Moma Liangshan

Chapter 177 Revealing Financial Strength, Prescribing the Right Solution

The next day, the princess of Shu came to the courtyard where Wang Hao was staying and said, "Today, I would like to invite you to a place." Seeing the princess's mysterious expression, Wang Hao asked, "Where?" The princess smiled and said, "You will know when we arrive!" Wang Hao nodded and asked, "When do we depart?" The princess replied, "Now!" Wang Hao immediately summoned Lin Chong and Yang Zhi, and they set off with the princess. The capital city was not large; half an hour later, Wang Hao arrived at a courtyard entirely built of bluestone. The surroundings were very quiet, and no one could be seen, yet for some reason, it gave off a feeling of heavy security. Lin Chong and Yang Zhi exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming deeply wary, and immediately stood guard on either side of Wang Hao. Seeing Wang Hao and the others hesitate, the princess of Shu said, "You need not worry, this is the location of the Liao Dynasty's treasury!" The doubts in their hearts were resolved, but Wang Hao still didn't understand why the princess of Shu had brought him to this place. He asked, "The treasury is a confidential place, not a place for an outsider like me to set foot in!" The princess of Shu shook her head and said, "I brought you here so that you can be more determined to cooperate with the Liao Dynasty!" Wang Hao didn't believe the princess of Shu's words and angrily said, "I will definitely do what I promised you, there's no need for this unnecessary trouble!" The princess of Shu approached Wang Hao, smiling slyly, and said, "You'll understand whether I really went to unnecessary trouble once you go inside!" With that, she walked straight towards the gate. Now that things had come to this, only by entering the courtyard could they find out the princess of Shu's true purpose. Wang Hao had no choice but to follow closely behind.

The moment they entered the gate, the courtyard's defenses came into view, with sentries every five steps and guards every ten. How many hidden guards were also present was unknown. Once everyone was inside, the heavy vermilion gates immediately closed. A general stepped forward and said, "Yelü Bannu, the treasury commander, greets the princess!" The Shu princess said, "Rise!" She then produced a warrant and said, "This is a letter from my father. After verification, immediately lead me to the treasury!" Yelü Bannu dared not delay, respectfully accepting the warrant, carefully reading it, and then said, "Princess, please follow me!"

Wang Hao and his group entered a rather inconspicuous room. The room was sparsely furnished, containing only a narrow passage leading underground. The passage was short, and the light at the end was immediately visible, but it was also very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Upon reaching the entrance, Yelü Bannu bowed slightly and pointed into the passage, saying, "Princess, please!" The Shu princess nodded and said, "Young Master Wang, please follow me!" The group filed in, and after ascending about fifty steps, they seemed to arrive at a courtyard. Wang Hao stood still, looking up. He saw something resembling a crane suspended in mid-air, pointing towards the sky, and asked, "What is that?" Yelü Bannu replied, "Reporting to the Duke, that is the crane that raises and lowers gold and silver!" This was the first time Wang Hao had been addressed as "Duke," and he felt slightly uncomfortable. Even Yang Zhi and Lin Chong behind him exchanged a knowing smile. Wang Hao sensed something mysterious about this place and said, "Princess, you wouldn't be showing me this giant crane, would you?" The Shu princess remained enigmatic and said, "Please enter the inner treasury!" Wang Hao looked around and saw twelve arched doorways arranged in a circle. The Shu princess continued, "There are twelve treasury rooms here; you may choose any one to enter!"

Wang Hao frowned and walked forward. The princess of Shu took the candle from Yelü Bannu and handed it to Wang Hao, saying, "The dark path is difficult to walk through; here, take this!" Wang Hao took the candle and carefully walked forward. The passage was almost completely dark except for the faint candlelight, but the ground beneath his feet was surprisingly smooth. After walking about a hundred steps, the passage suddenly opened up. The princess of Shu said beside him, "This is one of the twelve inner treasuries!" The floor, walls, and roof of the inner treasury were all made of bluestone, and there was a chimney-like vent on the roof. Sunlight from outside shone through the vent, making the inner treasury less dark. Yelü Bannu quickly lit the candlesticks in the inner treasury. The light from the twelve candles on the candlesticks illuminated the mountain of silver, making it hard to believe one's eyes. Wang Hao could no longer hide his trembling breath and asked, "Is all of this silver?" The princess of Shu did not answer but looked at Yelü Bannu. Yelü Bannu replied, "This is a silver vault, containing 3,800 silver ingots weighing 2,000 taels each." His voice boomed, resonating deep within Wang Hao's mind. But the surprise didn't end there. The Shu princess said, "There are more such vaults, containing the same amount of silver." Wang Hao gasped for breath, trembling, and said, "The Liao Dynasty's two hundred years of rule truly have a profound foundation!" The Shu princess was very pleased that Wang Hao had lost his composure and continued, "Besides these, there are two gold vaults, storing 13 million taels of gold!"

If no one else were around, Wang Hao felt he would faint. He unconsciously thought, "If I could acquire all this gold and silver, I could use Jiaozhou as a core to vigorously promote the budding of capitalism throughout the entire Jingdong region!" Seeing Wang Hao remain silent, the Shu princess said, "I invited you here today to demonstrate the strength of the Liao Dynasty!" Wang Hao calmed himself and said, "Your Highness should know better than I that many times, mountains of gold and silver cannot be spent at will!" The Shu princess looked wary and said, "What do you mean?" Wang Hao smiled and said, "I just want to remind Your Highness that this gold and silver cannot frighten me, much less buy Jiaozhou!" Seeing the Shu princess about to argue, Wang Hao waved his hand to stop her and continued, "But with this..." "With this gold and silver, our cooperation will have more options!" The Shu princess felt a chill and said, "Are you really so cold-hearted?" Wang Hao nodded and said, "Difference between states cannot tolerate any personal feelings; I told you this long ago!" The Shu princess gritted her teeth and said, "I hope you will never regret your attitude today!" Wang Hao sighed softly and said, "You'd better transport this gold and silver elsewhere!" The Shu princess was angry, but the cooperation still had to proceed, and she said, "Once the Liaodong army returns, they will escort this gold and silver to Zhongjing!" Wang Hao suddenly smiled and said, "You're very clever; you actually saw through my weakness!" The Shu princess smiled smugly and said, "Mountains of gold and silver may not be able to buy your people, but they can certainly make you work harder!"