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 merits 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 something—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 meant he had become a shareholder of Great Tang Group's subsidiaries.
This made him extremely wealthy and also cemented his resolve to stay in line with the Great Tang Group.
When one catches the wind of the times, 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 me?" Tang Mo's time was actually very precious, as he dealt with many issues every day, so the chances of him meeting someone privately were not plentiful.
Even inside the Great Tang Group, many people joked that to warrant a meeting with Tang Mo, one probably had to be of king's status.
Of course, if someone was wealthy and willing to invest, Tang Mo didn't mind spending twenty minutes for a good chat.
"My lord, I have come this time 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 time was extremely valuable; normally, when Tang Mo was willing to meet someone, he preferred getting straight to the point, without any frivolous banter.
He was simply too busy; the time 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 time 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 time.
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 become sought-after.
Tang Mo had originally planned to sell these teams at that time, to maximize his profits.
Then, on the evening of the day the Marquis of Bailu left, a super-rich individual from the Songmu Kingdom made the same 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 same 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 some spare cash, the elf Earl aimed 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 moment the transaction intent was confirmed, the Jade City Team acquired a new name: Jade City Songmu Group Team.
There was no helping it. Influenced by the Great Tang Group, many nobles and wealthy merchants with significant industries had recently started rebranding their industries as XX Group.
This was a trend. Names like consortium, which seemed 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' became 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 smelting workshop would dare to claim the title of X Steel Group...
Besides, those imitating Great Tang Group were not merely 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 formed 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, entertainment-related industries, the emerging sports industry, luxury art goods, military industry, pharmaceutical and medical 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 seemed unfavorable for the expansion and development 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 become 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.