Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

In late autumn in Jinling City, the drizzle is as soft as butter, but it cannot hide the prosperity of the streets.

The copper nails on the vermilion lacquer door of Qianyu Chamber of Commerce shone coldly in the rain. The agarwood incense from the meeting room inside the door curled up and intertwined with the rain outside the window to form a hazy scene.

Ye Zhiwei stood in the hall, his eyes sweeping over the ancient painting on the wall.

The bustling city in the painting forms a sharp contrast with the solemn atmosphere in the hall at this moment.

His fingers unconsciously stroked the white handkerchief in his sleeve.

Lin Dafu leaned against a rosewood chair, the jade ring in his hand emitting a warm glow under the candlelight.

He is over fifty years old, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes hide the ups and downs of half a lifetime, but he still stands straight and has a sharp gaze.

A full ten million taels of silver came out of his mouth as if it was not a huge sum of money that could shake the country's foundation, but just small change as a reward.

Ye Zhiwei's heart was shocked and his throat tightened.

Ten million taels of silver, that is a wealth that many people can hardly achieve in their lifetime, but now it is going to be used to exchange for the life of a corrupt official?

He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady: "President, will this make His Majesty the Queen unhappy?"

As soon as the words fell, the hall was silent, with only the sound of rain hitting the window frames, adding a bit of depression.

Lin Dafu did not answer immediately, but slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip of Biluochun.

The aroma of tea filled the air, but it couldn't dispel the tension in the air.

After a long moment, he raised his eyes and looked at Ye Zhiwei. His gaze was less sharp than usual, and more gentle and patient. "Xiao Ye, please sit down and talk."

Ye Zhiwei thanked him and sat down on an embroidered cushion beside him, leaning forward slightly with a focused expression.

"The national treasury is in a tight spot right now. Who do you think this ten million taels of silver is for?"

Lin Dafu put down his teacup and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table. "No matter what you do, you must follow the rules. Without rules, there will be no order."

Ye Zhiwei frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "President, but this rule...is ultimately set by the imperial court."

"It's unreasonable to use money to buy an official position."

Lin Dafu burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Xiao Ye, you've read a lot, but you're still young. The rules of this world are never static."

"Your Majesty is now worried about filling the treasury and the corrupt officials in the court."

"This ten million taels of silver may seem like a way to buy your life, but in reality, it's to help Your Majesty with his most pressing needs."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the rainy street with a deep gaze: "Do you know how much of the imperial tax revenue has gone into the pockets of those corrupt officials over the years?"

"They formed cliques for personal gain, controlled government, and made the people suffer."

"Your Majesty has been trying to rectify the administration, but he has never found the right time."

"Because the current rectification is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. If the source of the problem cannot be addressed, the miscellaneous fish below will continue to emerge."

"We need to make an example of someone."

Ye Zhiwei's heart moved, and he seemed to understand something: "What the president means is that we..."

"That's right!" Lin Dafu turned around suddenly.

"For these ten million taels of silver, we will find that 'chicken' for Your Majesty."

"We, the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce, will take care of the matter and will not cause trouble to His Majesty."

"In this way, Your Majesty can enrich the national treasury and deter those corrupt officials. Why not do it?"

Ye Zhiwei lowered his head in thought, but still had doubts in his heart: "But what if His Majesty thinks that our Chamber of Commerce is meddling in the affairs of the court and has ulterior motives..."

"Confused!" Lin Dafu interrupted him. "Why do you think the late emperor allowed our Qianyu Chamber of Commerce to develop? It's because we understand one thing: money is only money when it circulates."

"We do business, make money, and then use it to build roads, build schools, and provide relief to disaster victims. We do business again and make more money, and money continues to circulate in the hands of the people."

"But what about those people? They hid their money in their cellars, letting it rot in the ground, leaving the people with no money to spend and bringing commerce to a standstill."

Ye Zhiwei nodded thoughtfully. He recalled how when he first joined the Chamber of Commerce, he had traveled extensively with Lin Dafu and had seen countless ordinary people working day and night for want of money.

The Qianyu Chamber of Commerce has indeed built roads and bridges in many places and has also funded many poor students.

Lin Dafu walked over to Ye Zhiwei and patted him on the shoulder gently: "You still have a lot to learn."

"You are young now and have a bright future."

"Remember, we do business not only to make money, but also to enable the people of this world to live a good life."

Ye Zhiwei raised his head, his eyes full of admiration: "President, I understand. But 10 million taels of silver is not a small amount for the Chamber of Commerce. Do we...really want to give it to them?"

Lin Dafu returned to his seat and picked up his teacup again: "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.

This move may seem risky, but it actually paves the way for the future of the Chamber of Commerce.

As long as we can gain His Majesty's trust, the Chamber of Commerce's business will be able to reach a higher level in the future."

"Besides, this is also for the people of the world."

The rain outside the window stopped at some point, and a ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds, shining on the blue bricks of the conference hall, making them sparkle.

The rain outside the window gradually stopped, but a loud thunder exploded deep in the clouds.

Lin Dafu's skinny fingers stroked the mottled wood grain on the sandalwood table, and suddenly knocked heavily on the edge of the plaque.

Ye Zhiwei subconsciously straightened his back and looked at the watery light in the president's cloudy eyes.

Since joining the Chamber of Commerce, he had never seen the president lose his composure like this.

This powerful figure in the Tang Dynasty's business world rubbed the gap on the edge of the plaque over and over again as if he were holding a family heirloom.

"Do you know why when the previous emperor ascended the throne, the whole world avoided using his name, and only our Qianyu Chamber of Commerce was allowed to use the character 'Qian'?"

Lin Dafu suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice.

Without waiting for Ye Zhiwei to answer, he stood up slightly.

"The late emperor once said, 'Qian represents the sky. As the sky moves vigorously, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. If there is a place in this world that can use my name, it must be the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce.'"

"This Chamber of Commerce belongs not only to us, but also to the late emperor and the people of the Tang Dynasty!"

"The late emperor has left, and we must not let the word 'Qian' be brought to shame!"

Lin Dafu grabbed him and a strange light burned in his cloudy eyes.

"Remember, the word 'Qian' comes first. Why should you be timid when doing things? The late emperor entrusted us with his name because he wanted us to establish a mission for the people!"

The old man suddenly grabbed the wolf-hair brush on the table, dipped it in cinnabar and wrote quickly on the rice paper. The last vertical stroke of the word "Qian" was so strong that it penetrated the back of the paper and made a hole in it.

Ye Zhiwei looked at the word "Qian" on the wall and the calligraphy of the late emperor, and suddenly felt the weight of his shoulders become heavy.

Those doubts about buying life with money seemed so insignificant in the face of this trust that spanned a generation.

"President, I understand. I'll do it right away."

Lin Dafu nodded.

"Also, send this jade pendant to Chang'an, to the residence of Wu Tianyan, the Minister of War. Got it?"