Chapter 165 Young Master Cheng Arrives
Yingtian Prefecture was the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The Five Cities Military Commission often conducted routine inspections of merchants entering the city at the city gate.
This kind of thing is very common in Yingtian Prefecture, but Hao Zhao could see that the people from the Five Cities Military Department today were only checking the convoys of cotton merchants, and the convoys of other merchants were only allowed to pass after a simple check.
Seeing this situation, Hao Zhao felt something was wrong in his heart, and finally understood why the guy had just told him that something was not right.
However, he remained calm and started dealing with the people from the Five Cities Military Department.
"Sir, these are my ivory plaques and travel permits. I'm a businessman in the inner city. Please take a look..."
When the people from the Five Cities Military Affairs Department heard that they were from the inner city, they smiled. A clerk came forward and looked at Hao Zhao's caravan. As he looked, he asked, "Boss, what are you transporting in this caravan?"
"Your Excellency, I'm a cotton merchant. I recently received a batch of cotton and am preparing to ship it to the inner city warehouse..."
Hao Zhao answered truthfully. He had never thought of anything else. After all, cotton was not a rare thing in the Ming Dynasty, so he didn't think of going anywhere else.
Unexpectedly, when the clerk heard that Hao Zhao's convoy was transporting cotton, his expression suddenly changed and the smile disappeared from his face.
"I see. Then please line up at the back, boss. Come on, next one..."
Hearing the clerk's words, Hao Zhao's eyes widened immediately, but after all, he had been in business for many years and was familiar with many things, so he quickly pinched a piece of silver in his hand and grabbed the clerk's hand.
"Sir, please wait a moment. I haven't been in Yingtian Prefecture recently and I don't know what major events have taken place there. I beg for your guidance. I will be very grateful!"
The clerk was stopped by Hao Zhao and his face suddenly turned cold. Just as he was about to explode, he felt something wrong with the palm of his hand and his face changed again.
When he withdrew his hand, he saw a hint of white between his fingers. He smiled again and said, "Boss, I'm just a clerk who follows orders. There's no point in asking me."
Hearing the other person's tone, Hao Zhao knew that today was going to be a bloodbath, so he stuffed another piece of silver into the other person's pocket and said, "You are too polite, sir. I beg you to give me some advice. My family depends on this little money to survive!"
The clerk received the silver and his smile widened, but his tone remained the same as before. "Boss, why don't you believe me? I won't hide it from you. This is an order from my master. No cotton merchants are allowed to enter Yingtian Prefecture for the time being. Think about it carefully!"
When Hao Zhao heard this, he almost gritted his teeth as he watched the clerk turn and leave.
The people from the Wucheng Bingmasi took the money but refused to let him go. What he said was basically useless. However, it still made Hao Zhao understand that today's incident was that the Wucheng Bingmasi was specifically targeting cotton merchants like him.
Could it be that something big had happened in the capital recently, and was it related to the cotton merchants? Hao Zhao couldn't figure it out, so he called his capable assistant.
"Go, go into the city alone and find out what's going on. Report back immediately when you get the news."
The clerk agreed to go. Hao Zhao looked at the increasing number of cotton merchants in front and behind him and suddenly became anxious.
The cotton is stuck here. If it rains, the cotton will be soaked and it will fall on your hands. You will lose all your money!
Not long after, the guy came back after finding out the news and brought Hao Zhao even worse news.
In the Wucheng Military Headquarters, the people Hao Zhao knew refused to provide any information, as if they were very sensitive about not allowing cotton merchants to enter the city.
The waiter asked around but to no avail. After hearing this, Hao Zhao suddenly felt dizzy. The thing he was most worried about finally happened.
As the day went on, more and more cotton merchants returned to Yingtian Prefecture, but they were all blocked at the city gate.
The people from the Wucheng Bingmasi specially opened up a field outside the city and drove all the cotton merchants there. Some cotton merchants, relying on the support of others, competed with the people from the Wucheng Bingmasi, but they soon gave up.
Hao Zhao saw this and became even more anxious. He could tell that this matter was really serious.
So many cotton merchants are not allowed to enter the city, and it is useless to use connections. It is obvious that someone in the capital is targeting them.
Hao Zhao looked at his convoy and sighed continuously. He was at a loss at this moment. Even if he could see that the Five Cities Army was deliberately looking for trouble, what right did he have to say that they were making things difficult for him? Even if they were, who could he complain to?
The cotton merchants were all anxious and frustrated, like ants on a hot pan. Just when everyone was at a loss, a man suddenly arrived and made Hao Zhao understand the reason behind all this.
"Hey, bosses, why are you all staying here?" A harsh voice sounded in front of everyone.
Everyone looked up and found that it was an acquaintance, Cheng Hongbo, the young master of Chengji Trading Company.
"Young Master Cheng, were you also stopped by the Five Cities Army?"
Competitors are enemies. Everyone present, including Cheng Hongbo, was a cotton merchant. When they saw Cheng Hongbo coming, they all had a gloating expression on their faces.
But only Hao Zhao felt something was wrong. There was no convoy behind Cheng Hongbo, only his own carriage coming. It was obvious at a glance that he did not come here because he was stopped by the Five Cities Military Department.
"Oh, that's right, you all have great talents. How many kilograms of cotton have you harvested? Wow, looking at the display, I'm afraid you've harvested tens of thousands of kilograms!"
"I say you are all so dishonest. You didn't even inform me when you got the news. I had to leave the city for nothing and didn't even receive a pound of cotton."
After hearing Cheng Hongbo's words, everyone had complicated expressions, not knowing whether to be happy or unhappy. Only Hao Zhao could hear that Cheng Hongbo had something else in his words.
"Since Young Master Cheng didn't receive the cotton, why did he come here? Did he come here just to laugh at us?" Hao Zhao stood up and brought up the issue directly.
"How is that possible!" Cheng Hongbo waved his hands. "I just went out for nothing and I'm too embarrassed to go back, so I came here to try my luck and see if you guys are willing to help me!"
When Cheng Hongbo said this, he bowed deeply to the cotton merchants present, but Hao Zhao could see the mockery and disdain in his eyes, and he had bad thoughts in his heart, "Young Master Cheng, you are joking. If you have something to say, just say it."
"Then I'll be frank." Cheng Hongbo said cheerfully, "I just didn't get any cotton when I went out, so I'll have to report back!"
"It's just right. I see you have a lot of cotton here. It seems you can't get into the city anyway. Why don't you sell your cotton to me, and then we can get into the city."
"Huh?" When everyone heard this, they looked at each other. No one was stupid, and they could all hear that Cheng Hongbo was here to take advantage of something ready-made.
It turns out that everything I just said was just a prelude, and the purpose was purely for the cotton in the hands of the cotton merchants present.
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