Marquis Xia's Scheme

June 10th.

Early in the morning, Chen Hao came rushing over. The moment Su Yu opened the door, Chen Hao hurriedly said, "A-Yu, something happened!"

"Take it slow."

Su Yu was utterly unruffled. The sky was not about to fall.

With a guy like Chen Hao, what major trouble could there possibly be?

Over the past two days, he had gotten started with the Thunder Origin Blade. Su Yu had been busy becoming proficient in it and speeding up the rate at which his qi returned as one, leaving him no mind to care about Chen Hao's big news.

He opened the door and let Chen Hao in, then turned around and went to eat the noodles he had cooked that morning.

With his dad away from home, he had been eating in real hardship lately.

And he did not have much money left. He still had to save those thirty thousand for attending the Civilization Academy.

School was not free.

The Civilization Academy's registration fee was not expensive, but it still required more than ten thousand in one lump sum. Besides, he would still need to eat after arriving at the academy.

Seeing him eat noodles, Chen Hao swallowed. He had only eaten a little that morning, and after running all that way, he was somewhat hungry.

Su Yu pretended not to notice. There was only one bowl of noodles, and none of it was for Chen Hao.

"A-Yu..."

Chen Hao sat across from him. He stopped looking at the noodles and hurriedly said, "My dad said there have been some changes in Great Xia Prefecture this year. The enrollment numbers at all the academies might be reduced."

"Mhm."

"They're reducing enrollment!"

Chen Hao emphasized it once more.

Su Yu helplessly raised his head. "What does that have to do with me? As for you, although you're still at the Kaiyuan Fourth Stage, you'll reach the fifth soon. And you have thirty bonus points. Even if they reduce the numbers, it won't matter much to you, will it?"

Su Yu truly did not care much. Somewhat speechless, he said, "Could it be that they won't take even one person from Nanyuan? If Great Xia Prefecture dared to do that, Nanyuan would dare to break away from Great Xia Prefecture's control and directly defect to Great Ming Prefecture!"

Nanyuan was not far from Great Ming Prefecture. Less than three hundred li north lay Great Ming Prefecture's territory. It was one of the cities closest to Great Ming Prefecture.

The place was small, but Nanyuan still had a population of one million.

Yet it had more than ten thousand combat soldiers!

Together with retired veterans, Nanyuan could summon tens of thousands of soldiers willing to fight at any time. No matter how much Great Xia Prefecture reduced its numbers, Nanyuan's share could not be cut by much.

They had never recruited many to begin with. Su Yu truly did not care much. Powerlessly, he said, "Whether this news is true or not, Great Xia Prefecture should be the one crying. They recruit the most people there, so any cuts would be made from their side."

Su Yu looked completely unconcerned, but Chen Hao wore a mournful face. "I know. My dad said the same thing, but he also said... if they do this, some people in Great Xia Prefecture who could originally have gotten in won't make it this year. Those with a bit of family backing will probably head for the smaller cities!"

"..."

At those words, Su Yu froze slightly. He realized he had not thought as far ahead as Chen Hao's father.

That was right!

Reducing the numbers would certainly mainly mean reducing Great Xia Prefecture's numbers, but what would those people in Great Xia Prefecture who felt they could not get in do now?

Go to a small city!

Nanyuan was one of the twenty-eight cities, after all. Its enrollment numbers might not be high, but it had some slots.

They might not have been the best in Great Xia Prefecture, but once they came to Nanyuan, Great Xia Prefecture's standards for Nanyuan were not high.

For example, more than ten people from Nanyuan could enter the Daxia Civilization Academy every year. No matter how much they reduced the numbers this year, those slots would not be reduced by much, because... there was no room left to cut.

Any further cuts would provoke public outrage.

Nanyuan students were weak not because they were truly inferior. Their environments were different. This damned place lacked qi, cultivation was slower than in Great Xia Prefecture, and resources were scarce. You could not demand that Nanyuan's people reach the same standard as those in Great Xia Prefecture.

Thus, Nanyuan's slots were practically fixed. They would not increase, but they would also be difficult to reduce.

Su Yu frowned slightly and looked at Chen Hao. "Both the War Academy and the Civilization Academy are reducing their numbers?"

"Yes!"

Chen Hao said gloomily, "Isn't it all that Marquis Xia's doing? The Prefecture Lord is in seclusion. If he were not, he definitely would not allow this! That damned marquis never does anything proper all day. He only knows how to rake in money!"

Chen Hao looked utterly depressed. He felt that he was in danger.

Su Yu laughed. He knew exactly which marquis Chen Hao meant.

Marquis Xia, Xia Longwu's uncle and King Daxia's son.

He was a famous figure in Nanyuan, Great Xia Prefecture, and even among humanity.

The Xia Family Merchant Guild had been founded by him!

No one knew whether Marquis Xia's real name was actually this. In any case, everyone called him Marquis Xia now. He had requested it himself. His father was King Daxia, so no matter what, he could be considered a marquis.

Thus, long, long ago, that man came to be called Marquis Xia.

"How does this have anything to do with Marquis Xia?"

"Didn't you know? He was the one who gave the order!" Chen Hao said gloomily. "I heard Marquis Xia thinks the academies spend too much, so Great Xia Prefecture's funding will be cut by thirty percent this year."

"And that's not all..." Chen Hao said with a bitter face. "I heard—no, my dad heard—that Marquis Xia is actually selling slots!"

Chen Hao looked on the verge of collapse. "That man is selling slots! Not academy slots, but household registration slots in the twenty-eight cities! To take assessments in another city, you need local household registration. So if those people want to come here for the assessment, they have to spend money buying residency!"

"Buying residency isn't enough. They have to buy a house too! So altogether, a house and residency will cost at least a million!"

"Haven't you seen it? Quite a few people have been selling houses these past few days. Housing prices have gone completely insane. Even around here, it's ten thousand per square meter now!"

"..."

Su Yu went blank for a moment. There was such a move?

Then could his house sell for a million now?

He had been planning to sell it for five hundred thousand before!

"Tell me, isn't he wicked? Everyone in Great Xia Prefecture is cursing him now!"

Chen Hao was still complaining, but Su Yu could not help laughing. "Marquis Xia is really interesting. Everyone originally wanted to go to Great Xia Prefecture, but with this move, he's driven people to the smaller cities instead!"

"What do you mean, interesting? Isn't this increasing our competition?"

Chen Hao said unhappily, "One or two million is enough to settle down here. There are so many rich people in Great Xia Prefecture. Won't they come flooding over like a swarm of bees?"

"It won't be that exaggerated." Su Yu smiled. "The truly rich and powerful don't lack money or Qi Liquid for their children. They would be competitive even in Great Xia Prefecture. The ones heading for small cities are all middle-class people. Do you think everyone can casually take out one or two million?"

"In the end, even if more people come, there won't be that many more."

Su Yu saw it clearly, but Chen Hao was right as well. It would indeed make Nanyuan students' assessments more difficult.

An average student from Great Xia Prefecture might be at the Kaiyuan Fifth or Sixth Stage, but in Nanyuan, they would be top students.

Those whose families truly had the means would most likely come.

That would make the assessment much more difficult.

Of course, Nanyuan would certainly profit this time as well. For instance, those selling houses now could easily make several hundred thousand.

Su Yu could only say that Marquis Xia's maneuver... was without equal!

"If I were Marquis Xia... I'd build several housing developments ahead of time, then stipulate that houses could only be bought in those developments. Selling several hundred or a thousand units would be effortless. A million per unit, no bargaining. Hundreds of millions or even billions would immediately fall into my hands."

Su Yu sighed with feeling. "One city alone would be like that. Across twenty-eight cities, he could immediately earn hundreds of billions or even a trillion. Do this once every year, and make it so that those who bought this year cannot transfer the property for ten years... then next year, he could harvest another wave."

Chen Hao was dumbfounded. After a long while, he said bitterly, "A-Yu, I came to tell you something, not ask you how to make money! What are you even thinking about?"

Su Yu chuckled. "It's fine. Don't worry too much. This won't be so simple. If all of Nanyuan's slots were really taken up, do you think Nanyuan would agree? If nothing unexpected happens, there will definitely be other policies to compensate for it."

"Really?"

Chen Hao trusted Su Yu fairly well, but he still asked uncertainly, "Then will it affect me?"

"Probably not."

Su Yu was not certain either. He was merely guessing. "If I were Marquis Xia, I might introduce some other policy. For example... Nanyuan recruits twenty people in total, fifteen locals and five outsiders. That way, money is made, outsiders get their chance, and Nanyuan people lose nothing."

"And these people could have originally gotten in through Great Xia Prefecture anyway. After going back and forth, the total number of academy students might remain unchanged, but several billion or tens of billions more would be earned. As for that money, those parents are willing to spend it themselves. If you have the ability, take the exam in Great Xia Prefecture yourself. Then no one can complain."

Su Yu said cheerfully, "In short, it means forcing a group of middle-class families who originally did not need to spend money into spending money to solve the problem. They spend several hundred billion, Marquis Xia gets it, then spends it again. Once it goes back and forth, that becomes over a trillion."

Chen Hao did not understand. Wasn't it only several hundred billion?

How had it become over a trillion?

Su Yu did not explain. He reassured him, "Don't worry. The people above aren't fools. Could they really make things so full of public resentment? The Prefecture Lord is merely in seclusion, not dead. Aren't they afraid he'll settle accounts with them once he comes out?"

He was certain Marquis Xia would not truly cause Great Xia Prefecture major trouble. If Marquis Xia were really that stupid, could the Xia Family Merchant Guild have monopolized Great Xia Prefecture's cultivation resources?

Of course, it was related to the Xia family, but without some ability, the other great lineages would not agree to it either.

"A-Yu, then why is Marquis Xia doing this and making so much money? So many people in Great Xia Prefecture want to beat him to death now!"

"His Xia Family Merchant Guild already makes so much money. Buying any random thing there costs tens of thousands."

Su Yu shook his head slightly. "No one thinks they have too much money. Maybe Marquis Xia just likes counting money. There's nothing you can do about that."

At this moment, no one knew that Great Xia Prefecture's treasury was about to be emptied.

Even though Wan Tiansheng had said so at the meeting, everyone thought it was fake, meant to scare them.

What a joke!

Great Xia Prefecture was one of humanity's strongest prefectures. Experts gathered there like clouds, its economy flourished, its people lived and worked in peace, and its frontline armies swept all before them. How could it possibly have no money?

No money? Could Xia Longwu still spend money without restraint?

Right now, even if Xia Longwu himself stepped out and said Great Xia Prefecture had no money, many people would probably laugh and say, "The Prefecture Lord must be joking."

How could that be possible!

Su Yu could not imagine it, and Chen Hao even less so. After Su Yu comforted him a few times, Chen Hao relaxed considerably. Letting out a breath, he said, "That's good. As long as it doesn't affect us. My dad even said he was considering whether to sell our old house this time..."

Su Yu cursed inwardly. Damn rich bastard!

This guy's family had an old house in Su Yu's neighborhood that they had never sold. If they sold it now, that would be a million in income.

Stroking his chin, Su Yu brought up the old subject again. "Haozi, tell me... is selling a house now really that worthwhile?"

A million!

When Su Long had bought their house back then, the price had been very cheap because he was a soldier—only seventy or eighty thousand or so.

The restriction period for trading had long passed. Nanyuan's housing prices had been decent before, but the place had only been worth around five hundred thousand.

In the blink of an eye... it had doubled!

That was terrifying!

After hearing this news, Su Yu wanted to sell the house immediately. He would make a fortune!

Chen Hao looked at him suspiciously and said in a low voice, "A-Yu, you're still thinking about that? Uncle Su will really beat you to death when he comes back. If you're short on money, I can ask my dad to lend you some."

"What are you thinking?"

Su Yu laughed. "I was just saying. I can't sell it anyway. Even if I did, I'd need my dad's approval. What a pity. This opportunity is truly too rare!"

Chen Hao did not think much of it. Those who did not run a household did not know the price of rice and firewood. He did not have much concept of it, nor did he lack spending money.

Continuing the earlier topic, Chen Hao was still somewhat nervous. "Even if it doesn't affect us, there'll probably be quite a few more people from Great Xia Prefecture on assessment day. I heard there are lots and lots of geniuses there. There are heaps at the Kaiyuan Fifth and Sixth Stages, and even the seventh and eighth stages aren't rare. A-Yu... do you think they'll laugh at us then?"

Su Yu did not care. "Laugh at what? Throw them into Nanyuan, and they might not even be better than you! We had a worse start, but once we reach Great Xia Prefecture, everyone will be treated the same. By then, they definitely won't improve as quickly as we do."

He neither overestimated the people of Great Xia Prefecture nor underestimated those from Nanyuan City.

People from small places had a harder start, but once they reached Great Xia Prefecture, everyone would be treated equally. As long as their hearts did not waver and they were willing to work hard, plenty would rise above the rest. It was not as though it had never happened before.

"All right, then!"

Chen Hao stopped talking about it. Before long, he asked curiously, "A-Yu, what are you planning to do these next few days? The academy's going on break in a few days. Want to go out and have some fun together?"

"Not interested."

Su Yu had too much to do these days: repair little brother "Thunder," cultivate the Thunder Origin Blade, prepare to kill a mid-stage Thousand Jun cultivator, read, and increase his Willpower. There was no end to it. Where would he find time to play?

"Cultivate properly and don't go anywhere! I'm only making a guess. It doesn't mean Nanyuan will definitely keep the same numbers. You'd better reach the Kaiyuan Fifth Stage. That'll give you a much better chance. Otherwise, it'll be perfectly normal for poor students to be eliminated. If they cut one or two slots, one of them might just be yours!"

Su Yu had not used a single drop of the three drops of Qi Liquid Chen Hao's father had given him.

However, his cultivation of the Thunder Origin Blade over the past few days had consumed too much. He could not recover fast enough, and because he had not opened his Baihui acupoint, he could not actively draw in qi. This had left Su Yu severely depleted.

Over the next couple of days, he planned to consume a drop of Qi Liquid and give himself a major boost. It would be better if Chen Hao cultivated here too.

"All right."

Chen Hao wore a mournful face. He had to read again. If he had known, he would not have come to A-Yu's place.

At the same time.

Nanyuan City Lord's residence.

City Lord Wu Wenhai, Dragon Martial Guard squad leader Xia Bing, Liu Wenyan, the former Academy Head, the head of Jifeng Hall... numerous high-ranking figures had gathered.

After everyone sat down, Wu Wenhai went straight to the point. "Everyone knows what happened. Great Xia Prefecture's meaning is one person, one household. In other words, if a family has two children coming for the assessment, they must buy two houses, each more than one hundred square meters. Anything below one hundred square meters doesn't count!"

The former Academy Head tugged his beard and sucked in a breath. "That marquis's heart... is too black!"

Wu Wenhai pretended not to hear and continued, "Also, the assessment date is very close. A special channel will be opened for processing, with an additional ten percent tax levied!"

"..."

Even Liu Wenyan could not help complaining. "Is that money Nanyuan's, or Great Xia Prefecture's?"

"Great Xia Prefecture and Nanyuan split it equally!"

Wu Wenhai smiled. "It's a good thing. Marquis Xia is standing in front to take the blame, so we just collect the money. It doesn't have much to do with us. The ones crying are those people in Great Xia Prefecture. If you have the ability, don't come. It brings Nanyuan nothing but benefits."

The former Academy Head looked deeply worried. "I'm only afraid that our slots will be taken in the end."

"They won't be. The higher-ups mean for the number recruited this time to remain roughly the same as before. The difference up or down will not be great. One or two people might change, but there will not be a massive reduction all at once."

Wu Wenhai gave him reassurance, then added, "This is actually beneficial to us. Great Xia Prefecture was originally planning across-the-board cuts. When spread to our side, we would have lost one-fourth of our slots. Now, not only have we lost none, we can earn a sum as well. Nanyuan is not wealthy either. We can take this chance to earn some money, and funding for various places can increase later on."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Wu Wenhai continued, "Then it's settled. Our opposition would be useless anyway. The main reason I called everyone here is for you to go back and tell the students not to feel pressured or panic. The higher-ups will not disregard our views and act recklessly."

"Also, Great Xia Prefecture will certainly be a little chaotic lately, with all sorts of people coming and going. Jifeng Hall and the City Guards must prepare their security measures in case members of the Ten Thousand Races Cult fish in troubled waters. Be even more vigilant against them fanning the flames and steering public opinion!"

Wu Wenhai said solemnly, "Some people don't understand and spread rumors recklessly. Once Nanyuan's people feel that outsiders have occupied slots and benefits that belong to them, it will certainly lead to disorder. We must be on guard against this!"

Everyone hurriedly acknowledged the order. Wu Wenhai relaxed, then smiled again. "Also, the higher-ups want us to keep these people in Nanyuan as much as possible. They're all wealthy. Nanyuan develops slowly, has limited resources, and lacks an advanced economy. This time, they've delivered themselves right to our doorstep for free... no, they're paying us to come!"

"If they stay, Nanyuan can develop better in the future. And the academies... have an additional money-making plan as well."

"What is it?"

Wu Wenhai smiled. "Marquis Xia said that all assessment candidates must be affiliated with an academy! In other words, once those people come to Nanyuan, they must enroll in a middle academy and be registered on its list. How much each slot costs... you can decide for yourselves. Just don't make it too outrageous!"

Liu Wenyan sucked in a breath. "That fatty... ahem, Marquis Xia is plucking every feather from a passing goose! Additional taxes, academy affiliation, buying houses for residency—unless he squeezes several million from each family, he won't rest!"

Wu Wenhai smiled bitterly as well. "That's just Marquis Xia's temperament. He also said that people could spend the money if they wanted or not if they did not. He was not forcing anyone to spend it. If they had the ability, they could get in through Great Xia Prefecture themselves. He did not put obstacles in anyone's way. So tell me... what can anyone do to him?"

"Marquis Xia's methods of amassing wealth..." The former Academy Head clicked his tongue. After a long pause, he said, "Does King Daxia know about this? If he does... won't he beat him to death?"

"That has nothing to do with us."

Without a shred of sincerity, Wu Wenhai said, "As long as Marquis Xia can withstand it himself. Of course, he's used to it. Let them curse if they want. It's not as though this is the first time. A few years ago, Marquis Xia secretly opened a black market and traded massive amounts of Merit Points, swindling more than ten billion from Great Xia Prefecture's wealthy households. Didn't it end without consequence in the end?"

At those words, everyone wore varying expressions.

Merit Points had a ranking system. Some people might have money, yet still be unable to buy certain things.

In the years that followed, a black market sprang up in Great Xia Prefecture. As long as you had money, you could buy anything you wanted!

Of course, the prices were outrageously high.

And transactions were conducted in Merit Points. Back then, a single Merit Point on the black market had been driven up to over a hundred thousand. That was not all—the goods themselves cost twice as much!

Going back and forth like that, the price difference was more than tenfold.

Even so, quite a few wealthy households flocked to it like ducks to water. In the end, it was shut down—thanks to Marquis Xia!

All the Merit Points those wealthy households had bought went down the drain!

Xia Longwu had personally led the crackdown!

The Merit Points had not been confiscated, but they could only be used through normal Merit Point transactions. What they had been unable to buy before remained unavailable. Some people had bought hundreds of thousands of Merit Points, yet their Merit rank only allowed them to purchase supplies worth a few hundred points. They had money but nowhere to spend it!

And they could not secretly trade with others, either, because all those people were on Xia Longwu's list. Who would dare make an under-the-table deal... without fearing that the person they were trading with might be from the Ten Thousand Races Cult?

After that incident, Marquis Xia kept a low profile for several years. Now he was back to raking in money again!

It was said he had pulled in tens of billions that time—perhaps even more. As for where all that money had gone, no one knew, and no one dared ask. In any case, it was not anyone else's money. Those filthy rich tycoons had willingly paid for it themselves.

As Wu Wenhai spoke of this matter, Liu Wenyan and the others fell silent. If Xia Longwu had not been so stern and iron-blooded, they would have suspected it had been entrapment.

In the end, only those wealthy households had suffered losses, and the impact on everyone else had been limited. Not many people discussed the matter.

Still, during that period, Marquis Xia had been cursed black and blue by the wealthy households. The nickname Xia Pighead had spread from then on.

At the mention of Marquis Xia, everyone burst into laughter.

Liu Wenyan was laughing too, but as he laughed, he could not help sighing inwardly.

Who knew how many black pots Fatty Xia had taken on his back? By now, probably few people remembered the dashing young Marquis Xia from fifty years ago.

Half the sky over Great Xia Prefecture was held up by that fellow everyone called Pighead.

What a pity. People were all ignorant, parroting what others said. How many truly knew these things?

With the face of a pig, yet a resounding heart within—those words described this Marquis Xia, endlessly reviled by all.