Chapter 194: Bidding Auction.

Time flies, and it is mid-to-late March in a blink of an eye.

Hundred-year-old pine house.

If you ask which restaurant in Shangjing City has the most elegant and quiet style, it is not the luxurious Yipinju or some other place, but Baisui Songju. Today, this place has welcomed many distinguished guests. How distinguished are these distinguished guests? Just by looking at their clothes and appearance, you can get some clues.

The shopkeeper of Baisui Songju was well-informed and was not surprised.

Because he had already been surprised.

After Li An explained his identity and took out the palace badge, the restaurant was reserved by Li An. The sharp-eyed people could see that Jinyiwei flashed around the restaurant from time to time. It was obvious that there was protection here today.

The large lobby inside was converted into an auction house, with a striking blackboard in the center reading: Tendering Auction!
The screen of the mobile phone on the table showed 10:03. At this time, the invited guests had already arrived one after another.

Li An was drinking tea from time to time. Hearing the noise downstairs, he called Chen Xiao over and said:

"What's going on? Who's making the noise?"

"Teacher, it's the Marquis of Changning and the old master of the Cheng family who have arrived together. Judging from their expressions, it seems that they have some unpleasant disputes and are not getting along well."

Li An knew what kind of person Changning Hou was, but he didn't seem to know much about the Cheng family. It should be considered a relatively low-key old clan.

"Please take a seat on the second floor and take a rest. In short, please don't make any noise. You can decide the details."

"Yes, teacher." After saying that, Chen Xiao went downstairs.

When the time came to 10:30, Li Ang stood up, walked to the railing on the third floor, jumped down, and landed on the high platform in the lobby on the first floor.

"I'm sure you all know me, so I won't introduce myself to you all. First of all, thank you all for coming as promised to participate in this bidding auction. I was originally planning to arrange some singing and dancing to open the event to liven up the fun, but thinking that you all are busy people, we won't do anything fancy."

"Master Imperial Master, I wonder what this bidding auction is about?"

Some people were puzzled and raised questions. Some were even impatient. If they hadn't been forced by Li An's post and some rumors in the court, it would have been extremely difficult to gather such powerful people together. You know, in the place where their power is, they are the local emperors.

"The words in the bidding refer to salt and iron. I will not hide it from you now. The court has decided to nationalize all matters related to salt and iron! In other words, the merchants who engage in private sales of salt and iron will no longer exist in the future!"

"How can this be?"

"Could it be that all the iron ore from my own land and mountains has also gone into the national treasury?"

"That's right! My family has made a living by selling salt for generations. If the imperial court takes it away with just one word, how are we going to survive in the future?"

The crowd was in a mess, buzzing like flies, and it was so noisy that it gave people a headache.

The faces of several people sitting on the second floor also changed drastically. They all came to their senses and wondered why the other families had also arrived at the scene. It turned out that Li An's targets were all forces and families related to the salt and iron industry. When Cheng Guogong heard this, his face turned green. He coughed twice, and the hall suddenly became quiet. He looked at Li An fiercely and asked, "Is it possible to make concessions?"

"The land of Da Qi belongs to your Majesty. All land under heaven belongs to the king. Whether it is cultivated land or non-cultivated land, it should belong to the royal family. However, in order for farmers to make a living, the cultivated land has been distributed and allowed to be bought and sold. This is the virtue of your Majesty! But when did these non-cultivated lands become your private property?"

Li An's words were very clear. It was just that the royal family could not manage it before. Now they have freed up their hands and will let bygones be bygones. From now on, you will have no right to touch it.

"Of course, Your Majesty also knows what you do for a living, so you have left a glimmer of hope." "Now that the court has opened a new Salt and Iron Bureau, it will redefine whether land is arable land or non-arable land. If any of you have land that is defined as non-arable land, the court will buy it back at the price of high-quality land, so you won't suffer any loss!"

Isn’t this a disadvantage?

I’m almost losing money to my grandma!

To put it nicely, it's called buying back, but to put it bluntly, it's called robbery!

Even if we calculate based on top-quality land, how much would the land containing resources be worth?

Their respective families and forces have been rich for generations thanks to these resources. As the saying goes, one cannot blame the masses. All of these have long been considered private property by each of them. How can they be taken back rashly? They are not without a fluke mentality.

"What Salt and Iron Bureau? I've never heard of it!"

Someone snorted coldly, not really caring about Li Ang.

"You may not have heard it because your ears are not very good!" Li An sneered, and he started with you! He waved his hand, and Chen Xiao stepped out of the crowd and said, "Xin Yuan, the head of the Xin family in Donghai County, has eight salt wells and several mines rich in iron ore. Three generations have been engaged in private salt trafficking, and most of the iron ore produced by the family is sold to Xihu."

"Is your family's wealth enough for you to spend in ten lifetimes?" Li An's face was so cold that it hurt people. Seeing Xin Yuan's arrogant boasting just now turned into a snow-white face, he continued: "With your wealth accumulated to this extent, you should also know what money you can make and what you can't make. I'm afraid you have the courage to make money but not live to spend it!"

Xin Yuan had already collapsed to the ground. When did this Salt and Iron Bureau start investigating him?
He doesn't know.

Of course, the newly established Salt and Iron Bureau could not investigate this clearly. All this information was the result of the Black Ice Platform.

The Black Ice Platform is used to monitor outside the capital, including enemy countries. Now it is led by Sean, and it was originally newly built, but Sean had tentacles all over Qi before the incident, and he also had many old subordinates. This is why Ku He was worried that Sean would be able to make a comeback soon after returning to the court, so he decided to send his disciples to kill Sean.
Your Majesty is still young. How can the relationship last long if the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong?
But now with Li An, everything is different. That's why Zhan Doudou is confident in using Sean.

"Master, please forgive me. I am willing to give you half of my family's wealth. No, no, all of it. I only ask you to let me go!"

Xin Yuan fell to his knees on the ground, prostrating himself, and no one could see his resentful face.

First lose money to avoid disaster, then take revenge. If that doesn't work, then turn to Nanqing.
There was a flash of knife light, and a Jinyiwei returned to Li An's back with his sharp blade sheathed.

"Clean it up!"

Everyone was shocked and almost jumped up from their chairs. They looked up at the stage and found that Li An was still smiling and even cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has said that we will not hold you accountable for the past. Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Whether you are willing or not, everyone should come together when singing praises. Not only should you come together, but you should also be respectful. This is the rule!
"Your Majesty is wise! But I don't think so!"

Li An had a ruthless look on his face. He looked at the crowd with murderous intent in his eyes: "In my opinion, if everyone present is killed, no one will be wronged! But I don't want to cut myself off from the court, so today I will only kill the main culprit, and wait and see what happens to the rest."

Then, Chen Xiao read out some names and the families behind them. These people were all people who deserved to die, and the team that arrested and confiscated their families had already set out ten days ago.

And the people present don't have to think about conveying the message.

As early as when they entered the capital, they were already receiving "care" from many Jinyiwei.

(End of this chapter)