Commander Xu Du, the commander of the North City Army and Horse Division, came out early in the morning and waited at the yamen gate. When they saw Zhu Di, they nodded and bowed to welcome him in.
When the order was passed yesterday, everyone said that it was hard for the five of them to be bossed around and had to be bossed around by a few children.
In fact, the five commanders were secretly happy: from now on, they would ask the princes to deal with the people they did not dare to offend, and the princes would take the blame if anything went wrong.
It's like each of them has an extra piece of invulnerable armor.
This is a good thing that cannot be asked for.
Besides, Zhu Di will marry Xu Changying during the Dragon Boat Festival this year.
By then, Commander Xu Du and Zhu Di will be considered relatives.
Zhu Di asked Commander Xu Du: "I am young and inexperienced, so I can only assist Commander Xu Du. If you have any difficulties as Commander Du, just raise them."
Commander Xu Du said respectfully: "No, no, everything is fine."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows: "Really?"
Xu Du commanded: "Not yet."
Zhu Di lowered his face: "The trees near the north of the imperial city are so tall, and you don't send people to prune their branches. What should I do if someone climbs over the wall and enters the imperial city through the trees?"
Commander Xu Du was stunned and hurriedly said: "I will ask someone to take care of it right now."
While he was talking, there was a commotion outside.
An old lady came in from the door holding a chubby man.
"Go and ask an adult for comment. Your title is absolutely incorrect."
"What's wrong? This thing is inherently weighing."
Commander Xu Du hurried over and scolded: "You unscrupulous people came to the Army and Horses Division to make noise, how brave you are!"
Zhu Bai took a look and saw that the person who was caught was not the shopkeeper who sold roasted chestnuts yesterday.
Haha, it is true that he will never change his nature.
The background of this company is definitely not small, and usually people don’t dare to say anything about it after suffering a loss.
Today I happened to meet an old man who is not afraid of death, and I saw a good show.
The two men knelt down.
The old lady was only wrapped in a piece of cloth. Her gray hair was messy, she was dressed in an old and shapeless coarse cotton coat, and her fingers were rough and deformed. At first glance, she looked like someone who had been doing hard labor all year round.
The shopkeeper was standing next to the skinny old lady, looking more and more fat and shiny.
The old lady cried and said: "My wife is from a poor family. Yesterday my grandson was seriously ill and couldn't stand it anymore. He also said he wanted to eat chestnuts. The woman went out to buy some and searched several streets before she found such a roasted seed vendor. Every time she thought about it, she turned out to be a roasted seed vendor.
A big profiteer, for a pound of chestnuts worth fifty cents, there are only ten half a pound. Please make the decision for the women of the country."
The shopkeeper said: "She only wanted ten pieces. I weighed them for her, but she said they were too short."
Commander Xu Du was very impatient and raised his chin at others.
Immediately someone went up and took the scale and looked at it. It had the calibration mark of the Military and Horse Division on it.
Commander Xu Du waved his hands to the two people: "Okay, I have collected the scale. Regardless of whether the scale is accurate or not, there is no way to deceive people. The shopkeeper should return the overcharged money to the old man and go back quickly.
I have something important to deal with here."
Zhu Di pursed his lips.
Although the two people were reluctant, they had no choice but to leave muttering.
Even Zhu Bai, who didn't want to meddle in other people's business, laughed angrily: This stupid official! It's so messy and indiscriminate.
No wonder profiteers keep banning them.
Zhu Di said coldly: "Wait a minute."
Commander Xu Du was a little unhappy, but he didn't dare to say anything.
Zhu Di took a look at the scale and asked the seller: "Are you sure this scale is accurate? Has it been calibrated by a military commander?!"
When the shopkeeper saw that he was a young man, he was naturally not afraid and replied confidently: "Of course it's accurate."
Zhu Di nodded, and then said to the people around him: "Go and get the standard lead weight from the Bingma Division."
In order to calibrate the weighing tools, the imperial court customized lead weights of half a catty and one catty and placed them in the Bingma Division.
Commander Xu Du and the shopkeeper became nervous at this moment.
Commander Xu Du naturally knew that there was something wrong with the shopkeeper's scale, but there was someone above this shopkeeper.
He was stuck in the middle and it was hard to be a good person. He just wanted to send the shopkeeper away as soon as possible.
Zhu Di didn't know the inside story, so he held on to him until something happened, and then he patted his butt and left. In the end, he was the one who suffered the consequences.
Commander Xu Du was the first to take the weight and looked at it. He gritted his teeth and asked the shopkeeper: "You are so brave! You actually hollowed out the weight that was calibrated by the military commander."
When the shopkeeper saw that all the commanders said this, he panicked and kowtowed: "My lord, please forgive me. I'll never dare to do this again."
Xu Du commanded: "I will fine you one tael of silver to supply this old lady."
The shopkeeper was busy taking out the money.
The old lady thanked her greatly, kowtowed and left.
The shopkeeper also wants to leave.
Zhu Di said coldly: "Did I let you go?"
The shopkeeper glanced at Commander Xu Du and did not dare to move.
Zhu Di turned to look at Commander Xu Du and said with a half-smile: "This is how you deal with it on weekdays? Is this North City not under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty?"
Commander Xu Du's heart skipped a beat and he lowered his head: "Your Highness is joking, Beicheng belongs to the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Di sneered: "Then how can you not abide by the Ming Law?"
Commander Xu Du stammered: "Of course we must abide by the Ming Law."
Zhu Di took out a copy of "The Law of the Ming Dynasty" from his arms and stretched it out to Commander Xu Du: "I happen to have a copy here, please read it aloud. It's just right. Let's all listen to it together."
Commander Xu Du was very familiar with the "Laws of the Ming Dynasty", but with so many people looking at him, he had no choice but to open it and read: "If the casting is unqualified and missing two pounds or two, both the user and the manufacturer will have six sticks."
10. If the Dendou Dou Scale and Ruler is cast and has not been approved by the government, then the user will be in the same place."
The shopkeeper was already paralyzed and knelt down, kowtowing desperately: "Sir, please spare my life. I beg you, this is my first offender, please let me go this time."
Not to mention the two crimes were committed together, even if there was only one punishment, sixty canes would kill him.
Zhu Di was condescending, looked at him without any expression, and said: "I gave you a chance. You are looking for death. Let me ask you, Beicheng is so big, why is yours the only roasted seed shop?"
The shopkeeper kept wiping his sweat and looked at Commander Xu Du with his eyes.
Commander Xu Du tightened his hands and did not dare to talk nonsense or wink.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhu Bai looking at him with great interest, and he became more and more frightened.
Although this King of Xiang has not spoken since he came in, I heard that he is a very powerful character and will not be easier to deal with than Zhu Di.
When the shopkeeper saw that Commander Xu Du was ignoring him, he could only bite the bullet and stammered in reply: "They are not good at running the business themselves, so they can't keep running, and the villains don't know what's going on."
Zhu Di stared at him and said: "I won't force you to tell me. After all, if I want to investigate, I will definitely find it. Without bullying and domination, it is impossible to turn a small speculator into a separate business."
He raised his chin at the person next to him.
Commander Xu Du hurriedly said: "Your Highness, think twice, if you take sixty sticks, this person will die here."
Zhu Di smiled half-heartedly and said, "Who said I would give him sixty strokes?"
Others breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhu Di said: "Two crimes will be punished simultaneously, one hundred and twenty battles, I will count them myself!"
