Rongsha's fleet came uninvited, and with the enemy and friends unknown, all the maritime forces of the Vast Sea Protector were mobilized and stood ready outside the port.
Dai Lin also boarded the ship. He didn't mind using the top battleship to teach the enemy a lesson.
But then the fleet of Hot Sand stopped at a safe distance and waved a flag to express friendship.
What Li De didn't expect was that this time it was Rongsha himself who came with the fleet. This cunning guy came to the Fenwei and went straight to Li De. As soon as they met, he took the initiative to apologize and said that he had just learned about it.
The Bilgewater Cartel used force, so they rushed over to provide support.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this guy's support is fake, but he is just reaping the benefits and picking peaches for real.
But after all, I didn’t want to hit the smiling person. Since Resha said this, Li De and the others just pretended to be confused. During the conversation, Resha had a clear view of the current situation.
The anchored third-class ship left by the Bilgewater Cartel had not yet been towed into the port and was parked on the sea in a miserable state. The huge top-level battleship not far away made him even more afraid.
After learning from Li De that Kul Tiras had become his new ally, Hotsand's expression became even stiffer.
Now the trade king has some regrets. Before, he thought that Li De was still weak and could be controlled by him. That's why he chose a wait-and-see attitude in the conflict between the Protector of the Vast Sea and the Bilgewater Cartel.
Combined with the latest information from the Kingdom Continent, it seems that the relationship with the Hanhai Protector needs to be reconsidered.
"Speaking of which, I would also like to congratulate you on defeating those orcs. We must continue to maintain a good relationship in the future."
When Hot Sand said this, Li Dehen's teeth were itching. If this guy on both sides of the head and rat had not learned the information about the defeat of the orcs, he would not have come so quickly. He must also have taken a fancy to Kingdom Continent.
Huge market.
Of course, there is no need to break up with him. Business can continue in the future, but the shipping price for him will definitely be higher than that of Dai Lin. Moreover, Li De will not bring hot sand to visit the spinning mill. Dai Lin does not understand technology.
It doesn't matter, it's not okay to let other goblins see the production line.
Just like that, they talked some more about the situation, and both of them felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Rousha knew that he came at the wrong time, and there was no point in staying any longer.
However, when saying goodbye, Resha finally said a few words from his heart.
"My fleet will definitely protect the safety of the trade routes between us, but other than that, please forgive me for not being able to help. Bilgewater is also a very influential tycoon. Everyone is on Kezan Island, you know.
Besides, this involves... Well, Minister Nogfogg, some things are better left on the sidelines."
After all, he was his former boss, and when Roussa spoke to Noggenfogg, he wasn't very polite.
But after Rongsha left and everyone returned to the shore, Li De was still thinking about the meaning of Rongsha's words.
"What exactly is Hotsand trying to say? He doesn't want us to sell the goods to the Bilgewater Cartel, does he? Tanaris is so close to Corzan, why should we make a difference in price to the Bilgewater middlemen? So far,
The conflict with Bilgewater is already irreconcilable. How can he say such a thing even though he is still a trade king?"
Li De only thought that Rongsha wanted to leave a way for Rusty Water's yarn business to survive, so he said it contemptuously.
Unexpectedly, Noggenfogg shook his head.
"That's not what King Hotsand is talking about. He's talking about the venture capital company."
Previously, everyone was so excited about the yarn factory that Li De almost forgot about the venture capital company. Dai Lin also became curious when talking about it.
"Venture capital company? I have heard of this organization, a group of guys who are good at business and speculation. Does the yarn business also conflict with them?
But I’ve heard that they only inflate prices for raw materials such as herbs, ores, agricultural products, etc. I’ve never heard of them getting involved in the textile industry.”
Nogfogg laughed out loud again. In the past few months since Li De left, they had done more than just yarn business.
"This will have to wait until we return to Gadgetzan. You will understand it at a glance."
This guy was deliberately showing off, so everyone had no choice but to accompany him. He took the Lizard Car back to Gadgetzan again, and arranged a room for Dai Lin at the Gadgetzan Hotel.
Nogfogg then asked someone to carry a sack of stuff and placed it in front of Li De and Dai Lin.
"Captain, please take a look."
Li De looked at the sack curiously. From the way it was standing on the ground, he knew it contained granular things.
"What the hell, it's so mysterious..."
As he spoke, Li De took out his dagger, opened the mouth of the sack, and found that it was filled with tiny white particles.
Dai Lin was the first to reach out and fish out a handful, feeling the texture, and then left a small pinch and put it in his mouth to taste.
"Isn't this just salt?"
"Haha, yes, it is salt, but it is also white gold."
Li De seemed to understand somewhat.
"Is this from the Shining Plains?"
"Yes, I was really wasting my resources before. There is a lot of high-quality rock salt in the Shining Plains, but I only use it for racing! These are all refined salts, and it is the one that angered the venture capital companies."
Salt and iron monopoly, this is an absolutely huge profit business. But where did Nogfogg sell it? You must know that the largest business partner of the Hanhai Protector is Kezan, but Kezan is a large island and there is no shortage of salt. Refined
The technical threshold for salt is not high, and the price advantage of these salts in Kezan is not great.
Nogfogg put his hand into the salt bag and repeatedly picked it up so that the salt particles fell like sand. At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Salt is something that is everywhere in our world, but for some people, it is more precious than life. Just relying on a salt well under its control, the venture capital company has exploited two races for how many years?"
These words finally reminded Li De, and he reacted instantly. I am afraid that these salts were eventually sold to the Desolate Land, which is the wasteland in the central and western parts of Kalimdor.
The great schism in ancient times completely changed the environment of the Desolate Land. The originally endless grasslands became barren, and basically the only greenery was the tundra on the highlands.
But even in such a wasteland, two tall and strong races live crowdedly: centaurs and tauren. Their huge bodies require them to consume large amounts of salt on a regular basis.
The venture capital company controlled a local salt well a long time ago. Relying on the salt produced, they purchased medicinal herbs from centaurs and tauren at very low prices, and plundered the land there that was not rich.
After listening to Nogfogg's story, Li De really didn't know how to praise him, so he specifically picked on other people's pillar industries to start with.
Dai Lin heard it as if he was in a dream. There was actually a centaur, half-horse, and bull-headed intelligent race in this world. This ancient mysterious continent really opened his eyes.
However, Li De raised a question.
"The Desolate Land is not close to here. There are countless dangers in between. The local races are not easy to deal with. How did you come into contact with them?"
Speaking of this matter, Noggenfogg also felt a bit strange.
"Gazlowi took the initiative to contact me. That guy has never been very peaceful after taking charge of Ratchet City.
He used some connections, bribed insiders of venture capital companies, and found out where their cheap raw materials came from, and then he dug out the well salt business in the Desolate Land.
It happened that at that time, I was discussing business with someone in Kezan, and I met this guy who was looking for sources of goods everywhere, and we hit it off. But I didn’t expect that I would suffer retaliation from the venture capital company just after I made an order.”
Goblin is really a business wizard. As a supervisor, Gazlowe could have received a high salary from Hotsand, but even so, he was not satisfied and always wanted to make some extra money.
But there is one thing to say, although he is also obsessed with wealth, Gazlowe really did the right thing.
Although his original intention was just to make money, he unintentionally broke the monopoly of venture capital companies, allowing both races to eat relatively cheap salt, and inadvertently did some good things.
"Well, in the past I only thought that they were both in the raw material business, and the Hotsand King and the Venture Capital Company were competitors. But now it seems that the Venture Capital Company definitely has shares in the Hotsand King.
Those desperadoes are probably the white gloves of a few top plutocrats. No wonder they are still able to take advantage of their arrogance for so many years. That guy Gazlowe is miserable, and his salary cut is only light. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to become a trade prince."
Nogfogg said with emotion, Li De thought he had decided to back down, and quickly gave him a few words of comfort.
"Don't think too much about it. We are different from Gazlowe, and we don't belong to his hot sand pipe. From now on, we should continue the rock salt business. With the yarn business, we are not afraid that he will not want to share some profits.
The fact that he came to talk to us today must mean this."
However, Noggenfogg was really not disappointed by this.
"Of course we have to do business, but we can't partner with Gazlowe in the future. Without their ships, we have to go by sea. The cost is too high. Even if we transport it to a desolate place, we have no price advantage."