Water Margin people

Chapter 1409 Pu Kaizong

A dozen Arabs armed with scimitars came.

"Get them!"

Pu Kaizong felt relieved when he saw his men coming, and immediately pointed at Li Ying and others and said.

The Arabs rushed forward with scimitars brandishing.

"How brave!"

Wang Yin's expression turned cold. If what happened just now could be considered a minor fight, then now it was a real fight. These Arabs were actually holding sharp weapons.

Wang Yin's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he swung the stick in his hand violently. The Arabs who rushed up were beaten and fell to the ground with blood all over their heads.

Looking at his men wailing on the ground, Pu Kaizong was shocked. These were all his sailors who had been making a living with him on the sea for years. They were all brave men who had killed people. Yet dozens of people were beating one person and all of them were knocked to the ground.

"I think you guys are looking for death!"

Wang Yin stared at Pu Kaizong.

"I am an official appointed by the imperial court. If you dare to touch my Maritime Customs, I will not forgive you!"

Although Pu Kaizong was afraid, he still mustered up the courage to shout and brought up the Maritime Customs Office again.

"Are you qualified to be an official?"

Li Ying looked at Pu Kaizong coldly. Qi State had just conquered the world and Quanzhou was far away from the Central Plains. The appointment of officials had not been sorted out yet. Otherwise, how could a foreigner like Pu Kaizong become an official?

Just then, there was a commotion at the street entrance and a large group of constables and soldiers rushed in.

"Who is making trouble here?"

An official dressed in the uniform of the Great Song Dynasty shouted at the Arabs gathered on both sides of the street.

"Master Zhang, these are the people causing trouble here. I wanted to take them to the Maritime Customs, but the government officials resisted arrest with force and even beat up the guards!"

Pu Kaizong immediately stepped forward to salute, and pointed at the guards whose heads were bleeding.

"Who are you? How dare you commit murder in Quanzhou?"

Envoy Zhang Bo looked at Li Ying and others and scolded them.

Li Ying looked at Zhang Boshi and then at Pu Kaizong. He saw the eye contact between the two men just now. It was obvious that the two men were in cahoots with each other.

"I'm going to file a complaint at the prefectural government office!"

Li Ying said directly.

"Humph, I am here, how can I allow you to make false accusations? Arrest me!"

Envoy Zhang Bo immediately gave orders to the soldiers around him.

"The laws of Qi provide that if a conflict occurs between two parties and results in casualties, the decision shall be made by the government office in charge. Your Maritime Customs is in charge of the port business, but you dare to interfere in the affairs of the prefectural government office. Do you want to rebel?"

Li Ying looked at Zhang Boshi and spoke.

The word "rebellion" frightened Zhang Bo so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. Rebellion was a serious crime at any time and he could not afford it.

"Who are you?"

Envoy Zhang Bo looked at Li Ying and asked, the man in front of him looked like a wealthy man, but his accent was from the north, and he seemed to be well versed in law, which made him a little undecided. He was afraid that the man in front of him had a background, and he didn't know whether he should offend him.

"A businessman from Shandong!"

Li Ying spoke directly.

"A businessman from Shandong!"

Zhang Boshi's face changed. Shandong is where Liangshan City is located. Almost all the merchants there have connections with Liangshan City. If the person in front of them has connections in Liangshan City, then they would have hit a wall today.

Pu Kaizong's expression changed as well. He looked at his subordinates on the ground, and then at the arrogant people in front of him. He was sure that these people were merchants from the imperial city, otherwise how could they dare to be so arrogant in Quanzhou.

"I think... there must be some misunderstanding!"

Zhang Boshi put on a smiling face and immediately ordered the soldiers to disperse the Arabs on the street. "Yes... misunderstanding... all misunderstandings!"

Pu Kaizong also immediately responded.

"It turned out to be a misunderstanding. I thought we had to go to the prefectural government to sue!"

Li Ying said with a smile. At this moment he felt the meaning of the saying "It's nice to take shelter under a big tree". Just because this sentence came from Shandong and alluded to Liangshan City, the attitudes of these people changed so drastically.

"I don't know what to call it?"

Envoy Zhang Bo looked at Li Ying and asked.

"Excuse me, Zhang Bo, you are too polite. I am Li Tianzhou, a native of Dongping Prefecture!"

Li Ying smiled and gave a pseudonym, which was a simplified version of his nickname Putiandiao.

"It turned out to be Mr. Li!"

Zhang Boshi said with a smile, and the two of them exchanged pleasantries.

"Mr. Li, although it was a misunderstanding, it is a fact that you injured someone. Even if we take this matter to the prefect, you will not be in the right. The prefect is busy with official duties, so it is best for us not to disturb him. Why don't you pay for some medical expenses and let this matter go?"

Zhang Bo pointed at the injured Arabs and looked at Li Ying and said that although he did not want to offend Li Ying, he could not be too humble, because the other party was just an ordinary wealthy man on the surface.

"That's enough!"

Li Ying gave Du Xing a look, and Du Xing immediately took out some gold coins from the bag on his shoulder, then looked at Pu Kaizong and said.

"gold!"

Pu Kaizong looked at the gold coins with a face full of surprise. He hurried forward to take them and looked at them carefully one by one. The more he looked, the happier he became. He even kissed the gold coins without caring about his manners.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

Li Ying frowned and looked at Zhang Boshi and asked, showing some contempt for Pu Kaizong's behavior.

"As expected, he is a merchant from Liangshan City. He is so generous!"

Envoy Zhang Bo did not answer, but looked at the exquisite gold coins.

"Do you have any gold coins left? Silver coins are also fine! I can exchange them for money, at a 10% premium!"

Pu Kaizong put away the gold coins with a smile, then looked at Li Ying and asked attentively.

"Exchange for gold coins? A 10% premium?"

Li Ying was a little surprised. One gold coin was worth one tael of gold. With a 10% premium, ten gold coins could be exchanged for eleven taels of gold, which was higher than the profit from doing business.

"There are some, but I use them to buy goods!"

Li Ying shook his head.

"That's easy. Just tell me what goods you want. I have connections for goods from Quanzhou and can trade with you!"

Pu Kaizong immediately patted his chest and said.

Li Ying briefly mentioned the items he wanted to buy, and Pu Kaizong immediately called over several Arabs to give him instructions.

"Mr. Li, the goods will be here soon. Why don't you go have a drink first? And try my delicious food!"

Pu Kaizong invited with a smile.

Li Ying did not refuse, and Zhang Boshi was naturally invited as well. Everyone soon entered a restaurant in the Arab style.

Soon a table full of Arab food was served, including a whole roasted lamb, large pots of rice, flatbreads, and some stewed soup.

Li Ying lost his appetite when looking at the "delicious food" in front of him. The mutton even had a strong smell.

"Mr. Li, eat quickly. These are all delicious foods from my country. I will treat you to roast camel later in the evening!"

Pu Kaizong invited Li Ying with a smile, and he started eating with his hands. The other several distinguished Arabs also started eating with their hands.

  Li Ying frowned even more when he saw this. These people were using their hands, so how could he eat?

Envoy Zhang Bo on the side seemed calm and composed, as if he was used to it. He just held the teacup and drank tea, with no intention of eating.