Traveling through books: Traveling through time with a golden finger to become a soft rice man

Of course, not everyone can attend this auction. The prerequisite is to buy a ticket sold by the royal family.

The idea of ​​the tickets was also thought up by Yang Yuanzu. On the one hand, it was to screen customers for the court, and on the other hand, it was to limit the number of people participating in the auction. Otherwise, when people from Changjing came to watch the fun, the place they found would not be able to accommodate so many spectators.

In addition to these purposes, it also helped the court increase ticket revenue.

The ticket price for the royal auction was high, one hundred taels per person.

When everyone first heard about it, they all lamented that the entrance fee was so expensive, but in order to get a glimpse of the real national treasure, many people still gave up the one hundred taels.

In addition to the treasures, the government also announced that it would sell "privileges" at the auction. These privileges were specifically for merchants from the Da Ning Dynasty.

Merchants were subject to various restrictions on clothing, travel, and accommodation, and they cared more about this privilege than treasures.

They could afford silk materials but were not qualified to wear them. Lin Ting'an knew this feeling best.

The carriages used for travel were also simple and small. It was impossible to put a desk for drinking tea or a cabinet for storing things in the carriage. Even if you managed to put them in, the carriage would immediately become cramped.

The key point is that the restricted specifications of horse-drawn carriages have been extended to commercial transportation, and the size of horse-drawn trucks has also been restricted. They cannot carry more goods even if they use horse-drawn carriages.

Not to mention accommodation, which, like carriages, was also restricted in size and decoration.

Merchants' consumption is restricted in almost every way, and the only consolation is food.

The privileged identity cards sold at the auction are aimed at this phenomenon, freeing merchants from the shackles of various restrictions.

The privileged identity cards were auctioned by the government. After obtaining the privileged identity cards, no matter whether they were farmers, workers or industrialists, they enjoyed the same rights as the basic gentry. The most important thing was that they were granted the right to participate in the imperial examinations.

Allowing them to take the examination and become officials means that the restriction that merchants cannot take the imperial examination with this privileged identity card will be broken. On another level, this special identity card is more valuable than the treasures at an auction.

Many ministers in the court did not agree with the emergence of this privileged identity card. It was a rule passed down from generation to generation by their ancestors that merchants and their descendants could not participate, so they stood up to oppose it.

Moreover, if merchants were able to take part in the imperial examinations, this would mean that many more people would compete with them for official positions. How could these ministers, who have too many wolves and too little meat, willingly give up their own interests?

Education is expensive, and merchants' families have enough assets to send their offspring to school. Compared with farmers or workers, the learning environment for merchants is much more favorable to them.

Thinking of this, the ministers were even more reluctant to give up their rights, and they also believed that their authority was challenged by the merchants.

However, the new emperor took a tough stance and said that anyone who was willing to donate their property to fill the deficit in the national treasury would be qualified to object, otherwise they would have to keep their mouths shut.

Higher than ordinary gentry are officials, and higher than officials are royal family. An official of one level higher can crush people to death, let alone royal family. The ministers could only shut their mouths reluctantly and start planning secretly.

After Yang Yuanzu learned about this, he was afraid that these people might go too far in secret, so he limited the number of privilege cards issued from ten to three. The generational inheritance system of the privilege cards was also changed to be limited to personal use. When the ministers saw that this number did not pose much of a threat to them, they stopped objecting.

It's just three privilege cards. At worst, they can send someone to buy them back secretly. Even if they don't get them, it doesn't matter to them.

In order to prevent the abuse of privilege cards, the government will register the buyer's name and hometown on the day of the privilege card transaction. The privilege card can only be used by themselves or specially designated people in the family.

It is useless to others even if they get it, let alone think of trading this privilege card as a commodity at a sky-high price, or using it for other purposes.

Once this new regulation came out, the value of the privilege card was greatly reduced and those hot-headed people calmed down.

On the day of the auction, Tianyuan Pavilion was bustling with people. Many people flocked here to catch a glimpse of the royal auction. The income from ticket fees alone was enough to build cement roads in Changjing City and its suburbs.

Yang Yuanzu took this opportunity to suggest that the new emperor open the Royal Animal Garden with tickets. As for the operating model, it would of course be similar to that of modern zoos.

After the cement road in Changjing was completed, Yang Yuanzu suggested that the emperor set up booths at various checkpoints to collect tolls from passers-by. As for the fees, they should not be too high and should be determined according to the situation.

If the driver is a farmer who is selling vegetables and fruits for a short distance, he will only charge one or two cents. If the vehicle is empty, he will charge one cent for the toll, while if it is loaded with goods, it will be two cents. If the driver is a merchant purchasing goods or if the vehicle is just a horse-drawn carriage passing by, he can charge a few more cents. Similarly, if the vehicle is empty, he will only charge four cents, while if it is loaded with goods or has people on board, it will be six cents.

The new emperor thought it was feasible as the amount of fees charged took into account the actual living conditions of the people and could also increase income for their treasury.

When the new emperor and Yang Yuanzu were working out the rough plan for the cement road in the private room on the second floor, the sound of gongs was heard from the first floor. Yang Yuanzu and the new emperor took their leave and went downstairs to preside over the auction.

The first item to be auctioned was the recently controversial privileged identity card. Yang Yuanzu lifted the red cloth on the stage, and a copper identity card appeared in front of everyone.

The appearance of an ordinary ID card is rectangular, while this privileged ID card is round. The function of the card is indicated in fonts of different sizes. As for the owner's name, it is left blank. The name and hometown will be written and carved after the buyer is confirmed.

There were many foreign businessmen in the audience who came here because of the reputation. They all wanted to bid for such a sign and leave it to their sons or grandchildren so that they could take the imperial examinations in the future, leave the business class and directly join the official class.

The official register is the highest level among the gentry, and the official register is divided into ranks. The first-rank minister is the highest-ranking official register, and the ninth-rank minister is the lowest.

The sign just lies there plainly, but everyone knows the meaning behind the sign.

"The starting price is 10,000 taels, and each bid will increase by 5,000 taels. Please bid within your means. Anyone who bids recklessly and disrupts the order of the royal auction will be considered to be contemptuous of the imperial power and will be executed immediately!" After Yang Yuanzu finished speaking, he shouted again, "The bidding begins now!"