If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 30 The backer behind

Neither Zhu Gaochi nor Zhu Zhanqun directly believed what the boss said. Of course there were businessmen who operated honestly and honestly, but most likely no one would believe the businessman who said this in the early Ming Dynasty.

On the one hand, it is due to the long-standing policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business. Starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors and ruling classes of the Ming Dynasty had no good impression of merchants. This undoubtedly resulted in the extremely low status of merchants in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang even stipulated that merchants could Directly arrest those businessmen who do not engage in production and specialize in shabby business.

On the other hand, it is naturally also because of the merchants themselves. From the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty to the founding of the Ming Dynasty, this period was a chaotic period when social order collapsed. Merchants hoarding and selling at low prices and selling at high prices can only be regarded as conventional business methods. The popular saying among the people is that there is no treachery. The proverb about not doing business is not groundless, but the social reality of this era.

So after the owner of the preserved meat shop complained, Zhu Zhanquan just asked him indifferently: "You are selling preserved meat. You can't sell mutton so cheaply. Most pork meat has a fishy smell, not to mention beef." As I said, it is illegal to slaughter farm cattle without authorization. I don’t believe you can have a stable supply.

Jinling City is located in the south of the Yangtze River. Although there are wild animals in the mountains and forests outside the city, they are only small animals at most. Although it cannot be said that there are no animals such as roe deer, it is difficult to achieve a stable supply.

So tell me honestly, what kind of meat are you selling?Don't even think about lying. I don't believe you can withstand the torture in Jinyiwei's prison. That can make stubborn people speak. "

"The villain is wronged! What the villain sells is pork meat, but he has an exclusive secret recipe that can remove the fishy smell of the pork after marinating! The noble man knows this!" It was obvious that even after Zhu Zhanchen's inquiry Next, the owner of the preserved pork shop still refused to tell the truth, and still insisted that what he sold was pork.

Zhu Zhanjun didn't care and asked the guard to go to the store to get some bones that had been trimmed but not thrown away. After looking through them casually, he handed them to Zhu Gaochi who was standing aside.

Zhu Gaochi, who received the bone, only took two glances and recognized that it was a horse leg bone. After all, horse bones are thicker than pig bones and are easy to identify for knowledgeable people.

Although Zhu Gaochi was not a butcher who specialized in butchering horses or pigs, and there were no zoologists in this era, he still saw army sergeants handling horses killed on the battlefield during the Jingnan period, and he still had a sense of how many horse bones there were. ability.

Furthermore, during the Ming Dynasty, pork had become one of the main meat foods for the people. Ordinary people might not be able to afford it a few times a year, but for the prince, pork could still be eaten every day. , even more familiar with pork bones.

"Nonsense! These are obviously horse bones, how can you sell pork meat! Why don't you tell the truth!" Although Zhu Gaochi usually seems easy-going and elegant, if he really gets angry, the majesty of the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince is not something that anyone can do. Can bear it.

However, although the boss in front of him could not withstand the power of the prince, he was still stubborn and gritted his teeth to hold on.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanju didn't say much. He winked at a guard beside him and signaled the guard to pry open the boss's mouth.

Upon seeing this, the guards immediately came up, grabbed the boss by his collar, and slapped him with a few big mouths. They knocked out a few of his big teeth and made his mouth full of blood. At the same time, his face was visibly swollen.

Zhu Zhanjun and Zhu Gaochi stood aside and did not stop the guard's rough behavior. They just wanted to know what was going on.

This was the feudal era, and the Jin Yiwei had no requirements for civilized law enforcement. Let alone these loudmouths, if they really had to be dragged to the government office for interrogation, they would have to fight with water and fire.

The boss, who had been a big talker for a few times, seemed to be still arrogant, clenching his teeth and not relaxing, as if he was really dead after he said it.Seeing this, Zhu Zhanjun thought of some possibility, so he squatted down, looked at the boss who was lying on the ground with blood in his mouth, and asked him in a low voice: "Whose business is this?"

"I don't dare to deceive the noble, and the villain dare not tell. If I tell the villain, the whole family will have to answer..." The boss did not dare to go against Zhu Zhanqi, but he gave in to the soft.

He does have a backer behind him, but people don't take his small business seriously. He can deal with the exploitation of some petty officials and local gangsters on weekdays, but if he really goes to fight against Jin Yiwei under the banner of the person behind him, then what will happen to him? It can only be said that the whole family died not quickly enough.

Moreover, he was just selling some dead horse meat. In the Ming Dynasty, although this was not a legal business, if something went wrong, he would either be imprisoned for thousands of miles or be flogged and put in jail, but as long as he didn't eat dead people, it would be nothing. Big problem.

Therefore, as far as the boss is concerned, if he can fool him, he can fool him. If he can't fool him, it's just a matter of gritting his teeth and carrying it. There is no chance that the backers behind him will take action to get him out of prison.

Therefore, even if it was clear that the identity of Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanqun as father and son was not simple, it was Jin Yiwei who came to seal the store, and the boss did not dare to tell the truth at all.

Even because it was Jin Yiwei who came, he was even more afraid to involve his backer.

Hearing what the boss said, Zhu Zhanjun knew what he was doing, but he did not let the boss go. He just whispered: "There are no wild horses around Jinling City. Although there are many noble people raising horses in the city, dead horses are not It’s not much. If you just pick up dead horses from noble families to start this business, you will definitely not be able to do it for a long time and it will not be stable.

So you must have a stable source of dead horse meat in Jinling City, and the one who can provide so much dead horse meat for you to open the store... is the Three Thousand Battalion?Is this deal the King of Han’s? "

Before Zhu Zhanju finished speaking, the boss's face turned pale. He was trembling with fear and did not dare to say a word.

Zhu Gaochi on the side listened to Zhu Zhanqun's words and understood in his heart what was going on, so he ordered the guards on the side: "Seal down this store, destroy all the preserved fruits, and hand over these people to the competent authority to deal with them according to law, so there is no need for Jinyi Guards" Keep checking."

Although the guards heard what Zhu Zhanchun said, it involved the royal family. This was obviously not something that little people like them could participate in, and they couldn't even listen to it.

Now that the prince had given the order, the guards naturally went to convey the new order as if they had been granted amnesty.

"Dad, why don't we investigate this matter further? My second uncle's butt is not clean!" Zhu Zhanchun did not question Zhu Gaochi's decision, but just looked at his fat father with interest.

Zhu Gaochi's face was a little ugly, but he still shook his head and expressed that he didn't want to investigate further: "This matter is too much to say that your second uncle made money illegally, and it won't have much impact on him. If it had been done before, maybe we could rely on this matter He lost his job with the Three Thousand Battalion, but things are different now, so there is no need for such a tense situation."

(End of this chapter)