Chapter 1672 — Suspended Alone Beyond the Mortal World

"Dreams cannot be eaten, and they cannot keep a man alive! Dreams are nothing but a burden upon you; they strip away the station you hold today, they dash your head bloody against reality, they send more of the human race to their deaths for the sake of vaporous phantoms! " Meng Yungui walked faster and faster as he hurried after the Haotian Emperor and his company, saying to himself in silence, "Dreams are too dear, for they must be bought with one's very life; and dreams are worth not a single coin—anyone may claim to hold a dream, but not everyone has the life left to enjoy one!

" He caught up with the Haotian Emperor, who was deep in thought, though of what no man could tell, and the Emperor suddenly spoke: "Heavenly Master Meng, you preside over the economy of the Heavenly Court. In your judgment, how much longer can the heavenly currency hold out? " Meng Yungui pondered a moment and answered, "If we bleed the other heavens, it can hold out ten years more.

If the Heavenly Court issues more heavenly currency and purchases mineral reserves from the great heavens, it can hold out twenty. " The Haotian Emperor said, "Oh? " and brightened with interest.

"Twenty years? Heavenly Master Shang, do you believe the Court can hold out twenty years by issuing more currency? " Shang Pingyin stepped out from the ranks, bowed, and said, "Your servant believes that issuing more currency is to quench a thirst with poison, and will bring the currency to collapse all the faster.

As things stand, a part of the heavenly currency of the myriad heavens is concentrated in two places, the Heavenly Court and Jingping, while the rest is gathered into the hands of the great and powerful houses; the common folk of the myriad heavens have very little money in their hands. If we issue more currency to buy up the mines and mineral reserves of all the heavens, the newly issued currency will fall into the hands of the great houses, the rich will grow richer, and prices will be forced upward.

The poor will grow poorer, and they will rise in revolt. To do this is only to hasten the collapse of the currency. " The Haotian Emperor cast a glance at Meng Yungui and said, "Heavenly Master Shang speaks with reason. " Meng Yungui said mildly, "Heavenly Master Shang acts on intuition alone, and has not subjected the matter to any detailed reckoning. Your servant can prove it by numerology. " His primal qi transformed into runes of numerology, laying out the data of trade and commerce between the myriad heavens; countless complex formulas and equations were set forth in a single sweep, and number after number was computed and transformed with a precision beyond compare—a truly breathtaking spectacle. "Your servant presides over the Court's mint and knows the commerce of the myriad heavens like the palm of his hand. These figures of trade, I have carried down to the haziest digit!

" Meng Yungui went on unhurriedly, "It is only once the issuance of extra currency reaches a certain degree that prices are forced up and the people are left with no means to live, and all of that can be avoided with proper control.

On the other hand, the Heavenly Court holds the right of minting; it can use the newly issued currency to buy up Jingping's imperial foundries, press Jingping down, and purchase everything that is Jingping's without bloodying a single blade. " He turned to Shang Pingyin with a challenging look and said, "Heavenly Master Shang, your numerology is but commonplace numerology; in attainment, is it any higher than mine?

" Shang Pingyin studied his primal-qi formulas and equations of numerology, examining them one by one, and said to the Haotian Emperor, "There is no error in Heavenly Master Meng's calculations; it was this minister's excess of caution. But as for his claim that his attainment in numerology surpasses mine, in my heart I am not convinced. " The Haotian Emperor laughed heartily.

"The two of you are the most powerful reckoners among all the Heavenly Masters under my command; there is no need to keep wrangling over which of you ranks first! It is only this figure of twenty years that leaves me somewhat uneasy in the gut; I feel it ought to be discounted a little further.

" Meng Yungui bowed and said, "Your Majesty is most sagacious. " Shang Pingyin said, "Issuing more currency is one side of the matter; annexing Jingping is the other. Once Jingping is swallowed up and the myriad heavens are united under one rule, there will no longer be any fear that the currency will collapse. " Meng Yungui shook his head. "Heavenly Master Shang, your words miss the mark.

" Good-tempered as Shang Pingyin was, being contradicted twice could not but provoke his anger, and he said flatly, "What instruction would Heavenly Master Meng impart? " Meng Yungui said, "Just now, Heavenly Master Shang said that issuing more currency would only send it into the hands of the great houses.

Even if Your Majesty gains Jingping and lets the currency circulate without obstruction, the currency will still end in the hands of the great houses, and the common folk of the myriad heavens will still rise in revolt when rise they must—whether Jingping is won or lost has nothing to do with it. " Shang Pingyin raised an eyebrow, and with a smile that was half a smile said, "And how does Heavenly Master Meng think this situation is to be avoided? " Meng Yungui said, "Your servant holds that Your Majesty's greatest enemy in governing the world is not Jingping, nor yet the Heavenly Venerable Mu, the Heavenly Venerable Ling, and their like, but the great houses that have amassed measureless wealth.

Throughout the myriad heavens, countless great and powerful families have seized power into their own hands and seized wealth into their own hands. After a million years, the riches of the myriad heavens have gathered into their grasp, until matters have come to the pass they are at today. More and more of the heavenly currency piles up in their hands, while less and less of it circulates through the myriad heavens; day by day it accumulated, until the people's resentment filled every road, and only then did the upheavals of the myriad heavens come to pass.

The rise of Jingping merely brought this upheaval a few years forward.

" Shang Pingyin gave a snort. "Heavenly Master Meng has said a great deal, but he has set out only the cause and never the cure.

I should very much like to hear Heavenly Master Meng's way of resolution.

" Meng Yungui hesitated and did not go on. "Your servant fears being punished for his words," he said.

The Haotian Emperor laughed aloud. "I am no tyrant—say on freely. " Meng Yungui bowed. "The great houses hold too much wealth in their hands.

No matter how much currency is issued, in the end it will fall into their hands. The only road of resolution is to abolish the great houses.

And the best road to abolishing the great houses is to put every talent to its proper use—" "Presumptuous! " Shang Pingyin said coldly. "Heavenly Master Meng, you presume far too much! Abolish the great houses—and will the next step be to reform the laws themselves? Your Majesty, Meng Yungui is certainly a spy from Jingping. I beg Your Majesty to issue the command at once and have this villain taken to the God-Slaying Platform! " The other civil and military officials spoke up one after another: "Heavenly Master Meng is of the human race; he harbors seditious designs, he deludes the multitude with monstrous talk, he conceals a venomous heart. Your Majesty, sentence this man!

" The Haotian Emperor waved his hand and laughed. "Enough, enough!

Stop attacking Heavenly Master Meng.

Heavenly Master Meng, your words are far too blunt, and they sit ill with the man you used to be.