Chapter 338: The City Is No Place to Stay Long

Hearing this, Commander Jia felt himself suddenly relax. His legs went weak and he sat down right on the ground. Zhao Jin shouted to the assembled Zhao Battalion, "Prepare your gear. We return to He Village at dawn tomorrow. Dismissed!"

"Orders received!" The Zhao Battalion retainers roared in unison before dispersing. That single roar sent Commander Jia, who had just struggled to his feet, back down onto the ground.

At that moment, Zhao Jin turned back around and said to Commander Jia, "You don't have to come three days from now."

After speaking, Zhao Jin called for his people and headed inside. Only after they passed through the courtyard gate did Commander Jia, still sitting on the ground, react. His voice trembling, he shouted, "Young Master Zhao, rest assured, this humble one will definitely go! This humble one will definitely go!"

Over on that side, Ji Xiang turned and shut the courtyard gate, saying with utter disdain, "Ever since I was little I've heard of this Xuzhou Garrison. I always thought the Xuzhou Garrison Commander would be some kind of fierce general. Never imagined he'd be such a worthless fool. He can't even compare to our Zhao Battalion by a mile."

Dong Bingfeng looked very embarrassed, but he still explained, "In the garrison, only the younger generation still has the heart to practice martial arts. The older ones are all busy managing their family businesses. In name it's a garrison, but it's no different from the local countryside."

"My second uncle practiced martial arts his whole life. And what did it get him in the end? With an example like that, who would still go practice?" Zhao Jin remarked offhandedly.

Just as they were about to enter the house, Chen Sheng suddenly spoke up, "He's just a fool. What's the point of intimidating him?"

Ji Xiang, having seen Commander Jia's behavior, began to look down on the garrison as well, while Dong Bingfeng hurried to explain. Only Chen Sheng saw that something was off. Zhao Jin did not hide it and said directly, "There will be a use for the garrison going forward. Give them a show of force first, so they don't get any ideas about disobeying."

"Bingfeng, persuade your father to move into Xuzhou city. Stop meddling in garrison affairs. Your current prospects are far greater than a Chiliarch's position. Don't lose the big picture over something small." Zhao Jin also exhorted Dong Bingfeng.

Dong Bingfeng immediately nodded his agreement. The Xuzhou Garrison Chiliarch position wasn't going anywhere anyway. As for those businesses of land rents and shop fronts, compared to the Zhao Battalion's properties, they had long since become not worth looking at.

The Zhao Battalion was now the focus of attention in Xuzhou. Any major or minor event that happened here, so long as it wasn't deliberately kept secret, would quickly be known by outsiders.

You Zhenrong had become the leader of the Xuzhou city commoners' circles. Xuzhou Garrison Commander Jia had gone to see Zhao Jin to apologize and had come out utterly disgraced. These pieces of news spread throughout the entire city.

The clerks of the Six Offices and the constables were all Xuzhou natives and local powerbrokers. What others couldn't understand, they saw clearly.

"... The biggest powers in Xuzhou: Cloud Mountain Temple is one, the Xu family of Mount Jing is one, and this Xuzhou Garrison also counts as one. How can the Xuzhou Garrison not count? What difference is there between those commanders and the abbot and overseer of Cloud Mountain Temple? They treat the garrison farmlands as their own private property, parceling it out layer by layer. Zhao Jin already has Cloud Mountain Temple in his grasp and is about to marry into the Xu family. Naturally, he'll want a bite of this Xuzhou Garrison meat too. He also has a military household registration, so it's perfectly legitimate..."

Regarding Zhao Jin's intentions, everyone found them perfectly natural. A powerful magnate like this ought to act tyrannically and swallow up everything he could.

When Zhao Jin returned home that evening, he saw, as expected, a courtyard full of gifts. His father, Zhao Zhentang, said irritably, "Old Dong practically knelt at the doorstep. Made me feel very awkward. All these things were sent by several managers from the garrison. A bunch of bastards. The men below can barely fill their stomachs, while they rake it in by the cartload."

Because life in the Xuzhou Garrison had been too bitter, of the two Zhao brothers, one had gone to be a soldier to earn rank, and the other had gone into the city to become an executioner. Naturally, they didn't have a good impression of the Xuzhou Garrison.

Zhao Jin didn't need to hide his plans in front of his parents and spoke of them directly at the dinner table. After hearing them, Zhao Zhentang merely nodded in agreement. "Of the three Xuzhou Garrisons, Pizhou Garrison is out of your reach, and Xuzhou Left Garrison is too poor. This Xuzhou Garrison has land and men. If you take it in hand, you certainly won't mistreat those poor military households inside. You'll definitely run it better than the current management."

The bloody battle beneath the city walls had made his mother, He Cuihua, anxious at the time, but such a lopsided victory against overwhelming odds had given He Cuihua a bit more confidence. Tonight, knowing Zhao Jin would set out the next morning, she didn't give too many exhortations to take care.

"Xiao Jin, your father and I live perfectly well in the city. You don't need to worry about us. Focus on your important business. But if anything related to the marriage comes up, you must come back when you should. That is the most important matter of all." He Cuihua still steered the conversation back to the marriage.

Zhao Zhentang nodded in agreement and said, "Your mother is right. Establish a family and build a career. You're not young anymore. Starting a family is the most important matter."

"Father, Mother, please rest assured. Your son will certainly not delay it." Zhao Jin answered crisply.

This surprised Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua. They had thought Zhao Jin would be a bit bashful. They hadn't expected him to be so straightforward.

"Once you're married, give us a grandson soon. A granddaughter first would also be fine." Mother He Cuihua said with a beaming smile.

At this, Zhao Jin finally felt a bit overwhelmed. He coughed twice and said, "No rush, no rush."

Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua exchanged a glance and both laughed.

Because the weather was hot, traveling at noon risked heatstroke, so they had to leave as early as possible. Zhao Jin got up much earlier than usual. He dressed neatly in his room, but when he reached the main hall, he paused in surprise, because his parents were already waiting there. On the table was a steaming hot meal.

"We knew you'd be leaving early, so we got up to prepare breakfast for you." Mother He Cuihua said with a smile, as if it were an ordinary thing.

Zhao Jin sat down and ate in big mouthfuls. Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua just sat there watching him with smiles. When Zhao Jin finished eating, he picked up his long spear and headed out the door.

"You must be careful, you must be careful." He Cuihua's exhortations came from behind him. Zhao Jin nodded heavily.

Zhao San and his wife, along with the Meng siblings, were also already up. The Meng siblings looked at Zhao Jin with faces full of reverence, bustling about to help him carry his things.

By the time they reached the freight yard, everything over there was nearly ready. The large carts were loaded with supplies and equipment. Two workers from the Shi Family Blacksmith Shop had also arrived. Seeing Zhao Jin, they reported, "Master Jin, our boss says there are still seventeen sets of armor not yet repaired. Once they're done, we'll deliver them to you."

Zhao Jin nodded. In this battle outside the city, quite a few armor pieces and weapons had been damaged. Weapon stockpiles were sufficient and replacing them was simple, but armor was a case of one set lost for every set ruined. Those that were severely damaged had to be sent to the Shi Family Blacksmith Shop for repairs. The Shi Family Blacksmith Shop had nearly sixty people. They had stopped all other work to focus entirely on Zhao Battalion jobs. As a result, out of twenty-six sets of heavily damaged armor, only nine had been repaired in four days.

In the past, Zhao Jin would have just waited patiently, but now he couldn't help thinking of Xu Zhenzhen's proposal. Compared to a blacksmith shop that had mainly made farming tools and ironware before, the large-scale workshop of the Xu family was surely far superior in capability and output.

The Shi Family Blacksmith Shop had been continuously expanding, and had always prioritized the Zhao Battalion's needs, never holding anything back. But their capability was ultimately limited. For the steel armor Zhao Jin had designed, if quality was demanded, forging one set in twenty-some days was already the limit. Adding more hands didn't change this, because there were only so many skilled craftsmen who could hammer out the plates.

Moreover, all the Zhao Battalion's various weapons also had to be forged by the Shi Family Blacksmith Shop. Often, they'd be tending to one thing while losing track of another. Not only were they frantically busy, they couldn't produce much.

The Xu family's coal and iron must be secured. He hoped Ru Hui would handle things effectively. Zhao Jin's thoughts raced.

By now, whether veteran or new recruit, everyone in the Zhao Battalion was practiced in departure preparations. By the time Zhao Jin arrived, everything was already nearly in order.

You Zhenrong had taken over the underworld and commoner circles within Xuzhou city. Liu Yong still needed to make some arrangements there and would stay in the city a few more days, but he had also come early to see them off.

"Zheng Quan's two children are coming back to He Village with us this time," Zhao Jin said. Not long after, a brother and sister were led out.

Zhao Jin vaguely remembered how these siblings used to look. Both had been thin and weak, and very timid, having suffered a lot in the He household. Over these past few months, both siblings had filled out considerably and now had the liveliness appropriate for their age.

The Zheng siblings naturally weren't mistreated at the freight yard. Their so-called work was just sweeping and tidying up. They ate well and had their fill, and no one bullied them.

These two siblings were around the same age as the Meng siblings. The younger sister was fine, but the older brother was quite a bit taller than Meng Zhiqi. The Zheng siblings' looks were unremarkable, ordinary and plain.

The two were led out. As soon as they saw Zhao Jin, they obediently knelt and kowtowed. The brother was called Zheng Duofu, the sister Zheng Jinxiang. Zhao Jin merely smiled and nodded.

During the chaos that day, Zheng Quan had run out alone to deliver the message, leaving his wife at home. Perhaps due to old ties, perhaps out of fear of the Zhao Battalion's power within the city, or perhaps because the situation was too urgent to consider much else, Zheng's wife had actually come through safe and sound. After the siege of the prefectural city was lifted, she had been escorted to He Village. Zheng Quan had rendered merit this time, so reuniting their family was part of his reward.

The sky was only just beginning to brighten, and everything was still very quiet. The Zhao Battalion's main force headed toward the west side of the city. Although there were fixed times for opening and closing the city gates, in front of Zhao Jin, the soldiers guarding the gate knew what they should do. After receiving a gratuity of five taels of silver, the gate opened the moment the men arrived.

Zhao Jin rode at the head on horseback. Just as they turned out of the freight yard intersection, he saw several people turn and run away. Zhao Jin couldn't help but pause and turned his head to look at Liu Yong. Matters of city defense and security were generally handed over to Liu Yong, and knowing Liu Yong's cautious and meticulous nature, how could he allow people to be keeping watch here?

"Big Brother, the various factions in the city want to pay their respects to you, but they didn't know when we'd be leaving the city, so they sent people to watch here," Liu Yong explained with a smile from horseback.

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded. Chen Sheng at his side said sullenly, "When the city was besieged, most of these people were hiding at home. Now they've all come scurrying out."

The freight yard was in the west of the city, so they went straight out the West Gate. There weren't many households along the road, and even fewer wealthy residences. They had been walking quietly for a while when they saw people by the roadside step out from their doorways, bowing deeply with clasped hands in salute. Others had placed a long bench in front of their doors with tea set upon it, and they too bowed behind it. The more elaborate ones had set up square tables laden with fruits, pastries, tea, and wine, while the people themselves bowed with clasped hands.