If Sir Fux and Mayor Robert were to find out that the naval officer's so-called cooperation plan was actually to purchase all the buildings that Normanley Real Estate was building, they would probably vomit blood in anger.
In fact, the construction official of the Shanghai military had already met with Ludian. The two of them were acquaintances, having known each other in the royal capital.
Normanley Real Estate Development Company was building a miniature landscape of the entire community. The construction officer of the naval base was full of praise. This would save the navy a lot of time and energy. The layout of the entire community was completely suitable for the families of the new Storm fleet's naval officers. It was even better than they had expected.
Even though the construction of the community had just begun, the officer in charge of the navy transferred 200,000 crowns to the account provided by Ludian with a wave of his pen.
That was only the first payment. Once the entire area was completed, there would be another 80,000 crowns that would become Normanley Real Estate's income.
To the navy, spending only 300,000 crowns on a complete community with perfect facilities and a beautiful environment was definitely worth the money.
After all, the housing and land here were a third cheaper than the residential area attached to the naval base in the kingdom's only military port, Port Neru. However, the layout and facilities were many times better. It was a huge bargain.
As for Ludian and the other shareholders of Normanley Real Estate, the houses were sold out before they were even completed. The total income of 280,000 crowns was enough to make them lose their cool.
Of course, the 20,000 crowns difference with the navy was a favor that no one would take into account.
The total investment was only 20,000 crowns. Coupled with the 18,000 crowns that were borrowed from the national bank using the entire area as collateral, they hadn't even used up all 38,000 crowns yet, yet they had earned 280,000 crowns. How many times was that?
Almost all the shareholders' eyes shone with excitement.
"How about this? We'll put 100,000 crowns in the company's account as capital. The construction of the buildings, the digging of the sewers, and the planning of the streets will all come from there.
At the same time, we'll repay the loan from the national bank. We won't have to pay them interest every month for nothing.
The remaining 100,000 will be everyone's dividends, distributed according to the proportion of their shares.
As for the final 80,000 crowns, we'll need at least half a year to receive it. Let's put that plan aside for now and talk about it when the time comes. What do you think? "
Claude's plan to distribute the two hundred thousand crowns was unanimously approved by all the shareholders.
In such a short period of time, everyone had obtained ten times the return of their capital stock. For a moment, everyone was beaming with joy.
"We're not just dissolving the company after finishing this community. Butler Ludian, you can talk to the viscount who's in charge of the naval base's construction. Maybe you'll be able to contract the planning and construction of the Old Street and the West Slum from him.
If it doesn't work out, we can also cooperate with the Navy to develop and build it. We only need 50% of the profits. "
He slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! It doesn't matter who we do it for. I'll go ask and try my best to get the plans for the western sector from him."
Compared to Claude and the rest's bountiful harvest, Bidlir Blanche felt that he was the unluckiest person in Whitestag without a doubt.
The matter was simple. His territory was gone. Not only was it the Blacksnake Gang's territory in the slums, but even the area under the jurisdiction of the 4th Garrison Squadron was gone. It was all included in the construction of the naval base and became a restricted military area. The Marines were in charge of guarding it, and he had to undergo security checks even when he returned home.
It was a calamity that fell from the heavens. Bidlir Blanche felt like an abandoned orphan with no one to rely on.
Even Sir Fux and Mayor Robert expressed their sympathy for Bidlir's plight, but there was nothing they could do to help.
That was the truth. One was a politician and the other was a petty bureaucrat. They really couldn't do much against the royal navy.
In terms of compensation, Bidlir suffered a huge loss and couldn't complain.
In the slums and the lakeside, he had a lot of real estate such as the fish processing plant by the lakeside, the Blacksnake Gang's headquarters in the slums, and half of the properties on the old street were all in his hands.
However, those were all within the scope of the naval base's land acquisition. The compensation was based on the market price before the 15th of May. The moment the development plan for Whitestag was announced, the prices of almost all real estate in the town tripled.
What pained Bidlir the most was the underground casino in the slums. He had spent a lot of money to build it. He had wanted to use it to provide Blacksnake with an endless supply of funds, but he had no choice but to abandon it now.
Even though the old warehouse he built on top of it was expropriated by the navy for a small sum of money, he didn't dare mention that there was such a huge casino underground.
The reason was simple. The kingdom strictly forbade private casinos. If the navy found out about this, Bidlir Blanche might not be able to keep his life. He could only pretend that he didn't know anything.
Fortunately, the owner of the warehouse was the name of the father of a crippled subordinate. As long as he didn't say anything, nobody would know that the real owner was Platoon Captain Bidlir.
As for Blacksnake, it was no more.
On that day, the Admiralty sent the Marine Division, which was anchored at Lake Balinga, ashore and cordoned off the entire slums. They took over the Fourth Garrison Squadron's vigilance and began a forced conscription operation in the slums.
Their targets were the jobless, gangsters, and scoundrels. It was an effective way for the navy to replenish their manpower and also cleanse the area of public order. It was killing two birds with one stone.
That day, Bidlir Blanche could only stand at the entrance of the slums and watch as the soldiers barged in like wolves and tigers. They brought all the men out of the houses and gathered them together for inspection. Those with proper jobs were pulled out and stood on the other side, waiting for their bosses to come and verify their identities.
Those without proper jobs or working odd jobs, as well as those who worked on fishing boats, were forcibly recruited into the navy and became the lowest-ranking soldiers.
A third of the thousand men taken away that day were members of Blacksnake, none of whom had proper jobs.
A few wanted fellows who were involved in murder cases resisted bravely, but their bodies were immediately cut open by flashing bayonets and rifles. They fell to the street with blood spurting out of their bodies.
Soon after, they were dragged away and their heads were chopped off. Soon, seven or eight bloody heads were hung on a row of poles along the old street. The shouts of those who were unwilling to join the army suddenly quieted down, and the noisy crowd immediately became orderly.
Bidlir remembered passing a bag of tobacco to a lieutenant on guard duty at the entrance of the street. The two of them smoked their pipes and got to know each other.
Bidlir Blanche wanted to know the fate of his conscripted subordinates, so he asked the lieutenant if they would be assigned to warships soon.
The lieutenant said disdainfully that these conscripted fellows would be formed into a labor camp. They would be responsible for the construction of the naval base for three months.
Within these three months, experienced recruitment officers would pick out suitable recruits and give them basic military training. They would only be assigned to warships after the training was complete.
"What about those who weren't chosen by the recruitment officers? Will they be allowed to go home?"
Bidlir remembered asking this question. He believed his Blacksnake subordinates would definitely try to escape the conscription.
However, the lieutenant's cold reply completely dispelled Bidlir Blanche's hopes of reuniting the Blacksnakes.
He exhaled a long puff of smoke and turned to stare into Bidlir's eyes. "Trust me, Lieutenant Commander. The bayonets and whips of the Royal Navy will turn every one of them into qualified, disciplined, and law-abiding soldiers …"
Just like that, his territory was gone, his subordinates were captured to serve as soldiers, and his assets were used to build a naval base. The former boss of Blacksnake, Bidlir Blanche, suddenly discovered that he had become a role model for the country.
Apart from a large sum of compensation in the national bank and the forty or so Blacksnake subordinates from the fourth garrison, Bidlir discovered that he had nothing left. He didn't even have a place to stay and had no choice but to move to the barracks.
Perhaps out of guilt, Sir Fux and Mayor Robert communicated with the officer in charge of the naval base, Viscount Wenisk. The admiralty held a commendation ceremony in the town hall and awarded Bidlir an Exemplary Service Medal and a certificate for being an exemplary supporter of the military.
Even though Bidlir lost everything, he was able to cleanse his identity. However, he didn't know if the change was worthwhile for him.
The biggest news in Whitestag in June was Mayor Robert's fall from grace. When the auditors from the royal capital came to audit the town hall's finances for the past two years, they discovered that when Mayor Robert took over the town hall, the finance department's accounts started to show signs of chaos. More than a dozen sums of money of varying sizes went to unknown places and the accounts that were filled in later didn't match up either.
Even though there were no discrepancies in the accounts, it was obvious that someone had done something to them.
The auditors from the royal capital were extremely sinister. They didn't do anything on the surface, but they pursued the mayor relentlessly in the dark.
Soon, the fact that Mayor Robert colluded with the town hall's financial staff to falsify the accounts was exposed. Therefore, the King's City's judicial officers appeared in front of Mayor Robert and detained him, stripping him of his position as Mayor.
Poor Mayor Robert. After the king announced the development plan for Whitestag, he did everything for the public good and wanted to use the opportunity to advance further in his career.
Be it the acquisition and construction of the naval base or the handover of the personnel from the various departments from the royal capital, he did everything flawlessly and cooperated perfectly.
However, what he did not expect was that in the few months after the former head of administration, the head of finance, and the head of patrolling police were arrested and removed from office because of the opening of the new route, he inevitably did some ridiculous things. He treated the financial department of the town hall as his own personal vault and wantonly squandered and embezzled some money.
When the development plan for Whitestag was announced, he realized that something was amiss and hurriedly made up for his mistakes.
But as time passed, he couldn't remember where he spent most of his money and could only make up for it according to the total amount.
If Whitestag was still under the jurisdiction of the prefectural capital, Mayor Robert might have been able to get away with it easily.
All he had to do was give the auditors from the prefectural capital a few small gifts and treat them to meals.
However, the auditors were all sent by the royal capital. To them, finding the problem was their own merit. Mayor Robert's methods wouldn't work on them at all.
Besides, every position was a trap. There were many people in the capital who had their eyes on the position of the new military port, and they were eager for Mayor Robert to give up his position …