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Chapter 1138: Old and cunning
It is said that unity is strength, and when a group of people have very consistent demands, efficiency will suddenly increase. Specifically, it took the General Staff only two and a half days to submit the preliminary battle plan to the palace.

In order to save time, all departments sent people to the General Staff Headquarters to listen to the requests all day. If there were any needs or data needed, they no longer had to send people to the departments to inquire, but could just ask directly.

Even the two chief officers of the Ministry of Communications took turns on duty, eating and sleeping in the yamen. Each of them was on duty for six hours to ensure that the battle plan could be delivered to the emperor as soon as possible. They called it "speed is the essence of war"!
Even more outrageous is the Sun Moon Bank. Oyani is old and lacks energy, so she can only sit at the headquarters to coordinate. But Gulandam is young and energetic, and he enters the palace at four o'clock every day with his badge.

It didn't matter if the emperor didn't get up, she would wait in the side hall of the Yangxin Palace, and she had to decide where there were oil fields and where it was suitable to build an oil refinery. She would not leave the palace until the emperor was about to go to bed, and the same thing happened the next day.

Another way is to estimate the total value based on the investment amount of each official. The emperor does not allow private exploitation of oil fields, so it has to become a royal property like the oil fields and refineries in Yan'an Prefecture. However, the emperor's share is too low, so the remaining shares are subscribed by officials and sold to the public.

"Your Majesty came up with the idea and set the rules, but isn't it too little to only buy half of the shares? The more they take, the faster their conscience will fall. They shouldn't be so partial to them!"

Gulandam had no objection to this business model. If the emperor did not intervene, it would be easier to make mistakes. But she couldn't understand the emperor's human nature. He was too saintly. After all the trouble, he only got half of the shares.

If the operation fails or not enough oil is found, they will have to bear part of the blame in the end. The input and output are obviously disproportionate, while the officials and private investors who did nothing but nodded their heads have gained a lot.

"Who would get up early if it wasn't for profit? If it wasn't for regulation and supervision, I wouldn't want even half of it. The whole country belongs to me, and a few oil wells and refineries are not worth mentioning." Hong Tao answered calmly, indeed with a tendency of a saint who has no desires or demands.

"If you believe this, the future of Sun Moon Bank will be in jeopardy!"

When Gulandam, who was full of admiration for the emperor, left the palace and returned to the bank headquarters, telling him everything he had seen and heard that day, Oyani put down her pen and took off her reading glasses, her eyes full of despair and pity.

I spent so much effort to train a successor, and I thought he would be able to surpass me, but I didn't expect that he would still fall into the hands of that man, and so completely.

"…Even if Your Majesty is seeking fame and winning people's hearts, it is admirable that you can distribute most of the shares to the people!" Gulandam was not convinced. He was in charge of all the accounts of investment in the development of oil fields and refineries, and the emperor could not falsify them anyway.

"You approved these two loans, right?" Facing her angry apprentice, Oyani smiled faintly and took out two loan contracts from the drawer.

"That's right. Is there any problem?"

Gulandam only flipped through it briefly and identified its origin. But he didn't think there was a problem. They all applied to buy forests in Colombo City. Although there was no big profit, they were taking out loans with real collateral. No matter how well the business was run, Sun Moon Bank would not lose money in the end.

"The Navy has already conducted a detailed investigation of the wood species in Ceylon, and indeed there are a lot of usable wood. However, the forest purchased in the contract is the least valuable and most useless plot of land, with no precious tree species and none needed for shipbuilding.

Guess who would go so far to buy so many forests that are not scarce at all, and what would they be used for? Indeed, these two loans are risk-free for Sun Moon Bank, but many things cannot be judged by appearances alone. It is best to use your brain when encountering abnormal behavior. "There will definitely be no problem with the contract. If Gulandam can't handle this, then don't expect to succeed. First of all, the emperor can't pass the test. But Oyani doesn't want her successor to have only ordinary abilities, and she also hopes that she can see further and deeper.

"...They both had Chairman Zhu's business card and physical collateral, so I didn't investigate further." At this time, Gulandam finally had some realization, but after thinking about it, he still couldn't understand why Oyani wanted to pursue it.

"Suzaku is your majesty's confidant, in charge of the Snowflake Sugar Industry, and has extensive connections in Lingnan, Annan, and Luzon. If he wants to buy forests, he doesn't need to go far away. This is your majesty's cunning. He has both preserved his reputation and made real money. Only someone like you who has never suffered a loss would be deceived."

Oyani did not explain in detail why the two loans were suspicious, but she brought out Suzaku and gave a lecture on it. In the end, the blame fell on the emperor, and her words were very disrespectful.

"Why does Your Majesty want to go to Colombo to purchase forests?" As a student of the emperor, Gulandam really couldn't stand anyone slandering his teacher behind his back. Even facing Oyani, who was like a foster mother to him, his face looked unhappy.

"Make barrels! Your Majesty wants to build a factory in Colombo to make barrels, and then sell them to oil wells and refineries to store oil. It's his idea. Others are fighting over oil extraction and refining, while he is quietly selling oil barrels.

The more oil he sent back to the Ming Dynasty, the more barrels he used, and the more money he made. Besides, no one else could compete with him for this deal. The cheap forests had been bought in advance, and they were closest to the oil production areas. No matter who wanted to copy him, the cost could not be lowered any further. "

When talking about the emperor's actions, Oyani's expression was almost gnashing her teeth. It was not that she had any personal grudge against the emperor, but she was angry at herself for not thinking of this good business with low investment, quick results, and guaranteed harvest regardless of drought or flood. In three words, frustration.

"…If someone makes wooden barrels and sells them in Ayutthaya or Cambodia, the cost should be lower than in Colombo. The ship carrying the oil only needs to stop once, so it shouldn't be too troublesome."

Seeing the expression of his immediate superior and master, Gulandam was already 80% convinced. But out of his consistent respect for the emperor, he had to defend it a little. As long as he could find a logical loophole, he could not be blamed.

"You are still too young to have seen what shamelessness is. Just wait and see. As soon as the oil wells and refineries are built and the finished products are not yet out, your Majesty will issue a decree to regulate the transportation rules. It has even been named the Dangerous Goods Transportation Standards.

By then, only the barrels produced by his factory will meet the standards, and no one will be able to compete with him. Once a long-term supply contract is signed, as long as there is not a big gap, who would want to change it?

Even if other factories are capable of making barrels according to the standard, they will be discouraged because there are no customers and the order quantity is insufficient. Then he can monopolize the barrel supplier for many years. As long as there is oil in the wells and the refineries are not shut down, there will always be a large number of barrels. "

Seeing that Gulandam was still a little unconvinced, Oyani became even angrier. If the queen hadn't accidentally let it slip, no one would have discovered this matter in advance. Even if she knew about it, she could only talk about it privately with her husband and Gulandam, and didn't dare to leak it out at all.

(End of this chapter)