Chapter 434: Asking for Trouble

Zhu Youxiao felt perfectly at ease leaving matters in the hands of his subordinates.

His main purpose in coming to Zhangjiakou was to hold the fort in person. Only with him present would nothing go awry. Otherwise, with the emperor so far away, things would surely descend into chaos.

Moreover, should anything happen, having the Emperor here meant it could be dealt with promptly—that was the crucial point.

Zhu Youxiao was confident at heart; the actual work didn't require him.

The people sent by the Imperial Household Department began surveying the market, preparing to move in quickly and take over once Zhu Youxiao finished his business.

After all, this trip to Zhangjiakou was an open declaration that Zhu Youxiao intended to stir things up. Many people and many enterprises in Zhangjiakou were marked for elimination, and the market space left vacant couldn't simply continue without order—someone had to take over.

Who was best suited to take over?

There was only one answer: the Imperial Household Department.

After all, once Zhu Youxiao made his move, there would be a period of panic and unease, and people would be afraid to continue doing business in Zhangjiakou.

But business had to go on—stability had to be maintained. The Imperial Household Department needn't fear punishment and could do business boldly and confidently. Of course, the most important point was that the Imperial Household Department could help Zhu Youxiao make money.

Once Zhangjiakou fell under the Imperial Household Department's control, the entire trade with the grasslands would essentially be in its hands.

On one hand economic measures, on the other administrative measures—grasp with both hands, and both must be firm.

If anyone in this era tried to talk market economics with Zhu Youxiao, he'd slap them across the face and then have them dragged off and beheaded.

The times were different, and so were the people's understanding. Pushing too much was heresy. Being one step ahead made you a genius; being two steps ahead made you a madman.

The investigation was in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so Zhu Youxiao needn't worry about that either. The only thing he had to do was go out for a stroll, look around this frontier town, observe the people's condition, and sample the local flavor.

Zhu Youxiao walked along Zhangjiakou's streets, specifically looking at what foods were available. Before long, he spotted a barbecue shop not far ahead.

Come to think of it, ever since stir-frying appeared in the Song dynasty, the resources of this land of Cathay had been greatly enriched. All kinds of foods had emerged, tea culture and drinking culture were equally rich—the nation was not far from becoming a nation of foodies.

In Zhangjiakou, the cattle and horse trade had always flourished, so beef and mutton were never in short supply, and shops like this were plentiful. The grassland people brought their cattle and sheep over, and often there were losses along the way—those animals were sent to shops like this to be processed.

Zhu Youxiao lifted the hanging curtain and walked into the barbecue shop. Chen Hong opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Wei Chao follow close behind their master inside, the words stuck in his throat, and he hurriedly stepped in after them.

After entering the barbecue shop, Zhu Youxiao found it quite crowded—business was booming, with nearly every seat taken. Only a table in the corner remained empty.

Of those eating meat and drinking wine in the shop, a minority were Han Chinese; the majority were Mongols. These Mongols sat at their tables toasting and drinking—clearly all of them were Mongol merchants, or rather, people from various Mongol tribes who had come to Zhangjiakou to trade. They brought cattle, sheep, and horses to exchange for the goods they needed.

Unconcerned, Zhu Youxiao walked straight to the empty table and sat down.

He glanced at the shopkeeper approaching—a burly man. Though dressed in Ming attire, one could tell he wasn't originally from Ming territory; his features were far more rugged, and his build was very tall and large.

"What would you like to eat, honored guest?" the shopkeeper asked directly, looking at Zhu Youxiao and his companions.

"What do you have here?" Zhu Youxiao asked, looking at the man.

"Beef, mutton, and roasted sheep's head done up fine—would you care to try it, honored guest?" the man asked with a smile on his face.

"Bring me a whole roasted lamb," Zhu Youxiao ordered casually.

In his previous life he'd also eaten whole roasted lamb; now he wanted to try how this era's version compared. Tasting it couldn't be wrong.

As for whether the few of them could finish it, Zhu Youxiao wasn't worried—if they couldn't, they could take the leftovers with them.

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, the man was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Right away, no problem!"

After the man left, Zhu Youxiao's gaze began to sweep slowly and imperceptibly across the hall.

He noticed quite a few Mongols gathered here, but judging from their attitudes toward one another, some were familiar and friendly, while others were hostile and hateful.

Clearly, the tribes of the grasslands truly harbored deep grudges against one another, and everyone normally couldn't stand the sight of the others.

In fact, after so many years of development, the tribes of the grasslands had long since fallen into complete disorder. People no longer held much respect for the Great Khan, each harboring their own ambitions—there was no great leader on the grasslands capable of commanding all the tribes.

Ligdan Khan had the ambition, but the timing wasn't ripe. When he had ascended to his position, the grasslands were already split apart, and winning people's hearts wasn't so easy. Add the Jianzhou barbarians causing trouble on top of that, and his days were even harder.

But Zhu Youxiao didn't care—let them make their noise.

Just then, a man walked in from outside.

His gaze swept across the shop before finally settling on Zhu Youxiao.

He was a thin, clean-shaven middle-aged man dressed in silk garments. From his attire, he appeared to be some kind of steward, for his dress was similar to Chen Hong's, who stood behind Zhu Youxiao.

But the moment this man walked in, the entire shop fell silent instantly.

The Mongols who had been loudly chatting and arguing suddenly had no voice, all eyes fixed on this middle-aged man.

One person forced a smile and seemed about to come up and greet him.

But the middle-aged man had no intention of greeting anyone. He merely nodded at that person and walked straight toward Zhu Youxiao and his companions.

Zhu Youxiao watched this middle-aged man with interest.

This man had clearly come for him—it seemed there was no avoiding it this time. The only question was which household he belonged to.

Coming before Zhu Youxiao, the middle-aged man said, "Greetings, young master."

Zhu Youxiao didn't look up, gently turning the teacup in his hand.

Wei Chao, standing beside Zhu Youxiao, stepped forward and asked, "What shall we call you?"

"To answer the young master, this humble one is Fan Si, a servant of the Fan family of Zhangjiakou."

Fan Si didn't seem to mind the slight, though there was a note of displeasure in his tone as he stared directly at Zhu Youxiao and said, "My master knows you've arrived in Zhangjiakou, young master, and invites you to pay a visit. He wishes to meet you and make your acquaintance as a friend."

Fan Yongdou's man.

This was something Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected.

He'd been preparing to deal with this Fan Yongdou, never imagining the man would come to him first. But it was probably about business—after all, Zhu Youxiao had put on a grand show of doing business, with an enormous amount of both manpower and goods.

Clearly, this had roused the displeasure of the local Shanxi merchants. Business in Zhangjiakou wasn't something just anyone could muscle into, so they'd come to his door—the custom being courtesy before force.

But this attitude—Zhu Youxiao didn't care for it.

After all, the man before him appeared deferential, yet the arrogance in his demeanor couldn't be concealed. He clearly didn't have the slightest regard for Zhu Youxiao and his companions.

What did he mean, "invites you to pay a visit"? Was that how one extended an invitation?

Zhu Youxiao raised his head and looked at the newcomer with amusement, saying nothing at all.

Just a servant.

When it came to the quality of servants, his own were several grades above anyone else's.

Sure enough, Wei Chao stepped forward, looked down at Fans, curled his lip, and with disdain in his eyes, said in a pompous tone: "What status does your master have?"

"Just a merchant from the north. Invite our young master? Since when do any Tom, Dick, or Harry have the right to invite our young master?"

"If you wish to seek an audience, then obediently present your visiting card. Whether he sees you or not depends on our young master's mood." In this regard, eunuchs were second to none. Putting on airs and posturing in daily life—they were the cream of the crop at it, and their words stabbed straight at one's vitals. Even "sharp-tongued and caustic" was insufficient to describe him.

Sure enough, upon hearing Wei Chao's words, Fans flew into a rage on the spot, lifting his head to say something.

But Qi Yuangong, who stood beside him, moved instead. Qi Yuangong shot a meaningful glance at the two men behind him.

The two stepped forward directly. One very deftly covered Fans's mouth while locking Fans's neck in the crook of his elbow. The other directly hoisted Fans's legs, and just like that, the two carried Fans out of the shop.

Fans wanted to struggle, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't break free.

Especially the man clamping his neck—his grip was extremely powerful, choking Fans nearly to the point of losing breath.

After the two walked out the door, they swung him back and forth twice, then hurled Fans out with all their might.

With a "thud," Fans slammed hard onto the ground, his entire body covered in dust—a truly sorry sight.

Having just been choked by the neck moments ago, this fall nearly knocked the wind out of him completely.

The people who had come with Fans hurried forward to help him up, and some even tried to rush at Qi Yuangong's men to brawl.

These men looked burly and formidable, presumably skilled fighters as well, but facing the two men Qi Yuangong had brought, they were essentially no match. In just a few moves, they were floored, utterly unable to put up any kind of fight.

One should know that Qi Yuangong's men were Zhu Youxiao's personal bodyguards, selected from the cream of the new army. Their training methods differed from others', their meat rations and food were excellent, their bodies were robust and strong, and combined with special-forces-style training, these men were all masters of combat.

Zhu Youxiao watched them fight, afraid they might not hold back and snap someone's neck.

Zhu Youxiao had just noticed that the fellow responsible for the chokehold had run his hand over Fans's neck several times. This wasn't a coincidence—he was preparing to twist the man's neck off.

If he hadn't been able to restrain himself, he would have reached out and snapped it on the spot, and that fellow named Fans would have been dead by now.

But things seemed to be getting interesting. What to do about it?