Chapter 1054: An Astounding Offer

They first reported it to the nearby manor estate. The estate head there didn't quite understand these matters, so he reported it to the Cloud Mountain Trading Company branch in Suzhou. The branch then sent two clerks and a constable from the Suzhou magistrate's office — all three had very sharp eyes.

After finding a chance to observe, they immediately judged that Cui Wensheng's group was suspicious and definitely an official force. If they had been wearing official robes, displaying their insignia, and crossing the border openly and according to protocol, no one would have bothered much — at most, they'd send someone to keep a close watch. Even passing through Xuzhou would have been the same. Since they weren't rebelling, naturally no one would obstruct or trouble them. But moving so stealthily, in disguise — that demanded strict vigilance. So many elite warriors — were they planning some scheme to harm Xuzhou?

Once this judgment was made, the various manors immediately mustered several hundred militia, together with several hundred local gentry's village braves, and surrounded Cui Wensheng's party inside the inn. Cui Wensheng's guards wanted to break out, but with nearly a thousand spears hemming them in from all sides and a dozen archers taking aim outside, there was really nothing they could do. Seeing that if he didn't declare himself soon they'd be bound and seized, Cui Wensheng finally revealed his identity.

The moment the title of Fengyang Defense Eunuch was revealed, everyone in Suzhou was shocked. They were within Fengyang Prefecture's jurisdiction and naturally understood this eunuch's weight. But at this point, there was no reason to disperse. They simply supplied food and water, placed them under house arrest, and sent riders at full speed to report to Xuzhou. After receiving a reply, they arranged several hundred militia to escort them to the Suzhou Family Guard Regiment's camp.

This was what truly enraged Cui Wensheng. When he was in disguise and got surrounded and attacked, he had no grounds to complain. But after revealing his identity — an exalted status equivalent to a Minister or Vice Minister — it proved utterly useless. Those paupers in Suzhou showed not the slightest awe. They just kept them surrounded, with an attitude of: make one wrong move and we'll strike to kill.

"If Eunuch Cui wished to come, he could have come openly. Why invite such misunderstanding? The men below were simply diligent in their duties — Eunuch Cui should not take offense." Zhao Jin smiled as he offered this reassurance.

"Your Xuzhou is practically an enemy state. How was I supposed to come openly? And besides, Xuzhou is not my jurisdiction — how could I come openly?" These words made Cui Wensheng explode with rage, his face turning livid as he fired off his questions.

Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing both wore faint smiles. Only Ji Xiang glared back with a dark expression. Ever since Ji Xiang became commander of the Personal Guard Brigade, despite his clearly heavy duties, he spent all day running over to Zhao Jin's side, seeking instructions on every matter, completely positioning himself as deputy brigade commander.

"Eunuch Cui's words are too harsh. Xuzhou has one department and four counties, all with their officials and runners in place, all government offices intact. As for the taxes and grain that should be paid... the court waived the taxes, so they weren't paid. How does that make us an enemy state? Eunuch Cui, let's set aside these angry words. What exactly is your purpose in coming here?" Wang Zhaojing smiled as he explained and inquired.

These words made Cui Wensheng pause, his expression shifting. He picked up his teacup and took a sip. The moment the tea entered his mouth, a look of astonishment crossed his face, which then turned to disgust. He set the cup on the table, glanced at the teacups beside Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing, and said sullenly, "Men of your wealth, yet you drink such coarse, inferior tea. Is this your way of showing you're unwilling to entertain me properly?"

At this sudden shift in topic, Zhao Jin picked up his teacup with some surprise, took a sip, and then asked, "What does Eunuch Cui mean by that? This is what we drink every day."

Wang Zhaojing smiled and raised his cup for a sip. Zhao Jin's answer silenced Cui Wensheng. The eunuch swept his gaze over the layout of the reception hall. Tables and chairs were all in place, there was a spot for teapots and cups, and stacks of documents along with brush and ink. Beyond that, he saw no furnishings — no man-tall vases, no curios on display shelves, nothing of the sort here. Even the tables and chairs were very simple; aside from lacquer, he saw no carvings or the like. The several young men, whether seated or standing, all wore plain cotton clothes of simple style, with no decorative patterns, much less any silk, gold, or silver.

Seeing all this, the Grand Supervisor of Grain Transport, Eunuch Cui Wensheng, was suddenly overcome with despondency. He sat there, raised his cup for another sip, and said with a grimace, "This is truly vile. Even the tea I drank while studying in the palace was better than this."

His inexplicable reaction and his fixation on the tea struck both Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing as odd. They thought: a eunuch of Cui's depth and status, why would he keep harping on something as trivial as tea? What exactly did he come here for? Cui Wensheng offered no explanation. Setting down his teacup, he let out a long sigh and said sullenly, "I came to ask on someone's behalf: what exactly do you intend to do?"

"What do you mean, what do I intend to do? Has anything Zhao has done been any different from before?" Zhao Jin countered with a smile.

Cui Wensheng shook his head and said in a low voice, "I've been stationed right on Xuzhou's border, and I travel back and forth between Fengyang and Taizhou. Even if I can't plant spies among you, I've learned what there is to know. These 'brigades' and 'regiments' of yours — the family soldiers under your command number close to twenty thousand. Add in the militia and the like, and if I say forty thousand, I'm probably undercounting. Are you planning to raise a banner in rebellion?"

The moment the words "raise a banner in rebellion" were spoken, the room fell silent. Eunuch Cui Wensheng took the chance to sweep his gaze around. He detected no trace of panic in anyone. Instead, he saw Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing smiling faintly, while Ji Xiang's face showed an expression of excitement. The several guards farther away wore looks of either indifference or elation. Cui Wensheng felt an indescribable discomfort. This was rebellion — a capital crime punishable by execution and the extermination of one's clan. How could no one treat it as a serious matter?

"Eunuch Cui, you go too far with such words. If we were rebelling, would Eunuch Cui be able to come here and chat so amiably?" Zhao Jin countered.

"You now hold a million people and tens of thousands of troops — none of which belong to the court anymore. And you've placed your most capable battalion in Shandong while expanding on a massive scale. Is this not a design on Zhili, a push toward the capital region?" Cui Wensheng was himself surprised; he was speaking such words in a tone of earnest gravity.

"Eunuch Cui, Zhao's household is large and his enterprises vast, with numerous estates and properties. Someone has to watch over and secure them, lest evildoers stir up trouble. We recently purchased quite a bit of farmland in Shandong, so I sent my brothers over to manage it. How does that become a design on Zhili, a push toward the capital? Eunuch Cui, Zhao still holds the title of village head — he would not do such things." Zhao Jin answered with a smile.

Cui Wensheng paused, a helpless, bitter smile appearing on his face. He waved his hand and said, "Those tens of thousands of men of yours are all combat-ready. My own men have told me: in the Ming military, a commander's personal guards and elite soldiers are called 'family soldiers.' Every man under your command called a 'family soldier' is as fierce as those personal guards and elites. By that reckoning, your Zhao Camp can match ten or even several dozen times its number. Placing a few thousand in Shandong is like stationing tens or hundreds of thousands of troops there. How is that not intent to rebel?"

Zhao Jin's mouth fell open. Torn between laughter and tears, he said, "Eunuch Cui, if we follow your logic, then there are far too many would-be rebels under heaven. To name just one example: the Xu family of Songjiang holds estates spanning Songjiang, Suzhou, and Changzhou prefectures — their followers and tenants must number in the tens of thousands. Are they planning to rebel too? Around Nanjing in Jiangnan, there are households that display thousand-qing and ten-thousand-qing plaques, each able to mobilize thousands or tens of thousands of hands. Are they planning to rebel too? How much land does the Xu family of the Duke of Wei hold? How many family troops and generals do they have?"

"Now you're making absurd comparisons. Can Elder Xu and the Duke of Wei's family be compared like that?" Cui Wensheng shook his head. He knew Zhao Jin was arguing fallaciously, yet these twisted arguments somehow felt plausible to him — a sensation that was all the more bizarre.

"Enough, enough. I didn't come here to bandy words." Cui Wensheng waved his hand, as if suddenly remembering something.

Wang Zhaojing, a smile on his face, leaned close to Zhao Jin's ear and whispered, "The court must be too preoccupied to deal with us. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent him here to talk. This year should be free of trouble."

Zhao Jin nodded slowly. Sending this grand eunuch in plain clothes to ask whether they were rebelling was an inherently absurd move. Cui Wensheng's original intent was certainly not to ask that. But it did reflect a certain attitude and direction from the court.

Cui Wensheng stared at Zhao Jin for a moment, then spoke slowly: "You now command tens of thousands of elite troops and possess wealth in the tens of millions. Ordinary riches and honors cannot move your heart. If you were granted a garrison command, invested with a general's seal, made a hereditary commander, enfeoffed as earl or marquis, following the precedent of Li Chengliang in Liaodong — what would you think of that?"

The room fell silent once more. Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing's mouths dropped open. Ji Xiang first froze, then his eyes went wide. Niu Jinbao and Sun Dalin couldn't help but look over as well.

The analogy was all too easy to understand: it meant giving Zhao Jin the position of a border garrison commander — and not the ordinary kind constrained by governors and grand coordinators, but a frontier grand general like the Li family of Liaodong, who held both military and civil authority in their grasp. To put it plainly, this was a military governor of the Tang dynasty. In Ming terms, it was like the Mu family, the Duke of Qian, who held Yunnan in perpetuity. At present, Zhao Jin held territory spanning one prefecture and two departments in South Zhili, one prefecture in Henan, and one prefecture in Shandong — roughly half a province's worth of land, and located in the very heart of the Ming.

Although this territory was bisected by the Grand Canal, enjoying the convenience and benefits of canal transport, it was also in the Ming's heartland, surrounded by enemies on all sides. If they went to a place like the Liaodong garrison, that would be their own domain behind closed doors — a realm unto itself.

Wang Zhaojing looked at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin, having regained his composure, smiled and said leisurely, "Eunuch Cui, Liaodong is locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Jianzhou Jurchens. What would we do if sent there? Fight the Jianzhou to the bitter end first?"

"Liaodong was only an analogy. If you are willing, we can find you a place — even right here — so long as you are willing to submit to the Great Ming and obey the laws and regulations of the Ming." Cui Wensheng stared at Zhao Jin and spoke with utter seriousness. After finishing, Cui Wensheng shook his head and gave a mirthless laugh. "Xuzhou and Jianzhou — the names sound alike, and both are great scourges to the Ming."

Regarding the reader group — that's a holdover from the Brocade Guard era. Many people are no longer active. I need to find time to clean it up, and I'll post an announcement then, inviting readers of Great Ming Warrior to join. I'll also participate and interact more. The cleanup will probably happen this week.

Just got home after a busy day — posting the update now.

Thanks to old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen," "User Cold Night," "Stone Record 2008," "Red Maple Kingdom," and "Free-Spirited Self 0" for the tips. Thanks everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you all. I need to get some sleep — the first update on the 17th will be a bit late.