"Yes, yes, your Excellency is right." Zhang Xian quickly said something nice.

"Your Excellency is very observant. I admire you." Qian Lu also began to give in.

"Well," Song Quan was very satisfied with the attitude of the two people, "You two are both well-known figures. If you continue to be deadlocked, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to resolve."

"Your Excellency is right, we were reckless." Zhang Xian continued to speak in a nice way.

"Do you have any way to end this?" Song Quan asked.

Zhang Xian and Qian Lu looked at each other and shook their heads slowly at the same time.

The development of things has gone far beyond their control, and they can't end it just because they want to.

"In that case," Song Quan put away his smile and said seriously, "I do have a suggestion. I wonder if you two would like to hear it."

"Please give us some advice, sir." Zhang Xian and Qian Lu bowed at the same time.

"What is the current bidding price?" Song Quan asked.

"My last bid was fifty-five thousand taels," Zhang Xian replied.

"I offer 60,000 taels." Qian Lu's voice trembled a little when he spoke.

He has always been good at calculating, but now he can't figure out how much salt he needs to sell to make back his money.

"Do you two want to raise the price further?" Song Quan asked again.

The two shook their heads at the same time again.

Although they were still unwilling to accept each other's advice in their hearts, they still compromised when faced with real money.

"Well then," Song Quan nodded, "I have thought of a compromise for you, which will not embarrass you two, but will also allow this matter to end satisfactorily."

Under the expectant gazes of the two, Song Quan continued, "I still have a sixth-rank official position in my hand, and I will auction both positions later. How about one for each of you?"

The two looked at each other, and Zhang Xian asked first: "Excuse me, sir...what is the price of the auction?"

"Do I even need to ask this?" Song Quan deliberately showed a surprised expression: "The bidding price has risen to 60,000, which is really not low! So I won't raise the price. I will sell it to you at 60,000 taels per position!"

Qian Lu wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth he found that he had nothing to say, so he had to shut his mouth.

say what?

If Song Quan didn't stop, he and Zhang Xian would continue to raise the price.

Although it is unclear what the final price is, it is definitely higher than 60,000.

By then, he and Zhang Xian would lose face and money respectively, and both would suffer losses.

Now Song Quan asked them to buy an official position each for 60,000 taels of silver, which not only saved their face but also helped them save money.

It is the best solution.

This is the best option for businessmen and also for Song Quan.

According to his prediction, when the bidding price reaches 100,000, someone will definitely give up bidding.

Even if another sixth-rank official is offered for sale, the person who gave up has already lost face, so he will not make another attempt to save face.

The final price would be hard to sell even for ten thousand, not to mention one hundred thousand.

Instead of that, it would be better to package the two sixth-rank officials and sell them together for 120,000.

"Thank you, Lord Song!" Zhang Xian was the first to salute.

"Thank you, Lord Song, for helping me out. I will keep it in mind." Qian Lu was the second to bow.

"Don't be so quick to thank me," Song Quan laughed, "This matter still needs to be discussed with the officials present and the other two salt merchants."

"Excuse me, sir, why do you still need to discuss this with the other two salt merchants?" Qian Lu was very confused.

"Because there are only two vacancies for sixth-rank officials today, I need to know whether they will participate in the auction. It would be fine if they don't participate, but if they do, we need to renegotiate the price." Song Quan replied.

Zhang Xian and Qian Lu's faces suddenly changed color.

As expected.

After learning the news, salt merchant Li Ji expressed his desire to obtain a sixth-rank official position to bring honor to his family.

"How much is the most you can offer?" Song Quan asked.

"Not to mention the extra money, but I can still come up with a few hundred thousand or so." While answering, Li Ji also exposed his identity as a stooge.

"You..." Zhang Xian glared at Li Ji, "You actually deliberately raised the price at this time!"

"Don't go too far," Qian Lu also said with hatred, "If it doesn't work, I'll quit. Although it's embarrassing, I can keep my money."

"Quitting is not just a matter of losing face!" Li Ji sneered and said, "Brother Qian should know why the court asked you to be the chief salt merchant! First, you have money that can help the court solve many problems, and second, your prestige is enough to intimidate the individual salt merchants under your management."

"If you withdraw from the auction now, you will not only lose face, but also lose prestige."

"After you lose your prestige, will the salt merchants below still obey you? Will the court continue to use you? You should know your limits!"

"I..." Qian Lu hesitated to speak.

Although Li Ji's words were harsh, every word made sense.

"Sir Song," Li Ji said to the Salt Inspector Song Quan, "If the two of them raise the bidding price to 100,000 taels, I will withdraw on my own initiative."

After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Xian and Qian Lu had to agree.

For them, the one hundred thousand taels of silver bought not only an official position, but also the qualification to continue to be the chief salt merchant.

After determining the price, Song Quan first discussed it with the officials, Jinyiwei and factory guards present.

Song Quan was the Imperial Censor of Salt, he could do whatever he wanted and no one else would object.

Everything is arranged and the auction continues.

The process was just as Song Quan had expected. Except for the four chief salt merchants, no one else could afford the high price.

The chief salt merchants Zhang Xian and Qian Lu each paid a high price of 100,000 taels for the position of sixth-rank deputy prefect.

Except for the businessman Wang Li who won the bid for the seventh-rank deputy county magistrate with one thousand taels of silver, the transaction prices of other seventh-rank official positions were all around ten thousand taels of silver.

After the auction, the merchants left the ship and went ashore.

Merchant Wang Li was the last to leave. Before getting off the boat, he came to Song Quan and thanked him: "Thank you, Lord Song, for letting me bid for the position of seventh-rank deputy county magistrate today for a thousand taels of silver."

"There's nothing to thank me for. I did that because they pushed me into a corner."

“No, no, no,” Wang Li bowed again: “I must thank you.”

"No need to thank me," Song Quan shook his head again and said to the butler behind him, "Send Mr. Wang off the boat."

Wang Li suddenly perked up.

It's time to bribe!

After saying goodbye, he walked side by side with the butler.

"I heard that Mr. Wang not only sells salt, but also Chinese medicinal herbs?" the housekeeper asked as they walked.

"Yes, Master, do you also understand medicinal herbs?" Wang Li asked.

(Zunguan is a respectful title for the butler.)

"How would I know anything about medicinal herbs!" The housekeeper shook his head. "A few days ago, my relatives bought a batch of medicinal herbs from Jiangxi and shipped them to Yangzhou. They wanted me to help sell them. I happened to meet Mr. Wang today, so I asked him."

"Medicinal herbs are good, they can cure diseases and heal people." Wang Li stopped and asked, "Excuse me, where is the ship?"

The butler raised his mouth slightly and told the location.