The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

The man's expression turned cold.

“Lungmen Dollar is what I need. I believe you can understand what kind of profits such a universal currency can hold, and what kind of temptation it has for a middleman like me who travels between countries.”

"For me, as long as LMD can circulate in Terra, my earnings will at least double, and may even increase in the future—so even if it means working for Da Yan Bai temporarily, I'm willing to use my connections to promote this currency as much as possible."

Witt nodded slightly.

No businessman could refuse this.

"Then come to Ursus..."

"You've misunderstood that point. In fact, the Great Yan doesn't value the Ursus market that much."

Qiao Yelan shrugged.

"Laitania has opened up, and five of the seven duchies of Victoria, as well as Lontinim, have accepted Lungmen currency—our trade routes have already reached Columbia to the west, and there is no need to detour through Ursus."

Witt sighed; what the other person said was also a question he had been pondering.

Given the current situation, Da Yan really has no need to negotiate with Ursus. Putting aside the almost-fighting war back then, even from a purely profit-driven perspective, Ursus wants to join the Lungmen Dollar system, while Da Yan may not be interested.

"The only reason I'm here is because I've run into some trouble in Kazimierz."

“Kasimir…”

"Those greedy pigs... ironically, their industrial system is the best in Terra, and these guys have been playing both sides, making their businesses incredibly successful."

Qiao Yelan cursed in disgust.

"If I don't want to always be outdone by these guys, I have to find a way to kick them out of the LMD system—"

"Ursasga not joining the LMD system is not important to me, but the absence of those troublemakers in Kazimierz is very important to me."

Chapter 168 Qiaoqiao's Magical Electric Meter

"Alright, now that we know your plans—let's talk about our deal."

“Excellent, Your Excellency Speaker.”

Qiao Yelan nodded in satisfaction.

"So, which part would you like to start with?"

"...What do you need?"

“I need you to keep the nobles in check—in Parliament.”

Speaker Witt paused for a moment, then shook his head.

“That’s impossible. Even when His Majesty and I were in perfect harmony, it was difficult to achieve this, let alone now.”

"No, what I mean is—you must oppose anything that the nobles support, and guarantee that it will absolutely not pass."

Qiao Yelan waved his hand.

“As I said, His Majesty will provide the venue, and the workers will come from the Imperial Ministry of Labor. I will provide the funding, as well as the industrial machine tools and production lines—I want to ensure that the other side cannot use political means to bring me down.”

Witt nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, if the steps outlined in that plan were actually followed, the nobles' business acumen would likely be quickly undermined—after all, what could you expect them to do with the pigs that were being carried out after Vladimir's senior brother fell?

So the only option these guys have is to use underhanded tactics.

"That's achievable, but we need the military's support—after all, these guys have an army, and we need to be wary of them really breaking off relations."

"Don't worry, the Grand Guild of Nicholas is on our side."

Qiao Yelan's words made Witt's eyes narrow, but he still suppressed his curiosity.

Because there are more important questions to ask.

"You said you could give me an... army, is that true?"

"Of course it's true, it's just that there's no official position."

Witt shook his head with a serious expression.

“The organization is not important, the quantity is important—we are not nobles, and according to imperial law, we cannot have private armies. Dozens or hundreds of guards are fine, but a large number of soldiers will definitely give us a handle to use against us.”

"Speaker Witt, first of all, I would like to ask you, what is your definition of the military?"

Qiao Yelan countered with a question.

The speaker was taken aback, opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.

"The training cycle for a qualified soldier is generally between six months and one year. During this process, they will improve their physical fitness, receive weapons training, combat training, and obedience training."

"Therefore, we can think about this issue from a deconstructionist perspective: Can a large group of strong, armed, obedient, and combat-trained people be considered an army?"

Witt was somewhat confused, but he nodded nonetheless.

"I'm sure you know what a factory assembly line is. It's about piecing together parts one after another until it's ready to leave the factory, and that's when it's called a product. Before that, nobody thinks it's a complete product."

"And the same goes for the military."

Qiao Yelan smiled and spread her hands.

"If we improve the physical fitness of a large group of people and train them in obedience, others will not think it is an army—but as long as they undergo assault combat training and weapons training, they will be an army, won't they?"

"But weapons and combat training don't take six months to a year."

The Speaker still looked somewhat puzzled.

Qiao Yelan's words gave him a sense of something, but it also seemed like he hadn't quite grasped it.

Do you think a group of workers meets both the criteria of being physically strong and obedient to orders?

Witt stared at Qiao Yelan, dumbfounded.

"You see, although it's nominally an industrial reform, it's nothing more than improving production efficiency, setting production standards, and consolidating small factories. Whoever's factory it is, it will still be their factory; whoever's workers it is, they will still be their workers."

“Nobles can seize their serfs and fill them into the army, so why can’t you arm your workers as an army?”

Qiao Yelan's voice was so alluring that it opened a new door for this petit-bourgeois gentleman.

But behind this door lies either heaven or hell—

That depends on the individual.

---------------------------------------------------------

It took Speaker Witt three whole days to process the shock that Qiao Yelan had given him.

Then he resolutely decided to join Qiao Yelan's plan.

Once everyone reached a consensus on the most crucial part, all that was left was for Qiao Yelan to continue his charade... to keep making empty promises... and to keep swindling money.

"Your approach has a lot of room for implementation, but the problem is that we lack enough free people to become workers, and most people would rather farm."

Witt discussed the matter with Qiao Yelan with great enthusiasm, without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction or negligence.

"Of course I know that there may not be enough workers, and agriculture cannot be neglected either—but look, aren't there still serfs?"

"serf?"

"Yes, why is the royal family still able to maintain basic industrial production? Isn't it because His Majesty Fyodor still holds the Imperial Ministry of Labor in his hands? I think you still remember the predecessor of this department."

Qiao Yelan explained slowly and methodically.

"If you convert as many serfs as possible into free people, and these people have no basic means of production—I mean, they have no seeds, no pack animals, no farm tools, no houses—what kind of land can you expect them to cultivate? They can only go to factories, right?"

“But only the nobles still have serfs; the other serfs have long been converted into free people by His Majesty Vladimir.”

Witt was somewhat disappointed.

"Then go buy, cheat, rob—as for that serf brand, just dig it off."

The man said calmly.

"But wouldn't that expose us? The nobles won't accept such a futile attempt to cover it up."

"Have you forgotten what the Imperial Ministry of Labor is all about? As long as we insist that this is a registered free citizen of the Imperial Ministry of Labor, what can the nobles do?"

Witt slapped his forehead; how could he have forgotten that Fyodor was on his side this time?

"We'll just pay His Majesty a head tax when the time comes. As long as he can get the money, His Majesty doesn't care whether the wealth he creates comes from serfs or free people."

"...But the nobles will eventually realize what's happening. We can only do this for a short time at most, and then it won't work."

"That's none of my business, but to be honest, do you really think the nobles care about serfs?"

Qiao Yelan yawned.

"You know how many serfs His Majesty Vladimir bought back then and then made them free. You think those serfs are very important, so you treat them like treasures, but in the eyes of the nobles, aren't they just serfs?"

It really is.

Speaker Witte was also blinded by concern; he forgot that to these nobles, serfs were like weeds, growing out of the ground.

"I have no objection."

"Alright, then it's your turn to show some sincerity—"

Qiao Yelan smiled and extended her hand.

Speaker Witt's face twitched, and he reluctantly took out his checkbook to sign it.