The weapons were gone. Nearly a month of investigation had failed to uncover where they had gone, so the only option was to forge replacements.
But as soon as forging began, a problem arose: there was no copper left.
If the palace had any raw copper remaining, who would have compromised and allowed King Zhou to melt down the former kings' bronze vessels to mint coins?
After buying charcoal for so long, nearly all the palace's bronze vessels had been melted down. If this continued, they would have to lay hands on the ritual vessels in the Ancestral Temple!
There was no other choice. They would have to requisition copper.
The commoners had plenty of bronze utensils in their homes.
But even after some were requisitioned, they were still trying to cover their elbows with a threadbare coat.
After all, eighty to ninety percent of Chaoge's entire arsenal was gone. The number of weapons needed was no small figure.
Thus, after charcoal prices, copper prices soared.
After the palace began requisitioning copper, people actually started buying all kinds of bronze utensils on the market at high prices. The commoners began rummaging through their homes, selling anything made of bronze.
As a result, the palace could no longer requisition anything. The commoners truly had no bronze utensils left.
The nobles had them, but requisitions could not reach the nobles.
They were undoubtedly the ones buying up the bronze utensils, too. Yet they hoarded these rare goods to command a premium, refusing to let them circulate on the market.
For a time, both court and country were shaken.
The loss of eighty to ninety percent of the arsenal's weapons was alarming, but more terrifying still were the shortage of raw copper and the nobles' silent resistance.
Civil and military officials alike sensed