If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

"Blind shooting?"

Prince Qian Zhentian of Zhennan repeated the two words, his face showing confusion.

Zhao Yu did not explain directly, but instead asked a question.

"What do you think they would bid in a normal auction?"

The Prince of Zhennan didn't even think about it.

"Naturally, we would first discuss it privately and set a rough price, and then one or two companies would bid against each other, while others would stand by and watch."

Ultimately, regardless of who gets the photo, the prizes will be distributed according to the pre-arranged agreement.

"To put it bluntly, it's about joining forces to drive the price down to the lowest possible level."

Zhao Yu took over the conversation.

"But if it's blind shooting, the situation is different."

"Blind auction, as the name suggests, does not involve bidding; instead, each person places a bid on a bamboo slip, and the highest bidder wins."

"No one knows what other people are bidding for, so if you want to win the bid, you can only guess high and bid high."

"They mortgaged their family property and emptied their savings; no one wanted to leave empty-handed."

"In this way, they will not only not collude, but will also drive up the price to an unexpected height due to mutual suspicion."

Zhao Yu's voice was calm, but it sent a chill down the spine of the Prince of Zhennan.

He was stunned for a moment before he regained his composure and laughed heartily.

"That's ruthless."

This is no longer an open scheme, but a psychological attack.

They thoroughly exploited the greed and suspicion inherent in the nature of powerful and influential families.

The Prince of Zhennan couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter even more unrestrained than before.

"Great! What a brilliant blind shot! Yu'er, you've truly impressed your uncle!"

He patted Zhao Yu's shoulder hard, so hard that Zhao Yu felt pain.

"Let's go ahead. I want to see for myself what kind of expressions those old foxes have on their faces."

The auspicious time has arrived.

With a long, drawn-out announcement from the master of ceremonies, the noisy crowd in the square instantly fell silent.

Accompanied by the Prince of Zhennan, Zhao Yu walked up to the high platform and sat down on the dragon throne in the center.

He looked down at the dense crowd below, every face filled with anticipation and fervor.

Wei An walked to the front of the stage, cleared his throat, and his high-pitched voice echoed throughout the entire square.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: There are now 10,000 Xuan Tie armored soldiers, all of the highest quality in the army."

To honor the Emperor's favor and share the joy with noble families, this auction is hereby held; the highest bidder wins.

"To ensure fairness, this auction will be conducted using a blind auction method."

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience erupted in uproar.

"Blind shooting? What is blind shooting?"

"I've never heard of this rule before. What kind of rule is this?"

The smiles on the faces of Li Chengzhi, Lu Mingyuan, Zhang Wenyuan, and the others at the aristocratic seats instantly froze.

They exchanged a bewildered glance, both seeing the same message in each other's expressions: What's going on? Could there be a mistake in the auction?

Wei An ignored the commotion below and continued reading the rules.

"In each round of bidding, everyone writes their bid on a piece of paper and puts it into the box in front of the table."

Fifteen minutes later, the box was opened and the price was checked in front of everyone. The highest bidder won the auction.

If the prices are the same, the two will bid again.

The rules were simple and clear, and everyone understood them.

In an instant, the entire square fell into a deathly silence.

What followed was an even bigger uproar.

"This...this won't do!"

"Yes, if we don't even know what other people are bidding, isn't that like the blind men and the elephant?"

"What if I bid too high a price? Wouldn't I be at a huge disadvantage for nothing?"

Complaints and doubts arose one after another.

Li Chengzhi finally couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and cupped his hands in greeting towards the platform.

"Your Majesty, this method is probably inappropriate!"

His voice was loud and clear, with a hint of accusation.

Auctions have always emphasized openness and transparency; only through back-and-forth negotiations can fairness be demonstrated.

Such a blind auction would only make the world laugh at our Great Liang for having no one who can't even hold an auction!

His words were extremely harsh, almost an insult accusing Zhao Yu of not knowing the rules.

Many heads of prominent families echoed this sentiment.

"What Patriarch Li says is absolutely right!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider and withdraw your order!"

On the high platform, Zhao Yu's face was ashen.

He didn't speak, but simply watched the excited crowd below.

Only when the noise below gradually subsided did Zhao Yu slowly speak.

"Does Patriarch Li find this inappropriate?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"I think it's a good idea."

"What I have brought out are important military and national weapons."

What you want is the right to recruit soldiers.

Such an important matter cannot be handled like a petty transaction in the marketplace, where one haggles over every penny.

"Blind shooting relies on courage and is a gamble on determination."

"Without this kind of courage and determination, how can you talk about sharing the country's burdens and training troops for me?"

"If you all feel this is inappropriate, then I should consider whether you are qualified to command troops."

His words were well-reasoned and supported by evidence, and he even made a subtle threat at the end.

Li Chengzhi was so choked up that his face turned red, his mouth was open, but he couldn't say a word.

He can't exactly say, "Let's give up the right to recruit soldiers, can he?"

Zhao Yu stopped looking at him and instead scanned the entire room.

"Of course, I am not an unreasonable person."

"If anyone feels that this law is unfair, they can withdraw now."

"I will not force you."

The square was completely silent.

quit?

How is that possible!

For this auction, they mortgaged their property, pushed up their savings, and practically sold everything they owned.

Withdrawing now would not only mean losing all previous investments, but also carries the risk of being swallowed up by other families when the military power is consolidated.

Zhao Yu's words effectively cut off all their escape routes.

Seeing the ashen faces of the crowd below the stage, Zhao Yu's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

He winked at Wei An.

Wei An immediately understood and shouted loudly.

"It's getting late, there's no point in saying more."

Before the auction of the armor, to liven up the atmosphere, His Majesty specially brought out several rare and precious medicines seized from the Wolf Kingdom as a way to warm up the crowd.

"The first item up for auction is a 300-year-old snow lotus, which is believed to strengthen the body, promote longevity, and enhance health."

Starting bid: 10,000 taels of silver.

Now, begin placing your bids!

As soon as he finished speaking, a young eunuch immediately carried a tray and distributed paper and pens to each seat.

Everyone looked at each other.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

All their money was intended for the Kap Man, and no one expected the appetizer to be so expensive.

And it was shot blindly.

If you waste money on this just to spite someone, how will you compete later?

Just as everyone was hesitating, Gan Qing, the head of the Gan family, was the first to pick up a pen, write a number on a piece of paper, blow away the ink, and drop it into the bid box.

His actions were like a signal.

The other members of the major families looked at each other and had no choice but to bite the bullet and start writing down their prices.

They were all seething with anger, wanting to vent all the frustration that had been building up during the time they were raising money and supplies.

Nobody wants to lose momentum in the first round.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly.

Wei An walked to the box, opened it in front of everyone, took out the slips of paper inside, and unfolded them one by one.

"The Zhang family, 15,000 taels."

"The Sun family, 18,000 taels."

"The Wang family, 21,000 taels."

……

Every time Wei An announced a price, a low gasp of surprise would ripple through the audience.

A single snow lotus is worth no more than 13,000 or 14,000 taels of silver on the market, but now any offer would far exceed that.

Li Chengzhi's face was somewhat grim. He had offered 25,000 taels, thinking he was almost certain to win.

"The Li family, 25,000 taels."

When the price from the Li family was read out, he subconsciously straightened his back.

However, Wei paused for a moment and picked up the last piece of paper.

"The Gan family... fifty thousand taels!"

"boom!"

The entire audience erupted in cheers.

Fifty thousand taels!

It was more than double that of the second place!

All eyes were on Gan Qing.

The head of the Gan family wore a smile, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

Li Chengzhi's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He stared intently at Gan Qing, almost spitting fire.

madman!

This Gan Qing is absolutely insane!

Spending 50,000 taels to buy a snow lotus, is money falling from the sky?

Little did he know that Gan Qing was expressing his loyalty to Zhao Yu.

The ten million taels of silver as collateral, and the extravagant spending, were all telling the emperor that the Gan family was determined to stand by his side.

On the high platform, Zhao Yu picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

well.

The atmosphere has been perfectly set.

Next, it's time for the main course.