Chapter 271 Desire is the ladder of progress!
"So this is why he offers such a generous reward."

In the Xianzhen Camp military tent, after figuring out the purpose of the Emperor of Great Xia, many of Zhou Tieyi's confusions about the Emperor of Great Xia were answered. At the same time, a great man emerged in his mind, whose situation was somewhat similar to his own.

Sun Wukong.

"Journey to the West" itself contains some political metaphors, which are even more appropriate when applied to myself at this moment.

When Taibai Jinxing recruited Sun Wukong to heaven, he granted him an official position.

The Jade Emperor, the supreme ruler of the Three Realms, naturally saw through Sun Wukong's background at a glance, but at first he only gave him the job of the Imperial Stables.

To draw an analogy to myself, it was like entering the God-Slaying Division for the first time.

Later, Sun Wukong was dissatisfied with the situation in Heaven, knowing that he was just a minor official in Heaven, so he broke out of the South Heaven Gate and used his background in Buddhism and Taoism to make all the officials in Heaven helpless.

To draw an analogy to myself, that was the first time I showed my value when I shouted "Touring the country, there are no taboos" in Tianbao Tower and suppressed the Confucian Mei Qingchen.

Therefore, not only did the Jade Emperor not really blame Sun Wukong, but after Taibai Jinxing persuaded him to do so, the Jade Emperor stopped the officials in Heaven who were really ready to take action, summoned Sun Wukong to Heaven again, and conferred the title of "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven" on him.

This extremely important title meant that the Jade Emperor favored Sun Wukong and wanted to use Sun Wukong to teach a lesson to the officials in the Heavenly Court who disobeyed his orders.

Unfortunately, the monkey did not understand the ways of the world as well as he did, and did not realize that he was already the Jade Emperor's "jester" and heaven's "lucky minister".

He also did not use the power brought by the title of "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven" at all.

Instead, he wanted to use this name to make friends with immortals from all over the world, discuss Taoism with the Four Emperors, and travel with the Five Elders.

It seems that this monkey is very calculating and has made friends with upper-level resources in heaven by relying on an empty title, but what is the reality?

Is the Jade Emperor satisfied with him?

Do the Four Emperors and Five Elders care about him?
So the Jade Emperor was dissatisfied and sent the monkey to guard the Peach Garden to prepare for the next plan.

So even though they knew the importance of the Peach Festival, not a single one of the divine friends that Monkey had made told him.

The monkey has been in heaven for so long, but he never understood that his real backer was the Jade Emperor who gave him the title of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, rather than the officials in heaven who called him friends every day!
But he was different. The Emperor of Great Xia gave him the shell of the God-Exterminating Department, which was like an empty shell of the 'Monkey King'. He had snatched power from all the officials step by step, making the current God-Exterminating Department above the Great Xia court able to supervise the three departments and review all the officials. He truly lived up to the name of the God-Exterminating Department.

Therefore, he could continue to sit in the position of the God-Slaying Division and work for the Emperor of Great Xia, but Sun Wukong could only leave the position of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

From then on, his path and Sun Wukong's path became different.

In order to prepare for his next plan, the Jade Emperor assigned a monkey to guard the peach garden, a monkey he knew was not obedient. The peaches in the garden were the reward the Jade Emperor gave to Monkey King. Together with the golden elixir from the Lord of Morality, they helped to forge Sun Wukong's indestructible golden body, enabling him to stir up the world for him. At the same time, he found a reason to kick Sun Wukong out of heaven and send him to the mortal world.

Because in the Heavenly Palace, Sun Wukong really could not beat his friends who had been immortals for countless years, and he was fooled around by them.

It’s the same if you apply it to yourself.

The same thing is that the character they have always shown is not honest. On the contrary, they are very greedy. Seeing treasure is like a monkey seeing a peach, and they can't move.

The difference is that I am smarter than the monkey and know what to do.

Therefore, the Emperor of Great Xia bestowed the tiger talisman on himself in advance, and told him clearly that he could take as much as he could from the spoils in the soldier's tomb, and only then would he be able to do a better job for him.

Otherwise, if he only had the art of political manipulation, he would not be able to deal with the "evil spirits" that the Jade Emperor or the Great Xia Emperor were about to bring down.

No matter how precious the peaches are, or how powerful the resources in the soldier's tomb are, as long as the peaches are not exterminated and the soldier's tomb is not destroyed.

For the Jade Emperor and the Emperor of Great Xia, these are all renewable resources and are useless to them themselves. They are used to reward their subordinates.

Instead of cultivating useless people, it is better to create a capable minister at one time.

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong did not understand this truth at the beginning. It was not until the second half of the journey to the West that he truly realized who was pushing him on the journey to the West.

The Buddha, after all, was just following the Jade Emperor's orders.

That's why Sun Wukong's attitude towards the Jade Emperor was rude at first and respectful later, which was laughable.

But while laughing, isn't this also a kind of sadness?

The Monkey King who once shouted "The throne is taken turns, it will be my turn next year" was eventually transformed by the human relationships and the ups and downs of the world into the Fighting Buddha who "has no self, has right views, and has eliminated selfishness" through the experience of the world.

This is the Monkey King of Refining Mind.

After understanding the mentality of the current Emperor of Great Xia, Zhou Tieyi naturally became bolder.

Other people’s inner monkeys become more timid as they are trained, but mine become bolder as it is trained.

The Buddha said that if one eliminates selfishness, one can see Prajna.

But human desires are the ladder of progress!
How can a person without desires make progress?

The Monkey King said something quite right: "The emperor takes turns to sit on the throne. Next year it will be my turn."

Therefore, as long as the saints live, the thieves will never stop.

A saint is a thief in the heart! But he is also the spirit of mankind!
He called Huang Yuquan in and ordered, "Tell the soldiers in the Xianzhen Camp to immediately mine the sunken iron from the soldiers' tombs and transport it back to the Xianzhen Camp."

Huang Yuquan hesitated for a moment and said, "Isn't this a little too blatant?"

In the past, every time the tomb was opened, it was supervised by the emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty. On weekdays, the inside and outside were isolated. Therefore, there was no fear that the evil soldiers in the tomb would privately mine the sunken iron in the tomb, because even if it was mined, you couldn't transport it out.

If the soldiers' tomb is opened next time and the number of sunken iron dug out does not match, it can naturally be found out.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's okay. This is a special gift from His Majesty to me. Please do your job well."

Huang Yuquan had also seen the statue of the White Emperor. Although he did not understand why Zhou Tieyi said that, until now, the intelligence, talent, and ability to rule his subordinates displayed by the new lord Zhou Tieyi were beyond imagination.

The only shortcoming that is not considered a shortcoming is that Zhou Tieyi is too bold.

It was so bold that even this tough general felt like he was determined to stick to his path until the end.

June 16, Huweibingfang, Railway Chamber of Commerce.

Previously, Zhou Tieyi and other families had finalized the sale of the steam printing press.

Although the bigwigs of various families in the court have reached an agreement with him, a top-three spiritual object every three years is not a trivial matter after all.

Therefore, the representatives of various families must also go back and inform their own schools to make this matter completely finalized.

After more than ten days of development, especially now that the price of newspapers has been reduced to two cents per copy, while the sales volume of newspapers is increasing visibly, the various families have finally made up their minds.

Such an important event, whether it is to promote the Huwei Armory or the Railway Chamber of Commerce, Zhou Tieyi feels that it should be held in a lively manner.

Today, there was a lot of traffic outside the Railway Chamber of Commerce. Hao Ren, as the Chamber of Commerce's chief steward, greeted the arriving dignitaries with a beaming face.

Although he had been very busy in the past two months, when he finally reaped the rewards, Hao Ren suddenly felt that all his efforts were worth it.

Every important figure of the third rank affectionately addressed him as "Manager Hao". After all, they also knew that the production of steam printing presses was limited. Although Zhou Tieyi received the patent fee, he had decided to sell it to several mainstream companies indiscriminately.

But which company can get more units depends on their own abilities.

If you get a few more machines at the beginning, it means you can print more newspapers and at least have a certain advantage in terms of quantity.

During this process, it was hard for Hao Ren to think that he was not important.

Just when Hao Ren was receiving many important figures, a servant suddenly whispered in Hao Ren's ear.

Hao Ren made a few excuses and then walked out quickly. "Father."

In the side hall of the Railway Chamber of Commerce, although Hao Ren's father was an imperial merchant and a fifth-rank merchant practitioner, he was still not qualified to sit with the real big shots.

Father Hao looked at his fourth son, whose face was beaming with joy, and nodded slightly, praising him, "Well done."

He had many wives and concubines, and many children. Although Hao Ren had not been very ambitious before, he was still considered good in the merchant family, so Hao's father arranged for Hao Ren to get a position as a small flag officer in the God-Slaying Division.

But who would have thought that Hao Ren would have such good fortune? The changes in just two months were so great that the Hao family had to re-examine this heir who was not very optimistic before.

"Thanks to the general flag for promoting me."

Hao Ren still mentioned Zhou Tieyi's old position to show his confidant's status.

Mr. Hao came to the Railway Chamber of Commerce today. Hao Ren certainly didn't think that his father came to talk to him about the deep father-son love.

If you want to show the deep love between father and son, isn’t there an opportunity during the Chinese New Year or other holidays at home?

I chose to come on such an important occasion because I was sure that the adults would also come today.

Such a suitable festive occasion is perfect for playing the emotional card for yourself and your parents.

It would be even better if there was someone who could mediate between them.

As expected, Father Hao stroked his short beard with a smile, "It's good that you understand this. By the way, Lord Zhou is usually busy with government affairs, and I don't have time to thank you. Today is just the opportunity to thank you. Please find a chance later to introduce me to him."

Hao Ren works under Zhou Tieyi, and his father has already sensed the benefits of invisibility.

During this period, the God-Slaying Division has been investigating the wealthy merchants in Tianjin so vigorously. Although the Hao family is protected by the imperial merchant, the identity of an imperial merchant cannot completely protect against this level of political struggle.

Hao Ren suddenly smiled and said, "Father, let's talk business."

The smile on Mr. Hao's face froze, and there was a hint of anger between his brows, "What do you mean?"

Hao Ren said directly, "I want the two iron mines in Kaiping."

He didn’t dare to fight at home before, but now he has to fight.

This is not only for yourself, but also for the adults to see.

Otherwise, it would be really useless for me to introduce my father to the adults, and instead they would look down on me.

"For one recommendation, you want two iron mines?"

Father Hao looked surprised and looked at Hao Ren seriously, as if he was getting to know his son for the first time.

The son who was timid in front of him two months ago now asked for the two iron mines in the family as soon as he opened his mouth. This was something that even his eldest brother, the family's chosen heir, did not dare to say!
Hao Ren's chubby face didn't care at all. He said calmly, "Father, you have to understand that it's different who introduces whom. I have sold the two iron mines lightly. If it's any lighter, then you will blame me for selling favors cheaply. Let's talk business. Father, you have been a businessman for so long, why don't you understand this? No wonder our family's business has been declining over the years, and father has been hesitating about the fifth rank and not the fourth rank 'Cang Xu'."

After that, Hao Ren bowed to his father and said, "Father, you can drink tea here and think slowly. I still have to go to the main hall to entertain the important people."

After Hao Ren left, Hao's father was left with a look of surprise. For a moment, Hao's father didn't know whether he should be happy about his son's change.

After a long while, Father Hao came back to his senses, half relieved, half sighing, "When a man is away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes, and this son is no exception."

It was almost time for the auspicious moment when Zhou Tieyi came staggering from the God-Slaying Division.

When he arrived at the main hall, he bowed and said, "Everyone, I am late. I am very busy with government affairs in the department and I can't put down my work."

"No, no, Lord Zhou is loyal to the country and diligent in government. He is truly a role model for important officials of Great Xia."

The one who spoke was Taoist Shan Jing from the Taoist department. Of course, he had to take good care of his own child, no matter whether he was lying or not.

With Taoist Shan Jing taking the lead, naturally everyone started to praise him, and for a moment the atmosphere in the main hall became extremely festive.

Hao Ren wanted to invite Zhou Tieyi to preside over the meeting, but Zhou Tieyi waved his hand and said, "Today I am here as the director of Tianjing Newspaper to learn about the great things that happened in Tianjing. I will go back and write a few articles and submit them to His Majesty to show that the various schools of thought have made great progress after deeply studying and understanding the "Policy for the Imperial Edict" and the "Policy for the People's Opinions". They have all enthusiastically published newspapers and made great contributions to the education of Daxia. You are the manager of the Chamber of Commerce, so you should preside over the meeting. I am just listening in."

Zhou Tieyi's words were so high-sounding that everyone present suddenly lamented the value of the third-grade spiritual objects they had spent.

This week, the adults were open and honest, and they really wanted to do something after collecting the things!
Hao Ren declined again and then began to preside over the entire signing ceremony.

In fact, the contract signing ceremony is very simple. The Railway Chamber of Commerce signs a contract with Baijia in the form of a "contract", which stipulates a series of things such as the price of the steam printing machine, delivery time, after-sales service, etc.

Although this had also happened in Daxia in the past, no one would hold it in such a grand and formal manner, with a semi-official nature.

The reason why Zhou Tieyi held such a grand ceremony was to promote modern contract systems and procedures.

In the past, contracts in Daxia were mainly focused on the sale of land and property, which was determined by the agricultural society itself. However, there were fewer contracts for specific, purely commercial activities. The vast majority of commercial activities were still focused on pawning and lending, rather than industrial production activities.

Therefore, the main purpose of promoting contracts for such commercial activities is to pave the way for the development of business and capitalism.

When this modern theory of commercial contracts is promoted and accepted by people all over the world through newspaper propaganda, it will be reasonable for Zhou Tieyi to instigate the Legalists to promote a modern contract law or even a modern commercial law, which is also what the people of the world want.

The Chamber of Commerce managers, headed by Hao Ren, signed contracts with the various schools of thought as legal representatives.

The series of clauses explained in this process opened the eyes of even Qingkong Ming, the son of Si Lu. However, after careful consideration, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with it. Instead, it was more formal than the previous series of contracts.

After reading this business contract, other representatives of the Hundred Schools of Thought also thought about it carefully. They were all very intelligent and of course they could see the difference between the rights and obligations stipulated in this contract.

Qingkongming looked at Zhou Tieyi who was drinking tea seriously and asked, "If the Railway Chamber of Commerce cannot fulfill its contract on time, won't we have to ask Hao Ren for compensation?"

After reading the contract, his biggest feeling was that Zhou Tieyi had taken him out.

Zhou Tieyi waved his hand, "What do you mean by asking Hao Ren for compensation? Hao Ren is only the legal representative. The entity that performs the contract is still the Railway Chamber of Commerce. However, the amount of compensation will be calculated based on the assets owned by the Chamber of Commerce. My Zhou family, or even the shareholders of the Chamber of Commerce, do not bear unlimited joint and several liability. By the way, the third-grade spiritual objects you delivered are the patent royalties paid to my Zhou family, and then the Railway Chamber of Commerce was commissioned to produce the goods. Therefore, the dividends of the shareholders of the Railway Chamber of Commerce only involve the profits generated by the production of steam printing presses, not the patent royalties."

After Zhou Tieyi's reminder, Qingkongming carefully read the contract again.

After all, he is also a shareholder of the Railway Chamber of Commerce. This time Zhou Tieyi collected so many third-grade spiritual objects, and everyone is still wondering how Zhou Tieyi will distribute the dividends.

The other shareholders who had smiles on their faces suddenly stopped smiling.

The veins on Qingkongming's forehead bulged slightly. Even for him, he had to fight for this third-grade spiritual object. "Aren't you abusing your power for personal gain? This contract cannot be signed!"

Zhou Tieyi immediately laughed, "Abuse power for personal gain? The accounts of the Railway Chamber of Commerce have always been public. We can check where everyone's money was invested and where it was spent. I used your money to recruit workers, build factories, produce, and conduct commercial activities, but I never used it to support my Zhou family's public transportation management!"

"The steam printing press is a mechanical technology independently developed by the public transport manager and my Zhou family. You didn't invest a penny in this process, so how can you share the profits?"

After listening to this, everyone thought about it carefully and felt that what Zhou Tieyi said made sense.

Suddenly, more businessmen sighed in their hearts. No wonder Zhou Tieyi made the accounts so transparent from the beginning so that everyone could check them.

It is precisely because they can check the accounts and know where each sum of money has been invested that they are now unable to share the largest share of profits.

Qingkongming's face was gloomy. He thought seriously about the flaws in Zhou Tieyi's words, but he really couldn't think of it!
Zhou Tieyi saw that each member of the Chamber of Commerce had a frown on their face. When it came to distributing the dividends, everyone had this look on their face. Now they didn't dare to turn against him directly. On the one hand, he had made clear arrangements before, and on the other hand, he held the power.

Whether it's talking about reason or comparing tactics, they can't beat us. Of course, we can't keep squeezing our own people to death.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "Everyone, if my Zhou family wants to train any talents in the future, you can also contribute money. When there are results, everyone can naturally share a share."

Invest money to train talents for the Zhou family?
Does this work too?
The people who were still in deep thought looked at Zhou Tieyi in disbelief. If anyone had dared to be so arrogant in the past, they would have definitely spit in their faces.

But what Zhou Tieyi said seemed to make a little sense.

Hao Ren, who was sitting in the main seat, looked at the smiling Zhou Tieyi and immediately sighed, "A master is indeed a master, and he always talks business as business."

(End of this chapter)