Liu Kai Xuan did indeed grant some preferential treatment to Ai Gua and the surrendered pirates.
After their day in court, Ai Gua and his crew were not handed down severe sentences.
Ai Gua, as their leader, received a five-month sentence.
His subordinates generally received sentences of three to four months.
This sentencing standard was practically a general amnesty for pirates who had committed numerous crimes.
At the same time, these few months of imprisonment served as Liu Kai Xuan's "accountability" to the residents of the mining area.
After all, these people were the foundation of Liu Kai Xuan's oil business's growth and strength.
Regardless, his developmental lifeline absolutely could not be severed.
With Ai Gua's case as an example, pirate leaders no longer dared to resort to their old tactics of retaliating against Liu Kai Xuan.
Liu Kai Xuan's aerial power was incredibly formidable. Any retaliatory attacks by the pirates against Liu Kai Xuan were, strictly speaking, suicidal assaults.
Pirates sent on missions would find themselves unable to escape drone pursuit after launching their attacks.
Who would willingly undertake a suicide mission?
If a pirate leader threatened his subordinates to their deaths, they could only surrender to Liu Kai Xuan to save their lives.
But if such attacks were not launched, how could the pirates force Liu Kai Xuan to compromise?
Invisibly, this created a "deadlock" that could not continue.
Some pirate leaders found their development reaching a dead end, becoming unsustainable.
As a result, these individuals took their accumulated savings from years of struggle and fled to distant countries to live as wealthy individuals.
When the bosses absconded with the money, the remaining subordinates could only scatter and fend for themselves.
Numerous pirate gangs disintegrated during this period and headed towards ruin.
The pirate forces gradually declined, while Liu Kai Xuan's maritime fleet grew increasingly stronger.
...
Time flew by, and another half-year passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, Liu Kai Xuan summoned all the senior management of his company to the oil field hotel for a celebration banquet.
The occasion for the celebration was: Congratulations to Kai Xuan Oil Field for achieving its first net profit!
After nearly a year of development and operation, the revenue generated by Kai Xuan Oil Field had essentially covered all the initial investment.
The profits the company was now earning could be considered net profits.
A key reason for Kai Xuan Oil Field's terrifying profits was the company's diversified development model.
In addition to oil extraction, the company had also ventured into oil transportation.
The pirate forces in the Mannia Sea had been driven to their last stand by Liu Kai Xuan.
With unobstructed maritime traffic, Kai Xuan Oil Field's port could not only handle the oil resources of other oil fields.
This, in turn, led to the vigorous development of an economic circle centered around the port.
Previously, due to rampant pirate activity, although the countries in the Mannia Sea had abundant oil resources, it was difficult to transport them to the international market for sale.
They were mostly limited to land transportation, selling to Huolan City in the Thunder Empire.
However, the oil market of the Thunder Empire was controlled by the empire's great nobles.
Oil prices fluctuated constantly, and the oil throughput was limited, not being linked to international oil prices.
This made it difficult for the oil trading market in Huolan City to develop into an industrialized sector.
The trading methods at Kai Xuan Oil Field's port were entirely different.
Firstly, the port's self-established oil exchange handled large-scale oil resource throughput year-round.
Moreover, oil prices were linked to the trends of international crude oil prices.
Of course, the oil exchange also charged a certain percentage commission on each transaction.
However, these fees were all standardized, transparent, and fixed items, and the charging standards were not high.
Selling to the oil exchange was more cost-effective than selling to the Huolan City market.
Concurrently, if one was unwilling to sell to the oil exchange, they could also entrust a shipping company to help transport their oil resources.
This way, more profit could be earned.
Various forces converged on Kai Xuan City, setting up offices to coordinate resource transit issues.
Through this process, Kai Xuan City completely replaced Huolan City's position in oil trading.
Once the maritime transportation industry developed, its economic boost was tremendous.
Currently, the income from oil trading had essentially reached parity with that from the oil fields.
Furthermore, it was foreseeable that in the coming period, the development speed of the maritime industry would certainly far exceed that of the resource extraction industry.
This time, Liu Kai Xuan invited all the key figures in the oil field's development.
They were: Ouyang Yu, the overall head of the oil field.
Chen Qinglong, head of the Kai Xuan City Development Administration.
Kang Sen, director of the Maritime Management Department, and Tang Dong, head of Kai Xuan City's military factory.
It was worth noting that Tang Dong was actually a robot developed by Liu Kai Xuan.
While that was his true identity, his publicly known identity was also a major figure in Kai Xuan City.
Entrusting him with the control of Kai Xuan City's core industries was the most stable option.
Following a period of rapid development, Kai Xuan City's military factory was now capable of mass-producing drones.
This had also significantly boosted Liu Kai Xuan's strength.
After the celebration banquet began, Liu Kai Xuan raised his wine glass first and toasted everyone.
"Everyone, the rapid development of our Kai Xuan City and the brilliant achievements we have made today!"
"Are all the result of everyone's collective efforts. Here, I wish to propose three toasts to express my respect!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone immediately raised their glasses and clinked them together again.
After three toasts, Ouyang Yu said with a smile, "Boss, you're too polite!"
"After all, the rapid pace of the company's development is also inseparable from your strategic vision!"
"I've merely been by your side, doing some miscellaneous tasks!"
"Yes, yes, the company's rapid development is mainly due to the correct strategic direction chosen by the boss!"
"Without the correct development direction, even if we wanted to work hard, it would be difficult to find our way!"
Kang Sen also went to great lengths to flatter Liu Kai Xuan.
However, Liu Kai Xuan did not appreciate this kind of flattery.
"Alright, the reason I invited everyone to eat today is to thank you for your contributions to the company's development!"
"There is also another matter to announce. For the upcoming period, I will be returning to my home country!"
"The development work of Kai Xuan Oil Field will be entrusted to all of you!"
"Ah..."
Ouyang Yu asked, "Boss, you're really leaving?"
"What will we do after you leave?"
"Without you, the core figure, how will we develop in the future?"
Liu Kai Xuan said sternly, "There are many development projects in my home country that require my personal attention."