Chapter 318: An Opportunity Delivered to the Door

By the time he returned to the main hall, Zhao Zhentang was already seated there. Seeing him enter, he asked with concern, "The yamen won't provide the funds — what will you do about this? Will there be trouble?"

Zhao Jin shook his head. A smile surfaced on his face as he said, utterly at ease, "It's not trouble — it's an opportunity. I was worried about taboos at first, but I never expected that man Tong to deliver this right to my door."

Thinking it through from start to finish, Zhao Zhentang seemed to grasp something. He laughed and said, "I know you have plenty of silver on hand, but you still shouldn't throw it around like this."

"Father, this sum of silver must come from the government coffers. We won't have to spend a single coin of our own," Zhao Jin answered with a smile.

Zhao Zhentang was taken aback for a moment. Zhao Jin did not explain further; he merely said with an apologetic air, "Father, I can't stay and chat with you and Mother. Your son has matters to attend to."

"Proper business comes first. Go attend to your affairs." Zhao Zhentang waved his hand dismissively. Zhao Jin turned and strode out with great steps.

Watching his son walk out the door, the smile on Zhao Zhentang's face faded. He sat there and let out a sigh.

"Go call Chen Sheng and Wang Zhaojing — tell them to come quickly to my front gate. Send word to Liu Yong, Shi Manqiang, and Dong Bingfeng — tell them to go to the goods yard. Quickly!" Zhao Jin stood before the courtyard gate and gave the order. The foot soldiers and cavalrymen guarding the gate immediately acknowledged and ran off in every direction.

Zhao Jin glanced back and happened to meet the eyes of the Meng siblings. The young boy and girl were leaning against the side of the spirit screen wall, peeking in this direction. Their faces were now bright red, deeply embarrassed.

"Be careful at home. Keep the gate shut tight at all times," Zhao Jin instructed with a smile, then strode out.

The Meng siblings shouted their assent. The courtyard gate closed behind him. Zhao Jin stood on the street. Compared to when he had left, this place had grown more bustling. Within the city of Xuzhou, being neighbors with Lord Jin's parents, living close by, was itself a mark of honor. At the very least, it was safer than anywhere else — riffraff, burglars, and petty thieves absolutely dared not come to this area; even beggars gave it a wide berth. Some even spread the tale that Lord Jin bore the likeness of a tiger, that no evil or malign influence could draw near him. This drew quite a few superstitious wealthy and noble folk to gather here all the more.

The Wang and Chen residences were both very close. Soon enough, Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng came riding over in full armor. Zhao Jin patted his forehead and laughed from a distance, "I forgot to tell you — this time it's not a fight."

"You haven't taken off your own armor either," Chen Sheng said with a laugh. Zhao Jin looked down at himself and laughed too. After arriving home, everyone had been excited, and then guests had come to visit — somehow they had simply overlooked it.

Someone led a horse over. Zhao Jin mounted up and said, "To the goods yard. We'll talk on the way."

A light tap to the horse's belly, a flick of the reins, and the three riders moved slowly forward. Men immediately fell in behind them.

"... Foolish, foolish." After hearing Zhao Jin's explanation, Wang Zhaojing could only shake his head atop his horse.

Zhao Jin laughed with great delight and said loudly from horseback, "He's saved us a great deal of trouble, yet he hasn't saved himself a single coin."

The sun was sinking west; it was already afternoon. Aside from Ji Xiang, who had gone to He Village, and Dong Bingfeng, who had gone to the battalion post outside the city, everyone else quickly assembled.

"Xiaoyong, have the account house in the city produce nine thousand taels of silver at once. Also prepare one hundred jars of Hanjing Famous Wine — load them all onto carts and have them ready." Zhao Jin gave the order directly. Liu Yong nodded his assent.

"Dasheng and Zhaojing, your two families are prominent figures in the city. Find a few men who have reputations both inside and outside the city. Go out and tell those militia groups that the government does not intend to reimburse their expenses, provisions, or pay for the burial and compensation of their dead and wounded. Go do this now!" Chen Sheng and Wang Zhaojing exchanged a glance, then both nodded.

"Once it's done, reassemble here. We'll leave the city together. All of you, go — have everything I've said arranged within half a shichen!" Zhao Jin raised his voice.

Everyone shouted their assent and dispersed. When the others had left, Shi Manqiang stayed behind and remained at Zhao Jin's side. He was wearing civilian clothes; he hurriedly and clumsily changed into his armor, then came over. Shi Manqiang hemmed and hawed for a moment before speaking: "Big Brother, my younger brother Shi Man'gang can't sit idle at the blacksmith shop. He keeps wanting to come follow you, Big Brother. My father has beaten him several times but can't control him. During the city defense this time, he even grabbed a blade and wanted to go up onto the walls. The family thought it over — rather than letting him drift around like this, it'd be better for him to come to our Zhao Character Camp. At the very least, he can learn something."

"He's one of our own brothers — of course he can come. How is your younger brother's martial skill?" Zhao Jin had an impression of this Shi Man'gang — a very sturdy young fellow, even a little taller than Shi Manqiang.

At this, Shi Manqiang looked somewhat embarrassed, but he still said, "What martial skill could he have? Originally, my family's blacksmith shop was meant to be passed down to him. But he does have a fair bit of strength."

Zhao Jin shook his head and said with a smile, "Let him come. There will always be work for him to do."

As they chatted idly, the courtyard had already grown busy. The goods yard also held silver reserves. Most of the silver from the wine sales at the city distillery was stored here. If it wasn't enough, more could be raised from Cloud Mountain Trading and Cloud Mountain Tavern. Liu Yong was directing men to carry it.

Not long after, Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng also rode back. Lord Jin's might awed Xuzhou, and the names of these two were likewise renowned. When they asked people to go out of the city on business, everyone was willing to do them the favor.

Shortly after the two of them returned, Dong Bingfeng arrived on horseback as well. His expression was extremely grim. Zhao Jin thought it was still about the Xuzhou Guard not sending men to join the relief force. Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, Dong Bingfeng said urgently, "Big Brother, just outside the city, I met up with our people and got word. They said that at midday, the Xu family of Jingshan on the north bank crossed the river. They've begun distributing relief to the refugees and recruiting able-bodied men and women. They've already transported several thousand away."

"What?" Zhao Jin's smile vanished. His face turned ashen as he stood up.

Manpower was wealth — especially these able-bodied young men and women. After the bitter battle beneath the walls, Zhao Jin had intended to swallow them all up. He had never expected someone to get there first.

The Xu family of Jingshan was a top-tier power in Xuzhou. They ran coal and iron operations in the Jingshan and Chacheng region — mining coal and smelting iron, industries that required massive amounts of labor. Yet able-bodied laborers were often the pillars of farming households and not easily recruited. These able-bodied refugees from Shandong were naturally the best reserve — rootless, hungry, and helpless. As long as grain and food were offered, countless numbers could be recruited in an instant.

"... The refugees came from Shandong and met hardly any obstruction around Jingshan and Chacheng... When the refugees scattered and fled, the burning of the boats on the river was suspicious as well. Could the Xu family have planned all this?" Wang Zhaojing voiced his conjecture in a deep tone.

The expressions of the others were equally grim. They had fought a bitter battle to win this, and now, inexplicably, someone else had plucked the fruit.

"Big Brother, let's muster the brothers right now and go cordon off those refugees," Shi Manqiang said angrily.

"Not yet!"

"If we don't hurry, the people will either be taken away or starve to death!" Shi Manqiang was growing impatient.

Zhao Jin drew a deep breath and said, "The most urgent matter right now is not that. Send someone back to He Village at once. Have Ruhui ride to Cloud Mountain Temple. Tonight, I will meet him before the temple's main gate. Also, assemble all the old household troops to accompany me. Go arrange this first. Once it's set, follow me out of the city."

These two tasks were carried out swiftly, but the good mood from earlier had vanished completely. Zhao Jin mounted his horse, looked at his grim-faced companions, and said coldly, "Once this is done, we go find trouble with the Xu family!"

No one at the relief army encampment five li from Xuzhou's west gate knew what was happening along the banks of the Yellow River, or what was happening inside the city of Xuzhou.

In this encampment, the various militia groups and volunteer fighters — whether they had come in a moment of hot-blooded passion, or to build ties with Zhao Jin, or even to loot a burning house — were all quite happy now. Aside from a dozen or so leaders who harbored their own schemes, the men below all wished they could stay here for the rest of their lives.

Whatever their intentions when they came, they had, after all, fought the roving bandits beneath the walls of Xuzhou and saved the city's defenses from imminent collapse. Every one of them was, in truth, a benefactor of this city of Xuzhou. This was an undeniable fact, and the people inside the city acknowledged it.

In the past, when the government imposed levies, neither great households nor small were willing. But now, every single one was ungrudging. Pigs were slaughtered, sheep butchered, flatbreads baked, and buns steamed — pot after pot, basket after basket were delivered outside the city. Though Hanjing Famous Wine was too costly to supply in such quantities, other varieties of liquor were by no means lacking.

These militia and volunteers usually couldn't even eat their fill at every meal, and even among those from the jianghu, many rarely got to eat meat. When such a feast arrived, it was truly like a festival. Every face was slick with grease, and they ate with great delight.

Everyone knew these days wouldn't last long, but the government still owed them a sum of silver. When the time came, with their purses bulging, they could return home in glory, and the dead and wounded among their fellow villagers and brothers would have some provision made for them.

Originally, no one had held much hope for any of this, but when a man of Lord Jin's stature gave his solemn word, everyone believed it.

Unexpectedly, right in the midst of this jubilant atmosphere, several gentry from the city suddenly came out and, with great embarrassment, told everyone that the government would not be issuing the reward.

They had fought a life-and-death battle to come to the rescue and had, with great difficulty, saved this city. For the government to be so cold and ungrateful — did they think everyone was made of paper and clay, without any temper at all?

Moreover, someone secretly told them that the Prefect felt they would become a menace to the region and was preparing to make them hand over their weapons and go home obediently. It was said there would also be an investigation into whether any bandits or roving thieves had infiltrated their ranks.

With all this stirring up, public outrage was naturally inflamed. And with several thousand men gathered beneath the city walls, all armed and relying on one another, their courage was greatly bolstered. Some even began shouting slogans about storming into Xuzhou.

As they raised a ruckus, the city's civilian laborers who had been outside collecting corpses and clearing the battlefield were so frightened that they fled back into the city. The garrison soldiers guarding the city gates were supposed to have the duty of suppressing unrest, but after inquiring into the cause, they all felt they had lost face. Seeing that the rowdy men were staying inside their encampment and not coming out, the soldiers simply couldn't be bothered to move.

However, as the atmosphere grew increasingly heated, it was clear that if it exploded, it would be very difficult to contain. Someone hurried back to report. In their hearts, the officials were not panicked — Vice General Zhou had already entered the city with his cavalry, and it was said another three thousand soldiers would arrive by dawn. These village braves and civilian militiamen wouldn't be able to overturn the heavens.

Just as the situation was on the verge of becoming unmanageable and the defending troops were preparing to close the city gates, several young men rode out of the city, heading straight for the uproarious encampment.

"Quick, call them back! Aren't they walking to their own deaths going there?"

"That's Lord Jin!"