Chapter 1064: The Commoners of Liaodong

"... What I can offer the people of Liaodong here is food, clothing, and stability, but none of it comes for free. I can rescue them, but I can only rescue those who make it to Shandong. As for the land of Liaodong itself, I truly cannot spare the attention."

"This... this... this is the best. This is your great compassion, Master Jin..." Li Ziyou on the other side stammered incoherently.

Zhao Jin nodded, then said with a solemn expression, "I have my own rules here, different from the officials' and different from what people are used to. I must say this up front. If the time comes and I need to do something, Shopkeeper Li, you must not complain, and you must help me explain it to them."

Li Ziyou had already risen to his feet and said repeatedly, "This is all only right and proper. For Master Jin to be willing to take them in is already a blessing for them. If there are any muddle-headed fools who can't see reason, Master Jin can simply beat them to death, and no one would say it was wrong."

At this point, Li Ziyou suddenly realized something, and his face reddened as he said, "Please rest assured, Master Jin. I, Li, will not begrudge my family fortune and am willing to devote all my resources to help Master Jin settle and shelter the Liaodong refugees."

Only then did Li Dajin, standing to the side, give a soft snort. Li Ziyou was one of the local magnates, yet he had come begging Zhao Jin to take in refugees without mentioning a word of his own considerable silver. Now, saying this at least showed he understood some basic human decency.

Zhao Jin thought for a moment, then asked, "I recall you once mentioned, Shopkeeper Li, that the Jianzhou Jurchens are not skilled with boats and have little ability at sea. Is that true?"

"That's right. Savages out of the old forests, they even eat their food raw — how would they know how to sail and navigate?" Li Ziyou said, and anyone could hear the hatred in his words.

Zhao Jin nodded, his expression calm, though inwardly he felt some emotion. In their previous meetings, while Li Ziyou had lamented the war in Liaodong, he had mostly been detached and indifferent, even saying it had allowed him to earn more. This time, his attitude was completely different. It seemed that back then, it had not touched him personally. Living in South Zhili, far from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Liaodong, he had felt nothing real. Now that he had heard and seen it for himself, it was naturally different.

But that was not what Zhao Jin wanted to discuss. He chose his words carefully and said, "I don't need you to contribute any silver. If you are willing to spend money, then hire sea-going ships to go to Liaodong, gather up refugees, transport them to Dengzhou Prefecture, and then shelter them there."

Upon hearing this, Li Ziyou's body jolted, and he sank into deep thought. After a while, his face filled with sudden realization, and he said, "Master Jin, your method is excellent, truly brilliant. By simply hiring ships to go over, not only can we gather refugees, we can also trade goods. Those Tartars are the type whose eyes light up at the sight of money. When the time comes, we send a ship of goods and bring back a ship of people. We can just use Liaodong's local specialties as ballast."

His words drew strange looks from everyone in the room, who wondered how the conversation had suddenly turned to money-making ventures. How bizarre. Zhao Jin looked at Li Ziyou with a faint, ambiguous smile. Merchants would stop at nothing in pursuit of profit, and the great merchants of Qingjiangpu truly lived up to that saying.

"Many thanks for Master Jin's guidance, many thanks for Master Jin's compassion. There are now over eighty Liaodong refugees in my household. Some come from military backgrounds, some are ordinary commoners, but all have some connection to me. They all fled here from Dengzhou in Shandong. Why not let them return to Shandong with you, Master Jin, and help you gather the commoners in Dengzhou Prefecture? Their expenses and provisions will all be covered by the Chengbei Firm. Let's calculate it at ten taels of silver per person per year to start. The silver will be delivered tonight," Li Ziyou spoke with ease and fluency.

Once he regained his composure, Li Ziyou immediately reverted to his true nature as a businessman. With no shortage of silver, he named a price outright. It was not a low price. By the standards of a comfortably fed and clothed household in Xuzhou, one person's annual expenses amounted to no more than two or three taels of silver. If they had their own land to farm, it would be even less.

He also handled the matter with tact. Earlier, overcome with emotion, he had repeatedly begged Zhao Jin to take in the refugees, but the people on Zhao Jin's side had all frowned. The reason was simple: sheltering refugees from Liaodong also cost silver. How could he so brazenly expect Xuzhou to foot the bill? Now that he was offering silver, the matter was properly settled.

Zhao Jin was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "My people do not need your silver to support them."

Li Ziyou was briefly stunned, then nodded repeatedly and said, "Master Jin is right. It is I, Li, who did not know my place."

At that point, Li Dajin whispered a few words in Zhao Jin's ear, then stood up and said, "Shopkeeper Li, when you go back, you must make things clear to those Liaodong refugees. When they come to Xuzhou, they must abide by Xuzhou's rules. They must not fail to appreciate kindness and throw their lives away for nothing."

"Many thanks for Captain Li's admonition. And please rest assured, Master Jin," Li Ziyou replied with tact and understanding.

After seeing Li Ziyou off, Li Dajin immediately said to Zhao Jin, "Master Jin, I will send men to investigate first. Normally, refugees from Liaodong would arrive in Dengzhou first, but traveling from Dengzhou to Qingjiangpu, they would inevitably pass through Xuzhou. Their appearance and movements would certainly be noticed by our people. There is no reason I would only learn of them after they arrived here."

Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Investigate thoroughly. The Liaodong refugees are very important to us. It's laughable, but if Li Ziyou had not made this request today, this matter would never have occurred to me."

This investigation did not need to be kept secret from Li Ziyou, so a reply came quickly. It turned out they had boarded sea-going ships directly from Dengzhou and sailed south, disembarking at Haizhou, then traveled all the way to Qingjiangpu without passing through Xuzhou. No wonder no word had come. It was said that these eighty-some Liaodong refugees had paid a heavy price to board the ships. The fleet that carried them had old ties with Li Ziyou, which was the only reason they could come. Otherwise, they would never have had the chance.

It was not only the Internal Guard and the Patrol who needed to see Zhao Jin alone. Zhou Xuezhi also had confidential matters to report. "Master, Eunuch Cui, the Director-General of Grain Transport, Governor Guo of Fengyang, Eunuch Liu, the Garrison Commander of Nanjing, and the Duke of Wei all wish to open shops in the Qingjiang Grand Market. They are all willing to pay the market price. However, space in the Qingjiang Grand Market is extremely tight. Should we grant them or not?"

Everyone in South Zhili, both north and south of the Yangtze, knew that the Qingjiang Grand Market was a treasure bowl. Having a shop there was like having a gold mine in one's own backyard, just waiting to grow rich. But no matter how large the Qingjiang Grand Market was, it was ultimately limited. Those who came first and tasted the sweetness were naturally unwilling to give up their spots, while everyone else watched intently for every possible opportunity. By now, there were virtually no vacant shop spaces left for newcomers.

Hearing Zhou Xuezhi's words, Zhao Jin was somewhat speechless. It truly was "wealth first, all else second." That eunuch Cui Wensheng had acted so righteously indignant in Xuzhou, yet he had not forgotten to take silver back with him. And here at the Qingjiang Grand Market, he showed no sign of any scruples either.

"Do you still have any positions you can shift around?"

"There are six left. Master Jin, if we give up these few spots for them, once this door is opened, when more powerful figures come later, it will be hard to refuse them," Zhou Xuezhi said, deeply troubled by the matter.

"This isn't about silver. If they take our favors, they can make things convenient for us in many matters, or at least give us advance warning. We can also buy off the underlings who work under them. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the Internal Guard to infiltrate those places... Go check the terms of office for these four. Ignore those about to leave their posts for now. Give them to those who can stay long." Zhao Jin made his decision after a brief moment of deliberation.

Zhao Jin did not stay long in Qingjiangpu. Li Ziyou's preparations were swift, and he said they could return to Xuzhou with Zhao Jin at any time. Before departing, Zhao Jin summoned all the core personnel of Qingjiangpu to one place.

"If anyone seeks trouble with us or targets us, we must strike back resolutely. We must never hesitate or show weakness, much less care about personal favors or connections. I'm sure everyone understands our current situation. We cannot harbor any wishful thinking. One step back, one moment of negligence, and we will be crushed to pieces." Zhao Jin was very solemn as he spoke these words.

The wealth and splendor of Qingjiangpu were simply too intoxicating, making it hard for people to remain vigilant and on guard, causing them to relax. Yet the Zhao Character Battalion had no possibility of relaxing right now. Although they appeared to be the authorities here, they were not, after all. This was also the reason Zhao Jin wanted to rotate the Second and Third Brigades.

These words made Li Dajin and Wei Mugen both lower their heads involuntarily. It was easy to connect them to the matter of Li Ziyou's Liaodong refugees. Zhao Jin had not finished speaking. "Here in Qingjiangpu, and in every place under our Zhao Character Battalion's control, we must not take ourselves too much for granted. Remember that the civil officials and the imperial army still exist. The time has not yet come to tear off all pretense with them. Therefore, we cannot be too overbearing, contesting them at every turn. If something benefits us, we might as well cooperate. If something neither benefits nor harms us, and does not violate our principles, we can grant them a convenience."

What he said could be described as ambiguous, but those involved knew exactly what Zhao Jin meant. His words were essentially telling everyone how to act in the future. At present, the Xuzhou Zhao Character Battalion and the Great Ming's civil and military authorities had not yet become outright enemies. Aside from those within, outsiders still believed peace reigned everywhere here. It seemed Zhao Jin wanted to maintain this state of affairs.

Zhao Jin did not stay long in Qingjiangpu before heading back, but the return journey would not be too swift, for nearly a hundred Liaodong refugees were accompanying them. In addition, on the way back, Ji Xiang was bringing three horse-drawn carts loaded with women and valuables.

According to intelligence from the Internal Guard, when Ji Xiang cut ties with several of Qingjiangpu's wealthy merchants, those men were scared out of their wits. This was because Ji Xiang told them that Zhao Jin already knew about the matter and had ordered him to break off contact with them. Those wealthy merchants thought they were about to be purged and dealt with. Only after Ji Xiang took the women and valuables away did they feel slightly at ease.

The Liaodong refugees numbered eighty-six in total, all able-bodied young men. Only able-bodied young men could escape from Liaodong; the women, children, and elderly were not so fortunate. These soldiers and civilians from Liaodong looked reasonably well — Li Ziyou would naturally not let them go hungry — but their expressions were all rather gloomy. A few had hatred etched on their faces and looked almost like madmen.

Thanks to old friends "jiackiee, Mu Ming, Qi Sanwen" for their tips, and thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. It's the end of the month — cast your second and third monthly tickets for Great Ming Wufu!