Chapter 236: Capital Planning
Under the bright and clear full moon, the night sky seems like a huge hole pierced through the dome, making the bright moon seem even higher and farther away.

The magnificent moonlight fell on the red clothes. Zhou Tieyi sat in the main seat with a faint smile, and the light was unobstructed.

Qian Guangyun's inner throbbing became more and more intense.

No one blinded his mind, so he now felt more and more the surging dangers and opportunities, like waves, which would either lift him up or drown him.

"Please show me, sir."

Qian Guangyun bent his body even deeper.

"Sit down and talk slowly."

Zhou Tieyi pointed to the seat, then took a new cup and poured a cup of tea for Qian Guangyun.

Qian Guangyun carefully sat on the stool with half of his buttocks and took the tea with both hands.

"The so-called monopoly is to gain an absolute advantage in transactions and suppress all challengers to consolidate one's dominant position."

Qian Guangyun thought seriously about Zhou Tieyi's words, and pondered them carefully based on his own experience.

"What about a hostile takeover?"

Zhou Tieyi laughed, "President Qian, you should ask what your absolute advantage is?"

Qian Guangyun's heart began to beat violently.

My absolute advantage...

He looked at Zhou Tieyi under the bright moon, and at the God-Slaying Division in the night.

All along, their Southeast Chamber of Commerce has been in a monopoly position in the salt trade, but the Southeast Chamber of Commerce is the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, and he is him. Even though he is the head of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, according to the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, one person is rotated every three years.

And now, he may have found a new absolute advantage that can help him monopolize the Southeast Chamber of Commerce!

Zhou Tieyi refilled the teapot with water, looking focused, "President Qian, being impartial and abiding by the law is your absolute advantage, don't mess up your position."

"As for those who don't abide by the law..."

Zhou Tieyi mixed the water and put it on the stove, then looked towards the dungeon of the Penal Court. "Then we will also deal with them according to the law. It is normal to keep them in custody for a few months or half a year while investigating the case."

"During this process, their shops are all suspected places of corruption and illegal activities."

"President Qian, do you understand what I mean?"

Qian Guangyun felt dry in the mouth, so he picked up the tea and took a sip.

“That’s why Confucianism says that you businessmen are rootless and floating like duckweed.”

"You find someone to open a store next to these corrupt and illegal stores. I will help you promote it in the Tianjing News. Do you think the people and suppliers will choose a store that may have problems or a store that is praised by the government?"

"In less than three months, you can seize his suppliers, his customers, and even his waiters, and leave him a shop for him to inherit when he returns from prison. Anyway, the first three are people and will run away on their own. It does not count as embezzlement of other people's property. Only the shop is an object and cannot run away. But by then, he will probably beg you to buy his shop for only 10%, or even nothing..."

Speaking of this, the word "righteousness" on the back of Zhou Tieyi's hand felt hot.

Zhou Tieyi curled his lips and waved his hand, "Forget it, give them 30%, just treat them like beggars and leave a good reputation."

I, Zhou, have always been kind-hearted!
Qian Guangyun thought about it seriously, "But this seems to be bullying and dominating the market."

Zhou Tieyi's method is not difficult to understand. Even many local businessmen who collude with officials to seize other people's money use this method.

It’s just that Zhou Tieyi’s strategy added a process in the middle, making the whole thing reasonable and legal.

Zhou Tieyi sneered, "President Qian is teaching me morality."

Qian Guangyun stood up quickly and said, "I dare not."

"sit."

Zhou Tieyi asked Qian Guangyun to sit down again. "I know you are worried, but I want to tell you that the business world is like a battlefield. Benevolence, righteousness and morality can be used, but they are only means, not ends."

"The battlefield is a place of deception, where the strange and the normal coexist, the fittest survive, there is a way to hold it and a way to use it."

"Only those who survived are qualified to talk about morality and ethics. What you call bullying and bullying can be expressed in other words."

Qian Guangyun asked, "What do you want to say?"

Zhou Tieyi smiled but did not answer.

He pointed at the table. "The idiots you mentioned who bullied the market did not unite the majority of people after gaining profits, nor did they optimize the production relations of the entire market. They only thought about collecting surplus value, or even the value of all links, and did not think about liberating and developing productivity itself. Instead, they hindered the development of productivity and even made the original production relations unsustainable, which eventually led to an imbalance in the distribution of social wealth, which was so serious that it affected the production of an industry, a place, or even a country. That's why they all died in the end."

"And if you can solve this problem, then you can survive, all for the greater good."

Everyone understood every word Zhou Tieyi said, but those present began to think more deeply. These words strung together seemed like a dragon seal, explaining a complex pattern that was difficult to fully express with literal meaning.

Everyone has insights, but everyone knows that their insights are incomplete.

The first person to react, of course, was Qian Guangyun, a fourth-rank businessman. He felt as if all his decades of business experience were reflected and verified in Zhou Tieyi's words.

But it comes with more confusion, such as how to solve this "problem".

Qian Guangyun was about to speak when Zhou Tieyi interrupted him with a smile, "President Qian, I have many important tasks to attend to. I can't spend all my time on you. You have to do something first and let me see your value. Go ahead and take over the shops of those lawless elements. This is the foundation of your business and the original accumulation of capital. At this stage, it is normal to use some means, without exception. Just be careful not to get yourself trapped. After all, you have so many people under your command. You don't have to do it yourself."

Qian Guangyun stood up and bowed to Zhou Tieyi, saying, "Thank you for your guidance today, sir. If I have the opportunity to enter the third rank in the future, I will never forget your kindness today."

Zhou Tieyi nodded calmly, then pointed at Wu Qian, "In the next few days, I, a clerk, will come to visit and learn, and President Qian will also need to give some guidance."

Qian Guangyun instinctively wanted to say that he didn't dare. He knew his own abilities, so how could he dare to guide Zhou Tieyi's clerks.

But then he thought, this might be the person sent by Zhou Tieyi to supervise him, so he nodded in agreement.

Zhou Tieyi spoke again, "Go to the prison and pick out a few people who have not had any serious problems and have already explained their tax problems. Take them back and let them see my attitude and your ability. Don't let them get suspicious."

Qian Guangyun nodded quickly. After he left, the scene fell into a weird atmosphere.

Although they were all close to Zhou Tieyi, after truly listening to Zhou Tieyi's understanding of business, they still felt suddenly enlightened, and then fell into even greater confusion.

As a person directly related to this matter, Wu Qian will have to supervise Qian Guangyun's work later, so he must ask clearly and cannot pretend to know.

"Sir, what do I mean by 'learning'?"

The tea boiled, Zhou Tieyi poured a cup of tea for Wu Qian, and then said, "Just go and supervise."

Wu Qian was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that this task was not difficult.

Zhou Tieyi continued, "But it's not about supervising Qian Guangyun alone. Instead, I'll let you supervise the entire business."

"what?"

Even though Zhou Tieyi imagined to himself that night that he would one day reach the third level of "rules".

But Wu Qian still didn't feel he was capable of overseeing the entire business.

Zhou Tieyi did not blame Wu Qian for being stupid. After all, if he did not speak up and help, people of this era would not be able to accomplish this.

He first looked at Mei Juncang, "How is the preparation of the Legal Daily going?"

Mei Juncang replied respectfully, "The Legalists have their own printing bureau and ready-made templates. It is still possible to cover Tianjing only. Once the steam printing press is in place and the workers learn how to use it, it can be disseminated on a large scale."

Zhou Tieyi nodded and said, "The Legal Daily must become an instant success, so what is printed on the first page is very important..." The Legal Daily is different from his Tianjing Daily. Its content is more rigorous, so it naturally cannot use small tricks to attract attention. It must be very strong.

"You write an article on the extravagant and corrupt trends in Tianjing, and then give it to Si Lu, asking him to write another article on rectifying the evil tendencies among officials. Doesn't Si Lu always look down on businessmen? Of course, he has to take the lead at this time."

The reason why Zhou Tieyi asked Qian Guangyun to suppress the basic price of goods in Tianjing for two or three days was not because he was afraid that merchants would drive up prices, but because he wanted to buy time to determine the nature of the matter.

First, make a qualitative assessment and let all the people understand what the real contradiction between us and the enemy is and where the real enemy is, so as to avoid being exploited by those with ulterior motives!

So even if the basic prices fluctuate again, the first thing people will think of is not that it is my Zhou Tieyi’s fault, but that someone is taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble!

If you make trouble again, I will kill you! This is called teaching first and then killing!
As for whether Qian Guangyun has the ability to stabilize prices for two or three days, Zhou Tieyi sneered and thought, if Qian Guangyun doesn't even have this ability, he will really have to take action against him.

Mei Juncang instantly understood the entire thread that Zhou Tieyi had connected.

The Legal Daily did want to split the public opinion rights of the Tianjing Daily. Before that, Zhou Tieyi gave both the people and the machines to Si Lu Qingkonggui.

And that’s not enough, I also want to give you Qingkonggui this success.

Anyway, you Qingkonggui are a member of the Legalist School. Don’t you Legalists advocate farming and warfare?
Then what I am giving you is not only in line with your Legalist thought, but also helps your "Legal Newspaper" accumulate prestige among the people. So even if this matter offends all officials, you Qingkong Gui will do it.

In this way, the pressure Zhou Tieyi faces is much less now, after all, there is a third officer to help him in the front.

But the real benefits cannot all be given to you.

Zhou Tieyi looked at Wu Qian again, "Write a proposal for a luxury tax in the next few days and publish it in the next issue of Tianjing News. The core of this tax law is to levy a tax on a single personal luxury consumption of more than 100 taels, including services, catering and other valuables. The scope will be determined in Tianjing first. As for which items should be taxed and how much tax should be levied, you can discuss it with Qian Guangyun."

As the head of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, Qian Guangyun must know where the bottom line of big businessmen and dignitaries in imposing taxes on luxury goods is.

Wu Qian was slightly stunned.

It took more than ten breaths to connect the whole process.

The Lord stirred up the whole turmoil and even took Si Lu into account, but the biggest... at least a fairly large piece of the cake that was visible on the surface, was actually eaten by himself?
Formulate a complete set of new laws, and then promote them to the whole world, so that people all over the world can abide by them and be able to feed back into the national treasury to achieve the goal of strengthening the country...

This is the road to success of the Legalist "rules"!
Hu Wenlang and Shentu Yuan also thought of this. Their expressions changed slightly. If they had not chosen to follow the path of Legalism, they would definitely be jealous now.

They glanced at Mei Juncang. Among Zhou Tieyi's subordinates, Mei Juncang was the only one who followed the Legalist path and could compete with Wu Qian for this road to heaven.

However, Mei Juncang looked calm. The teacher had already given him the task of 'translating' [Daxia Tianxian], and he could not be ungrateful.

Wu Qian reacted and immediately left his seat, bowing to Zhou Tieyi and saying, "Your Excellency's kindness, I will never be able to repay you."

Everyone who sees this scene thinks it is right, including Miaoyu of Taoism, it is a road leading to the third level.

Zhou Tieyi accepted the salute and said with a smile, "This is the road, but whether you can make it through is your own problem. If you can't make it through, I can only replace you."

"I understand." Wu Qian nodded quickly, "Please give me some advice, sir."

Zhou Tieyi thought for a moment, "Merchants are tempted by profit and persuaded by morality, so it is natural for them to spend lavishly, as long as they pay taxes in full. Therefore, consumption should not only be denounced to prevent extravagance from becoming a trend, but also praised to encourage consumption and tax payment. However, the degree of back and forth needs to be grasped well. If you want to denounce, let Si Lu and his school of legalists say it, and if you want to praise, you can mention it in the tax law. For example, those who voluntarily pay luxury taxes and pay more can be given a plaque that says 'It is honorable to pay taxes'."

“Is this plaque useful?”

Shentu Yuan asked carefully.

He will have to come into contact with these people in the future, and maybe even arrest them, so he needs to understand whether Zhou Tieyi's badge is the "golden medal of immunity from death" from the God-Slaying Division.

Zhou Tieyi laughed and said, "It's useless, at least it's useless to us. Paying taxes is an obligation. Just because you paid taxes honorably in the past doesn't mean you can do wrong things in the future. Let's put things in perspective."

"But it's useless to us. That's in Tianjing. The business of these big merchants is not limited to Tianjing. A sign is enough for them to intimidate local people. In their hands, it will have other uses and make them spend less money. Until everyone understands the value of this sign, by that time, the luxury tax law will have been truly implemented throughout the world."

Shen Tuyuan thought about it carefully and could only sigh, "Your Excellency is wise."

Wu Qian is now full of energy and can't wait to start writing, and then conduct a serious research on how much tax should be collected for each luxury item.

"Yes, my lord."

Zhou Tieyi looked at the luck above Wu Qian's head. The luck gradually changed from red to light gold. The surrounding clouds turned into various treasures, and then were bound by Wu Qian's own clouds, which turned into chains.

His expectations for Wu Qian are more than that. If Wu Qian does a good job on the luxury tax law, he can then help him revise a modern commercial law.

That is the second-class Legalist way to 'strengthen the country'.

So Zhou Tieyi said, "Help me keep an eye on Shangdao."

I do have ideas to help the business go to the next level, but capital needs to be chained.

Wu Qian is the chain he prepared himself.

A second-rank legalist with commercial law as his foundation is naturally unequal to a second-rank merchant, both in terms of practice and reality. As long as Wu Qian works hard enough, he is not afraid of Qian Guangyun escaping from his control!

And this also has great benefits for oneself.

While I was reminding Shentu Yuanzhushensi of his retreat route, why not leave a retreat route for myself?

Now he is indeed the inspector general of the God-Slaying Division, and with the commander Wei Shaoan leading the way, it is enough for him to get through the early stages.

Next is the mid-term situation.

When the power of the God-Punishing Division grows stronger and stronger, and when the reform bears fruit, the Emperor of Daxia will surely meet his end. This is also what he had expected. The God-Punishing Division will surely produce another cruel official, a real cruel official, and this cruel official will not be one of his disciples.

At that time, he also had to face the threats from cruel officials.

How to deal with it?

It is impossible for me to withdraw from the center of power like Shentu Yuan did. If Shentu Yuan withdrew, there would be people to protect him and help him complete the transformation. But if I withdraw, no one will protect me.

Therefore, he could only jump from one power center to another, and this power must be strong enough so that the cruel officials and even the Emperor of Daxia would not dare to act rashly!

So now I have to start thinking about how this power center will be formed.

For example, headed by Qian Guangyun, a private capital group was established to complete the initial primitive accumulation of private capital. Using steam engines, they began to promote the formation of the bourgeoisie and fought against local Confucian land gentry, allowing the Emperor of Daxia to see an opportunity to further disintegrate Confucian forces.

The state-owned capital headed by Hao Ren gradually transformed the Railway Chamber of Commerce into the Railway Department and even the Development Department, splitting the Confucian power in the court.

Then let the legislators headed by Wu Qian establish a new commercial law.

The central government will then establish a complete, modern banking system, cooperate with commercial law, and use both soft and hard methods to restrain the power of capital.

In this way, even if he does not pursue a business career, he will still hold the power over the entire Daxia capital.

If you want to move against me, you will be fighting against a new system that promotes the reform of Daxia. Even the Emperor of Daxia needs to think twice, especially since you are also a participant and promoter of this process, let alone a small cruel official.

A cruel official is always an official, not an official.

In political struggles, what matters is not how useful you are, but how irreplaceable you are.

This sentence is also my amulet.

As long as the system he developed is in its rising period and can effectively enhance Daxia's national strength, and no one can replace him, then relying on this system, he will most likely be able to successfully get through the middle period.

As for whether there is anyone who can take his place...

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said that someone would need to thoroughly understand the operating logic and limitations of capitalism within a few years, and at the same time have enough supporters to operate his own set of logic.

This is not easy.

(End of this chapter)