This world is not short of people with vision, and in the afternoon, Tang Mo received an aristocratic visitor—an Earl.
The visiting Earl was not particularly special; he was just very wealthy—that Earl was a confidant of the Dorne King, and it was he who had introduced Strauss to the Dorne King.
Previously an Earl, he had been promoted to Marquis for his rits in introducing Strauss and for donating a substantial amount of money to the war effort.
Of course, his easy promotion to Marquis also indirectly indicated sothing—the Dorne King, too, had entertained the idea of ascending to Emperor.
This Marquis with a unique vision excelled in investing; he had purchased a sizable share in the workshops controlled by the Great Tang Group early on, which ant he had beco a shareholder of Great Tang Group's subsidiaries.
This made him extrely wealthy and also cented his resolve to stay in line with the Great Tang Group.
When one catches the wind of the tis, even a pig could fly, no? Moreover, this Marquis, he was certainly not a pig.
"May I inquire what urgent matter brings the Marquis to ?" Tang Mo's ti was actually very precious, as he dealt with many issues every day, so the chances of him eting soone privately were not plentiful.
Even inside the Great Tang Group, many people joked that to warrant a eting with Tang Mo, one probably had to be of king's status.
Of course, if soone was wealthy and willing to invest, Tang Mo didn't mind spending twenty minutes for a good chat.
"My lord, I have co this ti to inquire... whether you have considered selling a football team?" The middle-aged man known as the Marquis of Bailu went straight to the point as he spoke.
Clearly, he knew that Tang Mo's ti was extrely valuable; normally, when Tang Mo was willing to et soone, he preferred getting straight to the point, without any frivolous banter.
He was simply too busy; the ti spent posturing and pretending depth could be better used designing a couple of blueprints to earn more money.
"A football team? Haven't I already released the rules for forming a basketball team? If you're interested, you can recruit your own people, form a team... just pay an entry fee of 100,000 Gold Coins, and you can participate in the upcoming competitions..." Tang Mo looked directly into the other's eyes and spoke candidly.
"I wasn't referring to the basketball team, though... I am indeed forming a basketball team. However, this ti my visit is to talk to you, to discuss matters concerning a football team," clarified the Marquis of Bailu.
"A football team? The Marquis is interested in a football team too?" Tang Mo was surprised, for he hadn't expected anyone to be so eager to delve into the football scene at this ti.
Honestly, it's a moneymaking circle, and a very lucrative one at that. The earlier one enters this circle, the more likely they are to make even more money.
Once the sport develops, or more accurately, under the inevitable support of Tang Mo, each team would beco sought-after.
Tang Mo had originally planned to sell these teams at that ti, to maximize his profits.
But he truly hadn't expected that in this world there would be such bold and insightful smart people. The Marquis of Bailu before him dared to invest in the not-yet-widespread football enterprise.
"Of course, I'm very interested," the Marquis of Bailu earnestly replied.
"The Wolves are not for sale; they are currently assets of the Earl of Northern Ridge, and I cannot agree to that…" Tang Mo thought carefully before he set limitations upfront.
Upon hearing what Tang Mo said, the Marquis of Bailu's eyes imdiately brightened. He stood up abruptly from his seat, his voice uncertain as he probed, "Does this an, you agree to sell a football team?"
"Of course, why not? For a high enough price, I rarely have items that are not for sale," Tang Mo declared his stance.
"I am willing to pay 2 million Gold Coins to acquire the Brunas City Victors!" The Marquis didn't aim to buy the winning Wolves from the start; he knew that was unrealistic.
However, more than a championship, what he saw potential in was the title of the Brunas City Victors! He keenly sensed that the na was the truly valuable part of the team.
"You know I'm not short on money," Tang Mo said, a statent he had wanted to utter for a long ti and now could confidently use to show off. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "2 million Gold Coins for the naming rights of the Brunas City's team seems a bit childish, doesn't it, Marquis?"
"Then... Mr. Tang, how much would you be willing to sell the Brunas City Victors for?" The Marquis of Bailu felt his wallet was likely to take a hit.
"5 million Gold Coins! You can pay in installnts! I know you have many assets in Dorne, I can accept land, real estate, mines…" Tang Mo quoted what was certainly not a low price outright.
"To be honest, even if soccer developed into a sport five tis its current size, this price wouldn't be considered cheap."
However, while the Marquis of Bailu hesitated, Tang Mo added sothing that made his heart skip a beat, "I don't mind if you change the Brunas Victory Team to the Brunas Bailu Team... and I can guarantee that there will be only one team in Brunas City..."
"Deal! My lord! 5 million Gold Coins!" It took the Marquis of Bailu just three seconds to make his decision.
"You've made the right decision! Trust , the future value of this team will definitely exceed 100 million Gold Coins." Tang Mo said with a smile as he reached out his hand.
Those who were familiar with Tang Mo or had dealt with him knew his rules well; the Marquis of Bailu imdiately extended his hand and shook hands with Tang Mo.
The Marquis of Bailu had many industries under his control, including textiles, and he had been considering how to market his brand. Soccer opened an exciting door for him.
When the Brunas Bailu Team played their gas a few months later, his industries would also be repeatedly ntioned along with the Brunas na, which was exactly what he needed.
In his view, spending 5 million Gold Coins to bind his industry to the famous Brunas City was definitely not a loss.
Moreover, if the team were to win the championship, he would gain additional benefits, including tangible economic returns and extra reputation.
"Thank you! Mr. Tang! I will never forget your kindness." The Marquis of Bailu, choosing to believe Tang Mo's words, truly believed that he had gotten a bargain, so he beca even more humble towards Tang Mo.
Then, on the evening of the day the Marquis of Bailu left, a super-rich individual from the Songmu Kingdom made the sa decision.
He owned nearly all of the saltpeter mines within the borders of the Songmu Kingdom and was also an important partner of the Great Tang Group.
The purpose of this elf Earl's visit to Tang Mo was the sa as that of the Marquis of Bailu. He too saw the potential in soccer and wanted to invest early to gain an advantage.
Recently, with the support of the Great Tang Group, the elf had traded his saltpeter mines for a variety of other industries. For instance, a significant part of the Earl's industry now included food.
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As he was undergoing restructuring and had accumulated so spare cash, the elf Earl aid to acquire the only remaining team in Tang Mo's possession that had played in the first round—the Jade City Team.
Naturally, Tang Mo did not refuse the request of this astute individual, selling the Jade City Team to him for 5.5 million Gold Coins.
Almost the mont the transaction intent was confird, the Jade City Team acquired a new na: Jade City Songmu Group Team.
There was no helping it. Influenced by the Great Tang Group, many nobles and wealthy rchants with significant industries had recently started rebranding their industries as XX Group.
This was a trend. Nas like consortium, which seed to pale in the face of 'group,' appeared quaint and hardly usable anymore.
Suddenly, XX Groups sprouted like bamboo shoots after a rain, and the term 'group' beca less venerable and sacred due to its overuse.
Regarding this matter, the Great Tang Group didn't have a good solution, because now, even a slightly larger steel slting workshop would dare to claim the title of X Steel Group...
Besides, those imitating Great Tang Group were not rely small enterprises; the Ice Cold Group from Ice Cold Kingdom, the Southern Group from Dorne Kingdom, and a coalition of tycoons from the Leite Kingdom who had ford a joint group, were all substantial in size.
Although small in scale compared to the Great Tang Group, these groups genuinely deserved to be called groups, and there was no denying that.
In fact, Tang Mo had been pondering recently whether he should split up his various businesses to make them appear more independent.
Right now, Tang Mo's holdings spanned from low to high, including food production in Brunas and Dragon Island, ore processing such as steelmaking and forging, machine tool production, power and energy generation, entertainnt-related industries, the erging sports industry, luxury art goods, military industry, pharmaceutical and dical industries, automotive industry, shipbuilding industry, to banking and financial industries...
Any one of these industries, taken separately, was a group in its own right; thus, confining them under Great Tang Group seed unfavorable for the expansion and developnt of these industries.
Therefore, Tang Mo intended to reorganize Great Tang into a higher existence, leaning the core leadership circle towards a more reclusive background.
After all, the size of the economy he controlled had beco so vast that his key subordinates now wielded power greater than the kings of kingdoms. Staying behind the scenes was safer for him and his subordinates...
At least on the surface, it would make Great Tang Group appear less intimidating.
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