Chapter 771: Always Playing the Empty Hand Trick

"Do you know how much money the Taishan government has?" Chen Xi didn’t answer directly but instead posed this core question.

"Based on the current rate of construction, without any sign of financial shortage, our merchant guild estimates that Zichuan has accumulated around ten billion coins in wealth, with an equivalent amount in grain, and even more in manpower," Mi Zhu said helplessly. The merchant guild always kept an eye on Chen Xi’s activities, trying to gauge if he was planning any new ventures or constructions that might present a business opportunity.

"Hmm, that’s a reasonable estimate. The funds I can access exceed ten billion, and the rest is more or less as you described," Chen Xi said, smirking slightly.

"As expected of you, Zichuan. I never realized we were so wealthy," Xun Yue, who had little concept of money, was surprised by how much could be accomplished with that much wealth. "With so much, why don’t we invest it all at once? Wouldn’t that be faster?"

"Indeed, I didn’t expect we had this much wealth," Li You agreed, nodding in approval. Unlike some scholars who avoided discussing wealth, Li You had no issue with it. With such resources, they could easily enrich an entire province. He couldn’t fathom how Chen Xi had accumulated so much.

"You’re speaking as if we have a project that could use ten billion coins at once. Do you want to build another Great Wall?" Chen Xi retorted, rolling his eyes. "Spending money wisely is an art. Spending it effectively is even more important than making it. It’s a critical skill. If you don’t believe me, I’ll give you ten billion coins and let you try to spend it effectively."

"That’s true, spending wisely is indeed a skill," Mi Zhu agreed, deeply understanding the truth behind those words. "But many in our merchant guild have always felt that you spend money sporadically, Zichuan. And part of the reason for that may be because you hand things off to others after a while."

Chen Xi opened his mouth, then sighed, clearly frustrated. "What I’m about to tell you, just keep it to yourselves. Don’t speak about it outside."

"Is there some hidden secret?" Li You was the first to ask, curious.

Having worked closely with Taishan’s finances, Li You knew well that while a lot of funds came in, there were also large expenditures, and they rarely had much surplus. Yet it was a fact that Chen Xi had always been funding various construction projects without ever running out of money. Even when he claimed to have no funds, it seemed more like an excuse not to do something rather than an actual lack of money.

Chen Xi shot Li You a look, his expression clearly saying, "You talk too much."

"What I’m about to say, don’t tell anyone. The truth is that Taishan often has no money at all. In fact, I’ve sometimes been spending next year’s funds," Chen Xi said with a helpless shrug.

The group was stunned. This was certainly not the answer they had expected. Mi Zhu’s expression showed deep contemplation before he looked at Chen Xi in shock.

"That’s how it is," Chen Xi shrugged again, motioning for Mi Zhu to keep quiet.

"But my greatest strength is that once I spend the money, I quickly make it back. After all, there’s a time lag and liquidity issues to consider. So at any given moment, I can mobilize up to ten billion coins," Chen Xi said, smiling at Mi Zhu. "Now do you understand, Zizhong?"

Mi Zhu was wiping sweat from his brow, deeply shaken by this revelation. He had never imagined the situation was like this, but now that Chen Xi explained it, it made perfect sense. Moreover, if Chen Xi didn’t say anything, no one would ever notice.

"I will certainly strengthen oversight in this area. I won’t allow any local government to exploit this," Mi Zhu said, still wiping sweat from his face.

Mi Zhu now fully understood the vast gap between himself and Chen Xi. The level at which Chen Xi was operating was far beyond anything Mi Zhu could grasp. No wonder Chen Xi had been able to build Taishan into such a prosperous region from nothing.

"If anyone tries to use economic tricks you don’t understand, feel free to come to me. I’ll gladly educate them. Of course, Zizhong, as long as merchants ensure that their activities benefit both sides or even multiple parties without infringing on national interests, it’s fine to turn a blind eye to some minor transgressions," Chen Xi added. He had no problem supporting merchants if they could achieve such results.

"I’ll keep that in mind," Mi Zhu said cautiously, still sweating. What Chen Xi was doing was too sophisticated for him, though it didn’t seem like he was exploiting loopholes.

"I can sort of follow what you’re saying," Li You said. Having dealt with finances, he roughly understood what Chen Xi meant. "But if we keep drawing funds from the banks like this and can’t replenish them in time, won’t that lead to problems? It could even cause the system you’ve built to collapse. This seems very risky."

"Don’t worry, it won’t come to that. I usually operate within planned limits. As long as our credibility holds, the system won’t collapse. There’s always a time lag to consider, and right now, the momentum is on my side. Even if someone suspects something, they lack the power to undermine it," Chen Xi said, shaking his head.

To ensure the system’s stability, Chen Xi had actually injected significant funds into Taishan’s economy. But rather than cash, these funds were in the form of real estate—land titles from Qingzhou and Taishan were stored in Taishan’s banks as collateral.

Normally, this would be illegal, but since Taishan both built and regulated the system, Chen Xi could run it however he wanted. The fact that he remained this self-disciplined was already commendable. Besides, Chen Xi had no intention of deceiving anyone; he was merely leveraging fixed assets to generate economic activity.

From a legal standpoint, it could be considered illegal, but since Man Chong hadn’t yet established relevant laws, there was no legal framework to define it as such.

And more importantly, the only person with the knowledge and authority to declare Chen Xi’s actions illegal was Chen Xi himself. But if he didn’t say anything, no one else would even understand how the system worked, let alone know that it was against the law.

Even if laws were established in the future, Chen Xi’s methods could easily be classified as legitimate business practices. At the very least, Chen Xi didn’t believe that someone like Man Chong, who didn’t deal with business, would be able to uncover any issues.

"They lack the power to undermine it?" Li You felt a bit uneasy. The fact that it wasn’t impossible to undermine but merely difficult suggested there were risks.

"Fine, if they do try to disrupt it, I’ll reveal my trump card. Though I don’t really want to use it, I have roughly one trillion coins worth of collateral, though not in cash," Chen Xi said with resignation.

"..."

Li You seemed to grasp some of the implications but didn’t ask further. The others, meanwhile, were left in silent contemplation, considering the weight of Chen Xi’s words. The issues revealed in his explanations were worth further thought, especially for Man Chong.

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