Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

Mora was originally a circulating currency, but under Su Yu's arrangement, it became a disposable commodity, and its supply dwindled over time.

"Someone is going to break their promise."

Su Yu told him.

Upon hearing this, [Rich Man] Pantarone asked, "Your Highness is worried that the Seven Stars of Liyue will break their promise? Liyue values ​​the spirit of contracts, and the Seven Stars should strictly abide by this rule. If they dare to renege, I will expose this matter and ruin the Seven Stars' reputation."

"Of course, Seven Stars would not dare to go back on their word."

"Who is Your Highness referring to?"

"Morax".

Pantarone, the "Rich Man," exclaimed in astonishment, "The Geo Archon is the founder of the Liyue Covenant spirit. His philosophy, 'Once the covenant is made, those who break their word shall be punished by being eaten by the Geo,' is renowned throughout the entire Teyvat continent. Why would he break his word?"

Su Yu replied, "He is the rule-maker, so he has the right to change the rules. The Seven Gods need to absorb the faith of the people of their respective countries. The power of faith can compensate for the divine power consumed and lost by the gods. When I control the economic lifeline of Liyue and influence the will of the people of Liyue, Morax will not be able to sit still no matter what."

“Oh, I remember now. Her Majesty the Queen once told us that her power, besides her own divinity, also comes from the faith of the people of Winterfall. The power of faith is a very important part of her divine power.”

[Rich Man] Pantalone, reminded by Su Yu, immediately recalled what the Winter Queen had said before, and began to seriously analyze the current situation.

The seven stars of Liyue are about to run out of Mora, which they have strategically allocated 100 billion to the market. Liyue is facing a situation where it has no Mora available. With Mora unable to circulate normally, the deflationary situation in Liyue will become more severe, eventually causing the market to collapse, triggering a financial crisis, and leading to the collapse of Liyue's commercial system.

Under these circumstances, the Liyue Seven Stars must also hand over all their properties to the Prince according to the bet, which is equivalent to the Prince taking over the entire Liyue!

At that time, His Highness the Prince will use his economic power to vigorously develop the livelihood of Liyue, ensure the people's well-being, and save merchants and commoners from danger. The people of Liyue will naturally regard His Highness the Prince as the savior of Liyue and change their faith in the Geo Archon, and fully support His Highness the Prince. This will greatly weaken the Geo Archon's ability to absorb the faith of the people of Liyue.

The Rock King Emperor will lose economic power and the people's faith in him, so he is very likely to jump out and stop it at a critical moment!

"Your Highness, what should we do if the Rock King Emperor goes back on his word?"

[The Rich] Pantalone knew that His Highness the Prince was meticulous and must have already thought of countermeasures before formulating the business war plan.

"Remember, the purpose of this business war is not to destroy Liyue."

"Understood."

Chapter 218 His name is Zhong Li

Another new day.

On the seas of Liyue, merchant ships come and go in an endless stream.

On the street, crowds surged, and everything seemed as before.

However, a crisis quietly erupted.

Today, as usual, Tian Tiezui set up his tea stall and prepared for the day's business.

He arrived half an hour earlier than usual because he was completely out of money and couldn't even afford breakfast.

It's not that he doesn't have money; on the contrary, many people owe him millions of molars. But recently, for some reason, no one has any molars left; all they have are IOUs.

None of the customers who came to make a purchase yesterday had Mora on them; instead, they all wrote down IOUs first.

Those guests were regulars who would come to drink tea and listen to music whenever they had free time. Moreover, each of them owned businesses, so they should have plenty of money, but they didn't have any cash.

Tian Tiezui didn't pay much attention at first, but when almost all the customers didn't have cash on them all day yesterday, he realized something was wrong.

The stall was set up, but by noon, not a single customer came.

If he hadn't seen that the surrounding restaurants were in similar situations, he would have thought that the storyteller profession had become obsolete.

"Manager Li, your steamed bun shop hasn't had any customers this morning."

"Yes, how's the situation where you are?"

"Don't even mention it, only three customers came this morning, and the others didn't have any cash on them."

"What exactly happened? It seems like overnight, everyone ran out of cash."

“All the Mora in my shop was deposited in the Northern Bank, in a three-month fixed deposit account. At the time, I only kept a small amount of cash for the daily operation of the shop. Who knew that such a strange thing would happen?”

“You’re not the only one; almost everyone has deposited their money in the Northern Bank because the interest rates they offer are too high.”

Tian Tiezui visited several other shopkeepers and found that they were all in similar situations.

The money was either deposited in the Northern Bank or was owed to others; in any case, there was no cash.

In order to survive, they had no choice but to resort to bartering.

……

At Moonsea Pavilion, the Liyue Septim held an emergency meeting.

The atmosphere at the meeting was extremely tense.

Tianjixing said with distress, "Damn it, most of our funds are deposited in the Northern Bank, and they are all fixed deposits. We won't be able to withdraw them for at least a month. Right now, Mora is in short supply everywhere. A bunch of merchants are blocking my door, asking me for help. What can I do?"

Yao Guangxing scratched his head and said, "Yesterday I thought the immortals had Mora, so I went to the immortal cave to ask for their help. But guess what? The immortals are even poorer than us."

Tianxuan asked, "Didn't Keqing just lend several hundred billion Mora to the immortals?"

"Don't even mention it. The immortals consumed a lot of Mora in order to cultivate the alchemy technique among the True Immortal arts. Those hundreds of billions of Mora have long been used up. Before leaving, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng even wanted to borrow some more Mora from me. What could I say but a bitter smile?"

Kaiyangxing said, "What exactly happened? We only released 100 billion Mora of strategic reserves, and in less than a month, it's all gone. Who could have absorbed all 100 billion Mora so quickly?"

Yuhengxing Keqing laughed and said, "Who else could it be but the Northern Bank? Prince Zhidong is about to win the bet with us Seven Stars through a currency war. Everyone, you are willing to accept the loss and be prepared to transfer your assets to His Highness the Prince."

"Keqing, you don't seem nervous at all. If we lose the business war, we'll be penniless."

“His Highness once said that the Seven Stars of Liyue represent seven monopolistic capitalists in Liyue. Recently, I have been thinking about a question: if we do not have huge amounts of wealth, can we still be competent for the position of the Seven Stars?”

"What is the result of your thinking?"

"Without assets as a guarantee, none of us can sit in the position of the Seven Stars. We will be eliminated in the first round of selection. However, once we sit in the position of the Seven Stars, even if we give up all our assets, it will not affect our performance of duties. Anyway, I think that sitting in the position of the Seven Stars, we cannot just think about making money. We must take on responsibilities, share the burden of the Emperor, and seek the well-being of the people of Liyue."

Tianquanxing Ningguang said, "What Keqing said is exactly what I wanted to say today. We need to recognize a reality: the business war with His Highness the Prince has been a complete failure. Although we saw as early as half a month ago that His Highness the Prince was using the rules of currency, the deployment of 100 billion in strategic reserves of Mora did not save the market."

"Ningguang, is there really no chance to turn the tide? We must not give up until the very last moment."

Tianjixing said with a frown.

His family had accumulated their vast fortune over three generations, and he couldn't accept losing it all because of a rash bet. He couldn't understand it at all.

Ningguang replied, "The longer it drags on, the greater the damage to Liyue's business. It's better to admit defeat sooner rather than later."

Tian Shu asked, "We lost so badly, it's truly shameful. But speaking of which, His Highness's use of the Northern Bank to absorb a large amount of deposits has severely affected the normal circulation of Mora. Doesn't that constitute a violation of Liyue's laws?"

Tian Shu Xing wanted to see if he could find any flaws in the other party's argument from a legal perspective.

Ningguang looked at Yanfei and said, "Why don't you explain this to everyone?"

Yan Fei cleared her throat. She knew that the Seven Stars were all quite vulnerable at this moment, and losing their property was almost equivalent to killing them. So she explained in a very gentle voice, "Before the meeting, Lady Ningguang also asked me whether His Highness the Prince's business tactics violated the laws of Liyue. Now, I can tell you clearly that they are not illegal at all! His Highness the Prince used Liyue's business rules to defeat us."

Ningguang sighed helplessly, "Alas, the laws of Liyue still need improvement. His Highness the Prince taught us a lesson, defeating us by using the rules of currency circulation. This can be regarded as the most classic commercial war in the history of Teyvat, and it will surely rewrite the commercial landscape of the Teyvat continent. But before that, we need to be prepared to lose all our property."

Kaiyangxing said, "Since we agreed to His Highness's bet, we must abide by the spirit of the contract. I accept defeat in the business battle. However, we participated in this high-stakes gamble so that His Highness could become the Regent and so that Liyue could have a better future. It was not for our own benefit. Losing the bet and losing everything still hurts me."

Tianxuanxing said, "Yes, in the end, when everyone agreed to the business war, it was mostly for the future of Liyue, and ultimately for the public good. Now, however, we have to bear all the consequences. Don't you feel wronged?"

The others looked at Tianxuanxing, offering their support with their eyes.

Indeed, as Tianxuanxing said, the Seven Stars agreed to the business war, not for their own benefit, but had to bear the losses themselves after losing the bet. Even with the greatest ambition and broadest mind, they would inevitably feel resentful and develop a sense of rejection.

The atmosphere of the meeting began to become somber.

Clearly, the people were unwilling to transfer all their assets to the Prince of Zhidong.

Just then, Gan Yu, the secretary of Yuehaiting who had been silently taking notes at the meeting, gently raised her head and whispered, "Using the Seven Stars' wealth to exchange for a prince's opportunity to govern Liyue is a worthwhile deal."

Keqing's heart stirred, and she said, "Sister Ganyu is right. If we can sacrifice the interests of the Seven Stars in exchange for His Highness the Prince's governance of Liyue, I don't mind going bankrupt. Mora is something that can be earned back, so what's wrong with starting from scratch?"

Ningguang, the Tianquan star, said, "His Highness the Prince, having taken over the assets under our names, certainly doesn't want them to shrink or be lost. Therefore, he will do his best to help Liyue develop its economy. We have sacrificed our personal wealth, but we have also tied the Prince to the big ship of Liyue. From now on, we are all in the same boat."

"Everyone, the decision we seven make today will affect the future and destiny of Liyue. Now, let's begin the voting. Oh, and I should also remind you that establishing the position of Regent and winning over Prince Winter is His Majesty's wish."

Upon hearing this, Ke Qing smiled and couldn't help but admire Ning Guang's strategic thinking.

Back then, the Emperor defied public opinion and promoted Ningguang to Tianquan Star, to lead the Seven Stars of Liyue. At the time, many people did not agree, including the Seven Stars themselves. They privately discussed many times whether Ningguang's abilities could lead Liyue to better development.

Although Liyue's trade and economy have developed well over the years, it is not entirely due to Ningguang's efforts, but rather the result of the cooperation of the Liyue Seven Stars. As for Ningguang personally, she has not made any particularly outstanding contributions.

However, today's words made Keqing truly appreciate Tianquanxing's courage and wisdom.

Even if Prince Winter is unwilling to assume the position of regent, once he takes over the Seven Stars' assets, he will be inseparable from Liyue and become a community of shared interests.

If Liyue faces difficulties in the future, the Prince will certainly not stand idly by.

Moreover, Ningguang also mentioned the Emperor.

The power and status of the Seven Stars all originate from the Geo Archon. Since the Archon wants the Prince to serve as regent and assist in governing Liyue, as subjects, there is no reason not to consider the Archon's interests and do everything possible to get the Prince of Winter to help Liyue develop. This is the best choice for themselves and for Liyue.

"I'm willing to accept the consequences of my bet, and I agree to hand over all my assets."

Keqing was the first to stand up and express her opinion.

After some thought, the others also made their final choice immediately.

At this meeting, the four stars, Tian Shu, Yao Guang, Kai Yang, and Tian Ji, pledged to hand over all their assets to fulfill their bet with Prince Zhi Dong.

Only Tianxuanxing remained silent for a long time, his brows furrowed.

After waiting for a while, Ningguang asked, "What's your decision? Tell me your answer."

“I disagree! If we lose all our property, my family of three, and our entire clan, will starve.”

Ningguang said very patiently, "Alright, I respect your choice. However, you must leave the Liyue Seven Stars. You can only choose between the position and the wealth of the Seven Stars."

Tianxuanxing was immediately covered in sweat.

Sitting in the position of the Seven Stars allows one to use their monopolistic privileges to bring great convenience to the business. Once the position of the Seven Stars is lost, the business will plummet. This was the case with the previous Seven Stars. After stepping down, the family business would quickly begin to decline.

The choice requires both determination and wisdom.

"Ningguang, are we really out of luck?"

“Look downstairs. In the very time we’ve been in this meeting, thousands of people have flocked here. They’re all out of Mora and have come to us at Seven Stars for help. Perhaps if I had enough time to petition the Emperor to reopen the Golden House and release a large amount of new Mora to the market, we might have a chance to defeat Prince Winter. But time waits for no one, and the situation forces us to concede defeat to avoid even greater losses.”

Upon hearing this, Tianxuanxing said, "I could never give up the position of the Seven Stars... The Seven Stars are one entity. Since all six of you agree, I cannot be an exception."

Ultimately, Tianxuan changed his mind.

Staying in the position of the Seven Stars still offers the possibility of a comeback, but losing the power of the Seven Stars would result in even greater losses.

Moreover, if the Prince of Winter could govern Liyue, he believed that Liyue's economy would surely take off, just like the economic miracle created by Winter. Therefore, everything lost now could be seen as an investment in the future.