Chapter 174 If you want to do great things, you must first make the emperor interested
After eating and drinking, we came out of Wangluo Garden.

Zhou Tieyi and Feng Zikuan were also seen off respectfully by the merchants.

But it’s just different from before because of power.

When we left, everyone felt more sincere.

Using power to pressure people and using profit to move people is nothing more than this.

This time, Feng Zikuan did not ride in the same carriage with Zhou Tieyi. He had already finished today's important business, so naturally he needed to go back and report to the emperor.

Zhou Tieyi was sitting in his own bicycle, with a large box next to his seat.

This is a specialty of Jiangnan, and it is extremely valuable. Feng Zikuan has a share, so naturally Zhou Tieyi must also have one.

Since the Railway Chamber of Commerce is beneficial to the country and the people, Zhou Tieyi dared to say it in front of Feng Zikuan, meaning that he is not afraid even if this word gets to the emperor.

Naturally, the heads of the Chamber of Commerce did not dare to regard the two million silver coins as a kickback from Zhou Tieyi. The things in this box were the kickback.

Zhou Tieyi opened the box.

Colorful light overflowed from inside.

There was a large stone wall inside, which was exactly the same as the one he saw in Wangluo Garden, but not as large. There were actually two dragon seals on this stone wall.

"You really know how to behave."

Zhou Tieyi smiled silently.

He closed the box, and the colorful light faded away.

The reason why all the major chambers of commerce are asked to send their financial officers to the Railway Chamber of Commerce today.

The reason is still the same.

When the Zhou family set up the Railway Chamber of Commerce, they had no intention of making money directly from it.

Wouldn’t it be nice to make money by subcontracting the contract to Huwei Bingfang?

It is legal and in compliance with the regulations. As for making money directly from a major event that benefits the country and the people, will it leave a flaw in this good thing and be criticized by the world?
Since we want to do it in a formal way, we naturally have to establish a system that is more reasonable than the current chamber of commerce so that everyone can be convinced.

Moreover, although two million and one hundred thousand taels may seem like a lot, it is only enough for starting capital.

I'm not just doing a one-time transaction.

After the two million and one hundred thousand taels are invested, a formal railway line with the hope of making a profit will be built first. Once the accounts are clear, we can naturally raise funds again.

As for issuing bonds and stocks to the entire Daxia, this is not realistic now. It will take at least ten years for us to establish a complete banking system covering most state capitals of the country, and at the same time, the entire railway system must operate normally and gradually turn losses into profits. It will no longer be a concept on a piece of paper. Only then can we effectively raise funds from the private sector.

At that time, you can point to the dozens of trains coming and going and tell the people that I used the money you invested to build this thing. That will be much more convincing than bonds or the like.

Otherwise, it would be like moving a piece of wood to establish trust. If you don’t even have the wood, how can you expect people to trust your bonds and stocks?

I do know a lot of tricks to get something for nothing, but I can't use them on the Railway Chamber of Commerce, otherwise I'd be picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.

Therefore, for the initial funds, he could only use his power to force the large chambers of commerce to provide them. For the mid-term funds, he could establish the Railway Department and target the national treasury while consolidating political power.

The later funds will be raised from the private sector, and the loan credit will be maintained by dividends. As long as the dividends can cover the interest on the loan, the snowball effect can be infinitely rolled over until the railway system is fully built, at which time one can make money without doing anything.

This is a clear path, there is no need to mess around.

After dealing with the Chamber of Commerce, Zhou Tieyi thought for a moment and said to the Gongshu disciple who was driving the self-driving car, "It's still early, let's go to Tianbao Tower first."

Tianbao Tower is not a legitimate business, and from time to time it relies on its connections to suck blood from big businessmen. Otherwise, those big businessmen lose hundreds of thousands of taels of silver at each table, so who wins in the end?

I know I will lose every year, but I still lose money every year. Even a fool would know that there is something wrong.

Could it be that the businessmen are defeating themselves?

Some things cannot be brought to the surface, it's enough for everyone to know them.

Because Tianbao Tower is not engaged in legitimate business, real businessmen will not inform them of today's Chamber of Commerce gathering. Even if they are on good terms with Tianbao Tower on weekdays, or even try to curry favor with Tianbao Tower and buy off relationships, when the critical moment comes, the boundaries between everyone are clearly drawn. This is an interest group.

But if you don't come to Tianbao Tower, I, Zhou Tieyi, will go there on my own. I still remember that I have pledged my lovely little servant to you in Tianbao Tower. If I don't take advantage of the situation to suppress you, my reputation as a playboy will be wasted.

Zhou Tieyi picked up a set of prepared uniforms and changed into them in the car. Of course, he was not only going to Tianbao Tower to make money today, but he also had another thing to do to avoid trouble in the future.

······
As soon as Zhou Tieyi came out of Wangluo Garden, after a cup of tea, Simin Mansion had already received the news and even knew the content of what was discussed in Wangluo Garden.

Even if the heads of the chambers of commerce were thinking about Zhou Tieyi, they dared not hide their true feelings when faced with the inquiries from the Simin Mansion.

Fortunately, Zhou Tieyi had said in advance that nothing could be left unsaid, and he was considerate of them.

Dong Xingshu looked at the pieces of paper in front of him, on which Zhou Tieyi's words were clearly recorded.

He picked up the two documents next to him and read them again. One was the business page of the newspaper, and the other was the share certificate of the Railway Chamber of Commerce.

There is no problem with both documents. They are clear and straightforward, without any conspiracy or intrigue.

So this is an open conspiracy, and it is the most difficult problem to solve!

After thinking for half an hour, Dong Xingshu instructed his son, "Go and invite Tang Anshi, the Minister of Education, Zhang Shizhong, the Priest of Imperial Academy, and Wang Jizhen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Elephants, to come to the mansion to discuss the matter."

Dong Xiude bowed and was about to leave. Dong Xingshu raised his hand and said, "Wait."

He thought for a moment and said, "Go and notify Si Lufu and ask Qing Kongming to come. Oh, by the way, didn't Che Wenyuan's student you mentioned last time go to the Railway Chamber of Commerce? Ask him to come as well."

The matter of "Tianjing News" not only concerns their Confucianism, but also the Legalists. Naturally, they cannot just let the Confucians find a solution and let the Legalists reap the benefits, so Dong Xingshu notified Qingkong Ming.

The Railway Chamber of Commerce is even more of a new thing, and he still doesn't understand what a train means or what its function is.

Just now when he was in deep thought, he tried to use the Taoist method to deduce the changes in the Railway Chamber of Commerce, but was hindered by another powerful force. This was enough to attract his attention.

"Yes."

Dong Xiu De took the order and retreated.

On Yujing Mountain, in the Xuanfa Hall.

Now that His Majesty the Great Xia has officially begun to practice Taoism, he has been spending more and more time here.

Although it was a bit hot at the foot of the mountain, it was still cool on Yujing Mountain.

The brass mountain and river cauldron continuously spewed out wisps of mist, dyeing the ground a frosty white.

The Emperor of Daxia and the Lord of Daming Palace sat opposite each other, with clouds and mist falling at their feet. Sometimes they turned into mountains and rivers, and sometimes they turned into the sun and the moon across the sky, which was very interesting.

When His Majesty the Great Xia gathered his mind, the light in his eyes dimmed a little.

The Lord of Daming Palace also finished his work. Seeing this scene, he smiled and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. You are learning more and more, but you are losing more and more in the pursuit of the Tao. Losing more and more, until you reach inaction. Inaction can lead to everything, and the Great Dao is expected."

The Great Xia Emperor naturally knew that what the Daming Palace Master said was reasonable, but as the power in the world gradually slipped away from him...

This feeling is really wonderful.

The Great Xia Emperor said to himself.

However, he remained calm on the surface and retorted, "Time is the same as Tao, it neither increases nor decreases."

The Lord of Daming Palace smiled but did not respond.

Hearing the two people talking, the palace servants waiting outside knew that the two had finished their practice. The eunuch Su Xibi, who accompanied them in reading, walked in respectfully, "Your Majesty, Feng Zikuan requests to see you."

"Feng Zikuan..."

His Majesty the Great Xia said softly, he probably guessed what was going on.

At this time, the Lord of Daming Palace bowed and said, "Your Majesty is handling government affairs, and it is inconvenient for me, a layman, to be present."

After saying this, without even waiting for the emperor to speak, he stood up, bowed and said goodbye, with a very firm attitude.

The Emperor of Daxia did not stop the Lord of Daming Palace and nodded slightly.

He just sighed again in his heart that the Taoist's ability to grasp the right measure seemed to be a natural ability.

Then he said to Su Xibi, "Go and bring him in."

The Lord of Daming Palace walked out with Su Xibi.

Feng Zikuan met the Lord of Daming Palace and was the first to bow and salute, "Greetings to the Lord of Daming Dao."

The Lord of Daming Palace nodded slightly as a response, and did not speak much to Feng Zikuan, as if he came to this palace just to help the emperor practice Taoism, and he did not participate in any other matters.

Feng Zikuan did not think that the Daming Palace Master was wrong in his conduct. Others were truly immortal figures, and even he, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was nothing more than an ant or a mayfly.

Following Su Xibi into the Xuanfa Hall, Feng Zikuan first kowtowed and said, "I wish Your Majesty a prosperous future."

The Great Xia Emperor stood up, his brocade robe raising clouds of mist, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Feng Zikuan honestly recounted what he had done today with Zhou Tieyi, including the matter regarding the Railway Chamber of Commerce.

Although His Majesty the Great Xia guessed that Feng Zikuan would talk about the Tianjing News today, he did not expect that there would also be a Railway Chamber of Commerce.

This was somewhat surprising to him.

What was even more surprising was that Zhou Tieyi openly said in front of Feng Zikuan that the Railway Chamber of Commerce was a major event that would benefit the country and the people. That was to say this to him in a tactful way through Feng Zikuan.

"It's interesting. He wants to borrow flowers to offer to Buddha."

His Majesty the Great Xia smiled.

In fact, even if Zhou Tieyi embezzled some money through the Railway Chamber of Commerce, he would not find it strange or even reprimand him. At most, he would keep a note of it in his mind and settle the score later.

But the four words "benefit the country and the people" are not easy to say.

Once it is said, it is almost like issuing a military order in front of oneself.

His Majesty thought for a moment and said to Feng Zikuan, "From now on, you will report to me once a month regarding the matters concerning the Railway Chamber of Commerce."

This is what Jane means to the emperor.

Feng Zikuan sighed inwardly and understood why Zhou Tieyi did this in front of him.

As subjects, they often think differently from the monarch.

If a minister wants to do something well, he must first make the monarch interested, so that he has a chance to gain the monarch's support.

Zhou Tieyi didn't dare to report the uncertain situation of the Railway Chamber of Commerce to the emperor, which is why this happened today.

Compared with getting His Majesty interested and at the same time being able to connect it to the four words of benefiting the country and the people, what are the two million taels of silver?

······
When the bicycle stopped in front of Tianbao Tower and Zhou Tieyi got out of the bicycle.

There was chaos in Tianbao Tower.

Now, among the stewards on the first floor of Tianbao Tower, who doesn’t recognize Zhou Tieyi’s appearance?
Ever since Zhou Tieyi established his authority in Tianbao Tower and began to stir up the situation in Tianjing.

Everyone looked back and suddenly realized that Tianbao Tower's handling of the situation was very appropriate.

At least the bomb did not explode in Tianbao Building.

In comparison, the loss of some reputation and several sixth-grade elixirs that day, these costs even made the major owners of Tianbao Tower feel that they had made a fortune, and they all praised Yan Zhen for handling the matter properly.

But it hasn't even been a month yet, why is this evil star coming again!
Inside the Tianbao Tower, the chief Feng Shui master Yan Zhen was the first to receive the report from his subordinates.

Even though he handled it properly last time, I often broke into cold sweats when reviewing it these past few nights.

If I had been a little more arrogant at that time and let Zhou Tieyi cause a commotion in Tianbao Tower...

The series of changes in Tianjin today will probably create endless variables. In such a huge vortex, I don't have Zhou Tieyi's ability to mediate between the Emperor, the Empress, and the Three Officials.

The only result is that this fifth-grade Feng Shui master himself will be shattered to pieces!

"Manager Yan, Manager Yan."

The person who reported the incident couldn't help but urge twice. The evil star of the Zhou family was already at the door, and there had to be an explanation. What if he broke in again and killed anyone he caught? Then would Tianbao Tower still be able to do business?

"What is he wearing today?"

After coming to his senses, the first thing Yan Zhen did was to ask what Zhou Tieyi was wearing.

"It's a set of blue shirt and casual clothes, without a sword."

Hearing the servant's answer, Yan Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You go and inform the Seventh Prince about this matter. I will go and block it first."

If it were before, Yan Zhen still had the confidence that he could stop Zhou Tieyi by himself.

However, even Che Wenyuan from Taixue College was unable to handle the Spring Thunder Talisman from Yujing Mountain, so he didn't dare to bet whether Zhou Tieyi had the Spring Thunder Talisman with him today.

Zhou Tieyi stepped into the lobby on the first floor. The power of the earth veins was still used for lighting here. Carved wooden beams were stacked layer by layer to build a high-rise building that looked like a heavenly palace. On the painted walls, colorful flying figures held real relics, chasing the illusory sun and moon, reversing the time and space in the pavilion and making people unaware of the changes in the weather.

"Zhou Zongqi."

Yan Zhen was wearing a sapphire blue silk dress. This time, when facing Zhou Tieyi, he actually trotted over.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "It's not my time to be on duty, so there's no need to call me 'General Flag'."

Yan Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, upstairs in the Tianxiang Pavilion..."

Zhou Tieyi sneered and interrupted, "What's so fun about Tianxiang Pavilion? It's full of vulgar people."

Yan Zhen did not refute Zhou Tieyi's evaluation. Although even a hero could not resist the temptation of beautiful women, the Hu girl in Tianxiang Pavilion was indeed not as beautiful as Zhou Tieyi.

"Why did Mr. Zhou come to Tianbao Tower?"

"Of course I'm here to win money."

Zhou Tieyi showed a kind smile on his handsome face, with eight neat and white teeth. "I remember I lost a book boy in Tianbao Tower. This time, I came here mainly to win it back. Manager Yan, do you think I can win it back today?"

Yan Zhen's heart, which had just been put at ease, was lifted up again.

Sure enough, those who come are not good, and those who are good will not come.

If you want to get Zhou Tieyi out today, you will probably have to pay a heavy price.

Fortunately, he had already informed the Seventh Prince. He only needed to delay Zhou Tieyi for a while and wait for the Seventh Prince to come, and then he could complete the task.

Of course, during this process, just let Zhou Tieyi win a few times to make him happy and don't let him overturn the table.

Thinking of this, Yan Zhen's smile remained unchanged, "Of course I can win. My Tianbao Tower is open just to let all the guests return with a full load."

"I wonder what Mr. Zhou wants to play today?"

Zhou Tieyi looked at Yan Zhen and said with a smile, "Let's play a simple game. Roll the dice to guess the size. You are the banker and I will guess."

After three sticks of incense.

When the seventh prince Li Hao rushed to Tianbao Tower, he found that the largest gambling table on the first floor was already surrounded by people.

All the gamblers were like crazy, shouting, "Open, open, open!"

The roars were like a tide, making the whole building seem to tremble. The scorching air waves rose from everyone's heart and spread to the surroundings. Even the seventh prince Li Hao felt a little stuffy.

The guards around him pushed aside the crowd to allow Li Hao, who was dressed in brocade clothes, to walk to the gambling table.

How could this happen?

Didn’t you, Yan Zhen, say that you could handle it and hold Zhou Tieyi back until you arrived?

How come you become like this after just three incense sticks!
There were only two people sitting at both ends of the huge gambling table.

Zhou Tieyi was wearing a green shirt embroidered with orchids, with her long black hair draped over her shoulders. A flying phoenix headband held up one side of her hair, while the other side fell naturally, not covering her eyebrows.

He was in a casual posture, with one hand supporting his chin and the other hand playing with the pile of silver. "Four, five, six, big, Manager Yan, why don't you open the dice."

On the other side, Yan Zhen's face was gloomy, not at all as relaxed as at the beginning.

Today's game is played specifically for Zhou Tieyi. The purpose is of course very simple, which is to give Zhou Tieyi money.

But there are also rules about how much silver to give.

The rhythm at the beginning is also completely in my own hands.

Zhou Tieyi only bet one or two taels of silver at the beginning. After winning hundreds of taels of silver, he only bet half of his winnings each time.

What follows is a back-and-forth struggle of wins and losses.

However, when Zhou Tieyi's total winnings reached 10,000 taels, the situation suddenly changed!

After ten thousand taels, Zhou Tieyi would bet all of it every time, and he could accurately guess the number of dice he wanted every time.

This is no simple matter.

I am a fifth-rank Feng Shui master. Feng Shui originated from Yixue. The fifth rank is called "changing hexagrams". With the help of external forces, I can change the environment to a certain extent, thus leading to different results.

It was easy for him to conceal and change the dice in the dice cup. When Zhou Tieyi began to break the tacit understanding between the two, he also tried to use the power of Feng Shui to conceal the dice cup. Logically speaking, even if he was a fourth-grade practitioner, as long as he was not proficient in the Yixue school, he should not be able to see through his dice cup easily.

But Zhou Tieyi did it with his eighth-grade ability!
Then you only have one other option, which is to change the outcome.

On the premise that Zhou Tieyi knew the result, he destroyed the tacit understanding between the two, broke the rules, and changed the result!
In this case, Zhou Tieyi would lose all the money he earned today.

But the result was that Zhou Tieyi lost the one or two taels of silver he brought with him, and as the chief steward of Tianbao Tower, he broke the rules!

The most important rule of betting on the size of a dice is that you can conceal the secret and let others guess the result, instead of rolling the dice twice!

For ordinary people, if this rule is broken, it is broken. Anyway, no one has the ability to challenge Tianbao Tower.

But today the one I’m facing is Zhou Tieyi!

Since I broke the rules, would Zhou Tieyi use this as an excuse to make trouble for me and set the rules for me, thus causing greater complications?

Yan Zhen had already made several predictions in his mind, but even the predictions were not stable. There were too many and too big things involved in Zhou Tieyi, and it was simply beyond the ability of a fifth-grade Feng Shui master like him to see through them.

He looked at the 160,000 taels of silver that Zhou Tieyi had already won on the table. If he followed the rules and lost this time, he would have to lose a total of 320,000 taels. Even if he was the chief steward of Tianbao Tower, how many rounds could he lose?

(End of this chapter)