Chapter 1014: What Use Am I to You

After a stretch of noisy commotion, everyone from both sides had been singled out. Wen Tiejun's group was forced to be tied up again, and someone also helped bandage Wen Tiejun's wounds to stop the bleeding. Zhao Jin pondered briefly, then spoke: "Let Shiyi Lang and his men handle the interrogation. Not all those ill-intentioned spies and moles need to be killed. Question them, and once it's confirmed they're clean, we can arrange for them to spend two years on the east bank of Luoma Lake first."

"Does the master mean the Internal Guard could recruit some spies from among them?" Ma Chonghao asked.

Zhao Jin glanced at Liu Yong, then nodded and said: "It's not that the people around this Wen Tiejun are unreliable, nor are the men Xie Mingxuan brought necessarily all reliable. Clear out everyone planted by the authorities and anyone with disloyal intentions. As for the rest, whoever can work for us, we'll use."

The disturbance in the courtyard had completely subsided. One side was tightly bound, while the other was uneasy and restless. Xie Mingxuan had also stepped down from the square table and stood with considerable humility before the horses of Zhao Jin and his men. After the slaughter just now, the household troops of the Zhao camp dared not be the slightest bit careless. Several household troops stood behind Xie Mingxuan with weapons drawn, ready to strike him down at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Master Jin, this lowly one has committed grave crimes, but these men have been orphaned and helpless since childhood. They followed this lowly one from Liaodong to Shandong, yet enjoyed few days of comfort before joining Xu Hongru's rebellion. Now they have nowhere left to go. This lowly one is willing to accept punishment, but I beg you to grant them a path to live. I beseech Master Jin for mercy!" Ignoring the clamor behind him, Xie Mingxuan knelt directly before Zhao Jin's horse.

Zhao Jin smiled and said: "You know I won't kill you, so don't put on this act of playing hard to get. You are one of the rare thoughtful ones in the Fragrance-Smelling Sect, and these men of yours were brought over from Liaodong. Over the years, they've done things and seen blood — they count as decent raw material. And besides, if I were to slaughter every last one of you, who would ever surrender to us in the future?"

He spoke very bluntly. As long as you intend to recruit rather than exterminate, there is a whole set of protocols for accepting surrender — you must appear mutually appreciative, with the courtesies of welcoming worthy men and receiving scholars. For Zhao Jin to speak so nakedly was rare, but Xie Mingxuan understood the situation and merely smiled and said: "Master Jin sees through everything for ten thousand li. This lowly one's petty schemes cannot be hidden from Master Jin."

"With the several hundred lives in your hands, plus the gold and silver you hold, finding a way to survive in this world would be easy. The reason you came to my side is simply that you still want to do things, and moreover, you still want to rise above others. Why didn't you go to the government troops? If you had made arrangements in advance, you might not have fared worse than that Shen Zhi." Zhao Jin asked directly.

At this, the smile on Xie Mingxuan's face vanished, and his expression instead became somewhat indifferent. He spoke in a muffled voice: "Xu Hongru was very wary of this Xie, and always had arrangements in place. The major affairs outside were all assigned to Xu Hongju and Xia Zhongjin and the like. But no matter what, Xu Hongru was still this Xie's benefactor. It was he who taught this Xie his skills, who enabled this Xie to become what he is today. Without Xu Hongru, this Xie would likely have starved to death somewhere in Shandong long ago — how would there have been any chance to bring a band of brothers to seek refuge with Master Jin? A man must remember his roots, and must not forget his origins. This Xie dares not claim any great loyalty or righteousness, but he would never betray his benefactor. However, now that there is no benefactor, this Xie naturally must find a way out for himself and his brothers!"

There were some ambiguous points in this speech — for instance, not having shown loyalty unto death at the moment of defeat, and having long since made plans for himself. But Zhao Jin and his men were not prepared to probe deeply. To have managed this much was already considered decent. Moreover, for those well-versed in the ways of the world, Xie Mingxuan's words were in fact a declaration of his stance to Zhao Jin.

Hearing Xie Mingxuan speak thus, several men beside Zhao Jin nodded with expressions of approval. Only Zhao Jin and Ma Chonghao's expressions remained as usual. Zhao Jin spoke: "The Fragrance-Smelling Sect threw Shandong into chaos, at its peak numbering hundreds of thousands, even a million. But if those people came to surrender, the vast majority I would not accept. They lack the qualifications to surrender. Your group is different — you count as having the qualifications."

Such blunt words made Xie Mingxuan unable to suppress a bitter smile. The words were true, but they were far too direct. It was clearly goodwill, yet it made one uncomfortable to hear. But then he immediately reflected — he had no standing to quibble. Zhao Jin ought to have precisely this attitude toward him.

Before coming, Xie Mingxuan had still been rather self-satisfied with his wisdom and stratagems, believing that the Fragrance-Smelling Sect's disastrous defeat was due to Xu Hongru's arrogance before victory. If Xu Hongru had not insisted on becoming the Son of Heaven the moment he reached Zou County, had not indulged in pleasure and beauty, and had instead followed Xie Mingxuan's plans to keep stirring up Shandong, letting the great tide of refugees crash everywhere and throw the entire situation into utter chaos — the outcome would still be unknown.

Beyond his stratagems, Xie Mingxuan was also very confident in these several hundred men under his command. These several hundred followers he had brought out from Liaodong Garrison were all of orphaned and destitute backgrounds, who had then joined the government troops to learn martial skills and conduct. There had been even grander plans, but the repeated great victories of the Jianzhou Jurchens had rendered those plans void, and he could only gather them up and come to Shandong. These followers had seen battle formations, were fearless in the face of death, and knew how to obey orders — wherever they were placed, they would be seeds of elite troops. If not for Xu Hongru's wariness toward him during this great chaos, preventing him and Shen Zhi from sinking down to grasp the troops, he would have used these several hundred men as seeds of military officers, scattering them to integrate more battalions. Those several thousand men trained by Xuzhou methods were indeed elite, but to transform tens or hundreds of thousands into usable soldiers, Xie Mingxuan still felt his own men would be more effective and more reliable.

With such capital in hand, Xie Mingxuan naturally wanted to fetch a good price within the Zhao camp. Before the collapse, Xie Mingxuan had also considered going over to the government troops. But if he went to the government troops, even if he brought over ten thousand men, during the muster inspection they would grant him rank based on his core original force — at most a Battalion Commander's position. And in the subsequent provision of rations and pay, they would treat him with cold indifference, sitting by as his men's hearts scattered and he could no longer hold the battalion together, or forcing him to stir up trouble again. Yet if he stirred up trouble again, he would no longer be a match for the government troops. Alternatively, he could turn bandit. As long as he fled into the Yimeng mountains of southern Shandong, he could set himself up as a mountain king. With the several hundred crack troops under him, he could sweep through every armed band in the greenwood and dominate a region. But going down that path, though there was still a chance to rise, nine times out of ten he would sink into degradation. During the great chaos of the Fragrance-Smelling Sect, seeing so much gold, silver, and women, his men were already growing somewhat uncontrollable. If they took up banditry as a trade, these so-called seeds of elite troops would utterly sink into degradation, never to be called elite again.

For the two paths above, Xie Mingxuan had seen many precedents in Liaodong Garrison. He dared not take them, nor did he wish to. If he sought only stable wealth and comfort, with what he had plundered during this great chaos, he could achieve that as long as he escaped safely. But Xie Mingxuan's ambitions did not stop there — he wanted more. And looking around Shandong, looking across the realm of the Great Ming, only this Xuzhou Zhao camp could fulfill that. The devastating victory over the Fragrance-Smelling Sect's rebel army proved this.

He had come full of confidence and high ambition, setting his own position quite high, thinking that by presenting all this, though he could not compare to Zhao Jin and his sworn brothers, he should at least be able to secure a rank at the next level down — what they called a Grand Squad Leader. But ever since disembarking at Yutou Town and traveling west, from Pizhou to Xuzhou, Xie Mingxuan no longer dared to think so. Along the way he had seen a prosperity, order, and abundance utterly unlike the Great Ming, and had also seen that even the most basic military force of the Zhao camp was so stern and formidable.

At this moment, Xie Mingxuan was even somewhat disheartened. The capital he had painstakingly built through countless hardships was utterly insignificant before the Zhao camp — and insignificant even compared to their third- and fourth-rate forces. Seeing the household troops and militia of the Zhao camp, Xie Mingxuan finally realized that these were the true seeds of elite troops. Only when such household troops and militia were scattered would one spread to ten, ten to a hundred, expanding like a rolling snowball. And only with the wealth and resources of a place like Xuzhou could one forge superior arms and armor, issue sufficient rations and pay, and sustain a strong army like the Zhao camp.

Could he have accomplished all this if he had tried? Xie Mingxuan asked himself and gave a negative answer. Although he had cut out Wen Tiejun's faction and removed the hidden dangers at his side, Xie Mingxuan had lost his confidence. He felt he was useless. Everything he had learned, thought, and planned was nothing before the situation and strength of the Xuzhou Zhao camp. Zhao Jin's direct questioning made him even more disheartened.

"Many thanks for Master Jin's regard. This lowly one dares not harbor extravagant hopes, and only begs Master Jin to grant us a path to live and a place to settle." Xie Mingxuan forced a smile as he spoke. His followers behind him heard these words clearly, but no one felt indignant or aggrieved. What they had seen along the way, combined with the armored soldiers surrounding them now, had stripped them of all other thoughts. Only one thought remained: to obediently obey orders and beg to survive.

"It's not regard — it's because you do indeed have ability. I intend to use you." Zhao Jin's words were still blunt, but these words lifted the spirits of Xie Mingxuan's entire group.

Zhao Jin spoke loudly from horseback: "Coming as you have, we cannot yet be certain that every man is reliable and trustworthy. We cannot yet be certain whether you can learn the methods of my Xuzhou Zhao camp, which are different from those outside. You have ability, but for now it cannot be applied to Xuzhou, and might even be harmful to Xuzhou. You cannot be used immediately. The arrangement for you is simple: I will break you up and scatter you in various places. First, observe more and learn more. I will also observe you carefully. Once it is confirmed that you are reliable, and once you have all learned, then the time to use you will come. This is my arrangement. You will follow it!"

The words lacked the slightest courtesy, nor did they pay any heed to the formalities of recruitment. Everyone found it very uncomfortable to hear, yet in such circumstances there was no choice but to accept. But once they calmed their minds and thought it over, they realized that Zhao Jin had spoken nothing but the truth, and it was a fair and just arrangement. Xie Mingxuan knelt on the ground in wholehearted submission, and the others followed suit, kneeling one after another and saying in unison: "Many thanks to Master Jin for taking us in."

"As long as you are reliable and trustworthy, staying is no problem. If you wish to rise higher, that will depend on your own comprehension and your ability to get things done!" Zhao Jin remained as direct as ever.

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