Chapter 1045: Xu Housheng's Gift

Just as the gentry and strongmen of Yizhou were rubbing their hands together, ready to carve up the Tian family's assets, the Yunshan Trading Company branch opened in Yizhou — and it was using the Tian family's shopfront. Then, both private salt den masters outside Yizhou city underwent major changes: one was completely crushed, and the other swapped its banner and spread the word everywhere: "The juren Tian's business is my business. Whoever dares touch him, I'll fight to the death."

Those familiar with the local underworld soon learned that the local private salt trade and several bandit gangs had all been brought under the control of Yan Heilian, a major salt boss from South Zhili. This Yan Heilian and his crew were the very men who had crushed tens of thousands of Smelling Incense Sect roving bandits during the defense of Teng County. Even here in Yizhou, his reputation was known. A dragon head of such a major gang was not someone the Yizhou territory could stand against. And then everyone also learned that behind this Yan Heilian stood Zhao Jin of Xuzhou.

By the time Yan Heilian moved into the Tian family mansion with several dozen tough, capable men, everyone in Yizhou finally caught on. So the Tian family had been swallowed up by Zhao Jin of Xuzhou. Now this Tian family was essentially a hand Zhao Jin had placed in Yizhou. Once they figured this out, no one dared delay for a moment. Some rushed to ingratiate themselves, claiming they had long admired Zhao Jin of Xuzhou. Others hurried off to Xuzhou — even just being able to kowtow to Zhao Jin in person would be good enough. In the final analysis, everyone was terrified, scared witless by the example of that thousand-cavalry raid that had seized the entire Tian household.

Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the refugee farmsteads the Zhao Battalion had set up in Yanzhou began to settle down. Some people fled and scattered, while others, following orders relayed by the Tian family, went to Jining to report to the Yunshan Trading Company and accept arrangements there. Inside Jining city, there were several more waves of arrests. Once the White Lotus sect members under Tian family control turned coat, outside sects like the Black Tiger Society, the Red Heaven Way, and the Wooden Club Society immediately found it impossible to survive. The White Lotus side knew their footholds perfectly well and had simply been waiting for the overall situation to be decided before settling accounts. Now this task was handed over to the Zhao Battalion, and the territory under Xuzhou's control was swiftly cleaned up.

There were also White Lotus members in Yizhou unwilling to accept the current state of affairs. Some leaders who already held titles like helmsman or society chief wanted to strike out on their own. But such individuals, compared to the vast network the Tian family had built, were no longer worth mentioning. Moreover, the Tian family knew their backgrounds inside and out. Guided by the confessions and directions of Tian family personnel, the Internal Guard, the Xuzhou Volunteers, and the various forces under Xuzhou's control could always locate their hiding places and knew their methods of operation like the back of their hands. Though the timing varied, for all these would-be independents, there was only one outcome: annihilation.

The purge of the Yizhou White Lotus and the various other sects stirred no waves in Shandong. Many had no idea who had been behind the earlier chaos. The local powers in Shandong saw only one thing: whoever dared offend Zhao Jin, whoever dared touch the interests of the Zhao Battalion — Zhao Jin would not care about social conventions or the king's law, nor would he care about provincial or prefectural borders. He would directly bring absolutely superior force crashing down to exterminate your entire family. This was what truly shook people to the core. Dealing with the Tian family could no longer be called killing a chicken to warn the monkeys; in terms of stature, the Tian family counted as at least a lead wolf on the Shandong scene.

Those Shandong local gentry and strongmen who harbored resentment toward the Zhao Battalion, those who had just begun to recover their vitality — they all quietly snuffed out their little schemes and obediently lowered their heads.

Compared to those refugees and captives, the Tian family members were treated quite well. Tian Zhu was permitted to live with his family inside He Family Village. Tian Long's wife and children were also given a dedicated residence. Some of the servants attending them were allowed to stay — only women and the elderly. As for the other subordinates, guards, and the like, they were placed in the farmsteads near Cloud Mountain Temple.

The reason Tian Zhu could live in such a core location was that Zhao Jin had specifically instructed Liu Yong to engage with him often. He wanted Liu Yong to thoroughly learn how this Tian family man had infiltrated Jining city and those farmsteads, and how he had stirred up unrest — the Internal Guard was to master these methods as thoroughly as possible. In truth, the Smelling Incense Sect also possessed such techniques, but Zhao Jin did not want to learn from that direction, nor did he wish to employ too many former members of the Smelling Incense Sect.

As for the Tian family's subordinates and guards, they would be questioned in the farmsteads at Cloud Mountain Temple and then undergo training. The Internal Guard and the Yunshan Trading Company already had experience with this. No matter how hostile the person, as long as there was no deep blood feud between them, after toiling for a time within the Zhao Battalion system — whether willingly or under duress — they would be far easier to recruit and buy off afterward. Some attributed this to witnessing the Zhao Battalion's strength; others believed it was being reformed by the Zhao Battalion's rules. When the time came, among this batch of people would be the Zhao Battalion's eyes and planted agents, and they would become excellent tools for the Zhao Battalion to control the Yizhou area.

Compared to these White Lotus people, the Smelling Incense Sect captives seemed far more suitable in every respect. Yet Zhao Jin's attitude toward Smelling Incense Sect followers was very harsh: they had to be reformed from head to toe, thoroughly becoming people within the Zhao Battalion system — only then was there a possibility of being employed again.

When Tian Zhu first arrived in Xuzhou, he felt only a sense of narrow escape, even a touch of pride, thinking he had been spared and recruited and treated well because he possessed genuine ability. But after seeing Xuzhou's prosperity, witnessing the strength of the Zhao Battalion's household troops, and talking at length with Liu Yong, he set aside those thoughts and understood just how fortunate he was.

There were several reasons Tian Zhu was recruited. First, the chaos he had stirred up in Jining and the various farmsteads had not caused too much bloodshed — to Zhao Jin, the lives of refugees were just numbers — which left room for reconciliation between the two sides. Second, Zhao Jin was very interested in how such unrest was instigated; he felt the Tian family had acted with considerable method. Beyond that, the Tian family's actions in Yizhou had been quite restrained, with no excessively fanatical moves, and they had neither a deeply ingrained good reputation nor a notorious infamy that made people loathe them. Had either label stuck to them, their only path would have been death.

Furthermore, Tian Zhu's conduct before and after being ambushed and surrounded had been very appropriate — his sense of measure, timing, and adaptability were all quite good. Tian Long's juren status also had to be considered. But the most critical, the most essential point was this: Yizhou was too small, the White Lotus sect too weak, the Tian family's strength too insignificant. Only under such circumstances would Zhao Jin show mercy and recruit them. To think that he was this fortunate precisely because he was too weak — Tian Zhu truly had nothing to be proud of.

However, the surrender of the Tian brothers was not merely a benefit in terms of talent. Yizhou had not participated in the Smelling Incense Sect's rebellion, nor had it taken any actions hostile to the Zhao Battalion. Moreover, because the Yizhou area was remote and self-contained, everyone from top to bottom was tightly knit. It was very difficult for the Zhao Battalion to reach in. In these peaceful times, it was also not good to slaughter until rivers of blood flowed, and spending too much would not be cost-effective. Yet this area of Yizhou and Fei County could not be ignored. Only by taking hold of these places could the Yanzhou Prefecture be considered complete for the Xuzhou Zhao Battalion.

And it was precisely at this moment that the Tian family's White Lotus sect delivered itself to their doorstep. With such a pretext, the Zhao Battalion could extend its hand into Yizhou. Moreover, these local snakes, the Tian family, could help the Zhao Battalion more easily control the Yizhou region. Delivering this grand gift of Yizhou — that was worth sparing their lives for.

Having a juren like Tian Long in Yizhou indeed made many things far more convenient. Combined with the awe-inspiring deterrence the Zhao Battalion had already established, and its immense wealth and power, Xuzhou's influence rapidly spread throughout Yizhou, linking up with the Yi County area into a contiguous whole.

After Zhao Jin returned to Xuzhou, Xu Housheng came to him about a matter. When he had sailed to Macau, the Yu family had hired Li Laohai to ride aboard as an escort. This Li Laohai had been of considerable help both in Macau and along the entire journey. On the return trip, he had said he wanted to come visit Xuzhou. However, after disembarking at Songjiang, they had parted ways. Unexpectedly, he had arrived while Zhao Jin was away from Xuzhou.

Having dealt with each other in Macau, Xu Housheng and Li Laohai had a friendship of their own. Naturally, Xu Housheng had to host banquets, arrange a private courtyard at an inn for him, and show him around He Family Village. Li Laohai, having roamed the open seas, was widely experienced and intensely curious about new things. In his eyes, Xuzhou seemed no different from anywhere else on the surface, but upon closer examination, everything was different.

"... Li Laohai probably has his own agenda in coming to our Xuzhou. On the surface he's sightseeing, but in reality he's more interested in the salt market, the public markets, and such. He even made a point of going to the Cai family's shipyard and ferry crossing to see how much the riverboats could carry. Then he went to Qingjiangpu. I entrusted Steward Zhou and the others to host him there. Word came back that he spent a long time browsing the grand market there..."

Listening to Xu Housheng's account, Zhao Jin grew very cautious. More friends mean more paths, but Zhao Jin dared not take these maritime powers lightly. They shared certain commonalities with Xuzhou, and these maritime powers were more willing to take risks and had seen more new things. More crucially, Xuzhou currently could do nothing to these maritime powers — in fact, it even needed to stay on good terms with them. The Zhao Battalion was accustomed to holding the initiative and was very wary of anything beyond its control.

"... It's probably because I spent freely in Macau that Li Laohai took particular notice. This time, he also made several tens of thousands of taels from the cannon business, so he's very keen to partner with us. Brother-in-law, these sea folk are quite pragmatic. They only have eyes for silver. As long as there's silver, everything is easy to discuss." Xu Housheng saw things very clearly.

These words made Zhao Jin chuckle despite himself. If that were the case, he had been overthinking it. After taking charge of the Engineering Department, Xu Housheng's demeanor and personality had changed greatly. Back when he was studying the classics and pursuing success through the imperial examinations, he had been timid in public and withdrawn in private, lacking any confidence. But once he became involved in coal, iron, and craftsmanship — things he loved and was familiar with — he spoke with conviction, and his confidence gradually emerged.

"Brother-in-law, this Li Laohai also sent a person over this time, calling it a gift, a gesture of goodwill for future dealings." Xu Housheng was somewhat excited when he mentioned this. Zhao Jin, however, remained impassive, thinking to himself: if this gift turns out to be a woman or something, you, little brother, are going to get an earful from your sister.

"This man's surname is Zhu. He's a craftsman. They say he worked under the foreigners for many years, spent time in Luzon and Banten, and knows firearms inside and out," Xu Housheng said with a smile.

Thanks to old friends "User Cold Night" and "Wind 071" for the tips, and thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you all.