If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Zhou Wu's confidence in the national debt stems from his personal connections. Nowadays, anyone involved in maritime trade, whether an individual or a chamber of commerce, has to give Zhou Wu some face.

Because Zhou Wu not only controls the ocean shipping business, but also has a port where large dragons sail out to sea.

Although Zhou Wu wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for these people, any normal person would probably want to befriend Zhou Wu rather than choose to offend him.

As a businessman, one should be able to see the benefits of government bonds. Therefore, as long as Zhou Wu steps forward to respond to the call, I believe that those who cooperate with the South China Sea will definitely support Zhou Wu's work.

"How are you doing there?"

Tomorrow is the official release date for the national debt. Right now, I'm making the most of the last bit of peace and quiet.

Unlike Zhou Wu's composure, Su Jing was now in a state of utter confusion.

"It's all your fault. You told His Highness the Crown Prince about the audit, and those words, which offended people, ended up falling on my shoulders."

Su Jing vented his resentment at Zhou Wu, who could only smile awkwardly. It was indeed his suggestion to the Crown Prince to check the accounts, but he didn't know that this task would ultimately fall to Su Jing.

"You truly deserve to be the Crown Prince's chief advisor; the Crown Prince actually entrusted you with such an important matter."

What else could we do but flatter Su Jing?

"Don't give me that crap. What did I do to deserve this?"

"Young man, stop complaining. Everyone has setbacks in life, right? Watch closely, I believe in you."

Su Jing couldn't stand Zhou Wu's smug expression. Although he was furious, there was nothing he could do.

"Humph."

Since they couldn't agree on anything, Su Jing didn't want to stay any longer and turned to leave.

. . . . . . .

The next day.

The news about the national debt was disseminated through the government.

The first to react was naturally the capital, right under the emperor's nose. However, the public opinion didn't seem to be very good. Apart from his brothers and friends like Lu Da and Gu Xinyuan, who bought some government bonds out of respect for Zhou Wu, everyone else was full of negative comments.

"National debt? Are you kidding me? The government is borrowing money from us ordinary people?"

"Do you think something's happened to the imperial court? Is it hungry?"

"Brother, be careful what you say."

The topic, guided by certain individuals, began to sway against the national debt, but outside of Beijing, it appeared much more normal.

In other places, people have a more objective view of government bonds. They feel that with the government as a backer, it's worth buying some. Of course, there are also some who are not optimistic.

The most popular choice is undoubtedly the South China Sea, as well as wealthy businessmen in the vicinity of Niujia Town.

Moreover, Zhou Wu himself purchased a lot of government bonds in Deng Yuanliang's name. With Zhou Wu taking the lead, these wealthy businessmen were even more unscrupulous. After all, they were the ones who could best understand the current strength of Dalong.

When trading in Southeast Asian countries, Da Long's identity saved them a lot of trouble, and the interest on the national bonds was not low. No one was more shrewd than these merchants at making such a sure-fire deal.

The money from the sale of government bonds was continuously sent to the capital, and those people in the capital naturally got wind of it.

"Isn't it said that government bonds are a trap?"

"Damn it, we've probably been scammed by rich people. They're deliberately preventing us from buying, while they're secretly buying it themselves."

"Have you heard? Almost everyone along the coast and in the South China Sea is buying them. Most of the government bonds released this time are from people from those areas?"

"and then?"

"And then? Are you stupid? The national debt was suggested by Lord Zhou, and the South China Sea is Lord Zhou's territory. If the national debt is really a scam as those aristocratic families say, would Lord Zhou joke about the people in his own territory?"

"Damn it, we've been tricked by the aristocratic family."

"I don't know if it's too late to buy it now."

The rumors spread by the powerful families in the capital quickly dissipated.

People in the capital rushed to buy government bonds, but by then there were very few left, and they were all sold out in just one day.

"What? It's gone? We've all been tricked by the aristocratic families."

An elderly man took out his life savings to buy government bonds, hoping to not only deposit his money with the government but also earn some interest. However, he was too late.

"No, all the money is going to those powerful families. We ordinary folks can't even get a sip of soup."

"That's right, we should protest, we should march."

Young people are so hot-tempered; the moment he finished speaking, he got slapped on the head.

"You brat, you've had a few good meals and now you think you're all that, haven't you?"

The young man was furious and ready to fight back, but when he saw that the old man who hit him was his uncle, his momentum immediately weakened.

"Uncle~"

"Hmph, you still know I'm your uncle. If you want to die, I won't stop you, but you'd better leave the family to avoid being implicated by you. You really don't know your place."

The uncle's words were harsh, but they calmed the young people down. Indeed, if they were to parade through the streets, given the nature of the Great Dragon Empire, they would certainly be arrested by the soldiers and imprisoned immediately.

"Uncle, what do you suggest we do? We've finally got a chance to see the issuance of government bonds, and we're just going to miss it like this?"

"The more critical the situation, the less we should resort to force. I said we can't hold a protest, but I didn't say we can't beg Lord Zhou."

"Please, Mr. Zhou?"

When the uncle saw the young man's expression, he thought to himself that he was indeed still young and didn't even know which god was the true god when he prayed to.

"Yes, think about it. Since Lord Zhou took office, what has he done that wasn't for the people and for the benefit of us? Moreover, this time the national debt was also decided by Lord Zhou. We had to ask him for help."

"Uncle is right, experience truly matters."

After his uncle's analysis, the young man immediately understood and repeatedly cursed himself for being stupid.

. . . . . .

Although the elderly and the young were just ordinary people, they belonged to a large family with many members.

With the deliberate dissemination of propaganda, hundreds and thousands of people quickly gathered at the entrance of Zhou Wu's mansion, and more people continued to flock there.

When the patrolling soldiers saw that Lord Zhou's residence was surrounded, they immediately reported it to their superiors.

"What? Lord Zhou's residence is surrounded by the people?"

"Yes sir."

Do you know what it's about?

"I dare not ask, there are too many people."

"Useless fool, quickly gather your men and head to Lord Zhou's residence."

Because his son was a close friend of Zhou Wu, and Zhou Wu was a favorite of the emperor, the Prefect of Jingzhao took this matter very seriously and immediately mobilized all the guards in the prefecture to go and provide support.