Chapter 1109: Heading North Means Passing Through Linqing

Without offering great profit, how could he drive others to risk life and limb for him? There was always this inconvenience when the strength wasn't his own. Still, Zhao Jin understood that as long as both the Li and Yu families worked for him—even if it was hired service at a high cost—their mutual competition would steadily improve the situation.

"That can be discussed." Zhao Jin did not give a definite answer.

Fujian had few clear days and insufficient fuel, making both sun-drying and boiling salt very inconvenient. They needed to import salt from outside, and the Yu family had made a fortune from this. The Li Family Great Gang had its roots in Fujian and was surely one of the buyers. Now, being able to directly handle salt goods themselves might not bring astonishing windfall profits, but the significance was extraordinary.

What's more, the greatest significance lay in this port. A place like Clam Port, which could connect by waterway to Qingjiangpu, was naturally prime land, but a place like Haizhou was no less remarkable. The city of Haizhou itself, the ancestral source of all Huai salt under heaven, along with nearby Ganyu County, and even radiating out to the Huai'an North District of Zhao's Camp—Haizhou was rich, and Huai'an North District, backed by Xuzhou, went without saying. Add to that benefits like the salt trade. Such a place fell far short of Qingjiangpu, but compared to everywhere else, it was hardly poor.

Li Laohai's mind was racing at this moment. The seas north of Shandong were waters the Sea Lords rarely traveled, but one could still go to Goryeo and then turn toward Hirado in the Wa Country. Though few sailed this route, it was not impassable. If one took this route, Haizhou became an essential waypoint and relay station. Not only could his own people use it, others could too. In that case, the port itself would become a trading gateway.

Just as he was lost in these reveries, Li Laohai's nephew suddenly remembered something. He leaned in and whispered a few words. Li Laohai froze for a moment, then a wry smile surfaced on his face. He turned to Zhao Jin and said gravely, "Master Jin, before I came here, I never imagined there would be such enormous benefits. Had I known, it shouldn't have been this old man who came—it should have been our Dragon Head to do the talking."

Zhao Jin smiled faintly. Li Laohai continued, "Such great benefits surely won't come easily. What does Master Jin want our Great Gang to do? Could you tell us first? If it's truly the kind of work that slaughters dragons and overturns seas, our Great Gang won't be able to manage it."

"Help me build ships. Help me train men who can navigate and handle vessels. Help me gather foreign craftsmen. And then, go to the Liaodong coast and help me bring back the people of Liaodong." Zhao Jin repeated what he had said earlier, and then brought up Liaodong.

"Isn't that place already occupied by the Tartars?" Li Laohai asked first, then a look of admiration appeared on his face. He clasped his fist in salute and said, "Master Jin is truly compassionate, willing to rescue so many suffering common folk in Liaodong. Such mercy will surely be rewarded with good fortune."

"Can you do it?"

This question did not make Li Laohai hesitate for long. He smiled and said, "If it's just gathering people along the Liaodong coast, and we don't have to land, then it's not difficult."

As he said this, Li Laohai exchanged a glance with the younger nephew beside him. A heroic spirit surfaced on both their faces. Li Laohai spoke with considerable confidence: "On land, I can't say for sure, but on the open sea, our Great Gang fears no one. Let it be government naval squadrons, foreign fleets, or other great gangs—we fear none of them. What are those Tartars? Nothing but monkeys who just climbed down from the trees."

Everyone in the room laughed. The Jianzhou Jurchens were of course not that backward, but when it came to the sea, Li Laohai had the right to say such things.

"Aside from the items our Master Jin just mentioned, I will write out a list shortly. All the goods on that list are urgently needed by our Zhao's Camp. As for pricing, we won't force anything—trading at market price is fine. Cash for goods, or barter by agreement. Our side will never delay payment." With the main matters settled, Wang Zhaojing spoke up.

Li Laohai nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's best, that's best."

Every fleet that roamed the East Asian seas—whether called sea merchants, Sea Lords, or pirates—was, at its core, made up of merchants sailing to deliver goods. They simply robbed on the side or armed themselves for protection. One shipload of goods, one shipload of silver—nothing earned more than this sea trade. Everyone naturally understood their priorities.

This Li Family Great Gang had come to Xuzhou to discuss cooperation, and in the final analysis, it was all for profit and wealth. For Zhao Jin and his men, what had been discussed earlier was the prerequisite. But for Li Laohai and his people, Wang Zhaojing's goods list was the most critical part.

Neither side was the type to dawdle. Once the discussion ended, Wang Zhaojing began writing the goods list. The reason he could do it so quickly was that these demands had long since been reported to him. As the Chief Steward, he had been tasked with sourcing them from all quarters, and they were already recorded in his memorandum ledger.

"Neither I nor my nephew can read. I'll trouble Chief Steward Wang to read the list aloud. We two will memorize it first and have a rough idea in mind." Li Laohai said this without any formality.

"... Need this much saltpeter?"

"... Why so much copper as well..."

The goods list was very long. When these two items were read aloud, Li Laohai couldn't help but voice his doubts. Wang Zhaojing's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sighed. It seemed they likely couldn't count on this Li Family Great Gang for these two materials that required outside supply either.

After Liu Yong set out from Xuzhou, he traveled north along the canal. He moved at a slow pace, stopping and starting, and paused at many of the prefectures and counties he passed.

He was certainly not doing this for sightseeing or rest, but to inspect and maintain the operations of the local Internal Guards. Although the newly established Patrolman Regiments had taken over many of the Internal Guards' duties, Zhao's Camp's territory was also expanding at a breakneck pace. The Patrolman Regiments were only stationed at town and city nodes, while the Internal Guards had to be distributed everywhere, both openly and covertly.

Although the Internal Guard unit still bore the nominal designation of a mere company, in terms of numbers and strength, it was no weaker than any brigade. The tasks it had to busy itself with, however, were many times greater than those of the brigades.

At present, within Shandong territory, the leaders overseeing the Internal Guards were Lei Cai and Ma Chonghao. Lei Cai ordinarily shuttled between Ji'ning and Linqing Prefecture. With Liu Yong heading north to Dengzhou Prefecture, Lei Cai would first return to Ji'ning, and then proceed to Linqing.

Compared to other regions not under Zhao's Camp's control, Linqing Prefecture was the most friendly location. Back in the day, the Incense Sect's Holy Maiden, Mu Shulan, had performed many charitable deeds in Linqing Prefecture, and many locals had received her kindness. Moreover, not long after Xu Hongru's branch of the Incense Sect arrived, they stirred up a great rebellion in Shandong. The canal region of Dongchang Prefecture also suffered considerable devastation. With such a comparison, their impression of her was all the better.

The most important reason, however, was the goodwill that the Li family, the Canal Inspectors of Linqing Prefecture, held toward Zhao's Camp. Mu Shulan's kindness in saving Li Yuliang's life was one aspect. After Zhao Jin rescued Mu Shulan, Cloud Mountain Trading had invested heavily in Linqing Prefecture, which also allowed Inspector Li's family to make a fortune.

Of the Han Well Famous Liquor shipped from Xuzhou to Northern Zhili, Inspector Li Kunyi alone held a forty percent share. What's more, this forty percent was for sales to the capital. The north had an immense demand for Zhao's Camp's Han Well Famous Liquor, and that forty percent shipment was a mountain of gold and a sea of silver. The Li family was already wealthy from the canal inspector business, but this exclusive distributorship of Han Well Famous Liquor elevated them to an even higher level, placing them near the top among the ranks of the Six Prefectures of Shandong.

Beyond this, the Cloud Mountain Trading branch in Linqing Prefecture was, in reality, Zhao's Camp's main covert operations camp targeting Northern Zhili and the capital. Intelligence from the capital was relayed through here, and the command and deployment of all overt and covert agents in the capital were also conducted from this location. When the initial setup in Linqing Prefecture was arranged, the Li family had helped considerably. Inspector Li could more or less guess Zhao's Camp's intentions, but he paid it no mind, thinking it was merely intelligence gathering. The capital was full of such spies and informants.

Every provincial governor and grand coordinator had their own liaison offices in the capital. Wealthy merchants would rather forgo profits than not open a branch in the capital. Even the various Mongol tribes on the steppe, and the Jianzhou Jurchens, who were practically an enemy state, all had their own ears, eyes, and sources of information in the capital. A local magnate as large as Zhao's Camp naturally had the same need—it was no big deal. The Li family themselves had people in the capital gathering news. Helping Zhao's Camp out would also bring them some convenience.

However, Inspector Li Kunyi had not anticipated what followed. First came the great battle near Ji'ning against government troops, ending in total victory. Then there was unrest in Xuzhou, followed by assassinations targeting powerful eunuchs and nobles on the very streets of the capital—a complete tit-for-tat. After that came the Incense Sect rebellion that shook the realm. At the start, Ji'ning fell, Zou County fell, and Dongchang Prefecture was ablaze with war everywhere. Yet once Zhao's Camp marched out from Xuzhou, they swiftly swept away the bandit rebels and pacified the region.

By this point, the Li family, having been so deeply involved, was already bound to Zhao's Camp. There was no getting off the boat anymore. And having witnessed Zhao's Camp's thunderous methods, the Li family no longer dared to get off the boat. But the Li family did not find it hard to endure, because they had reaped benefits of all kinds throughout this series of events—not just wealth from trade.

Originally, the Li family ranked among the top magnates in Dongchang Prefecture, but the inspector post was only a ninth-rank position, with layers of civil and military superiors above. Even though the Li family had backing in the capital, they could not afford to slight the local authorities in their jurisdiction. The necessary bribes and gifts were minor matters; the real frustration came from being periodically shaken down and reprimanded. It was the same on the official side as it was in the underworld. They had to maintain relations with the major bandit gangs and brigand chiefs, observe all sorts of personal ties, and accommodate any passing desperadoes or fierce dragons crossing the river. Maintaining all this was no easy task.

It was precisely because of this that the Li family had kept close ties with the Mu family of the Incense Sect. Gratitude was part of it, but there was also the idea of borrowing their influence. But now, everything was different. The Cloud Mountain Trading branch in Linqing Prefecture stood on the most bustling street. All of Dongchang Prefecture knew it was a joint venture between the Li and Zhao families. And everyone knew that the Li family's eldest young master, Li Yuliang, was Zhao Jin's sworn younger brother. Though no formal oath had been taken, Zhao's Camp acknowledged this bond!

As for the official side, there was no need to elaborate. Zhao's Camp's every move had shaken the Shandong officialdom. Who would dare provoke anyone connected to the tiger? The Li family was already powerful and heroic; with this added prestige, they received nothing but courtesy and convenience. As for the outlaws of the greenwood and the various gangs and factions along the canal, they were all utterly deferential, not daring the slightest offense.

There was once a reckless bandit chief who openly declared: "Yanzhou Prefecture is Xuzhou's turf—we acknowledge that. But Dongchang Prefecture belongs to the people of Shandong. Li Kunyi, don't go borrowing a tiger's might to intimidate us. The old rules still stand. If you want to change them, I can't touch you inside the city, but your family's properties outside the city had better watch out."

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