Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

But in today's Ursus, medical care is not so popular.

As a place where soldiers were referred to as "gray cattle", except during the reign of Vladimir, at other times, if the nobles or officers could feed their soldiers well, it was considered as "loving their soldiers like their own sons".

Not to mention civilians - with such treatment for soldiers, Ursus does not have to worry about the problem of recruiting soldiers. This shows the treatment of normal civilians living here.

In other words, some businessmen with small assets or nobles can use the [hospital].

The reason why Fyodor would consider this is certainly not because he is a natural investment attraction saint who would kneel on the ground and beg foreign capital to settle in the local area.

It was because he felt that this business would not allow Qiao Yelan to give him such a generous "political donation".

“Is the medical industry worth your attention?”

He pointed out the problem directly.

"I know that you have been working hard for Da Yan's Longmen Coin project. The profits of this project are astronomical. Do you think that by showing goodwill like this, you can help Da Yan gain an advantage in the negotiation with Ursus on the circulation of Longmen Coin?"

It is true that he is short of money, but he cares more about the hen that lays golden eggs.

"Your Majesty, you are wrongly accusing me. The reason why I have been able to hold so many official positions and maintain good relations with so many superiors is because I have always done things one by one, never done anything to benefit myself at the expense of the public, and never implicated several superiors for no reason."

Qiao Yelan said this, but he felt relieved in his heart——

It's a good thing that Fyodor isn't barbecued pork.

"My visit this time has nothing to do with the Longmen Coin Project. This is a matter of national interest. Your Majesty will make his own decision, and I will not interfere. The reason why I was so busy last year was because the place where I was sent as an envoy was not worthy of being called a country, and there was no emperor who could really make the final decision."

Every emperor would love to chat with Qiao Yelan——

Every.

"The reason why I want to choose this path is because I know that the Ursus Empire has great industry potential to be tapped."

Fyodor showed an interested look. If what Qiao Yelan said was true, it meant that he still had taxes to collect.

He nodded slightly, motioning Qiao Yelan to continue.

"The medical industry has never been about only curing illnesses and saving lives. Your Majesty should still remember that when Vladimir the Great was still alive, he purchased a large amount of medicine for his army and trained a large number of military doctors. This greatly increased the probability of the wounded returning to the army, allowing the late emperor's army to retain a large number of veterans."

"For an army, veterans are the guarantee of combat effectiveness. Similarly, veterans are also the seeds of a new army. The fact that the late emperor was able to win so many wars and rapidly expand the size of his army is closely related to the construction of a battlefield medical emergency system."

Fyodor knew this was true, but it was not a solution that could be used now.

"The Empire does not have enough energy to increase funding for the military now."

"It's just that there is no plan for the time being. If Your Majesty is willing, I am willing to fully support an experimental troop reorganization. Once Your Majesty sees the results, he will naturally not refuse."

Qiao Yelan smiled slightly.

"I have said that even if we see results, the Empire does not have the energy to increase funding."

Fyodor frowned. He didn't believe that Qiao Yelan couldn't hear the underlying meaning of his words - Ursus didn't have the money to do this, not that they didn't want to do it.

"Your Majesty, I have also said that I am willing to make all-out advance investments until Your Majesty sees results. Back then, Your Majesty Vladimir faced Ursus, which was ten times poorer than the current empire. But why did the late emperor have enough capital to push this forward?"

"That's naturally because-"

Fyodor's words were suddenly interrupted.

"That's of course because His Majesty Vladimir gained enough benefits in the subsequent war to further promote this matter!"

Qiao Yelan smiled faintly and finished Fyodor's words.

"The minister said that he is willing to wait until Your Majesty sees the results."

The emperor's eyes became much more serious. He had already understood that what Qiao Yelan meant by "seeing results" was not the increase in the army's combat effectiveness, but "victory in the war."

His father went from being an unpopular prince to the only candidate for the crown prince. Even though his status had changed, his foundation still had to be rebuilt step by step. Even with the support of His Majesty at the time, it still required a huge amount of money.

Vladimir's first pot of gold came from the [Battle of the Four Emperors].

Although he doesn't have such extra income now, he has a lot of foundation. He is not like his father who had to start from scratch.

It is impossible for every son not to want to be like his father and even surpass him.

What's more, he is the emperor, and his father is such a glorious man?

What's more, this path has been proven by his father to be completely feasible?

I now have a foundation, what I lack is the first capital investment - and now, Qiao Yelan just happened to be here.

Fyodor took a deep breath, only in this way could he suppress his inner excitement.

This was probably his destiny - when he was only a sum of money away from his father's starting point, Qiao Yelan came to him with the money.

"Qiao Yelanqing, an army that is too small is not enough to see results."

"Your Majesty is saying that we need at least an army group to truly verify this matter."

"But my army now lacks more than just a medical system."

"Your Majesty, an army will not only have a medical system, but also other systems, such as logistics systems, command systems, etc. All systems complement each other. In order to allow these systems to be properly embedded and connected with the medical system, I am naturally willing to support the construction of all other systems."

"Are you really so sure? This is a lot of money."

"I have another way to make money, but I haven't told Your Majesty yet. If Your Majesty is interested, I am sure I can do it."

Fyodor's eyes flickered, and he became alert again. He paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Qiao Yelanqing, feel free to speak up if you have any ideas."

"I think that there are actually many crude aspects in the empire's industrial system. Although the heavy industry can be regarded as the best in this land, the light industry is really difficult to match the status of the empire."

"Because of this problem, the empire's productivity cannot guarantee the empire's internal needs at all - every year the empire has to take out a large amount of precious gold reserves or natural resources to exchange products with neighboring countries."

Qiao Yelan said very solemnly.

"The most despicable among them is Casimir. They have occupied the streets and alleys of Ursus with the products produced by their vigorous industry. While taking away the wealth of the empire, they have also further suppressed the empire's local industry, making the development of light industry even more difficult."

The emperor couldn't help but nodded. This was one of the reasons why his father stayed behind. However, Ursus was now in a situation where a good cook could not cook without rice.

All the problems boil down to two words: no money.

"I think it's not that there is no market in the empire, but that the market has been occupied by goods from other countries. If the empire wants to take back these markets, it must use lower costs or better products to squeeze out all these imported goods!"

Qiao Yelan took out a memorial from his arms and handed it to the guard beside him.

"In the early stage, we can use lower costs to produce more products that are not excellent but usable, and compete for the market through price wars. After that, we can turn to pursuing technology, improve quality, and then use quality to consolidate the market, eroding it step by step."

"Although it will take more time, it will be a long and inevitable process. What's important is that there will be no side effects in the process."

Fyodor took the memorial and read it carefully - perhaps he read the will his father left him to this extent.

Then he raised his head, looked at Qiao Yelan, and spoke word by word.

"Qiao Aiqing, you are truly a great man."

Qiao Yelan just bowed politely.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your compliment. I am just a down-to-earth businessman who works hard."

Chapter 166: The Troubles of Middle-Aged Werther

Looking at the plan in his hand, Fyodor clenched his fists and suppressed his excitement.

This is a complete industrial reform program.

It’s not that no one has written something similar. After all, Ursus’s deformed industry has been going on for decades and it’s not a “hidden disease”.

But the biggest difference of Qiao Yelan’s plan is that it is feasible.

It is not based on imagination or money, but on making use of what is available, adapting to local conditions, and relying to the greatest extent on what Ursus itself has to complete this plan.

That's why Feodor has such a high opinion of Qiao Yelan.

If Qiao Yelan was just a "speculator" in his eyes before, then now he is a truly excellent minister.

But at this point, Fyodor could only secretly feel it was a pity.

"Qiao Aiqing's plan is very good, very good."

He emphasized his love for the project—and then came the “but.”

"However, my control over the empire is still insufficient, especially in terms of industry. Apart from the Ministry of Labor, my proposals for appointments to almost all other relevant departments will inevitably be rejected in Parliament."

"But Speaker Witte is not..."

Qiao Yelan made an expression of surprise.

"My dear minister, you said before that you wanted to contact me through Witte, but I didn't hear any relevant information from him. I think my dear minister Qiao knows what this means."

Fyodor sighed and regretted that there was nothing more frustrating than having a good plan in front of you but not being able to even press the start button.

Qiao Yelan also fell into silence. For a moment, one could hear a pin drop in the study.

"...If that is the case, Your Majesty, then we can only cede some of our interests to Speaker Witte in exchange for his support for the new industrial policy."

The man's voice sounded again, with some support at first, but then it became more and more firm.

Fedor ignored the "we" in this sentence. He didn't even think there was anything wrong with what Qiao Yelan said. Now all his majesty's attention was on Qiao Yelan's magical words.

"Why Werther?"

"Because Witte has no army, Your Majesty, his support comes from the Ursus Empire. Once the empire falls, everything they have will vanish into thin air, so they must rely on the empire, and therefore they hope that the empire will become stronger."

Qiao Yelan gave his answer very pointedly.

"But the nobles are different. They all have their own armies, their own fiefdoms, and their own mobile cities. They don't want the empire to become stronger, but rather they want it to become weaker. Victoria's example is bloody!"

"Once they know about this plan and it is implemented, they will definitely give priority to expanding their own industrial strength. Their own territory is sufficient to support an industrial system. At that time, they will look forward to becoming the next Grand Duke of Kaster!"

Fyodor couldn't help but nodded, Qiao Yelan's words touched his heart.

The nobles only wanted to tear the empire apart, but Witte at least wanted to be a paperhanger.

"But if we allow Witte and the others to get involved, won't their power expand too much and lead to a situation where they can't get rid of it?"

"So, Your Majesty, we must leave a backup plan, a backup plan that can remove the firewood from under the cauldron."

Qiao Yelan had obviously thought of a solution.

"People like Witt only see the expansion of factories and the increase of production lines, which are the real growth of wealth. However, these things need workers to operate!"

Fyodor immediately understood what Qiao Yelan meant.

Imperial Ministry of Labor!

As long as the workers' mobilization is mastered, the lives of these people can be controlled. When they realize that if they do not compromise with the emperor, they will face a situation where no one is available, they will naturally begin to learn to be obedient.

"Your Majesty, if you want to implement this plan, you must bring Speaker Witte in. And if you want to bring Speaker Witte in, then the Imperial Ministry of Labor will be the most important card to check and balance the other party!"

Qiao Yelan's face was serious.

"I know a lot about Labor Minister Yegor. He is a real veteran. He can tactfully and smoothly reject anything that is not in his favor, while keeping his opposition in a way that does not annoy anyone. Only people like him can resist the erosion of Witte and his gang."

The emperor recalled Yegor's previous performance and suddenly realized that it was true.

The rejections that made him uncomfortable and even annoyed before, as well as all kinds of negative treatments and lip service - now it seems that this guy dares to do this to him, there is no reason why he would not dare to do this to Witt.

It turns out that garbage is just a resource placed in the wrong place.

When he thought of this, all of Fyodor's previous concerns about Yegor disappeared, and he even looked forward to what kind of expression Witt would show when he faced this guy later.

"But... a person like him will definitely put his own interests first in everything. How can we guarantee that Yegor will not be won over by Vittorio?"

The emperor's mind was quick. He really didn't care about loyalty, but he was very clear about which positions people had to be loyal.

"Your Majesty, Lord Yegor already has a family, and he loves his daughter very much."

The corner of Qiao Yelan's mouth curled up in an icy arc.

"Your Majesty, do not worry about this matter. I will let Yegor 'voluntarily' hand over his wife and daughter, and then stand by Your Majesty wholeheartedly."

Fyodor looked at Qiao Yelan deeply.

"I heard that you had a good personal relationship with Yegor before?"

"When I was a merchant, I naturally had to maintain a good relationship with Lord Yegor - but when I became your majesty's lackey, I naturally would not form cliques with other ministers."

"Okay, then I'll leave this matter entirely to you."

Fyodor was very satisfied with Qiao Yelan's answer.

The plan was proposed by Qiao Yelan, and Yegor was in a very important position - if these two people joined forces to fool him, they could really keep the lid on it.

Qiao Yelan has no roots in Ursus and doesn't have much friendship with Witt, which means he can only rely on himself.