Mythical Three Kingdoms

After Chen Xi obtained information on some aristocratic families from Yuan Shu, he understood it was time to sow the seeds.

”Chen Bo, help me find Wen Ru,” Chen Xi said to the butler after returning home.

”Master, shortly after you left, Minister Li arrived and is still waiting for you in the main hall,” Butler Chen responded, bowing, ”However, Minister Li seems to be in a bit of a bad mood.”

”Oh, I’ll go take a look,” Chen Xi nodded and then strode towards the central hall, where Li You was sitting calmly with his eyes closed.

”Hey, Wen Ru, you’re surprisingly free today,” Chen Xi’s footsteps were light, but as he blocked the light at the doorway, Li You opened his eyes, and Chen Xi immediately greeted him.

”It’s not that I’m idle; I just don’t have any money left, so I can’t get anything done,” Li You, who had been working hard recently, said blandly, but the grievance in his tone was evident.

”There’s nothing we can do; we can only allocate so much money, and relatively speaking, Zizhong’s tasks are more urgent,” Chen Xi sighed, sitting down in front of Li You, ”Actually, I’m curious how you got your hands on that ten billion coins, as without my official seal, others shouldn’t be able to withdraw money.”

”That’s just what you signed,” Li You rolled his eyes and said, ”Moreover, since you can withdraw ten billion coins, why not broaden the projects? Our overall construction speed is extremely slow.”

”Impossible, every document I sign has backups to prevent omissions or overspending, as I need to carefully consider each large expense to avoid causing instability in the entire market environment,” Chen Xi shook his head; being in a high position, he was more cautious than before.

”Actually, Zichuan, I’ve never understood what you’re cautious about — if the money can be withdrawn, it can be spent, and if it runs out, deal with it then,” Li You said, looking slightly displeased at Chen Xi.

Li You had meticulously planned to allocate each hundred million of the ten billion coins to specific uses to achieve certain results; however, seven billion of it was directly taken by Mi Zhu, leaving him unable even to express his anger, so he came to Chen Xi to vent.

Thankfully, Li You’s ability to maintain composure was decent, or else he wouldn’t have been so calm.

”Alright, next I’ll briefly explain my approach, so understand what you can; if you don’t grasp it, I’ll explain, but not too thoroughly,” seeing Li You’s expression, Chen Xi thought it might be worth explaining to him.

”Alright, I’m all ears,” Li You adjusted his posture in a respectful manner; in internal affairs, everyone under Liu Bei’s command was willing to follow Chen Xi’s lead.

Chen Xi briefly explained economic regulation, political economics, foundational probabilities, banking macro-regulation, inflation rates, and other concepts to Li You. The initial parts were understandable to Li You, but as it went further, he only felt dizzy.

”Your meaning is that you actually don’t have one cent?” Li You couldn’t understand much else, but he could grasp the idea that Chen Xi suggested he didn’t have money.

”Indeed,” Chen Xi said with a smile, ”It’s like borrowing a chicken to lay eggs; he deposited ten billion coins with us, and I relocated it for use elsewhere, then when he wants to withdraw money, perhaps I’ve already made a pile of money from money, or maybe others have also borrowed money.”

Li You was greatly shocked, questioning how such a method could not lead to problems. It seemed bound to lead to trouble eventually.

Seeing Li You’s shocked expression, Chen Xi didn’t care, saying, ”Don’t worry, as long as there isn’t a rush to withdraw money, nobody will be able to discern our situation, plus we currently have a lot of free labor, so the profit generated by each cent in my hands far exceeds the principal.”

”Are you saying you’ve been robbing Peter to pay Paul all along, suggesting that Mount Tai of Qing Xu lacks anything of our own?” Li You frowned and said.

”How could you think that? I’m not robbing Peter to pay Paul; I’m merely letting the money pass through, specifically speaking, I haven’t spent even one cent; there’s a state called dynamic balance of income and expenditure,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Li You didn’t understand such concepts, still feeling that this method was unreliable, but Chen Xi had been playing this game for many years; from building Mount Tai with a white stripe to the current dynamic balance of the Money Exchange, Chen Xi had never failed, and the rule under his governance was thriving.

”But what about the aristocratic family’s use of white stripes; what does that count as?” Li You frowned, noting this was the biggest issue.

”That’s also money, and it’s equivalent to actual money,” Chen Xi silently stated, ”What’s added to it is my credit, serving as a replacement for copper coins.”

Seeing Li You’s confusion, Chen Xi realized that Li You was ignorant of credit currency, sighed, and pointed at the teacup saying, ”Say, Wen Ru, how much is this teacup worth?”

”Exquisite white porcelain with bird and flower motifs, singular in the world, valued at no less than ten thousand coins,” Li You examined the teacup and said.

”Then, Wen Ru, if you use this teacup as a certificate for trade, acquire goods valued at ten million coins, and the other party uses the teacup to exchange ten million coins, what is the teacup worth?” Chen Xi asked with a smile.

”Ten thousand coins? No, ten million coins, but...” Li You frowned, appearing to have grasped something.

”Your meaning is that ticket exchange is equivalent to the previous teacup; the teacup can exchange for so much money because the other party believes they delivered goods and believes you’ll pay, while the teacup is merely a token, your ticket exchange is also a token,” Li You said to Chen Xi as realization dawned.

”Indeed, tokens only, they trust the Money Exchange, trusting that anytime they hold the ticket, it’s interchangeable for money due to my credit and the backing powers’ credibility,” Chen Xi nodded, ”And this is credit currency.”

”It doesn’t possess intrinsic value; it’s circulated due to the issuer’s credibility, becoming recognized currency, explaining why what I write on certificates can be directly exchanged for goods and copper coins,” Chen Xi stated calmly, ”As you guessed, I am indeed creating money from thin air.”

Li You was speechless; although he had previously joked that Chen Xi was conjuring money from thin air, the truth eventually winding round to reveal it indeed such.

”Though conjuring money from thin air, it’s not without considerations; exceeding a certain limit, unable to bestow real value upon tokens results in another outcome,” Chen Xi said wistfully, which is why he sought to integrate more aristocratic families into the Money Exchange and align with those under Cao and Sunx.

The larger the scale, the easier it becomes to draw a larger quantity of tokens from oneself, reducing the credit burden and minimizing the system itself toppling, and when the whole system stabilizes, Chen Xi can withdraw, hand it to the country, and instantly restrict aristocratic families economically. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)