Chapter 1239: Who Goes to Pi Island

What Ge Tianfeng didn't know was that Ma Chonghao and Li Dajin had both written to advise Zhao Jin that this was no time for cronyism — Ma Tongji and Li Huanghe were still young, and there was no rush to promote and reward them right now. But Zhao Jin's answer was very simple: if, because of you, I fail to promote meritorious officers and soldiers according to the rules, that would truly be cronyism. Once those words were spoken, Ma Chonghao and Li Dajin naturally had nothing more to say.

Everyone did know that these two Patrol Corps commanders were both very pleased and very annoyed. Ma Chonghao had complained to Chen Sheng, saying it wasn't that he begrudged his child, but he'd never imagined Ma Tongji would have such nerve — what if he lost his life? As for Li Dajin, he wrote directly to the two brothers laying down an iron rule: unless ordered by a superior officer, the two brothers were not to rashly volunteer like this; at the very least, one of them had to stay behind.

Ge Tianfeng watched for a while with envy. Members of the Training Brigade's Student Company had equally bright futures within the Zhao Family Army system — Ge Tianfeng was well aware of that — but what heights they might reach in the future, and whether they could catch up to these two already outstanding deputy battalion commander classmates, was truly hard to say.

"... In your garrison duties, you must diligently train the troops, strike decisively against bandits and local bullies, obey the commanding general's orders, and also pacify the hearts of the local people. Our Zhao Family Army goes everywhere to save the people from fire and water, but the military prestige of the Zhao Family Army must not be infringed upon..." Zhao Jin was loudly delivering his address.

By this point, the ceremony was nearly over, and Ge Tianfeng had relaxed a little, his thoughts wandering even more freely. He knew that many students from the third-level class had not entered any of the brigade or regiment units. Around graduation time, they had simply vanished without a sound, gone to who knows where. He had assumed they'd committed some offense, but later, from scattered clues, Ge Tianfeng could roughly guess that these classmates had perhaps been recruited by the Internal Guard or similar undertakings.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard the thunderous roll of drums. The sound instantly snapped Ge Tianfeng out of his reverie. According to the rehearsed procedure, he knew the ceremony was about to end. At that very moment, someone — no one knew who started it — shouted out: "Victory to the Zhao Family Army! Long live the General!"

The cry instantly ignited the entire ceremony. Everyone joined in the shouting, venting the anticipation and excitement in their hearts. On the high platform, Zhao Jin raised his right fist and fiercely pumped it several times. Lord Jin did not stop them; instead, he joined in. This attitude made those shouting even more fervent. At that moment, everyone felt that hailing Zhao Jin with "Long live" was only right and proper.

According to the usual rules of this expansion, after the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, the farming, trade, and manufacturing sectors would also begin to undergo changes. Many people were very concerned about this, but there was nothing they could learn. All systems were maintained without change. As for the establishment of the General's Office Chief Clerk, Wang Zhaojing ordinarily filled that seat as well.

Only those involved on the inside knew that a Finance and Taxation Office had been newly established, with Chen Hong as its head, and that the tax supervisor was a young laicized monk whose Dharma name was Ruxin. Those even closer to the core also knew that the treasury was inside Cloud Mountain Temple, and the chief accounting office was inside Cloud Mountain Temple as well. This Ruxin, who had come out of Cloud Mountain Temple's accounting apprenticeship, had been assisting Chen Hong all along and was extremely prudent and outstanding.

In addition, each farming subdistrict and each Patrol Corps station began to absorb young clerks with experience in criminal law and scholars well-versed in legal codes and regulations. Cases and disputes within the Zhao Family Army's jurisdiction began to be adjudicated by the farming subdistricts and Patrol Corps. Apart from following the Great Ming Code, several foreign missionaries in Xuzhou also provided their own countries' laws as reference. But what could currently be enforced was a simple three-article covenant: murder, rape, and grievous bodily harm were capital crimes; theft, abduction, and fraud were punished by restitution plus hard labor; everything else was resolved through mediation with hard labor as punishment.

What the Finance and Taxation Office was currently most valued for was its account inspections. These young people, proficient in accounting and commerce, had already proven their loyalty and ability. As soon as the Finance and Taxation Office was established, Zhao Jin personally gave the order, with Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, Chen Hong, and Liu Yong presiding, to dispatch account inspectors to every farming subdistrict, every branch of the Cloud Mountain Trading Company, and every workshop of the Manufacturing Office — to audit all accounts and take inventory of all supplies. Then Ruhui and Zhou Xuezhi each sent out their own managers to every location to press the progress of the farms and shops.

After the commissioning ceremony ended, Zhao Jin did not rest. He went directly to the council hall to meet with Geng Mancang, who had hurried over from Yutou Town. Geng Mancang at this moment was far more exultant than he had been back in his days as a wealthy man in Qingjiangpu. He was a man of ambition, never content with merely growing his wealth, always wanting more. And under Zhao Jin's command, his wishes were being fulfilled, and he could aspire to even grander goals.

Geng Mancang was now the trade supervisor for the Huaian North District, but in reality, he was the direct manager of the Zhao Battalion's grain trade and the largest grain merchant in the northern Yangtze region of Southern Zhili. Geng Mancang could mobilize enormous sums of gold, silver, and coin, and could gather the vast quantities of grain produced by the farming estates everywhere. He could also exert his influence at the Qingjiang Grand Market to control prices. Geng Mancang's every move could cause violent fluctuations in the tribute grain trade. Some had already given him the nickname "Rice King." Through Geng Mancang's allocations, the ever-growing population of the Zhao Family Army was kept free from worries about food and clothing, and refugees could be continuously resettled.

"How are the grain and fodder preparations in Jining coming along?" Zhao Jin asked, getting straight to the point.

"The quantity approved by the Master should be fully ready within the day after tomorrow," Geng Mancang replied. Before Zhao Jin and the others, he was all humility and deference, not a trace of exultation to be seen.

Wang Zhaojing made a few marks in a notebook, and Zhao Jin asked again: "How have you prepared the grain in Linqing?"

"To answer the Master, grain prices in Linqing have already begun to soar, because the Ministry of Revenue's branch office has started stockpiling and transferring military provisions there. The Li family is somewhat afraid to act too boldly — because of their relationship with us, people in the city are already eyeing their family properties. Your subordinate has set up two granaries in Liaocheng," Geng Mancang answered again.

Zhao Jin nodded and said gruffly to Liu Yong in the room: "You and Leizi keep a tight watch on these two places, especially the changes in grain stocks inside and outside Linqing city. Since the officials want to stockpile grain for a large army, I'll treat it as stockpiled for us. When the time comes, we'll just go over and use it directly."

Liu Yong rose and acknowledged the order. Zhao Jin turned to Geng Mancang and said: "Go to Jining now and take charge of the grain and fodder allocations. On the financial side, the trade people will cooperate fully. If you encounter obstacles in other areas, go find Kong Zhang in Qufu — he can help somewhat there. Be careful on the road. Do this well, and you'll have rendered great merit!"

"Rest assured, Master, your subordinate will ensure absolutely nothing goes wrong!" Geng Mancang hastily rose and took his leave. Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui both smiled and nodded in response, and even made a point of instructing the guards to escort him out.

As soon as the man was gone, Zhao Jin said to Liu Yong: "We need to send more men to the capital. Don't slacken on message delivery, and be prepared for other operations as well."

"Rest assured, Big Brother. Nie Hei has already taken that group of ours — the ones who operate most in the shadows — there. Inside the capital, Ma Liu has already established connections. If we need to move, we can move at any time," Liu Yong answered confidently.

Zhao Jin rubbed his temples. It had only been a little over two months since the decisive battle with the government troops, yet there hadn't been a single day he could relax. Zhao Zhentang's health had improved, but that was still a considerable worry. Matters from all sides piled together made a man truly irritable and vexed.

"As for Daizhou... we can't spare attention for that now. How is the surveillance on the Yu family? And what's the situation at sea? Has the Zheng family placed anyone on the sea routes?" Zhao Jin fired off several questions in succession.

"Nothing unusual with the Yu family. A few families in Songjiang who maintain their own fleets wanted to buy in as shareholders, but Yu Zhiyuan turned them all down. We've already placed people inside — if anything abnormal happens, we'll definitely detect it. Nothing much at sea. The Zheng family is coming and going from port as usual, only they're constantly begging to have that ten percent reduced, and they also want to buy our cannons," Liu Yong reported.

After saying this, he hesitated slightly, then continued: "Big Brother, maritime matters are hard to figure out. We're truly unfamiliar with them. If the Zheng family uses their merchant ships to do something, it would be truly impossible to guard against."

Zhao Jin nodded glumly, then spoke: "Arrange for the Zheng family's fleet to deliver Zhao Song's battalion to Pi Island. The farming and trade departments must send capable personnel up there."

At this, Liu Yong acknowledged the order, but at the same time glanced at Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui, and exchanged a look with Ji Xiang. Ruhui coughed and said: "Master, Zhao Song is a close kinsman, his status is precious. With a major deployment of personnel imminent, it would be better to keep him here. Degang of Cloud Mountain Temple is utterly loyal, has never made a mistake guarding the treasury, and has a very good reputation inside and outside the temple. How about sending him?"

"I've said it once before — if my own family won't go to the most dangerous places, then who else will?" Zhao Jin said, brooking no argument.

After speaking, he sighed again, his expression somewhat dark: "As long as our fleet remains unformed, we will remain under others' control for a single day. This time Zhao Song goes to Pi Island, supplies and equipment must be given priority. We must ensure the Yu and Zheng families keep ships constantly at Pi Island. We must build our trading post as solid as a fortress. We now have nearly a hundred thousand able-bodied men detached from production, but expanding our territory outward comes with all sorts of inconveniences. We must recruit Liao refugees — we need as many Liao refugees as possible to replenish our ranks."

On paper, there were twenty battalions in total this time, but under the true organizational structure, there were actually twenty-one. Those twenty battalions were all militia company units, while the extra battalion was composed of four non-commissioned officer companies, equipped with one hundred fifty firelocks plus two light cannons, formed specifically for Pi Island. A force like this had to be delivered to Pi Island by reliable ships. The follow-up supplies and transport vehicles also required a reliable fleet. For this reason, the previously mentioned ten percent price could be used as a bargaining chip and conceded back.

And this deployment of force and concession were all for the sake of recruiting Liao refugees. For Zhao Jin's strategy, the rootless, unattached Liao refugees were currently the most reliable source of population. The Zhao Family Army's organization was growing larger and larger — besides the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, the farming, trade, and manufacturing sectors also contained large numbers of personnel detached from production. The number of estate laborers actually used for farming had already become strained. Although the Zhao Battalion had highly profitable industry and commerce and could purchase large quantities of grain through various trade methods, only the grain they produced themselves was the foundation, the guarantee.

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