He changed Tiwat

"Legend has it that in the Land of Fire, Nata, there was a general who loved fine horses. He once offered a thousand taels of gold to purchase excellent horses for his cavalry, but over the years, few responded. Later, one of the general's officers heard that there were fine horses in Mondstadt, so he took a thousand taels of gold and traveled to Mondstadt. But when the officer arrived in Mondstadt, the fine horse had already died."

"The sergeant considered for a while and bought back the bones of the fine horse for five hundred gold coins, and brought them back to Nata. The general was furious and rebuked the sergeant, asking why he wasted five hundred gold coins to buy back the horse bones. The sergeant replied that the five hundred gold coins were not wasted. If you are willing to spend a lot of money to buy even a dead fine horse, people will naturally believe that you are willing to spend a thousand gold coins to buy a good horse, and they will take the initiative to come and present the fine horse to you."

"Sure enough, not long after, many people came to Nata with fine horses to enlist. And you two are the very steeds I purchased for the Winter Solstice Kingdom."

"Your Excellency's plan is brilliant! From now on, everyone will know that they can work for the fools without any worries!" Mao Cai Gong hurriedly boasted.

"That's right! What Ningguang, what Qixing, so what if they capture us? Lord Pantalone will deal with them without breaking a sweat!" Young Master Sheng also seized the opportunity to praise Pantalone.

Pantalone remained as calm and collected as ever, slightly raising his head to look at the distant horizon.

"Seven Stars? I don't even consider them a threat."

Inside Ningguang's temporary office in Yuehaiting.

The atmosphere remained heavy; everyone present bore responsibility for Pantalone's plan succeeding this time.

“Now is not the time for lamentation. We must face the facts and take the next step.” Ke Qing shook her head, as if trying to shake off the unpleasant atmosphere in the room. Faced with setbacks, Ke Qing was always the one who could pick herself up the fastest. In her view, there was no point in dwelling on the atmosphere of defeat; moving forward was what she should be doing now.

"Lady Keqing is right." Han Fulai nodded in agreement. "I just summarized the reasons for this failure. Actually, it was all my fault. I had no understanding of the mastermind 'Rich Man' and made a hasty judgment without sufficient information."

"Secondly, it was because I was unable to communicate with Lady Ningguang in time. Of course, there was the reason that Qingce Village and Liyue Harbor were far apart and communication was inconvenient, but if I had not stayed in Qingce Village and had returned to Liyue Harbor earlier, I might have been able to communicate with Lady Ningguang in time and perhaps have had the opportunity to see through the 'rich man's' plan earlier."

Han Fulai's words were half sincere, and the other half stemmed from his profession as a secretary.

As Ke Qing's temporary personal secretary, Han Fulai professionally took the blame for Ke Qing, without mentioning Ke Qing's responsibility or that his own actions were actually to protect Ke Qing's political stance. Of course, the main reason he dared to take the blame for Ke Qing was that he was essentially the Emperor's man and Gan Yu's personal secretary. Even if he took the blame for his superior, being fired was out of the question.

Ke Qing understood that Han Fulai was thinking of her, and she still remembered what Han Fulai had said to her in the carriage. Even though she was straightforward, she could only force herself to remain silent, pursing her lips.

Ningguang gently shook her head.

"Now is not the time to assign blame. I've been thinking a lot about this, Xiao Han. Let's summarize the intelligence we have on both sides, review the 'rich man's' plan this time, and then think about whether there's anything we can do to salvage the situation."

"Yes, Lady Ningguang."

Han Fulai rested his chin on his hand and entered a deep thought mode once again.

In the ruins of Guiliyuan, Pantalone and the father and son of Maocai Gong continued their conversation.

"Of course, for Her Majesty the Queen, I always remind myself to be careful in my actions. The significance of my previous acquisition of amber through many Liyue merchants, including the two of you, should not have been known to the Seven Stars of Liyue. There are many Liyue merchants who do business with our Fatui in private, and the Seven Stars have always let them do as they please."

"However, Ningguang was overly vigilant this time. Not only did she arrest the two of them, but she also quickly passed the Strategic Materials Embargo Act, which seriously hindered my plans."

"So I sent people to investigate the circumstances of their arrests and found that someone was behind it all, deliberately using their case to gain political advantage."

"It's...it's that Han Fulai!" Young Master Sheng gritted his teeth as he mentioned Han Fulai. The leg that Han Fulai had kicked still made him limp when he walked.

“Yes. After the investigation, I found that this Deputy Minister Han of Moonsea Pavilion not only has the Liyue Master as his backer, but also enjoys Ningguang’s trust. Moreover, he is an exceptionally intelligent person. He is the one who thwarted Tartaglia’s scheme, ruined our Amber acquisition plan, and even set a trap to capture the two of you.”

Pantalone praised Han Fulai without any reservation in front of the two men, then changed the subject.

“Smart people all have a weakness: overconfidence. And overconfidence can lead to blindness. I heard that he was going to accompany Yuheng Star to visit the immortals, so I took this opportunity to push forward tonight’s plan. And I had Pengyi execute a plan full of loopholes so that he would find out.”

Pantalone smiled.

"There is only one kind of 'strategy'. The first step is to let the enemy know my next move."

"The 'rich man' obtained Keqing's and my itinerary through Pengyi. The reason he had Pengyi fabricate a flawed 'fireworks theft' was to expose the 'dam-breaking and field-flooding' plot behind the theft to Keqing and me, and to make us aware of the security risks Liyue faces during the fireworks festival," Han Fulai said.

"Having discovered this security risk, we must mobilize the Thousand Rock Army to protect Liyue from the many weaknesses exposed during this special period."

“So even though we saw through the ‘rich man’s’ plan, we had no choice but to act according to his expectations. Because the ‘rich man’s’ scheme would only work out the moment we saw through it.” Ningguang nodded. Even if she were in charge, she wouldn’t have a better solution. Both the Lantern Festival and the fireworks display were political missions that could only succeed and could not fail, and the risks involved were something they had to bear.

“A more sophisticated approach is to let the enemy know your second step,” Pantalone smiled. “They will soon realize that the breaching of the dikes and flooding of the fields was just a pretext. So I sent men to silence Tomyoshi, the fireworks mastermind who carried out the plan. It was a necessary sacrifice, to let them know that I was the mastermind behind it all.”

"Lord Keqing and I worked together to stop their plan to destroy the dikes and flood the fields, but we found that the plan was too hasty and too simple. Compared to the harm that destroying the dikes and flooding the fields would cause, the plan seemed too crude. So I judged that the plan that Pengyi was carrying out was just a decoy," Han Fulai continued.

"By then, Pengyi had already been silenced by the 'rich man.' Mr. Han told me then that the enemy must have a bigger scheme," Keqing interjected.

Han Fulai nodded.

"Yes, in fact, Lady Keqing's return to Liyue Harbor to arrest Pengyi was very swift. It had only been a little over four hours since Pengyi reported the fireworks theft to us at Wangshu Inn. Logically speaking, Pengyi shouldn't have known that he had been exposed, and of course, he shouldn't have committed suicide at this time."

“If even destroying the dikes and flooding the fields is just a pretext, then the other party must have even greater interests at stake and is willing to use Pengyi’s plan as bait to make this happen.”

“So you conclude that Pengyi was silenced by the Fools, and that what Pengyi did was just a smokescreen. The Fools abandoned Pengyi because they have a bigger scheme behind them. That’s a reasonable deduction.” Ningguang nodded in agreement. “As for me, I learned from my subordinates that Pengyi had lived in Zhidong for a period of time, and from his behavior, I determined that the opponent’s identity was ‘the Rich Man’.”

"The 'Rich Man's' Northern Bank has been operating in Teyvat for many years, constantly vying with Liyue for the title of the continent's leading economy. So when I confirmed that he was the mastermind, I immediately thought of the golden house he had been eyeing for so long."

“The more sophisticated approach is to let the enemy know your third step,” Pantalone chuckled.

“Ningguang and I have clashed many times, and we’ve been evenly matched in minor matters. She’s well aware that I’ve already set my sights on Liyue’s economic lifeline. In the past, with the Geo Archon in power, I couldn’t make a move. But now that Liyue Harbor is completely managed by Qixing, Ningguang will definitely think that I’m going to take this opportunity to attack the Golden House.”

"To reinforce her judgment, I deliberately killed Peng Yi, making her believe that in order to conceal my true objective of attacking the Golden House, I was willing to give up a key pawn that had been buried for three years and had even infiltrated the Jade Balance Star, capable of causing significant harm."

"And that Vice Minister Han will provide her with enough intelligence to influence her judgment, so that she will realize that I intend to mobilize the Qianyan Army, causing them to be unable to provide timely support to the Golden House."

Pantalone adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses, hiding his narrow eyes behind the reflection of the lenses.

"Therefore, they will definitely turn the tables on them, pretending to stay on the front line to prevent the dikes from being breached and the fields from being flooded, while secretly mobilizing troops to ambush the Golden House."

"Based on my past encounters with the 'Rich Man,' and your assessment of their actions in protecting the 'Mingxiao Lantern' and mobilizing the Thousand Rock Army's mobile squad, I've concluded that the 'Rich Man's' target is indeed the Golden House." Ningguang shook her head and sighed. "Our response was entirely within the 'Rich Man's' calculations."

"For us, the Golden House is the lifeblood of Liyue. We have tried our best to protect the secret that the Golden House has long been discontinued during the Summoning Ceremony. To this day, including the Liyue Septate and the Whitewater Hall that manages the Golden House, there are only a handful of people in Liyue who know this secret."

"Because we firmly believe that we have seen through the whole picture of the rich man's plan, we overlook one thing—the secret of the Golden House is not something that can only be obtained by attacking the Golden House," Han Fulai said in a deep voice.

“After the General Affairs Department’s garrison was transferred away, Liyue Harbor entered its most vulnerable period. Therefore, I was able to easily bring you two out.” Pantarone’s lips curled up slightly. “I came to Liyue specifically to ask you two a question.”

"Please speak, sir. Since I have sworn allegiance to you, I will tell you everything I know." Mao Cai Gong straightened his hunched back, looking quite spirited.

Ningguang and Han Fulai had dealt them such a terrible blow, and now, with a flick of his finger, Lord Pantalone had given their enemies a taste of their own medicine, rescuing them from the brink of execution. By attaching themselves to Pantalone, they saw a future opportunity to personally avenge themselves against Ningguang and Han Fulai.

“As the former director of Whitewater Hall in Liyue, and the former assistant director of Whitewater Hall, you two can certainly answer my question.” Pantarone showed a relieved expression. “Has Golden House stopped producing Mora?”

After a moment of contemplation, Mao Cai Gong replied, "This... as far as I know, the Mora of the Golden House has always been forged by the Rock King... by the Rock God himself. Without the Rock God's divine power, mortals cannot forge Mora."

“I also saw a document on Director Jiang’s desk with the title about the Mora reserves in the Golden House. About two months ago, the Mora reserves in the Golden House had already decreased significantly,” Sheng Jinyong quickly added, trying to impress him.

“I see, I see… Thank you both so much for your help.” Pantalone smiled with delight and even took Mao Cai Gong’s hand.

"I would be content if I could be of any help to you, sir." The scholar was flattered and overwhelmed.

“I am truly grateful for your help and your sacrifices.” Pantalone released Maocai Gong’s hand, took a few steps back, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped the spot where they had just shaken hands.

"Sacrifice..." Upon hearing this, Mao Cai Gong's eyes widened instantly.

"Hmm. As the saying goes, 'spend a fortune to buy a horse's bones,' how can a living horse be considered a horse's bone?"

Pantalone smiled and tossed away the handkerchief that had been used to wipe his glove.

Behind Mao Cai Gong and his son, the blades of the elite debt collectors were already flashing.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Pantalone, who had left early, was still dressed in pristine white, spotless.

The Ice Queen only ordered Tartaglia to obtain the Heart of God from Liyue, and the person who asked Tartaglia to investigate the amount of Mora in the Golden House was Pantarone.

Ningguang's act of placing the Celestial Ancestor's artifact in the Golden House, allowing Tartaglia to achieve two goals at once, had already made Pantarone suspicious of Tartaglia's investigation results. This time, however, her personal investigation in Liyue yielded satisfactory results.

Intelligence from all sides corroborates each other, pointing to the fact that the Golden House has ceased production. To undermine Liyue's Mora credit, simply circulating a large amount of counterfeit currency is not enough; it is also necessary to confirm that the Golden House can no longer mint genuine Mora, and that the Seven Stars cannot save the market by mass-producing Mora.

Now, everything is ripe, and Pantalone's long-planned scheme through the Northern Bank is about to be launched.

"The trajectory of money circulation forms the blood vessels of the world. Therefore, the center of this world is the heart of gold."

Pantalone muttered to himself.

"Even money, which 'you' should discard like trash, is in 'your' hands as one of countless powers."

“I will prove to ‘you’ that this power is not something that only ‘you’ can possess.”

Chapter 45 First Strike Against Second Strike: The Advantage Lies With Me [4k]

Inside Ningguang's temporary office, the three of them still sat facing each other.

After Han Fulai said, "The secret of the Golden House is not something that can only be obtained by attacking the Golden House," everyone fell silent.

Everyone present knew the significance of the Golden House to Liyue. It could be said that without the Golden House, there would be no Liyue as we know it today.

Without its minting function, the Golden House is no longer the only mint on the Teyvat continent, but merely a beautifully decorated and historically significant bank vault. Liyue's special status as the most prosperous trading nation on the Teyvat continent will also rapidly decline with the cessation of Mora's production.

But this is just one of the least significant consequences of the Golden House's closure.

From Han Fulai's perspective as a modern Chinese, Liyue's industrial development is severely distorted, relying entirely on a commodity economy to develop the tertiary sector, while the primary and secondary sectors are almost at the level of the feudal era.

Compared to Winterfall, which has clearly begun its industrialization process, Liyue lags far behind in both technological accumulation and industrial system—this is evident from the equipment disparity between the Thousand Rock Army and the Fatui. In terms of national strength, Liyue is far behind Winterfall.

The deflation caused by the shutdown of Mora production alone could severely impact Liyue's economy in the short term. Liyue's commodity economy naturally expands market demand, which in turn increases the demand for currency. When currency cannot keep pace with market demand, economic development stagnates, and may even lead to an economic recession.

Moreover, Ningguang and Han Fulai both knew that the Northern Bank's interest-free loan policy was a scheme orchestrated by the "rich." Now that the "rich" have learned the secret that the Golden House has ceased production, the Northern Bank's plan will inevitably begin, frantically acquiring debts from various industries in Liyue, and then waiting for the deflationary recession to reap the rewards of Liyue.

As the wealthiest merchant in Teyvat, Ningguang can use her immense wealth to keep the Northern Bank occupied for a short period. If the Northern Bank runs out of steam, it might even be defeated by Ningguang in one fell swoop—but there is also the risk that Ningguang herself could be defeated by the Northern Bank.

The Northern Bank at Winter's End is backed by the entire nation's resources, while the Seven Stars of Liyue each have their own plans and might even preserve their strength due to factional disputes, potentially hindering Ningguang's efforts. Even if Ningguang is an unparalleled business genius, she cannot be certain of victory under these circumstances.

It can be said that Liyue is currently facing a very real situation of "internal and external troubles, with a storm brewing".

The best approach, of course, is to avoid a direct confrontation with the Northern Bank, because as long as you don't step into the ring, you won't lose. Even if one day the secret of the Golden House's production halt is exposed, Ningguang has already bought enough time to prepare for this duel.

That's why Ningguang went to great lengths to conceal the fact that the Golden House had ceased production by bluffing and transporting her own Mora reserves into the Golden House, thus gaining ample time to prepare for the economic war that was about to begin.

While the "Liyue Coin - Mora" system planned by Han Fulai and Ningguang could solve the problem once and for all, it would still require time to prepare.

It can be said that what Liyue lacks is time, and what the "rich" are now gaining is precisely time!

At this moment, Han Fulai even wondered to himself if he was destined to be hunted down by deadlines.

In college, professors pressure you to write your thesis; in a company, bosses pressure you to create your PowerPoint presentations… You finally manage to travel to Liyue, where you and Ganyu spend a month preparing for the Haiting reform to deal with Zhongli's retirement, only to have Zhongli go on strike before the Haiting reform is even complete; you and Ningguang prepare for a currency reform, only to find an economic war is about to break out before the currency reform is even finished…

What does it mean to be out of luck?

Seemingly unable to bear the silence any longer, Keqing stood up and spoke: "After all, Lord Maocai and his son are criminals. Even if the Fools kidnap them, they can't protect them. We can order the Thousand Rock Army to search the entire territory! As long as we can capture them, we'll have leverage against the Fools!"

Ningguang shook her head: "First, we cannot announce to the public that the General Affairs Department prison has been broken into. Without evidence that it was the Fools who broke into the prison, making this public will only damage the prestige of the Seven Stars government. Even if we investigate, we can only do so in secret. Second, based on my understanding of 'The Rich Man,' I'm afraid that Maocai Gong and his son were silenced as soon as they were asked for the information 'The Rich Man' wanted. Over the years, he has never left any evidence against us."

Ke Qing recalled Peng Yi, who had been silenced by the "rich man" just a few hours earlier, and how the Fools' Prison Break had even used Peng Yi's specially made fireworks. She gained a deep understanding of the "rich man's" methods. She could only grit her teeth and swallow the matter.

"What about the investigation into Shi Po?" Ke Qing asked again.

“If we can recall the Thousand Rock Army mobile force from Qingce Village now and search in several directions, we might still have a chance to recover that batch of stone amber.” Ningguang shook her head again.

If only the Jade Pavilion were intact… Ningguang was actually thinking the same thing as Keqing. Most of the magic arrays on the Jade Pavilion were damaged in the Battle of Ocel, especially the Wind Array in her study. If the Jade Pavilion were intact, she could easily use it to search the entire Liyue region with its magic arrays.

The timing was terrible—no, it should be said that the opponent chose the perfect timing.

“I have two concerns right now,” Ningguang said. “One is what the significance of the amber is to the ‘rich’ and even the Winter Kingdom. I will find out as soon as possible. The other is the economic war that the ‘rich’ will launch after they learn that the Golden House has stopped production. To be honest, I am not prepared enough for this.”

"If you need any help, just tell me, and I'll do everything I can to defeat that guy with you!" Keqing declared loudly, tossing her twin tails. Even if it was just for her pride, Keqing was determined to get her revenge on the "rich man."

"Thank you." Ningguang finally smiled a little. In any case, the addition of the powerful family represented by Keqing was a significant help.

Keqing and Ningguang had very different ideologies and their relationship had never been harmonious, but now, because of the "rich man," they were on the same side. For Ningguang, this was an unexpected surprise.

"Time is short, let's discuss the details of the cooperation. I have some countermeasures for the industries that the Northern Bank might acquire. We need to prepare for the worst and do our best to protect Liyue's important industries in this economic war, even if it may come at a great cost..."

As Ningguang spoke, she picked up the calligraphy brush on the table and prepared to discuss an industry protection plan with Keqing.

Just then, they suddenly heard a soft laugh, which came from Han Fulai.

The two looked at Han Fulai curiously, only to see that Han Fulai, who had been silent since earlier, had stopped thinking and was now standing tall.

"Lord Ningguang, Lord Keqing, we were almost fooled by the 'rich man.' Don't worry, time is on our side." Han Fulai's face once again wore that confident smile.

That was the signature expression of a small-town exam-taker after solving a difficult problem.

Ke Qing was very familiar with Han Fulai's irritating expression; it was that kind of smug smile that said, "It's just a problem, I know it's nothing special, but I solved the problem that you couldn't, so I'm the stronger one now."

Just the night before, Han Fulai had given her a math problem to solve. Ke Qing remembered how Han Fulai laughed after she answered incorrectly.

Ningguang looked at her adopted younger brother with great interest, knowing that Han Fulai rarely spoke without basis.

"Xiao Han, tell me, what did the 'rich man' lie to us about?"

Han Fulai nodded and said, "He's deceiving us into wasting time, energy, and money on hasty preparations for this impending economic war—he's making us believe that Winterfall is ready for an economic war against Liyue. No, Winterfall isn't ready, and neither is he. He needs time more than we do! He came to Liyue to buy time!"

Ningguang frowned slightly and asked, "You mean, Pantarone wasn't prepared to attack Liyue? And he actually sent people to Liyue himself?"

Ningguang's suspicions were not without reason. On one hand, she didn't know why Han Fulai was so certain. On the other hand, based on her experience fighting Pantarone, Pantarone always stayed within Winterfell, operating behind the scenes and manipulating others. Yet Han Fulai claimed that Pantarone had come to Liyue in person, a fact that even Ningguang was unaware of.

“Yes, I’m very sure,” Han Fulai said firmly.

Han Fulai was so certain for a reason, because he knew that Ningguang and Keqing were unaware of the information, which was currently only known to him and Gan Yu.

The information Zhongli told him.

Information about the Ice Queen's plot to defy the laws of nature; information about Zhongli giving the Heart of God to the Winter Kingdom; and information about a secret pact between Zhongli and the Ice Queen.