The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"So, you're here to solicit sponsorships?"

"I'm here to find shareholders."

Qiao Yelan corrected.

"Because I'm the one who sponsored it."

This left Witt speechless.

"You'll pay?"

"Provide the money, the machine tools, and the skilled workers."

Qiao Yelan shrugged.

"Your Majesty, please provide the land first. Once the factory is repaired, the Imperial Ministry of Labor will provide the personnel."

The speaker remained silent for a moment.

"...Then why did you come to see me? Didn't you already prepare everything?"

"Oh, I came to see you because I need to take back all the smuggling routes and concentrate the supply here... Unfortunately, most of the smuggling routes are actually with the nobles, and only one is with you."

Qiao Yelan flashed a bright smile, almost making Victor faint with anger.

The smuggling route introduced by the other party could be easily brought back by Qiao Yelan as long as he could offer the same price—but that would mean offending someone.

Qiao Yelan clearly wanted to steal business, but didn't want to take the blame, so he kept chasing after me so openly, making it seem like he needed my help.

Today's performance is the most crucial one—because as long as Qiao Yelan leaves today, and then suddenly intercepts the smuggling route afterward, the nobles will immediately be able to connect him, Witte, with this matter.

Furthermore, with the new industrial reforms targeting the nobles' industries first, Wieter naturally had an incentive to do so.

You have both motivation and ability, so isn't that you?

Unfortunately, Witt had already secretly spread rumors that Qiao Yelan was a political broker—which actually cleared Qiao Yelan of suspicion that he was the one who did it.

He glared at Qiao Yelan through gritted teeth.

This isn't just labeling anymore; the other side is practically throwing a pot of shit at your head.

What's worse, because of his own hesitation and indecision, he ended up taking a huge dumping ground for himself.

Witt loosened his collar, took a deep breath, and then spoke again.

“Tell me your plan.”

The costs have already been paid—the most important thing now is not to vent emotions on Qiao Yelan, but to find ways to gain benefits.

Qiao Yelan laughed.

Only then did he open his briefcase, take out the document that Fyodor had shown him, and hand it to Witt.

Witt opened the document and read it very carefully, but the further he read, the slower he became.

Only after he had finished reading the entire document did he look up and examine Qiao Yelan again with a serious gaze.

"This plan is very good."

"His Majesty Fyodor thinks so too."

Vittor nodded. Now it explained why this guy was able to get that Tsar's warrant—he was willing to delegate such a plan to the other party.

"Take your plan and go. I won't be involved—neither will anyone else on my side."

He said it very seriously.

Do you think this plan has a low success rate?

"No, the success rate is very high."

"Is it because you feel the rate of return is not high enough?"

"No, this is a hen that lays golden eggs, and anyone would cherish it and hold it in their arms."

Qiao Yelan nodded knowingly, then smiled.

"That means this plan is too dangerous for you."

Witt's pupils contracted; the other person's words struck a chord with him.

"Your strategic vision is truly admirable—this is a goose that lays golden eggs, but you yourselves cannot hold onto it."

The man even applauded.

No wonder Vladimir valued Witte so much before, just like Prime Minister Cai of the Great Yan Dynasty. Although Speaker Witte has his problems, his vision and thinking have already surpassed those of many others.

Just like the reason Qiao Yelan used to persuade Fyodor to choose to cooperate with Witte's side before—this plan can make a lot of money, so even if we cooperate, we can't cooperate with nobles.

Because nobles really did have knives.

Fyodor can use the money earned from this plan to build up his army, but what can Witt and his men do with it?

Want to make yourself even fatter?

Because Fyodor currently has the authority but not enough money, Witte can still control the emperor. It is also because of this that the nobles are showing him a hint of goodwill, and everyone is maintaining a certain tacit understanding to suppress the emperor's personal army construction projects.

If Fyodor solves the money problem—the next problem to solve will be politics.

"The purpose of this plan is to raise money, and His Majesty Fyodor supports this plan because he is currently short of money and wants to build up his Ursus First Army Group—Speaker, you have a keen eye to see this."

Witt remained silent, staring at Qiao Yelan, somewhat unable to grasp the other's intentions.

Logically speaking, the other party, who had already gained the emperor's trust, should not have spoken like that, much less acted as if they wanted to confide in him.

"But what if I told you that if you joined this program, I could give you a way to have your own army—would you still join?"

Qiao Yelan revealed a slight smile.

Witt suddenly stood up from his chair, which then collapsed onto the floor with a loud crash.

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

A dinner party, where the host was distracted while the guests were in high spirits, was taking place at Speaker Islam Witt's residence.

Qiao Yelan savored the succulent lamb and caviar, while Victor simply chugdled glass after glass of grape juice.

He didn't even dare to touch a drop of alcohol.

Speaker Witt stared at Qiao Yelan until the latter put down his knife and fork with satisfaction.

"Someone is coming."

The waiter approached respectfully.

"Push him along and come with me to the study."

"Yes, my lord."

Soon they entered Witte's study, and the servant bowed and withdrew.

However, this was not the end. Witt turned on the phonograph, selected a melodious cello piece, opened the bookshelf, and pushed Qiao Yelan toward the secret room inside.

Once the door was closed, all sound disappeared instantly, clearly demonstrating the excellent soundproofing here.

Witt sat down opposite Qiao Yelan, still gazing at her for a long time.

"...Why would you say such a thing?"

“I’m a middleman, Speaker Witt, a profit-driven businessman. The more I haggle with you, the more I earn—I think I made my principles very clear during our private meeting.”

Qiao Yelan said calmly.

“Look, I was even working for the Great Yan before.”

Witt neither nodded nor shook his head; he had obtained relevant intelligence about the other party's previous visit to Victoria.

"Then you're willing to work for me?"

"Wasn't I doing things for you before?"

"But you still chose to turn back that smuggling route."

“I can refuse to take it back, but that wouldn’t convince you—Speaker Witt, you’re such an overly cautious client, so cautious it’s giving me a headache.”

Qiao Yelan sighed realistically, then revealed a half-smile.

"However, perhaps it is precisely this caution that has allowed you to avoid revealing any flaws in front of His Majesty Vladimir?"

"Your plan—the whole plan?"

Witt didn't respond, but continued asking questions on his own.

"I'm sorry, there's really no way to leave a written record. I won't sign anything with you on paper until you cooperate with me—I'm actually quite cautious."

"Then how can you prove that what you said wasn't a deliberate attempt to lure me into a trap, so that His Majesty the Emperor could seize my property, confiscate my assets, and use the money to develop the army?"

"I won't do it because I won't make money doing it."

Qiao Yelan's answer was simple and direct.

"Do I look like someone who enjoys doing charity? Or is it that someone who once served as the Third-Rank Vice Minister of Rites and concurrently the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies in the Great Yan Dynasty would prefer to start from scratch under a new emperor?"

Witt remained silent.

“I’ve said it before, all I care about is money. And being tied to the emperor of any country will make me earn less money, and I’ll have to earn it in even more fear.”

"The purpose of buying an official position is to make more money, and the purpose of showing loyalty to the emperor is to use that loyalty to gain more. I was able to gain the favor of two emperors, which naturally means I have my own abilities."