Chapter 231: What a Grand Gesture

Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Send two men to escort Er Hong to the yamen. Have Clerk Ye bring in a few more clerks. Then go to the constable station and find some sharp-eyed uncles—have them come take a look at the applicants. We don't want any riffraff sneaking in. I'll cover the silver for this myself."

Chen Hong, who had been keeping accounts nearby, quickly locked the ledger into the cabinet and went out to arrange matters. He was incredibly busy now—expansion, recruitment, goods moving in and out—the accounts were growing more complex by the day. Chen Hong was not yet fourteen and simply couldn't keep up, but some accounts could only be handled by their own people. Zhou Xuezhi, however, could gradually be trusted with more.

"... Quite a few sons from Xuzhou Guard and Xuzhou Left Guard have come as well. I spotted men from Commander Lu's and Commander Yang's households," Dong Bingfeng remarked.

"For those coming from the guard posts, we won't take eldest sons or only sons. They have family property to inherit—they won't be able to settle their hearts here. Anyone else is fine," Zhao Jin stated. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Military households in the guard posts were passed down through generations, with the eldest son inheriting. Each military household had its own plot of land. Though most ended up working as tenant farmers for the officers, it was still a form of property. In times like these, it was barely enough to settle down and make a living. When a man had a fallback, he naturally wouldn't fight with his life on the line.

The second and third sons of military households were what they called surplus men. They couldn't inherit the family property, the military household status, or the garrison fields. They had to find their own way. To fill their bellies and fight for wealth, they were naturally all in. Most ordinary surplus men from military households shared this mindset. As for the sons of chiliarchs and vice-chiliarchs, their families were well-off. Even if they couldn't inherit the family estate, a lifetime of comfort was no problem. But such men were often unwilling to settle—they always wanted to take a gamble. Dong Bingfeng was a perfect example.

The clamor outside was so loud they could hear every word clearly even inside the house. Zhao Jin couldn't help frowning. "No matter what they were like before, once we recruit them, they'll need harsh training."

"It's still those clean youths with no shady backgrounds who are most useful," Chen Sheng said slowly.

In the courtyard, several dozen household guards were each busy with their tasks, yet not a sound could be heard—this was the fruit of their training. Outside, it was still a scattered mess of sand.

Someone outside called out in a low voice. Liu Yong quickly rose and went out the door. Before long, he returned and said gravely, "Big Brother, youths have come from every estate outside Xuzhou City. People have also come from the two branch temples of Cloud Mountain Temple. There's no telling how many of these are sincere—they could very well all be spies."

The way powerful families passed down their enterprises was actually somewhat similar to the military households, except they didn't necessarily pass it to the eldest son. They passed it to the child most capable, the one who could best prosper the family or preserve what had been built. They rarely divided the family property, because an estate and influence painstakingly accumulated over time would scatter completely the moment it was split. Children who couldn't inherit the family enterprise would at most receive a sum of money, or work for the family head to earn a hard living.

That being said, every local power in the Xuzhou region had overlapping interests and conflicts with Zhao Jin. Heaven only knew whether these youths had come to carve out their own path, or to serve as spies for their families.

After Liu Yong reported this situation, Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then said, "If they meet the requirements, take them. But put these people in a separate squad. As for whether they're spies or not, that's one thing. They also count as hostages. With them under our hand, we'll have a certain connection and relationship with their families."

To put it bluntly, these were hostages. Once Zhao Jin pointed this out, everyone nodded. Just as they were about to continue, they heard someone outside call out loudly, "Master Jin, your humble servants have arrived."

It was Clerk Ye announcing himself. Zhao Jin gave Liu Yong a few quick instructions, then hurriedly led his companions out to receive them. Clerk Ye's party numbered over twenty people. Four were dressed as clerks from the six offices, and there were two constables. The rest were common runners with no official rank. The runners were one thing, but the clerks and constables all wore rather peculiar expressions.

No matter which of them met Zhao Jin, they would respectfully address him as "Master Jin." But when everyone called out the greeting together like this, it felt awkward.

"Uncles, you've all come to help. Zhao Jin thanks you here. Registering and screening applicants will involve expenses—I can't have you spending your own silver. Please accept this. If it's not enough, just say the word," Zhao Jin said courteously. Behind him, Chen Hong and Liu Yong brought forward two trays of broken silver.

The men from the yamen were no strangers to handling money. One glance told them those wooden trays held roughly a hundred taels. This Master Jin's generosity was truly considerable. Each man calculated his likely share, and smiles appeared on every face.

"The applicants this time are a mixed lot. There are common folk from good families, and there are men of the rivers and lakes. As long as they aren't wanted bandits and haven't committed any heinous crimes, they can all come and try out. If they meet the standards, we'll take them," Zhao Jin spoke confidently.

The two constables had initially been rather dismissive, but the moment they saw the silver, they turned dead serious. Hearing this, one said with a smile, "If there's any problem, we'll come ask Young Master Zhao about it."

They treated Zhao Zhentang as an equal, so calling him "Master Jin" in front of outsiders was something they truly couldn't bring themselves to do. Everyone understood their little concern, and no one exposed it. Clerk Ye asked with a smile, "May I ask how many men Master Jin plans to recruit this time?"

"Three hundred!" Zhao Jin said, smiling.

The moment that number was spoken, the courtyard fell silent. Only the noise from outside remained. Everyone was stunned for a moment. Three hundred men—what a grand gesture from Zhao Jin.

Anyone in Xuzhou with even a modicum of information knew how many men Zhao Jin had. The distillery employed over a hundred. He had two hundred household guards. In the city's streets and underworld, he could call on over a hundred more at any time. He held He Family Village in his grip—that was several hundred more. And now he wanted to hire another three hundred. That meant, at a wave of his hand, five hundred men with blades and spears would answer his call. What exactly was he planning? The Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander had only a few thousand troops under his command, just over a thousand of them inside the city. If you did the math, Zhao Jin could mobilize a comparable force within the city walls. People didn't even dare think further.

The scene was silent, expressions strange. Even the silver on the wooden trays had lost much of its appeal. Everyone was thinking: this kid is about to bring down disaster. We'd better keep our distance.

Clerk Ye looked ready to speak, but with so many outsiders present, he couldn't open his mouth. Zhao Jin continued with a smile, "From now on, I'll be putting down roots at He Family Village. That's a big estate, a big operation. The distillery, the market, everything needs hands. And we still have to look after things here in the city. Too few men won't be enough!"

Hearing this, everyone paused, then collectively sighed in relief. If he was going outside the city, then it was no concern of theirs. Several hundred men inside the city was conspicuous, but outside the city walls, it really didn't count for much. Xuzhou had many great clans and powerful families. They lived in fortified settlements, trained militias for self-defense and feuding, and could field over a hundred men at a moment's notice—that wasn't even worth mentioning. The truly propertied magnates could easily mobilize over five hundred, even fielding several dozen cavalry. Compared to them, Zhao Jin's few hundred men weren't particularly eye-catching.

And Zhao Jin's explanation was perfectly sufficient. The estate, the distillery, inside the city, outside the city—all needed manpower. Other families with great enterprises naturally employed many people. It was entirely reasonable.

After their relief, another realization struck them. Zhao Jin was moving to He Family Village? This couldn't be considered a small matter. With a god of calamity like him in Xuzhou City day after day, everyone on both the official side and the underworld paths had been walking on eggshells. Once he left, everyone could breathe a little easier. But after thinking it over, they realized it was impossible. He Family Village was too close to Xuzhou. And Zhao Jin would still be keeping men in the city...

Once all these matters were explained, Clerk Ye, thoroughly familiar with the routine, led the group out of the courtyard. The household guards, weapons in hand, were already forming ranks on the goods yard. The order outside was too chaotic—they were needed to maintain control.

Seeing that recruitment had begun, the clamor outside suddenly swelled. Everyone surged forward, jostling, shoving, cursing, and fighting. The group from the guard posts and the shady characters of the rivers and lakes—either brawny and strong or too intimidating for anyone to challenge—all squeezed to the very front. Next came those with some status and background. Since they had come to sign up, they had a certain confidence and some skill, so they too could push near the front. After them were the brawlers and toughs—no match for the previous groups, but still able to fight for a decent spot. At the very back were the children of ordinary families.

The front and rear circles gradually stabilized, but within each circle, people still had to sort out their order. Some jostling was inevitable. But now, further chaos wouldn't be tolerated. Wherever things got slightly disorderly, the household guards with long staves would move in. If anyone still didn't know better, the staves came cracking down on heads and faces. After a few beatings, everyone fell in line.

As the scene quieted somewhat, many of the ordinary youths at the back showed disappointment on their faces. Some simply turned and left. The place was packed to the brim with young men answering the call. Those at the front were clearly the standouts. With no chance for themselves, why join the excitement?

"This time, we are recruiting a total of three hundred men!"

Just then, someone on the goods yard shouted out loudly.

The area, which had been in constant uproar, suddenly fell dead silent. Then a stir rippled through the crowd. Everyone was shocked. Many turned to ask those beside them if they had misheard the number.

"... Anyone who meets the standards, Xu'an Trading Company will take them all..." The loud shout came again from that direction.

After this announcement, the stirring ceased. Expectant looks appeared on every face, and everyone queued up obediently.

Inside and out, it looked like over a thousand people, but because they were clustered in scattered groups, standing loosely, a careful count wouldn't yield that many. Besides, anyone who dared come here to sign up had some self-confidence, always believing they were better than the others. The ratio right now wasn't even three to one—why wouldn't they be chosen?

Everyone knew that Zhao Jin's household guard training was grueling, guarding the distillery carried risks, and escorting goods had led to heavy casualties. Yet they still came, each convinced they could do better, that they could avoid such mishaps. Of course, everyone could also see that Zhao Jin's momentum was still rising. His ascent had been swift, but his foundation was solidly laid. As long as they could attach themselves to him, there would surely be benefits.

That said, of all the prefectures and counties under the Great Ming sky, only Xuzhou would see such a situation. The local culture revered martial prowess and admired heroes and bold spirits. Anywhere else, aside from the street thugs and riffraff of the underworld, and the rootless bachelors with no family property, no one would come to sign up. Young men would keep a respectful distance, and the older folk would think Zhao Jin was courting disaster.