The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 538 Self-certification
The translator's words reassured the Dutch merchant.

Unfortunately, this reassurance was too weak.

The next day.

They were taken to the central square of Bagua City.

The square, which had been used for street vendors, was cleared out overnight.

In the very center, a three-meter-high platform was built using bricks.

On the high platform.

The log cabins used for selling goods underwent a major renovation.

The bed was made.

They even put a toilet in there.

The exterior wall of the wooden house has been replaced with a transparent glass wall.

People outside can see inside the wooden house through the glass wall.

The fifteen men, led by Alexander, stared blankly at the visible wooden houses.

Shouldn't we make them prove their innocence?
What's the point of locking them up in these wooden huts?
To be watched by onlookers?

To be humiliated by others?

Or was it some kind of torture method used by the Han people?
The iron chains on his feet seemed to weigh a ton.

My heart sank to the bottom.

This group was brought out of General Iri's mansion without any attempt to conceal their presence.

Their blond hair and blue eyes were so striking that the foreign merchants who came with them approached them without saying a word.

This situation made them feel the pain of losing each other.

Some of the more short-tempered ones couldn't help but shout:
"My God, is this how a great nation like ours disregards the law? They arrest people just like that, what law did they break?"

"We protest! We protest this atrocity committed by your country's troops! We demand that General Iri come out and give us an explanation."

"If you don't give us a reasonable explanation, we will never do business in your country again next year, and we will spread news of your country's barbaric behavior throughout Europe."

Among the crowd, the Venetian merchant Marcoli was ashen-faced and trembling.

He has excellent eyesight.

They recognized who the arrested people were at a glance.

Alexander was the one he introduced to the young master.

What happened that led to the entire caravan being captured?
I felt quite panicked.

He didn't believe that a general as high as General Iri would resort to such a thing as publicly framing someone.

He had experienced firsthand the discipline of the Kansai Army.

Will investigating this matter implicate him?

His business deals depended entirely on a single word from the General Who Protects the Nation.

The fear of not knowing the truth quickly soaked his back.

As a result, more and more foreigners gathered near the square.

Interspersed among them were some Han Chinese merchants and herdsmen pointing and gesturing.

They really do love a good show.

The garrison maintaining order had to quickly set up a human wall defense.

Before the crowd of onlookers could rush to the foot of the platform, a group of soldiers escorted General Yili Tianjiu from behind to the front of the wooden house on the platform.

His cold gaze swept across the restless crowd below the stage, his voice deep and authoritative, piercing through the clamor of discussion:

"Fellow merchants, under the rule of the Kansai Army, fair trade has always been the guiding principle."

The Dutch merchant is being detained today not for harassment, but because some potentially harmful ingredients were found in the medicinal cigarettes he was selling to the Kansai region. However, Alexander and others vouch for these cigarettes as a panacea. This contradicts the judgment of our court physicians.

To ensure fairness and impartiality, this measure was a last resort, requiring them to prove their innocence.

From today on.

These Dutch merchants would smoke half a pound of tobacco they sold each day in their respective wooden huts.

During this period, fifteen physicians would record their pulse, complexion, and spirit.

He paused, his gaze sweeping across every face in the audience like a sharp blade.

"If this tobacco is truly as they claim, capable of relieving various pains, eliminating fatigue, and prolonging life—the Kansai Army will purchase all the tobacco they brought on this trip at ten times the market price and waive the import duties on it. This general will also publicly apologize to them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the translators quickly translated it into Latin, French, English, and Arabic.
in the crowd.

The Han Chinese merchants listened intently, not daring to miss a single word.

They are very rare foreign goods.

But they value their lives even more!

Who wouldn't believe a diagnosis made by a royal physician?
The foreign merchants whispered among themselves.

Some people had flushed faces and looked very excited.

Some people had their brows furrowed and their faces looked bitter.

"but--"

General Tian's voice suddenly turned deep, like a hammer striking down.
"If this tobacco is smoked continuously for several months, it will cause people to have constant tears and snot, become weak and unable to lift their limbs, and even go insane after quitting smoking."

He slowly drew the sword from his waist, speaking each word deliberately:
"Then let's follow the Yongtai Commercial Law—anyone who traffics less than one jin of drugs shall be imprisoned in the cangue for three months and forced to work in mines for ten years; anyone who traffics more than one jin of drugs shall be executed immediately!"

As the translators finished speaking, the square fell into a deathly silence, with only the Gobi wind whipping up sand and dust as it swept by.

Among the Dutch merchants, Alexander was deathly pale, while his companions struggled and roared, only to be held down by the soldiers.

General Tian coldly swept his gaze over them, finally turning to the foreign merchants from various countries who were watching, and slowly said:

"Our Kansai Army has always acted fairly and justly. If any of you have any objections, you may stand up now and we will allow you to test the cigarettes for the seller."

Immediately, a friend of the Dutch caravan, a merchant from the Kingdom of Great Britain, stepped forward:

“General, this is not fair! There is a saying among you Han people: every medicine has some toxicity. Even the best medicine will cause adverse reactions if inhaled in excessive amounts for several months. This black smoke has been sold in Southeast Asia, Vietnam and other countries for decades. Even nobles and wealthy merchants in your country’s Jiangnan region have the habit of smoking this smoke. I have never heard of anyone considering it a drug.”

The businessman spoke fluent Chinese and didn't need a translator.

After he finished speaking, he repeated his plea for justice for his colleagues in both English and Latin.

The foreigners, who had just been intimidated by General Tian, ​​perked up again after hearing his explanation.

"That's right, General! Half a pound a day, what kind of good person smokes that much tobacco?"

"The price is fifty taels of silver per catty, what kind of family can afford it?"

"This is not how you prove yourself! It's cheating, it's unfair, and we don't accept it!"

"."

After listening to the foreigners' protests, Tian Jiu nodded.

"Okay, since you have raised objections, we are willing to adjust the plan and divide these fifteen people into two groups for the experiment."

One group was observed based on the dosage of a normal person smoking. The other group was based on a daily intake of half a jin (250ml).

Presumably, if they were confident enough in their own medicinal smoke, they wouldn't be afraid to join the next group of experiments.

You are also welcome to join the first group of experiments. You say how much tobacco you should smoke per day is normal, so we will use that normal amount as the calculation.

The experiment, also lasting three months, offered a daily stipend of ten taels of silver to those who volunteered and were willing to bear the consequences.

Foreign merchants: "."

Voluntary participation?

I can't participate at all!
With General Iri's resolute demeanor and the utterly devastated expressions of the dozen or so Dutchmen, even a fool would know which option to choose.