Chapter 919: Money Can Be Created, But Not Grain

Although Xin Xianying appeared a bit confused, Chen Xi knew very well that she had memorized every word he said. Sooner or later, she would understand.

Traveling from the city to Xin Pi’s place of confinement would take a considerable amount of time on foot, but by carriage, it was much faster. Before long, they arrived.

"We're here," Chen Xi said as he helped Xin Xianying down from the carriage. It was clear that her legs were a bit weak as she touched the ground.

"Do you want me to accompany you inside, or will you go in on your own?" Chen Xi asked as they stood at the entrance. The guards stationed there acted as if they hadn’t seen Chen Xi, letting him do as he pleased.

"My father is inside?" After confirming that her father was indeed there, Xin Xianying immediately ran inside. Chen Xi quickly ordered one of the guards to follow her, ensuring she wasn’t detained. All the guards here were Wei Yan’s personal soldiers—essentially, the city’s enforcement officers.

"Any problems?" Chen Xi asked one of the guards, recognizing him by face though not by name.

"No, Lord Chen," the guard replied respectfully, standing as still as a statue afterward.

"Good," Chen Xi nodded. "Anyone else inside?"

Just as Chen Xi asked this, Xu Shu’s voice came from within, "Who’s this little rascal? How did they get in?"

"It seems Yuan Zhi visits quite frequently. I wonder if he's made any progress?" Chen Xi chuckled as he walked inside. Xin Pi, after all, was Xu Shu’s prisoner, so it made sense for him to visit often.

"I brought her in," Chen Xi answered with a smile. "I came to see if there’s any way I can help this fellow countryman."

"I’m a fellow countryman, too," Xu Shu replied with a wry smile. "But to be honest, there's not much I can do. He refuses to even speak to me."

"Just keep at it. It’s not that urgent, and he can't leave anyway, so we don’t need to rush," Chen Xi said nonchalantly. Xin Pi was indeed talented, but to Liu Bei’s forces now, he wasn’t anything special.

"True, there's no need to rush. By the way, what's our next plan?" Xu Shu asked. He had arrived in a hurry and had been sent straight to the battlefield, so he wasn’t too familiar with Liu Bei's overall strategy. He had his suspicions about why Liu Bei’s army had paused at Ye City but wasn’t sure.

"Our next move is to take Youzhou, but not just yet. Right now, our focus is on development," Chen Xi explained, smiling at Xu Shu. Originally, these discussions were meant to happen after the imperial envoy left, but since Xu Shu asked, Chen Xi didn’t see a need to hide anything. After all, Xu Shu would eventually be a key figure in the administration.

"Development work, huh?" Xu Shu asked softly.

"Yes, we're relocating the capital here. Fenggao is too remote," Chen Xi sighed. "Ye City must become our new center."

"Where will Jian Xian's works be carved?" Xu Shu asked cautiously, knowing this was a sensitive matter.

"Of course, they will be inscribed in Fenggao. That was where our rise began, so we must leave something behind. We’ll engrave the entire dictionary or a significant portion of it on Mount Tai to ensure our legacy endures," Chen Xi said with a smile, reminiscing about their efforts in Fenggao.

"I have another question: are we halting here because we need to reorganize our internal affairs in order to fund development?" Xu Shu asked after a moment of thought.

"If it’s just about development, I wouldn’t care even if we didn’t have money," Chen Xi answered casually. His nonchalant tone reminded Xu Shu of the initial construction in Taishan, which had laid the foundation for their dominance despite starting with no funds.

"True. As long as you're in charge, we’ll never run out of money or supplies," Xu Shu joked, still amazed at how Chen Xi managed to fund large-scale projects.

"You're mistaken. We’ll never run out of money, but food is another matter. I can create money, but I can’t create grain," Chen Xi corrected, shaking his head.

Xu Shu laughed loudly, "Zichuan, you must be joking. How can there be money without grain?"

"Fetch some paper and ink, and I’ll show you," Chen Xi said with a sigh. Xu Shu, though puzzled, brought him the materials.

Chen Xi quickly wrote a note: Withdraw Ten Billion Coins, adding a date and stamping it with his seal. He pressed his thumb into an ink pad and left a fingerprint next to his seal.

Xu Shu, not understanding what Chen Xi was doing, poured some tea for both of them while waiting for an explanation.

Chen Xi blew on the note to dry the ink and said, "Take this note anywhere among the prominent families across the land, and you’ll be able to exchange it for ten billion coins."

"Pfft..." Xu Shu spat out his tea, his mouth agape in disbelief as tea dribbled down his chin.

"How is that even possible?" Xu Shu exclaimed, struggling to comprehend.

"But it’s true. This note, once circulated, can be exchanged for ten billion coins by anyone who holds it," Chen Xi said with a wry smile.

He wasn’t joking. This was the current reality. Thanks to the existence of money houses, whenever Chen Xi needed funds, he would simply write a note, and the money house in Fenggao would disburse the funds.

Over time, a peculiar situation had arisen: people began using these notes as capital. Wealthy merchants in Taishan would receive these notes as proof of capital and use them for transactions elsewhere. Eventually, to save time, they started directly trading the notes instead of hauling cartloads of coins.

It made sense: carrying a piece of paper was much more convenient than lugging around several carts of coins. Especially since the seal on the note was impossible to forge, anyone attempting to do so would face execution, and the fingerprint was equally secure.

Thus, some peculiar families exchanged all their wealth into notes. Fortunately, the Fenggao Money House was trustworthy; otherwise, these families would have been ruined.

Once Chen Xi realized what was happening, he ordered that all exchanged notes be registered for safekeeping. Otherwise, if someone like Zhang Shiping accidentally burned all their notes, they could lose billions in assets.

Of course, the note Chen Xi held was just for withdrawing money. Normally, Chen Xi wouldn’t resort to this unless he was desperate for cash, as doing so was akin to creating debt. Still, given the current situation, even if Chen Xi overextended the treasury by the equivalent of the Mi family’s fortune, no one would likely notice.

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