I just go over there. An interstellar warship that big; I can hardly keep taking it everywhere with me, can I?"
Zhao Chen very much agreed with Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen's thinking.
For before this, many subordinates in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had said that Zhao Chen's flagship ought to be the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's strongest interstellar warship,
which would naturally be the quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought.
But Zhao Chen had refused.
This interstellar warship was too big; Zhao Chen did not go onto the battlefield most of the time now, and had no need of so large a combat interstellar warship.
Whereas an interstellar warship that was not very showy on the surface, like the Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship, in fact suited Zhao Chen better as his everyday flagship.
Off the battlefield, this starship was in fact just an interstellar cruise liner,
which met Zhao Chen's needs exactly.
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, beside them, heard Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, say outright that Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, was studying the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought.
His look changed slightly, somewhat oddly.
Everyone knew this in their hearts, of course; even the Owl Dragon Emperor and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's people knew it.
They had sent so advanced and mighty an interstellar warship over to the Holy Elf Empire; how could it not be studied?
Their Holy Elf Empire was no Liuxia Hui, unmoved with a beauty in his lap.
It was something everyone knew perfectly well, but now it had been laid out in the open,
and Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, still felt somewhat ill at ease.
Zhao Chen, though, did not mind it.
When he made the decision to lend a Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought to the Flame Elf Queen, he had already weighed this.
Now he even said, quite offhand, "If the Emerald Elf King is so interested in quasi-T7 interstellar warships, he's welcome to come and study them with us in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire. We've just brought a second mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship off the line. That ought to interest His Excellency the Emerald Elf King rather."
A second mass-produced quasi-T7 interstellar warship.
On hearing this news, even Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, who never let his feelings show on his face, now looked at Zhao Chen in great astonishment.
Then he could not help saying, "Your Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor, your Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire already has a second mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship?"
Zhao Chen nodded; he had no thought of hiding it.
It had been said before at the meeting in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire that the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire in future had to show its muscle and strength of its own accord.
Whether for founding the universe trade alliance in future, or for the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's issuing imperial bonds,
it was a very favorable thing.
Only if the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had enough prestige in these respects
would other interstellar civilizations' powers be more convinced of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
Zhao Chen explained casually, "In fact this second quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship isn't any great breakthrough. You should all know that once a grade has one interstellar warship as a model, building other conventional interstellar warships is much less hard. So much of the technology used on our second quasi-T7 interstellar warship has been used on the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought. Otherwise we could never have developed a second mass-produced quasi-T7 interstellar warship in so short a time."
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, understood at once; but though he heard Zhao Chen explain it so,
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, did not make light of it in the least.
The Owl Dragon Emperor put it so simply, but they knew very well it was certainly not as simple as it looked.
Having some technological foundation would of course make things much easier,
but it did not mean one could then mass-produce other models of quasi-T7 interstellar warship.
That still needed the people in question to have very high industrial talent and industrial research ability.
Otherwise, even with a quasi-T7 interstellar warship set before you to take apart as you liked, it would be very hard for you to build a quasi-T7 interstellar warship.
That was also why Zhao Chen had dared, so boldly, to send a Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought to the Holy Elf Empire.
For Zhao Chen was certain that within a hundred years, fifty at the very fastest,
the Holy Elf Empire could not fully master the technology aboard this Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought.
"So what type of ship is this second mass-produced quasi-T7 interstellar warship of yours?" Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, asked beside him with some interest.
Zhao Chen said straight out, "The Golden-Holy-Angel-class Light Interstellar Cruiser."
"A light interstellar cruiser?" Gustav, the Radiant Elf King's look eased.
As he understood it, an interstellar cruiser was in fact no especially mighty type of ship.
And the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought had come before it besides.
So did it not mean they had only to follow the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought's design drawings, shrink the hull, lighten the hull armor, remove some large weapon modules and add more starship engines?
Wouldn't that make an interstellar cruiser?
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King's thinking was very direct, but in a way it was not wrong either.
But what they did not know was that such a quasi-T7 Golden-Holy-Angel-class Light Interstellar Cruiser cost only a hundred trillion star coins to build.
Had they known that cost,
their looks now would probably have been more colorful still!
After all, a quasi-T7 interstellar warship at a unit price of a hundred trillion star coins might be cheaper even than some of their main-battle T6 interstellar warships.
And what a quasi-T7 interstellar warship cheap to build and quick to build would mean, these two Elf Sovereigns could naturally see.
So Zhao Chen deliberately passed over this more important "information."
"An interstellar cruiser's good too. If you could form a small fleet of interstellar cruisers, even only thirty: thirty quasi-T7 Golden-Holy-Angel-class Light Interstellar Cruisers could be like a sharp blade on the battlefield, tearing open any line with ease. They could catch any enemy and launch fast raids on any enemy. If you'd had such an interstellar cruiser in your military operations against the Devourer Civilization before, your final result would surely have been far better than it is," Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, said, every inch the warlike Elf Queen.
On learning of an interstellar warship, the first thing she thought of was how it would fare once put into real combat.
Zhao Chen nodded in agreement now too and said, "That's basically what I think as well. Cutting through and splitting the enemy fast, striking at the enemy's weak points, hitting fast and pulling out fast: that kind of fighting suits the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's legion fleets as they are now exactly."
"Then congratulations indeed, Your Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor, on gaining another quasi-T7 interstellar warship. If this news gets out, who knows how many will envy you." Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, did not forget to pay a compliment or two now either.
Zhao Chen looked at Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, and this time came straight to business: "Elf King, Elf Queen. We've eaten what we should and chatted as we should. Now it's time we talked business. The purpose of my coming especially this time is to join with the Holy Elf Empire in setting up a universe trade alliance covering most of the known interstellar civilizations' universes. To lower some of the barriers to cross-universe trade between universes, and win more profit for us both. My subordinates here can set out the details for you."
As Zhao Chen's words ended,
Minister Li Yaqi's voice rose just then; she stood up and first bowed to the Radiant Elf King and the Flame Elf Queen,[1] then opened a hologram,
and began setting out their plan itself.
In the hologram one could see a super-large cross-universe trade network set up with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's universe and the Holy Elf Empire's universe at its center.
Minister Li Yaqi shortened the account as much as she could,
but it still took about as long as a cup of tea.
"That is the thinking behind our plan. This plan is a win for every party. Carrying on more cross-universe trade can bring us more profit. What do Your Excellencies the Elf King and Elf Queen think?" Minister Li Yaqi looked at the two Elf Sovereigns.
The Flame Elf Queen blinked; she was a soldier, so she generally did not take in such matters very quickly; she could only feel that the plan was very cool.
But Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, was a man of careful mind; never mind that he always smoothed things over.
In all-round strength he was certainly the strongest of all the Elf Sovereigns.
No one knew that, besides the Flame Elf Queen, Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, had once been a legion fleet commander too, and had even led the Holy Elf Empire's legion fleets in battle against the Devourer Civilization.
Nor did anyone know that he had once been called a research genius like Mansfield.
Nor did anyone know that on matters of interstellar diplomacy, Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, would not go to anyone else, but would certainly go to Gustav, the Radiant Elf King.
That showed the depth of Gustav, the Radiant Elf King's knowledge.
And Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, saw the huge profit in this plan too; he narrowed his eyes at Zhao Chen, the Owl Dragon Emperor. "Your Majesty the Emperor's blueprint for this plan is truly a big one. If this plan can be carried out, then very soon the whole of the known universe's civilizations will be full of talk of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire. And it will bring the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire very huge profit. It's certainly a huge money tree!"
Zhao Chen smiled faintly, and did not deny these words of Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, for they were all fact.
To deny them would only look too insincere.
Zhao Chen said, "It will indeed turn out that way in future. But if the Holy Elf Empire is willing to take the lead with us and work together, then this cake will surely have a share for the Holy Elf Empire in future. That I can promise."
Gustav, the Radiant Elf King, fixed his eyes on Zhao Chen and came out with a remark: "If I'm not mistaken, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is pushing this plan most likely because it's run short of resources and funds. It urgently needs a way to open new sources and get more resources and funds, to prepare for the oath-duel with the Devourer Civilization to come!"