If you force me to take the blame, I'll spend a day in jail and gain a year's worth of spi

This is ultimately a world where the strong are respected and the weak are preyed upon.

This is also why Zhang Yu used the Marquis's mansion as a front for doing business when he had no real power.

Now they want to sever ties with the Marquis's Mansion. Zhang Yu himself is strong enough, but his subordinates are too weak to face such a powerful force as the Marquis's Mansion on their own.

"Tell me, wasn't it you who broke the agreement first?"

Zhang Heng asked the question again, wanting a positive answer from Li Dagang so he could stand on the moral high ground.

Li Dagang's face was pressed hard against the cold floor tiles by the rough soles of his military boots, his mouth and nose filled with the smell of blood and dust.

He moved his jaw with difficulty, which was being pressed down, his voice tinged with blood and foam, yet unusually clear:

"The contract...is written in black and white...it only states long-term supply...at fair market price...there is no...fixed price...how can there be...breach of contract?!"

This was a hidden move made by him, or rather by Zhang Yu behind him, many years ago.

That seemingly generous supply contract never included a fixed price in the crucial unit price clause.

From the very beginning, Zhang Yu had no intention of leaving the Marquis's mansion with any substantial leverage.

He had foreseen everything, except for the shamelessness and cruelty of the Marquis's mansion.

"Bullshit."

Zhang Heng didn't need logic at all; he just needed an excuse to vent his anger and assert his authority.

He abruptly waved his hand, interrupting Li Dagang, his spittle almost landing in the other man's face:

"It's a long-standing practice, and the price has remained the same for so many years; it's an ironclad contract."

"You're raising prices so easily now; that's a breach of trust, a breach of contract, and a slap in the face to the Yong'an Marquis's mansion."

He arbitrarily equated concessions made in business dealings based on personal relationships and special purposes with legally binding clauses.

"Agreement...custom...no...contract..."

Even in this humiliating position, Li Dagang still managed to squeeze out a rebuttal, his eyes practically overflowing with sarcasm.

Have these privileged young people ever truly understood that the business world is like a battlefield and contracts are like ironclad laws?

"They really don't know what's good for them." Zhang Heng's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Without needing to give any further orders, the eighth-rank guard who was stepping on Li Dagang's feet turned cold and suddenly increased the force under his feet, twisting his boots hard.

"Snap!"

A faint cracking sound rang out, accompanied by Li Dagang's suppressed groan of pain.

The bones in his cheeks groaned under the immense force, and more blood gushed from his mouth and nose. His vision blurred, and he nearly fainted.

Mozi stared at Li Dagang in anguish, struggling frantically but powerless; this was the tragedy of the weak.

No matter how clever or resourceful you are, no matter how loyal or brave you are, in the face of an absolute power disparity, you are like a fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.

Your reasoning, your persistence, your anger—to the ears of the strong, they are nothing more than the lamentations of a defeated dog.

Zhang Heng looked at Li Dagang, who was almost unconscious, with satisfaction, and then glanced at Mo Di, who was acting like a madman. The humiliation and rage he felt from being "outdone" by Zhang Yu finally found some release.

He straightened up, straightened his sleeves, as if he had just stepped on an eyesore of an ant.

"It seems that Manager Li needs some time to clear his head and think carefully about how to answer this young master's question."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his gaze sweeping over the other merchants in the corner who were trembling with fear, "As for you..."

He paused, a cruel smile spreading across his face:

"Should we sign a new contract now and supply goods at the original price... or wait until Manager Li 'thinks it through' before making a decision?"

The merchants were pale-faced, looking at each other, then at Li Dagang lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance, and they trembled like leaves.

"Say yes."

At that moment, a hoarse yet unusually calm voice rang out.

It is Mozi.

He was pinned to the ground, his face pressed against the cold floor tiles. His voice was distorted by the pressure, yet it carried an almost cold rationality.

He turned his head and stared intently in Li Dagang's direction, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Da Gang... agree to him, sign as he says."

He saw things more clearly than Li Dagang.

The current situation is dire.

Two eighth-rank guards could easily suppress them, and the two ninth-rank family retainers who had been watching coldly had not yet made a move. The true strength of the Marquis's mansion was even more unfathomable.

If we stubbornly persist, we'll only face certain death.

Once they are dead, the businesses, connections, and intelligence networks left behind by Zhang Yu will instantly fall apart or be swallowed up by the Marquis's mansion.

"Where there's life, there's hope."

This is an ironclad rule that Mozi summarized after countless brushes with death.

As long as a person is alive and can still breathe, there is always a chance to turn things around.

A moment of humiliation is more valuable than a pointless sacrifice.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng's ferocious expression softened, replaced by a playful, cat-and-mouse expression.

He nodded in satisfaction, and even clapped his hands:

"A wise man knows when to yield, Mr. Mo. You understand things better than Manager Li. I prefer dealing with intelligent people."

He waved his hand, and immediately a guard came forward with the prepared new contract and inkpad, and squatted down in front of Mozi.

however--

"no."

Li Dagang, lying on the ground, coughed up a mouthful of black blood. He struggled to lift his swollen and deformed face, and a kind of almost obsessive flame burned in his bloodshot eyes.

He stared intently at Mozi, then turned with difficulty to Zhang Heng, his voice broken yet resolute:

"Boss... entrusted the Chamber of Commerce... to me... I can't... do anything to betray the boss... I can't sign this price."

Greedy?

Li Dagang does indeed love money.

Lustful?

He never hid this hobby of his.

But his loyalty to Zhang Yu was the only thing he never wavered on, even after years of navigating the underworld and navigating the moral high ground.

"court death!"

The slight "satisfaction" that had just appeared on Zhang Heng's face instantly froze, then turned into a violent rage.

All his patience and all his feigned "reasoning" attitude were completely shattered at this moment.

A lowly merchant, an ant he trampled underfoot, dared to defy him again and again.

This completely ignited the most violent part of his heart.

"I gave you a chance."

Zhang Heng's voice was sharp with extreme anger. He suddenly drew a standard military knife from the waist of his bodyguard with a clang.

The blade is long and narrow, with a chilling gleam, carrying the bloody scent unique to the battlefield.

Without any hesitation or warning, in the blink of an eye before anyone could react, Zhang Heng's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he slashed his long sword down fiercely towards Li Dagang's neck on the ground.

This strike was ruthless and decisive, carrying the madness of a scion of a noble family after being disobeyed, and also an outpouring of all his jealousy and hatred towards Zhang Yu.

"No--!!!"

Mozi's roar was like the howl of a wounded beast, instantly bursting from his throat.

Qin Xuehua and Zhang Wanning were slightly taken aback, but did not stop them.

In their eyes, these merchants were nothing more than ants, and their deaths were no big deal.

Jiang Luohan didn't say much either; it was just a businessman dying, nothing to worry about.