Chapter 327: The Collapse of the Heavens
Three days later, another item began to rise in price, something that Zhang Shan had not touched in the past three months—Sumeru Stones!
Among all the items, Sumeru Stones were the most important because everyone needed storage space and thus had to use Sumeru Stones. There was a huge demand for Sumeru Stones every day because many people needed to replenish their storage bracelets or create new ones, especially those with lower cultivation levels.
The price of Sumeru Stones skyrocketed rapidly. Within a day, the price had doubled from its original level! Many people started buying in large quantities—many, many people.
Many speculators began buying in bulk, and large financial consortiums joined in. With the rise in prices came the money.
After three months of preparation, Zhang Shan's people had already set up Sumeru Stone shops in major cities. With this foundation, their operations became easier.
They hoarded, and they hoarded fast. Zhang Shan's subordinates rapidly hoarded, major merchants rapidly hoarded, and major families rapidly hoarded. Now, if you wanted to buy Sumeru Stones, you had to queue up and even then you might not get any.
The more they hoarded, the more there was to hoard.
Ten days later, some major merchants felt the timing was right, as with other goods before. It was about time for the price to fall.
So, they started selling off, making a big profit. However, this time it was different. Instead of falling, the price of Sumeru Stones continued to rise. Those who had sold were full of regret, while those who still held onto their stones clutched them tighter.
More continued to hoard. Twenty days later, the price had reached ten times its previous level—a terrifying amount. Many, many people began to feel that their hearts couldn't take it anymore. How could the price rise so high?
The number of people buying short increased daily, borrowing money to buy, borrowing a lot of money. They used other people's money to buy their favored goods and sold them at a good price later to make a profit.
The entire commercial market of the Great Yu Dynasty was in a state of suppressed rage. The eyes of countless people were fixed on the price of Sumeru Stones, hoping for it to rise or fall!
Early on the twenty-fifth day!
It fell, it fell heavily, by thirty percent. Those who had stones watched the price drop sharply. Their hearts went cold.
It was time to drop; sell off, and more and more people started selling stones. But, the more they sold, the less valuable they became, and they fell faster!
In two days, it dropped back to its original price. Suddenly, countless Sumeru Stones appeared on the market, causing the price of Sumeru Stones to plummet to half of its original price. No, it's still falling!
The price of Sumeru Stones was pitiful! There was no place to sell. Here, the price had just been set, but over there, it dropped again.
It was too horrible, and in an instant, countless people fell into bankruptcy again. Merchants were deeply in debt.
Sumeru Stones were worthless. Some people decided not to sell and were prepared to go elsewhere. But, the Great Yu Dynasty, one hundred and fifty cities were the same, and there were others who had lent them money. What if you run away?
The market in the Great Yu Dynasty was in chaos. Sell, now you want to be willing to buy his Sumeru Stone, and you are his father!
While people were giving up the value of Sumeru Stones, a big hand appeared in the dark, and someone began buying Sumeru Stones again.
The price of Sumeru Stones began to rise again.
Especially in those shops under Zhang Shan's command—buy, and buy again!
After five days, when Sumeru Stones were no longer sold cheaply on the market, people realized that the price of Sumeru Stones was about to rise again.
It rose, and it rose madly!
Those who hadn't sold were extremely relieved, while those who had rushed to sell felt a heart-wrenching sense of regret and frustration. This round of Sumeru Stones surged even stronger than before!
Soaring rapidly, in the blink of an eye, many people became worth millions!
Too powerful! Sumeru Stones rose twenty times!
Some smart people began to sell off, unable to bear it, their hearts couldn't take it.
But the price continued to rise, another twenty days later. It finally peaked. Then it plummeted straight down, like a bottomless abyss, never seeming to stop.
It fell! The price fell!
Once again, countless people went bankrupt, countless shops closed due to debt.
After this cycle, the commercial sector of the Great Yu Dynasty's cities fell silent.
This time, there shouldn't be any rebound, right? But when Sumeru Stones fell by half, they rose again, lifting the hearts of most people.
But by this time, there were few who dared to continue. One by one, they looked at their wallets and felt like crying!
Sure enough, as everyone expected, just two days after rising, the downward trend was like a waterfall, so pitifully falling!
Sell, even the calmest heart couldn't withstand the turmoil.
When Sumeru Stones hit rock bottom, except for a few shops that were still buying, there was nothing left.
Sumeru Stones were back on the rise, but now, no one dared to buy them again.
Fear? No, they had no money.
Plundering, frenzied plunder!
Some major merchants understood some things, saw the darkness behind them, and all were cold sweats. Now, no one dared to touch Sumeru Stones again. At the same time, many major merchants joined forces and learned this method to fluctuate other products and profit from price differences.
However, after this round of Sumeru Stone collapse, all merchants suddenly couldn't hold on anymore.
Small merchants announced good luck in closing down one after another, while medium-sized merchants were still exhausted and continued to play out price changes with major merchants.
But at this moment, it looked like a small game. The market became extremely exhausted, and commerce became extremely depressed. In each city, killings and robberies suddenly increased.
The one hundred and fifty cities of the Great Yu Dynasty suddenly became restless.
One month later, the price of Sumeru Stones continued to rise, and some major merchants wanted to hoard them. However, they were surprised to find out. No goods, can't find goods?
Where are the Sumeru Stones?
A scene of great depression in commerce—no money left, pockets empty, and debts piling up. What's going on? Many people were bewildered, no money left?
Without the circulation of spirit stones, the elixirs in the alchemy shops were withering. What used to be abundant now had only a few varieties left. It was the same for the magic weapon shops. There were various raw materials in the material shops, but the alchemy shops dared not enter, and the magic weapon shops dared not stock up for refining. No one wanted to lose money, and similarly, no one had money anymore!
More and more shops were closing! Unable to survive, unable to survive in this city, what do you need, nothing, even if you have, it's dead expensive. And things dare not buy, now one hundred spirit stones to buy, two days later only need ten spirit stones is enough.
People were in panic, and commerce had collapsed.
Once commerce fell, the government was next in line to suffer. Unable to collect taxes, shops closed down, and the citizens refused to pay their head taxes. "We're broke. If you keep imposing taxes, we're leaving! We won't stay here anymore; we'll live in the mountains or move to other cities to travel," they said.
The government was dumbfounded.
More importantly, Sumeru Stones disappeared from the market. Just like that, gone.
How could this be possible? Sumeru Stones were different from other items; they couldn't be stored in storage bracelets. Similar spaces couldn't overlap.
Gone?
When this news reached the main residences of each city lord, they were dumbfounded! No more spirit stones?
One source of spirit stones in the country was the national spirit stone mine, managed by the army. However, spirit stone mines were very hidden and hard to find, and they were scarce! Scarce enough to support at most ten cities' consumption.
Then there were taxes. The key was the tax revenue from each city. Now that the market had collapsed, there were no taxes to collect. What to do?
In the Sky City. Inside the palace.
"Your Majesty, it's bad. Countless people have left Sky City, many shops have closed, and tax collection has stopped!" a minister spoke up.
"What?" Emperor Nalan furrowed his brow.
"Your Majesty, we don't know why. For nearly half a year, the market has been very volatile, and people have been trading very frequently. Tax revenue has been stable, no, it has been increasing. But just last month, suddenly, everything shut down. Countless merchants closed their doors. It's so bizarre!" the official reported anxiously.
"And how much tax revenue can we still collect?" Emperor Nalan said in a deep voice.
"Not even one percent of what it used to be. It's too little, far too little. At this rate, the officials and army of our Great Yu Dynasty, in its one hundred and fifty cities, will soon have no military salaries to provide, leading to mutiny!" the official exclaimed in terror.
"Half a year has passed, why did it take until now to discover the problem?" Emperor Nalan said with a solemn voice.
"Your Majesty, we didn't expect it. The market was lively, and we thought it was getting better, but who knew it would suddenly turn out like this, so inexplicable, so inexplicable," the official said anxiously.
"Inexplicable? You find it inexplicable. Investigate. You have five days. Find out the root cause. If you can't solve it, present yourself to me," Emperor Nalan said coldly.
"Yes!" the official said fearfully—
In a city of the Great Yu Dynasty, Yi Yan sat behind the commander's desk, his brow furrowed.
"Commander, we only manage the army. We never thought the city's shops would cause such a stir. It's not under our control. How could the civil officials let things get so bad?" Tie Xue asked anxiously.
"How are the things I asked you to do?" Yi Yan stared at Tie Xue and asked.
"Those big buyers who hoarded and suppressed prices have all been rounded up. Goods have been put back into the market, but there are too many speculators. It's too difficult to control," Tie Xue shook his head and sighed.
"Hahaha, did it take ten years? What a ruthless plan, no, what a poisonous plan. Zhong Shan, you really are an instigator. In half a year, you've turned countless merchants of the Great Yu into the root of public unrest, all in chaos!" Yi Yan sighed deeply.
"Commander, what should we do? What about the spirit stones now? In a few months, military salaries won't be enough. One hundred and fifty cities, what should we do?" Tie Xue looked worried.
"Spirit stones? Don't worry about spirit stones. We can borrow from the Great Guang Dynasty. But public unrest is the real problem. It's chaos. And the people in the city are leaving one after another. This is just the first wave, and there will be many more to come. If the city is empty, is it still a city?" Yi Yan sighed.
"Commander, we'll immediately order that no one is allowed to leave the city," Tie Xue said.
"No, it won't work. We can't violate public opinion. This is just one harm. There's an even greater harm that's rapidly catalyzing this crisis," Yi Yan said.
"What?" Tie Xue asked.
"Sumeru Stones, our lifeblood!" Yi Yan clenched his fist.