Jiang Ye fell into thought.
The matter of remote control pods, whether they were a military secret or not, seemed to be neither.
If they were offered to local tycoons, allowing them to play with them at their own expense, and if they joined the Jiangshui Hall team, even just by name, it could boost the team's points. Perhaps it could even improve their ranking on the team leaderboard.
It seemed... feasible?
"What exactly did Isabel tell you?" Jiang Ye looked at Tian Rao. "Did she say what they should do after selling the remote control pods to the wealthy? Will they use them purely as game pods, or will they join the troops?"
"I don't know," Tian Rao poked her lips with her finger, her expression like that of a child. "Isabel just asked me to get the purchase rights for the control pods. She said you liked me more, so I would have a higher chance of success."
"Agree, agree!" Tian Rao suddenly hugged Jiang Ye's thigh, throwing a tantrum and sitting on the ground as if she were about to roll around. "I won't leave if you don't agree!"
"Don't make a fuss, I'll call Old Yi to discuss it," Jiang Ye tapped his plate with his chopsticks. "You eat something first and wait, eat whatever you want."
Tian Rao sat back in her chair, grabbed her chopsticks, and began to eat heartily, with a good appetite.
Jiang Ye took out his phone and dialed three times before getting through.
"Hello, Jiang Ye, are you trying to kill me? I'm so sleepy, let me sleep," Isabel's voice was as weak as if she hadn't slept in eight hundred years. She had stayed on Birong Star for too long, her energy severely depleted, and she had only just lain down.
"Don't hang up, don't hang up! Tian Rao came to see me and told me about the wealthy club buying the remote control pods," Jiang Ye said quickly.
Isabel's voice seemed to clear up a bit. "How is it? Do you approve?"
"What are your specific plans? After those wealthy individuals buy the remote control pods and arrive at Birong Star, will they live in our camp? I don't want to mix those rich guys with my soldiers. The military and the business world should be kept separate."
"You're right, the military and the business world should be separate, but—" Isabel coughed twice. "Sometimes a little combination is also good. Wait for me to get up, wash my face, and clear my head. I'll explain my plan to you in detail. This is a very large chess game, and it can save you a lot of effort."
Jiang Ye put his phone on speaker and placed it on the table, waiting while he ate.
The sound of splashing water came from the phone, and then Isabel spoke:
"I need to explain a term to you first, called the Merchant Army Model."
"This model is a common method often used when opening up new planets."
"It allows some wealthy, reputable, and socially responsible merchants to establish small camps on new planets, and permits these merchants to establish their own small-scale armed forces, occupy territory, and mine certain resources for profit. Of course, the armed forces established by merchants must be loyal to the home planet and cannot raise their own troops independently. The territory opened up by merchants also belongs to the army; they only have the right to develop and temporary usage rights, and the army can reclaim it at any time."
"The benefits of this model are that it alleviates the financial pressure on the troops, accelerates the development of new planets, and maximizes the economic value of the occupied territories. When occupying the same place, we soldiers don't know how to make money, but merchants have a nose for wealth, and their eyes light up at the scent of money, like lecherous men seeing a peerless beauty. Therefore, they can squeeze out more benefits."
Jiang Ye understood. "You mean, you want the wealthy club of Binhai City to become a bunch of mercenary tycoons, helping us to claim territory and develop Birong Star?"
"Yes, that's the idea. In the end, we gain territory and team points, and they gain money. The money they earn will eventually be taxed, flow back to Jiang Ye Star for consumption, and be invested in Jiang Ye Star. You definitely won't lose, and you'll win immensely," Isabel persuaded him.
Before Jiang Ye could speak, Isabel preempted him.
"Don't worry, there won't be any security issues. Firstly, the wealthy individuals in the Binhai City club all live here with their families. If their families are held, they won't dare to rebel. Secondly, after these wealthy individuals get the remote control pods, they won't go to our military camp on Birong Star. Instead, they will randomly descend onto Birong Star from space. Wherever they land, they will establish their camps there and will not act with us. A planet is so large, the possibility of us meeting is extremely slim. Thirdly, they are absolutely not allowed to poach from our troops when recruiting. They can only recruit from the civilian population, and there are limits on numbers, so they can't cause any major trouble. Furthermore, they are not allowed to possess weapons in the colony; they can only develop military strength on Birong Star."
"Do you know about the ancient Tun Tian system? Soldiers would farm during peacetime and be sent to fight during wartime. Now, the identity of farmers is replaced by merchants because the nature of society has changed from an agricultural society to an interstellar society. This is actually very normal. Many major teams on Birong Star, which appear to have high rankings and points, are not actually a single cohesive unit, but rather dozens or hundreds of scattered camps across the globe. If they can do it, why can't we?"
Isabel spoke very quickly, as if she had recited this string of lines countless times.
Jiang Ye's head ached from listening. He nodded. "I understand what you mean. I'll think about it further."
"Tian Rao, are you there?" Isabel suddenly asked.
"Yes, yes!" Tian Rao quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and leaned towards the phone.
"It's up to you now," Isabel said, and then hung up.
Tian Rao turned her head, pouted, and feigned a pitiful look. "Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang... Daddy, Daddy! Please!"
"Eat your food, don't be silly. This is a serious matter, let me think quietly." Jiang Ye was not swayed by this.
Tian Rao pouted, grabbed her chopsticks fiercely, and said, "Hmph! You just want to dismiss me with food. I'll eat you bankrupt!"
Tian Rao began to eat voraciously, finishing plate after plate as if she were a starving ghost reborn.
Jiang Ye sat beside her, resting his chin on his hand in thought, occasionally handing her a glass of water to prevent her from choking.
After eating heartily for twenty minutes, Tian Rao's strength gave out. She slumped onto the chair, burping ungracefully.
Jiang Ye got up, took a strip of digestive tablets from the cupboard, and threw it on the table in front of Tian Rao. "Do you know that people can be stuffed to death? You're a company CEO now, with assets in the tens or hundreds of millions, yet your eating manners are like a refugee's!"
"Hundreds of millions!" Tian Rao proudly bent her index finger and waved her small hand in front of Jiang Ye's eyes. "Am I super rich?"
Jiang Ye was surprised. In his memory, he still thought of her as a small laborer busy printing clothes in the base vehicle. He hadn't expected her to transform into a super-rich person!
He then realized it was understandable. The entire colony's clothing market was monopolized by her. It would be strange if she weren't rich.
"I've made up my mind. I'll try supplying your club with a batch first and see how things go before deciding on the follow-up," Jiang Ye said. "You go back and rest. I'll have someone deliver the remote control pods to you tomorrow."
"Don't deliver it to my house, there's not enough space." Tian Rao took a business card from her pocket, slapped it heavily into Jiang Ye's hand, and tilted her head up proudly. "Deliver it to my commercial empire!"
She stood up, burped, and stomped downstairs. Soon, a car flew up outside the window, honked its horn, and turned away.
Jiang Ye looked speechlessly at the business card in his hand, which was covered in titles: