Chapter 386: The Qi Brothers' Past

Zhao Jin nodded and waved over several companions not far away. Shi Manqiang had already returned to He Village — of the two regiments, one always needed its commander stationed there. Zhao Jin spoke up: "Let's all go over together. Qi San's strange behavior is likely connected to that Feng family steward."

Over in the main hall of the goods yard, Zhao Jin and his group sat down first. Liu Yong called out toward the outside, and the three Qi brothers filed in. Once inside the hall, they offered respectful greetings. Their weapons had already been confiscated, and they had even been deliberately searched.

The three Qi brothers were older than most of the men in the Zhao Character Camp. Though only in their twenties or thirties, they appeared far more mature. At this moment, their faces bore expressions of grief and fury, as if they were desperately suppressing something. Observing closely, Zhao Jin could even make out a hidden fear in the brothers.

"Yesterday, when that Feng family steward came, Qi San wasn't himself. What exactly is going on? Tell us!" Liu Yong said, getting straight to the point.

The three brothers exchanged glances. This time, the eldest, Qi Da, spoke first: "Master, that steward yesterday was surnamed Tao. We three brothers have seen him once before, but this Steward Tao may not necessarily recognize us."

Huai'an Prefecture is a Huai salt production region — the coast is lined with salt flats. The salt tax is a primary source of the realm's fiscal revenue, making this area the lifeblood of the imperial court. Everything here, absolutely everything, exists to guarantee the production of Huai salt.

Boiling salt requires fuel. Withered grass is the easiest for controlling the fire and is very suitable for salt boiling. Therefore, most of Huai'an Prefecture consists of barren flats and wasteland. Commoners are forbidden from reclaiming or farming this wasteland; it is left solely to grow grass, which is harvested as fuel.

With the Yellow River within Huai'an Prefecture as one boundary, the border between Shandong and South Zhili as another, and the sea as the third, the vast area enclosed by these three lines holds only a single, solitary Shuyang county seat. All the rest is grassy wasteland, known locally as the Grass Hollows.

Refugees fleeing famine, along with people who entered Huai'an Prefecture for various other reasons — these people formed the main force of unauthorized land reclamation. They would burn clearings in the grassy wasteland, sow seeds, and open up fields. Because the land was vast and sparsely populated, beyond the reach of local officials, there was naturally no talk of taxes or levies, giving it somewhat the feel of a hidden paradise.

But poverty was poverty in the end, and people find it hard to leave their native soil. If not for circumstances that forced them to flee, who would willingly leave their hometown and enter these grassy wastelands, as ghastly as a realm of ghosts? Moreover, with no officials and no gentry here, there was also no imperial law and no order — it was a lawless world.

The grassy wastelands of Huai'an Prefecture became a place of naked survival of the fittest, where mounted bandits and outlaws gathered. Even if the refugees who came here managed to reclaim land, they still had to offer up their produce to these local strongmen and endure their bullying and exploitation.

In the outside world, these mounted bandits also had a name. Zhao Jin had heard it a few times and even dealt with them on a few occasions. These people were the so-called "Grass Hollow Bandits."

After being bullied and squeezed for too long, the refugees began banding together for self-protection. Among these commoners, some had once served in the government army, some had been part of village militias and local defense corps, and some had trained in martial arts. These individuals became the core armed force.

These villages that banded together for self-protection also had a name: they were called the "Eighteen Stockades of the Grass Hollows." In reality, they consisted of over thirty large and small settlements and villages.

With greater numbers came bolder spirits, and with sufficient strength, the Grass Hollow Bandits who had once preyed upon them were beaten back step by step, no longer daring to approach lightly. Even the people from the salt flats, who had never dealt with them before, would now offer token gestures when private salt passed through their territory.

With people and money, the leaders of the Eighteen Stockades grew ambitious. They began plotting to traffic private salt themselves. Their location was close to the salt flats along the Haizhou coastline, and they had close dealings with the salt-boiling households who often came to cut grass, so they were familiar with the routes. Once they obtained private salt, transporting it to Xuzhou and Fengyang Prefecture would yield considerable profit.

But doing this crossed a forbidden line. One day, without warning, government troops from Yangzhou and Huai'an Prefectures mobilized in force, sweeping through the interior of Huai'an Prefecture. It's said that officials and bandits are irreconcilable, yet this time, those Grass Hollow Bandits also moved alongside the government troops, serving as scouts and even as the main force of the sweep.

At this moment of crisis, there were even people within the Eighteen Stockades colluding with the government troops, while the people of the Eighteen Stockades knew nothing of it beforehand.

The outcome was inevitable. Every village and settlement was swept clean. Because the commoners in the grassy wastelands were all refugees from various places, not listed on any household registry, they were legally non-existent hidden households. Thus, both officials and bandits could act without restraint.

They burned, killed, and plundered, stopping at no evil. The Eighteen Stockades of the Grass Hollows were annihilated, and many scattered hamlets within the Grass Hollows were also wiped out. In small places of a hundred or so households, often not a single person was left alive. Even women over twenty were given no chance to survive. Only teenage boys and girls, and those even younger, were spared, to be sold off everywhere as servants and prostitutes.

The three Qi brothers were from the Eighteen Stockades. The Eighteen Stockades had also possessed a small mounted troop, numbering only a few dozen riders in total. When the government troops launched their large-scale purge, a few lucky ones from the mounted troop managed to escape, but their wives, children, and elderly all perished miserably.

"... I once went back. The huts we'd built and everything else had been burned. Not a single member of my family had an intact corpse. My two children had been gnawed by wolves until only their skulls remained..." As he spoke, Qi Da broke down in tears.

After escaping, the few survivors turned back again. There, they saw their homes reduced to ruins and the corpses of their families. As it happened, the Grass Hollow Bandits were still roaming nearby. Although these refugees were not on the registries and could be slaughtered freely, such a heavy burden of killing could not be allowed to get out, especially since no adults could be left alive to seek revenge. So the Feng family's household troops and servants led the Grass Hollow Bandits throughout Huai'an Prefecture, hunting down the remnants, even offering substantial bounties.

The three of them had escaped again that time, but after that, only the three of them were left. And this Steward Tao today had been among that very party back then.

"... We brothers spent a long time inquiring before we learned that this whole affair was instigated by the Feng family. The Feng family alone mobilized over three hundred mounted troops. They even had the Wolf Mountain Vice Brigade Commander lend out his own household troops and the like..." Qi San said through gritted teeth.

"... We brothers wanted to go to Yangzhou to take revenge, but only after we went did we realize just how huge the Feng family truly is and how strict their security. The soldiers, constables, and the jianghu men within the city all obey the Feng family's orders. In those few days in Yangzhou, not only did we find no opportunity, we were nearly marked by someone..."

Hearing this, Zhao Jin raised his hand, signaling them to pause. Somewhat puzzled, he asked: "By trafficking private salt, you touched the Feng family's bottom line. I understand why they moved against you. But wouldn't it have been better to teach you a lesson or even make you serve them? Why such a massive slaughter? With so many dead, isn't a clan that large acting far too recklessly?"

The Eighteen Stockades of the Grass Hollows — to slaughter them to such an extent, there must have been thousands, even tens of thousands of lives. And the Feng family had not only deployed their own armed forces but had even driven government troops and men of the greenwood jianghu to join in. To expend so much seemed to be making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Master, there are some things we underlings only learned afterward. The Feng family themselves also needed to hide people in the Grass Hollows. Moreover, most of the private salt from the salt flats has to pass through the Grass Hollows. By seizing this area, not only is it convenient for their own goods to move, but they can also block other families'..."

Hearing this explanation, Zhao Jin nodded slowly. If the Feng family had done it for these reasons, then it could be considered worthwhile.

However, Zhao Jin did not continue the conversation with the three Qi brothers. Instead, he turned to Wang Zhaojing and said with a smile: "In this age of peace, could you have imagined there would be such slaughter?"

Wang Zhaojing shook his head, his expression odd as he said: "Perhaps it is because all we have seen lies within the cities. Outside the city walls is a land without law."

Zhao Jin turned back to the three Qi brothers. After a moment of deliberation, he said: "That Feng family steward most likely did not recognize you. Even if he did, you are men of my Zhao Character Camp. I will protect you — there's no need to worry. Go attend to your duties!"

Hearing Zhao Jin's words, the three Qi brothers did not move. They exchanged glances, then all three knelt and kowtowed, urgently saying: "Master, please, we beg you to uphold justice for us! Please, Master, avenge us and settle this blood debt!"

After speaking, the three of them knocked their heads against the black brick floor with loud thuds. Their foreheads quickly turned bruised and bloody, showing they were using all their strength.

"Get up!" Zhao Jin said, raising his voice. His tone was somewhat cold. The three Qi brothers dared not persist and hurriedly rose to their feet.

Zhao Jin fixed his gaze on the three Qi brothers and said: "I said I would protect you. That is in return for the service you render the Zhao Character Camp. But I have no grievance with the Feng family, nor does the Zhao Character Camp have any conflict with them. If, for the sake of your blood feud, I were to go and battle the Feng family, I would be failing the brothers under my command. If you can accept this, then stay. If you cannot, you are free to go!"

The kneeling and kowtowing of the three Qi brothers appeared deeply sincere, yet Zhao Jin sensed a hint of coercion within it, which made him very uncomfortable.

With the conversation reaching this point, the three Qi brothers dared not act rashly anymore. They looked at one another, and Qi Da said in a muffled voice: "We underlings were confused just now. That the Master is willing to take us in, and has allowed us to have the life we lead today..."

At this point, Qi Er, who had been silent all along, interjected: "The Master's protection of us three brothers — such great kindness and virtue, we underlings will never forget."

Zhao Jin waved his hand, and Liu Yong stood up to dismiss the three Qi men. As soon as the Qi brothers left, Chen Sheng said with a cold laugh: "Those three were scared out of their wits. They've been hiding all along. A single Feng family steward comes and they're frightened to this degree. Ridiculous, and they still tried to play little tricks, goading us into confronting the Feng family."

"Xiaoyong, keep using these three as before, but don't assign them any critical tasks, and keep a close eye on them. Bingfeng, give the word down to the mounted troop — this Qi San is still a squad leader, yet he's this muddle-headed." Zhao Jin gave a few instructions.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Wang Zhaojing shook his head and sighed: "Those commoners were truly pitiful. Having finally escaped to the grassy wastelands with such difficulty, thinking only to struggle for survival, they met with such slaughter instead. Tragic."