Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 388 Sin! Despair!
The foreman's face changed drastically, turning deathly pale as if struck by frost.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

what happened?

Didn't the master already manage to handle all the relationships between superiors and subordinates perfectly?
Why would the Pegu army suddenly barge in so aggressively and try to seal off the mines?

He didn't have time to think it through. In his panic, he threw the wine glass on the table with a "clatter," spilling the wine all over the floor.

The foreman took off running, desperately heading towards a small hut not far away before being caught by the Pegu soldiers, each step filled with panic and urgency.

"Master, something terrible has happened! Come out quickly! Someone is coming to seal off our mine!" he shouted as he ran, his voice hoarse with fear.

The sight inside the cabin made him pause for a moment as he rushed inside.

The mine owner, whom the foreman referred to as "Master," was the one they saw.

At this moment, the old man was completely naked, his obese and enormous body like a small mountain, pressing down on a frail young girl, writhing wildly.

The girl's body was completely obscured, and only her delicate face, streaked with tears, could be seen.

Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the rough bed.

It turns out the master was enjoying himself with a womanizer.

Normally, the foreman would have wisely left upon seeing this.

But today's events happened so suddenly that there was no time to think about anything else.

"Sir, something terrible has happened! The Pegu military has come to raid the mines!" the foreman shouted again, his voice trembling slightly.

The mine owner, who was indulging in pleasure, slowly came to his senses. Because he was suddenly interrupted, his body, which was already overindulging in excessive sexual activity, instantly lost the ability to continue.

He reluctantly lifted his massive, nearly 300-pound body off the girl, his face full of displeasure, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, and shouted, "What's the rush? The governor of Pegu, who is in charge of this region, is my honored guest!"

"Just last night, I personally delivered a box of priceless jewels to him and we even had a good drink together! What big event could possibly happen in the South China Sea today?"

As the mine owner spoke, he reached up and wiped the sweat that had been streaming down his face from his earlier strenuous work.

His fat belly bulged high and jiggled with his movements.

"It's nothing more than some short-sighted scoundrels who got envious of the money our mine makes every day and wanted to come in and make some money."

The mine owner snorted dismissively.

"As long as their demands aren't too outrageous, just give them to them. Is it really worth making such a fuss over?"

After all, it's mining on someone else's turf, so it's perfectly normal to encounter people trying to "mooch" off you.

Mine owners are used to this and are well aware of the ins and outs of it.

In his view, as long as the incredibly profitable jade mines can continue to be mined, spending a little money to buy "peace of mind" is nothing at all.

Businessmen, after all, always have to grease palms with their superiors and subordinates.

Fortunately, the profits from mining and processing jadeite into jadeite, and then selling it to the Ming Dynasty, were extremely high, making it an exceptionally lucrative business.

Moreover, because the production and sale of jade involves deep processing and resale, the industrial chain is relatively long.

Therefore, it is difficult for outsiders to ascertain the specific profits.

Although the indigenous warlords of the Pegu tribe knew that these mine owners were making a fortune, they had no idea exactly how much they had earned.

By concealing these crucial pieces of information, even if warlords and their subordinates came to extort money, they usually wouldn't ask for an exorbitant amount.

They had no concept of the enormous profits that could be made from processing raw jadeite.

In their minds, if they were to extort too much money from the mine owners who had come from afar to bring them wealth, they might scare them away.

After all, these mine owners have taken root in this land and mined, which has brought them a lot of benefits.

They could only crudely estimate how much money the mine owner made based on the scale of mining and the number of slaves used, and then "shear the sheep" appropriately according to a certain ratio.

Little did they know that in the jade mining industry, the value of one slave was equivalent to that of dozens, or even hundreds, of ordinary slaves in the outside world.

If it weren't for such exorbitant profits, the merchants could simply hire locals to do ordinary work.

Why bother going through all that trouble and hardship to trick "slaves" from the Ming Dynasty?

The mine owner was aware of this, which is why he remained so calm and didn't take the so-called "confiscation" seriously at all.

The mine owner considered the "soldier thugs" demanding money as nothing more than a minor disturbance.

The foreman stepped forward, looking flustered, and whispered in the mine owner's ear, "Sir, I have a feeling that something is not right about this."

"As soon as they rushed in, they didn't mention money at all. Without saying a word, they started yelling that they wanted to close the venue and even said they would take everyone away."

Upon hearing this, the mine owner's previously nonchalant expression instantly darkened, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

There was a flash of panic in his eyes.

But he quickly pretended to be calm.

He hurriedly reached out and grabbed the clothes beside him, his movements flustered yet swift as he frantically put them on, muttering to himself, "I'll go see what's going on."

As he was getting dressed, the mine owner's gaze inadvertently fell on the girl who was still lying on the bed, panting heavily because he had pressed down on her too hard.

The girl's beautiful body was exposed to him without any cover.

Her skin was smooth and supple, but it was covered with bruises and welts left by his wanton abuse.

In his eyes, however, they were like purple and blue flower petals, which only increased his excitement.

This scene stirred a wicked thought in the mine owner's mind once again.

He involuntarily swallowed, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

However, the mine owner was ultimately a cunning and shrewd man who had slept with countless women and was as cold-hearted as iron.

In an instant, he suppressed his desires, dressed himself properly, and instructed the foreman, "You stay here. This little girl is yours."

"Take it easy, don't kill him."

"Her delicate skin isn't good enough for the heavy work of mining. Once you've had your fill of playing with her, you can give her to the brothers below."

"Let the brothers have some fun too."

"Once everyone gets tired of it, we'll send it to the governor here."

"Those bumpkins are only fit to play with what we've already finished playing with."

After saying that, the mine owner curled his lip in disdain, his eyes full of contempt.

Although he regularly sent money and women to the warlords of Pegu, he still held them in contempt, thinking they were nothing more than a bunch of uncultured bumpkins.

They were not comparable to those of us from the Ming Dynasty who had seen the world.

Not to mention the difference in bloodline.

How could lowly barbarians compare themselves to us?

Just as the mine manager was about to leave, before he could even step out, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside. A general, accompanied by several soldiers, stormed in aggressively.

Upon seeing this, the mine owner's disdain vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile. He bowed respectfully and said, "Sir, what brings you to the mine today..."

He thought to himself that he had some acquaintance with this native general, so he could always be lenient with him.

Unexpectedly, before the mine owner could finish speaking, the general coldly interrupted him: "So, you've been hiding here all along."

"Guards, seize him and take him away!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers behind him pounced on him like hungry wolves.

Upon seeing this, the mine owner's face changed drastically, and he cried out in terror, "Sir, you've really let the flood wash away the Dragon King's temple! You're not recognizing your own people!"

His voice trembled, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his eyes were full of anxiety and pleading.

"I'm one of your governor's men!"

"Last night, I was drinking and chatting happily with your governor, calling each other brothers!" The mine owner said, wiping the sweat from his face haphazardly, trying to intimidate the man in front of him by mentioning his relationship with the governor.

"My lord, even if you don't care about the monk, you should at least consider the Buddha's sake and the Governor's reputation. Please don't make things too tense!"

"Otherwise, if this gets to the Governor, you might not be able to handle the situation well, sir!"

The mine owner had previously been reluctant to discuss his relationship with the warlord.

As a businessman, I have always adhered to the principle of valuing harmony.

If you want to build relationships with those above you, you also have to be careful to win over the lower-ups.

After all, as the saying goes, it's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his underlings.

The connection with the governor is a priceless treasure; it cannot be used casually.

He would never easily alarm the "King of Hell" if something could be solved with money.

Because once you offend these little devils, you can forget about having any peace from now on.

Even if the governor orders his arrest, his old friends and acquaintances will definitely hold him accountable.

Who knows when he might cause himself some trouble.

For mine owners, this is undoubtedly the most unwise thing to do.

Of course, if things really come to a point where both sides suffer, the mine owner still has some leverage.

Having spent so much time in Bago, I haven't been wasting my time.

He had connections everywhere, including with the governor, other officials, and other mine owners.

Being able to become a mine owner, he is by no means a pushover who can be easily manipulated.

However, as the saying goes, business people value harmony above all else.

There's no need to confront these rude and unruly soldiers head-on.

Humility and soft words are the true nature of a businessman.

Even if you can use methods to overpower the person in front of you, what will be the price you pay?

As a businessman, he didn't want to do business that resulted in a loss.

If the cost is too high, he would rather lower his stance; that's the way of doing business.

Only when facing his subordinates and imprisoned slaves would he be so imposing and arrogant.

No matter how low-ranking the officials were, even the lowest-ranking yamen runners, he always greeted them with a smile, appearing very kind and approachable.

There was no other way but to bring out the governor.

However, upon hearing the mine owner's words, the general merely gave a cold laugh, slowly raised his hand, and gently waved it, signaling the soldiers to stop for the time being.

Then, he walked slowly toward the mine owner, each step steady and powerful, his eyes exuding authority, while a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing that his threats seemed to have worked, the mine owner was overjoyed and immediately put on a fawning smile, saying hastily, "We're all on the same side, we'll see each other all the time."

"Sir, if you have any difficulties, please don't hesitate to ask!

"I will do my best to help the adults in any way I can."

Immediately afterwards, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Someone come here! It's not easy for the lord to come all this way. Quickly prepare three thousand taels of silver for the lord and his brothers as a running fee!"

"Bang!" Just as the mine owner finished speaking, the general who had already walked up to him suddenly raised his thick arm, clenched his fist, and with all his might, smashed it hard against the mine owner's huge belly that was swollen like a balloon.

"Ah!" The mine owner suddenly felt his stomach churning, and the pain was like being stabbed with a knife. He could no longer hold back and let out a shrill scream.

brush!
brush!
brush!
The mine owner and foreman were furious, their eyes blazing with fury. Just as they were about to retaliate, the guards behind the general swiftly drew their long swords, their blades flashing coldly, and placed them against the necks of the two men.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers pressed their strong hands down on their shoulders, forcing them to kneel down.

"You..." The mine owner was about to say something harsh, but a sharp pain in his abdomen made it impossible for him to utter a complete sentence.

He could only clutch his stomach tightly, his eyes wide open, glaring angrily at the general before him.

He had been enduring and yielding the whole time.

But I never expected the other party to be so ruthless.

This completely ignited the long-suppressed anger in the mine owner's heart.

He secretly vowed to make this general pay a heavy price.

Let him know the consequences of offending him.

Various wicked thoughts flashed through his mind, and he even thought of using some underhanded means to send this general to the mine and make him mine day and night like the lowest slave laborers.

Then, find every possible way to torture him severely, making him regret ever being born and live in an abyss of pain every day.

He was just a general under a warlord.

If you're willing to spend a lot of money, it's not entirely impossible to deal with the other party.

It's just that the cost is too high, and he's unwilling to do it easily.

But since the other party had gone to such extremes, he decided to go all out.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a shame to have nowhere to vent one's anger today, lose face, and then how would one maintain a foothold here in the future?

I'm determined to get my revenge, no matter what.

However, just as the mine owner was indulging in these crazy fantasies of revenge, the general's next words struck him like a heavy hammer, plunging him into an endless dark abyss.

"Let me tell you plainly, I am here on the orders of the Governor to raid your mines."

……

(End of this chapter)