Chapter 232: All Sorts of People

232. Chapter 232: All Sorts of People

As before, several tables were set up near the entrance. Clerks and constables from the yamen sat there, questioning and recording. What was different from before was that Zhao Jin and his companions stood right behind the clerks and constables. Who to take and who to reject — they were the final decision-makers.

At the very front of the line were two groups. The one on the left was slightly larger, over thirty people, all seemingly sons of the Guard Post from well-off families. Those who recognized Dong Bingfeng greeted him with smiles. Dong Bingfeng merely nodded, constantly introducing them to Zhao Jin. Just as they had judged earlier, these were basically the second or third sons of Hundred-Household and Thousand-Household officers, some even concubine-born sons of lesser status.

Nine of them rode horses. These nine were clearly from well-off families. The rest were merely neatly dressed, some even with patches on their clothes. Though they were all children of military officers, their living conditions were just so-so. Otherwise, Zhao Zhentang, despite his status, wouldn't have gone to work as a constable in Xuzhou City.

Dong Bingfeng was usually a man of few words, and his introductions were concise. Perhaps influenced by his several personal guard masters, he knew these Guard Post sons very well.

"... Those on horseback are actually nothing special. They know a bit of bow, horse, saber, and spear, but nothing outstanding. It's just that their families have money..."

The Guard Post nowadays was already much like a large manor, but it still retained the nature of a military household, and being in a place like Xuzhou, it was normal for the sons to value martial skill. Had it been elsewhere, the sons of Guard Post families with some means would focus on studying to win scholarly rank.

"All sons of good families, yet they come to be household slaves?" Zhao Jin said in a low voice.

"They don't see it that way. Working for Big Brother means signing a contract of selling oneself into servitude, but they don't have to change their surname, and there's no beating or scolding. They all feel they'll have a future here." Ji Xiang chimed in from the side.

To put it plainly, Zhao Jin ran things properly here. Coming here, people didn't feel like they were being worked like beasts of burden; instead, they felt it was proper business. Besides, selling oneself into servitude depended on how you looked at it. Some did it because they couldn't survive, but everyone here came seeking better prospects. A powerful servant in a noble household was far better off than an ordinary rich man. Even if these people came from decent families, they had no future path, so they might as well come and try their luck.

"Zhuang Liu came too." Dong Bingfeng spotted someone, his tone slightly surprised, and immediately lowered his voice to alert Zhao Jin to look over.

Among that group of Guard Post sons, one person stood at the edge, in a relatively detached position. Compared to those around him, he looked very robust. His clothing was rather odd. The wealthier ones inevitably had some silk or fine cloth on them; the poorer ones wore ordinary homespun. But this man wore a leather jacket that looked like wolf skin, crudely styled, with leather wrappings on his calves. He held a long-handled iron pitchfork and carried a bow and arrows on his back.

A leather jacket and leather leg wrappings — by all accounts, that wasn't bad. But the crude styling, the dark coarse cloth of the clothes and trousers showing underneath, the cheapest kind of goods — he carried a bow and a weapon, but the bow and arrows didn't look standard issue, and as for the iron pitchfork, it might pass for a street performer's prop, but for a military household son to use it was a joke.

The Guard Post sons formed their own circles, chatting and laughing among themselves. But around this man, it was empty. From every angle, he was completely out of place. Their group wasn't far from Zhao Jin, so they could see clearly. The man's face showed no sign of resentment or indignation; he just stood there quietly.

"This Zhuang Liu, is he over twenty?" Zhao Jin asked casually. Zhuang Liu's face was dark and weathered, heavily marked by wind and frost, making him look quite old.

For this recruitment of new men, to facilitate training and control, they naturally wanted to recruit those around their own age. Anyone over twenty was not considered.

Hearing Zhao Jin's words, Dong Bingfeng paused, then said, "Zhuang Liu is the same age as me. In fact, he's even younger than me."

Dong Bingfeng was a year younger than Zhao Jin and the others. Zhuang Liu didn't look it. Dong Bingfeng made a point of giving a more detailed introduction about this person.

Zhuang Liu was the son of a military household in another Thousand-Household Post. But his parents had died of an epidemic when he was nine. His uncle, who was serving in the managing Thousand-Household Officer's mansion at the time, took the opportunity to seize his family's military household status and corresponding property, directly transferring it to his own second son. He hypocritically took Zhuang Liu in for a year, then stopped caring for him altogether.

There were quite a few such unmoored children in the Guard Post. Some simply froze, starved, or fell ill and died. Others were sold off elsewhere as slaves. But Zhuang Liu was fiercely determined. He gritted his teeth and did odd jobs to support himself, seizing every chance to eavesdrop and secretly learn at the places where martial arts were taught.

When a person is determined, others are generally willing to lend a hand. Some gave him aid, and when he eavesdropped and learned in secret, people turned a blind eye. Things went on ambiguously like this until he was thirteen. Then Zhuang Liu's uncle, seeing the unfavorable trend, began to deliberately make things difficult. People's help and charity were casual gestures; naturally, no one was willing to offend others for the sake of such a helpless, unconnected child.

But by this time, Zhuang Liu had already learned some skills. He set snares on the barren flats and wild lands to catch rabbits for sale, barely supporting himself. When he grew a little older, he went hunting in the mountains. No one expected that this Zhuang Liu had a real talent for hunting. His hauls were considerable, and his life improved because of it.

Having gone through so much, Zhuang Liu was more mature than his peers, and his temperament was unyielding, unable to tolerate the slightest bullying. He had many conflicts with the Guard Post and the local area. Although he had learned in secret back then, he had practiced very diligently, and hunting had built him a strong body. He had never come out on the losing side.

"... After he hunted a leopard alone with a steel pitchfork, no one dared to provoke him anymore. However, Officer Zheng of the Thousand-Household Post specifically demanded that leopard skin. Zhuang Liu ignored him and sold it himself. Now he can hardly stay in the Guard Post any longer. Everyone knows his uncle instigated this..." Dong Bingfeng had been concise before, but he spoke at length about this Zhuang Liu, showing how much importance he placed on him.

"... Master Li and Master Luan have both spoken of this Zhuang Liu. They said that although he wasn't trained through orthodox methods, he's not bad at all. If he can kill a leopard with a steel pitchfork, he can kill a man too. Others have seen the foxes and rabbits Zhuang Liu shot while hunting; his archery isn't bad either..." Listening to Dong Bingfeng's introduction, Zhao Jin nodded slowly. This Zhuang Liu was very suitable to recruit.

During the time they were talking, those Guard Post sons had almost finished their registration. Surprisingly, over a dozen were deemed unsuitable. Among those on horseback, seven were rejected. The reason was simple: they couldn't find anyone to act as guarantor.

Wealthy families all hoped their sons would live in peace and comfort, not go out risking their lives with blades and spears, let alone sell themselves into servitude as household slaves. Coming to sign up at Zhao Jin's place, their families naturally wouldn't agree, and relatives and friends wouldn't act as guarantors either. Without meeting this condition, they naturally wouldn't be recruited.

These people came to sign up partly out of curiosity and for fun, priding themselves on their mastery of bow and horse. They thought that even if they didn't meet some conditions, perhaps the other side would make an exception and recruit them, maybe even stage some drama of thirsting for talent. They never expected to be rejected cleanly and decisively. Looking at Zhao Jin and the others sitting there, they wanted to throw a tantrum but didn't dare, and could only leave in disgruntlement.

On the other hand, those Guard Post sons who weren't particularly outstanding all successfully signed up. They came here seeking a way out, a matter of their entire livelihood and future, so naturally they had prepared thoroughly. Zhuang Liu was among them. His uncle was already inclined to deal with him. Hearing that he wanted to come to Zhao Jin's side as a household retainer, the uncle hastily wrote the guarantee document, eager to avoid this nephew making trouble for him or even fighting over that family property from years ago.

The group on the right, those who looked like outlaws and bandits, were few in number, just over a dozen. When the Guard Post group finished, they silently came over to answer the recruitment call and sign up.

Although they looked like they came from the wrong side of the law, each had all their paperwork in order. Their parents had agreed, and there were people from inside and outside Xuzhou City acting as guarantors. Three of them, over twenty-five years old, were rejected outright. Disappointment showed on these men's faces, and they seemed to want to say something.

The clerks and constables from the yamen, of course, could also tell they were of dubious background, so they didn't shout to stop them. They simply turned to look at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin swept his gaze over them and spoke directly: "Wait off to the side. We'll talk at the very end."

His tone was indifferent but brooked no argument. Those three knew the score and, heads lowered, led their horses off to one side.

The dozen or so people were quickly processed. Not a single one was accepted, but neither were they told they were rejected. Clerk Ye and a few yamen people huddled together, muttered a few words, then walked toward Zhao Jin with the two constables.

"Master Jin, we underlings dare not make the decision on these fifteen men. We still need you to decide." Clerk Ye asked respectfully.

Though the two constables had felt awkward addressing him as "Master Jin" in public earlier, now it came perfectly naturally. Zhao Jin didn't stand on ceremony either. He nodded and said, "If any of them are serious offenders wanted for major crimes, point them out. I'll just have them seized right here. No need to overthink it."

One of the older constables said with an ingratiating smile, "Master Jin is selfless and impartial. But these rough fellows from the wilds wouldn't dare come to sign up without some degree of confidence."

"... These dozen or so are all locals, and their guarantors aren't fabricated..." Clerk Ye interjected.

The other constable continued, "It's just that these people all have different backgrounds. Allow me to explain them to you one by one, Master Jin."

"... That one, Pu Daquan, is from Pu Village outside the city. Four years ago, he wounded a monk from Cloud Mountain Temple who came to collect rent. The monks tore down his family's house..." This one had offended the monks of Cloud Mountain Temple, dared not stay at home, and had no choice but to become an outlaw.

"... The Zheng family had a dispute with the Shengyuan Yang's household. As a result, the Yang family's firewood shed was set ablaze in the middle of the night. It was found out that Zheng Mutou did it. This one has a record at the yamen. But his family ran fast and moved away in advance..."

They all had matters of one kind or another — either they had offended local bullies or broken the king's law. But all were considered to have extenuating circumstances, and they had all offended factions opposed to Zhao Jin. With Zhao Jin's current power, he didn't need to worry about these things; he was more than capable of sheltering them. But for Zhao Jin, the question was whether they were worth it, which was why the constables needed to ask.

Zhao Jin had just nodded when the older constable leaned in close and said in a low voice, "... Tao Gui, Qian Yong, and the other two — those four are hired fighters who take money for their lives. As for why these four came to answer the recruitment, that's unknown. Maybe they're tired of that drifting life and want to find honest work..."

Following the indication and looking over, they saw that among these dozen or so outlaws, four stood in a separate cluster, somewhat different from the others. These four seemed rather slick and shifty.

Private feuds and armed brawls were common around Xuzhou. When interests were involved or real fury was ignited, it was often necessary to hire fighters. These hired fighters made their living specifically from this trade. They had skills but were unwilling to be constrained, valuing freedom and ease. Rather than becoming outlaws or working as estate guards, they chose this path.

"... Could any of them be spies planted by someone else?" Liu Yong came close and asked in a low voice.