Chapter 1053: Cui Wensheng

Sun Dalin's two younger brothers already had their own shopfronts and would be working and managing their businesses there in the future, and these two shopfronts had absolutely no connection to the Zhao Camp industries like Cloud Mountain Trading.

Compared to the envy and jealousy the Xuzhou clerks felt toward Ye Zhongjin, the wealthy merchants over in Qingjiangpu were utterly red-eyed with jealousy over Geng Mancang's current status. Everyone knew that Geng Mancang had not only restored his former family estate but had now grown it to several times its previous size. When Zhao Camp purchased grain, the Wuhu rice market was a key source, and the grain firm handling the procurement over in Wuhu was the Geng family's — this was Zhao Jin's reward to Geng Mancang, a reward for his wholehearted dedication at Yutou Town on Luoma Lake.

The Geng clan that had once expelled Geng Mancang had now reinstated him in the family genealogy. The reason was simple: if the Geng family's grain business wanted to grow, it could only rely on Zhao Jin of Xuzhou, not to mention what an enormous sum of wealth and income this massive procurement represented. And now Geng Mancang was also in charge of the trade at Yutou Town, which meant he held a small but critical hub on the canal transport route. Without even resorting to any underhanded means to extract money, just by smoothly granting his own family's business a little convenience, there was no telling how much he stood to earn.

Because of this, the wealthy merchants of Qingjiangpu all sprang into action. At present, no rules had yet been set for Qingjiangpu. Zhou Xuezhi, stationed there to oversee matters, was certainly in direct control. If one's own trusted men or family members could hold managerial posts inside, there would surely be great benefits. Those with far-sighted vision thought even further: perhaps they could not count on Qingjiangpu itself, but would there be similar opportunities in the future? Should their own family's sons make preparations in advance? Such men did not rush to maneuver for immediate gain; instead, they sent their sons to the academy to study ahead of time, which could be considered preparing for a rainy day.

The expansion and reorganization of the Second Regiment and the changes to other institutions effectively merged Pizhou and the villages on the eastern shore of Luoma Lake into a single contiguous area. For the authorities, as long as the most critical Huai salt production area — the eastern coastal strip of Huai'an Prefecture — remained intact and peaceful, there was nothing to worry about.

After becoming the Huai'an North District, however, the Jiang Mutou Jiang family on the border and the Cheng Daqi Cheng family northeast of Pizhou found themselves in an awkward position. Originally, they had served as the link connecting Xuzhou and Pizhou; now, it seemed there was no role left for them. Yet both families had numerous sons trained in martial arts and were unwilling to resign themselves to merely running wineries and salt businesses, even though those two ventures yielded rich profits.

Zhao Camp had considered this as well. The Jiang and Cheng families were permitted to use their own sons and local militia to form two independent militia battalions, named the Jiang Family Battalion and the Cheng Family Battalion. The garrison areas for these two battalions, however, were not in South Zhili but within Shandong territory, at various estates in the Yizhou and Yi County region. The mounted volunteers of the two families were also amalgamated into the Yizhou Mounted Militia Company, tasked with patrolling the southeastern parts of Shandong.

Yan Heilian and Qi Erkui, who had rendered great service in the attack and defense of Teng County, also received formal designations. A dedicated Salt Patrol Battalion was established; this was an independent patrol unit directly subordinate to the Trade Office, but under the day-to-day command of Wang Zhaojing. This Salt Patrol Battalion was responsible for investigating and seizing illicit salt in all areas under Zhao Camp's control in Shandong and South Zhili. They had the authority to seize any private salt not sold on the official salt market, and they also held the duty of patrolling, guarding, and capturing bandits.

The expansion and reorganization of the Second Brigade and the Huai'an North District differed greatly from what everyone had expected. The designations of the Independent Militia Battalion and the Salt Patrol Battalion were even more surprising. However, the martial men of Xuzhou and Pizhou did receive one piece of good news: Zhao Camp was currently recruiting men proficient in riding, and the age limit was much more relaxed than that for household retainers. The reason was simple — after the expansion, the number of mounted household retainers and the need for mounted personnel in various places had greatly increased, and such skills could not be trained in haste, so they had no choice but to recruit from outside.

Once this news was released, martial men from Shandong, Henan, and South Zhili all grew intensely eager and flocked to sign up. In this day and age, for those who did not study for the civil examinations and were not from hereditary garrison officer families, the only path to any kind of advancement was the one offered by Xuzhou.

The formation of the Second Brigade, the Independent Battalions, and the Salt Patrol Battalion were all merely organizational changes. The actual execution was simple — just the transfer and combination of the militia companies from the Huai'an North District. But Zhao Jin could not afford to be negligent about the establishment of this Second Brigade; he still had to conduct an inspection and present the banner. Originally, they had worried about the reaction of the court and the authorities, but after the First Brigade took its position in Shandong, they were much more at ease and could plan many matters at a leisurely pace.

The wealthy merchants of Qingjiangpu were intensely concerned about these visible changes in Zhao Camp, and the salt merchants over in Yangzhou were also watching closely. From these changes, one could discern Zhao Camp's future intentions, and what Zhao Camp intended to do in the future was intimately tied to everyone's prosperity. At present, Zhao Camp, setting aside its household retainer military force and looking purely from a business standpoint, was already a colossal entity. Its every move directly affected every single person in the Jiangbei region of South Zhili and even across a far larger area.

The Third Regiment, originally stationed on the outskirts of Qingjiangpu, began moving north. Everyone knew the specific location: an estate fifteen li north of Qingjiangpu. That place had originally been the property of a certain person in Qingjiangpu and had been purchased at a reasonable price by Cloud Mountain Trading some time ago. Extensive renovation and construction were underway there, and it was obvious at a glance that it was being prepared as a barracks.

Although over a thousand household retainers had left Qingjiangpu, the people of Qingjiangpu felt no relief or cause for celebration. A thousand household retainers had left, but three thousand patrolmen remained. In the past, the household retainers had been confined to camp and could not go out, but the patrolmen walked the streets and alleys every day. It was said there were also people in the shadows monitoring the patrolmen's movements — yet another layer of force. And with the household retainers not having gone very far, who would dare make any reckless moves under such layered intimidation?

The wealthy merchants of Qingjiangpu had conferred privately several times. There was no longer any dissent about Zhao Camp's presence; after all, Zhao Camp had made the business environment in Qingjiangpu better. But everyone hoped to have a representative within Zhao Jin's council system. Qingjiangpu would certainly not have any farming supervisor. To Zhao Camp, they should probably be considered "estate households" of a different sort — so could they be allowed to elect someone to send up?

This idea seemed naive, but once proposed, everyone wanted to give it a try, even if it meant paying a fixed monthly fee. The wealthy merchants' ability to maneuver was considerable. Once this plan was decided, they immediately began seeking every channel to pass word to Zhao Jin. During this period, every lobbyist active in various parts of Xuzhou had Qingjiangpu's shadow behind them. Beyond this, the more seasoned wealthy merchants also selected sons from each family who would not inherit the family business but were relatively ambitious and enrolled them in several of Xuzhou's academies. Even if it did not succeed this time, they had to plan for the future.

"No." No matter whom they sought to lobby, the answer they received was this brief. However, Zhao Camp did not display any particular anger, which kept a sliver of hope alive in the Qingjiangpu wealthy merchants, and they never ceased their efforts.

The expansion and reorganization plans for the Third Brigade and the Qingjiangpu area from Zhao Camp were about to be released soon. The expansion of the First Regiment into the First Brigade, and how Yanzhou Prefecture would be arranged — these were the matters that required the most thought. Once the framework for the First Brigade and the farming and trade offices in Jining was established, a standard was set for what followed, making adjustments and changes easy. But Qingjiangpu had one difference: there were no estates there, nor was it a large contiguous region. Qingjiangpu was simply Qingjiangpu, a city of several hundred thousand people. The Third Brigade was for defending this city and preparing for offensive and defensive operations in the surrounding area, while the local arrangements for Qingjiangpu had to target the city itself. This was different from all the other places already decided upon.

The weather was gradually turning cooler, and the arrangements for Qingjiangpu were about to be released. Yet at this juncture, news came from Suzhou: Cui Wensheng, the Guard of the Fengyang Imperial Tombs and the Director-General of Grain Transport Eunuch, wished to request a meeting with Zhao Jin. Of course, on Cui Wensheng's side, the word "request" did not exist. Although the timing of Cui Wensheng's arrival was very delicate, Zhao Jin still wanted to meet immediately. In a certain sense, this Cui Wensheng was Wei Zhongxian's appointed representative in the Jiangbei region of South Zhili. Now that the great eunuch Wei, His Excellency, held power over the entire court, Cui Wensheng could also be said to be the court's representative in this region. Had the court finally reacted to Zhao Camp's expansion and reorganization?

"Under the bright and clear heavens, Suzhou is actually no longer the sovereign's land? As soon as I, your servant, who guards Fengyang, set foot in Suzhou, I was stopped. Have the principles of Heaven and the king's law all vanished?"

As soon as the two sides met, Cui Wensheng flew into a great rage, which surprised Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing considerably. However, they quickly learned the reason. Cui Wensheng's party had entered Suzhou in plain clothes, disguised as a merchant caravan. But the personal guards and close soldiers escorting Eunuch Cui were far too imposing; one look revealed them to be brave and martial men, and their bows and horses were of excellent quality, far beyond what ordinary warriors could possess. They were immediately marked by Suzhou's men.

After Li Wu's Second Battalion expanded into the Suzhou Regiment, its garrison shifted north. By all accounts, control over Suzhou should have weakened. But this time, militia had been supplemented in, and many sons of Suzhou origin were working in the farming and trade offices. This allowed the people of Suzhou, who originally had few paths forward, to see a future, and it also made the estate households and estate servants on those farms utterly loyal. Those with the means and ability went themselves or sent their sons to the Five Great Academies; those without such ability worked diligently, desperately seeking an opportunity to render meritorious service.

The household retainers, militia, and those working in various offices were one thing, but Zhao Camp had also purged Suzhou, causing bandits and thieves to vanish and greatly improving local law and order. They had also repaired water conservancy and irrigation ditches and guided the estate households in intensive cultivation, raising the harvest yields. Even the gentry and commoners of Suzhou benefited as a result. Furthermore, the Xuzhou salt market and trade fair radiated across all of Suzhou, allowing the area to enjoy good, cheap salt and to sell its local specialties, bringing unprecedented prosperity all around. A future, benefits — a power like this was naturally worth following with wholehearted devotion.

Under such circumstances, the loyalty of the Suzhou gentry and commoners to Zhao Jin even surpassed that of Qingjiangpu. Farming-based villages were always relatively more "simple and honest" than commercially prosperous cities, especially when they were this close and knew the strength and fearsomeness of Zhao Camp, making them even less likely to harbor any defiance or covert actions.

Even before Cui Wensheng's party of over fifty men had gone to the Cloud Mountain Inn to take rooms, they had already been spotted as suspicious by the idle men loitering about the area.

The system had some issues these past few days, and the drafts were all posted by the editor on my behalf. I didn't get a chance to thank everyone. It's back to normal today, and in a couple of days I'll resume updating in exchange for monthly tickets!

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