Chapter 269

The moment the names "Kong Jiuying" and "Fu Chuchuan" were spoken, Zhao Jin and his companions' expressions all changed. Everyone looked in unison at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then asked, "Just him alone with one coffin?"

"Six riders escorted a large cart here. After that Fu Chuchuan got off, the six riders left. Fu Chuchuan stripped off his clothes, raised a white flag, and knelt there. I felt something was off, so I went over to take a look," Qi Er reported.

"Dasheng, assemble the veteran squad. Jixiang, take the four recruit squads and stand ready. Bingfeng, muster the archers. Shitou, take two squads and bring Fu Chuchuan and that coffin inside," Zhao Jin gave the order.

"Could there be other ambushes?" Chen Sheng asked before leaving.

Zhao Jin shook his head. "In broad daylight, on flat open ground, if there were hidden troops, our sentries would have spotted them. Caution first, but no need to worry too much. The wine tasting and selling continues. Bring the man and the coffin to the barracks furthest east."

With the order given, everyone and every squad in the courtyard began to bustle with tense activity. Yet it was a situation of outward calm and inner tension. The atmosphere over at the wine tasting was just heating up, completely oblivious to the movements of Zhao's Camp.

Before long, Fu Chuchuan, wearing only a pair of calf-length underpants, and that coffin had been brought into the barracks. Zhao Jin and his companions also arrived there.

"Big Brother, nothing unusual in the surrounding area," Shi Manqiang reported this first.

Zhao Jin nodded. Over on the other side, Fu Chuchuan had already knelt and kowtowed with utmost deference, and he kowtowed a full six times. This was a grand ceremony reserved for meeting esteemed elders. Liu Yong leaned in beside him and said in a low voice, "Big Brother, this conduct is that of a pure envoy. The grand kowtow, stripping naked to prove he carries no weapons—when two sides are hostile in the Jianghu, envoys always present themselves like this."

"This humble one greets Master Jin," Fu Chuchuan said respectfully, his eyes downcast in submission.

Compared to his arrogant and domineering attitude last time, it was truly like heaven and earth. Perhaps because he was naked, Fu Chuchuan looked rather ridiculous.

"What are you here for?" Zhao Jin asked indifferently. Both sides had fought a deadly battle once; there was no need for pleasantries. He didn't even let Fu Chuchuan stand up to reply.

A trace of venomous resentment flashed through Fu Chuchuan's eyes, but he lowered his head as much as possible. After the night battle at the He Estate, Zhao Jin's status was no longer what it had been before. Fu Chuchuan simply spoke: "Master Jin, Ninth Master sends word to you, saying that the battle that night was purely a misunderstanding, instigated by that little slut from the He family. Ninth Master says that between him and you, Master Jin, well water does not mix with river water. Each side has its own domain; why become enemies?"

"Little slut?" Zhao Jin asked back, only then realizing—this was He Weiyuan's daughter. Kong Jiuying and He Weiyuan were in-laws.

Fu Chuchuan quickly said, "It is the daughter of that old thief He Weiyuan. At the time, she came weeping before our Ninth Master, and Ninth Master was momentarily deceived by her. However, this little slut has already been executed by Ninth Master, and I am specially sent to deliver her for Master Jin's inspection."

Zhao Jin and his companions all shuddered. What ruthless methods. His own daughter-in-law, killed just like that. And he even sent the corpse over—this was proof that he had completely severed ties with the He family.

"Xiaoyong, go to the He Estate and find a local resident. Ask who has seen the He family's daughter, and bring that person here to identify her," Zhao Jin said calmly.

Fu Chuchuan had noticed Zhao Jin and the others shudder and inwardly sneered. But upon hearing this order, he felt a chill of fear. These young men were truly meticulous in their actions.

As Liu Yong went out, Fu Chuchuan knelt there and continued, "I ask Master Jin to send someone to open the coffin and feel inside. There is a pouch placed inside the coffin; please have it taken out."

Shi Manqiang nodded and went over to open the thin-planked coffin. A thick, strange odor wafted out. Fortunately, the smell of quicklime was strong, so it wasn't too nauseating. Shi Manqiang pulled out a pouch. When he closed the coffin lid, he couldn't help but spit to ward off the bad luck. The pouch was tossed on the ground, revealing its contents: over twenty gold ingots.

"Master Jin, both sides suffered casualties that night. These two hundred and eighty taels of pure gold are Ninth Master's compensation. Please accept them, Master Jin," Fu Chuchuan explained.

This was roughly three thousand taels of silver. Fu Chuchuan's posture was also sufficiently humble. But Zhao Jin's expression remained unchanged. He merely said indifferently, "Come when you want, leave when you want. Seeing you can't win, you toss over a bit of silver. Your master certainly plans well."

At this, Fu Chuchuan raised his head and stared at Zhao Jin. "Master Jin, it is precisely because Ninth Master can do nothing against you that he sent this humble one to offer compensation. We all struggle in the Jianghu; each has his own domain. There's no need to fight to the death. A true bloodbath would only benefit others. Master Jin, our Ninth Master also said that your thunderous methods are admirable. But Paoheyan is not Cloud Mountain Temple. If it truly came to that, what our Ninth Master holds in his hand is not merely three hundred cavalry."

"Cloud Mountain Temple? Your master's information is quite well-informed."

"Just a friend kindly informing us, that's all. When our Ninth Master heard, he even praised Master Jin, saying heroes emerge from the young." Fu Chuchuan was, at this moment, a qualified envoy—neither servile nor overbearing, and clearly laying out the stakes.

Zhao Jin could figure out the whole sequence of events. Kong Jiuying was taking advantage of the fact that Zhao Jin had no way to retaliate at Paoheyan, so he simply acted as if that night battle never happened. But the surprise raid on Cloud Mountain Temple, and the monk soldiers being wiped out by the garrison—after these events occurred, they more or less made Kong Jiuying wary, which was why he sent an envoy to sue for peace.

An old woman in her fifties was led over. She opened the coffin and looked inside. The old woman screamed in fright and sat down on the ground, her face deathly pale. Liu Yong produced a piece of silver and gave it to her. The old woman calmed down with great difficulty and said weakly, "This is the He family's young miss. There's a scar on her neck..."

Once the identification was confirmed, Zhao Jin dismissed the person. He pondered for a moment, then spoke: "If others do not attack me, I will not attack them. Tell your Ninth Master that."

Although it wasn't an explicit agreement, it was still considered consent to peace. Fu Chuchuan, however, did not rise. He knelt there and spoke: "Master Jin, Ninth Master's estate produces abundant goods and has the convenience of the waterways. He had considerable business with that old thief He in the past. Would Master Jin be willing to pick it up again?"

The Paoheyan estate, relative to Zhao Jin's location, was upstream on the Yellow River. Coming downstream was indeed convenient, and one could also travel along the river to the area around Pizhou.

"I can't control matters on the waterway. But if you want to do business with my side, you cannot leave the ferry crossings. Prices will follow the market rate," Zhao Jin gave his reply. The several ferry crossings on the Yellow River were all a few li, at most ten li, from the He Estate. Transport wasn't troublesome. But if he let the other side enter the He Estate to do business, that would be inviting a wolf into the house. Zhao Jin naturally wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

Seeing Zhao Jin react so quickly, Fu Chuchuan was also quite surprised. He knelt there, stunned for a moment, before saying, "I didn't expect Master Jin to be so well-versed in the art of business and profit."

Training the body and learning martial arts from childhood, or studying the classics assiduously from childhood, could both cultivate a decent warrior or a scholar. But the business acumen for generating revenue and profit wasn't something one learned from childhood. In Fu Chuchuan's view, this could only be innate talent.

Fu Chuchuan's words were not yet finished: "Ninth Master says that on the ground of these three provinces, the only one who could mediate peace between him and Master Jin is the government. But the government certainly cannot be invited. This peace agreement can only rely on mutual self-restraint. Conflict between our two sides benefits neither, and only allows petty villains to take advantage."

"Accepting the gold and the corpse—that is my intent," Zhao Jin replied flatly.

With that said, there was nothing more for the two sides to discuss. Fu Chuchuan kowtowed and took his leave. When he departed, Zhao Jin assigned a squad of household troops to watch Fu Chuchuan return to his original spot. That coffin, along with the corpse, was directly ordered to be taken away and burned.

As soon as the man left, Dong Bingfeng immediately said, "Big Brother, are you truly going to make peace?"

"Do you think that Tiger Kong is sincere about peace?" Zhao Jin asked in return.

"He definitely harbors malicious intentions. He's only doing this because he can't attack with full force," Dong Bingfeng said solemnly.

"And can we attack with full force? He still has cavalry in his hands. How many of us can ride horses? He harbors malicious intentions, but do you think we're foolish enough to believe him wholeheartedly?" Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Chen Sheng shook his head at the side and said in a muffled voice, "That was his daughter-in-law, and he killed her just like that. This man is ruthless."

Everyone's expressions turned solemn. At their age, they valued loyalty and affection above all. It was hard to imagine someone could bring themselves to do that to their own family.

Seeing the worry on everyone's faces, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Do you think Kong Jiuying came to talk peace for any other reason? It's because he's afraid. We raided Cloud Mountain Temple, and the garrison wiped out the remaining monk soldiers. He's afraid of our methods, so he sent someone to talk peace."

Only then did it dawn on everyone. This peace offering was because their own methods inspired fear and respect. Understanding this, their moods lightened considerably.

Outside, the wine tasting had reached its end. Most people had come with carts and horses. Now they loaded up the wine jars and hurried back to the city or off to various places. Then, inevitably, they would send someone back to the city with a message, telling people to bring silver and queue up for orders. This wine, once sold, was pure silver. Hurrying to take more stock and earn more was the proper thing to do.

The household troops, having finished tidying up, began drilling again. Zhao Jin did not go out to busy himself like his companions. Inside the house, he took out a thick notebook and began to leaf through it. Inside an opened iron chest lay three more. These were his recollections and insights from these past years. Every time he looked at this notebook, Zhao Jin felt considerable frustration. For instance, knowing something worked but not knowing why it worked. In this era, Europe was already applying water-powered machinery on a large scale, mass-producing armor and weapons. Under such mechanical manufacturing, quality was far better than handcrafting, and efficiency was high. But what were the principles behind water-powered machinery? Zhao Jin had absolutely no clue.

The steel armor that Zhao Jin and his companions wore had played a major role in the night battle at the He Estate. They all charged at the forefront, and the enemy's blades, spears, and arrows naturally targeted them. Yet the armor protected them well, and no one suffered significant injuries. Inspecting the armor afterward, the dents and scratches were a chaotic mess. Just thinking about it sent chills down one's spine—these were all marks left by enemy weapons.

In battle, the most vulnerable area to attack is the upper body, because it presents the largest target. Everyone instinctively aims there. Next is the head. Based on his memories and the experience of predecessors, Zhao Jin decided to equip his soldiers with breastplates and helmets in large quantities. For this reason, the Shi family blacksmith shop had specifically opened a branch in the He Estate and hired eight blacksmiths from nearby. But these breastplates were the hardest to forge. It required a blacksmith to control the force of his hammer, shaping it blow by blow on the anvil. Two men working four days could only produce one breastplate. A helmet took one man two days to forge. Now they were short on iron again and had to go purchase more. Zhao Jin felt the efficiency was far too low, but he couldn't think of any way to improve it.

He thought the efficiency was low, but according to the blacksmiths: "We're fortunate to be here in Xuzhou, where there's coal and iron. Anywhere else, just procuring the iron would be a huge headache."

"Big Brother, is it convenient to come in?" Liu Yong called from outside. Zhao Jin had a strict rule for the household troops: when he was alone in his room, anyone coming to report had to call out loudly for permission from outside. This was also to prevent those notebooks from being seen.

This order was given, and even his companions took note of it. Zhao Jin placed the notebook back into the iron chest and closed it, then called for Liu Yong to enter.

After Liu Yong came in, he reported: "Big Brother, those ox and horse merchants from the livestock market also want to come buy wine. What do you think, Big Brother?"

"You came to ask me about such a small matter? Just decide it yourself," Zhao Jin said, shaking his head with a smile. After saying this, Zhao Jin teased him: "Maybe those fellows smelled the wine's aroma and got thirsty. Just give them some to drink."

Liu Yong, however, wore a somewhat serious expression. "Big Brother, at first, this little brother thought the same. But it doesn't look that way. And listening to them talk about selling this wine up north and such, I felt you should take a look, Big Brother."

"They don't sell oxen and horses, so why fuss over wine? I say they just want a drink!" Shi Manqiang said gruffly from the side.

Zhao Jin waved his hand with a smile and said, "We'll know once we go out and look."

When they came to the courtyard, the merchants from the city had long since started their journey back. Only the group from the livestock market remained. Seeing Zhao Jin come out, they all hurriedly offered greetings.

Besides the lead man, Wang Ziyang, there were four others. Zhao Jin had a rough impression of all four, as they were the largest-scale ox and horse merchants. One of them was slightly taller than Liu Yong, with bow legs, short, stout, and stocky. Zhao Jin even remembered this man's surname—it was Man. He was a Tartar whose family had migrated into Shanxi decades ago.

"You all want to buy wine?" Zhao Jin asked with a smile.

"We've all had the honor of drinking Master Jin's fine wine before. Now that we've heard it's being produced in large quantities, we thought we'd take advantage of being so close and see if we might catch a little of that fortune." That Wang Ziyang had apparently read a few books; his speech was polite and even carried a classical allusion.

Zhao Jin turned his head and said a word. Over on that side, Liu Yong immediately ran off to make arrangements. Before long, ten jars of wine were brought over from the distillery. Zhao Jin said with a smile, "Taste first, buy later. If you don't buy, take these ten jars back with you to drink."

Although ten jars of Han Well Famous Wine were not cheap, these cattle and horse merchants had also subsidized Zhao Zi Camp quite a bit on horses and livestock. Zhao Jin kept that clearly in mind.

The several merchants exchanged glances, then all came forward grinning. All ten jars were opened. Wine was drawn out with ladles and set out bowl by bowl for tasting. The several merchants all sampled carefully. That merchant surnamed Man, however, downed one bowl after another. By the fourth bowl, he was already swaying a little, yet he still wanted to keep drinking.

"Isn't this just craving wine? No wonder they say things like 'camels love willows, Mongols love wine' — once they see it, they can't move." Ji Xiang curled his lip and muttered quietly.

Unexpectedly, when that Man merchant reached the sixth bowl, he actually stopped. Setting down the wine bowl, he raised his voice and said, "Master Jin, no matter how much one buys, can every jar be tasted?"

"Taste first, buy later. That is my rule," Zhao Jin answered with a smile.

"This humble one wants to buy a hundred jars a month. Can that be done? I'll pay in ready silver, and if the silver's not enough, I'll use livestock to cover the debt!" that Man merchant said loudly again.

A hundred jars. When that number was spoken, Zhao Jin and his companions all froze for a moment. Even adding together the output of both the distillery inside the city and the one outside, a hundred jars was no small quantity. Although this wine was selling briskly now, there were only twenty or so customers who took more than a hundred jars a month. This Tatar in the livestock business opened his mouth with that number?

Liu Yong had been involved quite a bit in the internal affairs and business side of things. He immediately leaned close to Zhao Jin's ear and whispered, "We still need to hold goods for Pizhou, and we need to reserve for other urgent needs. If we put out that amount, we won't have much surplus left."

After hearing this, Zhao Jin smiled, shook his head, and answered, "You want too much. What about the people ahead of you in line?"

The canal transport sector had a massive demand for this Han Well Famous Wine. Zhao Jin had handed it all over to Sun Dalei's father, Sun Jia, to act as agent. Based on last year's inquiries and orders, the volume was enormous. But now it was nearly the fourth month, and there had been no word at all from Pizhou. Zhao Jin was not anxious. On his side, he simply kept stock ready and prepared. In any case, this wine would never end up dead inventory in his hands. The Sun family side would always get priority supply.

The other several cattle and horse merchants shot a glare at that Man merchant. Wang Ziyang bowed and apologized, "Master Jin, please don't take offense. This man gets wild when he's drunk. We humble ones have our own line of business to run; how could we sink such a large stake into wine?"

The others nearby all chimed in agreement. Wang Ziyang then added, "Master Jin, we humble ones would each like twenty jars a month. What do you think?"

Everyone froze again. The previous man alone wanted a hundred jars a month. Now the total demand from these people here, added together, exceeded a hundred jars.

"Ready silver, ready silver. This humble one would never break Master Jin's rule!" Wang Ziyang said with an ingratiating smile.

"This is good wine. When the knife-scraping wind blows, one sip is like putting on a fur coat!" That Man merchant had drunk another two bowls over there. This Han Well Famous Wine was potent and fiery. Having drunk so much, he could no longer control his drunkenness.

Wang Ziyang shot him a vicious glare. The expressions of the several merchants who had come with him also soured. They hurried over and covered his mouth, turning to Zhao Jin with apologetic smiles as they did so. Faintly, one could hear them grumbling, "Knew we shouldn't have brought this Tatar. The moment he drinks, he goes crazy."

Everyone else simply found it amusing. Watching a drunk was no different from watching a monkey show. That one's own wine sold well was, after all, never a bad thing. Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then stepped over and said with a smile, "Your cattle and horses are all brought in from beyond the passes, aren't they?"

Wang Ziyang had no idea why Zhao Jin was asking this. He was only too eager for Zhao Jin to change the subject. He quickly smiled and said, "Master Jin has a sharp eye. What this humble one deals in are all top-quality goods from the Hetao region — fat and strong, good for everything."

"It's cold beyond the passes!" Zhao Jin said again.

"Isn't that the truth. The wind at Datong is already like a knife. Once you're beyond the border wall, the Daqing Mountains area is still manageable, but everywhere else has no shelter. When the wind blows through, it can freeze your innards solid. Truly hard to endure." Wang Ziyang could only go along with it.