Chapter 127: Strategic Alliances and Maneuvers

Chapter 127: Alliances and Maneuvers

Once Li Hongshen had finalized his strategy, he began contacting the lords on his list, following the leads provided by Li Fugui’s territory.

The first person Li Hongshen handled was the representative from the Huo family. As anticipated, there were no fundamental conflicts between the primary leaders. Through mutual compromises and concessions, Li Hongshen successfully persuaded them, securing an initial victory.

Next was the representative from the Yu family. Since Li Hongshen was, in a sense, half-affiliated with the Li family, he had to show respect to maintain the interests of the noble houses; otherwise, he risked being perceived as looking down on the Yu family. After a series of interest exchanges, Li Hongshen signed several cooperation agreements with them, such as technical exchanges regarding lightning-based witchcraft scripts and the allocation of certain market shares.

However, Li Hongshen hit a snag with Hui Lu from the Eighth Domain. The discussion was supposed to be private, but the man brought along a group of allies, intending to pressure Li Hongshen and use him to boost his own reputation. Li Hongshen said nothing at the time; he was willing to suffer a minor loss if it meant reaching an agreement. But Hui Lu had no intention of negotiating; he only wanted to demonstrate his "toughness" and capability in front of his allies.

Li Hongshen remarked to Li Fugui that the man was dim-witted. He had taken the conflict between noble descendants and commoner descendants too seriously—he might have had some ability, but he lacked vision regarding the bigger picture. After withdrawing, Li Hongshen added the man’s name to his personal notebook and marked it for special attention.

Thanks to Hui Lu’s propaganda, the outside world soon learned that Li Hongshen was attempting to lobby others, ostensibly failing and losing ground while Hui Lu had "successfully" protected his domain’s market. Li Hongshen did not immediately retaliate by attacking the Eighth Domain’s bomb-pellet market, as the timing was poor and could easily be exploited by his detractors. However, he could not let it slide, lest he appear weak to others. He joined forces with the Huo and Yu families, using their sales channels to flood the Eighth Domain with products, supported by aggressive advertising and steep discounts. He hit Hui Lu so hard that the man became overwhelmed and was finally forced to back down.

Li Hongshen continued to accompany Li Fugui and other seniors to negotiate and compromise with various lords.

The entire process took over a decade. It was filled with resistance, compromise, quarrels, and concessions, yet Li Hongshen managed to keep the situation contained within the middle and lower ranks, ensuring that the senior students were not directly involved. This earned him the favor of many seniors, who provided him with help—offering a hand or putting in a good word—which allowed Li Hongshen to quickly finalize numerous agreements and resolve the crisis.

Perhaps because Li Hongshen had successfully broken the rules of the Elite Association, a series of consultations led to him becoming an official member ahead of schedule, forcing those who wanted to challenge his status to retreat. Most crucially, he had the support of Du Zhe, the chairman of the Elite Association in the Endless Wilderness, a deacon of the association, and a bigwig from the Fiftieth Domain. After meeting with Li Hongshen and arranging matters for the Elite Association members in the Wilderness, Du Zhe spent several days communicating with the deacons and directors in the main world, ultimately changing the association’s rules. Henceforth, any Elite Association member entering the Inner Domain would automatically gain official status. Li Hongshen was the first beneficiary of this rule.

The reason for this change was that after a decade of farce, Li Hongshen had directly integrated the bomb-pellet industrial chain at the Forty-fourth Domain assembly point. He contributed the first version of his bomb-pellet technology, authorizing numerous lords to produce them under unified sales, while using his own factories to crush the markets that had resisted him. Relying on this surging production capacity, he united other lords and expanded sales routes, generously sharing the profits so that everyone involved could prosper. Ultimately, those who opposed him were mostly interested in wealth; once Li Hongshen let them taste the sweetness of profit, many switched sides.

As for those who cared more about fame or simply disliked him, he used strategic maneuvers to pit them against rivals, moving their attention away from himself. By the time Du Zhe announced the new rules, these opponents had neither the opportunity nor the energy to organize resistance. Li Hongshen had secured his position as an official member.

***

Li Hongshen lay on a beach chair atop his city lord’s mansion, wearing nothing but swim trunks. Beside him was a parasol and a tea table with a glass of iced lemon tea, a slice of lemon perched on the rim.

"Everything has finally calmed down," Li Hongshen said. "Logically speaking, we’re all new lords in the same alliance; why was there such fierce internal competition? After years of playing these power games, we still came out on top."

Li Fugui, lying in a neighboring chair with two slices of watermelon over his eyes, replied, "Just be content. Before you arrived, every domain was relatively harmonious, and even conflicts were tacitly kept under control. You show up, and for the first few decades, you just stir up trouble at our assembly points and start projects. But ever since you created those bomb-pellets, the entire Elite Association has become chaotic. And do you really think those people were troubling you for no reason? Have you ever wondered why your path to becoming an official member was so smooth?"

Li Hongshen chuckled and tossed an ice cube at Li Fugui. "I’m just a whetstone used by those unscrupulous old men outside, aren't I? They wanted me to be a catfish to stir up the water. Those shameless adults are as crafty as they come. I was just a low-key, handsome little lord who liked farming and kept to myself. They wanted to liven up the Endless Wilderness so they could watch the show from the sidelines. There are still a few blockheads who don't get it and are still running an 'Anti-Li Hongshen Alliance.' Do you know how hard that is for me? I was handed a protagonist’s script, but those greasy old men insisted on making me play the villain. If I hadn't made it clear to Du Zhe that I was done with it, they’d still be goading those bastards to come after me."