Yun Ye patted his forehead and said to Liu Jinbao, “Throw Manager Zhou off the ship into the sea. Be careful—don’t break the teacup.”

Old Zhou stared in shock as Liu Jinbao walked toward him. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Jinbao scooped him up horizontally, walked to the ship’s rail, and prepared to throw Manager Zhou overboard.

Old Zhou gripped the ship’s rail desperately, refusing to let go. His miserable screams were deafening, making it difficult for Liu Jinbao to proceed. Yun Ye saw people on the shore turning to look at the ship, so he had Liu Jinbao spare Old Zhou.

“Old Zhou, you don’t dare go find Her Majesty, you can’t find the Crown Prince, Prince Wei threw you out, so you have the damn nerve to come find me? Picking the soft persimmon to squeeze—nice work! You clearly know Her Majesty cheated me, yet you still dare come looking for me. Did you think I wouldn’t dare throw you into the sea?”

Old Zhou appeared to have been thrown out more than once before. Once he returned to the deck, he calmed down. As if nothing had happened, he returned to his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and said to Yun Ye, “Fine. Now I’ve already collected the debt, and you’ve already thrown me into the sea. I fought for my life to climb back to shore. Next time Old Huang asks you, remember to say it like this. This matter will eventually be resolved—I’m not in a hurry. These are the bank’s rules. I’m just following the rules. I heard you set the rules yourself, so you understand the situation better than I do.”

“What I care about is my Jiangnan branch’s profits. Marquis Yun is selling treasures on a grand scale in Mingzhou. There will surely be massive cash proceeds. Isn’t it troublesome transporting money back and forth? You only need to have those merchants deposit the money in the bank, and I’ll issue you a large promissory note. Wouldn’t it be convenient to cash it in Chang’an?”

“Besides, the court urgently needs money right now. You can tell from how Her Majesty unreasonably took money from the bank. Now it’s perfect—you just need to deposit the money, Her Majesty can withdraw it in Chang’an. Convenient and fast. The bank also earns some commission and makes some profit. Isn’t everyone happy?”

“That’s sound advice. Her Majesty is the one who owes money—just ask her for it. Business should be conducted properly. I don’t want the bank to only bear these obligations this time. Since you just collected debt so vigorously, I suggest you can extend loans to those merchants on shore and then collect them back. That’s substantial income. Think about it—isn’t that right? As long as you encounter fewer debtors like us, it’s definitely good business.”

Old Zhou smiled confidently, clapped his hands, and pulled out a small scroll from his chest to show Yun Ye, explaining on the side, “The bank has long considered this aspect. Large-scale monetary transactions like this are hard to encounter in a year, so the bank won’t miss this excellent opportunity. As for debt collection, rest assured—only you few would dare default on debts and throw the manager into the water. As for the rest, even dukes and princes wouldn’t dare not repay.”

There was nothing to teach. The ideas they’d brainstormed collectively were perfect—at least not something Yun Ye, with his half-baked knowledge, could casually nitpick. Old Zhou explained some of the important connections to Yun Ye, then hurriedly left to participate in the treasure auction.

Wu She personally supervised. A thousand naval soldiers surrounded the venue so tightly not even water could leak through. No actual silver was visible at the scene, only slips of paper. The merchants greatly enjoyed this money-free transaction—unable to smell the stench of copper, they felt much more refined.

So cheap! Four-chi-long elephant tusks for only eight hundred strings. That small coral treasured at home could be thrown away. A red coral mountain four or five chi tall—now that’s what should be displayed in the reception hall for prestige. What? Three thousand strings? This is practically giving it away…

The money was spent, yet soldiers kept transporting treasures to shore ship after ship. Dear heavens, what kind of jade was that glowing green stone that seemed to drip water? Jadeite? They’d only heard of it, never seen it. Fist-sized jadeite—once carved by a craftsman, what would its value be?

Four thousand strings? This thing only costs four thousand strings? The manager who specialized in jewelry and jade immediately turned red-eyed, grabbing Old Zhou by the neck and saying, “Lend me ten thousand strings. I still have a thousand mu of land in Chang’an, three houses. If that’s not enough, I’ll even pawn my wife to you—I only need ten thousand strings.”

Old Zhou was a good man. He patted the old manager’s hand and said, “Manager Lin, just go ahead and bid. Don’t worry about money. It’s all just one-percent interest anyway. I’ll lend you the money. No need to pawn your wife—just let her take good care of you. Your fifty years of reputation are worth more than ten thousand strings. If we keep talking about money, that filthy lucre, it becomes vulgar.”

“This old man clearly knows you scoundrel intends to suck my blood, yet I have no choice but to borrow. Annual interest of one percent is still fairly reasonable. This old man agrees. Prepare the promissory note for me—I’ll sign it right now.”

Old Zhou’s blank promissory notes quickly vanished completely. Even the most cautious Chu Family borrowed eight thousand strings. The larger the amount, the lower the interest; the smaller the amount, the higher the interest. This was originally the bank’s strategy—they’d be delighted if these fellows only paid interest annually without repaying principal. They were all prestigious establishments, the quality assets Marquis Yun spoke of.

Half the treasures were gone, exchanged for only a flimsy piece of paper. Wu She looked at those treasures others had taken away, then looked at the paper slip in his hand. A feeling of being cheated arose spontaneously. Especially when the governor spent three thousand strings and took away two cat’s-eye stones—his heart bled. What’s more, all the proceeds from selling the goods were carted away by a fat man surnamed Zhou. He hadn’t received a single coin. He really wanted to smash those people into pulp with a hammer and snatch the items back.

Returning to the ship, he irritably tossed the paper slip to Yun Ye. “Marquis Yun, we exchanged half a ship of treasures for one piece of paper.”

Yun Ye picked up the promissory note, looked at it, made a satisfied sound, and said nothing more. Nine hundred thirty-three thousand six hundred fifty strings—very good. Filling the national treasury halfway should be no problem. Moreover, more than half the year had already passed. Once autumn taxes were collected, Li Er’s economic crisis would cease to exist.

“Marquis Yun, this is too absurd. What we gave out were real treasures, but what we received back is just paper. Aren’t you worried about being cheated?” Wu She couldn’t help asking again. Hong Cheng was cleverer—he kept his mouth shut, waiting for Yun Ye to explain.

“So annoying, won’t even let me sleep properly. It’s too complicated to explain to you. When you reach the capital, take this paper slip to the Chang’an bank, and someone will give you nine hundred thousand strings. At that time, you’ll see countless copper coins, silver, and gold. Keep it safe. Remember the password Old Zhou gave you well—don’t forget. We set sail tomorrow. Let me sleep properly.”

Wu She carefully wrapped the promissory note in oilcloth and placed it in his inside pocket. Until returning to the capital, he didn’t plan to let this small package leave him.

The Mingzhou governor, whose tax revenue had greatly increased, beamed with joy. He generously sent Yun Ye fresh vegetables, plus over ten pigs, seven or eight sheep, and even a plowing ox that had died from a fall. He thanked Marquis Yun for his great favor to local officials. This year’s tax quota had been exceeded. The extra money would be used to build a larger harbor in this area. By intuition, he believed Mingzhou would benefit enormously from this harbor.

After replenishing fresh water and food and simply repairing damaged ships, they prepared to set sail again. The soldiers were in high spirits. Being wealthy felt good. They didn’t even glance at the singing girls waving flowered handkerchiefs on the shore. My money is for going home to marry a wife and carry on the family line—who has the inclination to spend it on you?

Wang Cai was quite heartless. Once the heat period passed, he no longer paid attention to those mares. Kicking and biting, he drove them out of his stable and comfortably lay down on golden-yellow straw to recuperate the stamina he’d expended these past days.

The bank raised many pigeons. When Old Zhou issued that promissory note to Yun Ye, a flock of pigeons took to the sky, each with a bamboo tube tied to its foot. The paper strips inside the tubes bore several cryptic characters.

After they laboriously flew all the way back to Chang’an and the tubes were removed, they were offered the finest feed and warm, clear water. They didn’t understand why those people cheered thunderously—they only knew to bury their heads and eat heartily…

The Great Tang’s court hall was in turmoil. Minister of Revenue Zhangsun Wuji’s hair had gained some scattered white strands. These past days, he’d borrowed here and there, barely managing to plug the biggest hole from the Western Campaign. But now, drought had struck Hebei Circuit. Shenzhou, Hengzhou, Dingzhou, Youzhou, and Yanzhou had virtually no harvest. Local treasuries were already providing full relief efforts, but unfortunately this was a drop in the bucket. They could only send urgent dispatches to the court for help.

The people of Yan and Zhao lands were fierce and combative. If handled poorly, they would rise in rebellion. Back when Wang Bo’s song “Don’t Die Uselessly in Liaodong” caused tremendous upheaval throughout Hebei, and when Dou Jiande governed Hebei, his lingering virtue still hadn’t faded. Bandits occupying mountains as kings appeared constantly, impossible to exterminate completely. Now, because of the Western Campaign, Hebei’s garrison troops had been completely transferred out. If someone harbored sinister intentions and raised their arm in a call, it would inevitably create a situation with ten thousand responding.

“Your Majesty, the Western Campaign is also inadvisable. Precisely because our dynasty rashly deployed military force, heaven has sent down disasters to warn us. Please, Your Majesty, rescind the order and temporarily cease military action to avoid repeating the Sui Dynasty’s calamity.”

Vice Minister of Rites Linghu Defen stepped forward to memorialize. He was a staunch supporter of the theory of resonance between heaven and man, believing that all disasters in the human world were due to the ruler’s lack of moral cultivation. This time Li Er had touched everyone’s interests, which was the root cause of this disaster.

“The Left Military Guard has already departed west beyond Shazhou, secretly advancing through the desert, preparing to bypass the Tuyuhun scouts and suddenly appear at Gaochang to open the way for our main army. Abandoning the Western Campaign at this time would be sentencing twenty thousand Great Tang soldiers to death. Linghu Defen, do you want them to follow the example of Western Han’s Li Guangli, fighting all the way until the entire army is annihilated?”

Qin Qiong, hearing about stopping the Western Campaign, was furious beyond measure. Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda were leading the Left Military Guard as the vanguard for the entire army. They had already departed a full half month ago. If the follow-up troops didn’t keep up, they would immediately fall into encirclement. They couldn’t avoid becoming another Li Guangli even if they wanted to.

“Sacrificing the few for the many is also a helpless measure. Duke Qin, my youngest son is also in the Left Military Guard. Do you think this old man’s heart doesn’t ache when proposing this suggestion? If there were another way, would I speak such unconscionable words?”

Though Linghu Defen was pedantic, he wasn’t a despicable petty man. His moral character was still admired by all. To say he deliberately sabotaged the Western Campaign was truly wronging him. He only made this proposal out of fear of the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty.