The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 537 Black Incense Smoke (Part 2)

Alexander's confidence was not blind.

Coincidentally, Imperial Physician Huang was seeing patients at Yili's clinic during this period.

The old doctor routinely taught medical students at Ganluchuan Academy, oversaw the quality of medicinal wines at the distillery, and loved the autumn in the Yili River Valley, staying there for two months every year.

When the three Zuo brothers presented him with the black-scented tobacco, Old Huang quickly recognized that the black-scented tobacco in the tobacco was opium.

Yuantong: "Grandpa, I remember that the medical classics record that opium is a medicinal herb that can treat diarrhea and pain."

“You remember correctly, opium was introduced to the Central Plains as early as the Tang Dynasty, and it is still one of the imported medicines today, with an extremely high price.”

As for why the name was changed and why it was processed into tobacco for sale, the old imperial physician was completely baffled.

The three brothers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Imported medicines don't cost as much as tobacco.

Since the other party is a businessman, what they are after is naturally profit.

If you want to make more money, why not just sell opium?
Zuo Chijun scratched his head:
"It's hard to say. As far as I know, the profit margin of Nine-Leaf Hibiscus is very considerable. It currently has the highest tax rate among exported medicinal materials!"

Yuantong had some thoughts:
"The general often said that although tobacco can refresh the mind, excessive smoking is harmful to health!"

Smoking is strictly prohibited in both military camps and homes.

As a result, the nine-leaf hibiscus is still mainly exported.

Aside from the place of origin, ordinary people from poor families can't even buy it if they want to.

Now that this medicinal smoke had been sold to them, the three brothers, unaware of the trickery involved, could only quickly send a message by flying eagle to the General Who Protects the Nation.

Gan Minglan rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.

He looked at it several more times, muttering to himself, "Osmanthus? Opium? Tobacco!"

No ordinary Chinese person does not hate modern history.

Among them, the "frozen duck sick man" was the worst.

The culprit behind this phenomenon is none other than opium, which is so detestable!
Now, it has suddenly appeared right under her nose.

In this way.

I almost made her sick with anger!
Seeing his master's gloomy face, as if brewing a storm, Lu Ye couldn't help but swallow hard.

He asked cautiously, "Master, is there something wrong with this black smoke?"

His master spat out a few words through gritted teeth: "Heh! It's not just a problem, it's a huge problem!"

Gan Minglan wished she could immediately arrest that Dutch merchant and tear him to pieces.

If such a scourge were to flow into the interior of China via Kansai, her lifelong reputation would be ruined.

Whether this guy named Alexander did it intentionally or unintentionally.

Now that you're here, don't expect to get away easily.

Thinking of this, she immediately issued a military order to General Tian Jiu of Yili.

Alexander, who was still waiting for the imperial physician to test the medicine in Bagua City, woke up to find the sky had fallen.

He and his caravan of fifteen were arrested without any explanation and thrown into the imperial prison in full view of everyone.

They won't give us food or water.

They didn't ask any questions.

The unexpected imprisonment threw these fifteen foreigners into a panic.

In prison, they blamed each other:
"Alexander, didn't you say you bribed the son of the First Marquis of Guanzhong with five thousand taels of silver? Why are they still arresting us after taking the silver? Did you offend these nobles?"

Alexander was so anxious his hair was practically steaming.
"Impossible! Those noble children were clearly very friendly to me! They even said they would apply for tax exemption for our tobacco!"

The companions were getting impatient:
"You're definitely hiding some important information. Think about it carefully again."

"I never expected that they would say they would introduce us to several major pharmaceutical companies as long as their doctor confirmed that the agarwood had medicinal effects."

"Could the problem lie with their doctor?" "That shouldn't be the case! What doctor could deny the efficacy of opium? It's a panacea!"

"."

As Fu Bao squatted outside the prison, listening to the various speculations of these foreigners, her little face was tense.

He won't earn the five thousand taels of service fee.

Uncle Tian was definitely acting on orders when he arrested people.

Only the Grand General of the Nation can command General Yili!

Who was his wise and brave mother?
How could they possibly arrest the wrong person!
So, the three brothers almost ended up protecting the bad guys.

He wanted to figure out what these bastards were up to, which is why he spent most of the day squatting outside the prison listening.

Unfortunately, a whole morning passed, and he still couldn't figure it out.

Fortunately, while Uncle Tian and his family were having lunch, they brought people to interrogate the foreigners.

Looking at the wilted little bean sprout squatting on the ground, Tian Jiu squatted down in front of him:

"Fu Bao, your uncle will need your help with translation for a while. Don't worry, I won't let you work for nothing; I'll pay you for your work, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the little bean sprout perked up its head:

"No way! How can I accept money for helping my uncle? My mother will spank me if she finds out!"

"Then I won't tell your mother, your uncle will give it to you secretly, okay?"

"This is not good, good children shouldn't lie!"

“How can this be considered lying? Your mother is so busy, she wouldn’t ask you about every little bit of money you earned. At most, this is called withholding information.”

"Hehe, Uncle Tian!"

Fu Bao's little voice is as sweet as honey, it's almost like it's wagging its tail.

With that money-loving look, who wouldn't find it funny?
In the entire Kansai and Anzai region, who could be as wealthy as the General Who Guards the Nation?
But none of the three children in that household were truly good-for-nothings who "don't eat meat porridge."

The older one passed the imperial examination and became a scholar two years ago.

It was said that one had to be at least eighteen years old to participate in the autumn imperial examination.

With the Qingshan Academy's ability to produce several successful candidates in the imperial examinations every three years, it's highly likely that one of them will pass the examinations.

With these achievements and honors, why worry about not being able to obtain a good official position?

You're asking about the general's daughter?

Oh!
They didn't learn needlework, weaving, or medicine; at the age of twelve, they were invincible in the vanguard battalion.

Daughters following in their mothers' footsteps, isn't that amazing!

Several of their close confidants knew this.

The title of Marquis Zhaoyi, the title of General Zhenguo, will most likely fall to his daughter in the future.

Even the smallest one.

Although I've never heard of him being a martial arts prodigy or someone who doesn't like reading, he's fluent in two foreign languages!
At only six years old, she can already earn money to support herself through translation.

Thinking about my own good-for-nothing kids, it's like comparing apples and oranges, it's infuriating for a dad!

Tian Jiu was suffering inside, but she didn't say anything.

Swallowing the bitterness in his heart, he pulled over the promising child from another family: "Come on, you pass on a few words to the leaders of these foreigners for your uncle!"

The fifteen imprisoned foreigners soon heard a familiar little voice:

“Listen up, you people inside. Yesterday, the imperial physician examined the tobacco you brought. Unfortunately, an unknown ingredient was found in it. To ensure the safety of medicines flowing into Kansai, General Iri would like to ask you to clear the name of the tobacco you brought.”

Alexander gripped the iron bars excitedly and shouted back:
"Young master, we are willing to vouch for our tobacco; it's all top-quality stuff!"

After waiting a while, the little voice sounded again:
"Alright! As long as you agree, starting tomorrow, you'll have a chance to prove your innocence."