Chapter 60: Play to One's Strengths and Avoid Weaknesses

When it comes to having fun in South Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is inevitably touring and sightseeing the various reserves.

Sitting in an open-top tour vehicle, driving through the reserve, watching lions sleep, sunbathe, and hunt.

Su Tongtong on the vehicle held up her phone, face full of smiles, snapping photos of the lions.

Lin Dao's gaze, however, fell on the firearms in the hands of the escort guards accompanying the vehicle.

"This time was too rushed."

"Next time you come, you must go through proper channels and get the real deal."

Buying the real deal here, as long as you don't do it on a large scale, basically no one pays attention.

Before leaving the mining area, Lin Dao sent several large engineering vehicles to the Yonghe Spacetime, placing them on the open ground of the burned-down Taiwu Hall.

Without a doubt, this spacetime gate he carries with him, which he can open at any time, has extremely powerful utility.

Once back in Haicheng, he can bring the engineering vehicles from the Yonghe Spacetime over, the effect nearly equivalent to teleportation.

If Lin Dao switched careers to become a courier, all his competitors would go bankrupt.

If he turned it in, he would be the best cosmic delivery man.

One rocket sending him to the moon, he could build a whole city on the moon.

Yonghe Spacetime, Xiangguo City.

Closing the heavy register in his hand, feeling irritable from the heat, Lin Dao tugged at his collar. "You're saying that now hundreds to thousands of people come to join me every day? And there will be even more in the future?"

Wang Meng responded with a smile. "All thanks to the Lord's fame shaking the world; commoners from all over, supporting the old and leading the young, come to join the enlightened ruler."

"My Lord, great things can be expected~~~"

Lin Dao made a trip to Africa to handle business.

Although he would cross over every day to clock in, it was just a matter of showing his face before going back.

By the time matters on the Modern World side were settled and he came over this time to summon everyone for a meeting, more than ten days had already passed.

The news that the Qihuo Army defeated the Great Zhao Heavenly King had long since spread in all directions like a whirlwind.

The first to learn the news were the various commanderies and counties of Jizhou.

This wind also blew everywhere along with those county soldiers and civilian laborers who returned alive to their respective hometowns.

Besides spreading the news of Qihuo Commander Lin Dao defeating the Great Zhao Heavenly King.

What the returnees talked about the most was that the Qihuo Army had food to eat.

Every day, from atop the city walls of various places, the refreshing fragrance of cooked rice would drift over.

People who have been starving for a long time have an extremely keen sense of smell for the fragrance of rice.

They can smell it from very far away.

And they can confirm it is the fragrance of rice, not the fragrance of meat.

The source of meat can be very complex.

But the source of rice, that can only be grain.

In addition, the military households and civilian laborers who joined the Qihuo Army from various places also actively requested to return home to bring their families over to enjoy the good fortune together.

When they returned to their hometowns, they not only brought back their own families; usually, large batches of fellow townspeople seeking food would follow behind them.

"My Lord."

Wang Meng spoke bluntly. "Only with many people can things be accomplished."

"If all the commoners under heaven join under the Lord's command, then this world naturally belongs to the Lord."

These words are not wrong either.

The land will always be there; only people possess the meaning of utility.

Lin Dao's gaze was sharp. "Did it never occur to you that I might not be able to feed this many people?"

At this time, the Northern Han people probably still number from several million to over ten million.

If this many people all come to join him, Lin Dao will go bankrupt very quickly.

This many mouths to feed rice; even if only providing feed, he cannot afford to raise them.

"What?"

Wang Meng rarely lost his composure. "The food produced by the Lord's immortal method is actually limited?!"

From Wang Meng's perspective, as long as the Lord enters a certain warehouse.

By the time the Lord comes out, the inside of the warehouse will be piled full of various supplies.

This kind of immortal method gave Wang Meng a huge stimulus.

He believed that with this immortal method in hand, ending the chaotic era was only a matter of time.

Never expected that this immortal method actually cannot conjure grain without limit~

Lin Dao was also amused into laughter by the anger.

If I could create something from nothing without limit, why would I need to be a spacetime merchant?

I'd just poof things into existence in the Modern World, become a tycoon, and enjoy life.

Lin Dao simply got up and went out to inspect.

The streets of Xiangguo City connect in all directions and are extremely wide; drainage ditches are also built on both sides of the roads.

After all, it was built according to capital city specifications for several decades.

The residences throughout the city are now all filled with people, men, women, old and young alike.

As far as the eye can see, there are people everywhere.

Without saying a word, he went up the city wall.

Standing on the city tower looking toward the city exterior, the original Shi Zhao connected camps have long since disappeared completely.

Replacing them are densely packed tents of various styles and earth-dug shelters covering the ground everywhere.

Countless people, distributed among them like ants.

Lin Dao calmed his breath. "San Ge's slum is about at this level."

"This can't go on."

"I can't afford to feed so many people."

Even chicken feed costs over a thousand per ton.

One ton of feed is only enough for over two thousand people for one day, and that's still at a low supply standard.

Two hundred thousand people, one hundred tons a day, consuming over ten thousand in investment.

What if it's two million people?

Just eating alone, they'd consume nearly two million a day!

No money to buy grain, and he'd have to go sing that bit about the old lady selling herself~~~

Lin Dao pressed his lips, full of worry.

He now somewhat understood Chuang King.

When Li Zicheng started out, he also accepted civil official surrenders; he knew governing the realm required civil officials.

The reason he later turned against them and extorted them.

Probably because of that line 'Chuang King comes, no grain~~~'

So many people need to eat; if Li Zicheng didn't extort them, what would he use to feed so many mouths~

If the refugees can't get food, they'll have to put the big brother leading them on the table.

Lin Dao's current situation is similar to Li Zicheng's.

By comparison, his advantage is that he can buy near-unlimited supplies from the Industrial Cthulhu world.

The disadvantage is that he can't come up with that much money right now.

Industrial Cthulhu's products are many, but they all cost money.

"Lord."

Wang Meng stepped forward and saluted. "The newly attached masses only need disaster relief."

"One bowl of thin rice porridge a day can keep them alive."

Chicken feed cooked down is considered rice porridge; adding lots of water to make thin porridge does indeed save costs.

"Spring plowing has already passed." Wang Meng frowned. "Planting grain now is too late."

"The only way is to advance the army to Ye City and seize the grain and supplies stored there."

To attack Xiangguo City, Shi Hu conscripted reserves from various provinces, prefectures, and counties.

When the troops retreated, these grain and supplies were not transported back to their original places, but were all sent to Ye City.

In this season between harvests, throughout the Northern Regions, only Ye City could seize a large amount of grain and supplies.

"As for these newly attached masses."

Wang Meng's gaze was sharp, his tone somewhat rough. "They should serve as the vanguard for the siege."

He had thought the Lord's grain was endless.

That way, as long as he recruited as many people as possible, the whole world would belong to the Lord.

Now learning that grain is limited, he quickly changed his mind and actively started robbing.

The recruited people are also pushed out without hesitation to serve as cannon fodder, which can also save grain.

Extremely decisive.

"These refugees can go attack Shi Zhao's capital?"

Lin Dao looked at the slum outside the city, looked at those emaciated figures who swayed when walking, his eyes calm. "If they can't reach Ye City, they'll drop dead on the road."

"Let me think of a way, increase revenue and cut expenditure."

"For the newly attached masses, corresponding systems must be established as soon as possible."

"Clansmen and fellow villagers gathered together must all be broken up."

"The legal system must be pushed forward as soon as possible; the outside cannot become a turf for gangs to commit evil."

"The distribution of disaster relief grain must be properly supervised."

"Raising them is so they can do things for us in the future."

Sunlight fell, and the stones on the city wall gradually began to feel hot.

Lin Dao fell silent, his gaze fixed on Wang Meng.

"Lord, rest assured; these trivial matters, I will handle properly myself."

Lin Dao's eye corner twitched, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

You, Wang Meng, have such a great reputation in history books, all praising you as accomplished in both civil and military affairs, a talent fit to assist a ruler.

At this time, of course you should take on matters.

As for Lin Dao himself, he should naturally play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, making use of his own advantages.

Administrative organization, military combat, and such are all his weaknesses.

These weaknesses should all be handed over to capable people to handle.

Lin Dao's strength lies in being able to purchase supplies on a large scale from Industrial Cthulhu.

His job is to make use of his own strengths.

Returning to the Modern World, Lin Dao felt he should find some helpers.

He now buys supplies entirely by himself searching online.

Although prices online are cheap, they are still marked up.

Lin Dao wanted to recruit people to go run the market.

In rural towns, he negotiated prices to purchase grain; at factories everywhere, he bought directly from manufacturers.

The recruitment notice was sent out, and soon people came to apply.

This day, Lin Dao was at an auto repair shop in the suburbs, watching the repair and modification progress of the heavy trucks.

On his phone, he received the first applicant's information.

The young man was named Liu Bo, the kind of workplace newcomer who became unemployed right after graduation.

He had no background or connections, his civil service and postgraduate exam scores weren't enough, so he could only push himself into the market to struggle.

Lin Dao contacted him directly: "The probation period has only one task: find cheap grain sources."

"As long as it's edible, the cheaper the price, the better."

"Complete it once, and you're immediately made permanent; salary, bonuses, and benefits follow industry standards."

The subsequent applicants were all arranged the same way.

The first applicant, the young man named Liu Bo, brought a surprising piece of news two days later.

"Boss Lin, I'm in Teng Zhou."

"The potatoes here in the villages and counties are backlogged, the price is very cheap."

"Just over two mao per catty."

"This cheap?" Lin Dao was surprised on the phone. "One ton is only four or five hundred?"

"Boss Lin." The young Liu Bo was very eager. "I'm confident I can talk it down to two mao per catty!"

"You are now the company's official salesman."

Lin Dao immediately agreed: "Get the freight cost cut, and I'll give you a bonus."

Potatoes are cheap, but freight is very expensive.

Shipping from Teng Zhou to the Haicheng warehouse here, the freight cost should be about the same as the value of the goods.

"First, set five thousand tons, ship as soon as possible."

"Remember to tell the seller, if the price is cheap, we'll keep ordering continuously in the future."

Five thousand tons seems like a lot, but compared to the local output, it's not worth mentioning.

The local annual potato output reaches two to three million tons; a mere five thousand tons is just a drop in the bucket.

Counting freight, compared to chicken feed, it's also cheaper by nearly half.

"Cost-cutting is effective; grain expenditure saved nearly half."

"Next, we have to find a way to increase revenue."

End of Chapter