Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

Damn it, damn it!

That day, Yun Temple was actually trying to scam me.

These people from Longhu Mountain are not normal Taoist priests!

I've never seen such a cunning Taoist priest!

Zhou Ji looked at the disciples of Tianyun Temple led by Zhang Yishi, gritting his teeth.

He never expected that he and his father would suffer a great loss once again!

This also confirms that statement.

When you're trying to make money off others, they're also thinking about how to make money off you.

It all comes down to whose methods are more ingenious.

But Zhou Ji just couldn't understand why his own dilapidated mountains were so valuable.

He, as an official of the court, naturally knew that the imperial court was short of money.

Can….

He continued to spend lavishly, spending 10,000 taels of silver to buy a mountain!

What treasures are hidden in these mountains?

at the same time.

At Zhang Yishi's signal, the outer disciple smiled politely at Zhang Dushi and shook his head, saying, "Sorry, not for sale."

Zhang, the magistrate, frowned. Everyone says that merchants are driven by profit, and now he finally understood why His Majesty disliked these merchants.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang, the clerk, said, "Twenty thousand taels!"

Although the dynasty was short of money, Zhu Yuanzhang was very generous about this matter because it was a matter of benefiting the people, and he was willing to spend this amount of money!

Two...twenty thousand...

Twenty thousand for a mountain?

That much money?

Just to buy those lands in Yanshan?

If this is true, 20,000 taels for a mountain, 140,000 taels for twelve mountains, means our family has lost at least 130,000 taels, which is even greater than the loss of the Imperial Seal.

Zhou Ji's legs went weak with a thud. He wanted to say something to the Transport Department, but found that his throat was blocked and he couldn't make a sound, so his face turned red.

This is an illusion, it must be an illusion.

The people at the transport company aren't idiots! They definitely aren't idiots!

The outer disciple shook his head again: "Sorry, I really don't sell."

Not for sale!

Standing at a distance, Zhou Ji felt like he was going crazy. Did he and his father really sell a mountain to Tianyun Temple for 150 taels of silver?

At the time, he and his father even felt like they had hit the jackpot!

But now... it hurts!

Twenty thousand taels for a mountain was the bottom line for the Transport Bureau. Although the old man said he would buy it for any price, the officials of the Transport Bureau were not fools. They had no right to raise the price. Since the other party did not want to sell, they could not force a sale.

This is Yingtian Prefecture; it's impossible for officials to bully the people here!

The people from the transport department chuckled awkwardly and said, "Let's talk again when we have time."

Clearly, they didn't give up, so they turned and left.

The outer disciple shook his head helplessly.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Zhou Ji standing not far away, staring blankly at him, as still as a fossil.

The outer disciple cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Master Zhou, well, we'll be taking our leave now."

Zhou Ji's face twitched, his mouth slightly grimaced, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Oh."

"Ah."

The outer disciples nodded and left, joining Zhang Yi and the others, and returned to Tianyun Temple together.

the other side.

At this moment, the scalding tears in Zhou Ji's eyes rolled down his cheeks and fell onto the summer earth, where they were quickly melted by the blazing sun. Then, the tears could not be stopped and fell like beads from a broken string.

He's an official, and his father is an even higher-ranking official, but... they're short of money too!

He also wanted the Zhou family to have a better life!

His salary was only a mere twenty-odd taels of silver a year. If that mountain sold for ten thousand taels, his lifetime salary wouldn't even amount to a fraction of that.

Zhou Ji suddenly felt as if he and his father had been tricked, and he also suddenly felt like a fool.

I still remember that before Tianyun Temple even offered a price, he arrogantly told them one hundred and fifty taels.

Now, the people from the Transport Bureau have actually offered nearly a thousand times the price to buy back that salt mountain…

Snapped!

Zhou Ji slapped himself hard: "Zhou Ji, you're a fucking idiot!"

.

….….….…….….

The office of the Transport Commissioner.

Roars and curses erupted.

"What are you making to eat!"

"That's the salt mountain that the old man specifically requested to buy! He won't sell it? How dare a businessman say he won't sell it?"

The transport commissioner was somewhat angry, his face showing a hint of ruthlessness.

Officials are noble and merchants are lowly. If one wants to buy a salt mountain from a merchant, being able to negotiate with him is the greatest act of benevolence from the government.

"Send men to surround his house! I'll see if he'll sell!"

.

….…….….….….

The outer disciples did not enter Tianyun Temple. Since he was an outer disciple, he still had to live in his own home.

An hour after he returned home, there was a loud knocking at the door.

The outer disciple, suspicious, quickly went over and opened it.

then,

He then saw Zhang Dushi, whom he had met not long ago, looking at him with a gloomy expression.

Behind Zhang, there were more than a dozen people dressed in the official robes of the Transport Bureau.

The outer disciple's heart skipped a beat; this person was probably up to no good.

"Young Master Li, how have you been?"

Zhang, the clerk, said with a smile.

The outer disciple chuckled and said, "Yes, Chief Clerk Zhang, may I ask what brings you here?"

Zhang, the magistrate, laughed and said, "Young Master Li, let's not beat around the bush. The imperial court wants all your salt mountains. Name your price."

"Don't say you won't sell. If you don't sell, I'll be punished. If I'm punished, I might lose my official position. What do you think a person would do before their career is likely to be ruined by someone else?"

The threat was subtle, yet it was sharp and menacing.

The outer disciple gave an awkward smile: "I really didn't know that."

“Zhang, I’m sorry, these mountains are not under my control, I cannot sell them.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang, the clerk, smiled and asked, "Is the person in charge the one in the carriage wearing a Taoist robe?"

He's not stupid; no one who climbs up from the bottom to become an official is stupid.

As he was asking questions, Li Langjun's gaze kept glancing at the Taoist robe-clad man, which he noticed.

The man in the Taoist robe was none other than Zhang Yishi.

The outer disciple chuckled awkwardly, "I can't say, sorry."

Upon hearing this, Zhang, the magistrate, turned cold, his tone as chilling as a winter's day: "Young Master Li, don't be ungrateful! You…"

As they were talking, someone else came in from outside.

When Zhang, the magistrate, and the many yamen runners from the transport office looked over, they saw a young man with an air of nobility walking slowly towards them.

"Uncle Li, what's going on here...?"

Zhu Xiong Ying was somewhat confused.

He was just cultivating when Zhu Changye suddenly asked him to come here, saying he wanted to invite Uncle Li to Tianyun Temple.

Zhu Xiong Ying was initially at a loss.

When I am practicing, my master will not interrupt me.

Why must it be him, an outer disciple, who came to invite Uncle Li? Even a disciple of Tianyun Temple could have come.

Zhu Xiong Ying had been thinking about it all the way but couldn't figure it out. However, when she saw these officials from the Transport Bureau, she seemed to... understand something.

at the same time,

When Zhang Dushi first saw Zhu Xiong Ying, he felt that she was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

As Zhu Xiong Ying approached, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He remembered—this was His Highness the Crown Prince!

When he was first granted an official position, he had the honor of visiting the imperial court, where he met the Crown Prince and His Majesty.

Zhang Dushi remembered that one meeting for many years.

This is because both of them were leaders of the Ming Dynasty.

He thought that meeting that time was already a great honor, and that he would never have the chance to meet again. But who would have thought that he would meet the Crown Prince here?

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"What are you doing here?"

At this moment, Zhang's voice was trembling and his legs were weak.

Because he heard it; just now, His Highness the Crown Prince called Young Master Li "Uncle Li".

For a prince to call someone "Uncle Li," no matter how lowly that prince may be, he is someone an eighth-rank official like himself cannot afford to offend!

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

The outer disciples were surprised and didn't react for a moment.

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "Oh, he's got the wrong person, don't you think?"

He looked at Zhang, the head of the department, with a smile.

Zhang, the clerk, instantly realized that His Highness the Crown Prince was concealing his identity. He nodded in a trembling voice and said, "Yes, he has mistaken me for someone else."

"Young Master Li, I... cough cough, I still have some matters to attend to. I am truly sorry to have bothered you so many times today. It was my fault."

He bowed to the outer disciples, then quickly led his men to retreat.

The outer disciples were stunned by Zhang Dushi's sudden change of attitude and couldn't help but laugh, "Xiong Ying, you're really capable, you've helped your uncle out of a predicament."

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "Thankfully, did that person from the Transport Bureau hurt you, Uncle Li?"

The outer disciple shook his head: "No, it's good that you arrived in time, otherwise this place would have been really dangerous."

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

How could this be my achievement? If it weren't for my master, I would never have been able to get here.

This is all thanks to Master.

I shook my head and stopped thinking about it.

Zhu Xiong Ying asked, "Why have they come? They're almost ready to use force."

The outer disciple sighed, "It's all because of the salt mountain that our Tianyun Temple just bought."

The outer disciples began to explain the cause and effect.

After listening, Zhu Xiong Ying suddenly understood.

"I see. Uncle Li, you don't need to worry. Working for our Tianyun Temple will ensure your safety."

Zhu Xiong Ying said confidently.

He was indeed confident.

His own identity, as well as his grandfather's identity, are the biggest protective umbrella for Tianyun Temple.

"Alright, Uncle Li, let's hurry to Tianyun Temple. Master must be getting impatient."

"it is good."

The outer disciples left with Zhu Xiong Ying.

After sending the outer disciples to Tianyun Temple, Zhu Xiong Ying immediately headed towards the Transport Office.

He believed that if he told the Imperial Guards about the difficulties faced by the Transport Commissioner of the Heavenly Cloud Temple, and then told his grandfather about the Imperial Guards, his grandfather would definitely take the matter seriously and deal with it immediately.

But it is not necessary.

It was a small thing.

If he, the grandson of the emperor, still needs to rely on his grandfather.

How will they take over the Ming Dynasty then? How will they protect the Zhu family?

To know,

The future protector of Zhu Yunwen and his generation of Zhu family members is not their grandfather or father, but him! Zhu Xiong Ying!

We arrived at the transfer station.

Zhu Xiong Ying met with Zhang Du Shi without any hindrance.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, you have arrived."

Zhang, the clerk, wore a forced smile.

Zhu Xiong Ying glanced at him: "Do you know why I'm here?"

Zhang, the clerk, looked terrified: "I know, I know."

"Please spare my life, Your Highness. I was rash."

Zhu Xiong Ying sneered, "Good, very good! Zhang Dushi, the Emperor made you an official, and you're very happy. Why? Because you now hold power in your hands! You also have military force, so you oppress the people and disregard the laws of the court."

"If I hadn't been there today, what would you have done to Uncle Li? Would you have tried to force him to confess and sell those salt mountains?"