Chapter 268: Chapter 264: Frenzied Auction
In fact, the amount of money these merchants could offer was even more astonishing than Perfikot had anticipated.
When the five Pioneer Knight appointment documents were brought out, everyone fell into a frenzy.
The first appointment document perhaps only fetched around seventy thousand gold pounds because it was the initial bid stage, and Perfikot hadn’t set a minimum price, so everyone was just testing the waters.
But as for the second and third documents, once all the qualified merchants or their representatives finished warming up, the bidding price started to soar.
Perfikot used a very frustrating trick; the first document indeed had no starting bid, but the remaining four did, with each one’s starting price being the previous one’s closing price.
This meant that the prices of the later documents would go even higher.
This caused a frenzy over the second and third documents, because if those two weren’t won, the remaining two would be even harder to obtain.
These merchants and their representatives naturally weren’t happy to bid this way, but they had no grounds to argue.
After all, these were noble titles, and even the lowest-ranked knight title required official ennoblement.
So far, besides Perfikot’s venue, there was no other channel in the Empire where noble titles could be bought with money.
So even knowing there was a big pitfall, they had no choice but to dive in.
And one by one, they did so eagerly.
The transaction price for the second document reached twelve thousand gold pounds, nearly doubling the first, while the third soared to an astounding seventeen thousand gold pounds.
"Tsk-tsk, you have to admit, these guys truly have money!" Perfikot watched as these folks nearly fought over mere pieces of paper, expressing awe aloud.
Beside her, Duke Gloucester shook his head and sighed, "These are noble titles; for them, it’s a leap in social status. With it, they can truly become part of the noble class. How could they be stingy on this matter?"
Over here, Duke Gloucester, who had specially taken this flight to the Northern Territory to discuss the ongoing expansion plans with Perfikot, chuckled, "If this were in Langton, you wouldn’t believe it could fetch a million gold pounds."
"Are they really that wealthy?" Perfikot said with a clearly mocking tone.
Hearing her obvious scoffing, Sir McIntock, the commerce minister who accompanied Duke Gloucester, couldn’t help but remark, "Since the Industrial Revolution, the Empire’s merchants have become wealthy; their assets are indeed impressive.
Even regular small factory owners have at least a few thousand gold pounds worth of assets, while mid-level merchants and factory owners range between twenty thousand and fifty thousand gold pounds. The large merchants and factory owners could offer up to millions of gold pounds.
The gap between them is jaw-dropping; compared to them, traditional nobles’ methods of accumulating wealth are truly outdated."
"Is that true? If they’re really that wealthy, what if I write another five appointment documents for you to auction in Langton? How much could one earn?" Perfikot listened to Sir McIntock’s words, showing a playful expression.
Beside her, Duke Gloucester hurried to dissuade, "Count Brandelis, it doesn’t matter in the Northern Territory, but if you truly auction titles in the Empire’s heartland, you’d offend many."
Although Duke Gloucester’s words seemed a bit incomplete, Perfikot still understood his meaning.
She herself came from a traditional noble family and knew well what these people were thinking.
A merchant acting like a nouveau riche, capable of buying a title granted to those who served the country relentlessly, sometimes even falling in battle, equalizing hundreds of years of heritage and surpassing generational accumulations could naturally rub them the wrong way.
However, Perfikot didn’t care about this, instead sneered, "And what if I offend people? They wouldn’t dare come to the Northern Territory to trouble me, would they? Besides, in two years, it’s about that thing; the Empire’s heartland is destined to be abandoned, and soon they’ll be scrambling to get here.
When the Empire’s heartland is abandoned and they all come to the Northern Territory, we’ll see who’s offending whom!"
Upon hearing Perfikot’s words, Duke Gloucester and Sir McIntock exchanged glances, seeing mutual helplessness in each other’s eyes.
For the current Perfikot, indeed, she feared offending no one.
The Empire needed her for the Northern Territory expansion, and the Royal Family, Noble Council, and the Privy Council would support her relentlessly. As the Lord of the Northern Territory holding life-and-death authority, even without the looming apocalypse, she wasn’t someone they could easily offend.
As for offending, in peacetime, Perfikot doing so would result in public outcry; though they couldn’t overtly oppose her, there’d be much criticism behind the scenes, even concerted exclusion by the entire noble circle.
Even if Perfikot were the Lord of the Northern Territory or an esteemed minister, Empire law didn’t mandate nobles to be polite or praise her.
But now? The entire Empire relies on the Northern Territory expansion plan for a chance amidst the apocalypse.
Offend Perfikot in such a context? Are they truly confident the Northern Territory’s soil won’t bury men, or that Perfikot’s blade isn’t lethal?
Indeed, when the time comes, it will be as she said; it’s not her offending them, but them offending her.
With that understanding, Duke Gloucester ceased advising, only telling Perfikot, "Since Count Brandelis, you’ve said so, I won’t advise further. However, you should consider carefully with the document auctions; scarcity increases value, and selling too many will diminish it.
The Empire’s nobles already spent considerable money; if you release another batch, they’ll truly turn against you.
Though you’re not afraid, such a matter remains troublesome, and it’s better avoided to not impact the Northern Territory expansion plan, isn’t it?"
Hearing Duke Gloucester, Perfikot wasn’t surprised he knew about her dealings with the Empire’s nobles regarding appointment documents; after all, there’s no wall without cracks.
"Alright, since Duke Gloucester, you’ve advised." Perfikot said somewhat bored, her gaze fixed on the fourth appointment document already reaching twenty thousand gold pounds, right when someone else bid, raising it to twenty-one thousand gold pounds.