Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 858 Lianzhou Market
The reason why the chieftain surnamed Qin was confused was because there was a reason for it. On the previous day, whenever a few of them went to a certain place in the city and spread the news that they wanted to sell pearls, within a cup of tea, merchants would definitely rush to pay their respects and buy their South Pearls.

There are even merchants who would wait in this city in advance in the hope of getting the South Pearls as early as possible.

After all, Lianzhou is a destitute place, and these merchants come to Lianzhou City just to collect pearls... When they see these local chieftains who hold a large number of South Pearls, the merchants will naturally flock to them and bow down to them.

But today, the three chieftains came together, and had already asked people to spread the news in Lianzhou City in advance. The three of them had drunk enough water in this private room, and had even gone to the toilet three or four times.

From the early morning when the sun was just beginning to set, not a single pearl merchant came to visit.

The chieftain surnamed Qin, who had originally looked mysterious and seemed to be in control of everything, could no longer hold back his superior demeanor. The three of them had been pretending to be so indecisive in this private room for nearly a day, and they had already exhausted all the topics they could talk about. At this point, they could only pour themselves a drink, and the scene was awkward.

"Could it be that... the subordinates were lazy and didn't tell the merchants about our presence?" After a long silence, Tian Tusi guessed awkwardly. But as soon as he said it, he actually realized that something was wrong. Not to mention how dare those tribesmen disobey their hereditary Tusi, it was too coincidental that all the tribesmen disobeyed orders and were lazy.

Chieftain Gao could no longer sit still, and stood up with a gloomy face. "This is unusual... There must be some kind of fraud. Those Han merchants, could it be that they have formed a group and deliberately left us out to take advantage of us... I'll go find them." As he said this, he was about to push the door open and go out.

It was the chieftain surnamed Qin who stopped him and said, "Don't be impulsive. This Lianzhou city is the territory of these merchants. What's more, the King Zhou and Duke Cao of the Ming Dynasty are here. These Han merchants have the support of the court. Do you still want to use force against them?"

He had a gloomy face and an unpleasant expression. "Moreover, these Han merchants...most of them come from all over the world. If there is anyone who can unite them together, it is only His Royal Highness the King of Zhou. Perhaps this is a show of force from His Royal Highness the King of Zhou to avenge us for turning a blind eye to the Lianzhou Prefecture's market."

"What should we do?" Hearing that it might be the hand of the Zhou Wang Zhu Su, the Gao Tusi, who was just so aggressive, turned pale in an instant. He sat back on the chair and asked Qin Tusi nervously: "This... the imperial court is so powerful, we are weak and can't twist the imperial court's thighs."

"Business matters are between us and we both agree. Can the court really interfere so widely?" Seeing that his accomplice was deflated, the chieftain surnamed Qin immediately scolded him.

"We have the most South Pearls in our hands. Are we afraid that we can't compete with them? The imperial court? So what? As long as there is profit to be made, how long can they suppress the merchants?"

The world is full of people, all for profit, as long as there is enough profit, people will do it even if it means losing their heads. These chieftains are used to doing business, so they naturally know this truth.

As the sky was getting dark and the sun was setting, the chieftain surnamed Qin could no longer sit still. "Forget it, it seems that no merchants will come to us to buy South Pearls today."

"From what I think, it must be the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty who ordered those Han chieftains to maliciously lower the price and squeeze us. Merchants buy low and sell high, so no one wants to buy South Pearls from you and me today."

"Hmph, how many South China pearls can those Han chieftains produce? The pearls they have are far less than what we have. You don't have to wait here, let's go to the newly built Lianzhou Market."

"Look at how low the price of South Pearls has been driven down by the Han people. How dare they go against us... hehe."

He snorted twice in a rather impressive manner. Having made up his mind, he regained his sense of mastery. In his opinion, they had more South Pearl reserves, while the Han chieftains had less. Even if they fought a price war, could the Han chieftains still win over them?
As long as the imperial court did not turn against them, they would never lose in the market with the South Pearl in their hands. Moreover, they had already submitted to the imperial court. If the imperial court did not want the southwest to be in turmoil, it would not turn against these submissive chieftains.

Then there is nothing to be afraid of.

The three of them immediately left the private room where they had stayed for a whole day, and walked out of Dongpolou in the slightly strange eyes of the waiter. Dongpolou was only a river away from the east market of the city. Now that the sun was setting and the lights were on, the other side of the river was still noisy and bustling, and it seemed that Lianzhou Prefecture was very different from the past.

"Let's go across the river." Chieftain Qin called out to his two companions. "Let's take a look at the market established by the prince of the Ming Dynasty. What kind of quality is it?"

The market was just established, and in order to celebrate such a prosperous era, Prince Zhou personally ordered that the city would not have a curfew for seven days. Moreover, there were many foreign merchants and ships in Lianzhou Prefecture. When these people arrived in Lianzhou, they would drink all night long. In the market, there were naturally many merchants who bought land and built wine shops, restaurants, and even gambling houses and brothels. Therefore, although it was late today, there was an endless stream of people going to the market.

Several sturdy and durable stone bridges have been built on the river to connect the east and the west. The bridges are crowded with people. Fortunately, some locals have spotted the business opportunity and made some extra money by ferrying people across the river. The three chieftains chartered a small boat and crossed the river to the market. As the boat moved closer, the market on the other side was crowded with people and brightly lit. It was so lively that the three chieftains, who had lived in Lianzhou City for generations, could not help but stare in amazement.

"... In just a few months, they actually built something so magnificent?" Chief Tian's face turned pale. Such a lively scene was beyond his imagination. "Is the Han court so powerful?"

“…Don’t weaken your own momentum. Our ancestors have all lived in the territory of Lianzhou. Do you think we can defeat this powerful dragon crossing the river?” The chieftain surnamed Qin scolded, but he looked at the crowds and buildings on the other side of the river, as well as the tall city walls in the distance. His scolding look seemed a little timid.

When they reached the other side, the three men landed in panic. They saw the soldiers standing guard on the bell tower and drum tower, as well as the smooth and clean cement road on the ground, which was far beyond their imagination. They became even more timid.

"...Where is this shop selling South China pearls?" asked the chieftain surnamed Gao hesitantly.

(End of this chapter)