Chapter 173: Let the Bullet Fly for a While

"Viscount Liu, since when has our Yinzhou started calculating everything in Gold Coins?"

That man surnamed Ma gave a hollow laugh and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, instantly drawing a burst of laughter from the entire room; he, who had been so aggressive just a moment ago, crumbled in an instant when faced with so much money.

Liu Zheng smiled and said, "Everyone, rest assured. The issuance volume is the issuance volume; you may exchange as much as you wish, and these two things do not conflict."

He took a sip of tea and said indifferently, "But I must remind you all: any currency will fluctuate in value... Today you might use one tael of gold to exchange for one of my Yinzhou Coins, but tomorrow, that is truly not guaranteed. Market supply and demand determine the value of a currency."

"This is something we in Yinzhou will not excessively interfere with."

"If, in a few days, the Yinzhou Coin rises to the value of two taels of gold, do not blame me for not having warned you."

Upon hearing this, although the crowd said nothing, they all scoffed in their hearts.

This Viscount Li.

Isn't his appetite a bit too big?

Two taels of gold?

Why don't you just say ten taels!

Does he think he can swallow their tens of millions of taels of silver just by relying on these slips of paper?

In an instant, everyone hesitated.

After all, this was the first time they had encountered such a thing in this era. The initial excitement was instantly obscured by the reality before their eyes.

Those doing business in this day and age still prefer trading in real gold and silver.

Seeing the reaction of the people at the scene, Hu Xi'er grew anxious.

Liu Zheng, however, was not in a hurry, sipping his tea leisurely.

"Fine! I, Lao Ma, will go first!"

The wealthy merchant Ma gritted his teeth hard and laughed aloud: "Since the big talk has been put out there, I must open the business for Prefect Liu! I, Lao Ma, will start with ten million in silver!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Ten million in silver, when converted into gold, is fifty thousand gold.

That is to say, he directly purchased fifty thousand Yinzhou Coins.

Wealthy!

Audacious!

Liu Zheng looked at him with surprise, thinking that this Lao Ma, being able to become the richest man in Shuzhou, truly had a unique eye for things. He couldn't help but smile slightly: "Shopkeeper Ma, rest assured. As long as you hold Yinzhou Coins, you can purchase goods produced by Yintan City. It is just that, in the future, all goods must be collected in Loulan..."

"Fine!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Ma decisively signed and pressed his thumbprint.

With Lao Ma taking the lead, others were also itching to move.

But these people were still relatively cautious, worried about wasting their efforts, and most maintained a wait-and-see attitude. By the end of the day, of the ten million Yinzhou Coins issued this time, only two million had actually been sold.

"Brother Liu, this..."

Once the people had left, Zheng Yueru was a bit anxious.

Because she knew how much importance Liu Zheng placed on these Yinzhou Coins, and now that this situation had arisen... how disappointed he must be in his heart.

Liu Zheng smiled: "Why the rush? Tell them that the issuance of Yinzhou Coins will only last for three days; after three days, they won't be able to buy them from us anymore!"

In fact, he was not in a hurry.

Think back to when Bitcoin was first issued; it took tens of thousands of Bitcoins to buy a single pizza, but what happened later? When it broke through the forty-thousand-dollar mark, the person who bought that pizza was probably crying in the bathroom, right?

Let the bullet fly for a while.

He stood up, yawned, and said: "I need to go rest for a while. Give the order: since the Yinzhou Coins have been issued, starting three days from now, all workshops in Yintan City will only accept Yinzhou Coins and will not accept gold or silver! Other goods can be traded in Yintan City, but Refined Salt and Weaponry and Equipment must go through Loulan!"

"Understood!"

Looking at this group of wealthy merchants again.

After walking out of Yintan City, they immediately exploded into a frenzy.

"Preposterous!"

"Is this Prefect Liu playing us for fools?"

"Exactly, two hundred million? He really dares to ask for it!"

Everyone was indignant.

That Lao Ma, however, chuckled and said: "Everyone, just a few days ago, it was you who were talking incessantly about how talented Viscount Liu is. What has happened today?"

The crowd's expressions changed one after another: "Lao Ma, that's not how you put it. Don't you think there is something fishy about this?"

"Exactly, to issue so much at once, it seems this Yinzhou is very short on money..."

Someone said with ill intent.

The crowd felt a chill in their hearts.

Could it be that the Yinzhou Prefecture has a severe deficit?

If that is the case, then the risk is even greater!

Someone even said: "Everyone, is there such a possibility? I did hear a rumor that this Yinzhou is showing its edge too sharply, provoking the Crown Prince's anger! I think this father and son of the Liu Family are planning to run away!"

"What?"

Once this speculation came out, people were shocked and began to discuss it in a clamor.

The Crown Prince is angry?

Heavens.

Who would dare to provoke that Crown Prince?

If so, doesn't this mean they are preparing to flee?

Instantly, a group of people looked at Lao Ma with a knowing, playful expression.

Upon hearing this, Lao Ma's expression also changed drastically: "Impossible, Viscount Liu has a great reputation; how could he do such a thing!"

"Lao Ma, don't be a fool! This Prefect Liu has connections in Loulan; if he wanted to run, who could stop him? I heard that even the Empress Dowager of Loulan wants to recruit him as a male consort!"

"Really?"

Lao Ma was scared to tears.

A group of wealthy merchants discussed it along the way and finally made a decision: wait and see, continue to wait and see! They wanted to see what this Prefect Liu was actually planning to do.

Someone even mocked Lao Ma: "Lao Ma, you signed and pressed your thumbprint! Hehe..."

Cold sweat trickled down Lao Ma's back as he trotted all the way back to his merchant firm's Post House.

Ten million taels!

This was his entire life's savings!

The next day.

The response to the Yinzhou Coin remained lukewarm.

However, this Merchant Ma went to Yintan City, and then, under the watchful eyes of those wait-and-see wealthy merchants, he happily hauled out cart after cart of goods.

"Discount! Young Master Liu said there's a discount!"

Merchant Ma walked along, beaming with joy.

The others all scoffed at him.

At this moment, the shrewd calculations of merchants were revealed.

A facade!

This must be a facade!

This is Young Master Liu fishing for a big catch!

And so.

They decided to continue waiting and seeing.

The third day.

Lao Ma's caravan was hauling goods without stopping.

"Discount! A discount!"

This guy's mouth was crooked from grinning so much.

Finally, someone could no longer sit still.

Someone made a move to purchase Yinzhou Coins; of course, they were still very cautious. In three days, of the ten million Yinzhou Coins issued, only three million had been sold.

This was far from Liu Zheng's goal.

The wealthy merchants felt that discounts and such were useless things. They would rather trade with real gold and silver.

However.

Just as the third day ended, which was also when the issuance of these Yinzhou Coins concluded.

A government decree was issued in Yinzhou.

Starting tomorrow, all goods in Yintan City, including but not limited to Weaponry and Equipment, can only be traded using Yinzhou Coin. No other types of currency will be accepted, including but not limited to gold, silver, and Silver Notes from various banks...

The whole place.

Exploded in an uproar.

"What?"

Those wealthy merchants were all stunned.

"This..."

"This Prefect Liu is too ruthless!"

"Isn't this forcing us to submit?"

"No, we absolutely will not fall for it!"

"Exactly!"

"Keep waiting!"

The group of people was furious.

Having always been able to travel the world with money, they didn't believe that they couldn't buy things with money.