Chapter 113

Zhou Ming was sitting on a cart, while the young boss and his men were riding horses. This escort agency was very powerful, as so many people had horses to ride.

As soon as the young boss ran, everyone else followed, even the cart driver hurried as fast as he could.

Zhou Ming fell forward and managed to catch himself. In the blink of an eye, the small bosses had passed by. Zhou Ming was so anxious that he cried out, holding the driver's arm and said, "No, we can't run into Boss Xu. We really can't run into him."

The driver was very strong, and he swung his arm, causing Zhou Ming to fall onto the board again. The driver ran away. Zhou Ming gritted his teeth in the car, turning around anxiously, wondering how he could have run into Boss Xu.

He thought about it and decided to take the silver from the boss and go down to take a look.

Zhou Ming got off the bus and squeezed through the crowd. The young boss stood at the front and said, "...Why do you care if I'm a local or an outsider? I just want to shout when I see injustice. What's wrong with me shouting?"

Oh, young boss, you have such a bad temper! Zhou Ming hurried forward, bowed and greeted the man opposite. The man opposite recognized Zhou Ming and asked, "Who are you bringing?"

"Hello, Boss Xu. This is a small boss from another place who doesn't understand the rules here. He wants to buy some loose beads and lotus root powder." Zhou Ming said hurriedly, apologizing and bowing to show his friendship. "The small boss is very straightforward. I'm really sorry if I didn't say anything nice."

He turned around and winked at the young boss, begging him to please, meaning that he should not lose his temper and calm down first.

Xuan Fu became even more angry when he saw Zhou Ming being so servile, but he suppressed his anger, thinking that if Zhou Ming was out incognito, his identity would be exposed, which would increase the workload for Lao Wang and the others. It would be better for him to endure it and save the mother and son, and then deal with these bullies later.

When Boss Xu heard this, he remembered that his superiors had told him to be more restrained recently, and that a distinguished person might be visiting their prefecture and county, so he decided to let the boy from outside the area go today.

"What's going on?" Xuanyu Fu asked the tied-up boy.

The boy was about 14 or 15 years old, with wheat-colored skin and a physique that showed he had worked in the water for many years. His hands and feet were tied with hemp ropes and he lay on the ground, with a big man watching him.

"I'm not fishing for clams in a lake that owns someone else's." The young man said with his neck stiff.

His mother, who was standing next to him, had just been kicked, and didn't care about the pain, but she really didn't want the matter to get any bigger. She was afraid that this foreign young master wouldn't be able to leave, and that the whole family would be retaliated against afterwards. So she knelt down and kowtowed to the eldest brother of the Xu family and said, "Xiao Hai was just playing around, and didn't expect to catch a clam. Life at home is tight, so I thought of exchanging it for money. If you like the clam pearl, just give me some money and take it..."

"I, Boss Xu, want the clam pearls, and I have to give you money? Who do you think you are? I, Boss Xu, am in charge of this White Jade Lake. Your son went down to the lake to fish for our things, and now he wants to sell the clam pearls to me?" Boss Xu laughed as if he heard something funny.

The woman was embarrassed, then she realized what was happening and smiled awkwardly, saying it was free and she could take it.

Xiao Hai was so angry that he struggled, "Mom, don't give it to him. I fished it out from the ownerless area, and several people in the village can testify for me." At this point, he quickly realized who had leaked the news that he had found a good pearl.

He treated those guys as his brothers, but in the end they were betrayed by him.

Xiao Hai looked around, and when he saw someone, he looked at him fiercely: "Xiao Wu, Da Xia, tell me, did I fish in an unowned area?"

When the two heard their names being called, they were so scared that they quickly ran behind the crowd.

They didn't dare to confront the bully Xu.

Xiao Hai struggled violently and was stepped on the back. The big man who looked at him said, "What nonsense! Our boss said that the pearls were caught from the lake we are in charge of."

"I didn't, I didn't." Xiao Hai shouted.

The little sea girl said no, and with two lines of tears slowly flowing down her cheeks, she said, "I'll bring the pearl back to you. Please don't hit the child anymore. We won't dare to do it again."

Xuan Fu finally understood the whole story and said, "You are confusing right and wrong. They didn't fish for clams in the lake you were watching. Are you just trying to keep a good pearl that they found?"

Zhou Ming begged grandpa to stop talking.

"I understand. You are killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. You are using Xiao Hai and his mother as an example. This has happened before, right? Anyway, you have the final say whether the pearls have an owner or not. If the villagers catch ordinary pearls, it doesn't matter, but if they are rare and valuable, they must be handed over to you obediently." Xuan Fu looked over with a burning gaze, "Am I right?"

People in the town, prefecture and county said that they could buy some loose pearls, which were the cheapest and most common small white pearls. No one cared about lotus root powder. The villagers could only make a small profit and then do manual labor to collect clam shells for others.

Rich masters contracted or bought an area around Baiyu Lake and hired workers and villagers to do the work.

Let’s not talk about this anymore, it’s just a normal employment relationship.

But today is different. This bully is confusing right and wrong, forcibly taking possession of the rare pearls opened by the villagers, and even wants to break Xiaohai's legs. This is a threat to warn other villagers not to go against him.

"Are you some kind of gangster bullies? Who's backing you up?" Manyu Fu asked with fiery eyes.

The fire in my stomach is burning more and more.

Boss Xu didn't care at all and said lazily, "You are a foreigner, don't say too much. Get out of here before I lose my temper. I will let you go. I won't care if you buy anything else. If you keep talking too much and meddling in other people's business, whoever dares to sell you a pearl from Baiyu Lake and a bag of lotus root powder is going against me."

At the end of his speech, Boss Xu looked around and gave a nonchalant warning. Wherever he looked, the villagers lowered their heads, including Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming's smile was very frightening, so he pulled the sleeve of the young boss, meaning, forget it, let's go back first.

Seeing that everyone was obedient, Boss Xu was very satisfied. He ignored the outsider and continued, "Why are you still standing there? Today, I have to break his legs if I say so. I'm reminding you all that all the good things from Baiyu Lake should be understood in the future. If you dare to hide them again, it will not just be a matter of one leg if I find out."

"You bastard, you did it knowingly and still did it. Or was it because I was too lenient with you before?" Boss Xu walked over and patted Xiao Hai on the head.

There was a similar incident before, where someone knelt down and begged for mercy, and he just beat him up and let it go.

Now, a kid is going to cause trouble for him.

If he doesn't teach him a lesson in public, how will he manage Baiyu Lake in the future?

Xuanyi Fu was furious before, but his face turned cold when he heard this. Yan Huaijin next to him knew that Xuanyi Fu was really angry. Wang Yuansun Liu Qiang and other personal soldiers rushed forward to protect His Highness.

"I've made a promise today that I'll protect his leg." Xuan Fu stood among his personal soldiers and said coldly, "No one can move his leg. I'm going to break your leg today."

Xu Xuanfu has always had a soft-tempered temper. He is cheerful and seldom gets angry with others. But if someone acts tough in front of him, he will become even tougher.

Refer to the previous Prime Minister Lin Helin.

"What a big tone." Boss Xu smiled coldly, his face was ferocious, and he raised his hand to point at the foreign boy opposite, "What's your name?"

"Unfortunately, your last name is also Xu." Xuanyufu also smiled coldly, "Let's see today whether your Xu is more useful or my Xu is more powerful."

“Hahahahahaha, you stinky brat who hasn’t even fully grown all his hair, bah.” Boss Xu spat on the ground and said provocatively, “Today is the day when the king of heaven comes——”

Manyu Fu interrupted: "I am really here, your king of heaven."

"Do it."

Xuan Fu was the first to shout for action, but Boss Xu on the opposite side was beaten to the punch by a kid from another place. He became even more annoyed and waved his hand to tell his men behind him to ignore the little bastard and teach the kid from another place a lesson first. When they get to their Baihu Town, no matter what kind of creature is flying in the sky, they all have to stay in the lake and be turtles. Hold it in!

No matter how domineering the local thugs are, they can never defeat the well-trained personal soldiers.

In the chaos, all the onlookers dispersed. Zhou Mingdong hid and complained in his heart, especially when he saw that the boss's escort leader, the escort leader Lin who had eaten at the same table in the morning, subdued Boss Xu in a few moves. He felt even more uncomfortable.

Oh no, this has gotten out of hand.

Lin Zheng didn't say anything. After clamping the man, he broke his leg quickly and accurately. Boss Xu screamed in anger, "You can't get away. I'm going to skin you alive today."

As they were talking, hundreds of people came into the village, all holding weapons.

It’s not even a farm tool.

Along the way, Xuan Fu had seen villagers who were brave enough to protect themselves. They had sickles, hoes, rakes and other "weapons" in their hands. At most, they were herdsmen outside Xining City. They might have a small curved knife on their waist, which was also for self-defense. Most of the time, they would kill sheep and share the meat.

2. Nowadays, hundreds of people here are holding big swords.

Xuanyifu narrowed his eyes, took a few steps back, hid behind his personal soldiers, and pulled Yan Jinjin to stand behind him. Yan Jinjin didn't know martial arts, and it would be dangerous for him to stand in front of him.

If this fight breaks out—

"How unreasonable!" Wang Yuanyuan was both angry and furious.

Boss Xu shouted angrily: "There are only so few people here, call them all out."

"Wang Banban, shout."

Wang Yuanyuan and His Highness exchanged a glance, and in a split second, her mind was faster than her mouth, and she shouted first: "His Highness the Crown Prince of Dasheng is here, do you want to rebel? Why don't you surrender now?"

Zhou Mingdu ran to the back of the cart and hid there. He didn't dare to run away because Boss Xu recognized him. He could escape but he couldn't. Moreover, he had taken 1 tael of silver from Boss Xu. He just thought that since the matter had become so serious, he couldn't protect Boss Xu. He just hoped that Boss Xu would show mercy to him.

well.

In fear and terror, he vaguely heard something about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Zhou Ming shook his head. Did he hear it wrong? He looked up and saw that Boss Xu and his men had stopped their attacks. They looked a little flustered and didn't know where to cut with their knives.

Wang Dazongguan stood in front and said in a high voice: "Put down your swords now. If you dare to move, it will be considered as rebellion and your entire clan will be executed."

A knife fell to the ground with a bang.

The two looked at each other, fear in their eyes. Was it really the prince? But who would dare to pretend to be the prince? If they used knives and guns, it would be a rebellion. Such a serious crime, even if they were Boss Xu's thugs, no one would dare to commit such a serious crime.

… Knives fell one after another. Someone knelt first, trembling and stammering, not knowing what to say, and only kowtowed and shouted, “Prince?”

Xuan Fu was still among his personal soldiers, looking at 'Boss Xu' who had a broken leg on the ground. He looked ferocious just a second ago, but now his expression had not changed.

"Now I see that mine is bigger."

Boss Xu was so frightened that he didn't care about the pain in his legs. He wanted to say something with trembling lips, but in the end he could only beg for mercy: "I, I was wrong, Your Highness——"

"Baihu Town is really great. A local gangster can call on hundreds of armed men and hide weapons. If I hadn't seen it today, the entire Baihu Town, and even the surrounding villagers, would have been bullied by you and you would have said whatever you wanted."

"I want to see who is behind you."

There was no suspense in the subsequent handling. Hundreds of people surrendered and waited for His Highness to investigate - no one dared to take the serious crime of "rebellion". Nowadays, even if the crime was to lose one's head, it was only one person who lost it. If a fight broke out, the whole family would be killed.

These people can tell what is important and what is not.

Communication was slow nowadays, and it would take a whole night to reach the prefecture and county even if one rode at full speed. Wang Yuansun asked his personal soldiers to go back and report the news, and all the people should come here - His Highness's identity had been exposed, and they had to come here before the news spread.

And the news spread quickly in the town.

White Lake Town.

"Oh no, oh no, Boss Xu from Baiyu Lake wanted to break a kid's legs. Then you know that young boss who came to our town yesterday, he, he, he--" The villager who ran errands to deliver the news swallowed his saliva.

Others interrupted: "He was beaten by Boss Xu?", "Zhou Ming took the money and didn't even bother to persuade him in advance.", "How did he get into a fight with Boss Xu?"

After swallowing his saliva and breathing heavily, the frightened villager said loudly: "No, he is fine. He broke Mr. Xu's thigh. He is the Crown Prince of Dasheng."

"Oh my god!"

"What?"

"Oh my goodness!"

Some people were so scared that their legs went limp, others were asking whether it was true or not and what was going on. Some had already taken advantage of the chaos to run back and pass on the message - the person who came to their door yesterday to rent a house turned out to be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Mr. Zhou was sitting at home. When he heard the news from his subordinates, he was so frightened that he stood up and shook his hands. "You mean, who was the foreign boss that Zhou Ming brought to the door yesterday?"

"Your Highness." The servant swallowed his saliva. He really couldn't think of anything. "I also heard it from outside. Now the whole town has heard that this morning, Boss Xu in Baiyu Lake broke someone's leg. Now Boss Xu's thigh is broken. Those people seem to be the escorts brought by the boss. General."

Mr. Zhou was so frightened that he took a few steps back and barely held on to the chair. "It's all over."

The other mansions were similar. Some asked for clarification, some asked several times in disbelief whether it was true, some were so scared that they wanted to pack up their belongings and run away, and some were smart and took their servants to Baiyu Lake to invite His Highness to live in their mansion.

The innkeeper was shocked.

"Madam, madam, madam?"

"If you eat five trays of steamed buns in the morning, that makes you a general?"

"Your Highness is actually staying at my inn. I am so grateful!"

The innkeeper even asked the waiter to start cleaning the room, wishing he could paint this shabby inn, but the waiter didn't dare to move around in the room, and whispered, "What if His Highness loses something——"

"Then, then don't go in yet, clean up the outside."

Unfortunately, His Highness will not stay at the inn today. Not only will he not go to the inn, but no matter which master in the entire Baihu Town invites His Highness, he will not be able to see him or say a word. By noon, the news spread throughout the town.

"Your Highness's team has set up camp beside Baiyu Lake."

"Several masters went to kowtow, and the personal guards protected His Highness and circled an area, but he didn't even go in."

As they were talking, the 'escort leaders' who had gone out in the morning came back. The people on the street were so frightened that they kept silent, not daring to speak any more and wishing they could kneel down and kowtow to them. They saw those escort leaders in dusty clothes heading straight towards the inn.

Soon the escort leaders drove several carts with things, and even the inn's cook sat on them. There were fresh vegetables, meat, and big pots on the carts. The cook sat upright in front of the cart, not daring to breathe, but his face was filled with joy.

His Highness must like the food he cooks. When these officials come back to get things, they bring him up to serve His Highness!

I heard that the richest master in town invited Your Highness to stay at his house, but You Highness didn’t even get to see him!

Wang Yuansun and Lin Zheng had the same idea of "making a nest" by the Baiyu Lake. Although the situation was now stable and these ruffians were afraid of His Highness's reputation, they both thought of the worst outcome just in case.

Boss Xu must have connections in the town. If someone is forced into a desperate situation and wants to fight to the death, Xuan Fu, as the Crown Prince, cannot afford any "what if".

As for the place to be placed on the edge of Baiyu Lake, which is far away from the lake and surrounded by open space, personal soldiers will be guarding it all night. No matter how loud the noise is, they will be suppressed and no one can get close to Xuanfu.

It’s not good to live in an inn in Baihu Town. We can’t be prepared. What if someone sets a fire?

Xuan Fu's identity was exposed, so he listened to General Wang and Lord Lin at this time. Sitting on a chair on the lawn, Zhou Ming moved here from his brother-in-law's house. His brother-in-law was from the second nearest village to Baiyu Lake.

There are seven villages of varying sizes around the lake. The villages farthest away are the quietest. In the past, it was harder to make money. After all, it took half a day or a whole day to travel to Baiyu Lake. Villagers nearby had more opportunities and seized the initiative.

The three nearest villages have the most troubles, and most of them are controlled by Boss Xu's forces.

The villagers could only live their lives in a cowardly and honest manner, and they lived in peace.

"It's okay, life can go on." Zhou Ming's brother-in-law is used to being honest.

Xuan Fu pointed at Xiao Hai who was untied beside him and asked, "Has he ever suffered the same fate before?"

"Yes, yes, I just got beaten."

Many blessings: ...

He knew that Zhou Ming's brother-in-law was scared out of his wits, but he couldn't blame him for being cowardly. Because he was weak, he couldn't make a living if he wasn't a coward, so he could only survive in the cracks. Over time, he really thought that "as long as I don't disobey Boss Xu, I can still make a living."

"Take your brother-in-law downstairs." Xuanyufu said to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming hurriedly pulled his brother-in-law out, thinking: Oh my God, it really is His Highness. He still felt a little dizzy, as if he was dreaming.

And he has to use the one tael of silver that His Highness gave him!

Not to mention him, all the villagers from the nearest village came. They didn't dare to get close, so they just stood outside and looked in the direction of Your Highness. Some wanted Your Highness to make the decision, while others just wanted to see Your Highness and get some of His blessings.

The news of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fighting against the bully spread quickly.

Manyu Fu asked Xiao Hai what happened, and Yan Huaijin, who was standing beside him, took notes. Xiao Hai was still young and hot-tempered, and he told the story in a few words, and then he was angry again, talking about what happened before, and how Boss Xu had exploited their villagers in various ways.

"They look down on lotus root starch, but some of Boss Xu's lackeys make it at home. They rely on Boss Xu's reputation and won't let us sell it cheaply or to individual customers. We can only sell it after they sell it."

"The lotus roots are coming down. People from the prefecture and county come to buy them. They occupy the best spots."

"They have the final say in everything. They squeeze the scattered areas that are clearly unowned bit by bit."

"Before the end of the year, we have to go down to the lake to collect clams and open pearls. In the past, some masters gave us a fair price, regardless of the quality of the pearls, according to the clam shell, and gave us 20 coins for each. But in the past one or two years, they began to lower the price, and only gave us 12 coins for a clam shell, and sometimes 10 coins."

To go down into the lake, one must be good at swimming and be able to hold one's breath. One has to search for a long time and then come up. It is winter, and one has to search up and down for a whole day to earn some hard-earned money, but in the end, the clam catchers only give this little money.

"Was it okay a year or two ago?" Xuanyu Fu asked.

Xiao Hai thought about it carefully and said with certainty: "Two years ago, I remember my father and uncle went to the river to catch clams during the Chinese New Year. We were lucky that year and made a lot of money in one winter. My family had more meat than we could eat during the Chinese New Year and we also had new clothes to wear."

"There were several bosses in this lake at that time. One of them paid the most money. The highest amount you could get was thirty cents at a time."

"What a pity. After the Chinese New Year, I heard that the boss quit his job. He obviously touched a lot of beads."

"Since then, this Boss Xu has come. No one knows his background. He is not from our village. He seems to be a scoundrel from the prefecture and county."

Xuanyu Fu: "I understand, you are brave, but you should be more submissive in the future. Your legs are more important. You need to figure out what to do next--" He was silent here.

What solution should be taken? Should the 14-year-old Xiao Hai go to the prefectural and county government offices to file a complaint?

There is nowhere to turn to and you can only accept defeat.

When Xuan Fu thought about the weapons in those people's hands, he knew that there must be officials behind this matter, and ordinary people did not dare to carry or hide weapons.

It is said that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people, but nowadays in the prosperous and wealthy villages under the city, the relationships involved are even greater for the sake of huge profits. After all, a top-quality pearl can be sold for hundreds or thousands of taels.

"How many years has the local county magistrate been in office?" Xuanyu Fu murmured. He didn't remember.

Zhou Quan and his colleagues had read the annual government report and found that the local economy and people's livelihood were thriving, but they had never expected that such a thing was hidden underneath.

Yan Huaijin said: "Ma has served here for more than ten years. This is what the file says."

Xuanyu Fu tilted his head to look over and said, Yan Jinjin, you actually remember?

"You forgot, I'm your secretary." Yan Huaijin joked, not wanting Duo Xinfu to blame himself too much, and then said seriously: "We discovered it by accident, so we can solve it. Duo Xinfu, you are kind and responsible. If you want to prevent this from happening again, you will always find a good way."

"Do you remember Master Ke?"

The Jiangnan River bandits back then were trained by the clan, and this matter was uncovered by Ke An who started with a small matter and worked his way up to a big one.

Manyu Fu understood and immediately became more powerful.

It's not like he is bullying the people, so don't blame yourself too much and waste time on internal affairs. Just do it!

Wang, the chief steward of the logistics department, was laying out a blanket for His Highness to sleep on at night. He sighed as he worked, but his face looked very excited. Lin Zheng looked at him and felt strange, "Brother Wang, are you happy or unhappy?"

"I'm happy." Wang Yuanyuan stood up straight and said to Lin Zheng, "When Duofu was ten years old, he told me that if I encountered injustice during my incognito visits, I would shout out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here and put on the Crown Prince's royal robes for His Royal Highness..."

"It really happened today. What a pity. I brought a box of the Crown Prince's auspicious clothes with me, but I didn't bring them this time."

"That morning, what do you think? If I had called out to you and held your highness' bright yellow auspicious robe in my hand and put it on your highness, wouldn't it be just like what's described in the opera, so magnificent?"

Wang Yuanyuan was deeply distressed. She shouldn’t have gone to the town for a private visit and not brought her wedding attire because she was afraid of exposing her identity! ! ! !

The author has something to say:

Afterwards, whenever General Manager Wang thought about this incident, he would beat his chest and stamp his feet and couldn't sleep. He couldn't sleep at all.

Alas, why didn’t I bring my wedding attire for this day!!!