Douluo: I mess around in Tangmen

Ye Nanxiao spoke up at the right moment, clearing his throat lightly, his tone slightly teasing, "Alright, alright, stop arguing, stop arguing. You're all important officials of the court, arguing back and forth only hurts the harmony. Let's focus on 'healthy competition,' and stop with this 'involution and infighting' drama, okay?"

He tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, a sly glint in his eyes. “Our alliance’s projects are based on the principle of ‘the capable take the lead,’ but we can’t let everyone work for nothing. After all, ‘everyone makes money, don’t hog it all,’ otherwise it’s easy to ‘crash’.”

Xu Jiu suppressed a laugh and, in response to Ye Nanxiao's words, said in a serious tone, "General Ye is absolutely right. The alliance launched these projects to promote the common development of all families, not to encourage them to fight each other!"

"However, the number of projects allocated by the alliance is currently limited. Fellow family heads, you may wish to share your family's strengths so that the commander-in-chief and I can make the best allocations."

"My Zhang family excels in infrastructure and industry. Border infrastructure and defense renovation projects should rightfully belong to my Zhang family!"

The head of the Zhang family stood up, his tone resolute, "My Zhang family has a professional infrastructure team that can work quickly and with guaranteed quality. We will definitely complete the project on time!"

"You can't say that, Brother Zhang!"

The Zhao family patriarch sneered and mercilessly exposed their shortcomings, "Who doesn't know that your Zhang family just had a mishap last month? The small border soul guidance station you were building collapsed as soon as it was completed, and you had to pay a lot of money in compensation. Now you even have to buy construction materials on credit. You still have the nerve to say that the quality is guaranteed? I think you're trying to use the alliance project to make up for your own losses!"

The Zhang family patriarch's face flushed red as he retorted sharply, "Your Zhao family isn't much better! Your soul guidance equipment experiment just failed a few days ago, blowing up most of the laboratory and causing heavy losses. Now you're still thinking about competing for projects? You probably want the alliance to foot the bill for your family!"

The council hall erupted in chaos.

The eight family heads exposed each other's shortcomings, spittle flying everywhere, their original dignity and composure completely gone.

You say my cash flow is broken, I say your experiment failed; you accuse me of hiring errand boys to do dirty work, I expose you for falsely reporting your assets to fraudulently obtain loans.

Although the revelations hit the nail on the head, the heads of these aristocratic families maintained a tacit understanding: none of the revelations touched on the bottom line of the families; they were all embarrassing stories that were known but not discussed in the upper circles.

Ye Nanxiao watched with great interest, occasionally interjecting with a comment to subtly stir up trouble.

After silently counting the time in his mind, just as the battle was about to reach its climax and the heads of the Li and Wang families were about to roll up their sleeves and start a real-life fight, he tapped the table and called a halt.

"Stop, all of you. You are all important ministers of the empire, and I understand your desire to share the burdens of the empire. How about this: each of you write down the projects you want to take on on a piece of paper, along with your reasons for being able to undertake the projects and the health of your own finances. I and Commander-in-Chief Ye will then allocate the projects fairly and justly based on each party's situation."

This was also taught by Ye Nanxiao; it was a strategy to cut off the enemy's supply lines.

All the heads of the powerful families simultaneously stopped their agitation. Some rubbed their chests, cursing the other party for their ruthlessness; others hurriedly tidied their disheveled hair, angrily denouncing the other party for their lack of martial ethics; still others pulled up their trousers, their faces ashen, their sitting postures somewhat strange.

But their anger was simultaneously extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

They subtly glanced at Ye Nanxiao, who was sitting smiling next to Xu Jiujiu, holding a thermos in his hand.

This is the one who will ultimately bring the matter to a conclusion, and the mastermind behind making them tear each other apart and sever the foundation of their close ties.

However, the benefits you actually gain are the ones you truly own.

Other aristocratic families?
What do I care if they live or die?

Perhaps through project manipulation, they can win over people, develop more followers, and take over other powerful families.

Eight sheets of blank paper were quickly distributed to the heads of the various noble families.

All eight people narrowed their eyes slightly, their gazes sharp and wary as they looked at the people around them.

"Li Datou! What are you worried about!" "Wang Mazi! What's it to you!"

"Zhao Laonian! Why are your hands shaking?"

"Old Zhang! You can't even hold a cup properly, what are you pretending to be, acting all high and mighty!"

Seven pairs of eyes swept over each other like blades, their breathing was heavy, their knuckles were white from gripping the paper, yet no one dared to pick up a pen first and write their answer on the blank sheet of paper.

Although they were all prepared to make the most painful sacrifice, they still hesitated when it came to actually taking it.

The rising steam from Ye Nanxiao's thermos silently scorched the last vestiges of dignity of the aristocratic family.

"I understand your troubles. I also have many troubles. The alliance is making great strides, and each step consumes a huge amount of resources. The Soul Tower is always stuck in stagnation. I have a lot to deal with every day, and I have a lot of worries."

Upon hearing this, the head of the Li family was startled. Ye Nanxiao was giving a hint!

Without hesitation, he wrote down the project he had initially envisioned, as well as the current cash flow situation of the Li family, and added an extra line at the end.

"The Li family is willing to leverage its connections and resources to assist the alliance in implementing the Soul Tower project!"

The head of the Wang family had been paying close attention to the situation of the head of the Li family. Seeing him quickly put down his pen after Ye Nanxiao's prompting, he immediately understood something and quickly put down his pen as well.

Those who can sit in the position of family head are all old foxes who have been around for a thousand years.

After Ye Nanxiao collected the papers, a perfectly timed smile of appreciation appeared on his face.

"Indeed, all of you family heads are important officials of the empire, and Star Luo and the Alliance will not fail to appreciate your sincere hearts!"

"However, there are only so many projects, but I can't let everyone's enthusiasm down. So, how about this, the projects are also specialized."

"The Li family excels in logistics transportation, so they will be responsible for the transshipment of supplies across supply routes. The initial investment is low, and the returns are quick. Although the profits are not as high as those from core research and development, they are more stable and suitable for your current financial situation!"

"The Wang family has ample resources, so they will be responsible for building the early warning stations. The alliance will provide you with special subsidies to alleviate your financial burden."

The eight family heads nodded repeatedly as they listened, their initial arguments and wariness gradually replaced by joy and gratitude.

They were all beaming with joy, completely unaware of the trap in Ye Nanxiao's words.

For example, the material transfer handled by the Li family may seem to require little investment, but in reality, they bear the full transportation risks.

What? You're saying the alliance is formed? Where would there be mountain bandits and river bandits then?
Of course there won't be any bandits!

The only issues were the numerous checkpoints and inspection procedures at each station along the route, and the fact that they were handled by the cabinet for a long time.

Oh, by the way, I heard that your aristocratic families don't really respect the Empress of Xingluo?
Hey!
Ye Nanxiao and Xu Jiujiu secretly tapped on the table, exchanging several coded signals.

The big fish has been caught! Quickly set up a pot and start a fire!
The next few hours were spent persuading the aristocratic families, and Ye Nanxiao took the opportunity to slip out and quickly pulled out his soul-guided communicator.

"Boss! We have more money to build the tower!" (End of Chapter)