Pawn Crossing the River

The smile on Qi Xuansu's face slowly disappeared. He did not answer the question directly, but asked instead: "This so-called 'heard' is very interesting. I wonder where Mr. Magino heard about it?" Ma Qi Nuodao: "I heard this from a well-informed person who did not want to be named. Please forgive me for not revealing the name and identity of this well-informed person due to some credibility reasons." Qi Xuansu said: "What a good person. Well-informed people are worthy of the name. They should not be insiders of the Taoist government, right?" Magino laughed: "So, this rumor is true." Qi Xuansu denied it without hesitation: "I didn't say that. , I can only say that the government has not made such a decision yet. After all, Nanyang United Trading Company is a large company with widespread influence. If the government decides to seal up Nanyang United Trading Company, it will definitely be discussed by the governor of the government. Only after the vote is passed can a sealing order be issued. I can't seal it with just a word. I don't have such power." Magino said in a different way: "Can I understand it this way? The Taoist government does not have this right now. The decision does not mean that there will be no such decision in the future. Just like Zhenren Qi’s power, it does not mean that Zhenren Qi will not have such power in the future. "Qi Xuansu said: "The future is difficult to predict. It can also be said that the future has countless possibilities and is full of various uncontrollable factors. Changes in any factor may lead to huge changes in the future. The only things we can be sure of are the past and the present, and what Mr. Magino just said. It’s just one possibility among countless possibilities in the future, and I don’t think it is necessary or valuable to discuss.” Magino felt a little surprised.

Because this young second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest was somewhat beyond his expectation. He was not immature or impulsive. Instead, he was very sophisticated and spoke impeccably.

However, Maginot was not easy to deal with. He followed Qi Xuansu's words and said, "Qi Xuansu just said that various factors may lead to changes in the future. I heard that the Taoist government is currently investigating the issues related to Nanyang United Trading Company. In my opinion, investigating the factor of Nanyang United Trading Company will undoubtedly lead to the future I mentioned, so I think this possibility is still necessary and valuable to discuss. After all, there is an old saying in the Central Plains that is to prepare for a rainy day. We must always prepare for a rainy day. Be prepared for the coming and possible disaster." Qi Xuansu frowned: "Mr. Maginot, you just said disaster, do you think that the hypothetical seizure of Nanyang United Trading Company will be a disaster if it actually happens?"

"Without a doubt." Maginot replied with certainty,

"As Qi Zhenren said, Nanyang United Trading Company is a large company with widespread influence. I even think it is the largest company in the entire Nanyang region. All businessmen have business dealings with Nanyang United Trading Company, including us. West Posas Company. It can be said that the Nanyang United Trading Company is a barometer of the entire Nanyang trade. Any ups and downs of the Nanyang United Trading Company will become huge ripples that affect the entire Nanyang." Speaking of this, Ma Qi said. Nuo paused for a moment, deliberately observing Qi Xuansu's expression, and then continued: "If Nanyang United Trading Company collapses, it will produce countless bad debts and bad debts, and create a huge and terrible hole in Nanyang, and countless people will suffer from this. Bankruptcy or even displacement has a devastating impact no less than a war. The Holy Court has always believed that war, plague, famine, and death are the four major disasters, so I think this is a disaster." Qi Xuansu did not look at it head-on. Analyzing whether this consequence is a disaster or not, it will undoubtedly fall into the rhythm of Maginot. Qi Xuansu has always been a person who hits you and I hit mine, so he changed his angle and pointed directly at Maginot himself: "I If I hadn't already known that Mr. Maginot was the director of the West Posas Company, I would have thought that Mr. Maginot was the director of the Nanyang United Trading Company. This time he came to me as a lobbyist. Or rather, Madge. Does Mr. Nuo really have shares in Nanyang United Trading Company? Or does Mr. Maginot have any interests involved in Nanyang United Trading Company? If that is the case, then we have nothing to talk about." Maginot said sophistry. Of course, I am not a director of Nanyang United Trading Company, nor do I have any shares in Nanyang United Trading Company. As for the involvement of interests, I do not deny it, because it is inevitable. Is it true that Nanyang United Trading Company does business in Botang or Daofu? What about the interests involved?”

"Of course." Qi Xuansu said,

"It's just that the interests involved are divided into public and private. There is no problem between public and public. If private interests are involved, then the nature of the matter changes." Maginot said: "We have normal trade relations with Nanyang United Trading Company. Qi Xuansu added: "As for the Taoist government's investigation of Nanyang United Trading Company, this is an internal matter of the Taoist government. Outsiders have no right to interfere. How to deal with it depends on the Taoist laws. The Taoist government only needs to deal with it impartially if Mr. Maginot is right." If you are interested, you can wait patiently for the announcement of the Taoist government's processing results." Maginot leaned back on the back of the sofa, pointed downwards with his finger, and said in a more serious tone: "Does Master Qi not care about this at all? Could this move lead to a huge disaster? Does Mr. Qi not care at all about the innocent people who may go bankrupt? Is it possible that Mr. Qi will do anything for his own political achievements? "Three questions, every sentence will be punished? Heart.

Qi Xuansu also leaned back on his chair and said: "His Excellency the Grand Duke has said so much, and it means nothing more than one thing. It can be summarized in a few words: too big to fail. Overly prosperous commerce is like a chain of rings. If there is a problem in any link of the chain, it will cause the entire chain to break. If the Nanyang United Trading Company collapses, a series of reactions will occur, eventually leading to the so-called disaster. In fact, some people intend to do this. He kidnapped the Taoist government, or even kidnapped the entire world, and made everyone pay for what he did, using this as a threat to ensure his status. This is like a thief who rushed into a busy city with explosives strapped to his body. , threatening the people around him to meet his conditions, otherwise he will detonate explosives and drag others to die together." Qi Xuansu paused, also observed Maginot's expression, and then said: "If I approve of Mr. Maginot. "The concept of 'disaster' that I proposed, will Maginot approve of the concept of 'thief' that I proposed?" Maginot fell into silence.

Qi Xuansu continued: "And this is just an ordinary investigation. As long as Nanyang United Trading Company can explain the matter clearly, are these people doing it privately under the banner of Nanyang United Trading Company, or are they acting under the instruction of Nanyang United Trading Company. If it is If it's the former, then just deal with these few people. Nanyang United Trading Company is at best lax in its management. But if it's the latter, then the Taoist laws are here and the law is merciless. Even if I want to be lenient, there is nothing I can do." After a while, Maginot said slowly: "I don't know if Master Qi understands that the Taoist sect has launched the Western Region War and the Fenglinzhou War in recent years. In these two large-scale wars, although the Taoist sect has achieved perfect results, Victory, but Daomen did not plunder, but instead appeased. In Zhongyuan's terms, Daomen gained people's hearts. But in Zhongyuan's terms, there were gains and losses. Daomen gained people's hearts and lost a lot. "Taiping money, so the current financial situation of Daomen is not healthy." Qi Xuansu immediately knew what Maginot wanted to say.

As expected, Maginot continued: "Under the current circumstances, Master Qi intends to set off a storm that will affect the entire Nanyang, and even destroy the business environment of Nanyang in a short period of time, forcing a large number of businessmen to flee Nanyang, resulting in a large number of middle and lower classes Bankruptcy or even interruption of business routes will undoubtedly worsen Daomen's financial situation. I wonder if Master Qi has considered this situation? "Mr. Maginot is exaggerating," Qi Xuansu said. He smiled and said: "There is no exaggeration. Confidence is the most important in the market. If confidence is gone, no matter whether this thing has happened or will happen, it will cause a lot of money to flee. There is no doubt that Qi Real people are destroying this confidence now." Qi Xuansu had to respond directly: "If the so-called confidence is based on unhealthy trends, slave trading and plunder, then I think it is better not to have this kind of confidence. . We have always talked about the ancient sayings of the Central Plains, and now I will also say something about your Western words. All the gifts given by fate have already been secretly marked with prices. What you plunder today will become the historical burden you must bear in the future. , Our Taoist sect does not have and does not need this kind of baggage. We did not have it in the past, we do not have it now, and we will not need it in the future.”

"Compared with confidence, we Central Plains people prefer to talk about the human heart. I don't talk about whether the human heart is up or down. I only want to say one thing. Whoever caused the catastrophe has no consequences? I think it is still too late to clean up the world and the human heart."

"The most important point is that I want to emphasize again that whether Nanyang United Trading Company is dealt with or not, these are the internal affairs of the Taoist sect, and no external force has the right to interfere or interfere." Maginot said on his face. The smile disappeared again: "So Master Qi is telling me that if you take charge of the highest power of the Taoist sect, then you will regard the West as your enemy, because you think the slave trade is evil, so the West is also evil." Qi Xuansu He smiled and said: "Justice and evil are not something I can define, nor can you define them. If you insist on finding an answer, then you might as well ask the white bones on the plains of West Posas Island."