Additional preparations

Isaac, Miranda, Agnes and Ki began to discuss the preparations to be made towards the various parts of Wolfden city and the village but also many other things.

Countermeasures were put in place to store supplies in a safe location where it would not be damaged by the flood but also the mines where the prisoners who were serving their sentence were being held needed to be made so that either the prisoners would be able to continue their work or they would have something else to do.

Ki thought for a moment and said. "In some of the more difficult to contain places where the flood will enter the mines and be affected the most.. it would be best to make preparations to keep the water from reaching the entrance or any gap in the mines. If we cannot prevent that then they should be shut down temporarily to avoid the deaths of the workers who are working in those harsh conditions."

Isaac asked with a conflicted look on his face. "If we can properly arrange things then they should be able to continue their work even if the work hours are reduced but transportation would still be difficult to arrange."

Ki replied calmly. "Then we also need to waterproof the storage where everything is stored until it can be transported at a later date. Although the ores will not be too affected by it, there is also the salt mines which we need to be be more careful with."

Miranda asked. "What about the locations where our efforts haven't been enough to overcome the weather? What should we do about the workers or the prisoners?"

Ki was deep in thought and then responded. "Get them to help digging and assisting to reduce the damage done by the flood. If there is any heavy lifting or other skills that they are capable of doing then other tasks can be assigned to them to assist in other ways."

Agnes looked at her granddaughter and smiled as she thought. 'My granddaughter knows well on how to best make use of people even when things become difficult to sustain their current jobs or lifestyle it seems.'

She was impressed by her granddaughters thoughtfulness towards this issue since during this time, the prisoners or workers may begin to revolt after having their daily lives disrupted or weakness was revealed by their captors.

If that happened then it would be disastrous and a lot of damage could be done but now that steps were being taken to ensure that the prisons and mines were still going to run smoothly even during the flood or if they aren't, there are still things put in place to avoid the worst possible outcome.

Isaac looked at Ki calmly and then asked. "What about the selling and buying of the luxury goods and grain? We cannot purchase so many items all at once and not avoid any suspicion. Even when they are sold, there may be someone who will wish to investigate the source. This could be problematic."

Ki took out several contracts and debt receipts from nearby and showed them. "Do you have any idea what these are?"

Isaac looked at them and said. "It couldn't be?"

Ki nodded and explained. "The most common way to take over someone's property without them realising but also turn their own people against them would be entrapment. This tactic targets their guards, workers and even those in a managerial position into a trap to build up a large debt. Once a person is ensnared, they have no choice but to drag others down with them for fear of their debts being exposed or their family being used as collateral. This tactic lures in vulnerable people and then gets them to lure their colleagues into it too and as this happens more control is gained by those who set up this trap. There are also cases where the owner of the business is caught up in it too but the people just leave the business in their hands to keep running smoothly while they keep the business ownership contracts and the profits. This is a common tactic used by those within the Unorthadox Alliance and Blood Sect or just various criminal elements in general to gain control of various vulnerable businesses and avoid being investigated. Although they do not have their name connected to the stores, they still have complete ownership of them but will not be exposed so long as the certificate is not discovered among their belongings. This way they can avoid any investigations if the businesses become under any suspicion and still keep the profits that have been earned."

Agnes frowned and then said. "How did you get your hands on these?"

Ki sat back in her chair and explained. "Some of the deeds or certificates have been obtained through offering some support to failing businesses or small to medium sized merchant groups that were on the verge of shutting down… the rest of them and the debt receipts have been obtained through Marilyn after she and Nox had wiped out many of their enemies or gained control of some other gangs or mercenary groups in different places."

Agnes patted her chest in relief. "So long as you are not resorting to such unfair means then it is fine."

Ki rolled her eyes and said. "Of course not."

If this was still her previous life then she would have not hesitated in using these kinds of tactics but now she had to fulfil her responsibilities and the expectations of her family along with her grandmothers teachings that was against using dirty tactics like this.

She was no longer the elder of the Blood Sect but the heir of the Bombyx family so she had to resist using such means when she needed something to be accomplished.

However the Bombyx family had a great strength and that was that it was trustworthy and had a lot of money.

Investing in a failing business and helping it renovate and improve its profits in exchange for the deeds or certificates, helped the previous owners keep their place without much interference but when a request was made it would not be a difficult task that would bring them harm.

Although this tactic wasn't so sinister as the other, it did have various grey areas that could be thought of as manipulative or illegal if the laws in this land were as strict as the Capital.

However even in the Capital, many others use these tactics whether it be someone from a noble family who is expanding his assets while still trying to remain in the dark from his family or even a prince who wishes to hide his true power from his competitors.

This tactic is easily usable so long as the true owner that has the certificates or deeds is not exposed and a third party handles the exchanges between both parties.

However outside of the Capital where the laws are more loosely enforced, many people and businesses are vulnerable to such plots being used by other businesses, private's investors, debtors or even gambling halls.