The strongest eldest son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 55 Zhu Yao's Bullying and Domination of the Market?!

Zhu Yuanzhang and his entourage left Liu's residence and walked slowly along the cement road in front of the gate. Before long, they arrived at the town closest to Liu's residence.

As soon as they stepped into the town, everyone was stunned by the sight before them, and their faces showed expressions of amazement.

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped and glanced at both sides of the street. His tone was somewhat surprised: "I was so busy dealing with Yao'er that I didn't notice that this town is so well-organized and prosperous. It is more impressive than many of our Ming Dynasty's county towns."

Liu Bowen nodded slowly, his eyes full of approval: "Yes, the streets are flat and wide, the houses are arranged in an orderly manner, and the pedestrians are dressed neatly and look calm. It can be seen that the people here live a very peaceful life."

Hu Weiyong echoed, but secretly he was observing everything around him, his eyes darting around as if searching for something.

Just as the three of them stopped to reflect, a shout suddenly came from not far away, breaking the tranquility of the street.

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw several neatly dressed, tall men, each with a fierce look, each carrying a thick wooden stick, shouting at the vendors on the side of the street.

Some vendors trembled from the scolding and hurriedly packed up their stalls, trying to get away.

Several men walked directly into the shops on the street and brazenly demanded money from the shop owners, who obediently handed over their silver.

Seeing this, a glint of smugness flashed in Hu Weiyong's eyes. He quickly moved closer to Zhu Yuanzhang, his tone laced with mockery and provocation, and whispered, "My lord, look! These must be the so-called 'urban management officers' under Young Master Zhu, right?"

"Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect that Young Master Zhu, who appears to be a carefree hermit who doesn't care about worldly affairs, would actually oppress the people like this in secret."

"He owns tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and is already an extremely wealthy merchant. Now he allows his subordinates to act so tyrannically, beating and verbally abusing the local people and extorting money from them. He's practically a local tyrant!"

As he spoke, he secretly observed Zhu Yuanzhang's expression. Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's face gradually darkened, he felt even more smug.

As long as he could make Zhu Yuanzhang dissatisfied with Zhu Yao, his goal would be achieved.

Seeing this, Liu Bowen was extremely anxious and hurriedly wanted to speak up for Zhu Yao, but he swallowed his words and couldn't find a suitable reason for a moment.

He knew Zhu Yao's character; he was by no means someone who would oppress the people. But the scene before him was still vivid in his mind. Those people were dressed neatly and were clearly people arranged by the Liu family. He couldn't tell whether their actions were at Zhu Yao's behest or whether his subordinates had acted on their own.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew increasingly grim, his brows furrowed tightly, his hands clenched, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes.

What he hated most in his life was the oppression of the people and the exploitation of the local people. He overthrew the Yuan Dynasty because he couldn't stand the Yuan officials' oppression of the people. Now, seeing Zhu Yao's subordinates acting so recklessly, his anger was instantly ignited.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said in a cold, furious tone, "Let's go! Let's go see!"

"I want to see what tricks this rebellious son is up to, daring to allow his subordinates to bully the people like this. It's utterly lawless!"

After saying that, he strode off angrily toward the menacing-looking men, and Liu Bowen and Hu Weiyong quickly followed.

Hu Weiyong followed behind, unable to hide his smugness, secretly thinking that if he could use this matter to bring down Zhu Yao, it would be a good option.

Liu Bowen, on the other hand, was filled with anxiety. He walked quickly while praying in his heart, hoping that this matter was just a misunderstanding and would not affect Zhu Yao, let alone cause Zhu Yuanzhang to be angry with him.

Pedestrians on the street made way for the angry Zhu Yuanzhang and his two companions. The men who were scolding the vendors and demanding money also noticed something was wrong, stopped what they were doing, and turned to look at the three approaching figures.

Zhu Yuanzhang strode up to the city management officers, his chest heaving, and roared at them, "Stop! All of you, stop right now!"

His eyes were like knives, his tone righteous and indignant, each word ringing out: "In broad daylight, how dare you openly reprimand vendors, extort money, and oppress the people? Do you have no respect for the law?"

He paused, then, recalling his three sons' previous accusations, his anger flared even more: "I remember, last time my three sons were given a severe beating by you lawless bastards!"

The leading city management officer sized Zhu Yuanzhang up and down, but didn't take him seriously. Somewhat surprised, he said, "You're the first person in years to dare talk to us like that. Don't you even know whose territory this is!"

"If you know what's good for you, get lost and stop meddling in other people's business, or I'll beat you up too!"

Seeing this, Hu Weiyong quickly stepped forward and, taking advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's imposing manner, began to hurl insults at the city management officers: "Insolence! You bunch of foxes who borrow the tiger's power, how dare you bark here? You dogs, don't you even know who's standing in front of you!"

As he cursed, he secretly glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang, trying to show his loyalty. But as soon as he finished speaking, a muffled thud was heard, and a round wooden stick slammed into his forehead.

A sharp pain instantly swept through his entire body. Hu Weiyong grimaced in pain, clutched his head tightly with both hands, squatted on the ground and howled in agony, tears streaming down his face.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger erupted instantly, and he shouted, "Erhu! Make your move! Teach these lawless bastards a lesson!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark figure darted out from behind Zhu Yuanzhang. It was Erhu, disguised and secretly protecting Zhu Yuanzhang.

Erhu was agile and swift, and his punches and kicks were fierce. In a few moves, he rushed in front of the urban management officers and beat them until they were black and blue and howling in pain.

The remaining city management officers were terrified when they saw this. They didn't dare to stay any longer and tried to run away as fast as they could. Erhu chased after them for a few steps and knocked down two more of them. The rest of them took the opportunity to flee in a sorry state.

After dealing with the city management officers in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang bent down and helped the trembling stall owner on the roadside to his feet. His tone softened, and he solemnly said, "Old man, don't be afraid. With me here, I will definitely stand up for you and never let them bully you again."

After being helped up, the stall owner still looked confused, glancing evasively at Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two. His lips moved as if he was about to speak.

Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps approached. At the end of the street, hundreds of neatly dressed city management officers, wielding round wooden sticks, rushed over menacingly and surrounded Zhu Yuanzhang and his two companions.

The head urban management officer, his face grim, sternly announced to Zhu Yuanzhang and his two companions, "You lot have openly obstructed us from performing our duties, assaulted law enforcement officers, and violated the town's market management regulations. Arrest you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of urban management officers swarmed forward, each one menacing, brandishing wooden sticks and rushing towards the three men.