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

"The little white snake my brother raised, Changsheng, accidentally swallowed an evil eye in the wild. After a strange transformation, it gained sentience. To cure his illness, my brother often went into the mountains to collect herbs and experiment with the medicinal properties of hundreds of herbs. Once, he was poisoned and almost died in the mountains."

"Thanks to Changsheng, who used the power of the Evil Eye to remove the poison, he was able to save his life. My brother also obtained the God's Eye of Grass Element and successfully advanced to the position of Tianxuan Star."

“But the Evil Eye is a controlled item in our Winter Solstice and a prohibited item in Liyue. My brother was worried that someone would use this to their advantage, which would be detrimental to me or him, so he deliberately kept his distance from me.”

Bai Zhu's pet snake, Chang Sheng, accidentally acquired the Evil Eye in the wild. If he explained it to others, no one would believe him. People would immediately think of his younger brother, who was an executive officer in the Fools, and secretly gave him the Evil Eye.

When this matter reaches Zhidong, some people will accuse the younger brother of abusing his power for personal gain.

If this gets back to Liyue, people will accuse my brother of secretly colluding with the Fatui.

Therefore, the best approach is to remain silent and avoid contact altogether.

"Pantarone, now that you've taken care of your family matters, focus on your work."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving my brother and me a chance to reconcile. But I can distinguish between public and private matters. In private, my brother and I are family, but at work, we will always be competitors."

His Highness the Prince went to great lengths to summon him here, so he must have a very important plan to deal with the "Liyue Seven Stars," which requires his full cooperation.

"Your Highness, please give the order regarding the commercial war with the 'Liyue Seven Stars'."

The lady beside him, Zang Jing, brewed a pot of tea, and Su Yu drank it while informing his subordinates of his plan.

"Morax made up an excuse to go into seclusion. The Golden House will stop without his Geo elemental power. Do you know what that means?"

"Understood, Your Highness. The Golden House will be unable to produce new Mora, and the total amount of Mora in Liyue will remain unchanged."

Su Yu got up again, walked to the window, and looked at the bustling street outside: "My plan will revolve around this matter."

"Mora, formed from Morax's own blood and flesh, serves as the currency circulating in Teyvat, and is guaranteed by the power and reputation of the Geo Archon and the spirit of contract in Liyue."

"Since the mora is a currency, its issuance and supply will directly affect the level of social prices, specifically manifested as inflation and deflation."

Su Yu had taught the economic concepts and principles of "inflation and deflation" to the "rich man" Pantalone during the winter, so he immediately understood them.

"Your Highness, you intend to defeat the Liyue Sept using a currency war. What a brilliant plan!"

Currency wars are a type of business warfare and do not violate Liyue's business contracts.

Or rather, there is no legal framework in Liyue; no one has ever waged a currency war against Liyue before.

This is not a traditional business war; the economic principles of "inflation and deflation" are a game-changer for Liyue.

When Su Yu proposed this plan, Pantarone knew that the Liyue Seven Stars were about to face a crushing defeat.

However, although he knew the theory, he couldn't figure out how to actually do it.

Su Yu explained in detail: "The Golden House is only responsible for producing Mora. The only commercial institution that makes Mora circulate is our Northern Bank. The currency of Teyvat is Mora, and there is no difference in exchange rates. Therefore, to defeat the capital and finance behind the Liyue Seven Stars, we can only start with the two important banking functions that you currently control: deposit taking and loan business."

The wealthy Pantalone immediately said respectfully, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

He keenly realized at that moment that the knowledge His Highness the Prince had taught him would be of great help to his future achievements, and even learning just a little bit would be enough for him to use for a lifetime.

This is wisdom that even deities like the Rock King Emperor and the Great Compassionate Tree King have never grasped.

"After the Golden House ceases production, the supply of Mora in the market will decrease, and prices and people's wages will continue to fall, leading to deflation in Liyue."

"What you need to do next is to direct the Northern Bank to raise interest rates continuously during this period, using every means to absorb the currency circulating in the market and further exacerbate deflation."

Pantalone seemed a little confused, so Su Yu patiently explained the reasoning behind it.

“Reduced wages make people poorer, and they don’t have enough money to consume or buy goods. When merchants can’t sell their products, they can’t earn enough money to buy raw materials and hire workers to continue production, so they lay off employees and reduce wages. As a result, people have less money and further reduce their desire to consume.”

"This creates a vicious cycle. The result is that Liyue's commerce falls into a great depression, a large number of workers will lose their jobs, and Liyue's economy will suffer a severe recession."

Su Yu's explanation seemed to open a new door for Pantalone.

He had never realized that commerce and trade contained such exquisite rules, and he was both shocked and excited.

“Your Highness, I have a small question. Although the Golden House in Liyue has stopped production, it still has strategic reserves of Mora. If there is a severe deflation in the market, the Liyue General Affairs Department will have the Golden House release all of its strategic reserves of Mora to increase the supply of Mora and thus stabilize the market.”

Su Yu smiled and said, "You've considered the key point. We call this approach a 'quantitative easing' monetary policy."

"To cope with market risks, Golden House usually reserves a huge amount of Mora, but its reserves of Mora are ultimately limited and will be exhausted in a short time."

"By then, our Northern Bank will have absorbed enough monetary deposits, and with its strong capital, it will have become the de facto 'economic center' of Liyue, forming an unequal supply and demand relationship, thereby gaining economic hegemony over Liyue."

Pantalone trembled with excitement.

This was something he had never dared to dream of, but now it was almost within his grasp.

However, he remained calm and rational throughout.

"Your Highness, Liyue's Golden House is running out of Mora from continuous spending, while our Northern Bank's funds are becoming increasingly abundant. At that time, the 'Liyue Septim' will inevitably put pressure on our Northern Bank, using our funds to bail out the market. How should we deal with this?"

Su Yu replied, "Then agree to their request for market rescue, and proactively provide loans to merchants in Liyue who are on the verge of bankruptcy, and to families in distress. But remember, the loans issued by the Northern Bank must be high-interest loans, with the aim of increasing leverage."

Pantalone, the "rich man," then asked, "If we lend it out, it will offset deflation. It seems unnecessary to do so."

Su Yu smiled and said, "You first release a portion of loans, then suddenly tighten credit, triggering a more severe inflationary tightening, and the result..."

At this point, Su Yu stopped speaking abruptly, picked up his teacup, and began to drink tea.

The lady with the hidden mirror hurriedly asked, "What will the outcome be, Your Highness?"

“Pantalone, you tell her.”

[The Rich] Pantalone looked a little dazed, but he tried to remain calm and said, "The prices that have just risen will suddenly plummet, and the people and merchants of Liyue will be unable to repay our Northern Bank on time."

"According to Liyue's commercial contracts, borrowers face serious usury defaults, and Liyue's merchants and ordinary people will have to mortgage all their property, houses, shops, gold and silver jewelry, etc. to the Northern Bank."

Despite trying his best to remain calm, Pantalone's voice trembled at this moment.

"The ultimate result is that the wealth accumulated by the people of Liyue over thousands of years will vanish overnight and become the profits of our Winterlands!"

Chapter 83 Letters

The lady with the hidden mirror stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief.

It turns out that the so-called "business war" was not about acquiring a large number of Liyue's assets, but about using the deposit and lending functions of the Northern Bank!

You can reap all of Liyue's wealth with almost no initial investment.

Banks can be used in so many ways!

[The Rich] Pantalone couldn't wait to take action. Faced with the wealth of a nation at his fingertips, he satisfied all his desires for money.

"Now do you understand why I asked you to open Northern Banks all over Teyvat?"

"Understood! The two most important fundamental powers concerning currency are the right to mint coins, which is controlled by Morax, and the right to circulate them, which is controlled by us, Winter. Through branches of all sizes, we will control the circulation of Mora on the continent of Teyvat in the future, and the wealth of the other six countries will become our harvest."

Pantalone, the "rich man," was incredibly excited, his lips curving into a wide smile.

He learned the word "leeks" from Su Yu.

"The most perilous battles we will face in the future will require a great deal of Mora. The heavy responsibility of raising funds will fall on your shoulders, Pantalone."

"I will certainly not let Your Highness down."

Su Yu nodded.

"Next, in addition to increasing bank interest rates to attract Liyue residents and merchants to deposit money, the Northern Bank also needs to reduce the total amount of Mora."

"Currently, 50% of the Mora circulating in Liyue is stored in the Northern Bank, and the remaining 50% is circulating in the market. We only need to consume 15% of the Mora circulating in the market, and Liyue's commerce will immediately encounter difficulties. This morning, I ordered a weapon through the blacksmith and asked them to release 10 billion Mora into it. You will also order a large number of weapons in the name of Winterland later to speed up the consumption process."

In Liyue, Mora is not only a currency, but also a material for forging weapons.

By smelting Mora in a steel furnace and then fusing it with iron ore, a completely new alloy can be produced to create sharp weapons.

Therefore, Su Yu's request for the blacksmith to smelt 10 billion Mora is equivalent to directly consuming 10 billion Mora, which will reduce the amount of Mora circulating in the market.

At this point, Pantalone, the "rich man," had a clear and complete understanding of Su Yu's entire business war plan, and had also mastered all the strategies to be implemented.

He has full confidence and certainty in achieving His Highness's strategic goals.

“Your Highness, you often admonish us that knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. However, our intelligence network still hasn’t been able to find out the amount of Mora in the Golden House’s strategic reserves. Liyue’s secrecy is excellent; I’m afraid only Liyue’s middle and senior management know the exact amount.”

"I will handle this matter personally."

This is one of the purposes of Prince Zhidong's existence: to solve all the problems that the eleven executives could not solve.

"Your Highness, I have another small problem."

Su Yu glanced at him and said, "Next time you have a problem, just say it all at once."

[The Rich Man] Pantalone immediately grinned and said, "Hehe, I just wanted to ask Your Highness for a small favor. The interest rates at the Northern Bank are already quite high, and raising them again would be risky..."

"Everything has been planned in advance for you. Just wait for the customers to come to the bank."

As soon as the kid opened his mouth, Su Yu knew what he wanted to say.

"As ordered!"

Pantalone and the Lady of the Hidden Mirror were both taken aback. They had thought that the business war plan was something His Highness had come up with on the spur of the moment, but now it seemed that it was not.

That's a terrifying thought.

In other words, the sudden announcement of the Geo Archon's seclusion, the shutdown of the Golden House, and the Liyue Seven Stars' agreement to engage in a business war were all part of His Highness's plan.

Afterwards, the other members of the delegation reported their other tasks to Su Yu.

To enhance cultural exchange, many scholars from the delegation traveled to Liyue's academies to study, and some professors even purchased a large number of Liyue books to take back to Winter.

At the same time, Su Yu also received a large number of invitations.

He was invited to dinner, on dates, asked for help, or offered endorsements—all sorts of people.

"Your Highness, dozens of daughters of wealthy merchants in Liyue have sent you letters. Would you like to take a look?"

The lady with the hidden mirror reported.

"It's not bad to treat it as a way to relax during leisure time after work."

Su Yu casually glanced at a few love letters and commented, "Women of Liyue are often proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Many young ladies from prominent families have been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood, and their love poems are subtle and ambiguous. It must be said that they understand poetry and art better than the women of Inazuma and Mondstadt."

The lady with the hidden mirror smiled and said, "They must be so happy to receive His Highness's praise that they can't sleep for days and nights. Should I reply to them?"

"No need. Most of them are young women just beginning to experience love. Any rejection or response from me will be magnified by them and eventually become a reason to hurt them. Don't let me affect their lives... Perhaps one day in the future, they will forget that I exist, so everything I do now is meaningless."

Like the Great Tree King, forgotten by the world...

The ultimate battle to come will be incredibly difficult...

Su Yu's mind started to wander to some unpleasant things.

"Your Highness is about to break the hearts of all the young ladies of Liyue again. However, most of the women in Liyue's secluded chambers are prone to melancholy and wistfulness. If they can gain inspiration and enlightenment from their unrequited love for Your Highness, they might be able to write even more popular masterpieces."