"My Lord, the Zhou family is efficient. It's only a matter of time before they alert the two factions! Then they will come begging the King." Lu Bu said, conflicted.
"Good, thorough work. You are indeed worthy of my trust!" Ye Feng put down his brush, expressing his satisfaction. "With this, how can our grand plan fail!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Bu became more conflicted, wondering whether to inform Ye Feng about Old Master Zhou's arrogance. After much hesitation, he finally decided to turn and leave.
"If something is on your mind, Feng Xian, just say it. I treat you differently than others. Don't you understand that yet?" Ye Feng said, without looking up, his words showing his attentiveness.
"Feng Xian understands. It's just that the man has become too arrogant, completely disregarding the King's orders. Feng Xian is only afraid something might go wrong," Lu Bu said hurriedly.
"There's no need to worry, Feng Xian. This is all within my expectations!" Ye Feng smiled slightly. "He has been suppressed by those two for so long. Now that he has an opportunity, he naturally won't let it go easily!"
Lu Bu's expression turned grim. "But this might lead to a major incident. Then, my Lord's plan..."
"If Old Master Zhou is not here, there is Old Master Sun and Old Master Qian. What are you afraid of? However, Feng Xian, you should pay more attention to the money houses. There might be serious trouble there!" Ye Feng said with a frown.
"Yes! With Lu Bu here, nothing major will happen!" Lu Bu quickly reminded. "But if those two were to issue new banknotes, then..."
"What are you afraid of? The anti-counterfeiting measures on banknotes are very clear now. We will simply refuse any issued by others." Ye Feng pondered for a long time. "Not only will we refuse them, but we will also confiscate them. Let's see what those two will do then!"
"Then, the entrances to the Shi and Ma residences will likely be surrounded by people, with no peace day or night!" Lu Bu laughed heartily. "My Lord's strategy is indeed brilliant. No wonder you are so confident!"
"Since you know, then go and execute it. I will certainly make them realize my power!" Ye Feng clenched his fist coldly, grabbed his veiled hat, and hurried out of the Chu King's mansion.
"Thank goodness Diao Chan isn't here, or she'd surely follow," Ye Feng thought. Upon entering the market, Ye Feng saw everyone happily exchanging goods with banknotes, one hand paying, the other receiving!
Ye Feng casually stopped someone and asked, "Elder, elder, how are the banknotes in your hand? Are they more convenient than ordinary silver?"
The old man sized him up, then pulled Ye Feng closer and whispered with his remaining teeth, "Not as good, not as good. If these banknotes can't be exchanged for silver, we'll have worked for nothing all year."
"Elder, if that's the case, why are you still using banknotes? Wouldn't it be easier to use copper coins?" Ye Feng asked, bewildered.
Banknotes were meant to facilitate ordinary people. If they weren't convenient, how could this happen?
The old man looked up and down Ye Feng, speaking sarcastically, "Nowadays, the authorities," he pointed to the sky, "the authorities say we must use banknotes. Otherwise, our silver will be confiscated. At that point, alas!"
The old man sighed heavily and shuffled away, leaving Ye Feng stunned. He couldn't understand how his well-laid plan had gone so awry. Was someone interfering?
Returning to the Chu King's mansion, Ye Feng angrily threw down his veiled hat and loudly called, "Lu Bu, Lu Bu!"
Fearing a major incident, Lu Bu hurried to Ye Feng's side, only to see Diao Chan gently patting Ye Feng's chest to calm him. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Let's discuss things slowly!"
Seeing Lu Bu enter, Ye Feng grabbed a teacup and slammed it heavily at Lu Bu's feet. Shards flew everywhere. Ye Feng said coldly, "Look at the mess you've made! If I hadn't gone out today, I wouldn't have known you'd done so much!"
Lu Bu stood stunned. He had done everything Ye Feng had ordered. Why was Ye Feng so furious?
"Your Majesty, I!" Lu Bu was speechless, frozen in place.
"Hurry and apologize to the Lord!" Diao Chan chided urgently. "Does the Lord wrongly accuse you?"
Lu Bu finally came to his senses and was about to kneel and kowtow when Ye Feng waved his hand. "Never mind, never mind. I believe you didn't do it intentionally!"
As Ye Feng's emotions calmed slightly, he explained the situation as if pouring out beans from a bamboo tube. "To think that my lifelong reputation would be ruined by this matter!"
Before he could finish, Lu Bu strode out. "My Lord, don't worry. Feng Xian will resolve this matter now!"
Besides him, who else knew about this? It could only be the Zhou family. Perhaps they had spread false orders to the public to exchange their banknotes for silver.
Such a mess had occurred within a single day. If left unchecked for a few more days, who knew what else might happen? Seeing Lu Bu storm out of the room with his Fangtian Hua Ji halberd, Ye Feng pointed at him and shouted hysterically, "Wait! This might not be a bad thing after all!"
Although the Zhou family had spread false orders, the people had believed them, which had indeed promoted the use of banknotes. If necessary, Ye Feng could later clarify the situation.
Meanwhile, Old Master Shi and Old Master Ma met. Both looked at each other with heavy hearts, and after a long while, managed to force a smile.
"Ye Feng has gone too far, supporting Old Master Zhou and daring to oppose us!" Old Master Ma slammed the table, speaking angrily. "If we hadn't taken him in out of pity back then, he would have died long ago!"
"My dear brother, please calm yourself. The situation is as it is now. Getting angry won't help. Let's think carefully about how to escape this predicament!" Old Master Shi hurriedly advised. "Are we just going to sit here and wait to be slaughtered?"
"What are you afraid of? I say we go directly to that so-called Zhou residence and slap him twice. I don't believe he would dare resist," Old Master Ma said arrogantly, eager to cause trouble.
"Alright, dear brother. If you hit him now, you'll be trampling on the Chu King's dignity. How can he let this go? In the end, we'll be the ones to suffer!" Old Master Shi said calmly, holding his tea. "I think we need to devise a plan that the Chu King can't find fault with, so that you and I can rest easy!"
"You think, I can't come up with anything!" Old Master Ma pushed all responsibility back. "Otherwise, I'll just go and make peace. I don't believe he'll try to exterminate me!"
Old Master Shi's scalp tingled. On the surface, everything was done by Old Master Ma, but without his involvement behind the scenes, it was impossible. He hurriedly said, "Dear brother, wait. Besides anything else, remember that time you made him kneel in front of everyone? Would he let you off?"
"Even if he lets you off, dear brother, could you really swallow your pride? That would be a laughingstock!" Old Master Shi immediately asked two fatal questions. "I think it's better to plan long-term!"
Old Master Ma, having a fiery temper, immediately said coldly, "Long-term plan, long-term plan. I don't think that's necessary. We might as well just be slaughtered!"
Old Master Shi frowned and thought for a long time, then slapped his thigh and said hurriedly, "Actually, I have come up with an idea that can definitely bring him down!"
"Quick, tell me, tell me."
Old Master Shi didn't speak directly but instead created suspense. "Who is in charge now?"
"Isn't that obvious? It's the Chu King, of course. Even the authority he has was given by the Chu King!" Old Master Ma said disdainfully, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Dear brother, you mean the Chu King can grant him power and also take it back. Then, no matter who between us he falls under, we can deal with him."
"Exactly, what do you think?" Old Master Shi asked smugly. "As long as we exchange our silver for banknotes, and then when the silver is transported away, we instigate everyone to exchange their banknotes back for silver. He won't have the silver to give, and then the people will smash the money houses. What do you say?"
"Good, good, good! A brilliant plan of borrowing a knife to kill. I'd like to see how long Old Master Zhou can remain arrogant. I'll send someone to do it right away!" Old Master Ma turned to leave.
"Dear brother, wait!" Old Master Shi hurriedly called out to Old Master Ma. "I suspect the Chu King is also egging him on. Why don't we add fuel to the fire? Two birds with one stone!"
"What do you mean, dear brother?" Old Master Ma asked, confused.
"Since he, Ye Feng, can print banknotes, why can't we? The people won't be able to tell the difference, and they'll naturally fly into a rage!" Old Master Shi said confidently. "Then we'll seize the opportunity to introduce our banknotes. A triple blow!"
"Remember, the more people we win over, the better. We can't have just the two of us splitting the distribution!" Old Master Shi explained everything clearly.
Old Master Ma, as if grasping a lifeline, hurriedly agreed to rally everyone. Instantly, they jointly spread the message: anyone who exchanged their silver for banknotes would receive a copper coin!
The people went mad exchanging banknotes. According to statistics, over a thousand taels of copper coins were distributed that day, mixed with many counterfeit banknotes.
In fact, they were doing this for Ye Feng's sake, promoting the use of banknotes.
Old Master Zhou stared at the large amount of silver, his eyes glazed over. After counting it, he hurriedly sent it to the Chu King's mansion to be properly stored.
Ye Feng, upon receiving the silver, didn't bother with anything else. He invested all of it into the construction of Wannian City. After a few days of this cycle, whispers began to spread among the people on the streets.
"Did you hear? All our silver has been turned into winter clothes for the front lines. Soon, banknotes will just be a piece of waste paper!"
"That can't be right. I heard the Chu King guaranteed it. How could he cheat us poor people out of our money?"
"Nothing is impossible. Have you forgotten the ugly faces of those people? If the banknotes become worthless, what will happen to our families?"
"This won't do. I need to exchange them for silver quickly."
"Wait for me! Let's go together. It's safer to have silver in hand."