Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Come on, come on, there's still no solution. I'm stuck in this situation. I don't dare to sell now, and I can't get any money to expand my restaurant," Li Yuanzhao muttered, then his eyes suddenly lit up, "How about you lend me some money?"

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head vigorously.

Dream on, do you think it's like before?

Before, the prince had nothing in his hands, so he would give some money. Now that he has so many industries, he still wants to borrow money. He must be asking for a huge sum.

He dares to borrow money when he's a prince. It's unimaginable when he becomes emperor!

Li Yuanzhao clicked his tongue: "Look how stingy you are. We're friends. What's wrong with me helping you spend some money? Look at how much money you're making from the brothel stocks. You're not willing to lend me some money?"

Fang Zheng Yi was speechless: "Brothels... sooner or later, I'll have to rename and transform them. It's not good for brothels to be listed on the exchange all the time. Isn't this encouraging people to become prostitutes?"

"You should slow down the expansion of your restaurant. It hasn't been established for long. Take advantage of the time to sort things out. Consider it again when you get out of this predicament. It's impossible to lend you money. How about I treat you to a meal?"

Li Yuanzhao curled his lips, glanced at him, and muttered, "Tch, if it were Father, you would rush to lend money... Let's go, let's go eat."

"Impossible, I am a man of principle!" Fang Zheng Yi said righteously, then took Li Yuanzhao downstairs.

There was a restaurant nearby, so they just ate a casual meal there, and then it was time to get down to business.

He had wasted a lot of time in the exchange recently.

The stock price was always lukewarm, so there was nothing to see.

Just as the two of them walked to the first floor, the hushed conversations of a table of stockholders drifted into Fang Zheng Yi and Li Yuanzhao's ears.

The two stood at the door and stopped to listen.

"The stock of Xihai Commerce will never rise in the future. No matter how the war situation of our Great Jing is overseas, it will never return to its previous state."

"That's right, I've been asking many people about the overseas situation recently. You know, the situation of the church is very special. It has angered the church..."

"Think about how difficult overseas supplies are, how many risks there are at sea? The other side occupies a geographical advantage. Although our Great Jing has elite troops and sufficient food, it is not as fast as them after all. Warfare is all about speed."

Li Yuanzhao stared at the table of people with an unfriendly expression.

He was already in a bad mood, and these people were still talking nonsense here. Did they think they were smart?

Fang Zheng Yi also felt quite helpless.

Even after finding lecturers to brainwash them in shifts, he still couldn't prevent smart alecks from jumping out to express their opinions.

Some people even wanted to spread rumors in secret to short the stock, but he suppressed these signs.

Hearing such words again today, it seemed that the stockholders' confidence in Xihai Commerce had begun to decline. The longer the time dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be.

"Lao Fang, there has been no news from Fika. I think if we drag on like this, and such remarks spread, the stock price will have to fall sooner or later."

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head lightly: "Don't be afraid. If someone isn't deliberately spreading rumors and causing trouble, these people are not a big problem. We can guide and divide them one by one. Although the stock price is lukewarm now, most people are still optimistic about this war. In this case..."

"We can call the people who support our views 'people with the right values.'"

"We can call the people who oppose our views 'people with ulterior motives, maliciously slandering.'"

"As for some neutral and relatively objective people, who support us in some views but oppose us in other views, we can call these people double-dealers or fence-sitters."

Li Yuanzhao frowned: "Too extreme. Although this method of throwing dirty water is easy to use, I'm afraid there will be future troubles, right?"

Fang Zheng Yi shrugged and sighed: "Of course, it's just an expedient measure. We have to use both good and bad methods. After all, Xihai Commerce is related to the progress of Great Jing in the West. However, things haven't developed to that point yet. Let's go, Your Highness."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the plainclothes imperial guards who had been guarding the exchange on the first floor, and then looked at the stockholders who had been talking just now.

The imperial guards' eyes were always on Fang Zheng Yi.

Seeing the commander's signal, they naturally understood.

After Fang Zheng Yi and the others went out, the imperial guards immediately strode forward and walked to the table of those stockholders.

Smiling, he asked: "You guys are chatting lively. You look a little unfamiliar. Where do you usually chat?"

"No, who are you? What's the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just want to invite you to a meal."

......

Inside the imperial study.

Fang Zheng Yi sat in front of Emperor Jing, who was examining the exchange report he had brought.

Looking at the lackluster Xihai Commerce, Emperor Jing rubbed his eyebrows and sighed loudly.

Before, he still had to hold back a little in front of Fang Zheng Yi.

But after so much time, he really couldn't hold back his mentality.

The emperor, the biggest leek in the world, green and glowing, the pain in his heart was unknown to anyone.

He lost money, and he lost face.

He was babbling about the stock market... Those who believed him were all planted.

"Zheng Yi, is there no other way to make it rise? Can so much money only stabilize at this price of two taels?"

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head: "I really have no way, but I have good news here. I don't know if Your Majesty wants to hear it?"

"Oh?" Emperor Jing perked up a bit, "Tell me about it."

"The building in Taoyuan County should be completed in a few months. The scene is extremely spectacular! I have spent a lot of money, and I have also come up with many new ideas. Is Your Majesty interested in taking a look?"

"Uh... is that the skyscraper of several tens of zhang that you told me about before?" Emperor Jing asked.

Fang Zheng Yi nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, when it's completed, I'll go take a look. I want to see what a building crowned with the name of skyscraper looks like."

Emperor Jing was a little uninterested.

Although it was a spectacle, the spectacle couldn't offset the pain brought by the real loss!

Emperor Jing fell into irritability again, then suddenly changed the subject: "How has the prince been recently? He hasn't greeted me for several months. Is he still angry?"

Fang Zheng Yi said calmly: "Your Majesty is joking. His Highness the Prince has always been generous, but it's only a few million taels."

"His Highness the Prince is still busy with his restaurant business. He is now trying his best to expand and earn more money for franchise fees. At the same time, he also wants to help Your Majesty make up for a loss. He was still worried about Your Majesty's worries today, fearing that you would hurt your body."

"He doesn't come to see you because he's afraid you'll feel even worse."

Hearing him say this, Emperor Jing's mood improved a little, and he waved his hand: "Alright, if he had half of your filial piety, he wouldn't shout at me."

"It's not early anymore. You should go back and rest early."

"Then I'll take my leave. Your Majesty, please rest early too."

Just as Fang Zheng Yi got up to leave, a burst of hurried shouts came from the door!

"Good news! Your Majesty, good news! The war in Fika has stopped, and the enemy has withdrawn! Our army has captured the Holy City and established a new Pope!"

......

(There is another chapter, brothers. I was up too late yesterday. I'm going to buy a pack of cigarettes and come back to continue coding.)