Chapter 883: Economic Colony

Another way to control the entire subcontinent?

Tim*Kenan raised an eyebrow; his crown shone brightly, his appearance was imposing, and such an expression could unintentionally inspire fear, but it was merely his habitual change when curiosity about something or some knowledge arose.

The eradication plan he put forward was a spur‑of‑the‑moment idea from the past few days and had not been carefully considered.

Now, hearing Lei En's meaning, it seemed as if he had been pondering it for a long time.

Tim*Kenan stroked the pointed beard on his chin, clearly intrigued, and said, "Tell me."

Everyone's gaze converged.

Lei En first glanced at Duke GreyEagle and the Holy Soul Wizards, then asked everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think is the most valuable thing on the subcontinent?"

"Territory."

"Land, resources, gold."

"Obviously territory."

The Empire's strongmen answered in turn, their answers much the same, which was obvious.

"Your answers are correct, but not complete," Lei En smiled, "In my view, territory is not the only most valuable thing. There are other things whose value is no less than territory, yet they have long been overlooked."

"What is it?" Duke Yin Xing blurted out.

Land can grow crops, produce food; it can be mined for ore, gold, and gems; it can host cities and gather subjects—almost all tangible wealth stems from the soil, and she could not imagine anything else in this world whose value could match that of land.

Not only the money‑loving Duke Yin Xing, but everyone was filled with curiosity.

"It is people."

Lei En replied, "To be precise, the labor of all intelligent races, including humans, which I call 'human power', is the most valuable thing."

"Human power?" everyone mulled over the term.

Some quick‑thinking folks grasped it vaguely, while others remained baffled; one asked, "What value could those lowly races have? Even ten of them can't defeat a single Empire legion Transcendent."

The speaker was a Provincial Governor.

He had also entered the race for Empire Consul, came from nobility, commanded a small knight order of five hundred, but had not earned much merit in this battle.

Lei En gave him a glance, mentally sentencing his political future to death.

Some people, being smarter, admitted they couldn't figure it out and respectfully said, "Chairman Lei En, could you explain more clearly?"

Lei En nodded and said seriously, "Human power is a resource more precious than gold."

"In this world, everything ordinary people need to survive—food, clothing, shelter, and so on—requires someone to produce through labor."

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you acquire a new tract of land, you need people to plant crops, to mine, to build cities and houses, to construct roads and bridges, to attend to daily life, to raise a Transcendent Legion—everything requires someone to do it."

"The labor of intelligent races creates all the wealth in the world."

"If there is only land without subjects contributing their labor, then the land itself holds no value."

Lei En spoke at length, and everyone listened attentively.

Some had already grasped his point, but others disagreed, saying that as long as there is land, people can be attracted easily; there are people everywhere, so what is scarce?

Even without people, one's own Transcendent power could do the job better; it's only a matter of time and efficiency.

Lei En read their thoughts, ignored them, and continued, "Each person's labor varies—some high, some low—depending on that individual's knowledge, experience, and ability."

"Labor can be improved."

"Since the Mechanical Guild was founded over four hundred years ago, the widespread use of machines has dramatically increased the labor of ordinary Empire citizens; on average, an Empire commoner now produces three to five times, even ten times, the wealth they once could."

"Before, a farmer had to toil day and night year‑round; after taxes, they could barely support themselves and one or two children."

"Now a pair of manor spouses can cultivate vast fields, easily raise five or six children, and even have surplus to send the kids to the church for education."

"A single worker in a factory—say, a textile mill—can, with machines, produce as much cloth in a day as a hundred people could weave by hand."

"That is how the growth of labor drives the increase of wealth."

Lei En tried to use terms everyone could grasp, giving a simple description of productivity, but most listeners only half‑understood.

Wei Lien scratched his head and asked, "Lei En, what does this have to do with the Guptha Kingdom?"

Lei En smiled and replied, "The Guptha Kingdom has about fifty million people; the entire subcontinent's population, all intelligent races combined, is at least two billion, perhaps even more than the Empire's." He paused, "As I just said, human resources are wealth."

Hearing "two billion" and "wealth," Duke Yin Xing's eyes lit up.

But she still didn't understand how to turn human power into wealth, urging, "Lei En, stop flaunting knowledge, just tell us straight—how can we plunder wealth and control the whole subcontinent?"

"Trade," Lei En replied.

【5】 At this point, Tim*Kenan probably guessed Lei En's line of thought.

Hearing this, Tim*Kenan roughly guessed Lei En's train of thought.

Lei En glanced at him and explained, "Empire people's labor far exceeds that of subcontinent folk; we produce more, better, and at lower cost. That means, if trade proceeds unrestricted, Empire goods will quickly monopolize the market and crush the subcontinent's local workshops."

"Regardless of the intelligent race, everyone must obtain necessities through trade."

"Food, salt, clothing, agricultural fertilizer, production tools, weapons and gear, as well as spices, luxuries, steel, and so on—anything Empire factories can make can be sold to the subcontinent. With two billion people here, if we can monopolize the whole market, how much profit could we reap?"

"We can also set up factories on the subcontinent, recruit cheap labor, produce locally to cut costs, and shift troublesome industries—those that cause pollution or have low added value—to the subcontinent, sending the goods back to the Empire, easing Empire manufacturing pressure and gaining more profit."

"At the same time, we can purchase raw materials on the subcontinent at very low prices—various ores—ship them back to the Empire for processing, then sell them back to the subcontinent at high prices."

"In short, we must continuously squeeze the subcontinent's abundant resources and labor through trade, transfer them to the Empire, and turn them into our wealth."

That makes it easy to understand.

Some people's breathing grew heavy, as if they saw a massive mountain of gold before them.

Lei En continued, "Once we crush local labor, almost everyone's food, clothing, shelter, and daily needs will depend on Empire imports, and the Empire will hold the subcontinent's lifeline."

"When needed, we need not deploy a Transcendent; merely cutting off food supplies can make any subcontinental nation bow to our command."

"Economic control is more stable than military occupation, cheaper, lower risk, and yields a steady stream of profit."

"When the subcontinent's people's basic needs are in Empire hands, even forcing them to change belief becomes easy. The soil for the evil god's faith propagation is compressed, their divine power weakened, achieving the goal of striking the evil gods."

"We can also use our trade position to spread the goddess's doctrine, supplanting Ban Erke and Luo Xi's influence on the subcontinent."

"Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of this plan?" Lei En asked with a smile.

The crowd in the high‑tower hall was already stunned.

The Silver Star Duke looked at Lei En as if she were looking at a monster. She finally understood why Lei En was so wealthy—within a few years he had earned far more wealth than she had in several hundred years; even the gods of trade and wealth were inferior to him.

The others also suddenly saw the light.

Everyone knows the importance of trade; living in the Empire's rapidly developing productive environment, they have earned money to varying degrees, yet have never considered the deeper effects behind trade and what power it can wield.

This set of methods and theories seemed to open a new world for them.

Clap—clap—clap…

Tim*Kenan applauded, praising repeatedly: "Brilliant! Truly brilliant! Lei En, your method is excellent; the theory on human resources has benefited me greatly."

"Title: Duke, you flatter me," Lei En said with a modest smile, "It's only some of my personal shallow insights."

"That's no shallow insight; if Wojin heard you say that, he might immediately designate you as His Chosen One," Tim*Kenan joked, unusually.

Wojin is the god of trade and wealth, with many followers spread widely; his church holds considerable influence in human realms.

However, as a neutral deity, his presence among the gods is not prominent.

Lei En smiled without replying.

Tim*Kenan's gaze was profound: "Lei En, lay out all your ideas, explain exactly how to implement them; I know you've certainly been pondering them for a long time."

"Yes, Title: Duke."

Amid the crowd's anticipation, Lei En said: "I propose establishing a trade company, with the Empire granting it a franchise; all trade between the Empire and the Subcontinent must go through this company, allowing convenient coordination, so that when the Empire needs, it can issue unified orders."

"At the same time, the Empire will dispatch a Transcendent Legion to join the trade company, stationed permanently on the Subcontinent to protect merchants' safety and interests."

"Half of the trade company's shares shall belong to the Empire."

"The other half will be allocated by the Empire; each type of commodity is assigned to a single shareholder, the highest bidder obtains, and for a set period holds monopoly rights over that commodity."

"The Empire will appoint a 'Subcontinent Governor' to oversee the trade company, leading the Transcendent Legion under his command, but without meddling in day‑to‑day operations."

"The trade company's primary base shall be Banbei City."

Banbei City is the largest city on the Subcontinent and its economic hub; it is the perfect location for the trade company's headquarters.

Tim*Kenan and the others listened while pondering.

"The proposal is feasible," he agreed quickly, then asked, "Lei En, what should we do about the Guputa Kingdom?"

"We won't meddle with other parts of the kingdom; controlling Banbei City alone is enough," Lei En replied confidently. "We can support a puppet king, place him on the throne to rule Guputa Kingdom, but we must prevent him from fully consolidating power—preferably a king of illegitimate lineage or one who is mediocre yet greedily unrestrained."

"At the same time, we'll covertly encourage other aspirants to the throne, letting them clash and draw the majority's attention."

"Thus the Empire Legion's presence will be greatly diminished; even if the Guputa people harbor hatred or rage, the puppet king will bear it. If all else fails, we can make the king a scapegoat and replace him with another at any time."

In plain terms, it's about backing a puppet regime and employing a divide‑and‑rule strategy.

A customary tactic of the former British Empire in ruling colonies.

However, in the Ai Lun E Si world, such behind‑the‑scenes manipulation of a nation's politics is rare; the existence of transcendent power determines almost every nation and strongman, who are accustomed to "act from a position of strength," solving problems with fists.

People's stereotype holds that only the weak or followers of evil gods are adept at such tricks.

Yet Lei En is neither weak nor a follower of an evil god, and his political machinations are systematic, leaving the others puzzled.

For a moment, everyone's gaze at Lei En made their stomachs churn.

Clearly a peak powerhouse with immense strength, yet so skilled at manipulating minds and schemes—never make the mistake of opposing such a person.

Nevertheless, this shows that Lei En is highly suited to serve as Consul.

These tactics and methods were also proposed by Lei En from the Consul's perspective, each aligning with the Empire's interests; the position belongs to no one but him.

The crowd kept sizing up Lei En, each with their own thoughts.

The high‑tower hall fell silent for a moment.

Tim*Kenan finally spoke, his voice deep: "I will soon report your proposal to the Supreme Council; there should be no issue, and it should be approved."

Lei En nodded.

"Since it's your proposal, you will also serve as the new Consul, so you will implement the policies governing the Subcontinent," Tim*Kenan said, feeling he need not worry further, and declared the decision: "Flaniss Floating City will guard Banbei City until the end of the year; once you assume the Consul's office and take over, Flaniss will withdraw the Empire Legion."

"Yes, Title: Duke," Lei En replied without objection.

The matter was thus settled.

The Silver Star Duke asked, "Then are we still going to seize Banbei City?"

Lei En's plan could yield countless benefits, yet it did not affect his desire to sack Banbei City—first to secure a windfall, then proceed.

Tim*Kenan gave no reply, looking at Lei En.

He wanted Lei En to make the decision.

"Of course we must seize it," Lei En answered without hesitation, "but we cannot burn, kill, or pillage indiscriminately; the raid must be targeted."

As he spoke, he produced a list.

It was a list compiled over the past month by Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, detailing Banbei City's wealthiest nobles and merchants, the locations of their vaults, their most valuable assets, and so on. Following the list would allow them to plunder at least fifty‑million Gold Shields in wealth, with safety and efficiency, and without causing excessive casualties among Banbei City's residents.

Lei En handed the list to the Empire's elite; they glanced at it, then immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fearing to fall behind anyone else.

(End of Chapter)