Chapter 342: The Zhao-Xu Marriage Alliance

After kowtowing to Zhao Jin, Qi Erkui had originally planned to head home, but seeing how things were shaping up, he couldn't leave now. With people and goods converging here, it was the perfect place to distribute salt.

Never mind the illicit salt—large shipments of goods were being transferred from the canal at Pizhou over to the Yellow River, and some had to be offloaded at Xuzhou to travel overland to various destinations. He Village wasn't far from the nearby Yellow River ferry crossing, and with all this bustle, some merchants had already come to take a look. Moving over here had only happened recently.

Under these circumstances, He Village could no longer hold everyone and had to begin expanding. These matters fell to Zhou Xuezhi to worry about. He went into the city to find craftsmen who understood construction and recruited laborers on the spot. Silver and funds were ample, so work could start quickly.

Still, the earliest any of this could begin was half a month from now, and the weather was far too hot at present—people were suffering heatstroke practically every day. Once large-scale construction began, it would be even easier for an epidemic to break out. It would be better to wait until the weather cooled.

Zhao Jin hadn't expected to be this busy. From morning until now, it had been a constant stream of issuing orders and receiving and seeing off guests.

After lunch, during the hottest part of the day, and with the Zhao Battalion just returned from a major battle, there was a two-hour midday rest. Zhao Jin used this window to look over the court gazettes in his study.

With the foundation he'd built up back then, there weren't many of these old characters he couldn't recognize. Ruhui had used a brush to dot between each sentence, making it far easier to understand at a glance.

But the gazettes made for dull reading. Court ministers were petitioning to see the Son of Heaven, saying the Wanli Emperor had not held court for a long time and that this was bad for the realm. There were also appointments of officials in various places—no names that left any impression. The only thing that felt at all connected was that last year the Yellow River had burst its banks here in Xuzhou. Many places along the banks had suffered at the time, but since the floodwaters hadn't entered the city, it wasn't considered a major event and few people cared. Yet this matter had appeared in the gazette, along with discussion from the Ministry of Works on how to provide disaster relief.

Zhao Jin forced himself to read a while longer, but then more guests arrived outside. Everyone had timed it so that once lunch and the midday rest were over, they would come calling one after another.

On the desk in the study lay a stack of court gazettes, all punctuated and parsed into sentences, while Ruhui had gone out early that morning. The matter of the marriage alliance between the Zhao and Xu families had been initiated by Ruhui, so naturally he had to be involved from start to finish. He had ridden off to Xuzhou's prefectural seat to handle the arrangements.

"Master, the news of the marriage alliance will spread today. In the coming days it's going to shake all of Xuzhou!" Ruhui had said with a smile just before leaving.

Xuzhou consisted of one prefecture and four counties, split in two by the Yellow River. Pei County and Feng County lay on the north bank of the Yellow River, bordering Shandong, while Dangshan and Xiao County lay south of the Yellow River. The prefectural seat was also on the south bank. If one took the Yellow River as the dividing line, the southern portion was even slightly smaller than the northern.

Although the prefectural seat was nominally the center, the northern part of Xuzhou formed a world of its own, as disconnected from the south as if they were two unrelated places.

That was why, when Zhao Jin rose to power, his influence never crossed north of the Yellow River, yet everyone still said Zhao Jin dominated Xuzhou. In truth, he had little impact on the north.

It was only when the refugees crossed the river and besieged Xuzhou, and Zhao Jin led his men to break the siege, that his strength and martial prowess spread far and wide. Of course, by now the tales had gone well beyond Xuzhou alone—they had reached Huai'an Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture, and even the parts of Shandong and Henan that bordered Xuzhou.

And in the past, the great family that the north bank of Xuzhou's Yellow River acknowledged above all others was, naturally, the Xu family of Jingshan. With nearly ten thousand members, a coal mining enterprise of staggering scale, and a family member serving as a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Works, they could hold their own even in a place like the Southern Metropolitan Region, where powerful magnates were as common as dogs.

Now the newly risen Zhao Jin was to marry into the old-line, top-tier magnate Xu family. News like this was bound to shake the entire region.

Clerk Lu from the Rites Office had been entrusted to inquire about the eight characters of the birth horoscope. The old man's face was glowing with delight; he considered this one of the most glorious things he'd ever done in his life. If it succeeded, he would have earned face and favor with both the Zhao and Xu families, enough for his descendants for generations to live on.

No one had told him to keep it secret, and Clerk Lu knew that the moment he left the Xu residence, the Xu family themselves would likely spread the news. So when people came asking, Clerk Lu did not hide a thing.

The Zhao family and the Xu family were to be joined by marriage! The news spread swiftly from the north bank to the south bank, from the prefectural seat to the county seats, and soon every village and hamlet knew as well.

After the initial shock upon hearing the news, people chewed it over carefully and decided it was only to be expected. Given Zhao Jin's status and position, if he were to look within Xuzhou itself, the only family worthy and qualified was the Xu family. Everyone vaguely knew Zhao Jin had a childhood sweetheart, but she had vanished from sight these past two years, so there was nothing more to say on that account.

One was domineering in his methods, the other vast in strength—what would come of this union? No one was more troubled than Prefect Tong Huaizu. If these two families truly came together, there would be no role left for the authorities. What meaning would there be left in his posting?

But he didn't fret for long. Adviser Wang said one thing that set his mind at ease: "Sir, there is no need to worry. Even if the Zhao and Xu families form a marriage alliance, how will Xuzhou be any different from before?"

That was indeed true. Zhao Jin had already taken nearly everything worth taking, and the Xu family had always been as they were. Once the two families joined, there would be nothing left in Xuzhou worth their lifting a hand for.

After weighing the pros and cons, every quarter of Xuzhou arrived at more or less the same conclusion. Once the shock passed, their suspended hearts settled back down, and they turned to pure curiosity and watching the excitement unfold.

Over at the Zhao Battalion, and among everyone connected to Zhao Jin, all were happy to see this marriage happen. At most, they expressed surprise at how incredibly fast it was. It even set off a wave of urgency in the households of Chen Sheng, Dong Bingfeng, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and the rest. Matchmakers all over Xuzhou's prefectural seat were suddenly bustling about, threading connections for these "young men of promise."

But for the Xu family, the situation was entirely different. Xu Zhenzhen's father, Xu Benrong, was naturally delighted. His daughter was twenty and still unwed; there had already been no shortage of ugly gossip outside.

Those who suspected Xu Zhenzhen had some hidden ailment were considered the kind ones. Far more people claimed that Xu Zhenzhen kept a whole stable of male favorites in her boudoir, from pale-faced scholars to strapping martial men, every type accounted for. Now that someone had come to propose and she could be married off soon, these rumors would finally die down.

The Xu family head, Xu Benrong, had always felt guilty toward his eldest daughter. Xu Zhenzhen had toiled inside and out to revive the family fortunes, neglecting her own marriage prospects and drawing so much slander in the process. Marrying her off sooner would spare her such grueling labor.

As a father, he naturally bore his daughter no ill will. But the rest of the Xu family was a different story.

Xu Zhenzhen had controlled the Xu family for only five years, yet she had run it like an iron barrel, leaving no cracks for anyone to exploit. In a family with so long a history, there were naturally plenty of wastrel descendants. In the past, they'd done no small amount of pilfering and underselling, colluding inside and out, undermining the family and skimming off the top. Once Xu Zhenzhen took charge, all of that was banned. Now that Xu Zhenzhen was to marry, they saw it this way: a married-off daughter was like water thrown out. Once she became a wife of the Zhao family, she would of course have no right to keep managing Xu family affairs. Their chance had come.

Before Clerk Lu had even left the Xu family gates after asking about the birth horoscope, quite a few in the Xu family had already arranged to drink that evening in celebration. The woman was finally leaving.

Besides the happy ones, there were also plenty who were worried—men like Xu Bende of the third branch. Although he was an elder yet was ordered about by his niece, a junior, and was called "the head chamber-maid" by certain shameless sorts, Xu Bende understood perfectly well that without Xu Zhenzhen's support, the third branch would be lucky just to have enough to eat. With few members and a weak disposition, they had always been bullied and oppressed. It was precisely because of Xu Zhenzhen's help that they had gained face and benefits, were fed and clothed, and the children had all found their places.

If Xu Zhenzhen married out, it wouldn't be long before the third branch reverted to its former state. That would be a calamity.

But Xu Bende had been obsequious toward his niece for so long that he didn't dare speak directly. He only went to Xu Benrong in a roundabout way, saying that given the current situation and given Zhenzhen's temperament, it would be better to take in a husband by uxorilocal marriage. If Zhao Jin could agree to that, it would be for the best.

He spoke of it once. Xu Zhenzhen sent someone to have a word with him, and Xu Bende immediately fell silent as a winter cicada, not daring to make another sound. Even a fool could see that with Zhao Jin's status and position, there was simply no way he would agree to a matrilocal marriage.

Beyond these two groups, there were also some who considered themselves loyal to the Xu family. They thought of the greater good in all things, and they too opposed this marriage. The reason was simple: if a powerful magnate like Zhao Jin married the Xu family's eldest daughter, he would surely use the connection to encroach upon and seize the Xu family estate. When the time came, everything the Xu family owned might well end up benefiting the Zhao family. How could this be allowed? Perhaps it was only the family head acting on his own; the eldest daughter might not even know yet. This had to be overturned.

From start to finish, apart from the powerless Xu Bende, no one else paid any attention to the stance of the family head, Xu Benrong. Everyone felt that the eldest daughter's position was what mattered most.

Xu Zhenzhen's response was equally crisp and decisive. Once the confirmed news arrived, the Xu household was instantly split between joy and sorrow. Wives and aunties of every stripe with any standing all wanted to see Xu Zhenzhen. Some said the match was good, some urged caution, and some said outright that Zhao Jin was nothing but a crude character of the bandit and outlaw sort—how could he possibly be worthy of a daughter of the Xu family?

"Zhenzhen, several of the learned gentlemen have said that Zhao Jin is a crude martial man, unworthy of you. Your father has listened and finds this reasonable. A reckless brute who lives by killing, his mother's side from a butcher's household, his father's side a hereditary soldier of the guard, and he himself plies the lowly trade of a runner. With in-laws like these, how could you ever be comfortable marrying in? That day your father was momentarily muddled. It's a good thing nothing has been settled yet. Your father will refuse them and have your second uncle in the capital find you a fine match." In the study of the Xu family head, Xu Benrong, he spoke these words of persuasion.

At first glance, Xu Benrong did not look at all like the head of such a great family. His appearance and build had even less to do with coal mining and iron smelting. He looked more like a scion of an old family from the prosperous lands of Jiangnan. Not only was he slender and elegantly dressed, but his study was also arranged with exceptional refinement.

Xu Benrong was fair-skinned and scholarly in appearance, his features quite gentle. He held an antique-looking folding fan in his hand, no doubt the work of some famous master. At the moment he wore a fine cotton Daoist robe, reclining against a daybed, speaking in a soft, measured tone—the very picture of a cultivated gentleman of taste.