Chapter 1067: Annexation by Fire-Raiding

At this thought, the cart driver assigned by the Internal Guard shook his head and laughed ruefully. Judging soldiers from civilians by their physical and mental condition was a distinction easily overlooked, because the household troops seen in Zhao's Camp, and even the militia, all ate their fill every day, trained diligently, were robust to a man, and brimmed with high spirits — it was truly impossible to tell them apart.

"Local magnates like this are the empire's greatest scourge. Look at how many crack troops he holds in his hands — he has no regard for the court, no regard for the law. Who knows what he'll do in the future?" Hearing this, another cart driver loading and unloading turned his head for a look. It was that Scholar Hou speaking. The cart driver said nothing, just kept busy with his own work.

These eighty-odd Liaodong refugees followed the main party all the way to Xuzhou. When they saw the militia patrolling the roads, when they passed the encamped household troops, when they witnessed the various aspects of Zhao's Camp — they felt nothing but shock, and then more shock.

The weather was turning cold quickly now; grasses and trees withered yellow and shed their leaves. Around Xuzhou, no green could be seen anymore. In Liaodong, pines and cypresses still held their dark green, and when it grew colder, white snow would blanket everything. But the Xuzhou region at this time of year only grew more desolate. Yet these Liaodong refugees saw a scene of bustling, fiery prosperity: salt markets, common markets, the workshops and manufactories along Xuzhou's official roads and waterways, the neat irrigation ditches and farmland, and the extreme rarity of anyone going hungry.

From shock to shock, the Liaodong refugees were numbed by astonishment. But the people of Zhao's Camp did not rush to settle them. They deliberately assigned fifty Xuzhou Volunteers and two full companies of patrol guards — whether to accompany them, or one might say to escort them — to let the Liaodong refugees see every part of Xuzhou and Pizhou, even taking them on a circuit through the various places in the northern district of Huai'an.

By this time, news of the martial arts tournament had already been released through various public and private channels. Some of it went out through the Qingjiangpu merchant guilds' own circles, and some through the Cloud Mountain Trading House network. Chen Ergou, who had been preparing in Qingjiangpu for a long time, was full of vigor and ready to begin the arrangements.

At present, the pleasure-seeking and extravagant types across both Jiangnan and Jiangbei in South Zhili, and even in the surrounding regions of Shandong, Henan, and Zhejiang, were all interested in this martial arts tournament. Meanwhile, martial artists and fighters from every province in Jiangnan and Jiangbei were hurrying over as fast as they could. The time allowed before this tournament was longer than last year's, but for people in other provinces, it was still far too rushed. Participating in this tournament certainly allowed one to spar and improve, but more crucially, it was a way to make a name and earn a fortune. With a reputation, opening a martial arts school could attract more disciples. Not to mention, the high officials and wealthy magnates of Jiangnan and Jiangbei were very willing to spend heavily to hire such martial artists as guards — partly because they felt it was reliable, and partly because it sounded impressive to talk about.

Moreover, in the places where fighters of the rivers-and-lakes and the greenwood fraternity gathered, some word was spreading in private: those who placed at the top of the tournament would be secretly recruited by Zhao's Camp. And there was an even more secret rumor — that the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard would also recruit people at this event.

Zhao's Camp was the most top-tier local power under heaven, offering prospects and real benefits. And the official side was different altogether — to learn a full set of skills and sell them to the officials in exchange for glory, wealth, and rank, that was the lifelong dream of countless martial artists.

Outside, things were blazing with excitement, but inside Zhao's Camp, little attention was paid to this matter. Even Zhou Xuezhi, the Director of the Trade Office stationed in Qingjiangpu, was wholly focused on negotiations with the salt merchants. The demand for salt across Shandong had surged dramatically, and this increase was entirely under Zhao's Camp's control. So Cloud Mountain Trading House wanted to acquire several more salt fields, or to have a few major salt merchants enter into exclusive dealerships with Zhao's Camp. This martial arts tournament was merely a routine affair, its priority very far down the list.

What the core divisions of Zhao's Camp truly cared about right now was how to recruit the Liaodong refugees. Cloud Mountain Trading House and Internal Guard personnel, working overtly and covertly, had already firmly grasped the thoughts and inclinations of these eighty-odd Liaodong refugees. They knew who could be used, and even for those who couldn't, they had means to compel them. At the same time, Cloud Mountain Trading House, the Internal Guard, and the Xuzhou Volunteers had all completed preparations and were ready to dispatch teams to Dengzhou Prefecture at any moment. Even before this, Cloud Mountain Trading House merchants under various guises, Internal Guard informants in disguise, and even people from the Li family of Linqing City had already been to Dengzhou Prefecture. Information about the Liaodong refugees there was constantly being gathered and sent back.

Yu Zhiyuan was already on his way from Songjiang to Xuzhou. He wanted to use ships to gather refugees in Liaodong. Even if it was merely spending silver to hire others to transport refugees from Liaodong, this was a rather perilous undertaking. When ships anchored off the Liaodong coast, if the Tartar cavalry came charging down on horseback, or if enemy agents infiltrated among the refugees, it could lead to enormous trouble. A few dead refugees probably wouldn't matter to anyone, but if the ships were damaged, that would be a catastrophe. If they wanted to send ships again in the future, they would have to use up their own vessels, and even their own shipwrights and sailors might not be willing to go.

Apart from this, two sizable merchant caravans from Cloud Mountain Trading House had already set out. They did not travel under the Cloud Mountain name, but instead used the name of a major merchant house from Jining. This was because Dengzhou was the garrison seat of the Shandong Regional Commander. That man, Yang Guodong, had fought Zhao Jin twice and suffered badly both times, so he was extremely wary of anything related to Zhao's Camp or Cloud Mountain Trading House. Naturally, there was no point in courting that ill fortune. The objectives of these two merchant caravans were, first, to open shops, and second, to thoroughly scout and open up the route — to learn the roads, and even to know the details of the checkpoints and the greenwood fraternity along the way.

"... Master Jin, right now in Yanzhou Prefecture of Shandong, we are truly regarded as tigers and wolves. The local gentry and magnates hate us to the bone. When they gamble, they even set aside a special 'Xuzhou card.' Whoever draws that card loses everything..."

These were the exact words from Ma Chonghao's letter. The reason for this was that Cloud Mountain Trading House had once again begun aggressively annexing land this winter. Because there was not enough manpower to farm it, and because Zhao's Camp had blocked and strangled all methods and channels for recruiting refugees, many landlords and gentry who had weathered the great disasters and chaos could no longer hold on. With the land lying fallow and yielding no income, and no prospect of improvement in the future, selling it was the most suitable choice.

And speaking of which, when Cloud Mountain Trading House took the initiative to come and buy, how could you refuse to sell? No matter how unwilling you were, you still had to think about that so-called First Brigade — a full force of over four thousand men. And if you said that was too far from home, in those manors right behind your house or near the city walls, they could casually drag out several hundred hardened fighters. The government constables, runners, and even the official troops — they all kept their heads down now. Who would dare to argue?

The price Zhao's Camp offered was considered fair. But with ancestral property lost and farmland sold, no one would show their feelings in public. Everyone knew Zhao's Camp had too many eyes and ears. Yet inside their homes, there was plenty of cursing, pointing at heaven and drawing lines on the earth, even stabbing little straw dolls and performing sorcery and curses. And then this stirred up other trouble. Zhao's Camp's eyes and ears might not have been able to detect these private, unrelated acts, but they could not guard against the servants and maids of these households coming forward to inform. They all hoped for their masters' downfall so they could get a share of the family property.

Zhao's Camp, of course, paid no attention to such trivial, petty matters, nor would they make them public. However, riding this wave, the Internal Guard and Cloud Mountain Trading House developed quite a few informants in various places, tightening their control over the localities even further.

It was rather laughable. Those Shandong gentry and magnates who sold off their farmland — the wealthiest among them all moved toward Qingjiangpu, the next tier went to Xuzhou and Jining, and the tier below that went to Pizhou and the four counties of Xuzhou. Everyone had calculated it quite clearly: these few places controlled by Zhao's Camp had good public order and thriving markets. One could live and work in peace there, and could also take out money to do business. All in all, life would be better than guarding farmland in Shandong...

The Agricultural Reclamation Office was exceptionally busy from top to bottom. Year's end was the time to tally the harvest and audit the accounts. At the same time, they also had to rank the subordinate farming manors. If they began taking in Liaodong refugees, they would not initially establish manors composed entirely of Liaodong people, nor would they form militia companies made up entirely of Liaodong people. Everything had to be broken up and dispersed, to avoid breeding further trouble.

The Li brothers, who were studying at the Xuzhou Martial Arts Academy, were arranged to meet with the Liaodong refugees. What no one expected was that the so-called Big Brother Peng and Big Brother Xiong, upon seeing these Li brothers, fell to their knees and wept bitterly. The scene was extremely moving. As it turned out, these deserters, miners, and tenant farmers all had connections to the Li family. Only that Scholar Hou and a few others had been encountered along the way.

Once these details were clear, Zhao's Camp made a new assessment of the power, wealth, and influence of this Li family in Liaodong. The Li family that had kinship ties to Li Ziyou was not even the Li family of Li Chengliang, yet they still commanded a situation similar to what Zhao's Camp had in Xuzhou. This showed just how staggeringly powerful the military-aristocrat clans of Liaodong truly were.

"Logically, with such wealth and power, they should have raised crack troops to defend it. How is it that they all seem so utterly useless?" After learning this, Ji Xiang was very puzzled. However, he answered his own question: nowhere else under heaven was like Zhao's Camp.

"... This Xuzhou is a fine place. Now that we've come here, we've escaped the sea of suffering that is Liaodong. Whatever Xuzhou instructs us to do, we'll do it well for them. Everyone must put their hearts into the task of recruiting our fellow townsmen in Dengzhou. After all, we are outsiders here. If we have more fellow townsmen, then we'll have nothing to fear..."

To be fair, there was nothing wrong with what the Li brothers said, and it may well have been meant in good faith. But when these words reached the core of Zhao's Camp, a judgment was immediately passed on the Li brothers: they had not yet integrated into Zhao's Camp. They needed to continue their training within the Martial Arts Academy and could not enter the ranks of the household troops or patrol guards. They could be assigned to handle matters in Dengzhou Prefecture, but only as part of the Xuzhou Volunteers, and without any autonomous authority.

The Li brothers would never learn of these judgments. They would only wait anxiously inside the Xuzhou Martial Arts Academy, wondering: their own results were so good, logically they should have left the academy to establish themselves and make contributions in the camp. So why was there still no news? Impatience was one thing, but having spent a long time within Zhao's Camp's system, the Li brothers knew how heavily rules were regarded here. If they broke the rules, they would lose everything in the future.

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