Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The wind is howling and the sails are billowing.

The Tang Dynasty's treasure ship fleet, like a group of steel whales laden with cargo, broke through the waves and headed west towards the Tang Dynasty's homeland.

Inside the flagship's spacious command cabin, sunlight streamed through the thick glass windows, making several pieces of raw silver ore piled in the corner glitter.

Li Chengqian leaned comfortably against the leather armchair, holding a freshly brewed cup of tea in his hand.

Opposite to him.

Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue of the Tang Dynasty, sat on one side of a chair, looking like a schoolboy who had done something wrong, holding an abacus and sitting uncomfortably.

Dai Zhou was forcibly dragged onto the ship by Li Chengqian in Pyongyang.

This old miser was initially worried about the massive amounts of supplies the expeditionary force was consuming every day, and insisted on keeping a close eye on logistics at the front lines. But he was completely tricked into coming over by Li Chengqian's promise to "take you to the biggest treasury in the world."

Just now at Iwamiyama, when he saw the seemingly endless open-pit silver mine with his own eyes, the sudden and overwhelming sense of happiness almost caused him to have a heart attack on the spot.

Even now, Dai Zhou's hands are still trembling slightly, uncontrollably.

"Your Highness... this... this Fusang Island, is there really that much silver? It's almost sinking our ship!"

Dai Zhou swallowed hard, his gaze drifting between the silver mine in the corner and the eight-year-old prince before him, who seemed to be able to see through the secrets of heaven.

"many?"

Li Chengqian chuckled and blew on the tea leaves floating on the rim of his cup.

"Old Dai, you think this is too much? Let me tell you, this amount of silver is just the foundation for the future grand ambitions of our Great Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and his deep eyes gleamed with an economic brilliance that transcended his time.

"Tell me honestly, have prices in the Tang Dynasty started to become unstable lately?"

Dai Zhou was startled and suddenly raised his head, his face full of disbelief.

He was in charge of the Tang Dynasty's treasury and his sensitivity to economic data was unparalleled.

"Your Highness is incredibly resourceful!"

Dai Zhou's voice became somewhat solemn. He put down the abacus and let out a long sigh.

"Ever since our Tang Dynasty's silk, porcelain, and tea were opened for sale in the Western Regions, countless copper coins and various kinds of inferior foreign gold and silver have been flowing back to Chang'an every day."

"Logically, this should be a good thing, but there's too much money involved, which is also a big problem!"

Dai Zhou gestured with a worried expression, indicating his name.

"The people of Chang'an now have extra money, and they're scrambling to buy everything. The prices of rice, meat, and even land on the outskirts of Chang'an have more than doubled in the past few months!"

"If this continues, the copper coins in the hands of ordinary people will probably become worthless!"

Although Dai Zhou did not understand what "inflation" meant.

But his simple economic intuition told him that soaring prices would definitely shake the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

"That's the problem."

Li Chengqian leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold.

"The Tang Dynasty's current industrial capacity is too strong. The crazy exports are only bringing back scrap metal with no purchasing power. The foreign currencies are of varying quality and cannot serve as the stabilizing force of the Tang Dynasty's economy."

"We want to stabilize prices in the Tang Dynasty and truly realize the wealth we have worked so hard to earn."

Li Chengqian tapped his finger heavily on the table, pointing to the pile of silver in the corner.

"There must be something to serve as the absolute anchor for the Tang Dynasty's currency!"

"That is—silver."

Dai Zhou was stunned.

"Does Your Highness mean... to abolish copper coins?"

"It's not abolished, it's downgraded."

Li Chengqian's lips curled into an ambitious smile as he began to outline an unprecedented financial blueprint for the Minister of Revenue.

"After returning to Chang'an, immediately order the Ministry of Revenue's mint to operate at full capacity. Use this high-purity silver transported back from Japan to mint 'silver coins' exclusively for the Tang Dynasty."

"It was stipulated that one tael of silver coin could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, serving as the sole hard currency for large-scale transactions among the people!"

"Not only that."

A chilling glint of cunning capitalist wisdom flashed in Li Chengqian's eyes.

"Once the silver reserves are large enough, the Royal Bank of the Tang Dynasty can directly issue 'silver notes'."

"With this silver in the national treasury, the Tang Dynasty's silver notes are a truth even more reliable than gold!"

"At that time."

Li Chengqian suddenly stood up, opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the whole world.

"Not only will the inflation within the Tang Dynasty disappear instantly."

"Even the Western Regions, Tibet, and even those small western countries that have not yet witnessed the might of the Tang Dynasty."

"If they want to do business, they must bring their resources and labor to us in exchange for Tang Dynasty silver notes!"

"We can do it without losing a single soldier."

Li Chengqian's voice sounded incredibly domineering in the sea breeze.

"Using the invisible knife of finance, we will drain the marrow from every nation in the world!"

Dai Zhou was stunned.

He opened his mouth wide, feeling as if his brain had been trampled by a thousand wild donkeys from the Western Regions.

Using scraps of paper to exchange for someone else's real money?

Using financial means to exploit the entire world?

What kind of devilish wisdom is contained in the mind of this eight-year-old prince?!

"Your Highness...this old minister...this old minister has learned a great deal!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Dai Zhou burst into tears and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing deeply to Li Chengqian.

He now finally understands what true dimensional reduction attacks mean.

Cannons can only blast through enemy city walls.

But this monetary hegemony anchored in silver can directly drain the soul of a country!

a few days later.

On the turbulent sea, the figures of several seagulls gradually appeared.

With a loud shout from Zheng He.

The massive treasure ship fleet finally sailed smoothly into the extremely spacious cement port of Tianjin.

The port was already packed with people, and red flags were waving everywhere.

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, dressed in an extremely grand bright yellow dragon robe, stood at the very front of the dock, surrounded by his court officials, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

"He's back! That brat Chengqian is finally back!"

Li Shimin rubbed his hands together excitedly.

He's been feeling incredibly uncomfortable these past few days in Chang'an.

Hearing that his son had not only destroyed Goguryeo, but also conveniently seized that wretched island called Wa, his pride and curiosity were practically overflowing.

"Ugh—!"

With a long blast of the ship's horn, the massive anchor crashed into the water.

The heavy gangplank had just been placed on the concrete dock.

Li Shimin couldn't wait to push aside the guards and stride forward to meet them.

"Chengqian!"

Li Shimin was just about to open his arms and give his son a warm hug.

however.

When he looked up and saw the things being lifted out of the treasure ship's hold by cranes, truckload after truckload, he realized that...

This was the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty.

He froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.