Chapter 1063: Li Ziyou

Originally, many of the merchants joining the guild were just after the status, afraid they'd run into trouble if they stayed out. Now they could see the guild's real benefits. Hosting this martial tournament — just think how much profit would land in their hands, not to mention the prestige. They'd shine in front of others and cut a fine figure. Plenty of the great merchants of Qingjiangpu, for all their passion for gold and silver, once they'd made enough money, cared even more about fame and reputation. This tournament was a perfect chance to make a name.

"…Some people from Xuzhou are grumbling — how could a treasure-drawing, coin-gathering opportunity like the martial tournament be given away? But Xiaoyong, Shiyilang, and the others couldn't wait to hand it off. Because the moment you hold it, who knows how many martial men will show up. More people, more trouble, and it's right next to our core territory — the risk is too great. Here in Qingjiangpu, on the other hand, it'll draw out even more rich magnates and high officials, letting us earn even more…" When Zhao Jin was together with Dong Bingfeng and the others, he offered a few words of explanation.

"The Second Brigade and the Third Brigade need to prepare for a swap. I'd originally planned to let Daxiang lead the personal guard brigade out on operations, but that man honestly makes me uneasy." When he brought this up, Zhao Jin looked thoroughly exasperated. Of course, when he said it, Ji Xiang wasn't present — he'd gone to make things clear to that wealthy merchant who'd sent the woman, that from now on they'd have nothing to do with each other.

The swap between the two brigades wasn't a full transfer of personnel. The large companies specifically assigned to each region wouldn't move. Everyone understood the reason for such a rotation: to guard against the overtures and infiltration of the Qingjiangpu magnates. Though discipline was strict, in the face of mountains of gold and seas of silver, someone would always crack. Even with the camp placed outside the Qingjiangpu city limits, precautions still had to be taken.

After Zhao Jin arrived, he also went to inspect the Qingjiangpu patrol corps. Many of the patrolmen had been converted from household retainers and local militia. During the review, you could still make out a great deal of their stern, deadly bearing. And those patrolmen drawn from local sons, having been trained by the Zhao Camp's methods, also looked brimming with lethal intent.

"I wonder how long such a spirit can last." Zhao Jin only said this to himself. Patrolmen keeping local order were completely different from household retainers used for combat and garrison. Such a spirit couldn't really be called correct.

After the review, Zhao Jin met privately with Li Dajin and Wei Mugen. Though one operated in the open and the other in the shadows, both were the heads of the patrol corps and the internal guard unit. Many matters had to be reported to him alone.

"…Before you arrived, my lord, there was already a lot of suspicious activity over at Li Ziyou's Chengbei Trading House. First, people from his household kept going out carrying silver. Then a number of martial-trained men showed up, all with Liaodong accents and backgrounds. These men were very unruly — they brawled with locals more than once, and several times it even drew blood. After discussing it with Little Wei, we were already preparing to report to you, my lord, and request a thorough investigation of this Li Ziyou…" Li Dajin picked out the important matters and reported them.

Li Ziyou's Chengbei Trading House had close ties to the Zhao Camp. Not only did they have business dealings, but there were also sons of the family training in the Zhao Camp academy. Moreover, they'd provided the Zhao Camp with a great deal of intelligence from Liaodong. They counted as allies. Had it been anyone else, Li Dajin and Wei Mugen would likely have moved directly against them.

"If they've broken our rules, then investigate. There's no personal favor to discuss. If this Li Ziyou has colluded with those Li family sons in the academy, wouldn't that mean big trouble?" Zhao Jin spoke with great severity.

Wei Mugen hurriedly stood at attention and acknowledged the order. Li Dajin also nodded his agreement. Unlike Wei Mugen, who had always served in the Zhao Camp, Li Dajin understood the principle that "grace flows only from the sovereign." Still, Li Dajin was thorough in his work. Even without making a move, he had measures to ensure the other party could do no harm.

"Right now, the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard has permanently stationed a centurion and over thirty agents in Shanyang County. They're poking around everywhere in Qingjiangpu gathering information. As per your orders, my lord, we've kept them all under tight watch. But these Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard agents are just going through the motions. Every time they come, they give us a heads-up on their own initiative, not daring to operate in secret. Since they act this way, it's hard for us to make a move against them."

"Have agents been sent from any other places?" Hearing this report, Zhao Jin couldn't help asking.

"To answer you, my lord, the inns and such in Qingjiangpu all know our rules by now, and they know the consequences of failing to report what they know. If any official agents come, it's very hard for them to escape notice. However, Qingjiangpu is simply too big. If a spy really does his job seriously, doesn't reveal the manner of an official agent, and hides among the civilian population, it's extremely difficult for us to detect. A few thousand men in the patrol corps don't stand out among several hundred thousand people." Li Dajin spoke very frankly. These words made Wei Mugen quite uneasy — wasn't this just saying he was incompetent?

Zhao Jin, however, didn't rebuke or scold. He simply nodded and said, "Do well what we ought to do. Be careful and thorough, and there won't be any major errors. Or, if some slip-up really does happen, we'll still be able to block it and stop it."

As coincidence would have it, just as Zhao Jin was meeting privately with Li Dajin and Wei Mugen, Li Ziyou — the very man they'd been discussing — came calling, and even said he had "an important matter to discuss." Once they'd finished talking, Zhao Jin immediately had Li Ziyou invited in. Such a coincidence, on top of the report he'd just heard, actually piqued Zhao Jin's interest. He had to see him.

When he saw Li Ziyou enter, Zhao Jin rose with a smile, ready to exchange courtesies. But as he drew near and saw Li Ziyou's appearance, he froze for a moment. The last time he'd seen him, Li Ziyou had possessed the poised, easy bearing of the rich and noble. It hadn't been long at all, yet now the wealthy merchant Li Ziyou had become utterly haggard. Much of his hair and beard had gone gray, and he looked as if he'd aged more than ten years.

Could it be that those martial men with Liaodong accents in his house weren't recruited by Li Ziyou, but had come to make trouble for him? Had Li Ziyou come to beg for help in clearing out that trouble? Zhao Jin was guessing. Just as he was about to cup his hands in salute, Li Ziyou rushed forward two steps. While Niu Jinbao was already reaching for his hand axe, Li Ziyou dropped straight to his knees, cupped his hands, and said in a mournful voice, "I beg you, my lord, to take in the refugees from Liaodong! I beg you, my lord, to take in these poor souls!"

Zhao Jin suddenly understood. So the people in Li Ziyou's house were refugees from Liaodong — likely of similar background to Li Sen and the others. No wonder they'd behaved that way. But Zhao Jin had another thought. Though his own internal guard and patrol corps were growing larger and larger, it was still very difficult to plant eyes and ears inside other powers. Many things could only be observed on the surface, with no way to learn the hidden details. The Li family matter was just such a case.

"Shopkeeper Li, why such formality? This is a small matter." Zhao Jin smiled and helped Li Ziyou to his feet. He'd originally thought Li Ziyou was a merchant who knew only gold and silver, blind to higher principles. Now, it seemed, he at least possessed some genuine feeling. Such a man was worth helping.

He never expected that the moment he'd helped Li Ziyou up, the man dropped to his knees again, kowtowed heavily, and said, "My lord, my humble household now holds over seventy people. But over in Liaodong and Shandong, there are still hundreds of thousands, millions of refugees. They're all living in the eighteenth level of hell. Please, my lord, save them! Take them in!"

Li Ziyou's second kneeling made Zhao Jin's brows furrow. But hearing these words, Zhao Jin's face filled with a bitter smile. He helped the man up again and said, "Shopkeeper Li, between honest men, no veiled words. I, Zhao, know the limits of my own ability. The Liaodong refugees over in Dengzhou Prefecture in Shandong — those I can take in. But for those still in Liaodong, I truly have no way. You must be well aware of how large my current territory is."

"My lord, the common people over in Liaodong right now live lives worse than oxen and horses. No — worse even than oxen and horses! The family property and fields they'd scraped together over so many years — all of it plundered in an instant by the Tatar slaves. Good families — the men enslaved for all eternity, the women defiled and ruined. And the court still doesn't know when it will send troops. My lord, you must save them!" As Li Ziyou spoke, his voice began to choke.

The great merchants of Qingjiangpu were all masters of worldly sophistication. They could laugh or cry at will; their emotions were often not to be taken seriously. But Li Ziyou's display right now was genuine — everyone could see it. The reason was simple: taking in Liaodong refugees and aiding Liaodong brought him not the slightest personal benefit.

"My lord, the Liaodong people suffer terribly. Those loyal to the court suffer even more. In Jinzhou and Fuzhou, they rose up in righteous revolt, and the Tatars slaughtered the entire cities. Truly mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Some had their grain stolen, and with no other choice, could only fight the Tatars to the death. Moving at night, afraid of being discovered, they strangled their own children first. And even so, they still couldn't defeat the Tatars. Here a few hundred, there a few thousand rose up to fight the Tatars, hoping the court would send men. But the court couldn't attend to them. Most were slaughtered to the last man. A lucky few managed to get boats and escape. All of them sons and daughters of good families — why must they suffer such calamity and torment? My lord, the court can't be counted on. My lord, you go and save them!"

Li Ziyou spoke incoherently, tears streaming down uncontrollably. He talked and wept at the same time. Zhao Jin let the smile fade from his face and glanced at the few men beside him. Li Dajin stood at Zhao Jin's side. Wei Mugen, who rarely appeared in public settings, had already left early. Li Dajin's face also showed a look of pity. Seeing Zhao Jin look his way, he said in a low voice, "The court can't even attend to the refugees in Shandong — how could it possibly attend to Liaodong?"

Speaking of misery, Shandong had suffered famine after famine, with refugees running riot. In many parts of Shandong, it truly was a living hell. Yet no one saw the court providing any real relief. Over in Liaodong, there were the rampaging Jianzhou Jurchens. The Liaoxi Corridor was blockaded, and the sea lay between Shandong and Liaodong — even less could be done.

Zhao Jin slowly shook his head, watching Li Ziyou, who was there grieving and losing his composure. He understood that Li Ziyou must have heard and seen far too much these past days, always keeping it bottled up inside. When he came to beg before him, he could no longer hold it in. He'd poured out everything he wanted to say, and his emotions had simply spiraled beyond his control.

The room fell silent like this, the atmosphere growing very oppressive. Li Ziyou took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears, wanting to say a few words of apology, but seeing Zhao Jin deep in thought over there, he didn't dare make a sound for a moment.

"The refugees and displaced people of Shandong — I'll take responsibility for them. The refugees and displaced people of Liaodong — I'll take responsibility for them too. But Shopkeeper Li, I'm not running a charity here…"

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