Chapter 24: Bidding

The contract between Liu Zheng and the Zheng Family was, naturally, signed in secret.

Regardless, from the moment Liu Zheng began investing in Wanhua Pavilion, he had already intended to focus on fostering cooperation with the Zheng Family. Firstly, because his impression of Zheng Yue Ru was much better than that of the other three playboy sons, and secondly, because the Zheng Family's reputation had always been quite good, and their strength was not to be underestimated.

After signing the contract here, Liu Zheng immediately took his men to take over the Iron Smelting Workshop that should have belonged to the County Marquis Mansion in the first place.

Iron smelting and cast iron are, in this era, actually the same thing.

What pleasantly surprised Liu Zheng was that the region of Liangzhou was rich in minerals, so the scale of this Iron Smelting Workshop in Yinzhou was actually not small. This Iron Smelting Workshop was not far from the city, backed by a mountain. In front of the workshop, there was also some land, and the entire complex had many buildings, including workshops specifically for smelting iron, as well as nearly a hundred craftsmen.

Liu Zheng was immediately overjoyed.

The geography of this Iron Smelting Workshop was exactly the kind of workshop he had been looking for; after all, as his control over Yinzhou grew stronger, he needed a secret manufacturing base of his own. This Iron Smelting Workshop, surrounded by mountains on three sides, suited his wishes perfectly!

One hundred skilled craftsmen were also exactly what he needed!

"From today on, the Iron Smelting Workshop will return to the jurisdiction of the County Marquis Mansion. You are all craftsmen of the County Marquis Mansion!"

Liu Zheng gathered the hundred people to give them a lecture.

"Young Master, I know who you are, but..."

"Will our monthly wages be reduced?"

"We all have families to feed!"

The group was a bit unhappy. Ever since the Zheng Family took over this Iron Smelting Workshop, the monthly wages they provided had been quite attractive.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Rest assured, everyone. The wages will only increase, never decrease! The Zheng Family gave you fifty coins a month; I will give each of you one tael of silver!"

The crowd was immediately overjoyed; one tael of silver was truly a significant amount.

"However..."

Liu Zheng's gaze suddenly turned cold, and he swept his eyes across the circle: "From now on, you are all people of my County Marquis Mansion, and you must abide by the rules of my County Marquis Mansion!"

"The County Marquis Mansion has just been established, and the confidentiality system is extremely strict. Anyone who violates it will be guilty of treason!"

The hundred craftsmen changed color instantly and immediately swore their compliance on the spot.

"Who is the leader here?"

After intimidating them a bit, Liu Zheng asked.

A bearded man ran out and said: "Young Master Liu, this humble one is Lv Dachui. Thanks to the kindness of Miss Zheng, I have been temporarily managing this Iron Smelting Workshop!"

Lv Dachui?

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng almost wanted to laugh. His subordinates all seemed to have names of the same style: Wei Tiezhu, Lv Dachui.

Perfect!

"Good. From today on, your monthly wage is raised to five taels, and you will continue to manage the Iron Smelting Workshop!"

Lv Dachui's eyes lit up with joy, and he hurriedly agreed.

Seeing that Lv Dachui indeed had some prestige among this group, Liu Zheng nodded, called him into a side room used for resting next to the Iron Smelting Workshop, and then took out some drawings he had made, handed them to Lv Dachui, and asked: "How is it? Can these things be made?"

Lv Dachui looked confused: "Young Master, what are these?"

Liu Zheng explained, but Lv Dachui still did not understand. Liu Zheng was very patient; after all, these people had not received modern education, so he could only try his best to teach them using simple and easy-to-understand theories.

"Young Master means, armor that is forged separately and then connected into one piece?"

It took a full hour before a sweating Lv Dachui finally understood what Liu Zheng meant.

"That's right!"

Liu Zheng laughed and wiped his sweat: "Can we forge refined iron?"

Lv Dachui smiled honestly: "We craftsmen in Yinzhou are all experts at forging iron!"

"That is enough!"

Liu Zheng was a bit surprised. He had not expected that refined iron already existed in this era. Although it was not as tough as steel, it could barely be used to craft plate armor.

"Here is one thousand taels. You are responsible for procuring iron ore and casting this kind of plate armor!"

"From now on, this place is renamed the Shen Gong Workshop!"

Lv Dachui's eyes widened, and he was so moved by Liu Zheng's trust that he fell to his knees with a thud: "Lv Dachui will definitely go through fire and water for the Young Master, and will not hesitate even if it means death..."

"Going through fire and water is true enough, but let's skip the 'not hesitate even if it means death' part."

Liu Zheng hurriedly helped him up and laughed: "You have an elderly mother above and a wife and children below. Do not give your life away to others so easily, understand?"

Lv Dachui nodded with red eyes.

In reality, this sentence from Liu Zheng also carried a hint of a threat, but Lv Dachui did not mind. In this day and age, it was not uncommon for parents, wives, and children to be held as hostages, and besides, they were already accustomed to sums like one thousand taels of silver being thrown around.

"Good, get it made as soon as possible. Remember, this kind of thing must not be revealed to outsiders!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

After giving these instructions, Liu Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the County Marquis Mansion in a great mood.

Time passed quickly.

Three days flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Early this morning, the entrance to the County Marquis Mansion became lively. The first to arrive was Chen Kui of the Chen Family. Just as Liu Zheng had guessed, this guy had been obsequious three days ago, but today he put on a grand display: a carriage drawn by four horses, followed by five hundred elite soldiers, clattering and clanking, causing chaos and panic on the street.

Five hundred elite soldiers pressing upon the County Marquis Mansion!

This was truly arrogant. Chen Kui then stepped down swaggeringly, wearing an arrogant smile: "Lord County Marquis, am I late?"

As he spoke, he walked into the County Marquis Mansion surrounded by several burly men.

Liu Dahao felt angry inside, but he dared not speak, only smiling slightly: "Mr. Chen is the first one here. Please take your seat."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

After Chen Kui, it was the Wang Family. The Clan Head of the Wang Family was named Wang Zengming, and his display was no less grand than the Chen Family's. Then came Cao Zhen of the Cao Family. In an instant, the entire County Marquis Mansion seemed to be surrounded by the private soldiers of these Powerful Clans.

Finally, Zheng Yue Ru of the Zheng Family arrived fashionably late.

All four families were present.

Chen Kui could not help himself, cupping his hands and laughing: "Lord County Marquis, your mansion notified us to come and discuss the sales of Drunken Yinzhou. Is this matter true?"

The others also looked over with burning eyes.

Drunken Yinzhou has been rising in fame these past few days, with unparalleled splendor.

Everyone knows that controlling the Sales Right for Drunken Yinzhou is no small matter of profit.

"Exactly!"

Following Liu Zheng's instructions, Liu Dahao smiled and nodded.

Several people were overjoyed at the same time.

"But, Lord County Marquis, to which family will this Sales Right for Drunken Yinzhou be given? My Wang Family's merchant caravans travel all over the country!"

Wang Zengming spoke first.

Chen Kui snorted coldly: "What, is my Chen Family's merchant caravan not good enough?"

Cao Zhen laughed heartily: "Gentlemen, my Cao Family has wharves in Jianye with access to the Waterway for trade!"

Suddenly, the place became a chaotic argument, with each family boasting of their own advantages.

"Ahem..."

Liu Dahao coughed dryly a few times, and the scene finally quieted down, but they all sat back down with cold snorts as if looking at enemies, then glared at Liu Dahao with threatening eyes.

Liu Dahao said with a chuckle: "Everyone, everyone, listen to me first."

"The Sales Right for Drunken Yinzhou will be divided among the four families..."

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Lord County Marquis, that is not fair!"

The four families shouted at the same time.

Liu Dahao felt a massive headache and continued: "Everyone, listen to me finish. What I meant is that this certainly won't work. So, only one of the four families can be chosen!"

"I am truly in a difficult position."

"How about this..."

Liu Dahao smiled: "Today, we shall use the form of a sealed Han, with each of the four families submitting a bid! Write down the price at which you will purchase this Drunken Yinzhou from the County Marquis Mansion; the highest bidder wins. How about that?"

The four men were stunned at the same time.

There is such a way to play this?

Zheng Yue Ru's eyes lit up upon hearing this; this must be something that Liu Zheng came up with again.

That's right.

This is the modern bidding model—a simple, straightforward method that had never occurred in ancient times. Therefore, these people all fell into deep thought. Before coming here, they had thought of many Methods to deal with this County Marquis, but at this moment, none of them were viable.

"This is the fairest Method, right?"

Liu Dahao said with a chuckle: "Whoever ends up with the Sales Right, it will be based on their own ability."

These words were correct.

If you win, it shows you have great courage.

If you lose, it shows your strength is insufficient. If you want to cause trouble at the County Marquis Mansion then, you have to be reasonable, right? Furthermore, this Method of Liu Zheng's is simply vicious!

Under such a fair Method, if you lose and still want to cause trouble, what would the winner think? How would the other families view it?

You have private soldiers, but do they not?

"Impressive..."

Zheng Yue Ru smiled bitterly and shook her head, once again refreshing her understanding of this Liu Zheng.

"Good!"

"Let's do it this way!"

"This is the fairest way!"

The masters of the several Powerful Clans nodded one after another, then glared at their competitors. This clever move by Liu Zheng firmly grasped the psychology of these people, directly shifting their hatred for the County Marquis Mansion onto the other families.

Liu Dahao couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

When did his son become so insightful?

Immediately, four sealed Han were distributed. For the sake of fairness, the four men were each led into the study by a maid from the mansion to write their desired price in the Han, then sealed the Han and walked back out.

Because the four Powerful Clans were already hostile and guarded against each other, there was naturally no possibility of them colluding.

Soon, the four Han were placed on the table of the County Marquis, Liu Dahao.

Liu Dahao chuckled: "Gentlemen, the Han were decided by the four of you yourselves; you must naturally accept the outcome!"

The four men cupped their hands in agreement at the same time.

"Zheng Family, ten taels of silver!"

This is the purchase price for one jin; ten taels of silver for a jin of wine can be considered an astronomical price.

But Chen Kui sneered coldly, unconcerned.

Sure enough, the next Han was from the Chen Family.

"Chen Family, twelve taels!"

Liu Dahao also took a deep breath.

This is even higher than the purchase price given to Fengming Tower!

"Wang Family, thirteen taels!"

"What?"

Chen Kui's expression changed immediately, and he glared at Wang Zengming: "Master Wang is certainly generous!"

Wang Zengming laughed triumphantly: "Drunken Yinzhou is a true fine wine; what is this bit of silver? Once it reaches Jinghua, it will sell for at least twenty taels!"

It was the last family.

Liu Dahao opened it, and several people held their breath at the same time.

"The Cao Family..."

"Fifteen taels of silver!"

The entire room suddenly went silent.