Chapter 1031: Internal Strife

Nie Hei glanced down twice but said nothing more. Many in the Zhao Camp now hailed from the Smelling Incense Sect, most working with the Internal Guard and the Xuzhou Volunteer Force. But these people were far from a united front — they didn't look out for one another. Xu Hongru's faction, the Mu family faction, and the Xuzhou faction had never been on the same path; at one point, they'd been at each other's throats.

Nie Hei had already risen quite high. He knew that if he wanted to climb further and earn trust, he had to stop thinking of himself as Smelling Incense Sect stock. He had to focus on the work and keep his mouth shut. Though Zhao Jin had never stated it outright, Nie Hei had a gut feeling that Zhao Jin harbored an extreme loathing for any divine cult or religious sect. You could see it in how Zhao Jin had built his power — every major battle, every expansion, had been tied to the sects. Smashing Cloud Mountain Temple, routing the roving bandits beneath the city walls, pacifying Shandong — all of it had been connected to the Buddhist sects and the Smelling Incense Sect.

"We'd do best to argue less about such things. We've all got assignments from above. Doing those jobs well beats everything else. Squadron Commander Ma is about to reach Jining, and that gentleman's a sharp one — figure out how we're going to handle him!" Nie Hei added this final warning, and the room fell noticeably quieter.

Ma Chonghao had said he would take charge in Jining, but he'd lingered in Xuzhou for a long time without moving. Now word had come that he'd finally set out — not by water, but overland with his men, inspecting every estate one by one. Such thoroughness had the men already working in Jining on edge.

Just thinking about it made everyone irritable. Nie Hei spoke again: "Tell them to press the interrogations harder. If their methods aren't enough, bring in men from the yamen. Don't be afraid of killing anyone. When Squadron Commander Ma arrives, we'd better have something to say — better than having nothing at all!"

Those captured cultists newly delivered to the farming estates weren't just sent straight to hard labor. They had to be interrogated first. The Zhao Camp could never have too much intelligence on these underground cults.

The discussion in the council hall was heavy; no one was in particularly good spirits. Outside, however, the mood was jubilant. Still, everyone knew business came first. No one stayed up too late. After arranging the night watch, they all turned in early.

But in the middle of the night, many were jolted awake. First came the clamor outside, then gongs, drums, and whistles. Moments later, someone came running in at a sprint and roused everyone. The disturbance that night was connected to Xuzhou.

Two of Cloud Mountain Trading's shops in the city, along with a warehouse, had been set on fire during the night. The arson method was rather ingenious — the sort of ash-powder packets used by thieves in the jianghu, with incense sticks and oiled paper smoldering inside. Toss one somewhere, and after a while it would ignite on its own. At the corners of these shops and the warehouse, someone had also secretly sprinkled oil, using cotton balls soaked in oil and thrown in. Once the ash packet caught fire, the oil-soaked cotton burned with terrifying speed.

Most of the buildings in Jining were wooden and especially vulnerable to fire. It was fortunate that Cloud Mountain Trading's rules were strict — the night patrols dared not rest. The moment the flames broke out, men were on the scene. And in keeping with Zhao Camp regulations, water vats and sand buckets were kept everywhere, ready to grab and douse a fire.

Once the alarm was raised, everyone else sprang into action. Before being posted here, every Cloud Mountain Trading branch manager and clerk had been briefed on all manner of precautions by old jianghu hands from the Internal Guard. And among those managers and clerks, there were often Internal Guard retainers planted among them. Everyone knew exactly what to do and how to investigate. Some incendiary devices that hadn't yet ignited were also discovered and neutralized.

The Cloud Mountain Trading branch suffered no losses, but the arsonists hadn't only targeted Cloud Mountain Trading and Xuzhou-linked properties. They'd also set fires at the surrounding commoners' homes. Though Jining was windless at that hour, once one house caught fire, it would slowly spread — and a spreading fire could easily reach Xuzhou's holdings.

Every city under heaven had measures for such fires. The urban water societies and militia were maintained precisely for this. At the first sign of fire, the able-bodied men of the water societies from every ward would rush to put it out. Moreover, the Cloud Mountain Trading branch — from top to bottom, and everyone connected to it — didn't hesitate. They organized themselves on the spot: some guarded the shops, others went out to help. The Cloud Mountain Trading people had all undergone organizational training. With them helping to manage things, the surrounding fires were quickly extinguished. Still, a few households suffered casualties, and their homes were completely destroyed.

"Someone crept close to our side in the middle of the night. When I spotted him, he bolted. Couldn't see clearly in the dark — I didn't leave my post, as per the drill manual." Even the place where Nie Hei and the others were staying had an incident. Once everyone was awake, the squad leader on night duty came to report.

Nie Hei and the others' faces were utterly grim. Retaliation had come fast. They'd seized the other side's people during the day, and that very night the other side had dared to burn them back. With the Zhao Camp's current prestige, for anyone to still be so brazenly reckless — it was infuriating. But anger aside, what needed doing still had to be done. They sent men to inspect the fire sites while leading others to search the perimeter of their residence.

The Smelling Incense Sect's rebellion had left many great households in Jining ruined and dead. The residence they now occupied was one such ill-omened property, bought cheap. It was spacious and well-separated from the surrounding commoners' homes, making it hard to approach at night. As long as patrols were diligent, there was little opportunity for mischief.

The search did indeed turn something up. They found scattered arson devices on the ground and several buckets of a foul, stinking liquid. Nie Hei knew what this was. He took a quick look, asked a couple of questions, and then cursed. It was black dog's blood mixed with women's monthly discharge. The stuff did no real harm, but it was the most disgusting, most ill-omened filth imaginable.

"Send men to wake the neighbors. Search house by house — not for the arsonists, but for any fire-starting devices. And tell Cloud Mountain Trading: we're going to be in Jining a long time; our reputation can't be ruined. For those neighbors who've been burned and suffered losses, we'll pay relief out of our own pockets." Nie Hei spoke with a dark expression. Zheng Quan, at that moment, had no ideas of his own and simply led his men to knock on doors and ask questions. They couldn't let the neighbors suffer losses too.

You Zhenrong's expression was even worse. He'd already missed too many opportunities. He'd come on this assignment with pent-up determination, desperate to earn merit and stand out. He'd never imagined running into something like this — a real setback. Watching Zheng Quan leave and seeing the others at a distance, he sidled up to Nie Hei and said in a low voice, "Old Nie, let's investigate first. Once we've found the cause and caught the men, then we report to Master Jin."

"Bullshit. You don't know how Master Jin does things? If you hide it and handle it later, even a job well done becomes a crime. Report matters as they are. Master Jin is a reasonable man." At this, Nie Hei was truly furious.

"Steward Ji, look over there — a dozen or so riders. What do we do?" someone asked in a panic.

The weather was sweltering, the blazing sun directly overhead. Twenty-three-year-old farming estate steward Ji Sikao's forehead was drenched in sweat, but it wasn't from the scorching sun. It was from the furious estate laborers and tenant farmers before him. Someone was shouting: "Fellow countrymen! This land was farmed by our ancestors for generations! By what right do these Xuzhou people come and call it theirs? We toil and labor, yet everything we grow goes to the Xuzhou people! We Shandong men have backbone — we won't be bullied by these Xuzhou bumpkins!"

"Give us back our land, or we'll fight you to the death!" "That's right! My ancestors have been here for generations — how come after fleeing the famine and coming back, the land's suddenly surnamed Zhao?" "Well said! We Shandong people won't be pushed around by Xuzhou bumpkins!"

Ji Sikao was surrounded by his managers and accountants. Beside them stood a company of militia, faces taut, standing in perfect formation, spears pointing straight at the sky. It was only because this company was present that the several thousand estate laborers merely roared and shouted, inching forward step by step, not daring to charge and do anything drastic.

At his subordinate's warning, Ji Sikao turned his head to look. A few dozen paces away, twelve riders had reined in their horses and were watching. Judging by their attire, they were all fighters in close-fitting riding gear — the kind of men only seen as personal guards of government troops or the sons of powerful magnates. The Zhao Camp's cavalry had such men too, but these riders' dress marked them as neither, and he'd received no word of their arrival.

"Ignore them. Our militia doesn't fear horsemen!" Ji Sikao forced the words out, then turned back around. The hand gripping his saber was slick with cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward a few paces.

As the steward emerged, the shouting, bellowing laborers quieted for a moment. Ji Sikao seized the chance and roared: "What 'your ancestors farmed it'? This land belongs to Master Jin of Xuzhou — in black and white, stamped with the great seal of the government office! And when you came here, every one of you docilely accepted it!"

As he said this, Steward Ji Sikao felt a twinge of discomfort. At a time like this, he was actually forced to invoke the authority of the government. But the thought flashed by and he cast it aside, roaring again in fury: "You followed the roving bandits in rebellion, treated worse than pigs and dogs, dying at a word, never even getting a full meal! Master Jin was kind enough to take you in, to give you food and warmth. Now that you've got your strength back, you want to rebel?!"

Ji Sikao spoke with such ferocity that his sheer force of presence stopped the thousands-strong crowd in their tracks. But immediately, someone in the crowd of laborers shouted back: "What rebellion? We're all law-abiding commoners, farming our own land, living our own lives! How is it that the moment you Xuzhou people show up, we become long-term hired hands and tenant farmers, worth less than oxen, horses, or beasts? We're demanding justice! The court and the officials will stand up for us!"

No sooner had that voice finished than another man broke into wailing sobs: "There were three of us brothers, farming this land in peace. Who'd have thought first the rebels would drag us off, and then you Xuzhou people would do the same! I'm the only one who came back — I don't know where my two brothers ended up. And now that I'm here, this land isn't mine anymore! Lord Heaven above, open your eyes and look!"

"Listen, everyone! These Xuzhou bumpkins used who knows what tricks to seize our land by force! Those government documents he talks about — they've got to be fake! Our cause is just and righteous — we're not afraid to take this before the magistrate!" Another man roared. The wailing and the furious shouts whipped the thousands of laborers into an even greater frenzy. The momentum Ji Sikao had suppressed moments before surged back. Someone pointed at Ji Sikao and let loose a torrent of abuse.

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