Chapter 1418: The Common People Have a Scale in Their Hearts

Bowing to Xuzhou was not only because the Zhao Army was about to sweep the realm — there were also business considerations. Right now, Haizhou Port and Qingjiangpu were shipping goods in massive quantities, transported by the sea merchants' fleets to the northern territories of the Great Ming, the various kingdoms of the Southern Seas, as well as Wa and Goryeo. There were even rumors that the Jianzhou Jurchens had also bought a great deal...

These channels and sales routes were exactly what the Jiangnan cloth merchants urgently needed, and all of them were firmly held in the hands of the Xuzhou Zhao Army.

It wasn't just cotton cloth — the same was true for many goods. Xuzhou was clearly not the place of production, yet it could manufacture better and cheaper goods, then sell them to more numerous and farther-flung places.

What Xuzhou controlled was not only ports and fleets, but also camel caravans and large wagon trains that set out on regular schedules. Using Hanjing Famous Liquor as the medium, Xuzhou's trade with the steppe grew smoother and smoother, opening up one trade route after another that had previously been blockaded. Along the way, everyone from the officials to the border troops to the steppe tribes offered all kinds of conveniences.

To the merchants who lived for wealth and had eyes only for wealth, Xuzhou was everyone's God of Fortune, everyone's revered ancestor. With the Zhao Army, everyone gained so many more ways to make money, so many more trade routes.

Although Xuzhou levied commercial taxes, they let everyone earn even more. A power so devoted to commerce and industry — and one supremely confident of seizing the realm — naturally drew everyone swarming to its side, each fearing to fall half a step behind.

Behind the Fujian and Guangdong sea merchants were the great clans of Fujian and Guangdong; behind the Qingjiangpu and Jiangnan grand merchants were the aristocratic houses and powerful families of Jiangnan. Their willingness to bow their heads and submit meant that these great clans and powerful families were doing the same. These people were the actual controllers of their locales. For Xuzhou, this was a gain that had been expected, yet far exceeded expectations.

With the support of these two sides, with their declarations of allegiance, the gold and silver Xuzhou could deploy became immensely abundant, and military provisions were no longer a worry. Better to sell grain as army rations than as tribute grain — the Zhao Army paid in solid silver coin, after all.

These grand merchants and wealthy personages also sent their own sons and younger kin. On one hand, these young men served as hostages; on the other, they were to take part in practical affairs. This was the symbol of whether the Zhao Army would truly accept these people who had come to pledge allegiance.

The expansion of enrollment at Xuzhou's Five Great Academies was driven partly by practical need, and partly by these young men. They were newcomers who had not yet fully integrated — how could they possibly be given practical work to do? But these people had to be absorbed, so they would first train and study properly within the academies.

Another group contributing money and manpower was rather unexpected — it turned out to be merchants from Shanxi. By all accounts, Sun Chuanting ruled with an iron fist and had managed Shanxi extremely thoroughly, yet they dared to come forward so eagerly. But on second thought, it was also a matter of having no choice. The most critical goods for Shanxi's trade with the steppe were all held in Xuzhou's grip. Liquor — that went without saying. Now, a single jin of Hanjing Famous Liquor could be used directly as hard currency on the steppe. And for the ironware the steppe urgently needed, at present only Xuzhou could supply sufficient quantities of quality goods. Not to mention that Xuzhou had demand for furs, cattle and horses, and all kinds of special products from the steppe. Both purchasing and sales involved large sums of silver flowing in and out — this, too, was a matter of having one's very lifeline seized by the throat.

There were also those who could not produce so much silver, yet welcomed the Zhao Army with boundless enthusiasm — the gentry and landlords of Henan, for example. They knew the Zhao Army's arrival would harm their interests, but they still eagerly awaited the Zhao Army's coming.

The reason was simple. Throughout Henan, the Great Ming's princely estates had already seized far too much land and property, squeezing everyone else until they could scarcely breathe. And now the Great Ming imposed heavy taxes besides, flaying skin and drinking blood layer by layer. Bandits swarmed across the land, and everyone could only fortify their stockades for self-protection, their lives growing more desperate by the day.

Henan was very close to Shandong, so they naturally saw what a place without tax burdens looked like, and they also saw the order under the Zhao Army's rule.

It took no clever man, no discerning eye — anyone could see Zhao Jin's rule clearly. It was not the compassion of one who loves the people as his own children, but an iron curtain of utter ruthlessness. Submit to his order, and you could live, you could have food and warmth. Refuse to submit, and the punishment was death, the extermination of your clan, and eternal damnation without hope of reincarnation.

Yet even such punishment, such a brutal order, was better than that unending chaos. Under Zhao Jin's governance, one could leave the door unbarred at night. But outside most of Henan's cities and towns, there was no law left, no rules left — it was pure survival of the fittest.

They needed Zhao Jin and the Zhao Army to deliver the masses from hanging upside down, to turn back the raging tide before it crashed, to give everyone a chance to survive, to give everyone a chance to live as human beings.

And the gentry and commoners of Northern Zhili, especially those near Xuzhou, had a scale in their hearts all the more. Although the Zhao Army had not reached out its hand there, the region had already been infiltrated by the Zhao Army and Cloud Mountain Firm until it was riddled with holes. Inside the cities were Cloud Mountain Firm branch shops; outside the cities were agricultural reclamation estates, everything run according to the Zhao Army's rules.

This time, when Zhao Jin led his great army in a northward thrust, Lu Xiangsheng, the Grand Coordinator of Daming, had originally prepared to lead his troops to intercept them. He knew that going forth meant certain death, but he was already prepared to give his life in loyalty to the Great Ming.

But before the army could march, the local gentry actually went jointly to the yamen gate to kowtow and petition, saying that these were times of peace — why suffer the misery of renewed warfare? If the Great Man truly cared for the common people, he should refrain from rash action.

In the past, Lu Xiangsheng would have been furious enough for his hair to lift his hat, and without mercy would have ordered his men to execute these treasonous rebels. But at this moment, he could only sigh in helpless sorrow.

He maintained strict military discipline, and the troops under his command were as close to not committing the slightest offense against civilians as could be. If such troops were placed anywhere else in the Great Ming, they would have been praised to the heavens long ago. Yet here, they were not particularly welcomed by the locals. The reason was simple: these so-called "Heavenly Majesty Army" of several thousand men had to be supplied entirely by the local area, which was no small burden. Not to mention that because the Heavenly Majesty Army was stationed here, the Zhao Army might attack at any time — a risk no one was willing to bear.

That Zhao Army, wherever it went, not only committed no offense against civilians, but would also establish a local supply system, purchasing with genuine silver coin, and could look after many local sons and younger kin, making the markets prosperous. Moreover, the Heavenly Majesty Army was, after all, a garrison force and could not manage many things. Once the Zhao Army came, every bandit, outlaw, and gang would be swept clean, restoring a bright and clear order to the place.

With such a comparison, the clear superiority was naturally evident. Besides, the general trend was clear, and the closer one was to Xuzhou, the more one realized this. In particular, the local officials had tacitly permitted, even encouraged, their runners to plunder refugees, profiting in a zone neither the Zhao Army nor the Heavenly Majesty Army controlled. Though this affair was soon settled by the Zhao Army's purges, it left Lu Xiangsheng deeply frustrated.

As for Wei Zhongxian having once passed through his jurisdiction, reportedly stirring up some trouble involving the capital and Xuzhou — the Lu Xiangsheng of the past would certainly have deemed the eunuch scoundrel in the wrong. But the experiences of these past few years made him prefer to turn a blind eye to the matter.

And the troops under Lu Xiangsheng's command understood this as well. They had trained according to the Zhao Army's training methods, and had even done their best to acquire some firearms like bird guns and cannons. Their drill instructors were said to be militia trainers who had come out of the Zhao Army.

But the more they trained, the more they realized just how vast the gap was. The more they trained, the more they realized just how powerful the Zhao Army was. The Heavenly Majesty Army was already confident it could sweep aside most government troops trained by the old methods, yet felt it would be smashed to pieces against the Zhao Army.

As time passed, everyone had a fair idea of certain things. It was quite possible that those diligent and responsible drill instructors were not "escapees" at all. What exactly was the Zhao Army's purpose in letting an enemy grow so strong? Even setting aside the chilling speculations, this confidence alone was enough to make one's blood run cold.

If battle were unavoidable, they would have no choice but to steel themselves and march to their deaths. Lu Xiangsheng was highly skilled at conscripting and training troops, and being himself outstanding in martial valor, there was no one in this Heavenly Majesty Army who dared act arrogantly or disobey orders. But now, it was not only that the men did not wish to fight — the common people felt the same. What Lord Lu cared about most was the will and heart of the people. Since the people's hearts were now thus, they had best not act against the people's hearts.

"This realm is no longer the Great Ming's realm," Lu Xiangsheng lamented openly.

Fortunately, an edict from the capital spared him this dilemma. The capital was mobilizing combat-worthy troops from across Northern Zhili to protect the emperor and defend the capital — though to those who understood warfare, this move was utterly useless.

What saddened Lu Xiangsheng most was not the local commoners. In any era, local gentry and commoners were unwilling to be caught up in the ravages of war, to have themselves dragged in — that was only natural. But the officials of Daming's prefectures, subprefectures, and counties were the same. They held office under the Great Ming, drew the Great Ming's stipends, owed their wealth and status entirely to the Great Ming — yet they still looked after themselves like this.

Still, Lu Xiangsheng was not heartbroken to any extreme degree. He himself was even surprised that he did not feel such gut-wrenching pain at everything happening before his eyes. It seemed the great righteousness rooted in his heart had failed to take effect.

Lu Xiangsheng soon found the reason — only, it was a reason he merely turned over in his mind and did not speak to anyone.

"What the Zhao Army does, incomprehensible though it may be, far surpasses what the Great Ming does. Letting the Zhao Army come might well be a better choice for the common people, and for the realm and the altars of state."

Just as the Zhao Army reached Jining, an urgent report came from Shanxi: Sun Chuanting had led the Datong New Army beyond the frontier and dealt a great defeat to the Chahar tribe, taking over two thousand heads...

This news truly lifted the hearts of all under heaven, and also made many previously firm attitudes begin to waver. From the time of the Progenitor Zhu Di to the present, in all the fierce battles with the Mongol tribes, when had the heads taken ever exceeded a thousand? And now, two thousand at once — it seemed that Sun Chuanting had truly forged a powerful army.

Who did not know that Sun Chuanting's Datong New Army had been trained according to the Zhao Army's new methods? Could it be that this reform and innovation had truly taken effect?

Even the various factions in Shandong were urging Zhao Jin to be cautious. As they all reasoned, the Zhao Army had originally been invincible in the north, sweeping across the realm. But now, suddenly, the Datong New Army had appeared. If this force seized the chance to strike the Zhao Army's flank or rear, it would be trouble no matter what.

Now was the time for great undertakings — there could not be the slightest twist or turn; absolute certainty must be sought. Yet this time, Zhao Jin once again ignored everyone's counsel and continued marching north along the canal.