Chapter 1171: Some Rejoice, Some Grieve

"They'll definitely hide inside the city. We can't do much against walled cities, and we'd be stuck honoring some damn tacit agreement not to attack them. The sixteen-pounder and eighteen-pounder cannons are already on the way. When they arrive, we'll just blast the city walls down and seize the men. Remember — no scruples, no rules. This time we're tearing off all pretenses and going all out. I'll give the order when to stop," Zhao Jin said with the utmost gravity.

Dong Bingfeng solemnly acknowledged the order. Zhao Jin smiled and added, "Maybe this time there won't be a stop."

Dong Bingfeng looked thoughtful, but a trace of excitement gradually surfaced on his usually steady face. Zhao Jin laughed in spite of himself and shook his head. "If even you're like this, you can imagine what the main camp looks like. They must be chomping at the bit!"

After saying this, Zhao Jin pointed at the captured government army horses and said, "If you need mounts, pick from these. For messengers and scouts, the Xuzhou volunteers and local patrols will be enough. I'm taking your mounted household retainers with me first. Once I smash the government troops coming out of Fengyang, I'll return them to you!"

"Big Brother, that lot over there isn't worth a single blow. Xuzhou is what matters most. It'd be better if Big Brother went back first. Let your little brother go to Fengyang instead!"

"No need. I'm taking the main cavalry force precisely to strike fast and leave fast. Your task is to push south — don't stop until you see the Yangtze," Zhao Jin gave the order crisply and decisively.

Dong Bingfeng clasped his fist again. Since he still had to wait for some reserve supplies to come up, he was assembling the various regiments at the encampment near the ambush site before moving out, which was why he could stand here chatting with Zhao Jin. Seeing Zhao Jin's swift and resolute arrangements, Dong Bingfeng couldn't help but smile and ask, "Big Brother, you enjoy a good fight too, don't you? I can tell you're happy."

"A fight is always satisfying. This time we have to hurt the government troops so badly that this kind of absurd, tedious trouble never comes again. Maybe after this one fight, all the trouble will be gone!" Zhao Jin answered with a smile.

After saying this, Zhao Jin waved his hand and said, "I'll have to burden you for a while. I'm taking all these captured warhorses too. If you need mounts, requisition them from those households in Qingjiangpu. Before tomorrow morning, you need to have three days' worth of provisions ready for my men. Requisitioning on the spot inside Fengyang Prefecture won't be easy."

"Rest assured, Big Brother. Your little brother will see to it at once."

"Don't stand on ceremony with those big households in Qingjiangpu. We let them get rich, we dealt with them by the rules — and what happened? They stirred up trouble again and again, always dreaming of seizing our family property."

"Big Brother can rest easy. Qingjiangpu is prosperous. Once we start taking, there'll be no shortage of oxen, horses, grain, or anything else!" Dong Bingfeng answered with a laugh.

After emerging from the blood-drenched tournament grounds, Zhao Jin assembled the household retainers who had accompanied him to Qingjiangpu and headed south together with them, joining the already-prepared Third Regiment to lie in ambush.

Looking at the map, aside from the waterways, it seemed one could go in any direction. But in reality, for a large cavalry force on the move, the passable routes were limited. And in this terrain crisscrossed by the rivers of the Yangtze-Huai region, there was actually only one road — the very one where the ambush was set.

While Zhao Jin led his household retainers into battle outside, the atmosphere inside Qingjiangpu was extraordinarily tense. But the tension wasn't because of the fighting outside — it was because the patrols and volunteers were everywhere, raiding homes and arresting people.

Many of the lofty, arrogant merchant magnates and great households were wailing to the heavens today. The Xuzhou patrolmen, who had always been polite and courteous to them before, were now like wolves and tigers, charging straight through their gates. Every male in the household was seized and taken away; the womenfolk were confined to one or two courtyards under strict guard.

Some households obeyed meekly, but others chose this moment to make a scene and kick up a fuss, shouting, "The Xuzhou rebels are revolting! They want to steal all the wealth and goods of us Qingjiangpu folk! Let's fight them to the death!" The womenfolk wailed and shrieked madly, while trusted servants and dependent households joined in the ruckus.

They weren't afraid of the Xuzhou patrolmen, because these patrolmen always followed the rules — they never extorted or squeezed anyone, never demanded bribes, and no one ever saw them strutting around the streets throwing their weight around. What kind of officials were they? They weren't even as imposing as the runners from the prefectural or county yamens, let alone the servants of the great merchant houses.

Seeing this kind of behavior, far from feeling any awe, everyone instead took it as a sign of guilty conscience — their name wasn't proper and their words weren't justified. Without the righteous mandate of the imperial court, of course they couldn't act with confidence. People had harbored this thought all along, so today, the moment the patrolmen made their move, all the reckless troublemakers started raising hell.

But this time, the patrolmen had no rules to follow. When they encountered anyone making a scene like that, they simply thrust their pudao straight through them. If the person fell to the ground and wasn't dead yet, they added another slash.

After a few people were cut down, everyone immediately fell silent as winter cicadas, not daring to say another word. It was only then that many realized the Xuzhou tiger truly did eat people.

Quite a few of the merchant magnates involved in this murder plot had attended in person. If too many had stayed away, it would naturally have aroused suspicion. For the sake of this supposedly certain kill and the colossal profits that would follow, the risk was worth taking.

However, the Qingjiangpu merchant magnates had been passing down their traditions for generations and were quite familiar with the method of hedging bets to avoid risk. Although this time there was no way to play both sides between the government troops and Xuzhou, everyone still kept a fallback. Of the largest households in Qingjiangpu, the heads of three families did not go. Those who did go were all quite advanced in years. The direct-line sons and younger male relatives of the families had been sent into hiding several days before the incident. Some families sent brothers or nephews while hiding themselves away.

For this murder plot, not going at all, or not sending one's own flesh and blood to show their face, wouldn't do either. Because going in person made one more credible. Though there was danger in that tournament ground, whoever braved more danger would get a bigger share of the spoils later — just like buying shares in a venture. If it were ordinary wealth and goods, that would be one thing, but this time they were dividing up the wealth of the Zhao Camp, which truly drove everyone mad with greed.

Never mind the properties far away in Xuzhou — the Qingjiang Market, the carting company, and the seaport at Clam Harbor alone were worth making a move for. And if you added in the Xuzhou cloth, the Haizhou port, the liquor, the private salt, and the rest, the total was a staggering, eye-popping figure. No one could help being tempted. For a prize like this, it was worth staking everything — fortune and life — on one throw of the dice.

So even those who hid away didn't go far. They concealed themselves in nearby estates and villas, ready to rush back the moment the plan succeeded to take charge or help manage affairs. Whichever family wasn't fully prepared would get a smaller share. Merchants chase profit, and wealth this immense had turned many people's heads.

Moreover, the one orchestrating this was the imperial court. It was said that several of the top Qingjiangpu merchant magnates had all received secret letters from the capital. Some letters came from the Directorate of Ceremonial, others from the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries. No matter how thriving they ordinarily thought the Zhao Camp was, deep down they still felt the Zhao Camp's name wasn't proper and its words weren't justified — they were nothing but rebels, and sooner or later the court would drive them out. Now that people of such high rank were writing letters and building connections, naturally everyone flocked to follow.

A murder plot that seemed so meticulously planned naturally couldn't rely on just a few letters. Just as in Jining it was personally organized by the eunuch Kuang Ming, the one directing things here in Qingjiangpu was the trusted private secretary of the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch — a young talent accomplished in both civil and military affairs. Everyone in Nanjing knew this man had boundless prospects. He had brought trusted men from Nanjing here to set everything up.

The Directorate of Ceremonial, the Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard — one weighty name after another was thrown down, leaving the Qingjiangpu merchant magnates dizzy and dazed, with no choice but to obediently comply. Having built their fortunes, they all had connections of one kind or another with officialdom, so naturally they were especially superstitious about the authority of the government. But when all was said and done, it was still the Zhao Camp's wealth in Qingjiangpu that was too tantalizing. With forces converging from several directions, they set things in motion.

The Qingjiangpu merchant magnates were not a monolithic bloc — some families had feuds going back decades or even a century. This time, however, they scrupulously honored their alliance and all took part in the meticulous plotting. On the one hand, this was because the risk of being discovered was enormous. The lower ranks thought the Zhao Camp patrolmen were nothing special, but those at the top knew exactly how much blood stained the hands of the Xuzhou Zhao Camp. On the other hand, the reason was the same as with the gentry and local strongmen in southern Qingzhou Prefecture — there, they shared a common hatred to drive the outsiders away, while here, the merchant magnates strictly upheld their alliance for the sake of colossal profit.

Merchants chase profit. For threefold gain, they'll gladly risk beheading and the extermination of their families. Some were willing to follow the court's arrangements for the Zhao Camp's heaven-storming wealth, but others informed the Zhao Camp for that very same wealth. The informant wasn't one of the families close to Zhao Jin. Li Ziyou of the Chengbei Firm had been kept completely in the dark from start to finish — he was stopped by the Zhao Camp internal guards stationed beside him. He was already on the road when, for no apparent reason, his carriage broke down...

The informant was the Meng family. In terms of wealth and influence, they ranked only eighth in Qingjiangpu — the sort that would receive a letter from the court but weren't particularly near the top. When the Meng family received the letter, they split into two factions. One faction was timid and afraid of trouble, advocating staying neutral and helping neither side. The other wanted to answer the court's call and have nothing to do with rebels. But outwardly, the Meng family head agreed very readily, and before they took any action, several men who claimed to be agents of the Eastern Depot even came to the house to supervise and keep watch — he received them very well too.

Yet in secret, he passed the information to the Zhao Camp through his illegitimate son. While other families had sons and younger members serving in various parts of the Zhao Camp as hostages, whether voluntarily or under duress, the Meng family appeared to have sent no one. But behind the scenes, both of the Meng family head's illegitimate sons were working within the patrols, and their positions were not low. As Liu Yong and Li Dajin put it: "The Meng family are the real masters of eating from both sides."

That day, the Meng family head had also led his men to the tournament ground. He had actually worn soft armor underneath. At the critical moment, he only ordered his own loyal guards to shield him and not to join the outsiders in attacking. After paying the price of a few dead and wounded, he ultimately saved his own life. When the Meng family head straightened up, the stands held nothing but blood and corpses. The household retainers had been about to deal harshly with the Meng people too, but Li Dajin, who was directing things there, shouted them down. Standing on the viewing platform, the still-shaken Meng family head was immensely proud of himself. He knew one thing: after this, the Meng family would likely rank among the top three in Qingjiangpu. And those families ahead of his own would all have a big chunk bitten off by the Meng family. Though the Zhao Camp would take the biggest piece, Xuzhou never shortchanged those who rendered meritorious service.

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