Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

After all, which noble has clean hands?

As the former president of the Victoria Commercial Association, dealing with a few people to protect the interests of the old nobility was perfectly normal.

And those people's memories returned to Originium.

Last night, Huang Cao happened to be searching for the Victoria Commercial Association president's dark history, and this memory was exactly what he found.

"Using enemies to fight enemies—I've never heard of such a foolish farce under heaven. If you all trust me, I am willing to become the president of the Federal Reserve Bank."

"After all, as a foreigner, there's no way I could ever collude with the old nobility."

The people below were silent for a few minutes, then one person stood up and said:

"May I ask Mr. Huang, after you become president, how will you lead us to resist the old nobility?"

Facing the question, Huang Cao had naturally prepared his answer long ago. "Drive everyone into the cities. The old nobility's lands require a large number of people to manage. With this kind of soil, our output can multiply several times over while also solving the raw material problem."

"Once the volume of raw material purchases decreases, the old nobility will certainly lay off their serfs on a large scale. We can take this opportunity to absorb everyone into the cities."

"These people who left the land due to bankruptcy can provide our factories with a large amount of high-quality labor."

"We only need to raise their basic wages. Not all of the old nobility are fools; fighting a war of attrition with them is not worth the loss."

"As long as we solve their basic employment problems, we don't have to worry about them returning to the exploited noble territories. Without people, how can these nobles manage their lands?"

"Here we need to clarify a concept: small profits are for the sake of greater gains. Never give up an entire sugarcane plantation for a single stalk."

"As long as people come to the factories, they can create profits. All we need to do is be just a little bit better than the old nobility."

"At the same time, we must develop our own armed forces. Remember, this is not a rebellion, but a drastic social change. We stand on the side of justice."

"Think about the blood debts you carry. Bowing your head and seeking compromise is no different from carrying firewood to put out a blaze."

To make these people fully trust him, Huang Cao had to do more than just stir them up—he had to propose solutions.

Fortunately, before transmigrating, Huang Cao was quite good at history and really enjoyed studying various events from the past.

For every event, he would carefully investigate the reasons behind it, even coming up with his own solutions.

He never expected that this unique little hobby would become his most useful tool now.

Although this world was fictional, it was impossible for the writers to claim they hadn't drawn from reality, so the basic economic and social structures here could barely be considered universal.

Moreover, the current economic development and operational patterns of Victoria were far simpler than those of the future.

Relying on his past life's knowledge and his naturally good eloquence, Huang Cao answered almost every question from the nobles present. His conversations with these people lasted until the next evening.

In the end, he successfully gained the absolute trust of Victoria's new noble faction.

At least, trust for now.

This was no easy feat. If his subsequent actions failed to deal a heavy blow to the old nobility, the hard-won trust would certainly collapse.

After the meeting, Huang Cao drafted a charter and told everyone present to handle matters according to its order.

The new nobles, thoroughly pumped up, naturally acted swiftly, frantically withdrawing the money they had previously deposited in the banks.

But just as the charter mentioned, such a massive run on the banks would inevitably paralyze the original banking system.

The original banks were controlled by the president of the Victoria Commercial Association, who hadn't attended Huang Cao's speech last night.

So naturally, he had no idea what was happening and could only keep trying to dissuade them.

But this dissuasion backfired—the new nobles exploded. They stormed into the president's home, ransacked the place, and successfully found evidence of his secret collusion with the old nobility to embezzle bank assets.

"Mr. Huang is truly a divine man! If we had waited a few more years, our money would probably have been emptied out!"

Looking at the ironclad evidence in their hands, everyone couldn't help but admire inwardly.

The large amounts of funds stored in the banks were taken back by the new nobles, while the old nobility had planned to use this money for investments. This caused a capital turnover crisis.

Instantly, some old nobles with weaker risk resistance began facing bankruptcy, even begging the new nobles not to do this.

This was simply impossible before.

"Back when I borrowed money from you, you charged me 40% interest. Now you know what pain feels like? Let me tell you—too late!"

In truth, Huang Cao hadn't done much. These new nobles themselves wielded immense influence; as long as they acted collectively, it was bound to impact the old nobility's interests.

But regardless, after this battle, Huang Cao's name was thoroughly established in Victoria, and he had gained control of unimaginable wealth.

And all of this started from his original idea of selling pepper.

Years ago, Warfarin had already commented that Huang Cao was someone who, once given an inch, would take a mile. On the surface, he said he didn't want anything, but his desires were greater than anyone's.

For example, originally Huang Cao wanted Warfarin to wear a simple nurse's uniform, but later the outfits became stranger and stranger, more and more blush-inducing.

Chapter 40: Sound the Horn of Counterattack

With the rapid spread of the soil.

Huang Cao felt his consciousness gradually connecting to this land.

However, without a concrete mental map, Huang Cao wasn't sure how much area the soil had covered.

But without a doubt, even if the area covered was minimal, Victoria's new nobility would still try to squeeze as much as possible into it.

"Ten more months. Theresia probably doesn't have the energy to focus on Victoria's affairs right now. Is this the benefit of information isolation?"

Huang Cao sat in the luxurious office, basking in the respectful gazes of those around him.

Many even tried to cast flirtatious glances his way, but their looks and substance couldn't hold a candle to even a single hair of Warfarin or Kal'tsit, so he didn't bother giving them a second glance.

It could only be said that the characters appearing in the plot were indeed special—most were no ordinary people, each with their own unique traits.

"Sigh, even though I could dash over to Kazdel in no time and enjoy a proper maid service from Warfarin and Kaitian Cat, I just can't get away from this place."

So it was time to line his pockets.

Since I'm here, if I don't take something from you people, wouldn't that mean I came for nothing?

Some might say Huang Cao's vision was too narrow—with all his power, why stoop to coveting such petty cash?

Huang Cao still held respect for the Antlered Goddess. That goddess had told him to do his best to improve the lives of people across the land.

What if he really turned into a great demon and the Blonde Goddess's iron fist came crashing down on his head?

So from start to finish, Huang Cao believed he was here with a mission.

After all, the Blonde Goddess was probably still watching him right now—he didn't dare act too recklessly.

Otherwise, when he gained a physical body, She wouldn't have bothered sending him a dream.

Little Cao Cao here! Now that's real fear!

So, without knowing the goddess's stance, Huang Cao was willing to play the part of a nominal good person.

Whether from the education of his past life or his own conscience.

"Next up, I need to open up trade routes between Victoria and Kazdel."

With that thought, Huang Cao once again chose to play to his strengths, claiming he had a relative in Kazdel who grew spices.

And the spices grown were high-quality and cheap—this method could once again deal a heavy blow to the old nobility's trade.

To this, the new nobility had no objections.

Because few among the new nobility were involved in the spice trade—it had always been controlled by the upper echelons, with ordinary people never having a chance to touch it.

In fact, following the natural course of history, they would have eventually gotten involved—it's just that someone had cut them off.

"The family managing the border... Windermere... Good grief, how did I run into that surname again?"

The old nobility had no border management authority, nor did they maintain many private soldiers.

Aside from wealth, they had almost nothing.

This situation wouldn't improve until the future abolition of Victoria's Steam Knights.

The conflict between the Border Duke and the new nobility wasn't actually that deep—after all, no matter how tough things were at home, they couldn't compare to the hardships on the border.

Besides, Windermere wasn't a member of the Aslan Royal Family, so the new nobility's hatred wasn't locked onto this family.

Those people were already elbow-to-elbow with enemy soldiers at the border—why should we make things harder for them? Besides, being stationed at the border didn't mean they had to manage tariffs.

Especially when, in the future, at the time of King Aslan's death, Victoria would still have Duke Windermere, even among the top ranks.

Maybe they were never on good terms with King Aslan in the first place?

With that in mind, Huang Cao decided to keep searching the Originium Database to see if he could find a way to open trade ports by catering to their interests.

Huang Cao could also just dig an underground tunnel and transport all the necessary supplies through it to his territory.

But it would still take manpower to move things, and he could indeed use vines to haul engineering machinery and raw metal to his land.

As for organic materials, Huang Cao could craft them by hand.

But he didn't want to experience dual-threaded work again—last time, he nearly split his mind in two.

For instance, Huang Cao now held the dual positions of Victoria Bank President and Lower House member, a very high status, but he had successfully outsourced all his work.

Our Master Huang just needed to speak and give orders from the podium—the people executing below had far more to worry about.

"Victoria just finished downsizing its military, even stuffing some Steam Knights into warehouses. The border folks' lives probably aren't great."

The Border Duke received limited resources—not because King Aslan was unwilling, but because it was hard to get them to the people who needed them.

After the war, Victoria's development required massive funds.

To cut costs, even fewer resources could be sent to the border. Soldiers were lucky if they could gnaw on a piece of white bread each day.

Plus, Gaul hadn't been causing much trouble lately, so some professional scholars in Victoria predicted that no major battles would occur on Terra's land anytime soon.

"If this were Yan Country, any merchant daring to supply the military would be dead by the next day. But unfortunately, the country beneath my feet—Victoria—has its own special circumstances."

A month later, the effects of Huang Cao's methods were remarkably significant.

The head of the Windermere family completely ignored King Aslan's border control policies.

They basically turned a blind eye to goods being shipped out of the country, only occasionally confiscating shipments if they spotted alcohol or other supplies.

Because someone's reasoning was too solid, even when the goods were headed toward Kazdel, the Windermere family didn't react at all.

Can't even afford to eat, and you expect me to follow your orders?

The one going to the battlefield to die is me, not you!

This led to a massive influx of precious seasonings flooding the entire Victoria market within the next six months.

Huang Cao's original territory didn't produce seasonings, but fortunately, the Shi Huaiya Family handled the transport, and these people cooperated fully to completely conceal this fact.

Thus, these precious seasonings were all directly cultivated by Huang Cao using his ability, and he sold them to the new nobles at relatively low prices.

Although the price was lower, the sheer number of buyers was enough.

A flood of goods crashed into Victoria's market like sand.

This successfully dealt a heavy blow to the old nobles who had monopolized the seasoning trade. Seeing that they couldn't even recover their costs, they hurriedly dumped their stock.

If they didn't dump it, the old nobles might as well have been eating pepper for every meal, but this only caused prices to plummet further.

Under Huang Cao's direction, the new nobles almost simultaneously released their entire supply to the lower classes, at prices far lower than the old nobles'.

As a result, after the common citizens finished buying, the old nobles' goods were left completely unsold.

Chapter 41: Super Stealthy Cao Cao

Huang Cao made a lot, while others made little, but in the end, someone still profited.

Especially with the series of actions over these past few months, almost everyone got a slice of the pie from Huang Cao's plan.

If you calculated everyone's income during this period on a hundred-point scale, Huang Cao alone took 60% of the profits, and he had already shipped all that money back to his own territory.

The remaining 40% was distributed among everyone else, and these profits referred to net profit, fully deducting costs.

So the new nobles working under him all made money—there was no case of anyone losing out, only the question of who made more and who made less.

This made the new nobles trust their leader at the top even more.