Follow the continuous strokes of the pen and embark on an adventure in < Warhammer: Starting as Planetary Governor, Three Hundred Years in Taxes>.
Caofeidian Port, early morning.
The thin mist on the sea had not yet dissipated, and the salty sea breeze swept across the pier.
The dock was already packed with people.
Director Li from the China Iron and Steel Association stood at the very front, gazing at the sea horizon.
Zhang Xiangyang from Tangshan Iron and Steel Group and Steel stood next to him, a cigarette half-burned in his mouth, unaware that ash had fallen onto his trousers.
The purchasing managers from Baowu, HBIS Group, Shagang Group, Ansteel all came.
No one spoke; everyone stared at the distant sea.
In a black minivan not far away, Harris huddled in the back seat, also closely watching everything that was happening here.
Whether this shipment is genuine or not will determine his career, and even more so, the monopoly of Australia iron ore for the next decade or so.
In a corner of the port, two plainclothes National Security officers set up a hidden camera, transmitting the footage back to the Imperial Capital in real time.
Everyone in the industry knows that this shipment of ore will determine the pricing power of University of Tokyo iron ore for the next decade.
A deep, resonant ship's horn sounded through the thin mist, causing ripples to spread across the sea.
A colossal machine slowly drove out.
Painted with DYB's white logo, the 320-meter-long, 70,000-ton-load cargo ship, comparable to an amphibious assault ship, emerged from the sea fog, its massive hull blocking out the rising sun.
This is a cargo ship that Fu Haoran converted from a drug lord's roll-on/roll-off ship. He reinforced the hull and modified the cargo hold, specifically for transporting iron ore across the ocean.
Australia bribed global bulk carrier owners to try and block his shipping routes, so he simply used his own ships to haul the cargo.
The giant ship docked, its whistle blasting overpowering the sound of the waves. The muffled thud of taut cables and the rattling of anchor chains hitting the water resonated in the hearts of everyone present.
The dockworkers stopped what they were doing, looked up at the giant ship, and exclaimed in surprise.
Zhang Xiangyang dropped his cigarette to the ground. He stared at the ship, his Adam's apple bobbing. "This is... truly extravagant."
The ship docked, and customs officials, third-party testing agencies, and steel mill technicians boarded to take samples. Everyone waited.
Director Li paced back and forth, Zhang Xiangyang lit another cigarette, and Harris stared intently at his phone in the car.
Half an hour later, the test results came back.
"The total iron content is 65.2%, and the sulfur and phosphorus impurities are less than 0.05%, which is superior to Rio Tinto's PB fines from Australia."
Zhang Xiangyang was the first to jump up and slam his hand on the table.
"Great! That's fantastic! I don't have to put up with the Australia ' attitude anymore!"
Director Li, holding the test report, dialed the minister's number, his voice trembling with excitement. "Minister, the goods have arrived, and the quality fully meets the standards. We've succeeded."
Inside the van, Harris received a call from his informant. Half a minute later, the phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor mat.
Not long after, the phone rang again. It took Harris quite a while to answer it.
"Mr. Harris, you are officially dismissed. Return to Perth immediately for an audit."
Harris slumped in his seat, staring at the giant ship, the despair in his eyes slowly turning into resentment. He had cultivated deep roots in the Asia-Pacific region for over a decade, holding countless connections in the military-industrial and political circles; he would never simply slink away like this.
He clenched his fist, picked up his spare phone, and dialed the number of Locke Martin's Asia Pacific president. His voice was cold. "Old friend, I have some news about DYB Technology that I think you'll find interesting."
The delivery of 50,000 tons of iron ore is, in principle, no small matter.
However, there were no media present, and no outside attention was drawn to the scene.
A strange tacit understanding has been reached between China and Australia.
Domestically, they don't want to publicize breaking the monopoly, lest downstream buyers pressure them to lower prices.
Australia authorities did not want to publicize their failures for fear of affecting their approval ratings.
But the entire steel industry was completely transformed because of this shipment of ore.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Jimmy pushed open his office door, his voice brimming with excitement:
"Boss, it's a success! Our long position we bought at $90 has seen the Platts Index surge to $112 today, we've made a killing!"
"By buying the dip in futures, we netted $120 million, and iron ore futures contracts also surged, realizing a floating profit of $700 million. Our total net profit is $820 million!"
Fu Haoran looked at the profit data on the screen and a smile appeared on his lips.
The familiar system notification sound rang in my mind:
[Detected that the Reincarnator has completed the first inter- Hive City bulk commodity trade, successfully opening up a trade route. Congratulations to the Reincarnator for unlocking a new identity— Rogue Trader.]
[Reward: +5000 Universal Points, Basic Business Talent - Reduces cross -Hive City resource procurement costs by 10%, increases trade negotiation success rate by 20%.]
[Note: The random technology rewarded by the Reincarnator in the previous " Red Sand Hills Victory" quest has been activated.]
[Obtained: Melta- melt shaped charge recipe (compatible with conventional weapon upgrades, significantly increasing damage against armored units)]
Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow.
Unlocking his identity Rogue Trader perfectly aligns with his subsequent plans to establish interstellar trade.
But the real gain was the formula for Melta fused explosives.
This drastic move dealt a fatal blow to Australia's three major mining companies.
Without Vale's cooperation, production cuts to maintain prices would be a joke. Internal strife among Australia's three major mining companies has killed the production cut plan.
Within a week, Australia's three major mining companies were forced to contact the China Iron and Steel Association to restart annual long-term contract negotiations.
The new long-term contract price was set at $100 per ton, a 31% drop from the previous $145.
But this only changed Australia from making money while lying down to making money while standing up.
Keep in mind that their cost is only around fifty US dollars, and sometimes even less.
But for Australia, which was used to making money hand over fist, this was like a bolt from the blue.
More importantly, it's not just the price that's decreased, but also the purchase volume. Apart from the University of Tokyo, the iron ore purchases from other countries are merely "snacks," incomparable to the large orders from the University of University of Tokyo.
The Australia' control over iron ore pricing, which they had held for over a decade, was completely ripped open from this moment on, leaving a gaping wound that could never be closed again.
The funding problem was temporarily resolved, but Fu Haoran had to face a more severe reality—the impending war in the Warhammer World.
For the 2K World, there are still seven years left, but for the Hive World of Warhammer 30K, there are only six months left.
In the CEO's conference room at DYB headquarters.
Priest Kallen, Lucifer, Wade, Yuri, Tychus, Ling Shuang, and all his trusted core members were present.
Yuri stood before the holographic projection, his expression grave as he reported the latest intelligence:
"By the Emperor, we have stirred up a hornet's nest."
"The seven main Hive City in our star system, along with fourteen smaller Hive City, have formally signed Mutual Defense Pact — the Seven Hive Alliance —and have officially declared war on us."
"The Alliance's total population is eighty times ours, and its mobilizable forces are twelve times ours."
"Their advance force is already on its way. Specifically, it consists of 300 full-strength regular regiments of the Planetary Defense Force, each with no fewer than 10,000 men. The total strength is conservatively estimated at around 3 million, and they are equipped with standard heavy firepower. These soldiers are all veterans who have participated in counterinsurgency operations."
"We currently only have 500,000 fully-staffed defense regiments, with more troops still undergoing training. It is estimated that our total strength will reach 1.5 million once the war begins."
"The only good news is that the Genestealer Cult has 2 million combat progeny that can be mobilized, making them a viable force ready to fight at any time."
"In addition, there are about 500,000 homosexual Genestealers with a high degree of primal regression who have also begun infiltration operations, carrying out random sabotage and creating panic."
"Furthermore, as you requested, the sect members will be divided into small teams of no more than one hundred people, scattered around the Sijiaer Hive City, to conduct guerrilla warfare and attrition."
At this point, Yuri's tone carried a hint of helplessness, "But my Governor, could you please not make things difficult for this old man?"
"These Guerrilla Unit are under immense supply pressure. Our Hive City's light industry was already weak, and its production capacity simply couldn't keep up, leading to extreme fluctuations in combat effectiveness."
Fu Haoran knew Yuri was right; for Alpha Hive City, which lacked light industry, this was nothing short of a disaster.
As a result, many of the Genestealers Guerrilla Unit had to wear slippers to fight the enemy.
They couldn't even gather a complete set of standardized equipment.
Fu Haoran's solution to this was... zero-yuan purchase.
You read that right. He'll use whatever's available, as long as it's usable, whether it's from the enemy or his own people. Fu Haoran will support it all.
This is something Fu Haoran learned from the Blood Ravens mortal version of Savlar Chem-Dogs.
However, even though that's what they say, while Genestealers aren't human, they're still things, and Fu Haoran's principle is that every drop of value must be squeezed from them.
Fu Haoran is already preparing an improvement plan.
Getting back to the main topic, Yuri continued his report:
"I must point out that the alliance's overall industrial capacity is fifteen times that of ours."
"They possess a complete Hive City Arsenal and foundry, capable of producing Leman Russ Battle Tank, Chimera armored personnel carriers, and Basilisk."
"Based on my analysis, the Alliance can deploy over 600 Leman Russ Battle Tank, 2,000 Chimera armored personnel carriers, and 120 Basilisk on the battlefield."
"In terms of air power, they possess 180 Valkyrie Transport and 230 Lightning Fighter. Once they arrive, they will be able to completely control the surrounding airspace with absolute air superiority."
"And we're not even a fraction of what they are."
At this point, Yuri was on the verge of despair!
He was the one who falsified accounts; he was particularly sensitive to numbers.
Therefore, in his view, this battle was doomed to failure from the start.
The others weren't much better off.
They all knew that this disparity in troop strength meant they had almost no chance of winning on the main battlefield.
Wade knew this wasn't the time to pour cold water on things, but he still chose to speak and report to his superior:
"Governor, I should add that even if we can hold off their Planetary Defense Force with guerrilla tactics, once the Iron Warriors Space Marine join the battle, even a small squad of ten can easily breach our entire defense line."
Everyone lowered their heads.
They had witnessed Dantioch's prowess several times; those ignorant spies and gang members had no right to resist a true Adeptus Astartes.
Only Lucifer's face remained completely expressionless.
As a Necrons overlord who had regained her flesh and blood, she didn't care about the life or death of this Hive City.
In her view, the worst-case scenario was simply leaving with Fu Haoran.
If she wants to leave, no one can stop her.
However, what interests her more is how this man, who always manages to create "unexpected" variables, will turn the tables this time.
To everyone's surprise, Fu Haoran, sitting in the main seat, showed no sign of pessimism.
He tapped on the table, and the conference room fell silent instantly.
"I know what you're afraid of. You're afraid of the Seven Hive Alliance' army, which outnumbers yours several times over, their tanks and cannons, and even more afraid of those demigod-like Space Marine."
"But I tell you, mortals have never been cannon fodder for the Space Marine."
"If the Lasgun can't penetrate, then use the Hellgun."
"If the Hellgun isn't enough, then use the Heavy Bolter."
"If individual soldiers can't keep up with their speed, then use the Wolf Spider Sentry Gun to create a fire net."
"If the ground can't hold them off, we'll build air units and smash their armor through from above."
"They only had one Space Marine squad, so we used a company, a battalion, a regiment to surround them."
"If three hundred people aren't enough, then use three thousand, thirty thousand, three hundred thousand!"
"I don't believe they are perpetual motion machines. They need supplies and rest. Even Adeptus Astartes have weaknesses; they bleed and they die."
"Moreover, we already have a trump card that can penetrate their armor."
Fu Haoran paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present:
"We have a chance to fight this battle, and we have a chance to win it."
A few seconds of dead silence filled the conference room as everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
There's no turning back now; they have no better option than to grit their teeth and keep going.
After the meeting ended, everyone left one after another.
Tychus pulled a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from his pocket; it was a good thing he'd pilfered from Fu Haoran.
He took a swig and cursed, "I've been Genestealer my whole life, and in the end, I got tricked and ended up on this pirate ship."
You asked how I got on?
It's very simple. Fu Haoran portrayed him as a hero, promoted him extensively, and even sent his posters to other planets.
Now it's difficult for Tychus to escape to other planets; countless bounty hunters want his head.
Incidentally, the earliest bounty was offered by Fu Haoran, but the price was somewhat insulting—only fifty Throne Coin.
Tychus couldn't stand it anymore and increased his own score to 250.
Then, by a twist of fate, the amount was increased to 25,000 Throne Coin.
Tychus himself felt that he wanted to kill himself and then collect the bounty.
That's way too much money.
After everyone else left, Lucifer spoke up, "It seems you're hiding something from me."
Fu Haoran nodded. "Yes. If my intelligence is correct, in addition to the rebellious Iron Warriors, we also need to face a Titan that is at least at the Warlord-class."
Lucifer understood instantly. If she were in her shoes, she would also choose to conceal this devastating news. A single Warlord-class Titan was enough to change the course of the battle.
However, Fu Haoran didn't mention that he was planning how to hunt down an Emperor-class Titan. That's right, Emperor-class, not Warlord-class.