Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 70

Chapter 70 The Chaos of the Dubious Field
He had been on guard for many days, but in the end, something like this had happened. As the county magistrate, Lu Zhen could only hurry to deal with the scene as soon as possible, and at the same time, when he was on his way, he asked about the specific situation of that person.

Before he arrived, Lu Zhen knew the specific details of what had happened there. This made his entire face darker, because the murderer was too arrogant.

According to the attendant, the cause of all this was a small dispute, for there was a man who had taken a fancy to the goods of a merchant in the Ming Dynasty, and wanted to exchange them for the horses he had brought with him-it was common that in such a simple and crude discussion, it was not necessary to buy the goods with gold, silver, and copper, but it was also common to barter them. Actually, even in some grass markets in the Central Plains, ordinary peasants accepted this kind of primitive trading method.

However, there was a condition for barter transactions, and that was that both parties needed each other’s goods. However, that Great Ming merchant didn’t care about the other party’s horses at all. He just wanted to earn some money. He had to think of a way to ship the cattle, sheep, and horses. In such a market, it was naturally very difficult to sell them for a high price. Therefore, he suggested that Meng Ren trade with him for money first.

The Mongolian herdsman was also sincere. He immediately tried his best to sell his horses to others. Fortunately, there was a need for these goods in the market, so in half a day, he saved enough money and rushed to find the merchant to do business.

However, the result made him furious. That merchant actually sold his goods to another group of merchants at this moment! When Meng Ren, who had always believed in him, saw this, he immediately started to argue with the people from the two sides and eventually turned into a fight.

Originally, Meng Ren had only injured the merchant and his followers, but unexpectedly, the servants and officers who maintained the order of the dubious field rushed over to punish him. With great anger, the Meng people finally erupted. As a result, not only did they injure a few more servants, they also killed two soldiers. Afterwards, they looted a lot of goods and fought with the Meng people who attacked at the same time.

From the beginning of the dispute to the end, these Meng people completely ignored Daming’s laws and dignity. They really did not put the face of the Daming government, especially the local government of Guangling County, in their eyes. However, Lu Zhen was truly annoyed that someone had died because of this. This unconsciously reminded him of the fate of Xie Lao Qi and the others who captured slaves in Rahab Clan back then!

When Lu Zhen arrived, he saw a group of frightened merchants, as well as the gray-haired servants and soldiers. Seeing that his lord had finally arrived, Han Si, who was here today to maintain order, greeted him with a sad face, “My lord, it was a small incompetence that caused …”

“You don’t have to say that this is because Dazi doesn’t follow the rules. It has nothing to do with you.” Lu Zhen waved his hand and interrupted him. His expression was cold as he looked at the corpses on the ground. He slowly walked over and said, “Are they soldiers killed by Dazi?”

“Yes. The injured brothers have been sent to the county for treatment.” Han Si’s heart relaxed as he hurriedly reported.

Actually, there must be something unorthodox about the merchants of Daming. For example, because the Mongols were the party who needed the goods more, they would definitely raise the price of their own goods and at the same time suppress the other party’s price when they were doing business. After all, they came to a small place like Guang Ling not far away to earn money. It was always good to earn more.

Although Lu Zhen had heard of this, he had also turned a blind eye. As an official of the Great Ming Empire, how could he not speak for his own people and speak for the Meng people? He was not some of the officials of the later generations. Seeing foreign businessmen was like seeing his own father. He wished he could sell all the local people.

However, Lu Zhen had always been in control of a certain degree, so it was impossible for Meng Ren to suffer too much. Otherwise, their commotion would be of no benefit to Guangling County. However, he didn’t expect such a tragedy to happen today. Furthermore, it happened less than ten days after the opening of the discussion hall. If one of them couldn’t be dealt with properly, the consequences would be great. Light blame may cause the businessmen of both sides to have distrust of this place, and may even affect the imperial court’s view of the county government.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhen had already arrived in front of the corpses of the two soldiers who had been killed. Beside them, there were more than twenty other soldiers with ashen faces and burning eyes. Seeing their fellow robes being killed, they were naturally the angriest group of people. If it weren’t for Lu Zhen’s previous prestige against Xiao Mo and the relationship between him and General Hu, these people would have been unable to endure it anymore.

The blood on the ground hadn’t dried up yet. Both of the dead were killed by knives. Until now, their eyes were still wide open. There was both surprise and anger in their eyes. Looking at the bodies of these two people before they died, the anger in Lu Zhen’s heart grew stronger and stronger. After a moment of silence, he bent down and bowed to the two corpses, “I will definitely avenge you for sacrificing your lives for our country. I will definitely find the murderer to avenge your revenge!” As he spoke, he squatted down again and reached out to wipe the eyes of the two of them.

The surrounding people didn’t dare to disturb him at this moment, and at the same time, they looked at the county magistrate’s actions with astonishment. They never imagined that a dignified court official would actually bow to the two big-headed soldiers and even personally let them die, regardless of taboo. As for what he said, few people heard it clearly.

The expressions of the soldiers on the side finally eased a little. Lord Lu’s ability to do so could be considered as giving them enough respect. Moreover, the people close to Lu Zhen heard his assurance, which instantly touched their hearts. As long as Lu Zhen really did what he said, they would definitely be convinced by him. In the future, his words might not be any weaker than his words.

On the other hand, Han Si felt a burst of nervousness after hearing this. This was not a joke. The murderer was Dazi. It was really not easy to punish them. Forget about taking people, it’s just that they really did get them. Could it be that they’re so easy to kill?

Everyone knew that Dazi had always lived as a tribe, and behind each person was a large group of clansmen. If he really killed their people, who knew how much trouble he would attract? I only hope that your Excellency will only casually say this to calm the hearts of the people. Don’t really do such a thing.

Lu Zhen, who was standing in front of the corpse, ignored the thoughts of the surrounding people. He silently looked at the two corpses for a long time before waving his hand and saying, “Keep them away so that they can be buried alive.”

“Yes!” Han Si agreed and called for the servants to move the corpses away. At the same time, he quickly cleaned up the blood stains on the ground. Although it was impossible for the market to do any business today, this discussion had to continue after all. Tomorrow, everything would return to its original state. After all, everyone had come here to do business, and they would not leave Guang Ling just because of this change.

At this moment, Lu Zhen’s face turned solemn. He turned around and shouted to the surrounding merchants with miserable expressions, “Everyone, listen to this official.” I, Lu Zhen, am here today to give everyone an explanation. Since I am in charge of this discussion and those Dazi dare to commit murder and plunder in my Great Ming territory, I will never give up. “From tomorrow onwards, the defenses inside and outside this discussion arena will be greatly increased. Furthermore, I promise you that I will definitely capture those murderers and punish them openly to calm the hearts of the people!”

Saying these words in public caused everyone’s expressions to change. The way they looked at Lu Zhen was different from before. There was a bit more respect, but at the same time, there was a bit of disbelief in their eyes. However, at this moment, no one dared to really stand up and question him.

On the other hand, Han Si and the others had astonished expressions on their faces. His Excellency had uttered such utter words. It was truly unwise. It would be fine if those Dazi didn’t come. After all, it was impossible for His Excellency to send people to the grasslands to get the murderers. But if they really did come again, would they really be convicted?

Hearing Lu Zhen’s words and looking at his righteous expression in the carriage ahead, Chu Yunrong’s heartstrings suddenly trembled. It was as if in her heart, her husband should be such a righteous and fearless person.

She had never seen what Lu Zhen had done before, but the performance of his public promises today was enough to make her feel the strong aura emitted from him.

“Wow, that’s it … Miss, I’ve seen my uncle quarrel with people like this several times. It’s really … really … fascinating.” Little girl Cuimei couldn’t help but sigh softly from the side. However, due to the lack of vocabulary, she could only use such an inappropriate phrase to describe Lu Zhen for the time being.

Chu Yunrong helplessly glanced at her little sister. If she didn’t know that she didn’t have much affection for Lu Zhen, she would have thought that there was some kind of affair between the two of them.

On the other side, after telling his decision in public, Lu Zhen called out to Han Si, “Can you find out the route of those troublemakers and murderers in Dazi? Also, where is the businessman who caused the accident now?”

Han Siku hesitated for a while before answering truthfully, “Those few Tartars, those few Tartars …” The little one was unable to find out their origins. After the chaos broke out, the other Tartars merchants also took advantage of the chaos. We were unable to find out why we were looking for those merchants. ”

Lu Zhen snorted discontentedly at this answer, but didn’t say anything else, “What about the businessman who brought this up? Don’t tell me you can’t even find out about him.”

“The merchant’s name is Tan Huan. Because he was injured earlier, he was sent to the county for medical treatment. The little one felt that his Excellency might have something to ask him, so he asked someone to keep an eye on him.” Han Si hurriedly replied. He had been in the county government for many years, so he still had some contingencies.

Lu Zhen nodded with satisfaction, “Since that’s the case, let’s go back to the city now. The origin of Dazi has to fall on the merchant named Tan Huan.”