Chapter 920: Human Printing Press

"Does this thing really have a value of ten billion coins?" Xu Shu asked in disbelief.

"If you don't believe me, go out and test it yourself. Just make sure not to actually spend it. I might need to destroy it later," Chen Xi casually tossed the note to Xu Shu.

In truth, Chen Xi was only giving Xu Shu this task to get him out of the way. When Xu Shu asked about the finances, Chen Xi hesitated. If Liu Bei's financial situation were managed like Yuan Shao's, it would be sufficient, but if it were to mirror the spending in Taishan, it would never be enough.

Money, after all, is merely a general equivalent. Therefore, even a slip of paper can be given that value. That’s what Chen Xi meant when he said that as long as he was around, Liu Bei’s rule would never lack money. But grain is different—it has intrinsic value and can't be made to circulate based on Chen Xi’s credibility like money.

This was the most troubling issue for Chen Xi. This method of trading was not backed by state credit but by Chen Xi’s personal reputation. It dawned on him that he had unknowingly become a human printing press.

The more awkward part was when, in the past, Chen Xi had opted to write notes for officials to collect their salaries from the treasury instead of paying them directly. Over time, Taishan’s officials became highly accustomed to these notes. It even reached a point where shops would give discounts for daily necessities when paid with these notes—an unintended relic of Taishan’s initial development.

Chen Xi wanted to tell those shops that there was no need for those minor discounts. There was no such tradition in Taishan!

The original discounts had been introduced because Taishan had lacked enough coins at the time. By encouraging people not to withdraw their wages but to use notes instead, the small discounts helped save money for citizens who could resist the temptation of withdrawing cash.

Back then, all Chen Xi could provide were daily necessities. The capability to offer more simply didn’t exist. Somehow, though, that practice of providing a discount for notes persisted and spread throughout Liu Bei’s territories.

As government officials widely accepted these notes, naturally, merchants did too. To make matters worse, Chen Xi had to start using special paper, like the type nurtured by Zhao Yun, for certain high-value notes to prevent counterfeiting.

This was also why Chen Xi found it difficult to explain things to Liu Bei. Even if he tried to explain, Liu Bei wouldn't fully understand, and Chen Xi didn’t dare delegate this power to anyone else.

Even if he gave this responsibility to someone cautious like Zhuge Liang, once Zhuge discovered that the notes could be used as real money, he would likely push for rapid national development. In no time, the entire country would be at risk of collapsing!

Although it might seem premature to say this, in this era, politics and economics were closely intertwined. Chen Xi was deeply concerned about giving such a dangerous tool to anyone else. It was a weapon that could genuinely ruin a country, and the worst part was that no one in this era really understood how to manage it.

Xu Shu, holding the note, left to test it. He found it hard to believe that this piece of paper could truly be worth ten billion coins. After all, ten billion wasn't a small amount—it was equivalent to the annual tax revenue of several counties!

But reality soon hit Xu Shu. When he showed the note to Li You, Li You, though perplexed by the note, confirmed that it could indeed be exchanged for ten billion coins. Since the treasury in Ye City couldn’t immediately pay out such a large sum, Li You suggested collecting it from the Zhen family.

Hearing this, Xu Shu was shocked. Especially when the Zhang family also agreed to exchange it, Xu Shu realized that Chen Xi hadn’t been exaggerating. In just a few seconds, Chen Xi had essentially created the annual revenue of several counties out of thin air!

"I’d better keep this note," Li You said as he took the ten-billion-coin note from Xu Shu and tucked it into a book. "I’ve told Zichuan many times to use special paper for such large amounts, but he insists on using regular paper. Now we’ll need Zilong to handle it."

"Shall I exchange it for cash? The Zhen family’s branch in Ye City has ten billion coins in cash, which would save us the trouble of transporting it back to the treasury in Fenggao," Zhang asked casually as he came to see Liu Bei. Moving such a huge amount of money was a hassle, and only the central treasury could handle sums like this.

"No need. The central treasury will also be relocated here," Li You replied offhandedly. To be honest, he didn’t understand how Chen Xi’s system worked, but he knew that this note could allow him to withdraw money from the treasury. "Yuan Zhi, did Zichuan say what this money is for?"

"He didn’t," Xu Shu said, still somewhat skeptical, wondering if the ten billion coins were actually usable.

"Oh, it’s probably for relief funds and construction. But it's surprising that he would write a note for ten billion coins. He usually calculates things so carefully," Li You remarked, though he wasn’t entirely clueless. He didn’t understand why Chen Xi, who could easily create money by writing notes, wouldn’t just do so more often.

With ten billion coins in hand, Li You found that organizing certain tasks would be much easier. Even handling population relocations would be simple with this kind of money—it could fund the relocation of a million people.

When Xu Shu returned, he didn’t say much to Chen Xi. When Chen Xi asked about the note, Xu Shu simply said it was gone. Given Xu Shu’s reliability, Chen Xi didn’t ask further.

But later, when Chen Xi was reconciling the treasury accounts at the end of the year and noticed the missing ten billion coins, he wanted to strangle Li You and Xu Shu. That was real money! Cash he had earmarked for emergencies, to prevent potential bank runs. Their financial system wasn’t built on vast reserves but on trust!

At this moment, though, Chen Xi didn’t know what had happened and continued reminiscing with Xu Shu. They chatted about old times, with Xu Shu recalling his early days, and Chen Xi thinking back to when he first accompanied Liu Bei to Luoyang. Time passed quickly.

"Oh, isn’t that Zuo Zhi?" While the two were talking, they spotted Xin Pi emerging from the main hall and greeted him with warm smiles. Xin Pi had once said that meeting a fellow townsman while away from home was always fortunate. If Zhu Ling had seen the treatment Xin Pi was getting, he’d likely curse the unfairness of it all.

"Thank you, Lord Chen, for letting me learn about my family matters," Xin Pi said politely, though without subservience. Even after learning from his daughter that Yuan Shao had died, he remained unmoved.

In Xin Pi’s eyes, the idea that Yuan Shao could have perished was simply a ruse by Liu Bei’s forces. How could someone as powerful as Yuan Shao have fallen? This current setback was just temporary, as even worse situations had occurred during Yuan Shao’s battle with Gongsun Zan. Xin Pi had absolute faith in Yuan Shao!

"Oh, don’t thank me. Your daughter earned it herself," Chen Xi replied casually. "So, no need to be polite. Since we’re from the same region, I won’t mistreat you. Just let me know when you’ve thought things through."

"I won’t resist, but I also won’t surrender," Xin Pi said calmly.

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