The Great Qin's national treasury was poor, but the emperor wasn't poor, and neither were his ministers.
If the national treasury didn't have enough money, the emperor's private coffers would have to pay for it. If there came a day when the emperor's private coffers couldn't support the enormous expenditure, then the emperor's private coffers would have to pay for it. When that time came, the financial groups would become even more arrogant.
The reform of the tax system was imperative, but how could it be so easy to reform the tax system? Not long ago, the Ministry of Revenue had proposed raising the taxes on tea and tobacco in Jiangnan, but the tea and tobacco farmers in Jiangnan had immediately objected.
It would take at least two to three years for the tax reform to be finalized.
Without taxes, the national treasury and the imperial family's private coffers would have nowhere to draw their money.
The financial groups in Jiangnan were opposed to the tax system, and they didn't take the initiative to donate. Moreover, they wanted to enjoy the salary and benefits of a noble title. Long Fei Ye had long since been annoyed. Han Yunxi had come up with the idea of bidding for the crown prince's birthday banquet, but Long Fei Ye wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to ruthlessly swindle those financial groups.
Gu's bid of thirty million taels of silver was met with silence.
Duke Ding Xiao An furrowed his brows as if he was pondering something, while Xiao Dong of the southern military region repeatedly shot him meaningful glances.
At first, Xiao An didn't understand whether Xiao Dong wanted him to bid or not. However, when Xiao Dong looked at the two empty seats, he immediately understood what was going on.
Not long ago, something had happened in the west. There was a leather merchant in the west who was known as Boss Chen. In the name of his daughter, he had donated a large number of leather vests to the disaster victims in Northern Li to help them resist the cold. He had also donated ten million taels of silver to the imperial capital, saying that he wanted to treat the construction workers to wine.
The construction of the imperial capital required a large number of laborers. Some were transferred from the army, while others were recruited from the common folk. The soldiers in the army were paid a fixed salary, so they didn't have to be paid. However, the able-bodied men recruited from the common folk had to be paid on time. These wages naturally came from the imperial treasury.
Tang Zijin was Long Fei Ye's uncle, so he loved the imperial treasury. He had taken a lot of money from the Tang Clan to supplement the extra expenses.
Boss Chen said that the 10 million was for the drinks, but it was actually a donation. Boss Chen made it sound quite nice, saying that the laborers were working hard for Great Qin, and that he was quite old and regretful that he could not personally participate. As such, he was willing to pay for the laborers to drink to show his sincerity and strength.
As soon as this matter came out, Long Fei Ye immediately conferred the title of County Duke to reward Boss Chen for his concern for the people.
Xiao An followed Xiao Dong's line of sight and looked at the two empty seats. He was really tempted by the matter of contacting Boss Chen!
For a banquet of this scale, every seat had been arranged. How could there be any empty seats? The banquet was about to end, but the two seats on the secondary seats were still empty.
What did the Emperor mean?
Could it be that, as everyone had guessed, the Emperor intended to confer the title of Commandery Prince at the banquet? If he performed well today, would he be conferred a title like Boss Chen in the west?
The Xiao family did not lack money, but they lacked status. The title of County Duke did not make Xiao An feel proud. On the contrary, it made him feel inferior.
He was already wavering, but under Xiao Dong's repeated urging, he finally opened his mouth. "50 million!"
As soon as Xiao An said this, the crowd became even more silent.
In fact, there were still some people who were hesitant. However, since Xiao An had spoken, who would have the courage to compete with him?
"As expected, the Xiao Clan Head is generous," Long Feiye praised.
Xiao An quickly stood up. "This humble subject does not dare to be rash in front of Your Majesty. I just want to do my part for the victims of the disaster in Northern Li."
"Heheh, if my Great Qin has a few more people like County Duke Chen and Guogong Ding who worry about the country, then Zhen's hair will have fewer white hairs," Long Feiye teased, his mood much better.
Long Fei Ye was a man of few words, and Long Yi was even less.
As soon as he said this, the people below could figure it out for a long time.
As soon as Xiao An heard the Emperor mention County Duke Chen, he grew even more excited and determined to win the bid for No. 7 Teahouse.
Gu had no idea what County Duke Chen was talking about, much less why Long Fei Ye had left behind two secondary seats. He only knew that if Xiao An dared to compete with Long Fei Ye for No. 7 Teahouse, he was simply seeking death!
"60 million taels!" Gu said loudly.
As soon as his voice trailed off, everyone was dumbfounded. This was far too shocking! No. 7 Teahouse didn't occupy a large area. At most, it could be considered a medium-sized tea house.
In Cloud Realm Continent's current economic situation, 60 million taels was a sky-high price. Everyone knew that Gu was rich, but they never expected Gu to be so rich!
Han Yunxi, Gu Beiyue, Tang Li, and the rest all looked towards Gu Qishao, all of them thinking the same thing. If Xiao An stopped raising the price, Gu Qishao would become the biggest sucker in Long Feiye's scheme this time!
But to everyone's surprise, Xiao An continued to bid without hesitation.
"80 million!"
Xiao An was still very polite, "Your Highness Prince Yu, this official rarely has the chance to offer his heart to the Northern Li disaster victims. I hope you will let me win."
Gu was already in a bad mood, so he didn't know how to write the word 'polite'. He raised his eyebrows and looked disdainfully at him, saying loftily, "Let what? 90 million taels! "
Finally, the crowd couldn't hold back any longer and burst into an uproar! Even Han Yunxi and the rest didn't expect Gu to be so rich! But it wasn't strange when they thought about it. Gu was one of the three heavyweights of the Three-Way Black Market. In his early years, he made huge profits from his business in medicinal herbs and tea houses.
More importantly, Gu was different from the Long Fei Ye and the other financial groups. Gu was alone and had enough to feed his entire family. Compared to the Long Fei Ye and the other financial groups, his expenses should be the least.
It had to be said that Xiao An was very, very surprised. He couldn't help but re-evaluate Gu, the only Prince of Great Qin.
200 million taels wasn't a small sum.
Xiao An's resolute heart began to waver. If he continued to bid and used 90 million taels of silver to exchange for the title of Junwang, he would be more than happy to do so.
However, he was worried that if he continued to compete with Gu, the price of the auction would rise to the point where it would go out of control.
Of course, if it was within his means, he would still be willing to spend money to exchange for the title of Junwang. More importantly, he wasn't completely sure if the Emperor would bestow him the title of Prince if he was in a good mood.
Xiao An hesitated.
"Is there anyone else who dares to compete with this Prince?" Gu asked arrogantly as he sat down carelessly.
The crowd was silent. Xiao An and Xiao Dong looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"This Emperor!" Long Fei Ye suddenly opened his mouth.
For a moment, no one understood what he meant. Gu didn't understand either.
"100 million." When Long Fei Ye said this, everyone understood what he meant.
He was also participating in the auction!
The money for disaster relief was allocated from the national treasury by the Ministry of Revenue. The Imperial Family's private treasury didn't pay for it. They only donated a few taels of silver in the name of the Imperial Family.
Long Fei Ye's 100 million had to be taken from the Imperial Family's private treasury!
It was said that the auction was free to bid and there was no need to be restrained by etiquette. However, who would dare to compete with the Emperor?
Xiao An definitely wouldn't dare.
However, Gu definitely dared!
"110 million!" Gu immediately increased the price.
"120 million!" Long Fei Ye followed closely.
"130 million!" Gu wasn't willing to be outdone.
"150 million!" Long Fei Ye didn't budge an inch.
… …
The crowd was so silent that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard. The smell of gunpowder between Long Fei Ye and Gu was getting stronger and stronger. It was almost to the point where they were about to start arguing.
Everyone was terrified. However, not only did Gu not give in, he continued to press on. The price of the auction soared all the way to a jaw-dropping two hundred and thirty million taels of silver.
Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue were stunned. This wasn't how things should be! Why were these two fellows fighting amongst themselves? If they continued to fight like this, where would Xiao An get the chance to perform?
They would be scared off by Xiao An!
"250 million!" Long Fei Ye slammed the table.
Han Yunxi sucked in a cold breath in shock. She knew that Long Fei Ye could afford it, but he shouldn't spend it so unjustly! He said that he was going to scam others today. Why did he scam his own private savings?
Long Fei Ye slammed the table. Everyone was even more terrified.
However, Gu was simply looking down on the Emperor's prestige. He said, "260 million!"
In a moment, everyone looked at him. Previously, many people were dissatisfied with him being conferred the title of Prince. However, after seeing his big spending, many people really admired him.
Long Fei Ye didn't immediately increase the price like before. Instead, he looked at Gu coldly.
The smell of gunpowder between the two of them could be smelled by anyone!
Amidst the silence and tension, Xiao An suddenly stood up and said loudly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this old subject boldly adds another 10 million, 270 million."
This … …
Xiao An increased the price after Gu increased the price. This could be considered as competing with Gu, not with Long Fei Ye, right? Even so, he still used the word "boldly".
Long Fei Ye's eyes flashed with a sneer as he asked, "Duke Ding is so sincere. Prince Yu, are you still going to increase the price?"
Gu felt that Long Fei Ye's words were strange, but he didn't think much about it. In any case, no matter what, the number seven teahouse couldn't fall into the hands of others. He didn't think much about it and increased the price again.
At this moment, Gu Beiyue secretly tugged at his sleeve and murmured, "Little Qi, that's enough."
Enough?
Gu instantly woke up and realized that this might be a trap!
He was silent for a moment and immediately waved his hand dispiritedly, "Enough, enough, Duke Ding's family has a lot of money, everyone knows! This Prince won't compete with him! "
"Hahaha!" Long Fei Ye laughed and seemed to be in a very good mood. He looked at the officials, "Is there anyone else who wants to increase the price?"
Who would dare?
Who would dare?
No one made a sound. Xiao An looked at Long Fei Ye's extremely good mood and his nervous heart relaxed a little.
He had been struggling, pondering, and evaluating. In fact, he had almost given up. However, seeing Gu provoking the Emperor like that, he threw caution to the wind.
As long as he suppressed Gu's price, the Emperor would be happy.
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