The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

The problem is... it seems that people don't even resent such exploitation.

Even at that point, their lives would be several times better than they are now.

Looking at the plan in his hand, he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his heart.

He only asked one question—Qiao Yelan could give him a hundred times the explanation, and the interests and thoughts involved were even more shocking.

So, how much did this guy think about in those dozens of pages of proposals?

He lowered his gaze and saw another sub-plan.

"...Why change the 12-hour two-shift work system to an 8-hour three-shift work system?"

"I think you should remember that what makes workers an important indicator for the military is their physical fitness—work can ensure the intensity of their training, but there must be a limit to their working hours, otherwise it may lead to the workers becoming too weak due to overwork."

Qiao Yelan said casually.

"In addition, please turn to page six, where there is another key point related to physical fitness—we must ensure that our diet contains sufficient nutrition, so the factory should provide two high-quality meals during working hours, especially with enough meat products."

"I must remind you of this: collective catering procurement has always been a hotbed of petty corruption. If someone siphons money off it, whether it's widespread food poisoning caused by low-quality ingredients or insufficient nutrition leading to a decline in workers' physical condition, then it's putting the cart before the horse."

Witt nodded silently.

He was unsure whether he should continue watching.

For a fleeting moment, Speaker Witt even considered closing the plan altogether, handing over all the funds and resources to Qiao Yelan, and letting him handle everything while he simply waited for news.

Damn it, if someone's moves are right in front of you and you can't even understand them, what's the point of watching?

If the other party creates a loophole to trap you, will you be able to see it?

If this vulnerability wasn't created by the other side—then it's even worse.

However, he eventually suppressed his urge to give up and seriously read through the plan.

"By the way, it says here that these... uh, [welfare measures], including collective housing, low-priced goods, work meals, and the subsequent construction of hospitals and schools in worker settlements, will all be announced and undertaken by the newly established [Imperial General Labor Union] under the Imperial Ministry of Labor—what exactly does this union do?"

Qiao Yelan smiled.

This is a useful tool we'll be using later. (Image)

Of course, our dear Speaker Witte doesn't need to know such details.

"This is, of course, to shift the blame back onto our esteemed Tsar."

This explanation instantly captured Witte's full attention.

“As you said before, there will be some ‘serfs of unknown origin’ that need to be registered under the name of the Imperial Ministry of Labor. Obviously, you also understand that at this time, it is necessary to shift the blame and let His Majesty the Emperor stand at the forefront and confront the nobles head-on. But the nobles are not stupid and they will know that this is what you did.”

They were uttering treasonous words, but clearly neither the speaker nor the listener cared much about the title of emperor.

"The same goes for the Imperial General Union—currently, after His Majesty Vladimir's death, most of the Empire's industrial heritage is actually in the hands of these nobles. Therefore, most of the Empire's active workers, like the serfs, are in the hands of the nobles."

"Without a doubt, these workers are not fools. They will use their intelligence to ensure their survival. So they will soon find that if they come to work in our factory, their income and survival will at least be adequately guaranteed."

A glint flashed in Witt's eyes, and he immediately cursed himself for being foolish.

The quickest way to deal with serfs is to confront the nobility head-on and make these free workers want to switch jobs!

"Therefore, this series of measures must be taken over by the Imperial Ministry of Labor, because in this way, the nobles will think that this is His Majesty's order and that you are just forced to act on orders. So their opposition due to the loss of workers will be directed at His Majesty."

Qiao Yelan spread his hands, his face full of smiles.

"Look, you take the lead in plundering the peasants, and His Majesty takes the lead in plundering the workers. We share the benefits and the conflicts equally, so we don't have to worry about anyone abandoning anyone else, right?"

The speaker couldn't help but nod, then realized his lapse in composure, coughed awkwardly, and looked at Qiao Yelan with a hint of passion in his eyes.

Such talent... how could Fyodor have it all to himself!

He pondered to himself.

Judging from the other party's tone, he clearly didn't have much respect for Fyodor. Moreover, Qiao Yelan had long ago said that the only thing that could move him was money—and there was no doubt that this was a force that could be won over!

It seems I'll have to invest more in industrial reform!

On the one hand, this would be a way to curry favor with Qiao Yelan, and on the other hand, it would temporarily ease tensions with Fyodor—at the same time, it would bring him greater profits in the foreseeable future.

In this way, he could take advantage of Fyodor's carelessness to achieve more cooperation with Qiao Yelan.

Speaker Witt was, after all, a civil servant, so in his mind, it was best not to use the military if the problem could be solved slowly and gradually through money and political means.

He made up his mind—at worst, he would just have to use money to pave a smooth road to the pinnacle of power in Ursus from Qiao Yelan's side!

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

"Your Majesty, Speaker Witt has agreed to our cooperation proposal."

Qiao Yelan's report brought a hint of joy to Fyodor's face. He stared at Qiao Yelan and asked the question he most wanted to know.

Did he not impose any additional conditions?

"His Excellency the Speaker only wishes to add one more deal, and asked me to inform His Majesty."

"What deal?"

"He hopes to reach a cooperative deal with Minister Yegor, which may involve transferring some workers to the Imperial Ministry of Labor in the future. Of course, these people will only work for Speaker Witt, but he will also pay employment fees as required."

A fleeting look of confusion crossed the emperor's face, but he quickly understood what the other party meant.

Clearly, the "workers" that Witt is referring to have very questionable identities.

Fyodor thought for a moment, then a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Qiao Aiqing, tell me, should we agree to this deal?"

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, this matter should be approved."

"Oh why?"

Upon hearing this answer, the emperor showed no expression on his face, but continued to press for answers.

"Your Majesty—Industrial reform naturally means the expansion of factories and the increase of jobs, which is beneficial to the people of the empire. However, for Witt, it actually means a gradual dilution of their weight in the empire's industry. In the short term, it may seem to be very beneficial to them, but strategically, it will only gradually squeeze them out."

"So what Witt wants to do is to completely control a certain type of factory and achieve a complete monopoly, so that he won't have to worry. However, this requires a lot of capital investment, and most importantly, he needs a large number of his own 'factory serfs'."

Fyodor nodded. Currently, most of the workers in Witt's factory are registered workers with the Imperial Ministry of Labor. As long as Fyodor gives the order, these people will be directly removed from the factory, and then a large number of factories will completely shut down.

In other words, the key to the workers' strike is actually in the emperor's hands—even though the two sides are far from turning against each other, these guys are always on edge.

Witte and his men naturally wanted to change this situation, at least to take back the lifeline of their wealth from the emperor's hands.

"Your Majesty, this is actually good news for us."

Qiao Yelan said with a smile.

"What do you mean by that, my dear minister?"

"The fact that Speaker Witt raised this point actually proves one thing: he is really short of manpower. The fact that he would expose his shortcomings at this time shows that he is very eager to participate in our industrial reform plan."

Fyodor's eyes lit up as well.

It seems...that's exactly the point!

Chapter 170 All-Around Robbery

This is certainly good news.

No amount of manipulation or instruction can compare to the other party's heartfelt pursuit of their own interests.

"Now we can trust each other—because at least in this industrial reform, we share the same interests."

"Your Majesty is right."

Qiao Yelan said respectfully.

Fyodor was still thinking.

"Minister Qiao, what methods do you think Witt will use to make up for his shortcomings?"

Qiao Yelan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then looked up at the emperor.

“Your Majesty, nowadays, the Empire’s visible workforce is almost entirely controlled by the Ministry of Labor. And Witt certainly understands that if he continues to rely on the Ministry of Labor for his employment, his situation will not improve.”

"In this situation, he must find a new source of labor, and these people must lack a means of livelihood and be extremely dependent on this job so that he can control them. So what he can do is find a way to get the labor force from the nobles into his own hands."

Qiao Yelan's answer was the same as Fyodor's own; he nodded slightly.

"The labor force in the hands of the nobles includes serfs and some free people, so I believe the other side will take a two-pronged approach, attacking from both levels at the same time."

"As for the serfs, the empire has already banned the buying and selling of slaves, so Witt can only do some transactions in private. In terms of scale and quantity, it is definitely not enough to meet his needs. So the simplest way is to incite the serfs to revolt and then help them escape from the noble territories."

Qiao Yelan carefully considered the words he used to describe his current social class.

"As for the free people, he can lure them to work in his factory with better wages and benefits. However, these people are not likely to rely on this job alone. After all, they can work for Witt because of the benefits, and they can also leave him because of the benefits."

"So I believe that Speaker Witt's focus is still on how to convert more serfs into nominal free citizens, and then continue to be serfs in his factories."

Fyodor nodded; Qiao Yelan's explanation put his mind at ease.

The Empire's serfs now consist only of those in the noble territories. Without war, there is little hope of acquiring new slaves from outside Ursus. Therefore, if Witt and his group want to obtain serfs, they can only try to find a way from the nobles.

But nobles are extremely meticulous about all their wealth.

At first, it might be possible to use purchasing or exchange methods, but this would have a limit. Soon, the nobles would raise the price or simply refuse to sell.

The deal proposed by Witte was clearly intended to provide legal status for the serfs of "unknown origin" who would inevitably appear later.