King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Joe Ga could never have imagined that his brother's ambitions were so "grand"!

"Who knows the dishes on the plate, every grain is born of hardship," distinctly aligned with Qiao Liang's character is the profession of "farming"!

Qiao Liang shared a similar attitude toward money with Joe Ga, both preferring tangible money.

However, due to the massive investments in Central Africa, Joe Ga had no choice but to step into the financial world and collaborate with Gami to establish the 'Pirate Fund.'

And Qiao Liang wanted to "farm"...

Joe Ga didn't know what to say, as it seemed quite inappropriate to dampen his brother's spirits right after discussing the pursuit of a meaningful career.

In the past two years, Joe Ga's horizons and intellect had been thoroughly broadened, gaining some understanding of the underlying mechanics of how the world operated.

The intelligent farming that Qiao Liang wanted to do, complete with solar-powered unmanned airships, certainly couldn't be meticulous—it had to be large-scale industrial farming, which limited his crop choices.

Beyond a few grains, soybeans, and perhaps some vegetables suitable for large-scale cultivation, what else?

If there isn't national support through subsidies or backing from big capital, "farming" isn't a lucrative industry in any country.

Natural disasters and human calamities are only the least of the unavoidable difficulties in farming, and even these could bankrupt you.

More critically, you don't have any control over the pricing of what you grow.

The most ludicrous aspect of this world is that agricultural producers earn the least within the industry chain.

Just like how dairy giants don't raise their own cows but spread the risk around, earning the highest profits themselves.

The world's agriculture superpowers own enough cropland merely to hedge risks; their profits come from manipulating prices and other means to harvest benefits from farmers and financial markets!

Every government and financial capital understand the significance of food, which is why no one considers letting farmers make a lot of money, as stable food prices are the foundation of all stability.

Conscientious governments provide subsidies to farmers because they recognize both the farmers' hardships and their importance.

What about a completely market-driven agricultural sector?

America, leveraging the America-Mexico trade agreement, has completely devastated Mexico's agriculture through industrial farming, pushing Mexican farmers to grow marijuana instead, and then... Wall Street reaped the major profits.

Individual farmers can never compete against those financial giants with a monopoly nature!

They whimsically wield their batons, causing fluctuations in global food prices, while you can only follow their lead.

Joe Ga could indeed allocate vast tracts of land in Central Africa for Qiao Liang to experiment with his ideas, but the investment in unmanned airships, the establishment of an intelligent network, and the purchase of large mechanized agricultural equipment...

For such agricultural investments to make money, scale is essential; a few hundred thousand acres aren't even worth the effort—when you reach millions of acres, with all this advanced technology combined, how many years would it take to break even?

Moreover, in Central Africa, where grain can hardly fetch a good price, there are no railways and road transport is a mess. Could you really expect the Central African Government to build several highways just for selling grain?

Farming, with its high input and low return, settling accounts once or at most twice a year, might be one of the least cost-effective investments in the world.

If Qiao Liang said he farmed just to feed himself and lead a comfortable life, Joe Ga would have no objections, but he also wanted to make big money. How would that work?

Intelligent and informational technology seem to be panaceas in the eyes of the public, seemingly turning any profession that adopts them into a promising project— even a college student like Qiao Liang seemed somewhat brainwashed.

But in reality, without policies paving the way and a lack of substantial capital investment, the money you save on labor and management costs with intelligent and informational technologies won't even sustain you until you grow large and strong.

Yet, watching the determined expression on Qiao Liang's face, Joe Ga sighed and said, "Then just do it, start with the unmanned airships.

At least they are very useful to me, and later, small and inexpensive models should be sufficient for your farm.

Think about it yourself; consider where the most suitable place to farm would be. My suggestion is to find a way abroad. You won't get enough subsidies domestically, and doing this would just be burning money."

Qiao Liang looked somewhat awkwardly at Joe Ga and said, "Brother, after hearing about the things you did, I actually think I might try in Central Africa, as long as the industrialization can keep up, and the large quantities of grain can..."

"Stop!"

Joe Ga waved his hand to interrupt his younger brother's sudden brainstorm. He himself had already controlled the economic lifeline of Central Africa for the next ten years. How could an undergrad like you think of breaking into and controlling their grain market?

This was not a money-making transaction. Did a college student like you really think you could control their lifeline to offset your losses? Were you seeking death?

The agriculture here, though dependent on the weather, had solved most people's food problems.

The Central African Government simply doesn't have the capacity to regulate the agricultural market; even if farmers are suffering now, they can still eat as long as there is no war, and the surplus agricultural products can even be exchanged for some goods.

Unless you solely wanted to engage in philanthropy, targeting the local market in Central Africa with your food sales meant that any slight intention of reducing expenses on your part would precisely reflect in the market, and the wheels of the market economy, accompanied by agricultural technology, would crush the farmers of Africa.

At that time, this place would no longer resemble the concept of Mexico, since the industrial system of Central Africa wouldn't be able to accommodate so many farmers, and those who couldn't afford food would make this place the lowest level of hell.

At such times, people like Qiao Liang would become their target, and in desperation, the local government would push him forward as a scapegoat.

After firmly rejecting Qiao Liang's idea, Joe Ga hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know about farming, but I can still offer you some advice about where to do it.

"Don't naively think that controlling a place's agricultural market is something impressive. In fact, in some places, controlling food is even more dangerous than controlling arms.

"I've met many agricultural experts from China in South America. They went there to help, merely guiding the locals on how to farm, never intending to upgrade their agriculture to an industrial level because the returns are too small with small operations, and the locals can't handle the consequences of bigger operations.

"Do you think you're the only smart one in the world?

"If you want to farm, do so earnestly. If you want to pursue automation, do that earnestly too.

"If it really succeeds, we can market your system in developed countries. After all, saving on labor and management costs represents a different concept in developed countries compared to in Africa."

Qiao Liang was only twenty years old, and there was much he didn't understand. Political and economic science might be covered in universities, but how many truly grasp it?

Essentially, Qiao Liang was a computer technology person, and now he planned to apply this technology to the agricultural field.

Just as the conversation between the brothers came to a deadlock, Chris, who appeared beside them at some unknown point, suddenly spoke up, "Germany probably does the best in automated agriculture, but the most promising place should be Eastern Europe because of its vast flat lands.

"Germany already has unmanned agricultural machinery, and the Atlas Copco Group in Sweden also has similar products.

"If your brother's automation management system really can be established, then this project would still be valuable."

As he spoke, Chris whistled and said with a laugh, "Sitting in front of a computer to farm, this is a very advanced concept.

"This shouldn't be just an agricultural company, but a technology company.

"I used to play a farm game, and if we could turn that game real, allowing people to manage their own farms on their phones during their spare time, and eventually harvest the yield from the rented land..."

Seeing his brother's eyes light up as if he had found a like-minded soul, Joe Ga smacking his lips and shaking his head said, "Don't listen to him, having people pay online to rent land, buy fertilizer and seeds, then farm it themselves, the price of the agricultural products they get would be far higher than market rates, the value difference would offset people's gaming desires.

"What he talks about making money involves finding the cheapest land, using ultra-low land rents and game-like agriculture to attract users, leveraging a pyramid-scheme style to quickly accumulate capital, then seeking financing for an IPO to make a quick exit after collecting cash."

As Joe Ga looked at his brother's still-gleaming eyes, he shook his head and said with a chuckle, "Playing real-life farm games will end up in complete mess, but if you're truly determined, it's not entirely unfeasible.

"This guy is a middleman; I can have him help find the right land in the right place, then you just give it a try.

"If it really attracts a group of players, as long as the game rules are well established, it could offset some of the initial investments and would indeed fit the feel of your intelligent agriculture.

"But inflating balloons to collect money doesn't suit us brothers; we shouldn't be involved in such heartless acts, it's not a meaningful endeavor." Enjoy more content from empire

Hearing Joe Ga relent, Chris grabbed a beer, sat down, and said with a smile, "I'm really interested. I have a farm in Sweden, and if this intelligent management system can really work, I'd be the first to place an order. I've always wanted to be a farmer, but unfortunately, my feet are not good on muddy ground."

As Chris looked at Qiao Liang's still-raw face, he hesitated for a moment, sighed and said, "If it were merely about making money, I should recommend that you buy land in Ukraine because your brother has channels for arms, so we could easily get cheap land from Eastern Ukraine.

"But I've seen your brother's stubbornness, and the recent situation there isn't very good.

"In fact, if your brother was willing to take a risk entering Ukraine to acquire some of their food reserves...forget it, he won't do it!

"So I recommend you consider Brazil or Bolivia. If your brother is willing to support you, Peru could also be considered.

"The land there is very cheap, and the environment is great, if you really want to enter this line of work, I would consider investing a part.

"Even in the worst scenario, this system still has prospects in the Nordic countries."

Qiao Liang didn't know what had happened?

He had merely mentioned modern agriculture in Central Africa, and apart from being lectured by his older brother, the still-nascent enterprise now seemingly had an agricultural company's shadow through Chris's words.

Heaven knows that Qiao Liang initially planned to try it out at a Northeastern classmate's home, and he had kept half of the money his brother gave him for renting land.

Now why was it about Eastern Ukraine and South America again? Is buying land abroad that easy?

How come his older brother seemed somewhat omnipotent in front of Chris?

Compared to Qiao Liang's naivety, Joe Ga was far more lucid; looking at Chris, who appeared to have everything under control, he shook his head and said, "Regarding my brother's venture, no investment from you is needed, just stick to the matter at hand..."