But as soon as he returned to Malacca, Zhu Xuan saw a bunch of merchant ships crowded here.
The strait was originally very wide, but it could not accommodate such a large number of merchant ships. Once they were crowded here, Zhu Xuan and the others could not get in at all.
"What's going on here?"
Cen Jing looked around curiously.
Wu Yongfeng thought of something and said: "It should be that before His Highness left, he ordered the collection of taxes in Malacca, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the businessmen. They are resisting. If the tax issue is not handled well, the trouble will be great. Mr. Yue and the others may not Dare to use too tough methods to collect taxes."
In the past, merchants could enter and exit freely through the strait, and they were used to whoring.
Now they suddenly have to pay money, even if it is a 1% tax on profits, they will oppose it to the end.
When profits are high, even 1% is still a lot of money.
Zhu Xuan was also thinking about the issue of taxation, but he would not tolerate these businessmen. He had to learn from the emperor's grandfather and have a strong hand to suppress them. He snorted coldly: "Fire a warning shot and hit it on the sea." , and tell them to get out of here!"
boom!
The sound of artillery echoed on the sea.
The sound was very fast, alarming the others.
The merchants crowded in the strait looked back to the west and saw three huge warships. They did not know when they appeared behind them. Some people recognized them as Zhu Xuan's warships.
"His Royal Highness the Little Emperor is back."
Someone shouted.
This sound, which was not very loud on the sea, was quickly covered by the sea breeze. The people in front could not hear it at all, only the sound of the cannon was heard.
However, when the merchant ships in the back row saw that Zhu Xuan was back, they all moved out of the way to let the warships pass by. Finally, when they arrived at the port of Malacca, Zhu Xuan ordered them to dock at the port.
At this moment, he saw a familiar figure.
Wang Yu was also at the port, standing beside the newly built fort, arguing with Yue Changxing and the others. It was not until he noticed Zhu Xuan's battleship that he stopped arguing.
"Your Highness!"
They all bowed to the Hongwu Ship at the same time.
Everyone on the boat, including Adelaide and other Westerners, looked curiously at Yue Changxing and the merchant ships.
"What happened?"
Zhu Xuan asked.
"Your Highness, that's it!"
Wang Yu first said: "Master Yue and the others blocked the strait here, used their power to make money, and forcibly levied taxes on us passing through the strait. They forced us to a dead end, and that's why they gathered so many merchant ships to oppose."
It can be seen that he is still the leader of these merchant ships.
He was the first to lead those businessmen who caused trouble in Malacca because he did not want to pay taxes.
At this time, the merchants must have deeply hated Yue Changxing and the other three. They were provoked by Wang Yu, and they all rose up to resist. No one thought that they would have to pay money to pass through the strait.
Wang Yu became their leader, and he was very popular among the merchants. Now the people who are making trouble are all headed by Wang Yu. Those merchants are following him, making trouble for Yue Changxing and blocking the strait.
"Your Highness, what happened before was my fault."
Wang Yu also wanted to restore his reputation in front of Zhu Xuan, and said: "But we can help His Highness to find out Yue Changxing's illegal behavior. We have evidence. According to the rules set by His Majesty, we can skin them and solidify them." Grass."
The Chaozhou merchants knew very well how powerful Lao Zhu was in catching corrupt officials, and thought that Yue Changxing and the others were doomed.
However, Yue Changxing and the other three were very calm.
They didn't know how to deal with it just now, but now they see Zhu Xuan is back and don't take Wang Yu and others seriously at all. His Highness will handle it well.
Zhu Xuan stood on the fort, looked at them condescendingly, and asked: "You want to skin me and make me grass?"
"Your Highness heard wrongly."
Wang Yu immediately flattered him and said, "I have only respect for Your Highness. Although I have done wrong things before, I have completely changed my ways. What I am saying is that Mr. Yue and others who set up private passes, arbitrarily collected taxes, and accepted bribes should be skinned." "
Zhu Xuan said: "I asked Yue Changxing to set up this checkpoint, and I asked Yue Changxing to collect the taxes. If you feel dissatisfied and think that I can peel off the skin and make it into grass, you can go to the capital at any time to ask Grandpa Huang to complain to me!"
Wang Yu smiled and said: "Your Highness is right, Your Highness..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly reacted, raised his head suddenly, and asked tremblingly: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, what did you just say?"
The tax is collected by His Highness?
All the businessmen present focused their attention on Zhu Xuan.
"What? I'm in Ming Dynasty land, why don't I collect some taxes?"
Zhu Xuan said calmly: "Guangzhou Mansion is my fiefdom. The Three Buddhas Qi have long been placed under the management of Guangzhou Mansion by my emperor. In my own fiefdom, I can do whatever I want? Do you think there is a problem?"
Click!
The soldiers from the Shenji Battalion and the Guards Battalion cooperated in pulling the bolts of their guns and pointing their guns at the merchants.
In addition, the shells of the Shenwei Cannon were also stuffed into the barrel.
As long as those merchants dare to mess around, they will immediately open fire and bomb directly.
They didn't know what a rifle was, but from a distance, it looked like a firearm. Coupled with the soldiers, they were filled with murderous intent and seemed to want to kill them all, so they instinctively took two steps back.
Zhu Xuan said: "Yue Changxing, Liang Daoming and Shi Jinqing, didn't I tell you that anyone who dares to disobey will be beaten directly?"
Shi Jinqing wondered: "We... don't dare!"
If a fight breaks out, it will definitely offend all merchants and cause them to rebel.
They didn't have the confidence to do this, for fear of having some bad impact and even getting into trouble themselves, so they could only threaten them by firing a few shots at random.
Zhu Xuan could understand and shouted: "Li Niu Wang Er, block the strait. No one is allowed to leave without paying taxes! If anyone dares to resist, you can just fire. If something goes wrong, I will take care of it. If you peel off your skin, you will peel me off too!"
"yes!"
The Yingtian ship and the Panyu ship immediately started up, rushed out of the strait, blocked the strait one after another, and turned their guns to target the merchant ships.
Zhu Xuan said calmly: "In my fiefdom, I want to collect taxes. Do I still need to apply to you? Wang Yu!"
"No...don't dare!"
Wang Yu wanted to cry but there were no tears.
If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have taken the initiative to make trouble. Now that the good impression is gone, he will definitely be blocked by Zhu Xuan.
But other merchants can now confirm that it was really Zhu Xuan who ordered this.
"Excuse me, Your Highness, why do you do this?"
An overseas businessman asked in confusion: "If you collect taxes here, we businessmen will not want to do business in the Ming Dynasty. It is you who will lose, not us."
Zhu Xuan asked confidently: "You really don't want to come to Ming Dynasty to do business?"
The businessman: "..."
I don't want that to be impossible.
If there was no other way, not to mention the 5% tax, even the 10% tax, he would be willing to come to Ming Dynasty once or twice a year.
For them, Ming Dynasty is a golden mountain.
When they come back once and for all, the net profit they make, even after paying taxes, is higher than what they would have made if they had been doing business there for several years.
Zhu Xuan dared to do this because Daming had a natural advantage and had enough bargaining chips. If this advantage was gone, it would be changed in the future.
