The emperor’s study, Borderless Heavenly Capital:
Only Gu Hai and Gu Qin remained in the study.
“Father, Long Shenying sent word from his side. He has already contacted Sima Changkong and is currently coordinating with the six factions.” Gu Qin smiled.
“Long Shenying is also quite smart.” Gu Hai nodded in satisfaction.
“Indeed. Father will lead the officials to honor the dead citizens of Three Mountains City seven days later. Nothing must go wrong,” Gu Qin said with a deep breath.
Gu Hai nodded.
“Qin`er, what do you think is the Han Imperial Dynasty’s next step?” Gu Hai seriously asked Gu Qin as he looked at his son.
“Huh?” Gu Qin felt slightly startled. Why did Father ask me this?
“Lord Mo sent word from his side, saying the Han Vengeance Army enjoys high morale. There was practically no resistance from the Wu Imperial Dynasty’s cities. We should capture all of them before we honor the Three Mountains City citizens. Long Shenying is cooperating fully with us. The Han Imperial Dynasty is declaring its dominance to the world, and settling in the cardinal north position is no longer a question. This child feels the next step should be dealing with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Gu Qin answered gravely.
“Oh?” Gu Hai looked at Gu Qin.
“Second Younger Brother, Gu Han, and Third Younger Brother, Gu Tang, are in the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s hands. Father will not leave them be. The White Emperor, who has Mother’s earthly soul, is also in the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Father will go there for sure. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land has targeted the Han Nation many times, constituting a grudge. Furthermore, Father needs to give the world an account for the Three Mountains City citizens’ deaths,” Gu Qin said seriously.
“Quite a good analysis. We will formally declare war on the Spirit Mountain Holy Land seven days later,” Gu Hai said solemnly.
“Yes!” Gu Qin nodded, feeling slightly worried.
“I know you are worried. Many officials are worried too. They worry that the Han Imperial Dynasty is about to settle in the Divine Continent’s north when we have not stabilized our foundations yet. They wonder if it is too early for open enmity with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes, this child is somewhat worried, too,” Gu Qin said with a frown.
“Some things are not a matter of time. Since they have already turned hostile towards us, why keep delaying it? The Spirit Mountain Holy Land has eight hundred thousand years of accumulations? They have vast accumulations? We cannot delay this just because of their vast accumulations,” Gu Hai snorted coldly.
“Does Father already have a plan?” Gu Qin’s eyes lit up.
“That’s right. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s visible faction is just the tip of the iceberg. Previously, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land criticized my Han Imperial Dynasty before the world and even attacked us, threatening our survival. Now, we shall eliminate the tip of this iceberg. Let’s see where the rest of the iceberg is hiding,” Gu Hai said with narrowed eyes.
“The most dangerous person in the Spirit Mountain Holy Land should be the Present Buddha, especially when it has surging blessings. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land also serves as the mother sect of countless temples; its monks and devotees are legion. Likewise, it controls over two thousand cities. It is a vast sect with surging blessings. If the Present Buddha uses these blessings, he will be difficult to deal with.” Gu Qin frowned.
“I called you here to send you to destroy the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings,” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?” Gu Qin said in shock.
“I prepared a Blessings Destruction Plan over the past few days. We shall chop an arm off the Present Buddha first.” Gu Hai handed over a stack of paper.
Gu Qin felt slightly shocked as he received the stack of paper. The sheets had been bound together, and the front page had the words “Blessings Destruction Plan.”
Plan? Such a plan was something Gu Qin had not seen Gu Hai write in a long time. Back when they were mundane people, Gu Hai used the Song Extermination Plan to fight a nation using commerce and destroyed the mighty Song Nation in a short time.
Now, there was another plan?
Gu Qin eagerly flipped through the plan. Gu Hai was in no rush, sipping tea while waiting patiently. Within fifteen minutes, Gu Qin completed a cursory read.
“Father, are you going to use commerce to topple the Spirit Mountain Holy Land?” Gu Qin asked as his eyelids twitched wildly.
Gu Hai nodded. “We can only infiltrate silently through commerce, which will allow us to knock the Spirit Mountain Holy Land off its pedestal in the shortest time possible.”
“But, Father, this child is not as intelligent as Mo Yike or Sima Changkong. Father is not leaving this plan to this child, right? This child worries about failing,” Gu Qin said with a tight smile.
Gu Hai shook his head. “Mo Yike and Sima Changkong are indeed smart, but you have followed Father for the longest. There are some things where they cannot compare to you.”
“Huh?”
“Sometimes, operating a business does not require just intelligence but also experience and talent. Your business knowledge comes from Father, and there you are not inferior to anyone else. As long as you execute the plan properly, you will do it better than anyone else,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Yes!” Gu Qin said.
“The Han Nation’s Embroidered Uniform Guards and Blood Uniform Guards have already established many strongholds around the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. They will cooperate with you fully,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes. However, what kind of name should this child give the shops?” Gu Qin asked.
“To prevent it from being tracked back to us, the first investment and financial management company—no, the first investment and financial management store will be called ‘Infinite Wealth!’” Gu Hai said solemnly.
“Infinite Wealth? The first investment and financial management store?” Gu Qin said, pondering this.
“That’s right. Of course, there cannot be just one investment and financial management store. There must be many of them. We will start with the first one and then many more immediately after that, like the bamboo shoots sprouting after the spring rain. Move at the fastest pace, controlling the discussion. Get the citizens from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s two thousand-odd cities to accept the concept quickly,” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?”
“If you don’t manage your wealth, wealth will ignore you!” Gu Hai said.
[TL Note: The Chinese characters for “don’t manage” and “ignore” are the same. The above saying comes in two sets of four characters, where the center two characters are the same, while the first and last characters for each set are swapped. It is kind of like “man ignores wealth, wealth ignores man.”]
“If you don’t manage your wealth, wealth will ignore you?” Gu Qin frowned slightly.
“Let the citizens know that money is not saved but birthed. Money begets money. That’s how to have more wealth. Don’t be afraid of spending. One has to learn how to spend. Decorate Infinite Wealth’s stores luxuriously. The more lavish, the greater the impact. Make everyone feel embarrassed of themself when they look at it. That way, they would be willing to spend. This is our store!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Gu Qin nodded.
“Spend a large sum on buying spirit stone mines in the territories connected to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s temples. Buy them—even at a loss. That will make Infinite Wealth appear extremely wealthy. They will think we do not lack money. We have plenty of spirit stones and many spirit stone mines. Also, bring customers to tour the mines to leave a deeper impression of our wealth on them. They will help us advertise,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes. However, how should we set the interest rates?” Gu Qin frowned.
“Give five percent every month. Infinite Wealth provides all sorts of financial products. Let them know we are borrowing money from them to earn more money. They will earn huge returns by investing in our stores and buying our financial products,” Gu Hai said.
“Five percent every month? Doesn’t that mean sixty percent every year? In two years, they can double their wealth?” Gu Qin said in shock.
“That’s right. Two years? No. It will not take that long to destroy the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings,” Gu Hai said, shaking his head with narrow eyes.
“Indeed. Such interest rates are usurious. It will be addictive!” Gu Qin said as his eyelids twitched wildly.
“Buy all visible businesses; do your best to buy the businesses of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s branch temples. Let them have a slice of the pie. That way, they will be on the same side as us. If anyone doubts us, they can even become our accomplices and explain things for us. They might even spy for us,” Gu Hai said.
“Father, rest assured. I will do my best to tie our financial management stores to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s various temples, making them seem like one entity!” Gu Qin nodded.
“When expanding the financial management stores, don’t forget to bring in new staff and slowly take out our people. It would be best to use the relatives of Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples. Treat them well, extremely well. Make everyone happy; make everyone intoxicated by their treatment!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes! By the time Father makes his move, all the financial management stores will no longer have a trace of my Han Imperial Dynasty!” Gu Qin said.
Gu Hai nodded.
“They will think about the interest they gain from the financial management store and forget about the deposit they gave the store. Father, this child now discovers how exquisite this method of earning money is. It is so exquisite; it is even faster than robbery! This is very shocking. Did Father just think of it? Or…,” Gu Qin said in shock.
Gu Hai shook his head. “This method damages world peace. It will bring difficult times to the citizens, making survival a struggle. I would not have brought out this method if not for the Spirit Mountain Holy Land.”
“Yes!”
“Furthermore, we are only earning this money temporarily. Remember to note down the losses of every customer. We will compensate these people in the future after we destroy the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“Father, they are not my Han Nation’s citizens. Why be so benevolent to them? As they chant the scriptures every day in the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, many of them are silently cursing my Han Imperial Dynasty. This is especially so after Father repulsed the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s attack on us. The citizens of those two thousand cities said nothing good about us.” Gu Hai frowned.
Gu Hai shook his head. “They might become the Han Nation’s citizens someday. We should not bully the common people. This time, we will only borrow their money to confuse them. We are only dealing with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. When everything is over, we need to compensate them. Never dishonor the will of heaven and the will of the people.”
“Yes!” Gu Qin nodded as he took a deep breath.
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s Present Buddha has too many secrets. Recently, Meng Tai sent word that the Future Buddha had fully recovered from his injuries. Even the eyes that Chang Ming dug out were restored. Be careful when you go there this time. Do not take risks. Remember, you are only going there for commerce. We will make our move only when the time is right. There will be all sorts of difficulties when the financial management store starts, but after everything becomes established, the officials of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s various cities and the ordinary customers will support you,” Gu Hai explained.
“Father, rest assured. You have already explained this so thoroughly to this child. With this Blessings Destruction Plan in hand, this child will perform well!” Gu Qin smiled.
Gu Hai nodded at Gu Qin.
