Chapter 105 Long live my emperor
After being scolded by Zhu Yuanzhang for no reason, Wen Yuanji suddenly became a little depressed.

He is a scholar and wants to write a short essay at this time.

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored his feelings and looked at the businessman and said, "Pay taxes, what taxes?"

The merchant looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a strange look and said, "You are not here to pay taxes, but why are you here to join in the fun? Go away, go away, don't block the road."

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, glaring with fierce eyes, but the merchant ignored him and directed the clerk behind him, "Hurry up, hurry up, go get your number plate first."

"Your Majesty..." Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's angry face, Wen Yuanji whispered, "Look, the market has become so corrupt. It can be seen from this... the local county magistrate Deng Jian..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked back at him, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "Go on."

When Wen Yuanji saw Zhu Yuanzhang's look, he had an indescribable feeling that made him a little creepy. He panicked and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Hey, where did the merchant go?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then discovered that the merchant had quickly run to a small hall.

This was originally the residence of a wealthy family, and the Hundred Households Office had no time to renovate it, but directly turned the central hall into the duty room of the Hundred Households, while the side halls on both sides were turned into accounting offices or places for work.

So Zhu Yuanzhang walked forward and followed the merchant to the small hall.

This small hall is very clean, spotless, and there are even many seats.

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, a clerk stopped him and said, "Are you here to collect taxes? Come and get your number plate. After you get your number plate, wait here."

Wen Yuanji said angrily: "How can this be possible..."

Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him at this time: "Where is the number plate? Take one."

Wen Yuanji's anger suddenly turned into joy: "Okay, okay, get a number plate."

The clerk registered Wen Yuanji's information. Wen Yuanji was afraid that he was a world-famous scholar, so he gave a fake name: "Wen Yuanji, the Wen of civilized world, the Yuan of the famous scholar Yuan Zhengxin in Jiangnan..."

The clerk looked up at him blankly and asked, "Who is Yuan Zhengxin? Which Yuan is he?"

Wen Yuanji sneered: "You don't even know Mr. Yuan, don't you know that he is the famous Wen Yuanji's junior brother?"

"Wen Yuanji?" The clerk looked confused, then turned serious and said, "Are you here to cause trouble?"

Wen Yuanji: “…”

Zhu Yuanzhang was getting impatient waiting and said, "Wen Yuan Ji, Yuan means original, Ji means auspicious."

"You should have said it earlier." The clerk muttered, "From my point of view, this guy doesn't look like a businessman."

He then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "You are the real boss."

Wen Yuanji wanted to scold, you are the one who does business, your whole family is in business.

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested: "Why do you think so?"

The clerk laughed and said, "In business, timeliness is important. How can someone like him, who can't speak clearly and can't explain anything, do business?"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed but did not comment.

After receiving a number plate named Ding Shiqi, Zhu Yuanzhang sat down. There were many merchants waiting here. Most of them were very quiet, and someone would come to call their number every now and then.

The person whose number was called was hurriedly led away.

It was not until Wen Yuanji was called that Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, and Wen Yuanji also stood up quickly.

The two of them walked into a side room, one in front and one behind.

The furnishings in this room were simple, with only a small desk, a clerk, and a man wearing imperial guard armor.

The person in front of Zhu Yuanzhang in line was the merchant he had just seen at the door.

This merchant is still processing the formalities.

The merchant said: "There are three batches of goods in total. One batch went to Hangzhou, one batch was distributed to Zhenjiang, and the other batch was to Songjiang, which was transported by water..."

"This is the contract for delivery! Look, it's probably worth 1,500 taels of silver. Oh, business is hard to do, and life is unbearable..."

The merchant kept mumbling, feeling very painful, and asked the clerk who followed him to take out a bundle. When the bundle was untied, silver coins fell out.

"The total is seventy-seven taels, isn't it? Hey... We ordinary people have such a hard life, so much silver... OK, OK... You issue the invoice, issue the invoice to me."

The man in armor on the side began to weigh the silver, checked its weight and purity, and immediately put it into the warehouse.

The clerk picked up his pen and wrote on a piece of official paper. Finally, he took out a small seal and stamped it with a click.

The merchant received the ticket and left immediately.

"Next one, next one... Ding Shiqi... Ding Shiqi..."

But when the clerk looked up, he found that the person with the brand number Ding 17 who was waiting there was nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Wen Yuanji had already come out of that room.

Wen Yuanji felt a chill down his spine: "Your Majesty... I'll see..."

Zhu Yuanzhang had a cold face, closed his eyes, and looked incredulous.

"You are well-read, let me ask you, why is this merchant so eager to give you money?"

Wen Yuanji originally wanted to say that the merchants must be afraid of the heavy taxes and levies.

However, seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, he could only swallow his words and said quietly: "It may be that the local merchants are enjoying the emperor's grace..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to get furious.

At this moment, there was suddenly a noise in the courtyard.

But I saw a merchant being carried by two captains, shouting, "Murder, murder..." The captains dragged him, turning a deaf ear to his words, and dragged him directly to the backyard.

When Wen Yuanji saw this, his face suddenly changed. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, did you see it? Did you see it? It's broad daylight, and it's still daytime. If it were dark, I dare not imagine what would happen."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and his expression became solemn. He looked in the direction where the merchant disappeared and fell into deep thought.

On the other side, a passing merchant also saw this scene. He said to the clerk behind him, "That man is really a man who won't cry until he sees the coffin. In Jiangning County, he dares to conceal taxes. He is quite courageous. He doesn't even see what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can do..."

The clerk replied, "Yes, yes, you dare to owe the Crown Prince a debt, you must be tired of living! Now it's good, most likely adding ten times the fine, confiscating all the property and selling it, may not be able to fill the hole."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the word "Crown Prince"...suddenly, his blood pressure rose, and his originally calm expression suddenly lost its composure.

Wen Yuanji was also shocked. Normally, when he was around the emperor, he would talk a lot and scold him, but when he heard people talking about the prince like this, he couldn't help but shudder.

So he immediately said, "Your Majesty, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been a little confused recently, his heart is good. I don't believe he would do such a thing... I think... I think... maybe it's... the unruly people who don't know what's good for you and are throwing this dirty water on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang had a cold face, but he didn't say anything to Wen Yuanji and walked quickly towards the central hall.

When he arrived outside the central hall, he saw a eunuch squatting behind a rockery to urinate. He came out with his pants pulled down. When he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, he was so frightened that he could not walk.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw him, who turned out to be a young eunuch serving the prince, and immediately said, "Come here."

The eunuch wanted to shout loudly, "Long live the emperor" to remind His Royal Highness the Crown Prince inside, but at this moment, he found that his throat could not make any sound, and his body moved involuntarily in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked solemnly, "How many days has the prince been here?"

The eunuch opened his mouth several times before he managed to utter a weak voice, "Two days and three nights..."

"Where is he every day?"

"They are all in this central hall."

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly, "Were you eating and sleeping here?"

"Yes... yes... they are all... they are all..."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Who is accompanying you?"

"It's Captain Deng Qianqiu... Occasionally, the Jiangning County Magistrate will also come here..."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and asked again: "Did you do anything else?"

"No...no..."

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him and said, "If you dare to lie, I will skin you alive."

The eunuch's legs softened and he knelt down without control, saying with a sad face, "Really? Your Highness is so busy that he has no time to rest..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily: "Okay, it seems that you are even busier than me."

He flicked his sleeves fiercely and rushed to the central hall in a hurry.

The eunuch was paralyzed with fear, but now it was too late to sound the alarm.

…………

In the central hall.

Deng Qianqiu bit the pen and started to slack off.

Counting money...is really hard.

It was quite fresh at the beginning, but soon, Deng Qianqiu found it boring and tedious.

Zhu Biao, on the contrary, seemed to be always full of energy.

In this respect, he is definitely Zhu Yuanzhang's biological son. He is so tireless, sleeps only two or three hours a day, and eats casually, but he is very determined when doing things.

"Qianqiu, what's wrong?"

Zhu Biao put down his pen, seeming a little tired.

Deng Qianqiu said with a bitter face: "I wonder when this will end."

Zhu Biao smiled: "Originally, this kind of thing should not be done personally, but it is not because of the shortage of manpower, and this is what you said. Have you calculated the account?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Not yet... not yet... I'm thinking about the problem..."

Deng Qianqiu blushed. He hadn't even finished calculating one book, but others had already finished calculating three. He felt so ashamed that he had to use thinking as an excuse. After all, thinkers are innocent, and people generally believe that this is a sign of high quality and profound culture.

Zhu Biao frowned and said, "What are you thinking about? Oh, I remember, you just mentioned the economic foundation. If the merchants also become the economic foundation of the court, then what will the superstructure look like?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "The imperial court relies on this to make money, so subconsciously, many national policies will naturally lean towards this, just like... the gentry."

After hearing this, Zhu Biao frowned and said, "But my father hates merchants."

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said proudly: "It is true that he hates merchants, but His Majesty loves money..."

The words fell.

Just at this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang had arrived at the door.

When he heard these words, his body trembled and his face suddenly stretched longer than a donkey's.

…………

Asking for a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)