Chapter 304: Why do you need a knife to cut leeks?

  Chapter 304 Why do you need a knife to cut leeks?

  Sim thought he was a genius.

  With just some data on paper, he could tell what his neighbor would do next.

  After discovering the situation, he immediately arranged for his salesmen to go to nearby mines to buy up stocks of copper ore, sulfur and other war materials.

  At present, there are 1,200 tons of copper in the warehouse of the Horseshoe Company. According to his calculations, every million rounds of full-power bullets produced by the New Alliance require about 16 to 17 tons of copper.

  To fight a local battle, one or two million rounds of ammunition are required. To take down the entire Xizhou City, at least 10 to 20 million rounds of ammunition are required.

  After all, the plunderers are not fools.

  Under the training of the legion instructors, these people have learned how to dig trenches and hide in bunkers. After fighting with the Snake Clan for several months, Honghe Town has already learned how difficult those people are.

  Because the Horseshoe Company raised the inventory reserve line, increased the purchase of copper ore and other materials, and reduced the shipment volume, the current copper ore price in Honghe Town has risen by 20%, and the price of sulfur has risen by more than 30%.

  And this is just the beginning.

  He is still in the stage of buying goods. When he finishes buying goods, the warehouse will be full of copper ore. At that time, he will cut off the source of shipment and use the time difference of the mine to increase production. It will be no problem to double or triple the copper price in a short period of time.

  Of course.

  He can’t do this business alone. The

  company does not have the right to issue bills. The mine owners can issue bills, and they are just dealers sandwiched between slave owners and merchants.

  If you want to drive up the price of copper ore, you have to win over at least one or two mine owners with enough influence to cooperate with you.

  But this is easy for Sim.

  He has always had a good relationship with the nearby mine owners, and it is not the first time they have cooperated.

  …

  The meeting room of the Horseshoe Company.

  After listening to Sim’s proposal, the man in luxurious clothes frowned slightly hesitantly.

  ”…This idea does sound good, but it’s not good, right?”

  The man who spoke was named Demps. He had a lot of say in Red River Town and even in the Mining Association. What guaranteed all this was his 500 fierce thugs and the garbage mountain that made a fortune every day.

  He admitted that the pie that Sim and he painted was indeed very tempting. Even if it didn’t double or triple, just a 20% or 30% increase would be enough for him to make a lot of money.

  However, he still had some concerns in his heart.

  The Bone Chewing Tribe was the common enemy of all the survivors.

  If the New Alliance planned to attack the Bone Chewing Tribe, it would definitely be a good thing for Red River Town, both strategically and from a business perspective.

  Xizhou City was taken down by the New Alliance, and the left half of the Snake Clan sat on the gun holes of those blue coats, and the pressure on Red River Town would be much less.

  Although the pie that Sim painted for him was very tempting, Demps still instinctively felt that it was a bit unkind to backstab the “ally” at this time.

  But…

  Sim didn’t think so.

  ”My dear friend, please don’t think this is a betrayal. Price increases are market behavior. It’s only a matter of time before copper prices go up according to their buying methods. If you don’t increase prices, will you expand production? We just stepped on the gas pedal for them.”

  Demps: “So they have to thank you?”

  Sim smiled and said, “Of course.”

  Demps always felt that he was making a crooked argument, but he couldn’t think of a reason to refute it.

  ”How do you need me to cooperate with you?”

  ”It’s very simple. When necessary, you will cooperate with us to issue a production reduction announcement. Whether there is a mine accident or a malfunction of the mining equipment, in short, reduce the issuance of tickets in the next quarter, but production should still be carried out as it should be.”

  Demps said nervously, his hands unconsciously grasping the armrests of the chair.

  ”What if no one buys it after it is produced?”

  They issued tickets to avoid this problem.

  There are too many uncertainties in spot trading. Before tickets were made, everyone randomly dug a pile of garbage, but no one bought it, and they lived a life of hunger and fullness.

  It was not until the merchants of Red River Town invented the bills and stuffed the red and blue bills into the pockets of the passing merchants that they slowly began to live a good life.

  It was precisely because of this that the slave owners were more sensitive to the bill trading model than the major business houses that really made a lot of money from the bills.

  Knowing what the guy in front of him was worried about, Sim gave him a confident smile.

  ”Don’t be nervous, my friend. Imagine if the New Alliance went to war with the Bone Chewing Tribe tomorrow, would you still worry that no one would buy the copper you produced? Once the war machine starts, there is no reason to stop. We just hope that they will be bought at a ‘more reasonable’ price.”

  ”You don’t need to bear any risks, and you can take the bulk of the profits. Don’t worry about not being able to sell it. We are willing to serve you!”

  Hearing the last sentence, Demps finally breathed a sigh of relief and his expression relaxed.

  Picking up the pipe on the table, he stood up from the chair.

  ”Then do as you say.”

  He didn’t want to think about things that were too difficult, because he couldn’t figure it out anyway.

  The reason why these businesses exist in Honghe Town is that these guys with tricks can help them sell worthless garbage at a better price.

  His bionic organs, bionic partners, even the equipment of his thugs, the mining equipment of slaves, and the mercenaries who were beaten to a pulp on the front line… were all bought with money.

  As for what money is?

  He understood it as those red and blue tickets, the legion’s dinars and the company’s Cr, although his intuition told him that this was just an appearance and it was too difficult to really figure it out.

  Demps knew very well that he didn’t have the brain, so he let those who knew worry about it.

  He just needed to know that he could make more money.

  Looking at Demps who nodded in agreement, Sim stood up with great joy and stretched out his right hand.

  ”I wish us a happy cooperation!”

  ”Happy cooperation!”

  After sending the mine owner away.

  Sim, who returned to the office, finally couldn’t hold it back and laughed out loud.

  ”Hahahahaha!”

  Every time he dealt with those mine owners, it was the happiest time in his life.

  Although I only gave them a sip of soup, every time I told them “You can take the lion’s share”, they nodded with a look of conviction.

  ”Copper ore, sulfur… it’s a pity that they can produce steel and aluminum themselves.”

  Sim stopped laughing, walked to the wall, stared at the map for a moment, and continued thoughtfully.

  ”But it’s really surprising… I thought they would expand to the west.”

  To the south of the New Alliance is the Stone City, and to the east is nearly a hundred kilometers of wasteland, and there is no water source.

  Compared with going north, the benefits of going west will obviously be greater.

  After all, Qingquan City is located in the middle of the plain belt in the south of the Valley Province. There are lakes and rivers to the west, and it is mainly plains and forests, with only a few hills.

  If you go north, it’s like diving into the mountains.

  Why bother?

  What treasures can there be there?

  At this time, a knock on the door of the office interrupted Sim’s thoughts.

  ”Come in.”

  The door opened.

  His subordinate Enjiet walked in from outside with a list in his hand.

  ”Boss, today’s inventory data is out, and our copper reserves have increased to 500 tons!”

  ”Very good!”

  Sim’s face was filled with a bright smile, and he had taken a big step forward in his 1,000-ton plan.

  ”By the way, boss… our caravan to Dawn City heard a rumor there, and I feel like you might be more concerned.”

  Sim: “What rumor?”

  Enjiet hesitated for a moment and whispered.

  ”…They heard from people in the tavern that a copper mine with a reserve of one million tons was discovered in the northern mountainous area of ​​Yuanxi Town.”

  Sim was stunned for a moment, then laughed and cursed.

  ”Nonsense!”

  This group of cunning blue gophers is quite smart.

  It’s only increased by 20%, and they realized that someone was following them to buy goods.

  But this counterattack is really a bit childish.

  Is it possible that the New Alliance has really discovered a copper mine with a reserve of one million tons?

  Of course there is!

  But this possibility is too small, and the timing is too coincidental! Why

  didn’t they discover it earlier or later, but just when the copper price was rising?

  And it’s still a million-ton level, that must be a big vein.

  What a lie!

  If they really found a copper mine with such a large reserve, given their demand for copper, they would definitely build a road there first, and then at that outpost…

  wait.

  Road?!

  Sim’s face changed slightly, and he returned to the map, staring at the railway line on the map.

  According to the information collected by the caravan under his company, the New Alliance has been laying railways to the north, and the railway has now been laid from the industrial area of ​​Dawn City to the edge of Elm District.

  Before, he couldn’t understand why the New Alliance would go north with such a thankless task.

  And now, he vaguely guessed their intention to do so.

  If the rumor is true…

  ”Is the rumor reliable? Are there any other clues?”

  Looking at the boss with a grim face, Enjiet shook his head quickly.

  ”No more!”

  With his arms folded in front of his chest and his back facing his subordinates, Sim stared at the map and bit his thumb, his mind spinning rapidly.

  After a while, he calmed down.

  Even if a copper mine is found, what’s the matter?

  Mining always takes time.

  Looking back at his subordinates, Sim immediately gave an order.

  ”Let our caravan pay more attention to this news. I need to know more information!”

  Enjiet nodded quickly.

  ”Yes!”

  …

  ”Have you heard about it? A copper mine was discovered in Yuanxi Town!”

  ”Is it true?”

  ”I don’t know! I also heard it from the drunkard in the Highway Town Inn! I heard from those people that those blue coats had the geographical information data of the Human Alliance era. They had discovered the copper mine in Yuanxi Town a long time ago, but they had never made it public. They were planning to start construction recently, so the news leaked out!”

  ”I think it makes sense… Otherwise, why would they build the railway all the way north? Is there anything that needs to be transported there?”

  ”By the way, have any of you been to Yuanxi Town?”

  ”Why go there? There is not even a post station. And to the north of Yuanxi Town is Ju Gu. The soldiers stationed there are all soldiers of the New Alliance. If you wander around there, be careful not to be caught as a spy of the looters. Then you will have to explain for a long time.”

  Dawn City.

  At the door of the trading station.

  Several merchants waiting for the delivery of goods lined up and boasted there.

  They were all merchants from Honghe Town, but they were doing different things.

  Just as they were chatting, an “electric mule” drove into the trading post.

  Seeing the roller-shaped equipment unloaded from the carriage by the loaders, many people who knew the goods showed surprise in their eyes.

  ”Multi-cylinder hydraulic crusher?”

  ”I’ve seen this thing, imported from Boulder City. I heard that second-hand equipment costs 20,000 chips.”

  ”…It seems to be true.”

  Next to the truck with the badge of the Horseshoe Trading Company, the captain of the caravan looked a little solemn.

  That night, he reported the news to the person in charge of the trading company.

  In fact, he didn’t need to report it at all.

  Within a few days, the news that Yuanxi Town had discovered a huge copper mine spread to Honghe Town along the trade route.

  As one of the main buyers of copper mines produced in Honghe Town, the discovery of copper mines by the New Alliance was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for those large miners who relied on exporting copper mines in exchange for bullets, shells and other industrial products.

  When the wave broke out in Qingquan City, the New Alliance increased the purchase volume of copper mines. They made a lot of money from copper ore trading, and some powerful mine owners took the opportunity to increase production.

  If the price of copper mines fluctuates greatly in the future, or even goes down all the way…

  Regardless of whether there will be a reduction in production in the next quarter, the top priority for those mine owners now is to take advantage of the “falsely high” copper price and sell as much inventory as possible.

  Yes.

  It seems that the New Alliance is going to war, but it hasn’t started yet.

  War is expected, and the discovery of copper mines is also expected.

  These are clues they analyzed based on limited intelligence, not official documents written in black and white.

  The increase in copper mine purchases can be interpreted as an increase in arms reserves, and of course it can also be interpreted as an increase in power equipment. Nitric acid and sulfuric acid are not only used to make shells, but can also be used in many industries such as pickling for steelmaking.

  Any logic has pros and cons.

  But there is one thing that is likely to happen.

  If the New Alliance really finds a copper mine…

  maybe the war will have to be slowed down.

  Honghe Town has more than one business and more than one mine.

  When the price of copper rose before, many people tacitly followed the Horseshoe Business to buy goods, but now they have tacitly lowered the reserve line of the copper mine and thrown the copper in their hands into the market.

  When the growth rate of shipments significantly exceeds the growth rate of demand, it is obvious what will happen next.

  Sim soon found out that before he had time to backstab his neighbor, he was stabbed in the back by his own people. The

  chaotic selling of these bastards brought down the 20% price that he had pushed up with great difficulty.

  The warehouse of the Horseshoe Trading Company is now full of copper.

  Because of that unknown copper mine, all the mine owners and trading company owners in Honghe Town have become idiots.

  Yes.

  They are idiots.

  At least in Sim’s eyes, these people are only a little smarter than donkeys, no more.

  ”Can’t these idiots wait a while!”

  ”Even if they have a copper mine, so what? I’ll just assume they do! Can copper ingots grow out of the ground tomorrow?”

  The office was filled with angry roars.

  Enjiet, who was standing aside, held his breath and dared not breathe.

  Finally, he had vented enough, and Sim looked at him and said word by word.

  ”How much budget do we have left!”

  Enjiet answered quickly.

  ”Without affecting other businesses… we can still purchase about 700 tons,” Enjiet looked at the boss carefully, “In fact, we could only buy more than 400 tons, but the copper price has fallen a bit recently, so we can buy more…”

  700 tons!

  Compared with the nearly 10,000 tons of reserves released by these idiots, it is simply a drop in the bucket!

  Sim, who was so angry that he almost vomited blood, took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

  Apart from these procurement budgets, he no longer had enough coupons to buy more copper ore from the mine owners.

  Borrowing other people’s coupons to buy? No matter

  how much he borrowed, it would not be enough!

  Moreover, even if he could borrow, he could not rely on his own business to eat up all the goods overflowing from the inventory of other business houses and mines.

  Once he really did this, his fate would be to go from being the one who cut the leeks to being the leeks cut by others.

  Who is most worried about the decline in copper prices?

  It must be the person who bought it with N times leverage.

  Once other business houses found out that he had a warehouse full of copper ore with a lot of debt, they would definitely laugh like crazy and decisively sell more copper ore to him.

  In fact, there was no need for N times. As long as 80% of the copper in the market was in his hands, no matter he added 80% or 800% leverage, he would be the receiver.

  ”This group of damn blue gophers!”

  Sim was holding it in for a long time, but he couldn’t think of how to curse those people in the northern suburbs. Finally, he squeezed out this sentence from his teeth.

  Until now, he still firmly believes that the New Alliance will definitely send troops to the Bone Chewing Tribe.

  But what’s the use of just believing it?

  Can the market be influenced by a person’s cognition?

  ”Old, boss,” Enjiet said cautiously, “Are we still buying?”

  ”Buy it!”

  Sim couldn’t help but curse.

  Looking at his helpless subordinates, he took a deep breath and controlled his emotions.

  ”The inventory reserve line remains unchanged…”

  Enjiet hesitated, “The copper in the warehouse…”

  Sim gritted his teeth and said.

  ”Keep it!”

  He is a big moneymaker.

  Those stupid donkeys who are more likely to cause trouble than to do anything can sell it if they want to. Even if the copper mine falls to the same price as the iron mine, he will not sell it.

  This battle will be fought sooner or later!

  It will grow back sooner or later!

  …

  “Don’t you want to get rich with your brother?”

  “Don’t blame me for not helping you. Buy it quickly. If you don’t buy it now, you won’t be able to buy it!”

  Chu Guang couldn’t help laughing when he saw the report sent from the military base in Honghe Town.

  He was right to release the news, but he didn’t expect it to be so effective.

  The price of copper ore fell by 37%!

  The supply volume increased fourfold!

  And this was based on two weeks ago. The effect of the smoke bomb far exceeded Chu Guang’s initial expectations.

  He originally wanted the price to “return to rationality”, but when the mine owners and business owners heard that the new alliance had discovered copper mines, they all lowered the copper reserve line in their warehouses. Not only did the Horseshoe Business that followed him to buy copper mines eat up a lot of goods, but the caravans formed by the new alliance were also filled with cheap copper mines.

  Since copper mines mostly exist in the form of sulfides, the price of sulfur was also affected.

  Considering that their big customers may not buy these two things from them in the future, it is the safest choice to reduce inventory while they can sell them at a good price.

  However, once the sell-off begins, it is likely that emotions rather than logic will dominate the market.

  Later, it was not only the major business houses that were selling, but also the caravans coming to Honghe Town chose to wait and see if they could buy cheaper.

  And the big copper consumers like the New Alliance naturally became the biggest winners.

  In fact, taking down Honghe Town is of course an option, and it won’t be difficult.

  Chu Guang, who was a little more insidious, directly issued a task, asking the players who were supporting Honghe Town on the front line to turn their guns to attack the surrounding NPCs, directly tearing a gap in the defense line, letting the Snake Clan’s predators in, and then sending troops to clean up the mess.

  The strength of a regiment is enough.

  The only risk is that the Ya Clan gets the news from the Snake Clan and takes the opportunity to go south to collect autumn wind, and by the way, besiege Wei to save Zhao.

  After all, it is not a turn-based game. When you do it yourself, the probability of others standing still is very small.

  But the problem lies here.

  Since it is not a turn-based game, the war still needs to be based on the target of the war, and the means and reasons should be considered.

  This reason can be divided into two types: internal and external.

  Internally, the reason of liberating slaves is enough. The residents of the new alliance support him from the bottom of their hearts, and the players are just a matter of an expansion pack.

  Using the planner’s vest to send a “declaration of war notice” can save even the explanation. This is also the best place for players. If you can explain it, use the plot to justify it. If you can’t explain it, use the setting to explain it.

  The filial son of Lordaeron can cut his father with a sword. My manager is in a bad mood today. What’s wrong with turning black and stabbing a teammate? There is no covenant signed, this is very reasonable!

  But for external, this reason is difficult to explain.

  From Boulder City to Garbage City, and then to other distant survivor settlements, although they all oppose plunderers, none of them are against slavery. Some just recognize the legality, and some allow trading but do not allow private execution. There

  are many slaves in the mines of Red River Town, who are also plunderers captured by other survivor settlements.

  It is better not to use the reason of liberating slaves to attack them, and start fighting when they disagree. When others are confused, the war is over, and the expansion impact will be smaller.

  Using abolition as an excuse for war, the “diplomatic penalty debuff” may be higher than that of the Bone Chewing Tribe.

  Some things need soil, and advanced people can be matched with advanced ideas. Whether it is Shelter 117 or Shelter 401, the reason for their ultimate failure is ultimately only one, that is, they did not consider the actual situation of the wasteland, or they considered it but could not let go of the reserve of civilized people.

  What they think is good may not be considered by others.

  They can see what will happen ten years later, but the people they manage may only want to live in the present.

  Just like Boss Xia always liked to slack off before, although Chu Guang teased her a lot, he never really threw her out.

  He was not born to be a manager. He had lived at the bottom and understood how she felt in such a position.

  Not everything is right or wrong.

  On the contrary, Xiaoyu’s well-behaved and sensible appearance sometimes made him feel distressed.

  Looking at the managers with optimism on their faces, Old Charlie still looked a little worried.

  The price drop of raw materials is certainly worth celebrating.

  But if it drops too fast, they will eventually hurt themselves.

  ”I must remind you that the price drop of copper and sulfur is due to the release of inventory, not the increase in production capacity. If those mine owners reduce production, the price of copper will probably grow higher than before in a few months.”

  ”You are right, so we still have to rely on ourselves to solve the supply of raw materials in the end.”

  Chu Guang put down the report in his hand and looked at Old Charlie standing across the desk.

  ”According to the data feedback from the logistics department, we have already stored 700 tons of copper, and there are about 1,200 tons on the way. These resources are enough for our consumption in the next three months!”

  With the current production efficiency of the industrial zone, it takes 16.7 tons of copper to produce 1 million bullets.

  Just to make bullets, these 1,200 tons of copper can make more than 71 million bullets.

  It doesn’t take so many bullets to fight Xizhou City, not even half of them.

  In the early stage, he only planned to prepare 5 million rounds of ammunition, and then he could produce while fighting.

  It is estimated that by the end of the war, the total consumption of ammunition will not exceed 10 million rounds.

  ”… You really don’t leave yourself any way out.”

  Looking at the surprised old man, Chu Guang smiled faintly, stood up and walked to the wall, looking at the marks on the map and whispered.

  ”I will liberate Xizhou from the hands of the Bone Chewing Tribe within a month.”

  ”Our mining team will set off with equipment and the shells we send to the front line.”

  ”After that, no matter whether our neighbors’ copper and sulfur are sold at a high or low price, it has nothing to do with us.”

  ”Anyway, we won’t buy from them in the future.”

  (End of this chapter)