"That's quite a grand gesture. I bet all the major powers in the entire Han Dynasty have come. And those who have come are all in charge. At that time, more than a hundred Chosen Ones will be like commodities, standing there for them to choose from and invest in."
"Perhaps, some of them will find each other appealing and become in-laws as soon as the conference ends. The Emperor's move is truly brilliant," Lin Yang said admiringly.
Suddenly, it felt like an entrepreneur was standing on stage spouting nonsense, trying to fool everyone. Meanwhile, a host of angel investors, the legendary representatives of venture capital, were assessing the risks and returns of investing in this person. If they liked him, they'd invest immediately.
"Good morning, my young friends." A scholar with a beaming smile, like the Buddha Maitreya, slowly walked over and said with a smile.
Upon closer inspection, the man's attire was quite refined. Lin Yang, after a cursory glance, estimated that the material of his clothes, while not the finest, was certainly of comparable quality. He wore a white jade thumb ring on his finger, a fine jade pendant at his waist, and carried a fan in his hand.
Even the landscape painting on the fan is quite exquisite. It's clearly the painstaking work of a true master. All I can say is, they're rich, incredibly rich.
"Oh, isn't this the wealthy Mi? What's the rich man doing here instead of doing business? Are you here to deliver a gift?" Cai Yan said with a smile. It was obvious that the two were quite familiar with each other.
"Hehe, Wenji is so clever. Of course, I'm here today to give gifts. Second brother, bring out the gifts." Mi Zhu said with a smile.
"Alright." At the same time, a fat man appeared behind the group. This man was Mi Fang, Mi Zhu's younger brother.
If Mi Zhu's attire was understated yet luxurious and sophisticated, then Mi Fang's attire was that of a true nouveau riche. Her two chubby hands, with a total of ten fingers, were adorned with a full ten gemstone rings.
Even around his waist was a jeweled belt. His clothes were also inlaid with many jade stones, presumably a magical artifact.
"Hehe, my four young friends, here are four storage rings. Each ring contains ten thousand taels of silver and three thousand taels of gold. In addition, there is a one-time 20% discount coupon. As long as the price of the purchased items does not exceed three hundred thousand taels of silver, you can get a 20% discount with this coupon." As he spoke, Mi Fang took out four identical black storage rings.
"These things are not many, really not many. But they represent the goodwill of the Mi family. We hope they can forge a positive connection," Mi Zhu said with a smile. After speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and left.
"The Mi family, what a fine Mi family, what a fine Mi Zizhong, ten thousand taels of silver, plus three thousand taels of gold, plus a discount of sixty thousand taels, that makes a total of one hundred thousand taels of silver."
"One hundred thousand taels of silver per person, that's over ten million taels of silver for all the chosen ones combined. Giving away so much money without even blinking an eye. Just to establish a good relationship, what a generous gesture!" Lin Yang exclaimed. It can only be said that none of those who go down in history are simple.
“Hehe, Feipeng is wrong. Today’s harvest is not just 100,000 taels. The Mi family, one of the four major merchants, sent a gift. Do you think the Wei family of Hedong, the Zhen family of Zhongshan, and the Wu family of Sichuan can sit still? So, it should be at least 400,000 taels.” Cai Yan said with a smile.
Sure enough, not long after, Zhen Yi, the head of the Zhen family and the father of the famous Zhen Ji, just like Mi Zhu, took out items worth 100,000 taels of silver. In addition, the heads of the Wu and Wei families followed suit.
In an instant, Lin Yang's wealth increased by 400,000 taels. This was in addition to the gold and silver he stole from Li Jiancheng's private treasury, and the money he amassed from local tyrants in Huang County.
All the various sums of money added together amounted to about a million or two hundred thousand taels of silver. That sounds like quite a lot. Unfortunately, in the bottomless pit of developing the territory, this alone is not enough.
“Rich people, really rich people. A mere ten million taels of silver is nothing to them. That’s true wealth and power,” Shi A said, her eyes red.
It's important to understand that even Wang Yue's initial sum of money for Shi A was only one million taels of silver. After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Shi A's territory was merely a small town.
It wasn't a huge sum, but it wasn't a small one either. One million taels of silver was more than enough. The rest would have to be decided after arriving in the territory, depending on the specific circumstances. Shi A had initially been quite happy, feeling rather wealthy. But now, he was anything but happy.
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Chapter Five: He Can Be Replaced and Granted Land and Titles
“Oh, His Majesty has arrived,” Cai Yan suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang turned around and saw a group of people, centered around the Spirit Emperor, slowly heading towards the dragon throne.
"So powerful, truly so powerful. Bearing the fortune of all people, governing Yin and Yang, and ruling the universe. The nobility of this Human Emperor is indeed extraordinary." Lin Yang murmured after glancing at the top of the Spirit Emperor's head.
With just one glance, Lin Yang's eyes couldn't take it anymore. He had to quickly look away and begin observing the others. Of course, he only observed the tops of their heads and didn't dare to look them in the eye.
Such powerful beings, with a mere glance, immediately sense something. Without turning around, they can grasp all the information about a person, including their identity. Before long, they can analyze whether that glance was a supernatural power or a technique. Then, they can analyze the person from beginning to end in complete detail.
Therefore, just in case, Lin Yang didn't dare to observe them directly at this moment. Even so, all he could see was a dense purple aura. They were simply too powerful, truly too powerful.
However, upon reflection, it makes sense. The Han Dynasty was incredibly powerful. Its population exceeded hundreds of millions of households, and among them were countless talented individuals. The imperial court, in particular, was the most powerful force in the world.
Therefore, it is perfectly normal for the nine Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet to possess a fifth-tier light purple or even purple fortune, thanks to the added blessing of the imperial court's fortune.
"A true man should be like this." This is the overt reaction of many chosen ones.
"He can be replaced." This is also the heartfelt thought of many chosen ones. However, they cannot say it openly. Anyone who dares to say it openly is simply courting death.
Soon, Emperor Ling, along with the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet, many powerful officials, and even a considerable number of feudal lords, arrived. To be precise, everyone who could come came.
However, the feudal lords were a special case; their status was so high that it was in no way inferior to that of the nine Grand Secretaries. Therefore, most of these feudal lords sat next to Emperor Ling as a sign of their closeness.
Soon, after a series of patriotic, imperialist, and Han nationalist speeches, the long opening ceremony, or rather, the emperor's address, finally came to an end.
"Alright, now please come up on stage one by one to share your experiences and gains. The size of your fiefdom will be determined according to the size of your contribution."
"What I want to say is that whatever you have been through, you can speak freely. Here, no one will laugh at you, no one will look down on you. Because you are the chosen ones, you are the ones who drive the world forward."
"Twenty thousand years ago, the first cycle began, and the chosen ones made our world progress rapidly. They brought about the Three Departments and Six Ministries, the Cabinet, and many civilizations."
"Ten thousand years ago, the second cycle began, and the chosen ones also brought many good things. Just look at the descendants of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, who are now the twenty-eight rulers of the Earl and Marquis states."
"Now, the third cycle begins. I hope that the Chosen Ones can join hands with the Empire and make progress together," the Spirit Emperor said passionately.
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone stood up. Regardless of what they were really thinking, they all wore smiling faces, incredibly excited, and clapped enthusiastically. Many people even had their hands swollen and red from clapping, resembling a pair of pig's trotters.
"good"
"Your Majesty is truly amazing."
"Long live Your Majesty!"
...
"Greetings, Uncle Emperor! Greetings, everyone! My name is Ma Chao. My ancestor was General Ma Wenyuan, who was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xinxi, with his fief in Liangzhou. Now, he has established the Liang Kingdom..." Ma Chao said confidently.
After hearing Ma Chao's words, Lin Yang finally understood why these aristocratic families were so envious of the feudal lords. Look at their address—"Hello, Uncle Emperor!"—anyone can say that, right? Just some random guy can call Emperor Ling "Uncle"? Heh…
"How is Liang Kingdom developing these days?" Lin Yang asked curiously. Lin Yang was quite curious about Little Ma's current situation. After all, being the first to speak on stage already spoke volumes.