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

After Wei An stepped down, a middle-aged official dressed in the official robes of the Ministry of Revenue walked onto the high platform. He was Qiu Ping, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He first bowed deeply to Zhao Yu on the dragon throne, then turned to face the audience and spoke loudly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there are a total of 10,000 sets of Xuan Iron Armor to be auctioned this time."

"These were all made by our Liang military workshop in the early years. Although they are old-fashioned, they are made of solid materials, with thick armor plates and are well maintained. With a little repair, they can be put to great use."

Qiu Ping's voice was steady and powerful, devoid of any emotion, simply stating the facts.

"Ten thousand pieces of armor are enough to equip an elite army of ten thousand men. If paired with fine horses, they would be an invincible cavalry."

Below the stage, the breathing of all the heads of the powerful families became heavy.

Elite!

These two words struck everyone's heart with a heavy blow.

They seemed to already see an army clad in black armor gathering under their own banner, and they envisioned themselves carving out a territory and achieving hegemony amidst the chaos of the future.

If we can buy this batch of armor, we can open the door to our elite troops...

Li Chengzhi gripped the armrest tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The Li family has almost lost everything this time, converting 90% of their assets into cash.

He thought that with such a move, acquiring this batch of armor was a sure thing.

But Gan Qing's move just now made him feel uncertain.

They're all lunatics!

Clearly, everyone has dropped all pretense and is prepared to gamble everything in this high-stakes gamble.

Whoever can obtain this batch of armor will be the most powerful contender for the throne of the Great Liang Dynasty two months later.

He turned his head and whispered instructions to Li Qiang, the Minister of War beside him.

"Include the 500,000 taels reserved for training soldiers as well."

Li Qiang's expression changed, and he wanted to dissuade him, but Li Chengzhi stopped him with a look.

On the other side, fine beads of sweat had already seeped out of Lu Mingyuan's forehead.

His heart was filled with turmoil and regret.

For this auction, he specifically instructed Lu Wanliang, who was serving as the Minister of Revenue, to secretly raise the mortgage price of the Lu family's properties.

They thought they could secretly extract more silver and widen the gap in wealth between themselves and other families.

In hindsight, this little bit of cleverness was completely useless.

Judging from the Li family's actions, the amount of assets they have mortgaged is probably much more than he estimated.

If they fail to acquire this batch of armor, the Lu family will be the first to be swallowed up in the coming chaos.

He gritted his teeth and hardened his heart.

I'm taking the gamble!

It's all or nothing!

In the corner, Zhang Wenyuan, the unassuming head of the Zhang family, suddenly revealed a ruthless glint in his eyes.

The Zhang family ranked sixth among the aristocratic families, but they had never caught the attention of others and were not particularly outstanding in terms of strength.

But this time, he raised a full six million taels of silver.

Where did the money come from?

He arranged marriages between his one son and two daughters with several other powerful small families in exchange for huge sums of money.

This is a once-in-a-century opportunity for the Zhang family to rise again, and he is determined to take the plunge no matter what.

He hadn't participated in the previous auctions of precious medicines, precisely to feign weakness and make everyone overlook him. Fortunately, this final crucial step proved fatal.

Gan Qing leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

But his turbulent emotions were far from being as calm as they appeared on the surface.

He made the right bet.

The young emperor's blind bid ignited everyone's greed and fear, forcing them to reveal all their cards and engage in a fierce battle.

Such a cunning strategy and such skillful tactics are truly admirable.

"Ten thousand sets of Xuan Tie armor, no starting price, no price cap."

Qiu Ping's voice rang out again.

"Gentlemen, please make your bids."

The young eunuchs, once again carrying paper and pen, moved between the various seats.

An eerie silence fell over the entire square.

The only sounds were the fluttering of the banners in the wind and the heavy breathing of the crowd.

Everyone picked up their pens, but hesitated to put them down.

That number on the paper will determine the rise and fall of a family for the next hundred years.

too heavy.

Li Chengzhi picked up the pen, his wrist trembling slightly.

He wrote "five million five hundred thousand taels" on the paper, but before the ink was dry, he felt it was inappropriate.

He thought of Gan Qing's fifty thousand taels of silver, and of Lu Mingyuan's sweat-drenched face.

He gritted his teeth, crossed out the number, and wrote it down again.

Six million taels!

The paper in front of Lu Mingyuan was already soaked with sweat in one corner.

He wrote "five million taels" and paused for a long time.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he changed the number to "five million five hundred thousand taels".

This is almost all of the Lu family's assets.

Even if they succeed, the Lu family won't have much money left to train elite troops.

But even if it rots in your hands, it's better than what the Li and Gan families got.

Zhang Wenyuan, on the other hand, was much more decisive.

He barely hesitated, gritted his teeth, and wrote down his entire "six million taels!" on the silk paper.

Gan Qing slowly opened his eyes, calmly wrote "five million taels" on the paper, and then gently folded it.

He knew he couldn't afford the armor at that price.

But his real offer had already been given to the emperor when he mortgaged his property.

Right now, it's just a formality.

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue began collecting slips of paper from various seats.

With each card collected, the atmosphere in the audience became more tense.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the wooden crate, as if they wanted to see right through it.

After collecting all the slips of paper, Qiu Ping did not open them on the spot. Instead, he carried the box and respectfully walked up to the high platform, presenting it to Zhao Yu on the dragon throne.

Zhao Yu took the container and slowly opened it in front of everyone.

He pulled out the slips of paper one by one and unfolded them.

Looking at the numbers above, the smile on his lips grew more and more pronounced.

Six million taels.

Five million five hundred thousand taels.

Five million taels.

These prices far exceeded his expectations.

It seems that these powerful families have truly been driven to the brink of ruin.

He paused for a moment when he saw the notes from the Li and Zhang families.

Both slips of paper bore the same number: six million taels.

He calmly refolded all the notes and handed them to Wei An beside him.

Wei An took it, turned around and handed it to Qiu Ping, indicating that he could announce the results.

Qiu Ping took a deep breath and walked to the front of the stage. The entire square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

He unfolded the first note and sang it aloud.

"The Gan family, five million taels!"

Gan Qing smiled, as if he had everything under control.

"The Lu family, five and a half million taels!"

Lu Mingyuan's heart was in his throat as he stared intently at Li Chengzhi.

"The Li family, six million taels!"

Li Chengzhi suddenly straightened his back, a smug smile appearing on his face.

Six million taels, that price should be stable.

A gasp rippled through the audience.

Li Chengzhi cupped his hands and smiled, "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Just as everyone was about to offer their compliments...

"The Zhang family—"

Qiu Ping picked up the last note, paused deliberately, and whetted everyone's appetite.

The entire room froze, and everyone turned to look at Qiu Ping.

Qiu Ping's voice trailed off.

"Six and a half million taels!"

"boom!"

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

Everyone looked at Zhang Wenyuan with an incredulous expression.

Six million five hundred thousand taels!

This number is like a mountain, pressing down on everyone and making it hard for them to breathe.

Zhang Wenyuan himself was also dumbfounded.

He first breathed a sigh of relief, and then the color drained completely from his face.

wrong!

Six million five hundred thousand taels?

He clearly wrote six million taels!

How come there are 500,000 extra taels?

He suddenly stood up, wanting to question it, but then he saw that on the note Qiu Ping was holding up high, written clearly in his own handwriting, was "Six million five hundred thousand taels".

The handwriting is exactly the same.

Zhang Wenyuan stood there, stunned, his mind blank.

Could it be that I made a mistake in my haste?