He changed Tiwat

Although he didn't know what the Ice Queen was plotting or what the agreement between Zhongli and the Ice Queen was, knowing this information itself was already very valuable.

This means that Han Fulai has seen a larger game—a game with Teyvat as the chessboard and the Seven World Rulers as the players.

No matter what schemes Pantalone, the "rich man," may have, they are all small parts built upon this larger scheme; he is ultimately just the ninth executive under the Queen.

This means that Pantalone prioritizes the Empress's overall interests, and he is merely a pawn in her game.

In other words, at least before Zhongli gave the Heart of God to the Ice Queen, the Ice Queen had no reason to plan an attack on Liyue, and her subordinates had even less authority to bypass her and plan an attack on Liyue.

At the same time, Han Fulai also knew that almost everything that happened during the entire ritual of inviting immortals was under Zhongli's control.

Based on Han Fulai's understanding of the Rock King, he would never allow the Winter Kingdom's executors to cross his bottom line with Liyue before his retirement. If executors like Tartaglia or Pantarone had actually done such a thing, not to mention Zhongli's possible retaliation, the Heart of God would certainly not be so easily given to the Ice Queen.

Zhongli faked his death during the Ascension Ceremony, and the Heart of God was only given out by Zhongli on the eve of the Ascension Ceremony after the Liyue Sept and the Liyue Ascetics joined forces to defeat the Demon God Oser. This signifies his official retirement.

In other words, whatever plans Pantarone has for this economic war between Winter and Liyue, he can only make some advance preparations. For example, the interest-free loan arrangements of the Northern Bank.

But as long as Zhongli hasn't retired, Pantalone's plan cannot be launched.

Pantalone could only learn from the Ice Queen that the Rock King might retire, but he could never know the exact day.

Similarly, Pantalone could not possibly prepare a long-term plan that would take many years to come, and then immediately launch it when Zhongli suddenly decides to retire.

This is unrealistic from both a feasibility and cost perspective.

This means that whatever plans Pantarone has against Liyue, from the time Zhongli officially retired until now, he has had less than half a month to prepare.

This period roughly coincided with Han Fulai and Gan Yu's joint planning and trapping of Maocai Gong, who was colluding with the Fools, before completing the reform of Yuehaiting.

Of course, Han Fulai couldn't tell Ningguang and Keqing what he had talked about with Zhongli. But that didn't stop him from explaining his reasons to the two of them.

“I have two reasons,” Han Fulai said.

"Firstly, the stone amber is very important to Pantarone's plan. That's why he specifically acquired stone amber through people like Maocai. After Lady Ningguang promulgated the 'Liyue Strategic Material Embargo Law,' he didn't hesitate to create this plan to attack the General Affairs Department in order to get this batch of stone amber. He also took a great risk in this plan. If he was not careful, he would expose his target and give others a handle to use against him."

"Although we don't know exactly what use amber is to Pantalone, we are certain that he only recently started this plan to acquire amber—shortly before the amber embargo!"

“I see.” Ningguang clapped her hands. “Stone amber was not an embargoed commodity before, and merchants from the Winter Kingdom could legally purchase it. There’s no reason why he hasn’t accumulated enough stone amber over the years—unless he didn’t have any plans to use stone amber until recently.”

"But we preemptively blocked his legal amber acquisition channels, forcing him to collect amber through illegal means. So, we were the ones who acted first, and Pantalone is the one who needs to turn the tide!"

"The second reason is that he personally came to Liyue and orchestrated the plan to attack the General Affairs Department. If he hadn't been forced into it, given his style, he would never have come to carry out the plan in person. He did this because—he didn't have time to wait for his subordinates to send a message."

Han Fulai said, turning to Ke Qing.

"Doesn't Lady Keqing think that Pantalone's reaction was too fast? You rushed back to Liyue Harbor from Qingce Village without stopping for more than a few hours. In such a short time, Pantalone was able to know that you would come back to capture Pengyi, and then kill Pengyi before you returned to Liyue Harbor."

He then turned to Ningguang and said, "Similarly, just as Lady Ningguang secretly dispatched the garrison troops of the General Affairs Department out of the city, Pantalone was able to seize the opportunity to attack the General Affairs Department. If Pantalone was remotely controlling everything from the Winter Solstice, it would take several days just for the information to travel back and forth. How could he possibly manipulate his subordinates to carry out the plan so promptly?"

"So the only possibility is that he has been in Liyue Harbor directing operations on-site! He had to come because he couldn't afford to wait for the time spent on the journey—he was in a greater hurry than we were."

"Whatever he's planning, it will take time for him to collect all the stone amber, time to transport the stone amber back to Zhidong, and time for him to return to Zhidong and mobilize manpower and resources!"

Han Fulai concluded by saying:

"Going first against going second, the advantage is mine!"

Chapter 46: Despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically. [4k]

Han Fulai's short speech instantly dispelled the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

Ningguang and Keqing, who had just been looking gloomy because they had been tricked by the "rich man" and the secret of the Golden House had been exposed, couldn't help but light up when they heard this.

It was just a few words, but they gave Ningguang and Keqing hope of defeating the "rich man".

Keqing, always straightforward and never stooping to scheming, naturally couldn't imagine that Pantalone's timing in silencing Tomoyoshi contained such a hidden meaning. Of course, Keqing also lacked the crucial information that Han Fulai possessed, making it difficult for her to imagine that Pantalone, a schemer who seemed to have everything under control, also faced difficulties.

But in any case, Han Fulai's words further ignited her fighting spirit. Her gaze towards Han Fulai immediately changed, filled with anticipation, and she sincerely praised, "You are truly remarkable, to be able to notice such details."

"It just happened to come to mind," Han Fulai said modestly, explaining, "I was actually thinking back on the 'rich man's' plans in this incident, trying to find a way to turn the tables. I discovered that although he had calculated almost everything, there was still one thing he had overlooked."

"Oh? Where?" Ningguang asked curiously. She had actually considered this question earlier when she was sorting out the intelligence with Han Fulai, but she had not found any loopholes that Pantalone had left.

“Immortal,” Han Fulai replied, “Lord Ningguang and Lord Keqing may not know, but tonight I asked the Great Sage Subduing Demons to help guard the Golden House. I apologize, I also concealed this from Lord Keqing.”

"It's alright. I just didn't expect that the Great Sage Who Subdued Demons would be willing to obey humans..." Ke Qing was quite surprised.

Although she desperately didn't want the immortals involved, she had to admit their formidable strength. If a large number of immortals were to guard the Golden House and Liyue Harbor tonight, Pantalone's plan would have no chance of succeeding.

In her view, Xiao was the kind of immortal who was very difficult to communicate with and was extremely reluctant to approach humans. The fact that Han Fulai was able to persuade Xiao to become a guard in the Golden House made Ke Qing's understanding of Han Fulai change once again.

Since Han Fulai became her temporary personal secretary, he has given her a lot of useful advice, both in the preparation of the fireworks display and in personnel matters. And in this major case orchestrated by a "rich man," Han Fulai has also impressed her.

Why not... really ask Mr. Han to be my personal secretary? Ke Qing, who never deigned to rely on others for help, was already secretly considering how to ask Gan Yu for someone.

Han Fulai, of course, had no idea what Keqing was thinking. He continued to explain, "Since the Great Sage of Demon Subduing is guarding the Golden House, the Thousand Rock Army that Lord Ningguang sent to guard the Golden House can actually leave most of its troops behind to continue guarding the General Affairs Department."

“Pantarone didn’t anticipate that we might have the help of the Liyue Asuras. As everyone knows, the Liyue Asuras are at odds with the Seven Stars Government and would never help them. That’s Pantarone’s only weakness.” Ningguang nodded in agreement. “Pantarone’s mobilization of the Thousand Rock Army could very well fail because of this—if I had known about it beforehand.”

“Yes. That’s what I thought of too. If I had an internet connection that allowed me to communicate with Lady Ningguang in real time… I mean, a means of communication, then it would be very likely that I could completely thwart Pantalone’s plan. Imagine if we were in Qingce Village and could notify Lady Ningguang to arrest Pengyi, then Pengyi would likely be captured before he could be silenced, and Pantalone’s plan would naturally fall apart.”

"Alas, it's a pity there isn't such a convenient method," Ningguang sighed.

Her intelligence officer, Yelan, actually possessed a pair of family heirloom bracelets called "Youqi Bracelets," which were said to have the magical ability to transmit simple messages over long distances. Unfortunately, Yelan lost one of the bracelets in a previous battle with the "Rich Man," and now her bracelets served only as decoration.

"So I further realized that Pantarone's ability to always be one step ahead of us must mean that he is in Liyue Harbor, adjusting his plans in a timely manner based on our responses," Han Fulai said. "Not only that. Now that I think about it, I've also discovered an anomaly in Pantarone's strategy."

"Where?" Ke Qing asked. She had been there earlier, listening to Han Fulai and Ningguang review Pantalone's plan, but she hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"Does Lady Keqing still remember the night before, when I was discussing the preparations for the fireworks festival with you, I asked you if you had encountered many unexpected situations?" Han Fulai asked in return.

Ke Qing tilted her head and recalled for a moment, then suddenly understood what Han Fulai was referring to: "You told me back then that the plan would have all sorts of problems because 'the plan is executed by people'!"

“Everyone makes mistakes.” Han Fulai nodded. “The most unusual thing about Pantalone’s plan is that it is too meticulous! It seems that every step we take is within his expectations, but in reality, he also has to be very careful with every step, as if walking on thin ice. Because the more meticulous the plan, the less room there is for error!”

"From the fireworks theft to the breaching of the dike and flooding of the fields, to the feigned attack on the Golden House, and then to the full-scale attack on the General Affairs Department. If any link in these steps fails, it will lead to failure. For example, suppose he didn't kill Tomoyoshi in time, and Tomoyoshi was captured by us, and we found out his plans, or even further pointed out that he was in Liyue Harbor, then he would be trapped in the enemy's camp and unable to escape."

This is also an experience Han Fulai gained from Chinese historical records. Many strategies recorded in history books are often "one-shot deals," such as "smashing a cup as a signal, and then the executioners rush in." This is not because the wisdom of the ancients was inferior to that of modern people, but because the more steps a plan has, the easier it is to find flaws.

In his own restructuring plan for Yuehaiting, he perfectly achieved his goal simply through the leak of a classified document. Why complicate things when a plan only needs to be simple and practical? — Unless the other side couldn't achieve their goal without such a complex method.

“Pantarone is not as easy as he appears to us. If he could truly manipulate events at will, why would he need to be so cautious? If the Northern Bank really had the strength to gain an absolute advantage in the economic war with Liyue, he could simply manipulate things from behind the scenes in Winterfall. Why would he need to take the risk himself?”

"His goal is to shock us—he can easily manipulate us, obtain the information he wants, attack the General Affairs Department in Liyue Harbor, and leave unscathed afterward... He's demonstrating, and he's bluffing!"

“When I’m bluffing, the enemy is bluffing too…” Ningguang sighed.

She had always been amazed by Pantalone's boldness and precise calculations, but the revelation of the secret of the Golden House and the impending attack by the Northern Bank threw her into disarray.

But after hearing Han Fulai's words, Ningguang unconsciously lost all bitterness from her defeat.

The frustration caused by the leak of the Golden House secret, and the oppressive feeling brought about by the success of Pantalone's plan, have all vanished.

She couldn't help but admire Xiao Han's eloquence, which was getting better and better.

Ningguang, a worldly-wise woman and a seasoned orator capable of boosting morale during ceremonies and battles like the Battle of Oser, had to admit that Han Fulai's analysis had instilled confidence in her. Even knowing that Han Fulai's claims might be exaggerated, Ningguang was now willing to believe him.

"Xiao Han, you just said, 'The first player has the advantage over the second player,' what did you mean by that?" Ning Guang asked, her face brightening with a different kind of radiance.

As the saying goes, "Despise the enemy strategically, but take the enemy seriously tactically." Han Fulai's analysis, in the end, was aimed at achieving the effect of "despising the enemy strategically" and boosting the morale of the two Seven Star Lords.

Pantalone's ingenious scheme, which manipulated both Seven Stars and even Han Fulai, was incredibly frustrating. Keqing and Ningguang had just been discussing how to prepare for the worst and protect Liyue's industries in the economic war waged by the Northern Bank—clearly, they were already operating under the assumption of failure.

Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Han Fulai had experienced this sense of defeat—back during the Immortal Invitation Ceremony, he had already felt the gap between himself and Ningguang, Zhongli, and the others at the Qunyu Pavilion. This time, he was simply adding Pantarone to the mix.

In fact, Pantarone's ability to perfectly execute his plan in Liyue Harbor demonstrates his extremely terrifying control, powerful calculation and intelligence capabilities, as well as extraordinary courage—all of which shows Han Fulai just how formidable an opponent Pantarone is.

Even if it's a bit exaggerated, he needs to downplay Pantalone as much as possible to build confidence in his side and to give Ningguang and Keqing faith in him. After all, what's to come will require Ningguang and Keqing's complete trust and assistance.

Han Fulai raised his eyebrows and replied, "In short—no matter how many routes you come from, I will only go one way."

"'No matter how many routes you come from, I will only go one way'...?" Ke Qing was still pondering the meaning behind Han Fulai's words, but Ning Guang already understood.

"Make the most of our first-mover advantage... I understand."

Ningguang and Han Fulai exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

"Hey...you two, can you talk this out?" Ke Qing inexplicably felt ostracized again. Moreover, the way Ning Guang and Han Fulai were exchanging glances, from Ke Qing's perspective, was what you'd call "flirting," which made her inexplicably uncomfortable.

“Pantalogie holds our biggest weakness: the cessation of production at the Golden House,” Han Fulai said. “But we still have time. If we can eliminate this weakness before the Northern Bank launches a full-scale economic war, the advantage will be on our side. Lady Ningguang has already begun to eliminate this weakness, which is our first move.”

“And now, we still have time to accelerate the progress of this plan and make the most of our first-mover advantage,” Ningguang said. “Actually, Han and I have discussed a currency reform plan, which we call the ‘Liyue Coin-Mora’ system.”

Ningguang then carefully recounted the currency reform plan that she and Han Fulai had discussed to Keqing.

Han Fulai believed that the credit currency strategy he brought as a time traveler was far ahead of the Teyvat era. Strategically, his initiative would undoubtedly give him a significant advantage.

Next, we must “take the enemy seriously in terms of tactics.”

After listening to Ningguang's explanation, Keqing pondered for a moment and said, "I am willing to join this plan. However, relying solely on Ningguang's and my assets as reserves may not be enough. After all, the Northern Bank is backed by the entire Winter Solstice."

"Furthermore, once Pantalone learns of the Golden House's closure, she will undoubtedly exploit it. For example, she might spread rumors in Liyue Harbor that the Golden House's closure means Liyue is about to face deflation. This could easily cause panic among the public, especially merchants, and also affect investment confidence..."

Keqing's concerns were not unfounded. In fact, Liyue merchants often used this method of spreading rumors to influence market judgments during business battles.

Of course, Han Fulai already had a countermeasure.

“Lady Keqing is right, so our first step is to render such rumors ineffective,” Han Fulai said.

"What should we do?" Ke Qing blinked. Rumors are something you can't completely prevent. But she believed that Han Fulai would definitely bring a surprise.

“Take control of the interpretation of rumors—don’t wait for Pantarone to spread rumors in Liyue Harbor, let’s spread the rumors ourselves,” Han Fulai replied.

Just kidding, he's someone who's seen public opinion management in the internet age. Even the President of the United States can have his account suspended and his phone confiscated; traffic stars can control comments with real and fake trending topics. What kind of crazy plot twists haven't he seen over the years? Han Fulai is a veteran of countless battles; he's seen it all.

“Starting tomorrow, we will disguise the Golden House as a construction site and completely seal it off. Then we will announce to the public that the Golden House system is undergoing maintenance and the forging of Mora is suspended.”

"System maintenance?" Ke Qing asked, puzzled.

"Well, it means the Golden House needs to be expanded, renovated, and its security facilities upgraded. Didn't 'Young Master' D'Tartaria break into the Golden House a while ago? We said the damage he caused at that time hasn't been fully repaired yet, so the Golden House needs maintenance." Han Fulai smoothly shifted the blame to D'Tartaria.

"But we're not actually doing renovations?" Ke Qing asked.

"Of course not. Just set up scaffolding outside the Golden House, put out carts, building materials, and all sorts of normal construction supplies. As long as it looks like that, everyone will think the Golden House is under construction. Leave these to Lord Keqing," Han Fulai said.

Ke Qing nodded; this was a field she was well-versed in.

"Then comes the second step," Han Fulai said. "With the Golden House closed, some industrial markets will naturally experience a shortage of Mora. Previously, Ningguang had been using the reserves to support the market, but from now on, Ningguang, please stop releasing Mora into the market. And... begin printing Liyue coins."

Chapter 47 This is the truth you forced out using rumors.

Ningguang narrowed her eyes slightly. "You mean, you want me to exchange the Mora I'm preparing to release for Liyue Coins?"

“That’s right,” Han Fulai said with a smile. “Since the Golden House is under construction and maintenance, it’s perfectly reasonable that Mora can’t be taken out.”

"Liyue Coins are essentially deposit certificates from a money exchange, except that this money exchange isn't a private one like 'Minghua Money Exchange,' but rather the Seven Stars government, or rather, the golden house representing the Seven Stars government. The people of Liyue can exchange Liyue Coins, issued by Ningguang, for Mora of equal value."

Ningguang nodded. "In other words, we'll use the 'construction' of the Golden House as an excuse to start promoting Liyue Coins. I promise, with the credibility of the Seven Stars government, that once the Golden House reopens, people can exchange Liyue Coins for Mora at any time, and in this way, Liyue Coins will gradually begin to replace Mora in circulation."

“But… what if people ask for Mora when the time comes, and we don’t have enough Mora to pay them? You know, the Golden House really has stopped production.” Keqing frowned.

“This relates to people’s confidence in the Seven Stars government,” Han Fulai said. “Generally speaking, if people believe in the Seven Stars government’s ability to pay, there won’t be a situation where people simultaneously demand payment of Mora—that is, a ‘bank run’. But if rumors circulate, such as ‘Golden House has actually stopped production and Seven Stars cannot pay Mora,’ then a bank run will occur.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Keqing said. “The Fatui already know the secret of the Golden House’s production halt. If we issue Liyue Coins now, they will definitely spread rumors and cause a run on the bank. Wouldn’t issuing Liyue Coins now be playing right into their hands?”

“So Han just mentioned that we should spread the rumors ourselves.” Ningguang smiled. “I’m afraid this is his third step.”

“That’s right.” Han Fulai smiled and nodded. “The initial issuance of Liyue Coins should not be too large; it should be kept within our redemption capacity. Once news of Ningguang’s issuance of Liyue Coins in the name of the Seven Stars Government spreads throughout Liyue, and the Liyue Coins have been in circulation for a short time, we will orchestrate a run on the exchange ourselves!”

"First, they quietly spread rumors such as 'Golden House has actually been permanently shut down and the Seven Stars of Liyue are deceiving the public,' and got newspaper reporters, legal consultants, and public intellectuals... cough, I mean, scholars in Liyue Harbor to question the Seven Stars government."

Ke Qing tilted her head, puzzled, and asked, "I understand newspaper reporters... but why involve legal consultants and scholars? Is there a reason for this?"

"Because they also control public opinion in Liyue to some extent. For example, as far as I know, Ms. Yanfei, as Liyue Harbor's top legal consultant, is often entrusted to handle disputes. When many people have disputes, their first reaction is not to go to the General Affairs Department, but to ask Yanfei to settle the matter," Han Fulai replied.

"Scholars are highly respected because of their extensive knowledge. For example, some scholars who study the deeds of the Rock King Emperor even claim to know more about the Rock King Emperor than the Rock King Emperor himself."

"If those who have the power to speak out in public opinion question the Seven Stars government, the public will be more likely to believe it, and thus more likely to cause a bank run. In short, we need to make this a big deal, big enough that everyone in Liyue knows that a bank run has occurred."

"Once a run on the bank occurs, we'll announce that the Golden House is complete and reopened. Then, we'll invite these people to gather in the open space outside the Golden House, and then we'll haul Mora out of the Golden House truckload by truckload!"

“This is equivalent to demonstrating the Golden House’s ability to pay in front of the entire Liyue and even the entire Teyvat continent.” Ningguang smiled. “They created the rumor themselves, then refuted it themselves, and used newspapers and other media channels to let everyone know that ‘the Golden House’s discontinuation is a rumor.’”

"Those newspaper reporters don't care at all about the source of the rumors; they only care about whether their right to speak out is affected. So, in order to shirk responsibility for spreading rumors, they will definitely declare in the newspapers—'We are using rumors to force the truth out of us,'" Han Fulai said with a smile.

"That's right."

“Those second-rate newspapers will definitely do that.”

Ningguang and Keqing expressed their agreement with deep feeling. As members of the Liyue Seven Stars, they had been the subject of much gossip in the newspapers.

"When the Liyue Daily interviewed me last time, they asked me why I, with all my wealth, still keep going into business?" Ningguang clicked her tongue, a rare occurrence for her. "Tsk, what a strange question! Having all my wealth is certainly good, but what's wrong with earning an extra mora?"

"And the Liyue Daily's headline was—'Ningguang, an insatiable woman!'"

“You’re lucky,” Ke Qing said indignantly. “You know, I’ve done a lot of public service work and made many public service initiatives. But last time I proposed ‘working an extra hour every day,’ they actually wrote a whole page of reports to scold me!”

"'Yuheng Star Keqing claims that working two extra hours every day is a blessing for workers'—I only suggested working two extra hours, which doesn't count as overtime... I never said it was a blessing!"