He changed Tiwat

"As long as the total amount of Mora remains constant, the person who holds the most Mora will be the ultimate victor. We will not only create counterfeit currency to exchange for Mora from the Liyue National Bank, but also convert all of the Northern Bank's assets in Liyue into Mora and withdraw them. At the same time, we will encourage other countries to do the same, reducing the Mora reserves in the 'Golden House' to a minimum," Zhiyi replied. "Then, it will be our turn to issue 'Winter Coins' and reap the rewards from the entire Teyvat continent."

“You are indeed a pleasant surprise, and you have the potential to be my deputy.” Pantalone wrote a few lines on a piece of paper and then handed it to Zhiyi.

"Zhiyi, from now on, I appoint you as the secretary to the general manager of the Northern Bank. You will stay by my side from now on."

"Yes, Master Pantalone." Zhiyi respectfully accepted the letter of appointment with both hands.

"Your first task is to invite 'Young Master' and 'Doctor' to come and discuss matters. Your second task is to send the information back to Liyue that 'the rich man is preparing to manufacture a large amount of counterfeit money to cover up his plot to seize the Qingxupu Ruins'."

“Yes, Lord Pantalone.” Zhiyi placed his hand on his chest and bowed.

Just as he was about to turn around, Pantalone spoke again.

"Perhaps soon you will be qualified to help me execute my deputy strategy."

"Deputy strategist?" Zhiyi blinked.

"Among us Fatui, there is a classic metaphor called 'cannons and butter.' When overall resources are limited, how to allocate them becomes the key to victory. If Mora is likened to 'butter,' then the Fatui's military force is the 'cannon.' People often think of me as just a banker, ignoring my role as the executor of the Fatui... but I know that 'cannons' can also be transformed into 'butter.'"

He picked up the buttered bread from the table again.

"The people of Liyue believe that there are some things that only they possess, but that is just wishful thinking on their part."

Zhiyi kept his head down, secretly glancing at Pantalone's desk out of the corner of his eye. He noticed a document with "Sanba" printed on it.

"Although that executive officer might not like... my deputy strategist is named 'Cannon'."

Chapter 106 Rebuilding the Biyue Trade Route, because the college entrance exam requires [4k]

The so-called "grand blueprint of Yuheng Star," or rather, the "grand blueprint" that Han Fulai and Gan Yu helped Keqing plan, was to establish an agricultural system for Liyue. Their goal was to connect Guili Plains, Dihua Island, and Qingce Village into one integrated system, and what they relied on was the Bishui River.

The Bishui River is the link connecting these three regions, and there are historical records of the "Bishui Trade Route".

The Biyue River, which originates at the junction of Fontaine and Liyue, is the "mother river" of Liyue. In ancient times, it played a significant role, providing fresh water for daily life and, most importantly, for "water transport".

Simply put, it involves transporting supplies and food through waterways.

At its peak, the Biyue River allowed Liyue residents to transport grain directly from Qiaoying Village and Qingce Village to Liyue Harbor. This was also the period when Liyue's agriculture was at its most developed.

Water transport is not only fast, but most importantly, it has lower transportation costs. A cargo ship can often carry more goods than several horse-drawn carriages can, and it does not require carriages to travel back and forth on mountain roads, increasing labor costs and transportation losses. Grain merchants can therefore keep transportation costs to a minimum.

Before the "Azure Water Trade Route" became blocked, Liyue's agricultural products were quite competitive. At that time, Liyue's agricultural products could be sold directly from the place of origin through the "Azure Water Trade Route," and they could focus on seasonal vegetables and fruits, which were transported to Liyue Harbor by canal and then sold to various parts of Teyvat.

However, due to the repeated flooding of the Bishui River throughout history, silt accumulated in the Dihuazhou area, forming a typical alluvial fan. In the section of Dihuazhou through which the Bishui River flows, the shallowest point is less than half a meter deep. During the dry season, the river channel can even become completely blocked at Dihuazhou. The natural "Bishui trade route" was thus severed.

In front of Wangshu Inn, the old dock still stands, a reminder of its past glory and prosperity. Unfortunately, now only small boats can be moored there; cargo ships with a slightly deeper draft are likely to run aground.

Keqing's water conservancy project not only included building river embankments, but also the important task of dredging waterways and restoring the "clear water trade route".

During their inspection of Qingcezhuang, in addition to visiting local farmers and investigating grain yields, they also conducted a detailed survey of the maintenance of the Qingcezhuang river embankment and developed a reinforcement plan. At the same time, they also considered the location of the Qingcezhuang wharf.

To Han Fulai's surprise, he encountered Zhiruo, the senior disciple of the Guhua School, in the farmland of Qingce Village.

At that time, Zhiruo was leading a patrol of newly recruited disciples of the Guhua Sect. She was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a "Black Rock Longsword" at her waist, exuding the imposing presence of a "senior sister".

The disciples of the Guhua Sect all carried swords and wore cloud-patterned clothing, looking quite spirited and capable, exuding the air of a prestigious sect.

Clearly, this was thanks to Xing Qiu, the second young master of the "Feiyun Chamber of Commerce" and the actual leader of the Guhua Sect.

With the publicity surrounding Han Fulai, the "acting leader of the Guhua faction," and the policy support from the Moonlit Pavilion, the Guhua faction has recently gained many new disciples. Under the patronage of the Liyue Yun Clan, Guhua disciples not only have their own headquarters in Liyue Harbor, but they are also equipped with gear comparable to that of the Thousand Rock Army—the Blackrock Depths' "Blackrock Series"!

The sharpness of the "Black Rock Series" fully demonstrates the advantages of the Guhua School of martial arts. At least when dealing with wild beasts and treasure-hunting groups, the members of the Guhua School will never be at a disadvantage.

For young people who join the Ancient Chinese School, the most attractive thing is not only martial arts and equipment, but more importantly, it is the job security.

As an auxiliary organization of the Thousand Rock Army under the General Affairs Department, the Guhua Sect has now begun to undertake some security tasks. Zhiruo is currently leading her disciples in an "internship," and their current task is to maintain the safety of agricultural production in Qingce Manor.

The fireworks theft during the Lantern Festival left a deep psychological scar on the residents of Qingce Village. Later, Xingqiu and Chongyun led the guards of the Feiyun Merchant Guild to protect Qingce Village. However, as a merchant organization, the Feiyun Merchant Guild couldn't perform this kind of volunteer work year-round. With the Qianyan Army short-handed, the Guhua faction's security force timely filled the gap, giving the local residents a great sense of security.

The local residents also praised the Guhua Sect, saying that the Guhua Sect is now the guardian of Qingce Village. Zhiruo even got a nickname among the local residents: "Pig-Slaying Sword God".

Qingce Village is located in a mountainous area, surrounded by forests. The elders of Qingce Village call the nearby forests "Wild Boar Forest" because groups of wild boars often roam the forest and occasionally run into the fields of Qingce Village to ravage the crops.

The villagers of Qingce Village are mostly elderly and have little control over these wild boars. Every year, the village's grain production is reduced due to the harassment caused by the wild boars.

Upon hearing the complaints of the local residents, the heroine Zhiruo stepped forward without hesitation and led the disciples of the Guhua Sect into the "Wild Boar Forest".

It is said that after a fierce battle that was dark and gloomy, with no sun or moon, the Guhua Sword Technique achieved great success, allowing every household in Qingce Village to enjoy pork hot pot.

The heroine Zhiruo, who single-handedly carried three wild boars covered in blood, was thus known as the "Boar-Slaying Sword Goddess." Even now, the disciples of the Guhua Sect regularly organize night patrols to prevent any remaining wild boars from stealing crops at night.

Although this story may not sound very much like a martial arts novel, Han Fulai greatly admires Zhiruo. "The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people," he believes, and that protecting one's territory like this is the true act of a hero, rather than competing for rankings in the martial arts world.

In fact, Liyue has never lacked people with high martial arts skills; what it lacks most are "chivalrous people" who are willing to serve their country and its people.

Throughout Liyue's history, there have been many insightful individuals who proposed rebuilding the "Azure Water Trade Route," but these proposals were almost always rejected by the Seven Stars. This was not only due to technological limitations at the time, but more fundamentally because of the Seven Stars' merchant mentality—merchants do not engage in unprofitable endeavors.

The naturally existing "Azure Water Trade Route" is convenient for merchants, but if they were asked to invest massive sums in infrastructure with no immediate results or returns, why wouldn't they opt for a higher-return investment? Moreover, the "Azure Water Trade Route" belongs to every Liyue citizen, not just one of the Seven Stars. Even if the investment were completed, it would simply benefit others.

Agriculture in Liyue has never been a highly profitable industry. Whether things are good or bad, it doesn't affect the merchants. After all, if you have money, you can buy food from Mondstadt. Even if all the farmers in Liyue starve to death, it won't affect the wealthy merchants' luxurious lives.

Among all the Seven Stars throughout history, there is no one as "easy target" as Keqing, who is even willing to use her own money to build infrastructure for Liyue.

This also made Keqing the biggest "outlier" in Liyue. Not to mention other wealthy merchants, even her own family found it difficult to understand her ideas.

Without Han Fulai, Keqing's path to her ideals might have been even more lonely.

Sometimes she would wonder—perhaps Han Fulai was deliberately sent by the Emperor to help her realize her ideal of reforming Liyue? Otherwise, why is it that no matter what she wants to do, Han Fulai can always help her just in time?

Her work style was influenced and changed by Han Fulai; her mistakes at the fireworks festival and the Lantern Festival were resolved by Han Fulai; even her infrastructure funding was conjured up by Han Fulai—although the method was not exactly praiseworthy.

The six-day inspection trip with Han Fulai gave Ke Qing a new feeling—Han Fulai must be a prince from another world, because he actually started learning about governance from a young age!

Gan Yu had once told her that Han Fulai, this "successor to the Great Harmony Society," was likely being groomed as the "successor to the Liyue Seven Stars" in another world. But Keqing now felt this position was more than that; she believed Han Fulai might be the "successor to the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm" in another world. Because his knowledge far surpassed the level of the Liyue Seven Stars!

Ke Qing has her reasons for feeling this way.

If Han Fulai's previous display of talent in front of Keqing demonstrated his competence for the position of one of the Seven Stars of Liyue, then in this assessment, Han Fulai demonstrated the qualities of a ruler of a nation, like the Geo Archon.

After six days of investigation, Han Fulai and Ke Qing accomplished the most important task – the location investigation of the “Guili New Area”.

Choosing the location for the "Guili New District" is not something that can be resolved simply by Seven Stars issuing a policy. It involves a wide range of issues, to the point that even Keqing, the star of Yuheng who is in charge of land development in Liyue, has a headache.

The primary criteria for selecting an agricultural location are the local climate, topography, and soil. Next, the size of the market and the convenience of transportation must be considered. In addition, the availability of labor and the efficiency of farming also directly influence the choice of agricultural location.

If Keqing were to conduct the investigation alone, even with her efficiency-conscious personality, it would take her at least half a month to thoroughly investigate all these key points.

With Han Fulai around, they not only completed all the investigations within six days, but they even had a day off to travel.

With Gan Yu's help, Han Fulai easily found the parts he needed from the General Affairs Department and Yuehai Pavilion's documents from previous years.

Han Fulai possessed detailed data on the land conditions near Guiliyuan affected by the Bishui River floods, the history of Qingcezhuang's flood problems, the planting and sales of agricultural products, and the past plans for the "Bishui Trade Route," among other things. Combining this data with the actual situation observed during his investigations often yielded twice the results with half the effort.

What he needs to do is to find a shipping route connecting Qingce Village to Liyue Harbor through on-site investigations and to develop a corresponding planning strategy for this route.

Thanks to his and Ke Qing's efforts, the water conservancy project for the "Guili New Area" has been planned and detailed on the drawings. The dikes in the northern part of Guili Plain will be completed, and then the inland rivers and Bishui River on Guili Plain will be connected, thus providing irrigation water for Guili Plain.

In addition, the waterways in the Dihua Island region will be widened and silt removed to ensure that cargo ships can pass through the Dihua Island waterways. Qingce Village and Wangshu Inn are connected by a dock, and through the "Azure Water Trade Route" to Liyue Harbor, a large part of Liyue's agricultural transportation problems can be solved, revitalizing the agricultural product markets of Qingce Village and the "Guili New Area".

As for the lack of agricultural labor in Liyue—the blockade of the Laminariat and the shutdown of the Blackrock Depths left a large number of miners idle, which conveniently provided ample labor for the construction of the "Guili New Area." As long as the wages were sufficient and the benefits were adequate, miners were happy to temporarily switch to other occupations, since both mining and digging required physical labor.

After examining the soil conditions with Keqing on Guili Plain, Han Fulai proposed a strategy of using chemical fertilizers to quickly improve the soil quality. This "quick and easy" method would yield visible results sooner, perfectly aligning with the business acumen of Liyue. Moreover, investing in the "Guili New District" differs from water conservancy projects; it offers returns on land investment.

As long as returns can be seen, "Guili New Area" will attract a large amount of hot money in the market.

With money and manpower, the fundamental reforms that truly transform and restore the original land, such as large-scale land leveling and planting of sand-resistant trees, can be implemented one by one.

Behind the decision to "return to the new district" lies a multitude of factors to consider. In fact, such wisdom is hidden behind many successful engineering plans in China.

After the two of them finished the entire plan for the "Guili New District", Ke Qing once quietly asked Han Fulai why he knew all this.

Han Fulai simply replied with four words: "The college entrance examination is required."

As a small-town student from China, one of the key points for the college entrance examination in human geography is the selection of agricultural locations. Not only that, but also industrial locations, commercial outlets, transportation, railway networks, port planning... all of those are test points.

If you want to study humanities in China, get into a good university, and become a high-paid office worker after graduation, you first need to learn about governance and administration...

Even Han Fulai himself sometimes lamented, "What dangerous things did I learn when I was in school?!"

Studying Chinese history is like studying the successes and failures of policies in different dynasties. It teaches students why some ways of governing a country fail and others succeed. It is a living strategic manual.

Studying Chinese geography is learning how to read a map, how the country's climate and topography are distributed, how industries, agriculture, and cities are built, and how to choose transportation hubs and key routes—it's a living tactical guide.

As for ideology and politics... Han Fulai's success in Yuehaiting was all thanks to the training he received since middle school. Writing essays was a piece of cake for him. Let alone well-reasoned guidelines and policies, even meaningless nonsense could be written with passion and righteous indignation.

It can be said that such education was designed for the future "ruling class." Those who mastered this knowledge would either become trusted confidants of the court, or... become a major threat to the court.

On the seventh and final day of their expedition, after concluding their visit to Qingce Village, the group once again arrived at Dihua Island. They planned to enjoy the island's beauty after lunch, essentially a free trip for the expedition.

Ke Qing said she wanted to treat Han Fulai and Shen He well, so she generously covered the cost of the lunch and told Han Fulai to go to the kitchen of Wangshu Inn and order the most expensive dishes.

On his way to the kitchen, Han Fulai overheard something—

"Hmm... this part... Pantalone is not easy to deal with..."

Chapter 107 Landa's Identity

Pantalone!?

Why did this word appear at Wangshu Inn?

Han Fulai turned around in shock and discovered that the person who had just uttered that term was a businessman he did not recognize.

The man appeared to be around forty years old, with short, brownish-yellow hair, and dressed in Western-style clothing commonly seen in Mondstadt. In his hand was a stack of documents typical of merchants, which appeared to be shipping documents.

Han Fulai frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and decided to probe the man's intentions.

He took a few steps forward, about to speak, when the man seemed to hear his footsteps, alertly pulled the order slip back into his pocket, and turned to look at him.

"Hello sir, may I bother you for a moment?" Han Fulai gave him a professional smile to show his goodwill.

"Um...who are you? Is there something you need from me?"

The man sized up Han Fulai, seemingly trying to identify him.

However, Han Fulai was wearing Liyue's everyday clothes today, and the blank Vision at his waist was a colorless glass bead, which looked like a common accessory and did not reveal any personal information.

Judging from his expression, he didn't recognize Han Fulai either.

Given Han Fulai's current fame in Liyue Harbor, almost everyone with some status there knows him, or at least knows what he looks like. Clearly, this person has not lived in Liyue Harbor for long.

—But this person speaks Liyue dialect quite well, and I can't detect any Mondstadt accent.

“My name is Han Fei, and I’m a merchant from Liyue Harbor. A friend of mine has a daughter who recently had a fight with her family and ran away to Mondstadt. My friend is very worried and has been asking around for news of his daughter. The girl’s name is Muli, and she has long silver-gray hair. She’s about this tall…” Han Fei said, gesturing to show what Old Luo’s daughter looked like. “I think you’re from Mondstadt, sir. Have you seen this girl in Mondstadt?”

"This... I'm sorry, I've never seen him before." The middle-aged man shook his head.

"Sir, could you please inquire in Mondstadt? You appear quite distinguished, so you must be a prominent figure in Mondstadt. If you could lend a helping hand in finding my friend's daughter, I would be eternally grateful." Han Fulai feigned disappointment yet unwillingness to give up, bowing his head in pleading.

A moment later, as if remembering something, he slapped his forehead. "Oh dear, look at me, I forgot to ask your name, sir."

The middle-aged merchant grinned, extended his hand in Mondstadt custom, and replied, "My name is Landa, and I'm a wine merchant. As you know, Mondstadt wines need to be distributed to Liyue before they can be sold to the entire Teyvat continent, so I travel between Mondstadt and Liyue all year round. Do you know Bright Dawn Winery? That's where I'm from."

Han Fulai quickly reached out and shook hands with Landa, saying, "Mr. Landa, it's a pleasure to meet you."

When they shook hands, he noticed that the other person's skin was quite rough.

It's true that it's normal for middle-aged men to have bad skin... but wine merchants are an exception. There's a saying, "The hands of a winemaker are like those of a young girl," which refers to the fact that the hands of winemakers are in daily contact with the amino acids and trace elements contained in the lees, which keeps their skin smooth and delicate. When Han Fulai presented his ex-girlfriend with "SK-II Facial Treatment Essence," that's how the merchants advertised its skincare ingredients.

Mondstadt's wine industry is clearly not yet industrialized; most of it consists of workshop-style production by private wineries. Their winemaking recipes are so-called "secret secrets," so wine merchants are generally skilled winemakers themselves, at least knowledgeable of the relevant processes to control the quality of their products. It's rare to find a wine merchant who doesn't personally participate in the winemaking process.

Moreover... he had a deep impression of the name Landa. The Mondstadt merchant who promoted luminous marrow at the Wangshu Inn during the luminous marrow speculation incident was also named Landa.

His hands, accent, connection to the matter of the luminous marrow, and his mention of the name "Pantalogne" all deepened Han Fulai's suspicions about him.

more importantly--

"However... forgive my ignorance, but I have only heard of 'Dawn Winery' in Mondstadt; I have never heard of 'Radiant Winery'..."

"Ah... hahaha, yes, yes, Dawn, Dawn." Landa laughed awkwardly a few times. "Oh dear, being away from Mondstadt for too long makes me like this..."

"That's not enough to make you forget the name of your own winery..." Han Fulai thought to himself.

As if trying to cover something up, Landa quickly launched into a sales pitch: "I'm a long-time acquaintance here, I've been running this trade route for many years... Our Dawn Winery offers high-quality dandelion wine, grape wine, apple wine and other fine wines in our cellars, and we eagerly await your tasting!"

Just then, Phil Gaudette, the owner of Wangshu Inn, came out from behind the counter to handle some business. As she passed by the two, Landa, as if seeing a lifeline, immediately shouted, "Innkeeper's wife! Hahaha, we meet again..."

Philgoldette gave him a cold look, ignored him, and left on her own.

Landa's smile froze.

"...Ugh, Gaudette, why is she ignoring me..."

Han Fulai smiled in return, but he already knew in his heart that this Landa was definitely not a merchant from Mondstadt, and was not familiar with Philgolddette at all. This was because Philgolddette would emphasize to every guest who called her by the wrong title that they should call her "boss," not "boss's wife."

Wangshu Inn is an intelligence agency under Ningguang, and Philgoldet is one of Ningguang's intelligence agents. Landa's identity is full of flaws, and Philgoldet must have already reported this to Ningguang. According to Ningguang's words to him, Landa should be connected to the Rouran of Tianji Star.

It's not surprising that he'd get involved with Pantalone.