It's already the 21st century, and I just found the imperial seal

Under the blue sky and white clouds, a gentle sea breeze stirs up waves.

"vomit--"

Zhou Xiaoqiang leaned on the railing, clutched his chest, and dry heaved.

Yue Jiaolong chuckled and patted him on the back, "Brother Qiang, are you alright?"

"I'm alright!"

Zhou Xiaoqiang suppressed his stomach discomfort, saying, "It's just that the boat is rocking back and forth, and I'm feeling a little dizzy."

They departed on April 10th, and have been out of the country for five days.

We've taken three flights along the way, and now we need to take a boat to reach our destination.

As a result, he got seasick, his head was spinning, and he had no energy at all.

"Brother Qiang, if you get seasick, we'll take the land route next time."

At this moment, a burly, dark-skinned man next to him laughed and said, "It's just that traveling by land is very slow; it will take two days."

"It's okay!"

Zhou Xiaoqiang said, "I'll be fine after I get ashore and adjust myself."

After a pause, he added, "Old Yang, this is our first time here. What are the rules? Since we have some time now, could you explain them to everyone in advance?"

Yang Zhibin was their contact person and also their tour guide.

The boss said that he was left behind by the previous gold mine owner, so he could be trusted, but not completely.

However, if he wants to fully grasp the information about the gold mine and successfully operate it, he must rely on the other party.

There needs to be a balance in this!

"Clap clap-"

Zhou Xiaoqiang clapped his hands vigorously and said, "Everyone come over here for a moment, let's hear what Old Yang has to say about the rules of the gold mine!"

Upon hearing this, a dozen or so strong men immediately surrounded them.

Among these people, eight were mercenaries recruited by Yue Jiaolong. They were all ruthless, bloodthirsty, and mercenary.

Although he values ​​money over people, Yue Jiaolong wasn't stupid. He only hired people with good reputations who were willing to do things for money.

These eight people are his core.

He also needs to rely on these eight people to gradually build up the armed force.

The boss wanted to build an army, and as his trusted subordinate, all he had to do was take the money and go ahead and do it.

As for the remaining few, they were Zhou Xiaoqiang's men.

There are managers, finance professionals, and geography experts...

All these people were arranged by their boss, Su Yu, and they are all definitely aligned with him.

There is an old saying.

You will be outside, and your orders will not be accepted.

Su Yu understood the principle of separating military and political affairs.

Yue Jiaolong controls the army, but he doesn't manage the money or supplies.

Zhou Xiaoqiang oversees the overall situation, including the most important finances and resources. He can manage Yue Jiaolong, but he does not directly manage the army.

The two check and balance each other, rely on each other, and depend on each other for survival.

As the boss, Su Yu, although he is in the country, has nothing to worry about.

Seeing everyone gather around, Yang Zhibin's eyelids twitched slightly.

He's a discerning person.

It was immediately obvious that some of them were mercenaries, and they definitely had a lot of lives on their hands.

He was left to his current boss by his previous boss, and if he wants to continue to live comfortably, he must demonstrate some real skills.

"Cough-cough-"

After clearing his throat, Yang Zhibin said, "I don't know if you've ever been to Africa before, so let me tell you about the rules here!"

"First of all, the hygiene conditions here are very poor. Don't drink untreated water, don't eat anything given to you by strangers, and definitely don't have sex with just any black woman."

"Take care of your lower body. AIDS is rampant here, and various viruses are raging. Be careful with everything."

These words had been spoken before we arrived, and everyone nodded and smiled.

They wouldn't even look at a black woman!

It came with two sausages, which were quite ugly.

"Here, do not have compassion, do not have pity, and do not easily trust others."

After easing everyone's tensions, Yang Zhibin continued, "As the saying goes, those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts."

"This is not just a saying; it is a story of countless tears and blood!"

"Of course, we shouldn't trust anyone other than our own people."

"As the saying goes, when fellow villagers meet, they'll stab each other in the back."

"You don't understand foreign languages, and you can't understand what they're saying, so it's not easy for them to fool you."

"But you can understand what we Chinese from the Dragon Kingdom are saying."

"They either have tragic backstories and their own hardships, or they have a way to get rich and want to lead you to wealth."

"Remember, the vast majority of us Chinese who manage to make it to Africa did so because we couldn't make it in China."

"Either they're drowning in online loans; or they're drowning in gambling debts; or they've committed some crime and are wanted by the Chinese authorities."

"Then, unable to make a living elsewhere, I had no choice but to try my luck here."

"If you ever meet them in the future, don't get excited about meeting old friends in a foreign land."

"Back home, if you meet an old friend in a foreign land, at most they'll swindle you out of a little money, they can't do anything to you, right?"

"But abroad, in this lawless place, they want your life, they want your organs!"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, you can rest assured about me."

"Because my parents, my wife, and my children are all in the country!"

"President Su has personally visited my wife and children, so you can rest assured!"

"Although we've just met and don't know each other well yet, we're definitely on the same side!"

Being abroad, in an unfamiliar place, is inherently dangerous if people suspect and distrust each other.

As the contact, he knew how to dispel other people's suspicions.

Not to mention, Su Yu, his new boss, treated him very well, offering him a higher annual salary than before.

Whether for his own sake or for the sake of his parents, wife, and children back in China, he would not easily betray them.

After all, he betrayed them, so no one would pay him such a high salary.

As for their wives and children back home, you can imagine what will happen to them.

The influence of an army that can afford to operate gold mines abroad is self-evident.

He's not someone you can easily mess with.

Upon hearing Yang Zhibin say that he still has a wife and children in China, many people looked at him with more approval.

When people are in unfamiliar environments, they naturally want to stick together for warmth and support.

Having someone you can trust to guide you through the initial unfamiliarity must be great.

Seeing that everyone agreed with and accepted him, Yang Zhibin continued, "Actually, in Africa, you only need to know one word!"

That's ruthlessness!

"Be ruthless to those black guys!"

"If you are ruthless, they will be afraid of you and will obey your commands."

"But if you treat them well, they'll take advantage of you and think you're easy to bully."

"He's always slacking off and doesn't do any work, and he even asks for advances on his salary from time to time!"

"Also, the area around our gold mine is not very safe, and there are occasional minor conflicts with other nearby mines."

"There are also gold thieves who come secretly to mine gold and pan for gold dust; they value money over their lives."

"They generally carry weapons, which is very dangerous."

"If you see them, either ignore them and run, or fire a burst of bullets and kill them all!"

Licking his lips, Yang Zhibin laughed and said, "Life is cheap here. Killing someone doesn't require paying with your life. We just need to compensate the local government with 30,000 US dollars!"

Here, human life is worthless; you can buy a life for $30,000!

Everyone else listened attentively, gaining a better understanding of where they were about to arrive.

This land is an undeveloped new continent.

It's full of opportunities, but also full of dangers. The opportunities are given by the boss.

As the first pioneers to come here, as long as they do a good job, they are destined for a bright future and lots of money!

But they also need to be careful, as this place is fraught with danger.

A bright future is right in front of them; they mustn't risk their lives!
The fact that they dare to come here means they are not afraid of death; they value money over their lives.

But they didn't want to die so young. They wanted to enjoy the money they made and go back to bring glory to their ancestors!
When they disembarked from the ship, a convoy was already waiting there.

In Africa, the roads are bad, and ordinary vehicles simply cannot travel.

Only diesel vehicles have high horsepower and sufficient power.

Smiling, Yang Zhibin opened the trunk of an SUV and said, "The boss asked me to prepare some self-defense tools for everyone in advance, so that everyone can feel more secure!"

The truck bed was piled high with all sorts of weapons.

Pistols, submachine guns, automatic rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and even grenades.

In an instant, everyone understood that danger had begun.

They have to go to work now.

Yue Jiaolong led his men to select weapons first: two pistols and one rifle for each man, along with six magazines and four grenades.

Such firepower is sufficient in underdeveloped regions like Africa, unless they encounter a regular army.

When they encounter those scattered, disorganized soldiers or backward tribes, they are no match for them at all.

Seeing someone holding a sniper rifle made Yue Jiaolong feel even safer.

Aside from regular troops and international assassins, there are very few snipers.

Sending snipers to Africa to fight tribal wars is a complete game-changer.

It took him a lot of effort to find this sniper.

This sniper's salary is three times that of everyone else!
But no one said anything.

Being a sniper isn't something just anyone can do.

With snipers around, their safety level increases several times over.

As for the others?
Before setting off, they all received one to two months of intensive training and were familiar with some simple firearms.

With Yue Jiaolong's help, each person chose a pistol for self-defense.

They don't need to aim very steadily or shoot very accurately.

All they need to do is make sure they have a gun.

When there's time later, Yue Jiaolong will gradually have them practice their marksmanship.

After all, marksmanship, apart from a very few geniuses, is all built up by shooting bullets one by one.

in the country, the control is very strict, and firearms and bullets are contraband, with prices that are shockingly high.

But when you go abroad, in places where human life is cheap, guns and bullets are worthless.

A pistol costs several thousand yuan, while a bullet costs only a few yuan.

Not US dollars, but RMB!
After a short rest, Yue Jiaolong asked everyone to get on the bus.

According to tour guide Yang Zhibin, the gold mine is 70 kilometers away from here!

Zhou Xiaoqiang remained vigilant, watching the scenery flash by outside the window.

Every now and then you'll see a few black men with their upper bodies bare and their feet bare.

These people are generally very thin and skinny.

The gazes directed at their convoy were filled with awe and curiosity.

"This is a small dock, and many people live around it."

Yang Zhibin explained, "These people outside are from nearby tribes. They come here to find work, or to sell the wild game they hunt to us outsiders."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "The people here don't eat seafood because it's not oily. They're already struggling to get enough to eat, so eating seafood will only make them hungrier and more malnourished."

"Knowing we love seafood, they'll send it to us!"

Zhou Xiaoqiang had seen similar news reports: "How about the price?"

"It's very cheap; you can buy a lot for a hundred yuan."

Yang Zhibin said, "There's a small market outside our mine. You can go and have a look around there."

Zhou Xiaoqiang asked curiously, "They use RMB here too?"

"use!"

Yang Zhibin said, "They themselves do not have currency, or their currency is worthless and has no credit."

"Therefore, the vast majority of transactions are conducted in US dollars!"

"But in recent years, more and more people from our country have come out of the country, and the RMB has gradually become popular."

"But there are a lot of counterfeit money on the market, so you need to be careful."

As the tour guide recounted interesting stories about the mine, Zhou Xiaoqiang gradually relaxed.

He had just gotten married, and his wife was pregnant.

Having just arrived, I still feel a bit homesick.

Just thinking about his soon-to-be-born son makes him realize he needs to work really hard as a father.

Don't let your son end up like him, with little education, stumbling through life, wasting half his life, and only turning his luck around when he meets a boss.

He didn't want his son to suffer the same hardships he had endured!

After passing through two strict checkpoints, the convoy finally arrived at the mine.

This place has been built like a military fortress.

There were many watchtowers around, and a black man stood on one of them, holding a weapon and vigilantly watching the surrounding movements.

"We're unfamiliar with this place, so we'll fight fire with fire!"

Yang Zhibin explained with a smile: "We spend some money to hire people from some surrounding tribes to help us manage it."

"Protection fees!"

Zhou Xiaoqiang laughed and said, "I understand!"

"One part of it means protection money."

Yang Zhibin nodded with a smile, "But all these people are slaves that we bought."

"slave?"

Hearing a familiar new term, Zhou Xiaoqiang asked curiously, "Is slavery still practiced here?"

"The tribal system is essentially a system of slavery, with the chief having supreme power."

Yang Zhibin explained with a smile, "Battles happen between tribes from time to time, and the captured enemies are slaves."

“In the past, they were killed directly to sacrifice to the ancestors and pray for the peace of the tribe.”

"But after we arrived, we spent money to buy these slaves."

Zhou Xiaoqiang understood. "So, they're also our slaves?"

"This is their belief, and we can't control it."

Yang Zhibin nodded with a smile, "They were captured by the enemy tribe, no longer the high and mighty warriors, and also lost the right to return to their original tribe."

“We are their masters. As long as we find them a wife and provide them with enough food every day, they will listen to us.”

Zhou Xiaoqiang hadn't expected to have so much power, and quickly asked, "How many of them are there?"

"More than a hundred people."

Yang Zhibin said, "But don't expect them to have any fighting ability; they're all a rabble."

"If one of our own people were in command as a junior officer, the combat effectiveness would be better."

Seeing Zhou Xiaoqiang deep in thought, Yang Zhibin smiled and winked, "Are you thinking of the puppet army?"

"hehe--"

Zhou Xiaoqiang couldn't help but laugh out loud, "It seems there's some truth to that!"

"This is how it is now; it's a colony of various powerful nations."

Yang Zhibin said, "You support an armed regime, I support an armed regime, he supports an armed regime, so that some of the fighting will be kept away from the homeland!"

After saying that, he opened the car door, got out, and shouted in one direction.

"Order everyone in the mine to assemble!"

"The new mine owner has arrived!"

...(End of chapter)