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

"Zhi Dong's goal is to overthrow the laws of nature as the ultimate objective of victory. How can you, Li Yue, and your Emperor compare to Zhi Dong and to me!"

Chapter 76 Business Opportunities

Three years ago, Su Yu began to govern until winter, and the whole country clearly set its sights on overthrowing the laws of nature as its goal.

Initially, the eleven executives suggested following the same policy as Her Majesty the Queen had previously adopted: to keep the matter secret from the public.

However, Su Yu insisted that defying the laws of nature could lead to the same national annihilation as Kanria, so the matter should not be concealed from the people, but rather made public to gain their absolute support.

The life-or-death battle at the end of winter requires the concerted efforts of the entire nation.

And those present here are all the highest-ranking members of Liyue; it wouldn't hurt to tell them about the goal of overthrowing the laws of nature by winter—

Mondstadt's main army is on an expedition in the northern region, struggling against the monsters emerging from the ruins of Kanria, and will suffer heavy casualties; Inazuma's Shogunate army cannot even defeat the "rebel army" led by Coral Palace Heartsea, so its combat strength is relatively average.

A country as vast as Mount Sumeru relies on a civilian armed organization, the Gilded Brigade, to defend itself. It doesn't even have a formal army and can't be relied upon at all. The situation in Fontaine and Nata is even more complicated, with weak military forces.

Therefore, among the other six nations, only Liyue's Thousand Rocks Army has the strongest combat power.

Winter has arrived, a critical moment of life and death, and the Thousand Rock Army may be able to assist in the battle.

Moreover, after his mission, Zhongli will eventually reveal this to the Seven Stars of Liyue, reminding them to prepare for war.

After hearing Su Yu's explanation, the Kun family patriarch suddenly understood.

He had previously speculated that the soldiers of Zhidong Kingdom were powerful because they used special drugs, but now he realized that everyone in Zhidong was under immense pressure to survive.

The ancient kingdom of Kanria was destroyed by the forces of Heaven, and these high-ranking officials of Liyue naturally knew about this past event.

The pressure of the Winter Kingdom defying the laws of nature would have crushed and destroyed the will of its people in any other country. However, the Winter Kingdom had the Ice Queen and the Winter Prince, who gave the people great confidence, and the pressure turned into a driving force for progress.

This is the fundamental reason why the soldiers of the Winter Kingdom are all so brave and skilled in battle.

It can be said that the soldiers of the Winter Kingdom today are like the Thousand Rock Legion at its peak during the War of Gods and Demons.

At that time, the Thousand Rock Legion, when assembled into battle formations, was powerful enough to contend with the Demon God.

Upon learning of Prince Zhidong's goals, the Kun family head clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. I now know how to train the Thousand Rock Army."

"Train hard. In the future, if Morax gives the order, the two countries of Winter and Liyue may fight together."

The head of the Kun family immediately felt the pressure.

Prince Zhidong's statement suggests that he may have already reached a tacit understanding with the Emperor.

When winter comes and they rebel against the laws of nature, Liyue may not be able to stand idly by.

But then, a spirited look appeared in his eyes.

The Thousand Rock Legion has fallen into decay and decline, and now it needs a great battle to regain its lost glory.

"If His Majesty gives the order, the Thousand Rocks Army will surely brave fire and water and charge into battle!"

Steward Tianji Xingxiao raised his wine cup and asked Su Yu for advice.

“Your Highness, our family has been managing Liyue’s maritime transport fleet for the Emperor, accumulating countless riches and honors. However, the world only sees my glory, but does not know my suffering.”

"In order to open up new trade routes, my ancestors led a fleet to Southeast Asia seven times. However, in that unknown sea shrouded in dark clouds, the fleet led by my ancestors mysteriously disappeared. Later, passing merchant ships saw large sections of broken masts and debris floating on the sea and realized that the fleet had been completely wiped out."

"In order to investigate the reason for the disappearance of our ancestors, the family sent out a large number of ships to explore, but they all never returned. In my generation, when I retire, I will personally sail a ship to investigate. This is a family rule."

Chief Steward Xiao clearly didn't want to die; his eyes revealed fear.

"Your Highness, I once sought help from the Emperor, who told me that it was a dark place where even the light of the gods could not reach. I want to know, what exactly is that place?"

Just like in the legends, Prince Zhidong not only possessed great talent and ambition, but also seemed to know everything. He believed he could obtain some valuable information from him.

That sea of ​​death is called the Dark Outer Sea.

Su Yu's tone became slightly serious.

Even he would be wary of that place.

"Some call the place where demons gather Chaos. If there is no Chaos, where do demons come from? That sea is the birthplace of Chaos. After the war between gods and demons ended, all the surviving demon gods of the Teyvat continent gathered there. It is indeed full of danger. Your family's ancestors were really brave. Even the Seven Gods were unwilling to set foot there, but they insisted on going to their deaths."

"The Dark Sea?" Tianji Star murmured, trying hard to remember the name. "Following Your Highness's teachings, our family's rules should be revised. Alas."

However, Tianji Star could tell that Prince Zhidong clearly knew more about the Dark Outer Sea.

But he knew that was enough.

In fact, he was right. According to the intelligence Su Yu currently possesses, the Dark Outer Sea is not only a gathering place for demons after the war between demons, but also a place where the seven elemental dragon kings were defeated after the First Throne, Fanes, arrived on the Teyvat continent. The oldest elemental creatures who were unwilling to submit to Fanes all entered the Dark Outer Sea.

The actual space beyond the Dark Ocean is much larger than imagined...

Tian Shu, Yao Guang, and Tian Ji all asked questions in succession, and Kai Yang, the head manager of the Fei Yun Chamber of Commerce, was naturally unwilling to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Prince Zhidong was right before my eyes, almost like the Emperor himself descending to earth, omniscient and omnipotent.

"To be honest, Your Highness, although our Feiyun Merchant Guild controls most of the fabric and clothing business in Liyue, our clothing trade has become increasingly difficult in the past two years. Apart from selling raw materials such as fabric, Liyue's clothing does not seem to be as popular as before."

"No need to beat around the bush, just say what you mean."

The head manager of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce said with a worried look, "Then I'll just say it directly, Your Highness. In the past, Zhi Dong was one of our biggest customers. Every spring, dozens of ships would come to buy large quantities of clothing and garments."

"However, in the last two years, our trade volume with Zhidong in clothing has declined very rapidly. To the point that today, Zhidong only buys fabric and not finished clothing."

"I've asked several merchants from Zhidong, but they've all been vague, as if deliberately concealing the truth. Since Your Highness is here today, I dare to ask what the cause is. Has the quality of our Liyue clothing declined?"

Su Yu replied, "Zhidong is not good at producing clothing. Its equipment and technology are inferior to those of Liyue. About two years ago, I provided a business opportunity for merchants, so they invested a lot of money in developing clothing, which led to the rapid development of Zhidong's textile industry and replaced imports from Liyue."

"Your Highness, what business opportunity is it?"

The head manager of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce listened attentively.

Su Yu coughed lightly and said, "This business opportunity... is related to Miss Ningguang of Tianquan Star and Miss Keqing of Yuheng Star."

Ningguang and Keqing blinked their beautiful eyes in an instant.

The two women simultaneously considered the same possibility:

Surely the prince wouldn't allow merchants to copy the dress he's wearing and sell it freely until winter!

Chapter 77 The House of Tolerance

At Ningguang's prompting, Keqing brought up the idea without any hesitation.

“You’re right. However, this business opportunity is also related to people from several other countries, in addition to the two of you.”

Su Yu frankly stated, "The clothing market in Winter Solstice has always been monopolized by cheap products from Liyue, which we can call dumping. Clothing manufacturers in Winter Solstice are worried about not making a profit and are unwilling to develop the textile industry. After conducting market research, I convened a symposium with practitioners in the clothing industry."

Upon hearing this, the head manager of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce had to admire Prince Zhidong's methods. Such a distinguished figure would actually go down to the front line of market research.

"Dumping" is a new term that has recently emerged from Zhidong, and it is said that the inventor was Prince Zhidong.

To some extent, Liyue did indeed constitute dumping.

"During the meeting, I gave them a suggestion: to learn from and draw inspiration from the clothing styles of the other six countries to design clothing for Winterland. Combined with the financial support of the Fatui, this would revitalize Winterland's clothing industry and allow it to compete with Liyue's clothing."

"However, some merchants, eager for quick profits, directly adopted this simple and crude method of imitation. The first to be imitated were the clothing styles worn by women in the six states that were popular among the people."

“Ningguang and Keqing, Amber and Yora of Mondstadt, Yae no Miko and Ryouka of Inazuma, Nel and Farusan of Sumeru, and Lynette, one of the Fontaine Twins, these beauties were the first to be imitated.”

Ningguang and Keqing have never lacked suitors; both are quite popular, both in Liyue and abroad.

However, upon hearing the Prince of Zhidong address them as "beautiful ladies," a faint, satisfied smile appeared on the faces of the two women.

The Emperor once described the two of them as "jade beauties," and his feelings at this moment were similar to those at that time.

"As expected, the first batch of clothing produced was sold out in less than three days. Young girls, in particular, really liked the black silk and purple gauze off-shoulder dress that Miss Keqing was wearing, and they even copied your twin ponytail and cat ear hairstyle."

Ke Qing first pursed her lips.

However, the thought that the girls of winter would be happy because of this made her feel less troubled.

Confident and beautiful people should be the general spirit of people in an era of "rule by man".

"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for profit." Taking advantage of this opportunity to imitate, merchants tasted the sweetness and began to invest heavily in building factories and developing the local textile industry. As a result, the face of the clothing industry in winter was completely renewed.

The head manager of the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. No wonder we're not sourcing from Liyue anymore. But I won't give up the Winter's Market. We have the best designers, and we're sure we can design even better clothes to compete with Winter's clothing factories."

Su Yu praised his attitude, saying, "Very good. Healthy competition can promote mutual progress and development."

At this moment, Ningguang smiled and said, "Your Highness, since that's the case, our Liyue clothing factory will also imitate the attire of your eleven executives and start selling it."

Ningguang, having risen to the position of Tianquan, naturally needs to safeguard the interests of Liyue at all times.

"Either is fine. If the people like it, I don't mind them imitating Prince Zhidong's attire."

Ningguang quickly shook her head: "I wouldn't dare. Your Highness has already been very generous."

"However, I want to remind you of one thing."

At this point, Su Yu's gaze returned to Ningguang and Keqing.

“When I was imitating your clothing in the winter, an unpleasant thing happened, and I hope you will learn from it.”

Ningguang said solemnly, "Your Highness, please speak."

"The clothing merchants of winter sold clothes imitating yours to the 'House of Tolerance'."

Ningguang was a little confused and asked the head manager of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, "What is a 'Family of Tolerance'?"

Kaiyangxing looked strange and lowered his voice to explain in a low voice, "A place for romance and pleasure is equivalent to a brothel in Liyue."

Ningguang thought of those courtesans, dressed in her clothes, trying to please the customers who came for entertainment. A blush flashed across her face, and then she said with a hint of grievance, "Your Highness, you are bullying me, Zhidong."

Seeing that Ningguang seemed to be angry at the same time as she was being coquettish, everyone laughed along with her.

Such a situation is quite rare.

Su Yu smiled helplessly and said, "Later, I found that this situation was getting worse, so I issued a decree to strictly prohibit entertainment venues like 'Tolerance House' from wearing or imitating your clothing, with severe penalties for violators."

"The clothing industry in winter is still in a low-level imitation stage. As the craftsmanship and level improve, I may completely prohibit them from continuing to imitate in the future."

Hearing this, Ningguang finally felt reassured.

Ke Qing, who was standing to the side, suddenly asked, "Your Highness, have you ever been to the House of Forgiveness?"

Ke Qing was unaware that she was being impolite.

That's just her personality; she'll blurt out whatever comes to mind.

Inside the Qunyu Pavilion, there was complete silence.