Chapter 1172: Sorting Out This Thread

Setting aside the Meng family head's smug ecstasy — in truth, not many of the wealthy merchants on the viewing platform were killed or wounded. They were either among the crowd or surrounded by layers of guards. No matter how reckless the Zhao Battalion's household troops were, they wouldn't harm those who offered no resistance or lay prone on the ground. When they were dragged out, a sliver of wishful thinking still lingered in their hearts: they themselves were finished, but their families still had others to carry on. Yet after being delivered to the manor where they were held, they saw family members who had long since gone into hiding. In that moment, only then did the people of Qingjiangpu involved in this affair truly fall into utter despair. Many collapsed to the ground or wailed in anguish.

They had thought their own scheme peerlessly brilliant, certain they could swallow the Zhao Battalion whole, yet never imagined the Zhao Battalion had been prepared all along and turned their own trick against them. Thinking back to Zhao Jin's parting question before he left — the Xuzhou people had been so meticulous for so long, how could they suddenly become so careless in so many ways? Wasn't this openly spreading a sack wide and inviting everyone to crawl inside? Under normal circumstances, everyone would have spotted many things that were off, but at a time like this, they'd all been blinded by those mountains of gold and seas of silver.

To assassinate Zhao Jin, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had indeed staked enormous capital, but their losses were equally devastating. To ensure they had sufficient strength inside the tournament grounds to deal with Zhao Jin, the majority of their men had entered the grounds, where they were either killed or surrendered. As for those martial experts and strongmen, aside from a few who genuinely knew nothing, the rest were all filled with the desire to trade their martial skills for official rank and riches. Moreover, these martial practitioners all shared one common trait: they looked down on the Zhao Battalion's household troops and battle techniques, believing they only won through superior numbers. They thought that if they could just find an opportunity for a surprise attack or single combat, these Xuzhou men would be nothing but targets for slaughter.

Those who hadn't made a move got to live a few days longer; those who did suffered grievous casualties. From the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the various martial men, they were slaughtered right there in the grounds until blood flowed like a river. Still, quite a few remnants remained outside. These men's mission was this: once Zhao Jin was assassinated, they were to spread the news throughout Qingjiangpu, even going so far as to go to the various garrisons to demand the surrender of the household troops and patrolmen there, and also to rendezvous with the government troops hurrying over from the south and west.

These men outside had a greater degree of freedom. When they saw the patrolmen going house to house making arrests, they realized things had gone wrong. Some tried to flee outward, only to quickly discover the roads were blocked. Some tried to hide in civilian homes, but the patrolmen had already begun beating gongs and shouting that anyone harboring criminals would be guilty of a capital offense. The common folk of Qingjiangpu had no sense of loyalty or righteousness to speak of and immediately gave them up. Others did manage to escape, fleeing all the way southeast toward Shanyang, the seat of Huai'an Prefecture. That city was still the king's land under the Great Ming; entering it might let them catch their breath and cling to life.

What they never expected was that, though it was only noon, the city gates were already tightly shut on all four sides, barring entry or exit. The escapees shouted in panic beneath the walls, begging the men atop the gates to open them. The Shanyang garrison remained utterly unmoved, no matter what names of Eunuch Wei or the Emperor were invoked below.

Because it was considered that the Zhao Battalion had infiltrated the Huai'an government offices until they were riddled with holes, this assassination plot had not informed them. Once trouble broke out inside Qingjiangpu, one of Li Dajin's arrangements was to send men to have Shanyang close its gates — otherwise, they'd be drawing fire onto themselves. Though the Huai'an Prefecture and Shanyang County offices didn't know what was happening, they readily complied. After all, it wasn't as if anyone was trying to fight their way into the city; what did closing the gates matter? In other cities, people came in from all directions during the day to do business, but the Huai'an prefectural seat was right beside Qingjiangpu, and the city inside and out was desolate. Closed or open, it made no difference.

When they heard the shouting below the walls about "His Majesty" and "Eunuch Wei," the garrison commander there was even less inclined to respond. In the Qingjiangpu region, none of those names were as effective as Zhao Jin's. Watching the mounted household troops already closing in from behind, he thought: whatever trouble this is, you can bear it yourselves!

Zhao Jin did not seal off news of this assassination plot. After he emerged, Cloud Mountain Firm, the associated warehouses and trading companies, the patrolmen, and the rest immediately spread the word. When the local merchants and commoners of Qingjiangpu heard of it, they were all dumbstruck. No one thought Zhao Jin was in the wrong; they all felt these wealthy merchants must have lost their minds. Why couldn't they just live their good lives in peace — why go provoke that tiger Zhao Jin? Now retribution had come. Wasn't this exactly what they deserved? Originally, seeing the Zhao Battalion arresting people everywhere, they'd truly thought the Xuzhou men were going to sack Qingjiangpu, but now, looking at it, if they were in that position, they'd do the exact same thing!

News came one piece after another — something about several thousand government cavalry about to come charging in any moment. This threw Qingjiangpu's locals into even greater panic. What were government troops like? Even if they hadn't seen them, they'd heard the stories. Once inside, they'd surely bring disaster upon the common folk. And this was several thousand cavalry — wouldn't Qingjiangpu suffer a devastating blow to its vitality?

Panic spread everywhere in Qingjiangpu. Some idlers and ruffians thought to take advantage of the chaos for a bit of looting, but the moment they saw the murderously intent patrolmen scouring the city, they immediately shrank back. They were far more worldly-wise than the wealthy merchants. These Xuzhou "Ding" this and "Ding" that killed without blinking — not to be offended. Once word of the great victory at Qingjiangpu's south side came back — that two thousand government cavalry had been completely annihilated — hearts instantly settled. No one dared stir up trouble anymore. Even the captured and confined wealthy merchants' family members and servants abandoned all hope. They'd originally counted on the government troops charging in to rescue them, but if even the most elite cavalry were finished, what was left to count on?

Within a single day, the mood in Qingjiangpu underwent a drastic shift. Everyone came to feel that what Cloud Mountain Firm said made sense. The Xuzhou people had come here, stabilized the markets, built the great market, and linked the rivers to the sea, making the area more prosperous and stable and creating new livelihoods for so many. Why abandon these good days just to go back to a past that was worse than the present? No one wanted that. Everyone was genuinely living better now than before. Perhaps those wealthy merchants nursed grievances, but when you did the sums, the wealthy merchants had earned more these past few years than they had back then too. How could they still not be content?

With this mindset prevailing, when the Zhao Battalion's household troops and patrolmen carried out merciless house raids and confiscations, no one thought much of it — some even applauded.

Though they'd known the wealthy merchants of Qingjiangpu were richer than any under heaven, the results of the confiscations still left Zhao Jin and his comrades dumbstruck. So this was the degree of wealth they'd reached.

"Big Brother, how about taking another five hundred horses, and enough grain and gear for four full days?" Dong Bingfeng said to Zhao Jin. Over thirty wealthy merchant households had been raided, and from them, more than two thousand sturdy horses and strong oxen had been seized. One had to understand that south of Xuzhou, horse prices were exorbitantly high, and with the dense network of waterways, they weren't all that useful. No one had imagined Qingjiangpu's wealthy merchants had stockpiled so many. As for gold, silver, and other goods, those went without saying. Preparing four days' worth of dry provisions for Zhao Jin and his men was even simpler — after raiding a certain household's warehouse, the supplies inside were more than ample.

"We're already at two horses per man. Any more would be useless. You'll need oxen and horses on your end to transport grain and cannons. Boats are convenient, but there are places they can't reach," Zhao Jin declined with a smile.

Zhou Xuezhi, who had come along for the confiscations, was beaming with delight. Because these thirty-plus wealthy and noble merchant households had been raided, the movable assets seized were nothing much. The real prize was the silver they had deposited on account with Cloud Mountain Firm. Wealthy households were all accustomed to placing their silver on account with large trading firms to earn interest, and Cloud Mountain Firm was the most reliable choice in Qingjiangpu. Moreover, the operations of Cloud Mountain Bank offered them all sorts of conveniences. Many merchants here took advantage of this, depositing in Qingjiangpu and withdrawing in places like Jining or Xuzhou — reducing risk and increasing security. Now that they'd been raided, this silver naturally belonged to Cloud Mountain Firm.

"We'll take the movable assets, but don't touch the businesses and such. Distribute them among the managers and head clerks below. If they have trouble with cash flow, lend to them at low interest. There's nothing to regret here. If Cloud Mountain Firm were the only business on my turf, and you could just sit back and collect money, who would still put their heart into running things? Think about those salt merchants and grain merchants," Zhao Jin had his own views on the spoils of war.

Once Zhao Jin said this, the elated Zhou Xuezhi turned serious. A portion of these spoils still had to be distributed to families like the Mengs and the Lis — those who were either utterly loyal or had taken the initiative to inform. Merit must be rewarded; otherwise, who would still do things for you? If directly bestowing rewards looked unsightly, the other party could be allowed to redeem them at a relatively low price, which was more or less the same as giving them away.

The house raids, searches, and the confinement and guarding of prisoners all proceeded very swiftly. Even while the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens outside, things in Qingjiangpu were carried out in an orderly fashion. That night, the Third Brigade and the Qingjiangpu Patrol Regiment jointly maintained the watch. The thousand-plus household troops accompanying Zhao Jin and the Third Brigade's mounted household troops all conserved their strength and sharpened their blades that night, preparing to set out the next day.

The household troops rested, but Zhao Jin did not sleep early that night. Liu Yong and Li Dajin did not sleep either. They needed to sort out the entire sequence of events, from the dike breach to the present. This time, if not for people in both Jining and Qingjiangpu informing the Zhao Battalion in hopes of winning riches, even if the enemy's plot hadn't thrown them into disarray, they wouldn't have been able to annihilate all the enemy agents and spies who had infiltrated everywhere, nor would they have been able to make all sorts of arrangements in advance.

"... The dike breached twice in a row. Though the damage wasn't great either time, it was still the Yellow River breaching its banks. Outsiders don't know the methods our Zhao Battalion uses to mobilize civilian labor — they'd naturally assume Xuzhou and Pizhou were both flooded. When I was active here in Qingjiangpu at the time, there were indeed quite a few skeptical rumors going around..."

"... Brother Yong is right. The Yellow River's disasters are deeply ingrained in people's minds. When the folks here heard the Yellow River had breached, even though they deliberately sent people to Xuzhou to look, and those people came back saying they'd seen it with their own eyes, everyone still couldn't bring themselves to believe it. Some said Lord Jin was intimidating them, and no one dared speak up..."

"... If you put it that way, the starting point of everything must have been this dike breach. Xuzhou stricken and weakened — or even just the widespread panic — that was an opportunity to exploit..."

"... Those several manors in Qingzhou Prefecture being overrun, that unrest among the scholars in Jining — I think it was all meant to deepen this panic, to muddy the waters. Even if it drew some of our strength away over there, it might not have drawn much. In my humble opinion, they didn't necessarily want to lure you over, Big Brother. It was more about confusing us, and also making the common folk on our turf feel that we were losing control of the situation..."

"... Brother Yong is right. It's not that they didn't want to stir up trouble in Qingjiangpu and Xuzhou, but those places are all under tight security — loose on the outside, tight within. There was simply no room for rebellion. The moment they made a move, we might have followed the trail and caught them all..."

These past few days, the monthly votes for Great Ming Warlord have been rising fast. Old Bai thanks everyone here. However, I see the main increase in monthly votes is over at Qidian — we've had fewer votes cast on Chuangshi. Brothers and sisters, Old Bai has been writing on Chuangshi for two years now. It's inconvenient to post a single chapter asking for votes here, but if you see this, cast your monthly votes! Let's push hard together on both Qidian and Chuangshi, let's charge together!

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