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

On the high platform, Zhao Yu picked up his teacup, gently skimmed off the foam with the lid, and a cold smile flashed in his eyes.

This was precisely his backup plan.

When he saw that the Li family and the Zhang family had offered the same price, he had Wei An replace Zhang Wenyuan's slip of paper with one that he had prepared beforehand.

Since it's a blind auction, no one knows the other person's real bid.

Even if Zhang Wenyuan had something to hide, he would never dare to question the emperor's impartiality in public under such circumstances.

As for the reason why the Zhang family took it over, it was of course because the Li family was powerful. With the Li family taking it over, the other families dared not cause too much trouble.

But the Zhang family, a sixth-ranked family and now one of the newly emerging top five families, would be an easy target for them.

Li Chengzhi's face was ashen, looking extremely grim.

He stared intently at Zhang Wenyuan, unable to understand it at all.

Six million five hundred thousand taels!

The Zhang family is only ranked sixth, so why? How could he possibly come up with so much money?

Lu Mingyuan's face was full of regret and resentment.

He glared at Zhang Wenyuan with hatred, inwardly cursing him as a complete madman.

A family with an annual income of only 500,000 taels of silver, spending 6.5 million taels? Are they risking their lives to pay for this?

Only Gan Qing watched all of this thoughtfully.

Zhang Wenyuan's shock and deathly pale face just now seemed genuine.

There's probably something fishy going on here.

He glanced subconsciously at the young man on the platform, a chill running down his spine.

"According to the rules, the Zhang family won the bid for 10,000 sets of Xuan Tie armor for 6.5 million taels of silver!"

Qiu Ping loudly announced the final result.

"Please, Patriarch Zhang, step forward to complete the handover procedures!"

Zhang Wenyuan stood there blankly until a clansman next to him nudged him, and he dazedly came to his senses and mechanically nodded.

"We'll take our leave!"

"Goodbye!"

The other family heads could no longer sit still. They stood up, filled with resentment and anger, and left in a huff.

Despite all the effort and resources invested, it all came to nothing in the end.

Li Chengzhi walked to Zhang Wenyuan's side, stopped, and lowered his voice.

"Brother Zhang, you have impressive courage. However, six and a half million taels... can the Zhang family come up with that?"

"Even if you could come up with the money, how much would be left to feed those tens of thousands of soldiers? I hope Brother Zhang thinks carefully about whether you can actually afford it."

The threat in his words was made no attempt to conceal it.

Zhang Wenyuan forced a smile. Now that things had come to this point, he could not back down no matter what.

"No need for Brother Li to trouble himself. Since the Zhang family dares to offer this price, they can certainly afford it."

Although he said that, his heart was bleeding.

Six and a half million taels of silver—where was he supposed to find this extra 500,000 taels out of thin air?

Are we really going to pawn up the last bit of the Zhang family's ancestral property?

Li Chengzhi snorted coldly and turned away.

As Lu Mingyuan passed by, he gave him a cold look and walked away without saying a word.

He has decided that upon returning, he will immediately summon the clan elders to discuss how to deal with the situation in two months when the Zhang family will hold military power and rule their own territory.

Finally, Gan Qing walked up to Zhang Wenyuan and spoke meaningfully.

"Congratulations, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Wenyuan gave a slight twitch of his lips in response.

In the past, he would never have paid any attention to Gan Qing, a traitor to a powerful family.

But now, the Zhang family has also stood on the opposite side of the Li and Lu families.

It's always better to have more friends than more enemies.

.................

The crowd in the square had long since dispersed, leaving only a mess on the ground.

The sun was blazing, making the stone slabs scorching hot.

Zhang Wenyuan followed behind a young eunuch, his steps unsteady, his mind buzzing.

In a daze, I heard a sound.

"Master Zhang, we've arrived."

"Huh? Ah."

Zhang Wenyuan looked around. There was a simple wooden table and a few chairs. Qiu Ping sat upright at the table, expressionless.

On the table, a thick stack of contracts was neatly arranged, next to which were vermilion inkpads and account books.

Zhang Wenyuan's hand trembled slightly, and he stammered, "Um..."

Qiu Ping raised his head and spoke in a businesslike manner.

"Master Zhang, according to the rules, you need to pay 6.5 million taels of silver or property deeds of equivalent value."

He paused, then opened the ledger.

"Currently, the Ministry of Revenue records only state that the Zhang family mortgaged assets worth five million taels of silver and paid one million taels of silver in cash."

"Master Zhang, should the remaining 500,000 taels be paid in cash, or should we continue to mortgage our assets?"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Zhang Wenyuan's forehead and slid down his cheeks.

He opened his mouth, but his throat was so dry that he couldn't make a sound. It took him a long time to finally squeeze out a sentence.

"Lord Qiu, could you... could you grant me a few more days?"

"The Zhang family's business empire is large, and raising funds will take time..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Ping coldly interrupted him.

"Rules are rules."

"Since Patriarch Zhang dared to offer such a price before the Emperor, he should be prepared to bear the consequences."

"If the payment is not completed by today, it will be considered a breach of contract."

"According to the laws of Daliang, if a party defaults, all previously mortgaged properties and cash will be confiscated."

"Furthermore, the Zhang family has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!"

Every word was like a heavy hammer, striking Zhang Wenyuan's heart.

His body swayed violently, and he almost fell to the ground.

The cost of breaching the contract was that six million taels of silver went down the drain, and he also faced imprisonment.

The Zhang family wasn't just seriously injured; they were completely drained of their marrow and utterly ruined!

He wanted to argue, to say that he hadn't written that number, but the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.

What should he say?

He said he didn't know why there would be an extra 500,000 taels.

Just as his vision blurred and he felt short of breath, a gentle voice came from not far away.

"Lord Qiu, please wait a moment."

Zhang Wenyuan turned his head with difficulty.

Young Zhao Yu was walking over unhurriedly, his bright yellow dragon robe gleaming softly in the sunlight.

Zhao Yu walked steadily, each step taken with composure.

Qiu Ping stepped aside in response, and Zhao Yu came to Zhang Wenyuan with a smile on his face.

"Master Zhang, there's no need for that 500,000 taels."

Zhang Wenyuan stood there, completely bewildered by what the emperor meant.

Ignoring the astonished expressions of Qiu Ping and the others, Zhao Yu continued speaking to Zhang Wenyuan.

"That premium of 500,000 taels was added on my orders."

"Actually, the Zhang family's offer should have been six million taels."

These words left Zhang Wenyuan completely dumbfounded.

His lips trembled, his mind went blank, and he couldn't think of anything.

Your Majesty...did Your Majesty deliberately change his bid?

Why?

Why is that?

Zhao Yu smiled gently as he looked at Zhang Wenyuan's shocked expression.

"Want to know why?"

These words had a strange magic that made Zhang Wenyuan, who had lost the ability to think, nod subconsciously.

He managed to squeeze out a few words in a hoarse voice.

"Why...why?"

Zhao Yu turned around, his back to him, and looked at the distant horizon, adopting a deep and refined expression.

"Master Zhang, have you ever heard the saying—'Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it'?"

Zhang Wenyuan was taken aback.

He had never heard this phrase before, but its literal meaning was not difficult to understand.

A boat travels on water because the water carries it.

But water can also capsize boats.

But what was the emperor's intention in saying this at this moment?

Zhao Yu didn't wait for his reply and continued speaking.

"People always say, 'The country and its people, the country and its people.'"

"But what is the land? What is the state?"

Is it this vast land? Or these magnificent palaces?

Zhang Wenyuan subconsciously thought that the land was naturally a vast territory, and the state was naturally a bustling city and a magnificent palace.

Just as he looked up, about to answer, he stopped.

Zhao Yu simply shook his head to himself.

"Neither."

"The true land belongs to all the people of the world."

"Without the people of the land, even if I possess a vast territory, and even if my title as emperor resounds loudly, what kind of emperor am I?"

"On the other hand, even if only one city remains in the territory, as long as all the people in that city recognize me as their emperor, how can I not be an emperor?"

These words deeply shocked Zhang Wenyuan.

A long-lost sense of pride welled up from the bottom of his heart, making his blood run hot.

But he was still confused and didn't understand why His Majesty would say these things to a merchant like him.

He asked cautiously.

"Your Majesty means..."

Zhao Yu turned around and stared intently at Zhang Wenyuan.

"I have investigated the Zhang family's ancestral records."

"Your Zhang family ancestors for three generations were all commoners."

"It was through doing business, penny by penny, that we built our current fortune."