Chapter 2643: Storm over Xiaoyao Market (Part 3)

Due to historical circumstances, iron coins had earned a poor reputation among the populace and proved difficult to circulate. By galvanizing them, the Senate hoped to significantly reduce public resistance to accepting the new currency.

As for anti-counterfeiting measures, besides the relief patterns and galvanized coating, the only other precaution was a raised rim around the edge to prevent clipping. To minimize production costs, they had foregone milled edges to deter filing—the reasoning was straightforward. No Senator believed anyone could turn a profit by scraping iron filings from wrought iron coins without losing money in the process.

The Senators universally dismissed concerns about counterfeiting. When the Senate Standing Committee inquired whether overseas powers or the Ming Dynasty might attempt to manufacture fake currency, the Mint's Senator Engineer responded with confidence:

"If they wished to spend one Yuan to counterfeit our One Yuan Silver Coin, they would probably only need a few tons of lead or white copper, a handful of genius craftsmen, and a hydraulic press designed by transmigrators.

"But if they wished to spend less than one Fen to replicate our One Wen Hard Coin made of steel, they would need the Senate, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Industry, hundreds of Industrial Senators, and thousands of Industrial Workers providing upstream and downstream technical support. In short, they would need the Great Senate and the People."

"This is the Kun Thieves' Tongbao Money—their Circulating Treasure," the shopkeeper explained, hurrying over when he noticed the master examining the Australian coinage with such interest. "It only started circulating a few days ago. One Silver Yuan exchanges for one thousand Wen. They don't issue Australian Kun Notes for this denomination—it's all Tongbao Money."

"All Tongbao Money? How strange. The Kun Thieves must have turned over a new leaf!" Li Guangyuan toyed with the new coin in his hand. Though he knew it was merely an iron piece of negligible value, its craftsmanship was exquisite—comparable to the finest Yongle coins. He found himself reluctant to put it down.

Luo Heying smiled. "It's nothing more than an iron coin. If the Kun Thieves are going to haggle over such chicken-feather money, their Great Kun Kingdom might as well close up shop."

Li Guangyuan asked instead, "What's the current exchange rate for this money?"

"The Kun Thieves' warehouse on the pier handles exchanges. Master Fan's shops can also exchange them. Most merchants on the market have been bringing their old Treasure Notes to trade in."

Small-denomination paper money was neither durable nor easy to count. And it was still "paper money" after all—in common folk's minds, naturally less reliable than this "hard coin."

"Are people exchanging old coins as well?"

"Yes, yes," the shopkeeper nodded eagerly. "Not many bring good money to exchange, though. Mostly they're trading in sand pieces, crab shells—that sort of debased small currency. Few people bother bringing Five Baht coins..."

The Australians proved generous in this regard. Although they weighed and assessed the fineness, they would accept any minted coin, rejecting nothing. Whatever you brought, good or bad, they would always exchange some new money for it.

Li Guangyuan pondered for a while but still couldn't discern what conspiracy the Australians might be plotting. He could only assume an unfathomable expression and let out a snort before tossing the coin back to the apprentice. "Let's keep walking."

The streets of Xiaoyao Market looked much the same as before—nothing particularly remarkable. Today wasn't a market fair day, so few peddlers had come out. The street felt somewhat deserted. Li Guangyuan was a notable figure in these parts, and as he passed through, shop apprentices and keepers emerged one after another to greet him respectfully.

Ever since the Kun Thieves had arrived, Master Li had become considerably more affable in his dealings with people. In the past, he would have completely ignored the attentions of minor shopkeepers. Now he not only returned their courtesies with a contained smile and a nod, but occasionally exchanged a few words of greeting.

Luo Heying's desire to open a shop on the market was clearly meant to establish a separate stronghold and set of eyes and ears for the Eight Immortals Society. Both men understood this perfectly well, though neither spoke of it openly. At the end of the day, the Eight Immortals Society was the Eight Immortals Society, and the Li Family was the Li Family. Though they currently shared a bed, they dreamed different dreams.

Li Guangyuan certainly wanted to partake of the grand pie the Eight Immortals Society had sketched out: "When the King's Armies march south, we shall rectify and support the state, bringing glory to our ancestors." But he wasn't so foolish as to muster his forces against the Kun Thieves based on mere empty promises—not unless the Great Ming's official armies first entered Dongguan County City.

Nevertheless, he had leveraged the Eight Immortals Society to become a "Heavenly King." His influence over surrounding territories had surged dramatically, and his prestige within Li Family Enclosure had reached its zenith. He still needed to show the Eight Immortals Society some face.

Luo Heying, for his part, saw right through Li Guangyuan's calculations. But as the saying went, boarding a ship was easy—disembarking was hard. The benefits offered by the Eight Immortals Society and the Heaven Way League were not so easily taken.

The two men, each harboring ulterior motives, inspected various locations throughout the market. Empty land was not in short supply at Xiaoyao Market, but Luo Heying declared each site unsuitable after a cursory look. They circled the entire market without finding a single satisfactory plot.

The leading apprentice grumbled privately to himself. What kind of land did this Master Luo actually want? So particular, yet he never explained his reasoning. The market wasn't large—merely a street half a li long—and they soon reached its end. Here stood a pier, one that hadn't originally existed. The Fan Family had only built it after the Australians arrived. To distinguish it from the old pier on the market, people called it the New Pier.

After the New Pier was completed, it had seen little use. Three to five days might pass without a single boat mooring there. That changed recently, when the Australians launched major construction at Xiaoyao Market. The pier suddenly flourished, with massive quantities of boats docking daily to load and unload goods.

Walking west from the New Pier, they encountered a fence blocking the road—they had reached the market's edge. The "Big House" the Australians were building lay just beyond the fence, separated from the New Pier by a stretch of river swamp.

Li Guangyuan knew this place. It had originally been river beach land, later purchased by the Fan Family for use as a Charity Cemetery—a Yi Zhong burial ground. Who knew how many bones had been interred there over the decades. No one was willing to go near it in broad daylight.

The Kun Thieves were actually building their "Big House" on this Charity Cemetery land? Li Guangyuan felt more than a little surprised.

He observed several Kun People wearing Australian-style buttoned jackets, shouldering or carrying various objects as they moved about the construction site. One Kun worker had set up a small box on three long legs, then spent a good while watching a plumb weight hang down from it before finally straightening up. He pressed his eye to a small hole in the center of the box's side and peered at something intently. As he looked, he waved his hands in strange gestures, as if conducting some manner of talisman ritual. In the distance, another Kun worker shouldered a long wooden board shaped like a ruler, painted with alternating red and black lines. This board-bearer followed the box-watcher's gestures, moving back and forth without a moment's rest. Yet another Kun worker had placed a long, narrow wooden box on level ground. From his bosom, he produced a small, exquisite object and studied it for a time. Then he prostrated himself before the long box in apparent worship. While kowtowing, he wrote and drew something on a scroll beside him, working with great care and occasionally comparing his work against the small instrument. Still others among the Kun People held strange implements in their hands, sometimes gazing at the sky, sometimes probing the earth—their purposes unfathomable. Surrounding this group of Kun workers stood Japanese samurai wearing iron bamboo hats with swords thrust through their sashes, standing guard at the perimeter. Idlers from Xiaoyao Market had gathered in small clusters at a distance to watch, occasionally leaning their heads together to whisper.

Li Guangyuan was thoroughly perplexed. He exchanged glances with Luo Heying—what on earth were they doing?

The shop apprentice, however, looked triumphant. He launched into an enthusiastic explanation: "These are all Australian Feng Shui Gentlemen. The grave land Feng Shui of Xiaoyao Market is wonderfully prosperous—this area has produced three Cultivated Talents in the past. The Kun People must have taken a fancy to this Feng Shui Treasure Land, so they've claimed it for themselves and moved all the tomb caves and burial grounds away."

Luo Heying let the explanation pass without comment, but Li Guangyuan was a local man who knew the situation at Xiaoyao Market intimately. This river beach was Charity Cemetery land—a burial ground for the destitute and friendless. Never mind descendants rising to prominence; many of those interred here had never even had wives. Where was the Feng Shui Treasure Land in that? As for the Cultivated Talents Xiaoyao Market had produced, none of their ancestral graves lay within the Charity Cemetery. This apprentice was an outsider, speaking pure nonsense.

But the apprentice grew more animated as he continued: "That three-legged small box is a Thousand Li Yin-Yang Box. The flat board that man shoulders is a Guiding Soul Summoning Board. Once the Soul Summoning Board is erected, it guides and condenses the souls within a radius of one zhang. Then they use the Yin-Yang Box to distinguish carefully—if the place harbors vicious ghosts or evil souls, it cannot be used. This is called 'Watching Qi.' That long box the other man worships contains a condensed Yin Soul. If the earth is peaceful and its Qi upright, the Yin Soul lies steadily in the exact center, unmoved by the eight winds. If malevolent filth stirs within, the Yin Soul will try to shift direction—only held in place by the magical power suppressing it. The small object he took from his bosom is the most spiritually potent of all. That is a Western Eight Treasures Australian Compass. Don't let its small size fool you—it contains the mysteries of heaven and earth. Lifting its cover calms wind and balances Qi, breaking through all the blinding illusions of ghosts and demons. That man uses the Yin Soul Box and Australian Compass together to perform 'Gazing Land.' As for what he's writing, that's no ordinary thing either—it's a Heaven Book Profound Scroll. A Kun sorcerer of high magical power, writing and drawing upon that Profound Scroll, is Making Formations and Changing Feng Shui. And those other magical tools the Kun People are holding..."

Li Guangyuan thought to himself: What utter nonsense! Yet doubt soon crept into his mind: perhaps the Australians truly did possess some evil arts or demonic methods. Otherwise, how could they have swept across the Two Guangs from a small county like Lingao, claiming kingship and carving out territory in a mere ten years? Besides, their many secret arts all defied common logic...

Luo Heying watched the Kun workers observing Qi and gazing upon the land, measuring Feng Shui, while listening to the shop apprentice's torrent of words about Australian Sorcerers' techniques. It all sounded like cloud-covered mountains shrouded in fog—after half a day of listening, he still couldn't make heads or tails of it. Unable to restrain himself, he interjected with a question: "Are there any True Kun among them?"

"True Kun? True Kun and Fake Kun look almost the same. Hard to distinguish, really." Here the shop apprentice grew even more animated. "But if you could get close, there are some differences. These True Kun all carry themselves with chest thrown out and belly proud—an imposing bearing. They're also a head taller than ordinary Fake Kun. Their clothing differs too. Though the style looks much the same, True Kun clothes have better materials and finer workmanship. More variation in style as well. If someone's dressed in something peculiar and distinctive, they're definitely True Kun."

Luo Heying couldn't help asking, "How do you know all this?"

The shop apprentice replied proudly, "When the Kun Soldiers first arrived, quite a few True Kun came along. They inspected the commercial activity and market conditions here, with attendants shouting ahead and crowding behind. People all addressed them as 'Chief.' I saw plenty of them. The workers laboring now are all Fake Kun. The guards wearing iron hats and carrying swords are Japanese Pirates under the Kun Thieves' command—but presumably there are some True Kun inside the camp."

He pointed to a spot at the edge of the construction site, surrounded by earthen walls and bamboo fencing. "That's the Kun People's camp right there."

(End of Chapter)