"Next, we will be bidding on the star item of this auction: the Advanced Water of Life!"
The auctioneer's impassioned voice, with the spotlight focused on him, announced, "The Advanced Water of Life has a starting bid of 800 tons of gold, and each increment must be no less than 100 tons of gold! Now, let the bidding begin!"
"1000 tons!"
The Lightning Daimyo raised his paddle almost instantly, clearly intending to intimidate others with his financial power.
"1200 tons!"
The Earth Daimyo immediately raised his paddle, his eyes firm, his fingers tightly gripping the paddle.
He had already made up his mind to acquire the Advanced Water of Life no matter what, even if it meant emptying the national treasury.
The Wind Daimyo sat in his seat, his fingers lightly tapping the table, quickly calculating in his mind.
The Advanced Water of Life has significant effects and can maintain youth for eight years. If he missed this opportunity, he might not get another chance.
He looked up at the purple crystal bottle on the stage and abruptly raised his paddle. "1800 tons!"
At this price, the entire hall instantly fell silent.
The Lightning Daimyo frowned, instinctively wanting to raise his paddle again, but thinking of the remaining gold in the national treasury, he could only reluctantly lower his hand, his eyes filled with regret.
The Earth Daimyo hesitated for a moment, looked at the determined expression of the Wind Daimyo, and slowly lowered his paddle.
The gold he brought was not enough to support a higher price, so he had no choice but to give up.
"1800 tons, going once! 1800 tons, going twice! 1800 tons, going three times! Sold!"
The gilded gavel in the auctioneer's hand came down heavily, emitting a crisp sound.
"Congratulations to the Wind Daimyo for successfully bidding on the Advanced Water of Life!"
The Wind Daimyo breathed a sigh of relief, a triumphant smile appearing on his lips. He raised his hand to signal his attendant to make a note, his heart filled with anticipation for youth.
But before he could celebrate for long, the auctioneer took another purple crystal bottle from an attendant and said with a smile, "Esteemed guests, I'm sure many of you were unable to bid on the Advanced Water of Life. Next, we will begin bidding on the third Advanced Water of Life. The starting bid is still 800 tons of gold, and each increment must be no less than 100 tons of gold!"
"1000 tons!"
The Earth Daimyo immediately raised his paddle, his eyes filled with eagerness, clearly not wanting to miss this opportunity again.
"1500 tons!"
A mysterious noble hidden in the crowd suddenly raised his paddle, his voice deep but with a hint of confidence.
The Earth Daimyo took a deep breath and raised his paddle again, with a hint of desperation. "1700 tons!"
The mysterious noble hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head and lowered his paddle.
No one else in the hall raised their paddle, and the third Advanced Water of Life was successfully acquired by the Earth Daimyo.
He let out a long sigh, a relieved smile appearing on his face, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
The clamor of the auction hall gradually faded, and the nobles left one after another with the treasures they had purchased.
Meanwhile, in a secret room behind the auction hall, Shun drained the tea in his hand.
Shikaku, holding an account book, re-confirmed the data. "Your Excellency, the final count of this auction shows that Advanced Water of Life sold for 8,800 tons of gold, Intermediate Water of Life, due to fierce competition among various countries, ultimately sold for 7,200 tons of gold, and Low-rank Water of Life and associated treasures sold for a total of 6,300 tons of gold, bringing the total revenue to 22,300 tons of gold."
"22,300 tons..."
Shun tapped his fingertip on the table, a slight smile on his lips.
"This time, the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning are expected to send 65 million immigrants. How to arrange them is a huge project. These people cannot be gathered together. They need to be dispersed and assigned to inland cities to prevent them from causing chaos."
Shikaku closed his eyes in deep thought for two seconds, then slowly replied, "Originally, the Land of Fire had a peak population of over 300 million. After many years of warfare, the population has sharply decreased to over 70 million, so arranging 65 million people is naturally not a problem."
"The key is settling so many people at once. The distribution of work, public order, and medical care for the new immigrants are the real major issues."
Shun nodded slightly, indicating understanding. "This is a special period, so we can only ask the original residents of the Land of Fire to help. This requires you to do a good job with publicity and reassurance."
Shikaku's expression was serious as he respectfully responded, "Understood, I will immediately arrange the relevant matters. However, messengers from the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth have sent word that they will send 20 million immigrants to the border areas within one month."
Shun frowned slightly, showing dissatisfaction.
Then, he sighed, "One month to relocate 20 million people to the border regions. There's a lack of food and drink there. Clearly, the Daimyo of these two countries do not have the lives of common people at heart."
Unkai, the Logistics Director, said with a troubled expression, "To complete such a massive migration of immigrants in such a short time. The required food, and the allocation of various supplies... it's simply unimaginable."
Hearing his subordinate's complaints, Shun smiled faintly and comforted him, "Don't worry. I will handle the allocation of food and other supplies."
Upon hearing this, Unkai felt relieved, but also deeply ashamed.
He quickly bowed, humbly knocking his head on the table. "This subordinate is incompetent and cannot share Your Highness's burdens."
Shun waved his hand casually and said with a smile, "There's no need to blame yourself so much, this is not your fault. This is a special period, and encountering such difficulties is inevitable. Moreover, for me, it's just a few large-scale spatial transports, which won't take too much time."
Unkai raised his head, looking much more relaxed, though still ashamed.
Shun rose and walked to the window, his eyes deep. "I'll leave the other tasks to you. Make sure the person in charge of the settlement areas treat these new immigrants well, so they can live peacefully in the Land of Water."
"Understood, my lord."
Shikaku bowed in response, his admiration growing.